Fact: My Girls Are Smarter Than My Boy

Master12 can be quite a clever lad, but he is an idiot compared to his sisters. Even his seven year old sister runs rings around him in the smarts department.

“Okay, hurry up,” I said to the kids at the toilet block. It was the final loo run for the evening. With luck. “Let’s get everyone through so we can get back to the nice warm bus and you guys can go to bed.”

“I’m first!” yelled Miss7, shouldering past her brother into one of the two bathrooms at Deepwater Inn, where we’re parked up for a couple of nights. We found this place on a Facebook page promoting country pub stopovers. It’s family friendly and perfectly situated between Tenterfield and Glen Innis. And it’s a pub. Did I mention it’s a pub? That’s the adult equivalent of camping at Movieworld

“Hey, I’m busting!” complained Master12. His big sister had beat out the competition for the other bathroom and the line up was two deep over there.

Suddenly, the door in front of him opened and Miss7 emerged.

“Actually, you can go first,” she told her brother.

“I don’t mind,” said Master12. “Just hurry.”

Instead of going back in, Miss7 ducked behind her brother and shoved him through the door.

“You first,” she insisted.

Isn’t that lovely, I thought to myself. Followed immediately by, I wonder if there was a floater in there or something.

But Master12 wasn’t complaining on the other side of the door, so I went back to my original summation. It was, I re-thought, such a lovely thing for her to have done, so I told her as much and gave her a squeeze.

Not that Master12 didn’t find something to whinge about. In fact, he came out complaining nearly as much as he did going in.

“The water is so cold,” he said, shoving his hands into his shorts and trying to wriggle his way into my dressing gown as Miss7 shut the door behind him.

A minute later, she was out.

“How cold was the water?!” Master12 half asked, half told her. “It was like ice.”

We both expected her to agree, and I was already preparing to have her steal all the heat from the other side of my body., but instead…

“I used warm water to wash my hands,” she said, and left the building to wait outside.

For a second Master12 just stared after her like she’d been a ghost. Not your average ghost, either. More an Obi-wan.

“OMG,” he suddenly exclaimed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Shortly, we were all headed back to the bus and our nice warm beds, and Master12 was telling his other sisters about how clever his seven year old sister was.

“I didn’t even know you could turn the tap the other way to get hot water,” he told them.

“Really?” Miss13 asked him incredulously. “You didn’t know that?”

The consensus was he was an idiot. Even the five year old had worked the tap out.

“The water was fine,” Miss10 said, “but the toilet seat was soooo cold.”

At this point I felt a tug on my dressing gown and Miss7 was indicating for me to bend down so she could say something to me in private. Something which went even further than the cold tap ice water incident to prove my son is both outnumbered and outsmarted in this household.

“Don’t let him know but that’s why I let him go to the toilet first,” Miss7 whispered to me. “So the toilet seat would be warm.”

In case you were wondering from the last post, I went back and bought the go cart for the kids from the recycle centre. $30. It’s been very popular.
All the kids have bikes now for the trip and they’re loving it.
Heading off from our campsite at Alstonville show grounds. So far the bus has been behaving itself, although one of the gauges stopped working and no amount of tapping it like I’ve seen them do in movies seems to be fixing it.
Deepwater Inn burnt down a few years ago and the current owners have rebuilt the pub and are renovating the rest of her while they make it work. Great little place to stopover.

Drinks and chips in the bar before getting ready for bed.  There was even a warm fire going.  Cold beer and warm fire = I had to be dragged out.
Miss5 using the plastic cups and straws to make a rocket ship and the autumn leaves as the flames as it takes off. 
The set up behind the pub. $10 a night. Total.  For seven of us! Including power.
Happiest I’ve seen her in weeks – throwing a thong at her brother.
Then realising she got caught.
Milking it.
Out sight seeing today in and around Tenterfield and spotting fields of these borders. “It’s like a scene from Frozen!” said Miss7. I didn’t get the reference at first.
“No wonder they found him,” said Master12 when we reached the spot to leave the car and go bushwalking to notorious bushranger Captain Thunderbolt’s hideout. “He’s put up a big sign and an arrow.” Criminals are so dumb.
Kids were very concerned my weight was going to break the thin, rickety, wooden bridge. So they made me go last and told their mother to get ready with the camera. Sorry to disappoint them all. 

Only 150m from the road and we were at the hide out. And wow! It would be worth a much longer trek. Lots of family pics here. Hope you enjoy them. 
From what I read online, he used to put his horses in the paths/gaps between the bolders.
We thought we’d seen it all and were already mightily impressed – and then we found the cave Captain Thunderbum used to sleep in! It is fantastic. You sort of duck under the bolder to get in and then you can stand upright and it’s all rather brilliant. Love to camp there during a storm.

Miss5 with a stick being a bushranger. It’s in our blood.
“Dad, there’s an information sign here,” said Master12. “You want me to read it to you?”
Loving himself sick right now.
Both Tracey and I burst out laughing at the same time because we both read this as tampons. Great minds.
Hate to see the parking fine this blokes clocking up. I don’t think this thing has been moved in years.
We spotted this building from in town and went looking for it up side roads. Like so many of the houses in Tenterfield, the railway museum is beautiful. Stunning. But at $30+ for the lot of us a bit too heavy for our budget.  I wish these sorts of educational places were free or at least cheap. No use having them sitting there not really being looked at. Make money once you get people through the door on coffees, teas and cake would be my preference. There was another place we nearly knocked on the door of today when I spotted a sign out front which said no cameras and no mobiles allowed inside. Not sure what they’re protecting in a museum but wow that’ll keep the young people out for sure lol And slightly past their ‘best by’ date bloggers.

Anyone know what these trees are? They look to me like a bomb has gone off and frozen with all the debris in the air. Love them. As we drove into town the kids were very ooo and ahhh at the autumn display. “What do you reckon your Mum’s saying at the moment?” I asked the kids. Tracey was following us in our car. “OMG! OMG! OMG!” they shouted. Tracey confirmed they were right when we stopped for fuel. 
Played Tenterfield Saddler for the kids this morning and read the lyrics. Wish every town had a song.
Stopped on the drive back from Tenterfield to take this shot of a bridge by the side of the highway. Wow. This whole area, just wow.

Raising a family on little more than laughs

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7 Comments

  • Love this post – too funny. Smart girls! And great tip about the accommodation too. Will come in handy some day! Anywhere that kids are free is a bonus!

  • Oh man! Adopt me, Devereaux’s! So much fun to be had! And Tracey is killing it with the photos, as always. I’ve sent her an email hoping to book in a family session in Sydney!

  • **Make money once you get people through the door on coffees, teas and cake would be my preference. **
    OMG, truer words never spoken. I would love to take my grandchildren to some places here in Tassie but the cost is too much. If only the folk running these things could see your wisdom.
    PS I am so enjoying your family shenanigans.

  • I used to live near Tenterfield (in Wallangarra actually) and these photos bring back such memories. The trees in autumn, the hideout, the railway museum. So lovely. Thanks

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