Dreamworld!

So we were early again at 6, hair and makeup, we had Fiona's friend Brooke along for the ride as Sandy and James' car had broken down! We set off with plenty of time to spare, and got a parking space at the front door at Dreamworld :-)

The kids posed for photos outside while we waited to get into the park,

and eventually, we went in to see where we would be performing. It was a little strange as it wasn't on a stage as we had presumed, just in an alcove off Nickelodeon Land, but the kids were AMAZING! We watched all the troupes perform and then split up for the day.

At this stage all the kids rushed off in every direction, and I realised I had lost Fiona and Brooke! By the time I found Fiona (on The Claw with most of Commotion Kids) I was hoping Brooke had gone with friends as I couldn't see her anywhere! Sandy sent me a text later to say she was with her, as they had arrived just at the end of the dancing, and Brooke had run to them which was a relief! I told Sandy that although I was worried, I wasn't WORRIED about Brooke, knowing she would be with people she knew, but I was really relieved to hear she had found her parents!

At this point Fiona was on The Claw and her little face looked so scared! I couldn't believe she was on such a scary ride, she is normally not keen on them, and shortly after she got very scared while waiting in line with everyone to go on The Wipeout, a ride that simulates surfing and being wiped out. It hangs upside down, and she was quite freaked at the idea! She found me though, and we went to look at The Cyclone, and decided against that as well lol

Fiona & Emily on the Claw!

Emily had gone off with friends so Fiona, Tara and I then went on The Runaway Reptar, which was AWESOME! We then went on the Sponge Bob Fly Pants, on which you lie down and basically can have a nap while "flying" around lol Next we perused the nearby Nickelodeon Shop, and headed into Tiger Island. We had such luck, having just come across a young tiger in an enclosure where they will take your camera over to it and get closeups for you, then they walked it out to go back to the nursery and we got to pat him!

We went from there down to Wiggle World, and Fiona was mortified when I asked her if she wanted to go on the Big Red Car Ride! Sooorrreeee!! lol

We kept walking and ended up catching the train as it was going through the Wildlife park and found the Log Ride, and also Emily! She was in line with her friends Claudia & Olivia.

Emily & Claudia

Tara & Fiona on our log! 

The line rides were getting pretty long by this stage, but none more so than the Mick Doohan Motorcoaster, which is what we went on next. Basically you sit on a motorbike shaped seat, (or as in Fiona's case due to height, a side car) get locked in by support bars, and 3,2,1 GO! WOOSHKA! OMG the BEST roller coaster I have EVER been on, I could happily spend an entire day on this ride alone!

Fiona was getting more daring by this stage, so we decided to hit the Cyclone, after we ate lunch...

Tara tells us that the Cyclone is none other than The Big Dipper from Luna Park Sydney. Purchased by Dreamworld, and renamed. Fiona LOVED it! She says she didn't even know she was upside down lol

After that we went on The Claw together, and OMG the first ride all day to give me vertigo lol, it was fun, but made me dizzy for awhile after :-) We still went on the Runaway Reptor again though so Emily could have a turn, Fiona and I got the front seat! AWESOME! The she wanted to see Tiger Island so we went back there for awhile, and Tara bought herself a big cuddly tiger that Aunty Lois apparently wouldn't let her have back when she was 6 lol

By this stage it was about 4.30, and so we went and did some souvenir shopping with all 3 girls getting a white tiger lol, Fiona's is a handbag, Emily got a little one with big eyes, and Tara's big one of course.

Just before 5, we headed to the car, and made it back to Jupiters by 5.30, in time for more Showcase!

No, our day was not yet over lol

Sal xx

Let the dancing begin!

The next day in QLD was Emily's tap solo.

We woke up at 6 so we could do hair and make up and we arrived at the casino on time for the session start at 8am.

The session was running late, so we waited for ages, and then finally she was up. I was so upset! Her brand new Capezio taps sounded TERRIBLE on their stage, I couldn't concentrate on her dancing for worrying about the damn shoes! I felt so awful, because I hadn't loosened the taps because they sounded beautiful on every other floor she has tapped on, so I felt I shouldn't mess with them, therefore letting her down at Nationals. I was kicking myself very hard, and even though Mandy and Tina tried to comfort me, I was still really upset with myself.

