Experienced House Sitting Family

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THE WINTER CREW

Full time house-sitting family, based on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. Fully verified. Blue Cards. Police Checks. Plenty of 5 Star reviews across all major house sitting membership websites.

**As of September 2023, we are now fully booked until the end of 2023. We are unsure of our plans for 2024 as far as house-sitting goes. **

Thanks so much for taking the time to read our profile. Please take a moment to soak up all that we have to offer you, your property and your furry (or feathered, or finned) family.

Please allow us to introduce the crew.

In our family, there are four of us. Myself (Matt), my beautiful wife (Laura), my super-smart 'tech support guru' son (Kaleb, 15) and my super-sparkly, animal-loving daughter (Indianna, 13). Unlike most house sitting profiles, in ours everyone will speak for themselves, and share their own story. Hopefully, as you read you will see that individually we have much to offer you and your crew.

Here is our story:

MATT

Alongside being the husband of a beautiful wife (for 18 years :), and a dad to a couple of polite, helpful teenagers (rare, I know :), there are a few other things you need to know.

Growing up on acreage and around farms, dogs, chickens, cows, horses, geese, ducks, cats, sheep, goats and pigs all featured in my world. On December 21st 2002 I married a beautiful young lady (and her dog, Toby), and we left the country to travel the world seven days later. After travelling through, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Canada and the U.S.A during 2003, we returned home to our house in Coolum Beach, where we lived, worked, raised a young family and learnt all about the fine art of renovation and property maintenance. In 2013 (immediately after putting the finishing touches to our whole-house renovation :) we sold the Coolum House and bought a beautiful rainforest acreage in Ninderry, where I learnt all about the art of rural property maintenance, gardening, tree-felling, pool maintenance, painting, construction, stonework, plumbing etc. Living on acreage we always had at least one dog, a bunch of free ranging chickens and guinea pigs as pets. Because our whole property was completely organic with no chemical used at all, the wildlife loved it too and I became quite relaxed over time about regular encounters with all sorts of wildlife and even occasional carpet snake relocations (even right in the middle of our son's prep birthday party :) At the end of November 2020 we sold our Ninderry property to embrace more family adventure before the kids become adults, and to work in the direction of living debt free, self-sufficiently and off the grid at some point in the future.

I am super fussy and really enjoy tidying up and bringing beauty and order to messy situations (weird I know :) I have kept most of the equipment (commercial quality blower, whipper snipper, chainsaw etc.) that I used to maintain our Ninderry property and I have no problem tackling any property maintenance/tidy up jobs you may want done while you are away. Just ask!

Some stuff people may not know about me:

* I worked as a professional clown while at university studying psychology in 1993.
* I worked in the kids shop at the British Museum during 2003 and learnt to read hieroglyphics.
* I won a new stockwhip at a whip-cracking competition by using the whip as a skipping rope.
* I have played drums in bands for nearly 30 years and have taught drumming for 10 years.
* I taught myself to ride a unicycle for my 40th birthday but have since had my unicycle 'stolen' by my son & daughter who now ride unicycles way better than I do.
* I have ridden a camel in a race (and won :)
* I just bought myself a bmx to ride at the skatepark (age 46) because I was getting bored watching my son having all the fun on his rollerblades :)


LAURA

Living each day....one moment at a time. I love exploring new environments and have a great appreciation for adjusting to new areas and meeting new people. I believe that home is where your family shares a meal around the dinner table - and animals have always been a huge part of our home...extra children, really. :)
Although fairly quiet, and perhaps introverted by nature, I love working with people. 15 years working as a travel consultant kept me busy in the lives and travels of clients, and now working part time as a Bowen Therapist and running my own business online allows passion and purpose to blend in a career that not only benefits my clients, but supports my family's lifestyle. Confidentiality, attention to detail and ongoing administration are key skills I use everyday. More importantly, behind all of that is my faith and my family. Matt and I have explored much of the world together...and look forward to continuing that adventure with our children. Homeschooling our children gives them the freedom to excel in their formal education, balanced with a lifestyle that allows flexibility to explore the world around us.

We are a non-smoking family, and have been on the other side of house sitting, with people house sitting our acreage property during holidays, for at least a decade. I am always humbled by being trusted with the privilege to stay in someone else's home.

Some stuff people may not know about me:
* In a previous life, I was a cruise travel specialist - I love cruising, even though I get seasick.
* I love getting lost in a good historic fiction book.
* I have a huge interest in natural health, love supporting our local farmers, eating fresh organic produce and being part of an awesome community.
* My favourite movie is The Man From Snowy River.
* I believe life is about moments: don't wait for them, create them !


KALEB

Hi, my name is Kaleb and I am a 15 year old tech guru who loves exploring and playing/learning about different animals. I am mature and honest and was selected for primary school captain. I love flying drones and doing aerial photography and I am aiming to have a commercial drone pilots license when I am 16. I have also been in a band for a year or so with a few of my friends when I used to go to regular school, and I was a part of a duo with a friend. I played guitar, she sang and we did some busking, and played at a talent contest (and won :).

I have had responsibility for some sort of animal my whole life. Over the 15 years of my life so far, I have learned how to safely interact with dogs, chickens, snakes, guinea pigs, horses, cows, alpacas, llamas, emus, lizards, cats, pigs, budgies, donkeys, rats and fish.

For as long as I can remember I have loved technology. Hardware, software cybersecurity, coding, programming, drones, dvd players, home theatre systems, bluetooth and wifi devices, V.R (virtual reality), robotics, audio mixing desks, mobile phones etc. I love to experiment and play around with different technology. I particularly enjoy solving technical problems and helping people with any technical challenges they may have.

Some stuff people may not know about me:

* I love to get out wakeboarding!
* When I went to regular school in year 6, it was my responsibility to play the national anthem on guitar every Wednesday at assembly.
* I have completed a Cert III in Screen & Media and have a passion for film and photography.
* I participated in competitive gymnastics for 6 years and competed at a state level.
* Dogs and I really like each other. In fact, one meaning of my name 'Kaleb' is 'dog'.
* My favourite food is lasagna, or pizza, or Mum's vego sausage rolls, or anything really!


INDI

Hey everyone, my name is Indianna but everyone calls me 'Indi'.
I am 13, bubbly and love taking care of wild and domestic animals. I am the youngest child and have had 35 pets in my life! (30 chickens, 3 dogs and 2 guinea pigs) All my pets were really spoiled!

When I was first told about housesitting I was skeptical. Giving away everything I ever knew for an "adventure" and looking after other people's houses and pets for them? Making the change was hard but now I love housesitting. I get to love on other people's pets and care for heaps of different animals with each new house sit we do. Yay!

Some stuff people may not know about me:

* I like baking and making in the kitchen. (I would like to work towards being a food artist :)
* If possible, I would love to work at Australia Zoo when I get older.
* Like Mum, I love getting lost in a good book.
* Like Dad, I have an active sense of humour and I love making people laugh.
* One of my favourite sports right now is rock climbing, and I also did gymnastics for 5 years.
* The Bunya Mountains is one of my favourite places because of all the cute/awesome animals.
* I really enjoy earning the trust of animals. (Particularly unusual animals and wildlife :)

Together, as a team, The Winter Crew aim to make your house-sitting dreams come true.

Contact us at any time! Read more...