It's not the same when sitting on concrete but at least we know that the sizing will work. Asher is the ideal shape and leg length however Kaia needs to do a growth spurt. The two handed stroke seems to be working as well so now we just need to get some lifejackets and some water. A lot of it. The local park had views of the water but that was as close as we got. Does not matter how small the equipment is it will keep them busy for an hour at least.
I am getting to know this park pretty well as I seem to be walking it every three weeks or so. This time around it was school lunch time and they commandeer the playground as if it was their own. I remember doing the same thing at our concrete school back at Pascoe Vale. It took 36 min to walk the 3.2 km and by the time I got back Debbie was almost ready to get out of the chair. Lunch seems to go all afternoon for workers around here as they are laying asleep or sitting cross legged all over the place.
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| Rosey Buffet |
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| workers lunch |
Yes it was the meeting of the Clancys across the way at Sorrento. Nothing like a boat ride to change the scenery and all the Grandies got right ino it. We stayed on the top deck on the way over and used the playground below on the way back. As we pulled in the dolphins put on a show for the kids. Tim & Julie did a good job of getting the rotunda at the top of the hill positioned near the playground. I think there was more chocolate eaten than the chooks that were ordered from the town. Keep it simple. Chicken in rolls with a bit of salad finished with fruit cake. We wandered down to the beach for a paddle and watched our boat come in which was the signal for a hasty cleanup and short walk to the ferry. The walk ons far outnumbered the people in cars. It has room for 700 walk ons to sit down. The terminal on the Sorrento side is under construction. Something I had not seen before is the ocean video wall, very engrossing.
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| riding a seahorse |
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| where are those dolphins? |
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We have been to the botanic gardens here before but this time we had two grandies with us but so was their mum. We concentrated on the playground then the childrens mystery trail where we had to find 17 different stations. I think the best one for me was the row of bats who had musical instruments. I am trying to get the collective name for a row of bats. I have thought of a suspension of bats. I am struggling with the aircon here. It is not that hot in the mid twenties but the aircon is always cranked not matter what shop you go into. I have a sore throat and have had to take on Debbie's abandoned antibiotics script.
What to do when it is constant rain. I have bike rides, New Years and snorkel films all in different array. Also I broke off a chunk of tooth last night which is a botheration. So I am sitting quietly as I think I have exposed a nerve to the elements. I have squeezed an appointment without notice from the dentist. In the meantime I am grappling with underwater video. We recently went out to the reef but used Debbie's phone for some filming. We have done this before and part way thru it went out of focus. The same thing happened this time but if you take it above surface it focuses then below gets fuzzy again. As it turns out a brand new Gopro has arrived this morning (a freebie) so I will do it all over again if I can get the weather conditions right. Also I have a short clip from the Queenscliff outing last Friday. This is from the video camera but I always have to dumb down the quality to show clips here.
The days are merging here as you have to think which day was that on. Today was different in that I started with the delayed CT-Scan. No coffees for 24 hours for this scan, which we remedied quick smart afterwards, by crossing the road to the Waurn Ponds shops and getting a coffee, a tea and a babycino. Around lunchtime was the trip to the adventure playground. There are no slides or equipment that Asher will hold back on now. The higher it is then that is ok. Compared to Evie who will go on the slide but someone has to go with her.
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| close swinger |
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| outdoor music |
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| side by side slide ride |
We are finding all the parks in the area. There is the one directly out the back which we are always going to so we went for a drive to Ascot Park. This is your more upmarket playground as the name suggests, kids should be wearing top hat and tails. There are a series of connected vehicles you can crawl thru tunnels to get at. This is all very well but the best thing and the longest is always the swing. Just put me in here she says and keep it swinging.
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| Jacarandas are purpling |
I am walking around like a zombie again. Not sure who gave it to me this time but I am supposed to be flying to QLD on Wednesday so this had better start clearing up. Back to the topic. Aroundabout this time of year the 5 Stones craziness takes hold. This goes back to school days where two captains pick sides. The stones can make a stackable column and the idea is that when one side knocks them over, the other side has to stack them back up. In the meantime the stackers have to deal with a tennis ball that is being thrown at them. Simples! Elyse charges in to get them stacked. I have never seen her run as fast.
I had forgotten how much you can put into 36 hours. This morning BrimBank was brimming with cars and car spaces were scarce. But there is so much room you can spread out on a patch of grass with no one breathing germs. The very small playground was busy and Asher used the slide 50 times. We had coffee and birthday cake from the Bianca's thermomix not to forget the rest of the cooking, meatballs and quiche. Down below at the ford it was a busy crossing, with many bicycles and quite a few wet feet, including Nanna's and Asher's. Our last stop was back at Tim and Julie's for sausage rolls, sandwiches and scones. Also got a beach cleanup kit and a Forest book for a birthday bonus.
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| Strawberry Hand |
Another long days travel for 2 yar old toddler taming. I am not sure who is taming who. I brought the bike for an hours riding but ended up in a rendezvous at the play ground while Debbie did some chatter to Canada. Asher's play ground skills, like everything else, are improving at a fast pace, including the infamous swing sensation. She is getting it now though. This was over an hour at the park and with a two hour sleep in which I also scored a rest everyone is a winner.
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| Flowing She-Oak |
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| In the zone |
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| Kicking High |
Its a sleep inducing business this grand daughter stuff, on the go from one end to the other. This morning it was all shopping carts in the hallway then shop keeping in the park. There were slides and swings and the usual but making babycinos seems to be the thing. This afternoon will be beaching if we can get her to sleep while the parents are out lunching.
Step right this way
Asher likes to help out with these really small babies, almost enough to get in the pod with them just to make sure they are sleeping, not to mention helping with the bottle feeding and lots more hugging as well. The Coburg Lake was teeming with people in there socially distanced groupings. Lunch was bagettes from Ket bakery. We met Isla for the first time but she wasn't saying much. In fact she was so serene despite all the attention. Daniel's finska got a good workout playing three games after lunch. We lasted until 5:30 but a good day was had by all.
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| helping hand |
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| practice |
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| gangs all here |
