Swans Guard of Honour

Tonight James, Daniel and I had a once in a lifetime experience of being part of the guard of honour for the Sydney Swans before they ran onto the ground to play against GWS. James had a friend from work ask if we were going to be going to the game because he couldn't make it. When James said yes he then asked James if we wanted to be part of the guard of honour. Sure! James and I then thought it would be fun to take Daniel to the game and take part in this amazing experience. The organiser was fine with Daniel joining us on the field. Amazing!

We met the group and got our wristbands. 

We then headed down to the boundary line. Daniel was excited to see Cyggy, gave him a hug and asked to have a photo with him. Cyggy was so friendly, gave him a hug, posted for photos, even gave him a kiss on the head. Too cute.

We then headed down the ground to where we were going to walk on for the guard of honour and took some photos from the sideline.

 I was excited to see Paul Roos up close. Legend of the game!

Daniel was quite curious to watch the soldiers march and the band to play the music while we were on the sideline. It was the ANZAC match so they had the marching band play, followed by the last post when the players were on the field. Great for Daniel to see.

 James called Poppy so Daniel could give him a wave. Daniel liked being able to spot Poppy up in the stands.

We then lined up to form the guard of honour. While waiting as GWS ran out onto the field, we took a few more photos.

First time we have read this side of the banner in a long time

While we were waiting the siren went off. It was very loud on the field! Made me jump, and then laugh.

The Swans song then started and the boys ran out onto the field. They were so focussed.

 They ran through the banner

And then onto the field for the last post. We were ushered off the field and headed back to our chairs, stopping for the minutes silence.

The game wasn't as exciting as we had hoped with the Swans going down against the Giants. But it was still a fun night. Daniel really enjoyed the night game, even through he was tired as the night went on.

Great memories being made. Thanks for the unique experience James :-)

Last Aquarium Visit

Easter Monday saw us hop on a train into the city for our last Aquarium visit for a while. Our annual passes ran out on the 5th of May so we wanted to head in and show James the new Great Barrier Reef section before they expired and this was our opportunity.

The kids enjoyed the train trip into the city, watching the other trains go past, looking at the stations, chatting about what they could see.

At the aquarium a lot of the animals were out of hiding and swimming around which was really cool to see!

This octopus is never out! So cool and gross to watch it move around.

We even found some rare sea creatures.

Before coming to the aquarium my Facebook memories came up showing that I took the kids to the aquarium 2 years ago so I was keen to try and get a reenactment photo. Unfortunately Pig the Dugong wasn't cooperative in coming to the photo, but at least Daniel and Eliza were, and a shark came to join in the picture.

 But there is now a bonus kiddy out of the ergo and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 Watching the sharks and stingrays in the shark tunnel was again a hit.

 We lined up for the penguin boat ride. The kids were occupied by the Peppa Pig episodes being on the screens as we waiting in line. That helped it go a bit faster for them. Alexander loved seeing the penguins waddle around.

 The kids then got to take Daddy to the Great Barrier Reef section. The black light section was fun again with the kids' clothes.

But the coolest part was that the turtle came to play. I love the turtles here and they really didn't disappoint.

Hi turtle

There it is

 The tunnels were fun to walk through with sharks resting above us.

And then at the end the turtle came back again to play a bit more.

I could sit and watch it swim around for ages! Unfortunately the kids weren't so keen on that idea. Oh well.

As we left the aquarium, James and I had decided that Alexander would be able to choose a toy. When we were in New Zealand and Daniel was almost 3, he chose Penguin. In Tasmania when Eliza was just over 3, she chose Randall the echidna. We aren't going to be going on a big family holiday again for a while but we wanted Alexander to have a special toy from some family adventures we had been on and he decided to get the dugong like Pig. He was a bit excited, even though his face doesn't show it.

We took a photo with the Peppa Pig sign and James posted it on Instagram (which lead to us winning family tickets to the Peppa Pig Movie).

James' photo

My photo

After having lunch in the kiosk, we walked back to the train, via the birds for Eliza.

This photo just warms my heart. I love how the kids love spending time with their Dad. I love that he holds their hands and that they fight to hold his hands. It is just special.

The train trip home was fun. The kids entertained themselves with Pig the Dugong - pretending to feed him lettuce, moving him around, having him be cheeky. No tiredness with the kids. James on the other hand... he was keen for a nap on the train trip home.

Happy boy!

Silly photo was demanded

Bunch of crazies!

Nap time

 Another fun adventure with my amazing family. Sad that this is our last trip to the aquarium for a while. Especially sad that the aquarium seems to be Daniel's happy place. He often asks when we will go back and has asked me if we can get new annual passes. Hopefully another deal will come up in the future so we can go back again. Thanks for a fun year of aquarium visits.