July was a quieter, yet still busy month with holidays thrown into the mix. We celebrated pink finger bun day as a family, remembering Grayma's birthday. Always a yummy treat and fun time together. It was nice to have the Kidd family join in on the fun too.
The kids enjoyed working to make their orange juice. So tasty!
We made an indoors hopscotch. It sure does pay off having the fake pavers in the back room. Automatic hopscotch squares.
We celebrated Poppy's birthday together. The kids were amazed when he clapped out all the candles in one go.
Alexander lost his tooth, and unfortunately the 'tooth fairy' forgot to come and collect it. The next night he wrote a very kind letter to the tooth fairy asking that she wouldn't forget it again. She remembered that time. Oops.
'Dear Toothfairy, Please don't forget the tooth. From Alexander'
AFL Auskick provided lots of fun.
We had a muddy game at AFL. The boys loved playing in the mud after the game.
Daniel managed to hurt himself at church by hitting his head on a door handle while playing tip. He was ok but shocked to see blood on his hand. Elise and Lani helped tape him up and his head healed well. He will have an impressive scar if he wanted to shave his head down the track.
Today we headed off for an adventure to see Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers. James saw this advertised a few months ago and so bought tickets for us. We headed to catch the Metro into Chatswood, so we didn't have to worry about parking but also for the novelty. The kids loved looking out the front window at the tracks as we drove along them. Many questions about how it works.
We then walked down to the Zenith Theatre where the performance was going to be held. There was a note on the table cloth saying 'Those who don't believe in magic will never find it'. An interesting quote by Roald Dahl about using your imagination and creativity to create your own magic.
This is the blurb about the play.
All around the world Roald Dahl’s words are disappearing not only from books but children’s minds too!
Now only a Secret Organisation known as The Ancient Guild of Taletenders can save the stories and they need your help…
Join Terry Tibblestick from the ancient guild of Taletenders and his assistant Brenda Bogg. Taletenders have existed since the beginning of time and their one job is to remember and recall all the words of their storyteller-but maybe Terry hasn’t been as diligent as he could have been? Follow Brenda’s journey as she reveals her discovery of the missing words, sparking danger that they are being eaten by the dreaded Wurblegobblers. Help her as she tries to convince Terry of the real and present danger the stories are in as she challenges him to see if he’s been protecting and preserving the stories, as she tries to restore the words to the books using imagination, play and a heart full of tenderness.
The play was great! There were just 2 actors playing Terry and Brenda who needed to find a way to bring the words back into Roald Dahl's books. They talked about the Twits and the BFG. The actors were amazing with their improvisation and how they responded to the kids shouting out different ideas and stories. The had the audience pretending to be Mr and Mrs Twit in an ugly-off. They had 2 kids come down and write some words to see if all words were taken by the Wurblegobblers or just boring ones. When Terry lost his words too, they had the audience build a story about Terry fishing on a lake but the ideas came from the kids - and Terry acted out the different suggestions to make the story. The lake became a foam lake (Eliza liked that). Then it started raining, but the rain wasn't water, it was butter. When Terry ate the butter he became a banana (Alexander made that suggestion). Terry did a great job at turning into a banana - falling off his chair, landing on the floor and bending like a banana. Brenda peeled him to help him breath. Another kid suggested that he was fishing to try and catch a king minion (must be from the movies) and Daniel suggested that when the King Minion eats an apple he turns into a monkey. Another kid suggested that Terry turns into a gorilla (which he then chased Brenda up the stairs). Anyway, it probably sounds quite confusing (probably because it was with all the different ideas) but it was great to see the joy, to hear the giggles, to see the involvement and to hear the importance of loving and enjoying books to create imagination.
After the play we headed to Grill'd to have lunch. They have pretty good options for the kids. Alexander and Eliza had chicken pieces (Luke nuggets), Daniel had a junior cheeseburger and chips and James and I both got burgers and chips. Very tasty and filling lunch. We then hopped back onto the Metro and headed home.
For the last 3 days, the kids have loved participating in Kids Games. What a joy it has been to see this come together. Firstly God is so good the way he brings it all together - He goes before us, he has a plan and it is so cool to see it all come together. Wednesday we kicked off Kids Games and God was amazing in holding off the rain for the day. The kids were excited to be going with some of the their friends. The leaders were excited and organised. Carol did such an amazing job bringing together the team.
The kids came home each day raving about how amazing their leaders were (especially Eliza with Kirri), and about what they learnt about our Extreme God. It was so lovely to see and hear about their friends who had an awesome time at Kids Games too. I'm so grateful to everyone who helps set aside time to bring it all together.
Because it was Extreme God theme this year, the kids did rock climbing for their activity. Eliza and Daniel loved it and managed to climb up to the top and hit the button each time. Well done to them both! Alexander's group got to enjoy extra time on the the jumping castle which they loved too.
They can't wait for next year's Kids Games and whatever it may bring.
Today we headed to Hornsby Station to catch the train into Luna Park with 4 of Daniel's good mates. When we talked about doing an activity for his 10th birthday, I offered Treetops, bowling, Luna Park or FlipOut. Daniel was caught up with Treetops and Luna Park. When I suggested that we could do treetops as a family trip for his birthday and do Luna Park with friends he was set on it. We agreed that 4 friends would be a good number to take and so we came up with a list. I messaged their parents to save the date, and I'm glad that they did.
