Beach Days Part 1

We are three weeks in to our five week stay in Rye on the Mornington Peninsula. (EDIT: By the time I've got around to finishing this post we are nearly at the end of our stay - but I'll write a second post about the last two weeks to keep this from being too long!) We are staying in a four bedroom house (through Airbnb) with my parents, which is about a 10 minute walk from the beach. Our days so far have been pretty simple: lots of playing outside and taking walks to local playgrounds, beaches, cafés and of course the ice cream shop!

The house came with lots of kids toys and has a huge back garden, complete with trampoline and a climbing frame. We bought a small inflatable pool and brought some of our own outdoor toys so there is a lot of fun to be had right outside in the back garden. 

Ollie is usually happy to sit out on a blanket in the shade with various toys to play with. He also finds it pretty amusing watching his big sister run around. It is so nice to have a back garden, I have no idea how we lasted so long in Melbourne without one. Ella is full of energy every day so it is nice to have space for her to run around. Although the one downside is she doesn't have any friends here, so we've all had lots of time playing outside with her - especially jumping on the trampoline!

White Beach, which is the closest beach to us, is perfect for Ella. It is about 2km from the main beach in Rye so tends to be a lot quieter. Often during the week we have a whole huge stretch of beach to ourselves! It is very shallow for a long way out and the water is very calm. Ella can spend hours splashing around, looking underwater with her goggles and playing in the sand. Sometimes Ollie joins us for a little while in between his naps. The days when the water is warm enough he is happy to splash around in the shallow water for a little while. 

The weather so far has been pretty up and down, which is I guess typical for Melbourne. Our first week was very warm, however since then the temperatures have been cooler, 18-22 degrees most days. We even had a few days of very windy, rainy, cold weather which felt like winter! However the sun is so strong here that even if the temperature isn’t very high the sun still makes it feel much warmer, so we’ve still been able to enjoy some beach time on those days. 

Andy has to do a few online courses in order to gain his teaching registration with the Ontario College of Teachers. The reason they will not give him full registration (despite 10 years of teaching experience, a teaching qualification from Australia AND a Masters in Education) is convoluted and boring so I won’t go into specifics here. Poor Andy has had to do something “extra” each time we have moved to gain full teaching registration so I can only imagine his frustration. The courses he is taking now are not difficult, but they are time consuming. So Monday to Friday Andy rides his bike 7km to the library in Rosebud and spends the morning working. I join him a few days each week, and spend the time applying for jobs, catching up on “life admin” or occasionally helping Andy with his school work. The bike ride to the library is along the beach so it is a lovely way to start the day!

The library runs storytelling sessions three days a week so my dad usually brings Ella to the library in time for that, which her and I do together. It’s a good way for her to do something with other kids her age. Ella is pretty shy so she spends the majority of the half hour session sitting in my lap, but sometimes gains a bit of confidence by the end. The session for pre-school aged children (4-5 years) suits her better than the toddler one (1-3 years) and it has the added benefit of a craft at the end which Ella loves. We are starting to amass a collection of the crafts she has made on the fridge door! 

We often have lunch together near the library after that. Our favourite place is Zarb & Ru which has a wide selection of jaffles and excellent coffee. I normally get the Timmy (spinach, pumpkin, proscuitto and gorgonzola) and Ella has the Vedda (vegemite and cheese). 

Other than the library and the beach, here are a few other highlights from our first three weeks in Rye:

Of course my mom and I had to visit the local Independent Wine Store, where you can buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it right in the store. I was on the hunt for a dry rosé and the bottle suggested was perfect. I'm kicking myself as I don't remember the winery it was from, although it was a small local winery so I won't be able to find it again once we leave anyway.  I think Ollie had a good time too:

We spent one day at The Big Goose in Mornington. It is a working farm complete with petting area, wildlife reserve with kangaroos and camels, a huge playground, a splash pad, a jumping pillow and a huge maze. 

We arrived just in time for the reptile show. At the end of the show you could have a turn holding a 2m long python. Ella said she wanted to hold it, but of course she didn't really want to, she wanted me to hold it, so this happened:

Ya I'm not sure I ever need to have a huge snake around my neck again! The things you do for your kids! We had a fabulous day there though, it was definitely worth a visit. 

Steve and Michelle have a beach house about a 10 minute drive from our place, so they've been down a few weekends with the kids. It's great as it gives Ella someone to play with. We had brunch one Sunday morning at the RACV in Cape Shanck. If you are not staying at the hotel brunch is $31 and kids eat free. Not a bad deal considering it is a buffet and included unlimited coffee! After brunch we paid a visit to the amazing play space which backs onto the golf course. There is a playground plus a giant jumping pillow which of course the girls loved. Best of all, there is a pub where you can get a drink overlooking the playground. Win!

Gemma and Ella have also had tons of fun in our back garden - double bouncing going on here:

I have been slowly getting back into running over the past few months. With my parents here to help out, I've had time to get out on a few runs in the morning. It is such a great feeling to get out and run along the beach. Sometimes I take Ella with me in the jogging pram and we stop to get a juice and an iced latte to drink while walking back along the beach. I love being able to spend some quality one on one time with Ella, and in such a beautiful location. We are so lucky!

One afternoon Andy took my parents and Ella up to Arthur's Seat for a gondola ride and a stunning view of Port Philip Bay:

My mother's group came to Rye for a beach day which was fabulous. The kids all played together really well and it was lovely to spend time with them before we leave. I'll really miss those ladies, getting through the first few years of motherhood with them has been invaluable.

And that's it for this update. Time is going by super fast and before we know it we'll be in Canada! We have very few plans for our last week. I'm planning on soaking up the last bit of beach time and sunshine before we hit the end of winter in cold, snowy Toronto.