They say ‘you can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family’…which is true…but I think that statement was perhaps made by someone that was not happy with their lot in life.
Whenever we travel, it is always a challenge for the girls to make friends, not because they aren’t nice girls, but because there isn’t always someone around that is a similar age, in the right place at the right time. Often, a new friend is made the day before we have to leave, or at the park where you only get to once. Making new friends is a skill too…
Thankfully though on this trip, Court and Amanda have ready made friends…almost like a tv cooking show where the chef appears with the perfectly prepared item saying “here’s one I prepared earlier”…..well Daniel and Mitchell are the result of earlier preparation…and as we are all staying together, there is no chance of them not being in the right place at the right time and we are all here together until Friday…and I am delighted that they are all getting along really well, no major squabbles (yet) and they seem to be able to mix and match with each other depending on their interest in the activity at hand. Dave’s niece, Jasmine is also here making a neat addition to their group, though unfortunately only able to stay until Wednesday, however we will see her again in Adelaide.
Today, even though the weather didn’t stay perfect, we filled the day with swimming, mini golf, the games room (table tennis, air hockey, table soccer and pool), learning to play chinese checkers and playing Wii.
In the evening, we organised with Dave’s Dad and brothers to drive down toVictor Harbor (spelling..I know, but that is what all the signs say) for the annual Christmas Pageant (parade and carols). Unfortunately, the weather worsened into a significant thunder storm with quite magnificent bolts of lightening, so we decided to head back to Middletown and have dinner at the Tavern there. The food was good, with a salad and vege bar that had reasonable selection and my main of Middleton Medaly (butterfish with prawns and calamari) was nice, though had I read the menu better I would have perhaps noticed is was all battered and may have chosen something else, but none the less it filled me up.
The evening left me wondering how any family with more than 3 children can really get out and do things…I know they can buy a bigger car which would solve our initial transportation issues that we are facing….but how do they possibly afford to go out…dinner last night was well over $100 and that was without dessert and only 1 jug of soft drink…not that I could have fit dessert in, but at $6.90 per plate, the thought of spending another $50 just didn’t sit well. I know there are alternatives but if that is where you want to be, or like us, kind of needed to be…then it really does put some pressure on the budget.