Holidays and not spending money

We've just had school holidays here in Brisbane and we all know that it costs a little bit more having kids home from school than during the school term.  I was determined that I was not going to spend a lot of money as I have lots of bills due and still wanted to enjoy the holidays with my kids.  We did spend money but kept it to a minimum.

The biggest hit of the holidays was going to Jolly's Lookout for a Bush Walk and BBQ which for us is a matter of a packet of sausages, a loaf of bread and some sauce...super easy.  I haven't been to Jolly's Lookout for a long time and I knew I wanted to take the kids on a little bush walk.  As we had a prior commitment in the afternoon we opted for the little 1.5 km bush walk followed by our BBQ lunch.  They used to have wood BBQ's up there so we took the marshmallows to roast them however they have since changed over to electric BBQ's which are a great convenience but not as much fun for the kids.

There are two bush walks from here a short 1.5 km one which we did and it only took 30 minutes including stopping to take photos and a 4.0 km one which we will do next time.  My sister and I were taking it slowly photographing things along the way and the kids ran ahead.  The only condition was that I had to hear them so there was lots of yelling Cooee back to one another so I knew they were okay.  Seriously....the kids were so excited to go on the bush walk and laughing and running and it made me laugh because anyone would think they have never been out of the house...they were so excited.  After the bush walk they wanted to go again, after the lunch they wanted to go again but we had to leave so there will be more bush walks in the coming weeks.  It was great fun and such small walks so there is really no "trekking" just a walk in the bush which is very suitable to me and the style of walking I like to do with "walking and photographing".

This activity cost less than $10 as it was just the sausages and a loaf of bread and I took sauce, water for the kids, diet coke for myself and my sister and some home made chocolate cupcakes made using this recipe.  This type of holiday activity is my preferred over a theme park any day.  While we were cooking the sausages the kids picked up some big sticks and were trying to make a tee-pee out of them.  Sienna is naturally drawn to the outdoors but I love that when we are at a place like this James gets into it as well and they let their imagination and creativity take over.  We had a great time and if you haven't been to Jolly's Lookout before put it on your list of things to do in Brisbane.

Jolly's Lookout was named after Brisbane's first Lord Mayor, William Jolly, this lookout offers expansive views of Moreton Island, Brisbane Valley and the Glass House Mountains.  The Mayor was so taken with the view that he agreed to build a road to the lookout for better access.  It's about a 20 minute drive up the Mountain from Walk About Creek.  PS...don't you love that kids wear shorts in winter........my sister and I were rugged up but kids don't feel the cold like we do.