The Bell Family

Finally… some time off!

We all bundled into the car and headed off for a fun-filled adventure on the Gold Coast!

On the way, we journeyed through Moolooloba on the Sunshine Coast where we stopped off for a visit to Underwater World. The girls were amazed by the wide range of sea creatures – there were sea otters, seals, fish, stingrays, sharks, star-fish, turtles and even frogs. Laura loved the seal show, especially their cheeky antics, but took a while to warm to the toothy grin of the sharks as we wandered through the underwater tunnel. Katie was a little more hands on and enjoyed touching the star-fish in the touch pool and wandering around looking at all the action in the tanks.

After that, it was onto the Motorway and into the Gold Coast. We spent plenty of time hanging out at the beach, playing at the park, splashing in the pool, walking, exploring, shopping and doing the touristy thing! Some of the highlights included a very special visit to Sea World, Jupiters Casino and the Q1 Building. Springbook National Park was definitely memorable too (but for all the wrong reasons… the girls got car sick whilst Jason was trying out his rally driving on the wickedly winding roads)!!!

We were lucky enough to have some very special company (and babysitters) along for the holiday – Mum and Dad met up on the Gold Coast with us, which made things so much easier on Jason and I! We made the most of it and headed out on the town – spending a few hours around the Blackjack table and also enjoying the live music on offer at Jupiters. Jason and I were also to enjoy dinner and a show at the casino (for our anniversary), however when Jason fell ill with a tummy bug, Laura was kind enough to step in for the night, so we didn’t have to forfeit our pre-paid tickets!!! She absolutely loved Zingara – a kind of gypsy, come showgirl, come comedy, come acrobatics show! The music, singing, dancing and special effects were a real hit and she kept the nearby audience in awe with her insightful commentary and perfect behaviour!

Seaworld was a real hit with the whole family – the dolphin show was amazing, whilst the penguins were just too cute. The polar bear was a little tired, so we only saw him taking a nap! The girls saw the Sesame Street show and loved checking out Big Bird, up close and personal style! They also loved Elmo’s submarine ride as well as the trucks and helicopters down at the Sesame Street Beach area – it was perfect for them! Jason and I enjoyed a few rides too (Rollercoaster, Pirate Ship and the Bermuda Triangle). The train ride was also pretty good as it gave us a kind of ‘behind the scenes’ look at everything there at Seaworld.

The girls were fantastic and it was especially nice to have some one-on-one time with each of them. The holiday proved to be a real turning point for Katie’s communication – she’s been yabba-dabba-doing for some time, however whilst on the trip, we became much more tuned into her needs and wants and now understand her rapidly growing vocab much better. Laura and Katie played together beautifully (with the occasional tiff of course), but they’re getting much more imaginative now, staging their own puppet shows, pretend camping trips and other little games. It’s so nice to see them run off holding hands to explore some little imaginary world together!!!

A huge big thanks to ‘Ma and Pa’ for all their help… it was a great trip and I’m sure the girls will remember it for a long time to come!!!

Cheers from all of us,
Jason, Chrissy, Laura and Katelyn