Thursday, September 27, 2012

Backyard adventuring, the flowery way


We are back from a glorious little adventure up to Toowoomba to enjoy a few days soaking up the spring sunshine at the Carnival of flowers. There is nothing better than going for an adventure somewhere in your own backyard and it amazes me to discover that just over an hour away is this taste of a much colder place where there are actual different seasons and not just extremely hot and not quite so hot.

We rented a gorgeous little queenslander cottage close to the centre of town and spent four days exploring the spring delights on offer.


We scootered our way through masses of beds of poppies, tulips and an assortment of other colourful blooms in Queens Park.

We relished in the child themed floral displays at Laurel Bank Park. The space themed garden beds were incredible and I couldn't get it all in the shot so there is a picture of the map instead! Not to mention the wisteria arbour with the most incredible aroma, if only they were serving scones and tea in there.



We joined the twilight crowds at the fair, staying up late to see the spectacular fireworks. Miss Liongirl had her first Ferris Wheel ride while Roboboy had his first mouse in a ball experience.




Can I say that once inside these giant inflatable balls, your children will just run themselves ragged and it is like the cone of silence in there. Wishing we had a set for home!


We sampled some playgrounds with the best views around. This would be Webb Park set right on the escarpment.


With the longest steepest slides and the fastest pedal whirly thingies.

We loved exploring all the secret paths in the Japanese Garden.


And of course a cafe stop at Picnic Point is a must.


Brindabella Rose Gardens  was my treat, a rose and a clematis were stashed in the back for the drive home. The magnolias and rhododendrons were spectacular and we caught the tail end of the azaleas and the start of the roses.The garden also has numbered paths which kept the kids busy working out where to go next.
In the midst of all this adventure, the kids experienced their first hail storm and were so excited to duck  out and collect all the 'snowballs' when it rapidly blew over as quickly as it arrived.


And would you believe we even managed to squeeze in some oppie time, and of course it was the one op shop that we stumbled onto by pure chance, that had the vintage sheet stash. I will do another post about the wonderful finds but in the meantime I will leave you with some windy sheet love.




So, now that I am completely inspired after all this spring colour, I cannot wait to show you the goodies that I managed to ferret out. In the meantime, the Carnival of Flowers runs for another week so if you don't have anything planned for the second week of the school holidays, I think there are some good kids activities running too.


We stayed at Ashbrooke Cottage and could not fault it for location and found it perfect for little kids, there was even a long long concrete driveway for scooters.

And a perfect front porch for stopping to smell the flowers.



Can I just add that I have obviously only just worked out how to make collages, just in time as with this  many photos I needed it. Cannot believe how easy Picmonkey is to use. Lastly apologies for such a long long post. Back soon with some colourful vintage goodies.


25 comments:

  1. Love this post! Looks like it was a lovely holiday. Can't wait to see the post of your op shop finds. Elaina

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  2. How appropriate finding those lovely florals at the carnival of flowers. I would love to take the kidlets up for a day! The ice creams at picnic point nearly sent us broke when Anna and I went there with seven offspring between us!
    Collage may be a necessary skill to learn. Thanks for the tip!

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  3. What a wonderful adventure all of you had while you were away, you went to some lovely places, some of them I haven't been to before but always go to picnic point it has the most beautiful views. I might try and convince hubby to go for a drive there next week while he's on holidays and I might just have to find an op shop or two to visit, great sheet finds Mel. x

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  4. Oh wow, so much going on, glorious flowers & those two cuties, that sherpa style beanie with pom poms, just gorgeous!! Fun days, Spring just makes everything so lovely, love Posie

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  5. Your kids are so cute Mel.
    Of course I believe you found time to squeeze a bit of op-shopping in your itinerary, I'd be more surprised if you didn't! Beautiful sheets, especially the one on the right.
    I want a turn on that slide x

