Mud Footy Madness

Early on Saturday morning we set out for the annual Mud Football tournament on as part of the Derby Boab Festival. It was a few hours drive to Derby so we made a quick stop at the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse to pick up a couple of famous bacon and egg sandwiches for sustenance! Nothing like watching an elite athlete carbo load!

ABC Kimberley had signed up to put a team in, but with the rest of his work colleagues coming down with physical injuries and ailments in the weeks leading up to it, it turned out that Dad was the only one playing! So he joined the Fire and Emergency Services Association team - they are the crew that organise the event.

Was he nervous? Yes - I think so. Mainly because hadn't done any proper exercise since the Long Duck Dong's Grand Final OzTag win in Sydney! I was still in nappies back then. Oh wait...I still am. Anyway I digress.

Here's the 'pitch' early in the day, even before the revelers and teams arrived. All seems pretty calm now huh?

Dad posing in front of the goal posts. Do you sense a little bit of nervous body language in this shot?

By morning tea Dad was still waiting to go on for his first game - so I decide to pass some time by posing in front of our ABC wheels-for-the-day! *sigh* My ABC.

Miranda and I hanging out. Even though I have spent many a morning listening to her show (which Dad produces), it was great to hang out getting to know each other better. She's beaut and I think I might ask her out on a date soon!

The other kids were asked to run through the mud between games to keep the pitch all churned up. They only had to ask once!

Dad in action! He scored his first goal in the first few minutes of his first game! Beginners luck meets agility and skill! He did well to score two goals for the day. A tough ask when you're ankle deep in mud!

There were showers for players to rinse off in between games.

That's Dad rubbing his eyes - momentarily blinded by the mud during a tussle for the ball.

By the end of it all you could hardly recognise him! Apparently mud has great cleansing qualities. I'm not sure we've seen the results of clearer skin yet, but some brown stuff definitely came out of his ears when we got home!

There are more pics on the ABC Kimberley website - including the reigning champions who have dominated for the past 6 years!

Search Google using 'ABC Kimberley Mud footy mission' or click on the link below

http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/07/20/2630707.htm?site=kimberley

Cables and camels

Apparently Cable Beach gets it's name from a telegraph cable laid from Broome to Java in 1889. It is a magnificent beach and lately we've been spending some time up the northern end. There is beach access just in front of all the fancy beach resorts, which means we get to drive past the crocodile park too!

We still haven't seen one - a croc that is - although there were rumours recently that one managed to make a break through the fence of the Crocodile Park. There have been sightings off Town Beach - the wild ones, not ones from the park! And Gantheaume Point was closed a couple a Friday's ago with a sighting of a 3.5m one quite close to the beach. Mum is still a bit cautious when swimming alone. She keeps asking Champ to swim out with her! 

Cable Beach North (or as we say - 'CBN') is also where people can take a camel ride at sunset. All this makes for more good photo opportunities!

Champy is becoming quite the swimming dog. He goes really far out to fetch the ball, manages to avoid getting dumped on the way out and sometimes he even catches a wave into shore! 

One happy dog.

While it might look like we are the only ones on Cable Beach....here's the view back towards the resorts. Quite a few others with the same idea! It is great to be able to drive onto the beach - but you can't help but feel a little guilty too.

I keep trying to convince Mum and Dad that I'm old enough to take 'Bruce' for a spin on the beach. Funny thing is I've not had any success convincing them it's a good idea yet!

Lots of love

(Cheeky) Ed x

Vital stats - 8 months

Here in WA they do an 8 month check with the Childhood Heath Centre, so on Wednesday Mum and I went along to have a chat with a very kind lady and measure me up.

Weight: 9.185 kgs

Length: 69cm

Head circumference: 47 cm (Whooooooa Mumma!)

The long and short (ha!!) of it  is that I am around average for weight and length, which means  Mum and Dad can stop worrying that I'm 'porking out' (as they put it). But my head is still up near the 95th percentile! It's no wonder I'm growing out of all my hats faster than you can say 'Slip, Slop, Slap'!

My first camping trip...

I went camping last weekend and had a blast!! 

We set out on Friday afternoon heading for Quan Dong (about an hour north of Broome) we soon discovered all the sites there were full, so we continued onto Prices Point - just a little further north. 

We went with another family.  Dad works with Ben at the ABC. Ben and Anna have two kids Tully (5 years old) and Will (18 months old). Here they are playing in the sand.

Here is our campsite. We had a great big shady tree to sit under.

The big majestic pindan cliffs...and a deserted beach. You can see our camp just at the base of the cliffs in the distance.

Ben checking on the kayaks as the tide comes in. 

Dad and Ben went out on the kayaks for a spot of fishing on Saturday. Here's Dad tending to his new fishing rod post-fishing and paddling.

I had a great time on the beach playing with the sand.

Over the weekend, Tully helped look after me. She gave me my bottles, helped to put me down for my naps, played with me and gave me lots and lots of cuddles.

The road to Prices Point...

A local inhabitant - apparently a black headed python. Don't worry, we took this from the safety of the car! Although  after we saw this, Mum and Dad kept looking down at their feet and were muttering something about 'unwanted passengers'.