Each holidays we tend to head to the Reptile Park and these holidays were no different. When we arrived the kids got to pat a tawny frogmouth. Alexander was hesitant but I'm proud of him for doing it.
The kids liked patting the kangaroos and we were very excited to see a joey in the pouch.
Spot the joey
Once the jumping castle was dried, the kids were right into it.
But the thing the kids were super keen to go on was the trampolines. They each got to have a turn and loved jumping up and down in their harness. Daniel was keen to try and do back flips and he managed to do them! He was very proud of himself (as he should be). It took a lot of goes but he persisted.
Daniel was determined to be able to do the backflips. The guy who was running it was giving tips to the kids to get their knees up to their chest and try and hit your head to get the momentum to push yourself backwards. Daniel kept at it and was able to do it!
Alexander was happy to just jump up and down. He wasn't very adventurous but he was still so happy.
The kids finished their turns and wanted to have a go on the obstacle course. Daniel was lovely in helping Alexander up and over the tall challenges. All 3 kids loved it and did it 3 times.
We headed off to see some more animals - the nocturnal animals, the frogs, more kangaroos. And of course we said hi to Hugo who was kind enough to look over at the kids - I'm sure he was saying hi back to them.
Before we headed home the kids wanted to go on the jumping trampolines again. It was a much longer line this time but they were keen so we lined up. 45mins later it was their turns again. When Alexander started to jump the guy running it was a bit of a character and lifted him up too high. Alexander thought it was funny.
He then enjoyed jumping up and down again.
Daniel was keen to try and do multiple backflips but he struggled to get the momentum to do it. He decided he was doing it well with a jump inbetween. A bit of a cheat move but he was proud of himself and excited to do it.
Eliza was again happy to just jump up and down on the trampoline.
Not too bad an adventure and trying a new skill for the kids.
At the start of the holidays I asked the kids about what things they would want to do over the holiday period. Daniel's first answer was 'the Powerhouse Museum'. Perfect! I had planned to head to the Powerhouse Museum with them for their city adventure to then meet up with Daddy.
Unfortunately the light rail wasn't working but the kids were ok with walking from Central. We made it and headed straight to the Wiggles exhibition. The kids as always enjoyed it! They cut fruit salad, they made roses for Dorathy, they wrote letters for Wags and they danced with the Wiggles (well, Eliza wasn't keen to but the boys did).
They of course had a turn at sitting in the big red car.
I was very interested in the 50 years since Apollo 11 landed on the moon exhibit. The kids liked doing the booklet of questions, drawings and activities. I would have liked to be able to sit and read all the information but I got bits and pieces out of it still.
My favourite part was the giant sculpture of the moon which you could sit under and gaze up at. The kids had a snack under it while I enjoyed gazing at the moon.
We then went and explored the experiments section which Daniel was super keen to do. He especially wanted to have a go at powering the fire engine. He did quite well, lighting up everything but just not able to get enough power to make the siren sound.
The kids enjoyed experimenting with the magnets and as always loved the static electricity ball.
The kids were excited to get their Space Scientist stickers at the end of our time there.
We then walked down to Darling Harbour to meet up with Daddy for lunch. Initially we were going to have lunch in the park but it was lightly raining so we decided to meet in the food court. The kids enjoyed walking around the fountain and were excited to have Daddy meet and join them.
After lunch I took the boys back home while Eliza went for an adventure into Daddy's work. Daniel was super keen to go on an express train but the next one was half an hour away so instead we caught the all stations. The boys were great on the train.
At Epping Alexander needed to go to the toilet so we hopped off, went to the toilet and then waited for our next train. Daniel was stoked that it was an express train! We hopped on and make sure it wasn't a quiet carriage this time.
It was nice to spend time with my little guys.
Meanwhile, Eliza had a blast going into work with Daddy. She loved watching ABCKids, she loved getting coffee (well, babychino) with Daddy (very important), she loved spending time with Daddy.
Alexander is now super keen to head to work with Daddy when he's older :-)
Ever since the kids were born, James has been involved in the music ministry at our church. The kids have seen him up on the stage with the band leading the congregation through the songs for the service. The kids have often seen him practice the songs during the week and a lot of the time have listened to the songs on repeat as he has locked them in his mind for how to play them. I love that this is normal for our kids.
On the first Sunday night of the holidays James was leading and one of his singers had to leave part way through the service. With the 4:30 service bands, they also lead the 6:30 service too. I asked James if he wanted me to help sing in the 6:30 service if the kids were happy to stay. He was more than keen to have the extra vocals. So after Kids Church we both asked the kids if they would like to stay for the 6:30 service and we both would be on stage so they would need to be really helpful during the singing times. They kids were so keen to stick around for the next service.
I love too that the kids enjoy bringing either a microphone, the guitar or other instruments so they can join in the music too in the service. The kids were amazing! They sat in the front row, they played and sang with the songs and they were so well behaved. They were quiet during the sermon and they just were fantastic! While we were leading the singing Carol took a sneaky photo of the kids and messaged it to me saying 'Thanks for being a super example of how to disciple our kids and do ministry as a family.' What a great encouragement!
This photo reminded me of when I was young and Mum and Dad were both up on stage at the school leading singing and Jens and I were down the front standing and singing the songs. When Mike stood up to do the benediction he said something along the lines of 'I wish that I had a mirror up here on stage so I could point it down to these 2 angels in the front row singing praises to God.' I wouldn't have been much older than Daniel when he made that comment. Thanks to Mum and Dad for modelling this to me as a young kid and I hope that our kids learn, grow and are impacted by the way that we serve others in our church too. (P.S. It was a fun to sing again) Here is a photo of how they have their instruments to be like the band members different weeks. Alexander is watching Daddy intently as they both play their guitars.