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  6. Love the little holiday cottage - I could pack up my things and move straight in. The flowers and gardens are lovely. Is Tourism Toowoomba paying you for this post? If not, they should. Love the photos of the kids.xx

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  7. I did notice your wonderful pic arrangement. Good job! Toowoomba looks totally luscious, I remember being there yonks ago BC (before kids), staying with Jem in a B+B and loving it. And another thing - the combo of sandals and woolly hats is totally crazy!!! Either LGs head was too hot or her toes were too cold....? Ah, love Aussie springtime :)
    Cheers, M

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  8. Beautiful pics! How funny is that Thomas hedge! Love the poppies. Looks so sunny and happy.

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  9. What a delightful little cottage and gorgeous gardens! One day we will see more of over the ditch! I love the Australian house style too.

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  10. Lovely post Mel. I've always loved Toowoomba. I'm going to check out Picmonkey too. Thanks ! Fiona x

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  11. What a brilliant holiday! I've earmarked that divine little cottage for a wee holiday of our own. And just when I was starting to ask out loud, "But did you find any awesome op shops?" there was the loot! Looks and sounds like an amazing time. Enjoy the rest of the school holidays with your munchkins :) x

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  12. I never would have thought of taking a holiday to Toowoomba...but now I will put it on my list of places to go when Toddler C is a bit older!
    Beautiful photos...looks like a wonderful trip!

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  13. What a perfect little break you had, the kids looked like they were really enjoying themselves, happy kids, happy parents!
    And gold at the end of the rainbow! Ada :)

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  14. What a great little holiday!. Parks, scooters, slides and ferris wheels!...and oppies....perfect!. House looks so cute. Mel, your kids are beautiful...the look on lionboys face in that bubble thing is priceless. I discovered pic monkey this week too......why didnt I know about it before??
    Allison ;)

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  15. My that was a treat! I totally see what you mean!!!!

    x

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  16. My oldest and bestest friend lives near Toowoomba. You're making me think I need to get up there for a visit! x

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  17. Well, I feel inspired just from your photos so i can't even imagine how you're feeling. I like Toowoomba, mostly, and it has great op shops. I always miss events like this until it's too late. I think my resolution for next year will be to get a full yearly calendar of all the cool happenings around this part of the state. Would love to make it up there for this xx

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  18. Hi Bungalowgirl, what gorgeous happy photos!
    Thanks for being a part of Blogtoberfest, hosted by Cathy aka {tinniegirl} last year. Thought you might be interested to know that we're running it again in 2012. You can find all the info at: http://isawyoudancing.blogspot.com.au/p/blogtoberfest-2012.html
    And we're kicking off this Monday! Would love to see you there.
    Kat xxx

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  19. Ooh what a lovely holiday for you all! Great photos. Our neighbour here in Sydney just arrive back from a holiday in Qld and said it was hotter here at home yesterday than anything they had had in Qld last week! But chilly here again now. Which is good, I'm not ready for summer yet!
    Those childhood holidays and photos will hold such good memories for your kids ...

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  20. oh i love your family life updates, you guys have so much fun. love love loooove that turquoise, lemon and lime vintage sheet, what a beauty! look forward to seeing more treats. i have some yummy fabrics for sale if you'd be interested in taking a peek. would love them to be in your hands if they're not in mine! will shoot you an email. xx

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  21. Great pics of your two,looks like they had a ball,the Uni garden is looking wonderful too.

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  22. What a gorgeous cottage and just the type of place I would love visiting. Beats a theme park holiday anyday :) And no holiday is complete without a rummage through the local oppies.

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  23. The cottage is completely gorgeous and so love the flower festival, what a lovely weekend away! Queensland has seriously good playgrounds as well!!! xx

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  24. It looks like you have been traveling around a bit too lately.

    I love these pictures of Toowoomba, we have been talking about doing this for years. I am penciling it in for next year. Thanks for the inspiration and all of the travel tips:)

    xo

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