We love conference!

I've said it before, so here I go again - Conference weekends rock!!

The Rogers and us really enjoy making a special weekend of the church meetings we attend in Devonport on the Conference weekends every six months. This time we thought it would be nice to do something different from the traditional cheese, rasberry, chocolate factories and cherry shed. We took the kids to see the Mole Creek caves instead. It was extra special this time too because mum was here for a visit.

We arrived with a few minutes to spare to have a snack and let the kids stretch their legs.

          I never get sick of watching the our kids playing with their cousins. They are all so close.....

Close enough to fight, and then love eachother again 2 minutes later.

This photo reminds me of....

...this photo

I found Benny getting up to no good and decided it was time to head to the cave!

We walked through a beautiful forest to get to the cave. On the way, Joe jr got bitten by a monster bull ant 

:( Kym took him down to the stream to relieve his stinging hand in the cold water.

                                            
                                                  Kym is a star and Joe carries the cripple

                           
                              Mum looks after Parchie (affectionately known by the family as 'poo')

                                     Sisi waits outside the toilets while we have a quick stop...

                                               
                                              ....before gathering at the meeting point.

The caves were so much fun. We had a really good tour guide. He was funny....and very informative. The kids were so excited - especailly to see all the glow worms. We weren't allowed any cameras where the glow worms were. They looked much like stars in the night sky.

                                                  
                                                    Charlotte brought her own camera too.

                              Some parts were a bit of squeeze (not for me of course....*a-hem*)

  
  A really old and well protected stalagmite (did I get that right??) the tour guide quizzed us on stalagmites and stalactites and their spelling.

                                   It WAS well protected until Parchie stuck his hand in there!

Eeek! Two Tongans!

And that is where my battery ran out. Did I bring the spare one I spent the night before charging?? Of course not, that's way to sensible. Luckily I left it in the car, so I could use the camera again once we were out of the cave. We finished our awesome tour and were greeted by rain so we sat in this cosy little shelter (behind mum and I) and had lunch.

Once lunch was over, it was time to get Joe and Job to their Priesthood meeting! They were only 5 minutes late :) - That may be a new record.

Kym and I have this first shift with the kids. It was nice to have extra pair of 'nana' hands to help out. Because of the rain, we went in search of a play centre as opposed to the normal park and beach. While we were trying to find one and getting very lost, it stopped raining.....and we ended up at-

The beach! The kids LOVE going to the beach at Devonport, it has become tradition. They spend most of the time hunting for crabs.

Chelsea spent the entire time in this position - looking for crabs and starfish.

Sisi was grumpy when we first arrived as she'd just woken up from a nap in the car.

                           This picture makes me realise that Charlotte is getting older way too fast!

Sisi was most comfortable watching Parchie try and pick up the crabs

                                             A little encouragement from Aunty.....

                                                        ...and she's still not convinced.

Drawing in the sand - much less scary than holding crabs!

JJ was strong enough to hold up the lighthouse!!

Hahaha, what a mean mum!!! - She was trying to stop Parchie from running up the steps (and onto the road)

When this happened, Kym and I looked at eachother and said "Here we go again!" We had told them not to go into the water as we hadn't brought towles, blankets, clothes or anything! Same thing happens every year. We laughed wondering if we would ever learn our lesson and remember to bring spare clothes and towels. The kids ended up wearing their dads jumpers....  crazy kids, it was actually cold too!!

Sisi found that when her pants got wet she had a problem..

                                                                     Solution!!!

Kym's impersonation of a crab

         Me telling Lani not to throw sand (and taking a photo at the same time) - does anyone do that?!?

You may be wondering where our extra pair of hands was??! Mum was sitting in the car while we at the beach. She wasn't quite silly enough to sit in the cold....at the beach :) For us, its tradition. The kids love it and they don't even feel the cold....until they get out!
We get them rugged up and ready for the boys who take the next couple of hours while Kym and I (and mum this time) go to the adult session of conference. The boys gave them dinner (fish and chips) and watched a dvd. I think we got home around 10pm??  - And then got up early to do the trip again in the morning. An extra hour earlier this time as we had to get to the chapel for an early choir practice. Choir was great!! I was so proud of the East/West members who sung.
Mum left to go home (back to Melbourne) after dinner. I think she may have needed another break by the looks of it :) - We love you mum and nana!!!!!