tinaj

Wednesday is going to be a great day as my Mother is arriving to stay for 6 weeks. This is our first visitor since we left nearly 9 months ago.

My youngest is so excited, the first thing he says in the morning is 'only x days to go until Grandma comes!' He has missed being molly coddled badly, but I am sure she will make up for it now.


If anyone is flying Malasian leaving Heathrow on Wed say hello to my lovely Mum. She is one of the best people in the world and I can't wait to show her around this place.


I am feeling a bit blue at the moment as my Grandpa who is mid 90's has fallen over and had to have an op on his hip. I wonder if I will ever see him again and had a little sob when I found out. It is when something like this happens that the distance hits you.

Love you Mum!! and Grandpa

Pants

Hi Tinaj

Here's wishing you all a wonderful 6 weeks with your mum. I bet she's just as excited as you all are. Stock up on hugs etc. I can just remember how I felt when my mum and best mate came out after 1 yr here. yipppeeeeeeeee is putting it mildly.

I hope your Grandpa recovers and I think many of us can relate to this and the distance we all are from our loved ones back home Not easy I know.

All the best

P

Pollyana

Hope you have a fab time with your mum Tina - thats if you get a look in between her spoiling the kids! Be good to meet up if we can work it at some point - I've heard so much about her.

Sorry to hear about your grandpa though; I'm feeling a bit the same as my mum has told me my dad's having dizzy spells due to some kind of circulation problems. Does reinforce the distance thing doesn't it. Lets hope things go well for them both.

hevs

You must be really excited, have you worked out an itinary of all the best bit yet??

I'm really lucky as my Mum lives down the road (HUP may not agree though ) But both the outlaws have got visits planned here and i have to say its really exciting and can't wait ot show them around

jwinch

Hi Tina
Hope you have a lovely time with your mum, make the most of it and try not to worry too much about your grandpa, I am sure he is happy for you.

What about a visit back to the UK on your own for a few weeks, would that be possible. I am sure hubby is more than capable of coping.

Good Luck

Jacquie

cresta57

Best of luck with the scuba courses Tina hope you all enjoy the experience .

tinaj

Thanks Cresta and all you guys. Thanks for the tips on diving courses, I have found a place in Mooloolaba ( not Waterworld) that does courses and you can do a trial first.

Can you believe my mum at 65 wants to do the certified scuba course and of course I will have to do it with her.

We are off up to Great keppel Island for a week at the end of the month and I can't wait to see the Barrier Reef again. We last went when we came on a reccie visit 2 yrs ago. We are staying in a cottage at a caravan park and Rydges Oasis yapoon, so I will let you know what we think of it!

cresta57

If it's the place on Brissie rd close to the bowling club, they came highly recommended to us. I had a long chat to the older guy there he was helpful and took time to explain courses etc. Like I said I only went with Dave as he was Dad's dive buddy.

debsy

Hiya Tina
Glad ot hear that your mum is visiting. I bet you are really looking forward to it. Hoep that she is bringing you a bag full of goodies.

Take care
debs

mlbonner

I went diving off Moreton Island last week, the water was a bit cold, even with a 7mm on - still an enjoyable morning, but it may be wise to take some soup/coffee etc with you so you warm up quickly once out

Found a great spot the other day; 3 Wobbegong sharks, turtles, dolphins and so many fish at one point you couldnt see the surface!

bondipom

Scuba is easier than it seems and great fun. The course gently leads you into things with the pool at first. You get over your fears in 1.5m of water in a controlled environment. The only part I struggled with was breathing whilst removing the mask. It felt unnatural and was a concept barrier. Once dealt with in the pool it there was no problems in the open water.

Something else to remember is the first couple of metres are the hardest to equalise in. That makes the pool as uncomfortable as it gets. I find that once deeper than 2metres my ears are fine.

Good luck with it as you will see some amazing sights diving on the reef. I certified in June and did 7 dives last month. If you are not certified you can always do introductory dives however you'll have much more fun if you are certified as you won't have to bother with all the techiniques again.

mlbonner

I must admit, hated doing all those skills but the feeling of just being able to swim amongst the fish is great, once you are certified. Just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit (about a month I reckon) and I'm hoping to get out diving a couple of times a month. The GBR is the most awesome place to dive, but just off Brisbane has some interesting sights too as you get tropical and non-tropical fish, and some sharks, which I always like to see

Trevglas

My parents will be arriving on sunday morning, but on their second visit.

I just hope they have changed from the first visit: we drove up from Newcastle to the Gold Coast, and it took nearly 36 hours , not because we stopped off to take in the views of nice scenic places, but because every 2 hours it was time to stop for a coffee.

Not too bad you may think, but each coffee break took 3 hours, whilst they just sat around outside some cafe in some little place, scoffing cakes and buns.

We had to stop off at a motel, but did we get an early start? Not on your life! It was into town for breakfast, after which it was time to just go look at these shops, after which it was time for another coffee break. Half an hour in the car and it was lunchtime. Our early start actually truly began at 2:00pm

When we (eventually) reached the Gold Coast, my mum piped up "I didnt think it would take that long, it didnt look too far on the map"

Still, they enjoyed themselves, although we did had to separate them when they started bickering in the back of the car over a magazine or such like.

This time, we may take them up to Cairnes, but definitely by air!