Holiday pics + a washer.

It's Monday morning and the girls are back at school. I should be unpacking, washing, organising meals and starting on my 'to-do' list, but instead I keep coming back to the computer to sort through the holiday photos.

The best thing we took with us on holidays was our coffee machine.

When Bren first suggested it I thought it seemed silly but it ended up being fantastic.

Instead of getting everyone up and dressed to walk into town every morning to sit in a cafe so we could get our fix, we could relax and enjoy the slower pace in our own place.

The biggest milestones were definitely the girl's improved swimming.

Indi neatening her strokes, Jazzy getting rid of the floaties and Pepper trusting her's enough to get around without the blowup ring too.

There were many funny moments but the 3 I can think of right now are a)Pepper calling her new stuffed turtle toy Armpit. b)Jazzy watching in horror that Indi could feed herself with her toes and then threatening to tell Zac Efron and see if he still wanted to marry her. c)Indi telling me one night that she thought the waitress must have put too much alcohol in my cocktail because I was acting so silly.

On strict instruction from my parents, who met us half way through the trip, the girl's set out to find the best ice cream. We tried every shop in town and ended up with a clear consensus. It was a place that made their own gelati and sorbets in house from local fruit. This place also made the best coffee in town which was quite convenient.

The girls would say their bathers were the best thing bought on the holiday but I would say the prepaid broadband modem thingy that plugs into the side of my laptop was brilliant.

Of course as on any holiday with little kids, there were plenty of bites, scratches and blisters but nothing that still hurt the next day. In fact Jazzy's and Pepper's eczema disappeared due to the humidity in the air and the softer water.

I started knitting again last night. As I still haven't got any more of the wool to finish my first project I started my second, the washer suggested by Tammy, in the comments on this post. The pattern is from here.

There were also a lot of suggestions to join Ravelry which I have but to be honest I'm not sure how it all works and how to get going.

If anyone has any knitting patterns for beginners or any suggestions as how to navigate Ravelry I'd love to hear them.

I hope your Monday is a fun day and that you have a great week.