The holiday that wasn't....

I dream about holidays that I will take my beautiful little family on one day.  Road trips to the Snowy Mountains, adventures to the beach, exploring the big cities and little mini-breaks to somewhere exciting.  Holidays were such a huge part of my childhood that I treasure so closely to my heart.  My parents used to meticulously plan a trip or two per year and then give us the ultimate experience.  Whether it be sailing the Pacific on the P&O or experiencing "The Phantom of Opera" in Sydney - it was always amazing. 

These are the experiences that I want to pass onto my kids. 

With these experiences though - I also vividly remember things going wrong.  Those 'Disaster Holidays' that left my parents absolutely exhausted and wondering where they had lost their luck.  Where my sister and I would jump into the pool with our hearing aids, or nearly get hit by a car running to the beach or deciding it would be a good idea to climb the pantry in a high-rise apartment at the coast and consequently smashing all the cups, plates and bowls.  I remember these moments vividly too.....and it wasn't always amazing!

So, when Heath let me know that he had a spare 5 days off before life on the farm started to get busy again - I jumped at the opportunity to get organised for a little mini-break.  With Macie's latest fascination of animals, I decided that a road-trip to Dubbo Zoo (5 hours away) would be ideal!  We would sing like happy families in the car, have a lovely dinner in Dubbo before waking up early for the 6am Morning Walk at the Zoo to feed the animals, have a lovely picnic in the sunshine, then we would giggle and laugh the day away!  Perfecto. 

It was not to be. 

 Admittedly, we are a tiny-wincy bit strict with our bed time routine with Macie - but decided to let it all loose - and only book a one bedroom hotel room and have a little sleep-over with Moo in our bed.  Macie couldn't believe her luck.....sleepover means NO sleep, right?  It was only after a little dance move at 2am that resulted into her head smashing into my lip that ended the fun and we managed to scrape a few hours sleep with her on my chest while I was on the couch! 

Awake at 5am we decided to get organised for our early morning walk at the Zoo....showered, dressed and off for a strong coffee from McCafe - only to find ourselves at the locked gates at the Zoo with a sign that says "No Morning Walks on FRIDAY".  Are you serious?  We had locked our hotel key in our room to 'check out' - so we were stranded in Dubbo with a delirious sleep-deprived child with 2 hours to burn. 

Did I mention it was raining too?   Yep - aren't we the luckiest?

Sleep-deprived??

After a major fluke, we managed to get our hotel room back and successfully kept Macie entertained for 2 hours without waking up the whole complex.  As the skies began to clear, we happily set off on our Zoo adventure....

It's just such a pity that the animals appeared to be deliriously sleep-deprived too.  If they weren't hiding - they were asleep.  If they weren't asleep - they were too fixated on their licking blocks.  If that wasn't the case - they just didn't even bother to lift their heads to acknowledge your arrival.  Zoo-Proof much? 

We were unable to ascertain if these Cheetahs were in fact alive - they did not move once....they were so lifeless that Macie decided to escape down a restricted bush path.....apparently that is more exciting!

The usual view of the animals....licking a block

Sleeping while eating.....all in a days work at Dubbo Zoo!

QUICK!  They are coming - HIDE!!!!

As much as we spoke in high-pitched excited tones - Macie couldn't really understand what all the "Zoo-Fuss" was about.  Infact she was so unimpressed by their lack of movement - that she was more obsessed with the actual statues.  Same thing I guess. 

 But after 4 hours....the delirious-ness (is that even a word?) started to escalate to over-tiredness, resulting into attempt escapades down restricted walking tracks and starting to talk to strangers - adament that one man was her "Pa".  In fact, she was so adament that this man was her grandfather, that this kind stranger just agreed to play along with her and pretend!! 

Thankfully the giraffes decided to rebel against the Sleep policy and came to provide Macie with some entertainment!  This was certainly the highlight!

There were no picnics, no sunshine - but plenty of laughs, giggles and special moments. 

For even though our plans certainly did not go accordingly.....we were still happy, healthy and together.....and after 2 hours sleep and a day at the zoo.....this is what we got to admire all the way home.....

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I am SO excited to announce Dalli's very first sponsor Edan Rose. 

Edan Rose is the home of so many beautiful items, including Macie's winter coat that she has worn religiously throughout the cold and gloomy months.  If I had a dollar for every comment we received on her beautiful coat, then we would have flown to Sydney Zoo instead Sleepy Dubbo Zoo!!

Along with beautiful reversible coats, Megan makes the most beautiful selection of re-usable lunch bags, quilts, handbags, fabric necklaces and more.  They are all made with the utmost precision and quality - and most importantly, love. 

cufflinks....many of which I have ordered in time for Fathers Day! 

To welcome all Dalli readers to the Edan Rose store, Megan is offering 10% off all items in her store for 7 days.   All you need to do is visit her store and quote the DALLI10 code in the notes of your order! 

But because Megan is beautiful and generous, she is also offering a prize of Fathers Day cufflinks to a very special Dalli reader! 

Leave a comment about your funniest holiday experience and enter our "EdanRose" giveaway!  I will be drawing the winner next Sunday and will let you know! 

Let the funny stories roll.....I can't wait to hear from you!