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Cup Day meant a drive into Warburton and walking the O'Shannassy Aqueduct Trail.  Whilst it was a lovely outing, feel it's a walk better suited to bikes as the scenery a little monotonous for walkers. There were some very intriguing routes up the hillside, but with the wet weather we weren't dressed to deal with deep very squelchy mud.

A gorgeous part of Melbourne.

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Northern NSW, how gorgeous you are.

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Every holiday is different, mostly through the girls you realise how things are changing and recognise how to mix it up for the next trip.  This time we realised that wifi is important, that the girls do not currently enjoy sharing a bedroom, and that one bathroom is not ideal.

We were also reminded that we prefer the company of each others and our daughters over all others.  That's not to say we don't enjoy friends, family, as we do very much, but we're so lucky that our children are such a pleasure to us, so interested and interesting, so appreciative and increasingly adaptable.

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A week at the beach can really recharge your soul. We had a wonderful time and I wish we'd been able to stay longer. We rented a gorgeous house called Rusty Gate in Venus Bay which suited us perfectly. It's an old renovated school house, fitted out beautifully with all the necessities (a real coffee machine!) in a perfect quiet locale. We hadn't been to Venus Bay before, but the quieter town suits us perfectly.

Our luminous girls had a great time and Ella particularly takes after her dad in her confidence in the ocean. Leila follows me with a much more cautious approach.

The best part of the holiday, eating together as a family every evening. Twee, perhaps, but honesly, that makes me so happy as it's something we rarely get the chance to do. I wish the balance of our life could be different, that Geoff could be here more/earlier, but how can you manage that when your husband's job - the one that provides us with this life of ours - doesn't allow that. I find it really challenging to balance what I wish was so with what is so.

Today we'll try and hang on to our holiday vibe as we head all too rapidly towards the beginning of a new school year.

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And there was plenty of water too.

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A few group shots.

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Of course there was food and plenty of frosty drinks. I intended to photograph a lot of the lovely dishes we ate, but to be honest, everything was so yummy that I was spending my time eating over photographing!

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Truly breathtaking temples.