What Happens On Tour…

October 14, 2015October 14, 2015 Renee BartonLeave a comment

I never thought I was the tour group kind of traveller. Part of what I love most about travel is planning it. The places we’ll visit, where we’ll stay and just being on our own schedule.

But for the first leg of our Euro Trip last year we joined a Top Deck tour and it was great. It was actually really fun to have all the details taken care of and just go along for the ride.

The best part though, was the new friends we made. There were a few lovely people that we really connected with and enjoyed sharing our holiday with.

And one of those lovely people is in our neck of the woods this week so we are having a bit if a Euro reunion dinner. Italian food is in the menu, fitting don’t you think!

That said, I think our ‘young people group tour’ days are over after one go. After 9 days, I must admit we’d had enough of the bunk beds and crappy pillows, early rises and packing our bags every second day. As much fun as we had on tour we were so ready for a week on the Amalfi Coast in a stunning apartment on the water.

Lucky that’s just what we did!

The Big Lap: Must See Events?

October 11, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

So today was Bathurst 1000 Day. The race that stops the nation!

We love ourselves a bit of Bathurst action, and today, we made the decision to kick back for the whole day to watch the race. 161 laps of V8 goodness.

It got us to thinking though, about how on many occasions we’ve spoken about making the trip down to Mt Panorama to watch it live one year. To take it the sights, sounds and smells of an authentic Bathurst experience.

We are currently in the early stages of planning a road trip around Australia! We’re going to do the big lap! Young nomads on the road exploring our own country.

And today something clicked. As we were watching V8s race around the famous Aussie track we thought, let’s stop at Mt Panorama on our big lap trip! What a perfect opportunity to get tickets to see Bathurst live!

Photo: Fox Sports News, Twitter

It then got us thinking further… Well, apart from Bathurst, what other famous events could we attend while we travel round our magnificent country?

So what are some events that we could plan for on our travels around Australia? What are the must see events that are on your list?

We have come up with a few that we would like to attend on our travels around this great country. The ones we have thought of so far are:

Bathurst 1000 (obviously)
Gympie Music Muster
Tamworth Country Music Festival
Australian Open (tennis)
Rugby League State of Origin (NSW/QLD)

Being that we have only seen a very small portion of Australia, we are really looking forward to this big trip. And the fact that we can attend so many amazing events that Australia has on offer while we are on the road, will only make it better!

I Love Rugby League

October 4, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

Ok… So before you read on, let me give you a little warning about this post.

It’s all about the great sport that is Rugby League.
It’s completely biased toward the Brisbane Broncos.

Right, now that’s out the way, let me just say that I love Rugby League. I love my footy. And most of all, I LOVE the Brisbane Broncos!

Today is the 2015 National Rugby League (NRL) Grand Final, and I am excited! Despite the fact it means another season of amazing footy is all but finished. I am excited for three reasons…

The Brisbane Broncos are playing in the Grand Final tonight!
The North Queensland Cowboys are also playing in the Grand Final tonight.
This means that no NSW teams made the Grand Final.

This is the first time ever, that two Queensland teams have made the Grand Final. And it’s very exciting.

I have been a massive fan of the Broncos for a long time now. Being that I was born and raised in Brisbane, Queensland, and also that my dad has supported the Broncos since they entered the competition in 1988, it was only logical that I too supported the mighty Broncos. Six premierships later the Broncos are one of the most successful clubs in the NRL and are often referred to as the ‘glamour club’. All that said, all I know is this… I love the mighty maroon and gold and every time they run out onto the field I am cheering for them to come home with a win.

So, imagine my excitement when we entered 2015. 26 regular season rounds and 3 finals rounds later, we are in the GRAND FINAL! What makes this even sweeter is of course, the fact that there are no NSW teams are playing in today’s game. And the only thing that will top this off as one of the best sporting days of the past, almost ten years, is the Broncos winning the Grand Final.

So today, to celebrate the achievements of Queensland Rugby League, we are having a Grand Final party to celebrate the fact that two Queensland teams will face each other on the biggest day in the NRL calendar. And hopefully, the celebrations will run into a celebration of Broncos winning the Grand Final!

I know I said it before, but I’ll say it again… GEEZ I LOVE MY FOOTY!!!

So that all said, it’s time for me to sign off. The beers are cold, the food is ready and the game of the day is about to start…

GO THE BRONCOS!!!

12 Week Fitness Challenge – Getting Our Fit On!

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015 Kaine Barton2 Comments

Trying to stay fit and healthy can be hard work… but then again, no one has ever said that it’s easy.

At the moment, we are both partaking in a 12 week fat loss competition through our gym. The goal… to get our bodies ready for summer!

