Camping at the Creek

This entry was written on the 15th of April

Hey my little man... How you doing in there? Your picture is up on the fridge so I can see you every day. We chose your name this week... It means peace, something your mama and I are very passionate about. I miss your energy this week - mama and I are like ships in the night, I leave for work around 7am and she gets home after 11 at night... and I'm usually snoring by then! On Saturday you and your mama are heading to London! Your first overseas trip... I'll really be missing you both.. Your big sisters will keep me company though.

Last weekend we all went to the creek to camp for easter. The creek is a big part of our lives so it'll take a while to tell you about it, but here's a start anyway.

PJ is my dad - his adorable partner in life is Andrea, otherwise known as Andy, or the "Evil Stepmother". This is not true - she is the best Stepmother ever and is a fabulous friend of mine and we wouldn't be without her.... She is fabulous. Anyway - PJ and Andy bought a big bit of land a few years ago. It's about 2 hours north of sydney, and about 30 acres of lovely bush with a few paddocks and a creek running through it... it's got a little shed like house with a deck overlooking the whole place and is in a valley.... so most of the 30 acres is made up of hills covered in Eucalypts.... there's wombats, and wallabies and plenty of trees... and it is totally magical. We'll be taking you up there a lot little man... you will learn how to fall over, drive a tractor, plant trees and help your grandad farm his flowers... you will build a campfire and pitch a tent, and one day maybe help your mama and I build our own little cabin there for our tribe.... The creek feels like an old, old place... like there is wisdom within the land, and the trees and the rocks... it's hard to describe in words - but it's almost a spiritual place... You'v been there already, inside your mama's tummy... and you've sat on the fire rock with her...

So we took your sisters, and Uncle gavvy, and Fairy G (more on them later) and we got in the truck and drove up there for the easter weekend... we pitched our tents, your mama and I slept in the back of the truck - which was so much fun! It was a good weekend... the kids played, we planted about 200 trees along the creek bed, we had a big fire and cooked and ate lots... it was really nice... a great way to spend some time together before I start my new job..

So that's a start to the creek story... it's the place we go away for weekends, and long weekends - and sometimes for longer holidays... it's relaxing and hard work at the same time... but most of all we are putting something back into the land that we live on... we take care of nature, and plant trees and regenerate what has been taken... we will teach you these same principles - it's the basis of how we like to live our lives... and what we want to pass down to you and your sisters...