Weekend in Canberra

After a Friday night drive to Uncle Jim and Aunty Anne's place in Canberra, the boys had got ready for bed when they discovered that Craig and Graham had left their beloved sleep companions (soft toy pandas) at home. Fortunately, Aunty Anne was quick to the rescue with Winnie the Pooh for Graham and a red panda for Craig.

On Saturday morning Graham preferred to wait in this car while Uncle Jim did some shopping.

Then there was sight-seeing at a couple of lookouts. First was Shepherds Lookout. Pictured below is Craig at Red Hill Lookout the second one they visited that day.

Lunch was fish and chips. Graham waited quite patiently.

And then everyone ate their lunch super-fast because they were starving hungry.

After lunch they went to the National Museum of Australia. Craig and Graham tried on shackles that were similar to those worn by convicts many years ago.

Graham also found a cartoon movie to watch.

Back at Uncle Jim and Aunty Anne's place there was popcorn and a movie.

On Sunday morning they went to a local park to kick a ball around.

Graham preferred to swing. The ball was a bit big and hard for his little feet.

Then, they went to watch old men (over-35s) play football.

Craig and Graham found other games to play, the way most little boys do.

A Dry Then Wet Weekend

Friday night began with Craig watching his favourite Wallace and Gromit movie.

 Just before bedtime, Graham was in a musical mood.

 He and Sean serenaded the house.

 Craig preferred to help Mum play Candy Crush.

Saturday morning was beautifully warm for a winter's day. Aunty Annette and Bailey came around for a quick visit. Everyone joined in a game of soccer.

Graham had trouble getting a kick so he soon took a break. Bailey was quick to keep him company.

 Craig wanted to keep playing, perhaps because he was the top scorer.

After Aunty Annette and Bailey left Craig hit balls off a tee. He gets lollies if he can hit them far enough.

After lunch the three boys and Dad went for a walk to the top of Long Reef headland.

The views from the top are pretty good and the boys needed a break.

The view to the south was clear as a bell.

The view to the north wasn't bad either.

The breeze was stiff enough to keep the paragliding guys aloft for as long as they liked.

Graham was very tired after a lot of walking on soft sand. It took him more than an hour to get back to the car.

Sunday morning dawned wet and cool. Fortunately, the rain stopped long enough for a drive down to Manly for some frozen yoghurt. Attention should be drawn to the (large) amount of frozen yoghurt covered with lollies in Graham's cup and his unwillingness to share with Mum.

Craig was nowhere near as greedy. He was happy to share with Dad.

The smaller boys had fun in the beachside playground.

Graham loved this talk tube. His voice was loud and clear at the other end and he giggled like a mad thing when Mum's voice came back, too.

The walk back to the car was slow.......

but in a good way.

It started raining again during the drive home so the boys had to settle for indoor activities for the rest of the day.

Craig likes this puzzle book. It's perfect for rainy Sundays.

New Board Game

Saturday was dull. The boys didn't want to go out. Craig sat inside watching DVDs all morning.

Graham played silly games with an oar.

In the afternoon everyone went to Collaroy beach playground. Craig likes this climbing thingy.

Craig and Graham found other kids to play with on this see-saw

and on the merry-go-round. Craig looks like he can run really fast in this photo.

On Sunday, Craig helped Mum play Candy Crush.

After dinner everyone joined in playing cards. Uno is a favourite at our place.

Graham helped Mum quite a bit but Craig was the easy winner.

Then they played a new board game, Fun Farm. It was heaps of fun and is certain to be played again. It's a bit like the card game Snap but played with rubber animals.

Graham achieved surprisingly good results despite grabbing animals willy-nilly and not really playing the way Mum instructed but sometimes you just have to go with your feelings. :)

Sunday Trip to Clontarf Reserve

Sunday was a beautiful day, too good to waste by staying indoors. What could be better than a trip to Clontarf Reserve for a barbecue.

The first thing Craig and Graham did after arriving was go climbing and sliding in the playground.

There's plenty of stuff to climb on.

Craig enjoys the climbing.

 There's also a couple of good slides.

Sean just sat around soaking up the sun.

When it was time to cook lunch, Sean manned the barbecue. He's getting used to Aussie life quite quickly.

They had prawns on a stick and chicken kebabs plus sausages in bread rolls.

It was a bit cool in the shade at the picnic table so everyone moved into the sun.

That allowed a kookaburra to swoop down and steal a bread roll off the picnic table! There wasn't much left by the time a photo was taken.

No matter, the sun was warm and the weather stayed beautiful.

There was also a good game of soccer. Craig and Mum against Sean and Dad but no one took any photos.

On the way home they stopped to look at the view of Sydney Heads from Tania Park atop Dobroyd Point.

As soon as they got back home a lorikeet came to the kitchen window to remind people he hadn't been fed all day! Craig was very quick to remedy the situation.

Then Craig settled down to watch Peppa Pig while waiting for dinner.