It is actually a really good competition to be involved in. It’s a challenge comprising of healthier eating, supplements and stepping up our gym game by going more often and pushing ourselves harder.

So far, I’ve lost 1.5kg of fat (not weight, just fat) which is pretty good for me, considering I don’t really have that much to lose in the first place. My goal for the competition however, is the following:

Drop back to my ideal weight of 75kg
Drop back to 12% body fat

This all seams easy enough, but believe me, like I said, it’s harder than it looks. I am currently sitting at 79kg and 15.9% body fat.

To give us a little advantage in this competition however, we have started doing our home circuits again. We have a bit of exercise equipment lying around the house that we used to use quite regularly, but then got a bit slack with. Things like kettle bells and sandbags and ab wheels.

12 Week Challenge

So what better opportunity than now to get back into our home circuit training to give us a competitive edge in the 12 week challenge.

The last circuit I put together, was the following:

30 push ups
30 weighted squats
30 dips
30 weighted lunges
30 ab crunches
30 secs of planking
30 push ups
30 weighted squats
30 dips
30 weighted lunges
30 ab crunches
30 secs of planking
30 burpees
30 push ups
30 weighted squats
30 dips
30 weighted lunges
30 ab crunches
30 secs of planking
30 burpees

The perfect opportunity for us to get stuck into a good circuit like this one is when Jesse is all fed and watered and in his cot soundly sleeping. Any time before then, is a nightmare trying to do exercise whilst also attending to his needs.

It got me to thinking though…

What are your favourite home exercise circuits to do? What home exercise equipment you like to use? Do you have any suggestions as to circuits or equipment that we could use to really kick up our game and get some good results?

Six pack here I come!!!

Footage Friday: Mum and Dads Day Off

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 Kaine Barton1 Comment

So a couple of weekends ago, we kind of tagged teamed our parenting responsibilities on the Saturday so that we could both go out and enjoy ourselves. It guess you could call it, ‘Mum and Dads Day Off’.

We decided to do a video blog on the day, but until only recently, all the footage remained on our hard drive as an unedited project. Well, I finally got around to editing it, so we can finally share what we got up to on the day…

After all, this is called the ‘Not So Secret Life Of Us’!

Renee had the morning shift with Jesse so that I could go out to celebrate the 30th Birthday of my sister’s boyfriend. He had schedule a bunch of us (about 20) to play Laser Tag at Mango Hill Skirmish.

It was an absolute blast and was even a great workout, running around the course in camouflage and with a heavy Laser Tag gun.

I got home just after lunch to take the afternoon shift with Jesse so that Renee could head to a country music themed race day at Doomben Racecourse. She also had a blast, having the afternoon and evening off and being able to indulge in a few beers too.

We capped the night off with some finals football (Rugby League) at home and were all tucked up and in bed all before the stroke of midnight.

All in all, it was a pretty successful day of fun I think…

To Travel Is To Live

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 Renee Barton2 Comments

I’m not sure when or how my love of travel started. I guess it has just always been there.

Growing up we were not the “go away every school holidays” type of family. We had a couple of family getaways up or down the coast over the years which are still special memories for me. But we certainly didn’t travel a lot. In fact, my parents were in their 40’s before their first overseas trip.

But I had the travel bug even before I knew what that meant.

Our first overseas trip was in 2007, the year after we married. We went to Las Vegas for 5 nights. It seems completely ridiculous to me now to have gone all that way for such a short time but after buying a house and paying for a wedding it was all we could afford. And at the time it didn’t seem strange at all. We were just so excited and crammed so much in to that short time.

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Why Vegas? Why not! It might seem tacky to some but it is still one of my favourite places on earth. For me, going there was a dream come true. And being able to see my most favourite singer, Celine Dion in her show ‘A New Day’ was an amazing experience.

Our next trip was in 2009 to New Zealand. We travelled around the south island in a motor home with two of our closest friends who just so happen to be Kaine’s brother and his now wife.

Not many people would be able to survive living in such close quarters for that period of time but we not only survived, we had a blast.

So much so that in 2011 we had a ‘buddy moon’ with them. The day after they married we got on a plane and spent 3 weeks in the US. A highlight of which was a week in Vegas where we met up with another 4 of our friends.

Our most recent trip was last year. We spent 5 weeks travelling around Europe with some special friends to celebrate our 30th birthdays. This trip was absolutely incredible. And it was quite healing for me in a way.

We had spent the 18 months prior to that trip trying to fall pregnant. But that holiday helped me realise that everything would happen with the most perfect timing and that it was God’s plan unfolding, not my own.

