Easter Holidays – Sydney Royal Easter Show

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On good Friday we headed up to Sydney for the Easter Show. We met the Powells and drove to the car park together. Unfortunately I had left our pre-bought tickets at home so we had to line up to rebuy them. Worst part was it took us 50mins :-(. The Powells went in ahead and did the showbag pavillion – which worked out well as we weren’t buying any.

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Finally inside we headed off on the animal walk.

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It’s always fun seeing the animals, esp. the petting zoo. The ducks going down the slippery dip are a firm favourite and I feel in love with the cute little puppy (middle, top row).

Easter Show animals

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Of course no trip to the Show is complete without fresh cooked corn. Lunch part 1.

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We then saw a great high dive pirate show.

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It had been very hot sitting in the sun so the kids were glad to cool off a bit.

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Next up with a circus workshop.

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Then a delightful afternoon refreshment – or lunch part 2. The girls shared some curly fries and the guys went in search of “cheese on a stick”. Look revolting but they enjoyed it.

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Time for the Ashton circus.

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Then the working dog show – which was one of the days favourites.

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It was getting to 5pm so we headed into the food pavillion, where Noel won a special award for chilli eating.

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And we got some delicious chocolate dipped strawberries.

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The girls got to sit on a police motorbike…

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and get a tattoo.

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Time for a little break…which my feet were really needing by now….

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while the girls watched some wood chopping.

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We bought dinner…

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found, with some difficulty, some seats in the main arena….

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and got ready to watch the Rodeo. I don’t really get it but don’t feel the animals were harmed. Not so the cowboys!!!

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Leanne was kind enough to get hot drinks for everyone.

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There was a motorbike jump show – which was a bit hard to see on the other side of the arena.

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Then the fireworks which were fantastic.

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We haven’t stayed into the evening since before the kids were born and it was a great way to end the day. Last up was a ride for the girls as they had been bugging us about rides all day.

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Then time to head home. We took Sarah, and Christy went with the Powells for a sleepover. After such long day I was so exhausted I slept on the way home. I was happy and rather sore but very pleased I managed the day without a wheelchair.

Family Fun Day at Jamberoo

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Finally the weather co-operated and we were able to get to Jamberoo Action Park. We’ve had the worst Summer but so far a brilliant Autumn. For some unknown reason I have hardly any photos to share. Maybe I was having too much fun or too relaxed.

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We discovered that half the park now has heated water which was just gorgeous. Kevin and I were too chicken to brave the unheated part but the girls did. And Christy was thrilled to discover that she is now tall enough to ride the tobaggons by herself – which of course she did a number of time.

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The girls have been getting on really well this week and it makes me so happy to see them enjoy spending time with one another.

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Unfortunately it clouded over and cooled down around 2pm and we ended up leaving around 3.30pm

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Until next Summer…..

Family Day Out to the Zoo

 

Sorry I’m behind again. Now that my arthritis is much better I’ve been getting busy around the house, trying to take advantage in case things change again. But I have lots of plans for posts, just need to get back into a routine.

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With our annual Zoo pass due to expire at the end of the month we wanted to sneak in one last visit. I also wanted to test out my feet before we go the Sydney Easter Show in a few weeks. The weather forecast wasn’t the best but we didn’t let it deter us.

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Sydney harbour is always so beautiful. We caught the ferry again since we enjoyed that so much on our last visit.

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As we were lining up to get the gondola to the top the rain came in. Not to heavy but a drizzle none-the-less.

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Even the giraffes were trying to keep dry.

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It was nearly 11am and everyone was hungry, so we decided to have an early lunch.  Amy knew of a place that had vegetarian noodles so we headed there. Very yummy.

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The rain had stopped so we were able to go check out the animals without battling umbrellas.

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As you can the see the day turned out beautiful and I was so glad we’d ignored the forecast.

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There were 3 tiger cubs which were so fun to watch playing. Even Mum joined in chasing them around and letting them jump on her.

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We also found this gorgeous baby chick. So cute.

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Around the corner there were a heap more.

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Time for some afternoon tea. Kevin and I shared some carrot cake – which was absolutely delicious.

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Christy was very keen to see the sea lion show again so we did.

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Then it was time to head home.  We got a bit more rain on the ride back to Circular Quay but it was blue skies when we got there. Definitely a day for all seasons.

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Today was a test for my feet. They were sore at the end but I was on my feet for over 4 hours and I wasn’t hobbling around or crying in pain, so I was really pleased. Still I’m not too sure how I’ll manage at the Easter show. We’ll see.

 

 

A Wonderful Weekend

Had a lovely weekend. Spent Saturday morning out the pool enjoying the sunshine and cool water, and doing some gardening.

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Then in the afternoon Mum & I headed up to Sydney…

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to see this….

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Cesar Millan (the dog whisperer) was fantastic. The show was funny, moving and educational. We had 3rd row tickets and got to stay behind after the show for a special question and answer time.

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Then on Sunday, after doing some paperwork in the morning we headed down to Kiama  to meet one of my online friends, Vanessa of Little Retro House(  they were staying at East Beach – you might remember our stay here). We’ve been trying to meet up for a while now so I’m so pleased we finally managed it. And like always when I meet blogging friends we hit it off straight away. It ALWAYS amazes me there is no awkwardness, just instant real-life friendship.

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Her daughter, friend and Christy took off for a swim at the pool (also instant friends) while we chatted and enjoyed some afternoon tea. We then took all the girls (including Amy) down to the beach for a swim. Though it was overcast it was still very warm.

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While we were sitting here  a Southery came through and it instantly turned cold. I think it dropped around 10deg. Just crazy.

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When we could see the big grey clouds moving in we headed back to their van…

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and tried to stay dry.

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We really enjoyed our visit and it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Of course, it’s essential to have ice-cream if you drive through Kiama. Mad, I tell you, as it was rather cold.

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Christy didn’t end up eating her’s as it was “too cold”. What, ice cream is cold? Who knew?

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Me, being the sane one, opted for a nice hot tea :-).

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We then headed home and since Kevin wasn’t keen on going out again to the basketball, I took Christy with me.

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We had a nice time, though the Hawks lost (due mainly to bad sportsmanship by the other team).

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It was a certainly a very enjoyable weekend. Hope you all had a good one.