Superfun no-work day!

Today we had our second "superfun no-work day" with aunty Shell and uncle Michael.
Basically it's a day where we go out and do something fun together and nobody has to rush off to work. (As we shift work, someone (usually me) is often cutting our outings short to work).
Today we met at Shell and Michael's house and caught the train into the city.


After our train ride it was 11:30am and everyone was hungry so we stopped for lunch.
Then we went up Sydney's tallest building. When we were kids it was called centrepoint tower. Apparently it's now called Sydney tower eye!
For those that don't know, it's the pointy gold looking building in the background.

At the top we had a wonderful view. Ben and Aunty Shell (now 34weeks pregnant - hard to see in this black top at this angle)

Ethan and Tracie.

The view north.

Other view of the harbour. Botanic gardens around the waterfront.

After we came down the tower we walked to the Powerhouse Museum via Darling Harbour.
We had a break of walking at a fantastic park in Darling Harbour.
Ben, climbing up a water feature.

Ben thought he might get a bit wet (he wanted to run through water fountains) so stripped down to his underpants for some water play!


As you can see, Ethan wasn't so worried about his clothes (and he stayed dry too)


By this stage it was 3pm and we had to press on to the museum, but both boys are keen to return to the amazing park!
The museum was a big hit. They enjoyed a few of the science (space , light, robots, magnets, power) exhibits..... But their favorite was the kids area.




And the super-cool wiggles area!!

We left the museum around 4:30 and had a quick dinner at Shell and Michael's house before heading home. Both boys fell asleep on the hour drive home... Sign of a wonderful day I think!!!
We all had such fun, and we are looking forward to another superfun no-work day.... Maybe next time aunty Shell will be pushing a pram with her little baby :)
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Ready?

Getting ready to go out...

Tracie: Are you ready?
Ben: I'm ready and eagle!
Ethan: I'm ready and eagle!
Tracie: Ready and eagle? I think you mean ready and eager!
Boys: No!! It's ready and eagle!


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Love

Ethan : when someone says 'I love you to Pluto and back again' the other person has to say the same thing. Love needs to be in perfect balance.

Ben: No, different people love different people in different ways.


When did my babies get so insightful?


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Exciting announcement!

I am beyond excited to announce that Sal's sister (Aunty Shell) and her husband, (Uncle Michael) are expecting their first baby!!!!

Shell is almost 22 weeks now, and had the scan today that tells us they are expecting a girl :)

We are so excited. This will be our first niece and the boys first cousin!

Shell is due at the end of October :))

Super fun no-work day!!

Aunty Shell and Uncle Michael bought Ben and Ethan mini golf tickets for their birthday. Yesterday we managed to all have the day off from work together and went to play some mini golf. It was wonderful for all of us (Shell, Michael, Nanna, Sal, Tracie, Ben and Ethan) to be able to spend the day together and nobody had to rush off to go to work. Often when we spend time together I (sal) have to work at 3pm, so our days are cut short after lunch :(

Ethan named our day "super fun no-work day" as 3 of us who would normally work got the day off to make this day happen :))

We started our day at Aunty Shell and Uncle Michaels house with something to eat, mid morning before golf. 

Then we went to the mini golf place and played 2 courses (2x18 holes) we sped through it as the boys were super keen to move from one hole to the next. Shell and Michael were up front with the boys, Nanna in the middle and Tracie and I bought up the rear. As I was holing the camera, I wasn't able to get too many shots, but here's a few...

To save me commenting on each, Ben is wearing red with a green hat (and a monkey on his back in some shots!) Ethan is wearing black shirt and blue hat.

All the boys in their hats :)

Super fun no-work day - continued

This post is a continuation of the first, please read the other one first.

After mini golf we had some tasty lunch and then headed to a new park.

We are so jealous of the wonderful parks near Shell and Michael's house. They are amazing, and we love exploring them when we go visit (we live an hour's drive north of them). We found a new park with some fun equipment for the boys. They had a great time :)

This park had a cool flying fox with a big chair and seatbelt that Ben loved!

And a water pump that Ethan loved!

And a hammock that Uncle Michael loved!

 

We had a fantastic "super fun no-work day" and we are hoping we can organise another one soon :)

Ben's robot

Ben drew a picture of a robot a few weeks ago at preschool. 

Previously he would draw people as a head with 2 legs. He stuck with that technique for a long time without adding much extra detail. We didn't encourage detail, as I was interested to see how he would develop it himself.

This is a picture of our family that he drew a few months ago.

Earlier this month he came home from

Preschool with a picture of a robot. Interestingly his robot has many more details than his people!

He also wrote his name in mirror image in the corner. He does this every so often, but usually writes his name the right was around.

It's fascinating to watch their drawing progress.

Ethan's self portrait

Ethan drew this self portrait at preschool last week. They say he studied himself in the mirror and was very careful to draw it as he saw himself. He also noted "I have flat hair" and drew his hair flat!

This drawing is a massive change from his art a few months ago. He's a bit of a perfectionist and would avoid art as he couldn't draw, therefore wouldn't try. It's great to see him trying :)

Ben's omelet

Today Ben requested an omelet for lunch. He wanted potato onion and cheese. He chose a very big potato, and onion!

It took 3 eggs to make it, and wa made on our large frying pan. It was so big it didn't fit on a dinner plate! So we served it on a platter. 

Ben was very happy about his lunch.

He must have been very hungry, as he ate most of it!