Tina took Fiona to Wet n Wild where the rest of the Commotion team were for the day, although she called me 5 minutes after leaving the casino to say she needed Fiona's ticket. I laughed and got it out of the car for her, and then Tara, Emily and I decided to go to Pacific Fair and look for a chair for her Jazz solo, we walked into The Reject Shop and by utter fluke, found Emily's exact chair! It was red, but I didn't care, we had a CHAIR!

We headed back to the casino for adjudication, and got there with time to spare. When she received a high silver I was very proud and happy, she was happy too, and it was lovely to see her gorgeous smile, and watch her interact with the others on stage.

Then we rushed off to Wet N Wild! I forgot to get photos we were in such a hurry!

When we got there though, I discovered our tickets were gone. I searched the car frantically, and then panicked, which quickly escalated into a full blown panic attack, I couldn't breath, and I was crying, I called Tina, who tried to find someone with tickets we could use to get in, and apparently the other mums offered to all throw in a dollar each to get us new tickets! (I didn't know about this till later though) and I called Jupiters to see if the tickets had been handed in.

Jupiters though were too busy to bother. I got transferred to lost property, and an answering machine, so I rang back. The lady who answered said they must be at lunch. I asked if someone could go and check as we were standing outside the theme park with no tickets! She said no! She then transferred me to someone else, who said the same thing, tough basically, and I would have to wait till 2.30 till they got back from lunch. It was around 1.30ish. I then asked to speak to a manager. The manager asked what my problem was! I explained that all I wanted was for someone to go and look in the office to see if they were there! He put me on hold and then came back a short while later to say that no, nothing had been handed in, I said "thank you! That was all anyone needed to do!" He took my details in case it was handed in later.

Tina came out then and hadn't been able to find any season passes we could borrow, so I went to guest services. They were very nice and understanding, and although we had to wait for them to finish a personal conversation before they addressed my problem, they eventually said "well you are clearly upset, so just come on in." It was really nice of them to be so understanding, and I decided hysterical crying jags can occasionally be useful lol

Wet n Wild was great! We found Fiona in the wave pool, and then Ben took Emily and some of the kids onto a ride, I went along and Tara and Fiona and I had our own boat, if I can remember what it was called I will edit lol

Emily and Tara then went off together and had a ball, while Fiona and I went on our own adventure, Fiona is shaping up quite nicely as just as daring as her sisters, and we went on several waterslides together!

I was a bit disappointed in that all I wanted to do was go on a traditional waterslide, of which they only have 1, and the wait was over an hour, so we went on everything else Fiona could go on. Eventually we made it back to the group and as a storm was approaching, spent some time lazing in a spa, while Tara and Emily went on the Hurricane. Later as it got dark we went on more rides together, and FINALLY got on the traditional waterslides with no wait as the rain had sent most of the crowd home! We ended the night on the Aqua Race, although Tara wanted to go on the Aqua Tube, but ended up not, beacause she didn't want to take her shirt off lol.

Then all the water rides were closed due to an electrical storm, and we headed for the car, we drove home in torrential rain, it was scary in an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads, but got home safely, stopping off on the way for hot chips to make sandwiches of.

Wet n Wild was awesome, but I didn't take a single photo all day!

Put the kids to bed, and went myself, as the next morning would be Dreamworld, dancing, playing, and then Showcase solos again that night!

The Simpsons on the Gold Coast!

So far, been a fabulous start to our holiday in Queensland.

Trip to the airport was uneventful, but we got there with just enough time to check baggage, get through security and head to the boarding gate.

Fiona loved flying! She squealed with delight as the plane lifted off! It was a short flight, and landing was smooth, we had breakfast (Krispy Kremes) and then waited around till it was time to pick up the car. At 9am we got our car, I am going to have to call them tomorrow though and ask for a new one, its a Hyundai Elantra, and its really nice, but the front drivers side wheel SQUEALS the whole time you drive, unless your foot is on the break. Its gotta go lol

So next we drove to the resort, checking out the sights along the way, and then found our resort! Oh my! It's gorgeous!

