Did you know we went to the Zoo?

It's true! Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo is just an hour from our house. Earlier this year (yes, we forgot exactly when), we took the kids up the road to have a play at the Zoo.

And what a marvelous venue!!! A perfect family-friendly environment. Not only were the entertainment and interactive options available outstanding for kids of any age, it was as near spotless as you can get for a zoo.

There was so much you could do. Here is a list of what was on the day we visted:

We got to see the Elephants being fed (only just barely - it was quite a popular parade). And then we trapsed over to the Crocoseum to wat the Wildlife Warriors 101 Show! In the Crocoseum we saw some Zoo Employees being silly (one had to chase some birds all around the zoo!) and view Elephants (again!), snakes, more birds and CROCS!

It was such an easy to understand presentation. It really spoke to the kids about conservationism, especially in relation to animals which could easily be turned into a further discussion about overall conservationism and why it's a good idea to "be nice to the planet".

Walking around the zoo, many employees were about carrying animals (blue tongue lizards for one!). Poppi was keen to have a pet of the lizard and a couple birds, but Hunter was a tad shy.

While we were there, we took the opportunity to pay a little extra (in support of animal breeding programs) and have some up close and personal encounters. Age restrictions applied to most, but we were able to get in to feed the Giant Tortoises with both Poppi and Hunter.

And because he loves his wife sooooo much, Dean arranged for me to have my own encounter with my favourite Australian marsupial - The Wombat! Oh, it was so much fun. I was just tickled.

Throughout the rest of the day, we wandered about the Zoo. Other highlights included the Kids Zoo (where we saw Hunter's favourite animal - The Elusive Bob - aka a cow... Like father, like son, huh?) and a walk through the Kangaroo enclosure where we got to pet about 30 kangaroos (and tred on the toes of one poor fella, learning what sound they make when they're "Not Happy, Jan!"). They also had on offer a spinning teacup ride (which we had to do about 3 times), a jumping castle, a giant trampoline and multiple playgrounds.

(The best part of the day? $12 wagon hire for the kids! It kept young Hunter entertained all day!)

Poppi keeps asking when we can go back to "that zoo". Not sure when that will be, we're thinking of doing Sea World with them next. But, for us, we're headed back up in June. The Dalai Lama is giving a talk as part of his Australian tour in June. It's our way of offering support.

If you're in any major metropolitan city in Australia in June, we would certainly encourage you to attend one of his many events. Click on this link for more information: Dalai Lama in Australia.

We LOVE New Farm Park

Nearly every weekend spent at our house comes with demands to go to "the big park in the trees". Well - that's New Farm Park, in the city. It's a great facility. Huge tree fortress playground area entwined in massive shade trees along with two other areas of playground equipment under the trees as well. It's currently getting an exapansion with a playing field and toddler / age-specific "castle" themed playground being put in seperate to the tree fortress.

Needless to say - the kids go nuts. Last Sunday, we spent a couple of hours swinging, sliding, swinging, see-sawing, swinging, sliding, running through the fort, swinging, running, running, running and having an ice cream!Here's just a few of the MANY photos from that day!

PS - We're still playing catch up on the photos from this year. Hopefully, today, we'll make some more headway.

Let's Go to the Beach! (And new toys!)

Lucky for us, we'll get to spend time with Poppi & Hunter TWO weeks in a row! So, in an effort to keep our visits fun and lively, it was time to shake things up a bit before our big Easter visit! (Plus, a certain lovely little four-year old informed us we did not have enough toys at Dad's house.)

Friday night arrival at home gave the kids quite a surprise as they came into a whole HEAP of new toys. Sidewalk chalk, a giant beach ball (bigger than Hunter, who, of course, immediately tried to climb it), sandcastle bucket & shovels, Play-Doh, balloon people, Aquadoodle pads (possibly the greatest learning / creative / fun / messy-without-the-clean-up toy ever invented) and.... the piece de' resistance.... Hungry Hungry Hippos!!! (Which, of course, Dean had to have a go at before the kids even arrived.)

Saturday (in a move that we thought was oh-so-clever), we ventured up the Bruce Highway to Caloundra's King Beach. Kings Beach is the main beach of Caloundra and has a great picnic and children's play areas, including a massive waterfountain and community pool which is environmentally friendly - built to be separate from the ocean, but fed directly from seawater. However, after a small picnic lunch - we learned Poppi & Hunter are not too keen about the ocean. Crashing waves and "yucky" seaweed put a stop to the adventure.

But, thank the town planning gods for the play areas and swimming pool. The afternoon was not all lost. As you can see - we all had a ball... even if our trip to the beach itself last all of 5 minutes.

Trying to get caught up (trying!!!)

So, today we checked Dean's email (which really only happens once a week - IF we're lucky) and received some pictures from Steve that Miss Poppi took during his visit in Mid-March. (My goodness how time flies!!)

They're just so cute we had to share! (Some were published in the recent Balmforth Bulletin, so if they're repeats for you... many apologies!)

We all had a delicious brekkie with Cousins Kate & Stuart at Liquorish. (Dean had been there in October with a heap of mates to celebrate his business partner's birthday and loved it. He was quite keen on checking out their breakfast offerings.) Poppi and Hunter both were on their best behaviour - even enjoying "coffee" with all the grown-ups.



It was quite a lovely day. As a group, we enjoyed a lovely walk to and from the bistro.



(And Tara learned NOT to wear heels when she knows full well she's going to be walking. Result?? Blisters! Blech.)

We learned of the arrival of Young Thomas later this year and saw all the wonderful progress being made at Kate & Stuart's place!



But the best part of all was being able to spend time with family. Especially Pop! :-)