We really lived it up during those 5 weeks (as you can see in our daily vlogs) and created such unforgettable memories.

My favourite thing about travel is that it reminds me we really are all the same. No matter our religion, background, social status, profession or IQ we all gather at sights around the world and marvel with child-like enthusiasm.

We sit in silent awe within the Sacre Cour, we stare with wonderment into the Trevi Fountain, we cheer with delight as the Eiffel Tower sparkles and we gaze in disbelief at the Colosseum.

There is something about planning a trip that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It turns me on, I love it. I’m not a detailed person by any means but trip preparation has me researching for hours and creating spreadsheets and itineraries. I love it.

And its a good thing I do. Our next dream trip is right here in our own backyard. Our epic Aussie adventure. Call us crazy but we intend to sell up shop and spend 12 months on the road travelling this amazing country of ours. It will be the biggest travel undertaking by far and will require plenty of planning and preparation.

But what an amazing opportunity for our little family to experience together.

Footage Friday: Gympie Music Muster 2015

September 18, 2015 Renee BartonLeave a comment

Yes, that’s right friends, we have finally come up with a witty title for when we post videos on a Friday instead of photos.

Clever huh?!

Any-who, our annual venture to the Gympie Music Muster happened a couple of weeks ago. We shared some photos in a previous Photo Friday post and now here is the vlog capturing all the fun and shenanigans from this year.

Note: much fewer shenanigans than previous years due to baby in attendance!

Photo Friday: Spring in the City

September 11, 2015 Kaine Barton1 Comment

Spring is probably my favourite season of the year. And in Queensland, the gods really turn it on for us each year when spring eventually rolls around.

Spring has officially begun. We are now 11 days into what I think is the best season of the year and it’s already looking like it’s going to be a spectacular one. The skies are blue. The trees are starting to get their leaves and flowers back. The grass is the greenest I’ve seen it. And the temperature is that perfect mix between being not too cold and not too warm…

It is absolute heaven…

I work in Brisbane City. Always have done. And spring is the perfect season to get out and about to soak up the sun on leisurely lunch time walks.

On more than one occasion over the past week I have found myself walking through the Brisbane Botanical Gardens enjoying this heavenly weather we are experiencing. I’ll often walk through looking at the gardens daydreaming about our future with little Jesse. Or sit on the grass and soak up the sun thinking back about how lucky we are to have such a perfect little man in our lives.

It is incredibly soothing and relaxing to be able to get outdoors and just clear your mind on a daily basis, getting away from the hustle and bustle of the streets of Brisbane and the stress of work.

Spring in Queensland, is perfect!

So, do you enjoy spring as much as I do? What do enjoy doing in spring that relaxes you?

Photo Friday: Baby’s First Camping Trip

September 4, 2015September 4, 2015 Renee Barton1 Comment

Every year in the last week of August you will find us getting our country on at the Gympie Music Muster. We have been going for over 10 years and it is definitely one of the highlights of our calendar.

This year however was a little different to most. This year we had our 3 month old baby with us.

Yes, call us crazy, but we took Bub on his first camping trip, 5 nights in the Amamoor State Forest with 50,000 of our closest friends.

And he handled it like a champ!

What I thought was going to be an agonising car trip turned out to be a breeze. He slept the whole way there and back. And the little guy took to camping like a pro. Thunderstorm and all.

We must say a big thank you to our awesome friends for being so understanding of our situation and for helping to make our time so enjoyable. It was incredibly reassuring to hear how happy they were that we didn’t back out because we had a baby and that it in no way negatively affected their time (no one really gets much sleep at Muster anyway).

Obviously he is our number one priority and we made all the necessary adjustments to ensure he was safe and comfortable. But it was also great to prove that we can still do the things we love even though we are parents now.

Photo Friday: We Love the Gympie Music Muster

August 28, 2015 Kaine BartonLeave a comment

If you are like us, there will be one or two events that come up every year that you simply can’t miss. And for us, one of those events is the Gympie Music Muster!

If you love music, food, festivals and camping, The Gympie Music Muster is the place to be. And you don’t have to be a country music fan as there really is something for everyone.

We have been going for years and years now, and every year it seems to get better and better.

This year however, is a little different to previous years. Different, because we have our little Jesse with us.

This is our first time camping (well, you could say “glamping” considering we have a pop-top caravan) with a baby. Something that we thought we prepared very well for.

So how is it going? Have we survived so far? Well… you will just have to wait until we get back for us to release our usual ‘Muster Vlogs’ showing what exactly we got up to this year at the Gympie Music Muster.

In the meantime however, if you would like an idea of what the Gympie Music Muster is like from our perspective, below is the three part video series we filmed last year.

Enjoy…