We drove to buy groceries and get Tara a top to wear while swimming, and then headed back to the resort. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we started to roam around to find our Commotion people. We found Mardi and a few others by one of the 4 pools, and we camped out there enjoying the sun and having a swim.

Eventually I wandered back to check if our room was ready, and it was! Drove the car around to our door, lugged a few bags up the stairs and then went back to the pool for the kids.

We then moved the car closer to the door and got all the groceries and other bags out. It was so hard to get all the stuff up all the stairs!

I sculled 6 glasses of water immediately once we were done!


We worked out who's bed was who's, and unpacked.

I am sunburnt already! YUCK!

Will be slip slop slapping from now :-) I know where the sunscreen is lol

Hmmm so I haven't had time or inclination to get back to this post till now, a week later lol

The rest of the day and the next day were mostly uneventful. I discovered my sunburn was a lot worse than I'd thought, and that our car had possible faulty brakes, so I called them and they came straight over with a replacement car, which I thought was excellent service. They swapped it for a Nissan Pulsar. Can and will definitely recommend Cut Price Car Rentals to anyone who asks.

and we went shopping in Harbour Town, the biggest one storey mall I think I've ever seen, and I was exhausted after walking around half of it lol I bought two pairs of Lonsdale shorts on sale to swim in, and Tara and Emily bought "Emily The Strange" school bags

Fiona got a I <3 Gold Coast t-shirt, and I got a perfume. Tara found a nice pair of new shoes, and we grabbed some more groceries.

Having an apartment on the top floor, we decided shopping needed to be done in small bursts, not all at once so we could get it up the stairs without having a coronary.

Then we just relaxed around the resort mostly by the pool until it was time for me to dash off to the Casino and get Emily's program and find out everything we needed to know for Showcase to begin the next morning.

The stage was HUGE! I couldn't imagine my tiny girl up there by herself!

Rushed back to the resort, took Ben his teachers pack which I had a great thrill collecting for him lol (sad I know) and went to bed, as Emily had an early stage call Wednesday!

HI

Hi I'm Emily Simpson let me tell you about myself    :)


I am only 11 years old to this day. My birthday is on 8th September and was born in 1999. i have 2 sisters named Tara who is 17 years old and Fiona who is 7 years old my mums name is Sal and my dads name is Andrew. I go to Commotion School of Performing Arts. When i grow up i want to be a dancer i do more than 10 hours a week.

 

This Photo is the Commotion School of Performing Arts Concert Finale to

Come on get up 

 This Photo is the Commotion School of Performing Arts Advanced Intermediate HIP HOP to

 Greetings Earthlings 

This Photo is the Commotion School of Performing arts 10/U HIP HOP troupe to

School Daze 

Welcome!

I am delighted you made it!

Hopefully you have found this link from either my facebook or twitter accounts, and have some interest in my families coming and goings :-)

Currently, we are all at home, the girls are in bed, and I am sitting up listening to our two crazy kittens, Jack White and Henry Rollins, wrestling each other, after napping all day lol

In 32 hours, we will be boarding an airplane, flying to QLD! This is Fiona's first time on a plane, Emily's second, Tara's second, and both of them can't really remember their first flight, so its a very exciting event!

We are flying to QLD for Showcase! Australia's National Dance Championships, as Emily is a solist and troupe member of Commotion School of Performing Arts.

We are flying up there with 79 other close family friends, and their families as well, plus their teachers! Its going to be literally the most AMAZING holiday for us all, we are very excited, as I have already packed, the girls are very anxious, and counting down the hours!

My mum is driving us to the airport Monday morning at 5.30am, we will be landing on the Gold Coast at 7.30am QLD time!

She is babysitting Jack and Henry, who are currently 11 weeks old, so they will be very different pets when we return! I know mum will photo every little event, so we shall still see them growing :-)

So, lots of excitement in the next 18 days or so, for now though, I need sleep, big day of cleaning house and occupying two very excited little girls ahead of me!

Hope to catch up again soon!

Super Sal :-) xx

Jack White

Henry Rollins