So...Perth

 So yes...Perth.  A number of you may have already thought you knew all about our holiday plans.  Driving toward beach and campsites.  Diving through waves.  Hours of in-car battles over who gets to choose the next song.  Dreamy window gazing in order to ignore the omnipresent "Are we there yet?" (actually both of our children are great long drive passengers, so that last is in here to create a sense of affinity with those of you who have the kinds of children I know exist out there.  You don't want to hear of our blissful silence, I'm sure).

But then three nights before we were due to pack up and drive out, I had an horrific nightmare.  So graphic and distressing that I awoke with a start from the final image and couldn't shake my deep feelings of distress, fear and anguish.  So, no driving holiday.  However the problem remained - everywhere requires driving *to*.  Our options were rapidly whittled down to a plane trip to somewhere where we didn't have to drive around lush, winding roads.

Solution?  Pfft - too easy.  After planning and budgeting for a holiday that would essentially have cost us no more than our daily life in Sydney, we were suddenly forking out for airfares to Perth.  Luckily we had IL assistance with the children and of course accommodation costs were nil.  Woot!

And so it was that on one chilly morning we all arose at 5am, and awaited the arrival of our taxi to take us to the airport.  As you can see, there was accoutrement. Remember the days of slinging your worldly belongings into a backpack and sleeping on a friend's lounge room floor before flying out?  Not this time, no sirree bob.   Military precision was required to ensure all violins, Ted-carrying devices, child entertainment and all-season clothing for four people were packed into two suitcases.

Violins? I can hear your question bouncing through the interweb and down the line towards my expectant face.  Yes!  Harriet has decided to forgo her singing lessons in favour of joining Ted over in the strings section.  The night before we flew out I drove over to Annandale to buy her a violin, so that when she woke it was there.  Christmas in September! It's safe to say she was slightly more than thrilled.  Once we stepped foot inside Nana and Grandpa's house, Grandpa was subjected to an immediate in-depth lesson on violin holding, strings, bowing technique and general intense dictator-style teaching methods which would no doubt have made Suzuki himself turn in his grave.

Grandpa valiantly worked through a series of lessons and emerged at the end of our stay with a gold medal, fashioned by Harriet and worn with pride by the recipient.  Even Ted had to work through a written exam at the same time and (I think) achieved a silver medal.

Not that he minded coming second to Grandpa.

The only thing Ted minded was if there was a slight delay in going in the spa.  He was in that thing Every. Day. By the last few days we were becoming less than vigilant with our supervision through sheer exhaustion.  Whereas previously we had been insisting on an adult being in the spa with him, we realised that even with our combined staminas we couldn't touch the sides of Ted and his indefatigable approach to immersive aquatic environments.  We ended up compromising by sitting next to the spa (often in jumpers and socks) while he frolicked joyfully in the warmth and bubbles for at least an hour each time.

Jumpers? Socks? Perth?  Well, yes.  As if to crystallise our last minute change in destination, Perth turned on its most tepid and temperamental weather to challenge us and our portable wardrobes.  The one hot day was spent at Adventure World.  But more of that later.