After looking at the forecast for most of the week and seeing that today it was predicted to rain, I was a bit nervous about how the weather would be and how it would impact the adventure. Then at 5:30 this morning I woke to heavy rain. My heart sank and my anxiety increased. I spent a fair chunk of the next hour chatting with God, asking him to ease the rain and help us enjoy the time without being too wet and cold. God is good and answered these prayers.
The kids were so excited to catch the train - it has been a while on trains because of Covid. They were so chatty and so loud but it was lovely to just watch the excitement and listen to the chatter.
We arrived at Milson's Point and walked down to the Luna Park face and took a couple of photos. We then lined up for our tickets, which didn't take too long. The blue sky even showed up.
We then headed in, got a few photos with the people dressed up (I might have told the boys that there were no rides unless they got in the photo. Oops).
Then the boys decided on their first ride - the Hair Raiser. Lachie and James were super keen to go on it and then Alexander and Daniel decided to have a go. I was very proud of Daniel having a go. While he got ready to go up, I went and got a birthday badge for him.
When I showed him the badge, the clowns saw and asked whose birthday it was. They then went over and sang Happy Birthday to Daniel. He got embarrassed which was quite cute - his cheeks were very blushed. They then went up on the ride and then dropped. Daniel said his stomach felt like it was still up the top but he enjoyed it.
Next up we went over to the Tango. Eliza, Alexander, Daniel and James went on the Mild Tango while I went on the Wild Tango with Noah, Alex, Olly and Lachie. The mild tango was fun but much slower than the wild one. It was perfect for Alexander and Eliza (and even James' tummy). The wild Tango was so fast! So many laughs watching the boys get squashed.
After doing some fun mirrors,
we then headed to the dodgem cars. James and I went with Eliza and Alexander while the boys each went in seperate cars. They did pretty well with driving and loved bumping into each other. While we were in here there was a lot of rain coming down. Amazingly when we finished, the rain had stopped.
We headed around the back to go on some of the rides, but unfortunately there were a few rides closed for maintenance (and because of the rain). We did get to go on the Boomerang. Alexander wasn't a big fan of it - too many up and down parts - and Noah decided that he didn't want to go on it so watched from the side. But it was lots of fun going backwards and then forwards again around some fun bends.
We then went on the Loopy Lighthouse, a more mild version of the Hair Raiser (but also included some spins). Again, Alexander didn't really like this one. Eliza said that he tummy felt like it was up the top each time it dropped. The boys found it a bit boring.
Then we split into 2 groups. James took Eliza, Alexander and Noah on the Silly Sub
while I took Daniel, Lachie, Alex and Olly on the Big Dipper. Daniel was very hesitant. Even when we scanned in our wristbands he was hesitant. The guy on the ride told Daniel that everyone feels unsure of this ride but everyone who feels scared about it finish it, say they loved it and want to go on it again. So Daniel decided to give it a go. I'm so proud of him for doing that! It was so much fun. Twists, turns, upside downs. The boys said that their bottoms went off the seat as they went upside down. They were keen to go on it again but we agreed to do it later.
We were about to have lunch when we saw that the Wild Mouse was opened so decided to have a go on that before eating. I was really proud of the kids for each having a go. Alexander went with James and James said that he laughed the whole time. He loved it. Lachie went with Noah who was hesitant but also loved it.
Olly and Alex went together and then Eliza and I. Everyone said they enjoyed it.
I then took the boys on the Big Dipper again before we had some lunch and our stomachs might not have felt as good. We then paused to have some lunch - rolls and hot chips.
Then it was time for some more rides. The kids were keen to go on the dodgems again so we did. They had a great time driving around around and did much better this time. Alexander and Eliza both surprised James and I with how well they have been driving.
After the dodgems we headed into Coney Island. The entry moving floor parts weren't turned on but that was ok. We got in faster and the kids headed into the mirror maze. They had a blast walking around, into mirrors and eventually finding their way out again.
Then they alternated between the rolling log and the mirror maze again.
Next up they got sacks and went on the giant slides. The biggest one was closed but that didn't stop their joy in going down the 2 that were open. James got some good air on the first one he went down.
After multiple goes, we headed over to the wobbly floor and then the spinning seat thing. Lachie won the first round against James and Daniel. Then Eliza won against Alexander and another boy. Then the 5 boys went on and Daniel won. It seems to be that if you can sit on the top of the ride, you will stay on top.
Next up the kids went on the wobbly floor walk which started to work. They had a great time trying to walk normally on it, which was so tricky to do.
With 30mins left to go we headed back to the Wild Mouse, but the line was too long, so we went back down to the Tango because Noah was very keen to go on it again. The kids had a great time squashing each other and trying not to slide down into each other. So many laughs!
We wanted to do more rides, including the Ferris wheel, but there just wasn't time. We headed back to the entrance and got another photo under the big face, then made our way back to the station.
The train trip back was much quieter - the boys were tired and hungry so enjoyed eating their snacks and chatting.
We then hopped into the cars and came back home to do cake and have a little play. I was very proud of the cake I made. Don't know that the kids were so proud of it - a lot of effort for not much recognition, but that's ok. It was still yummy. And the kids recognised that it was the Luna Park face which is always the challenge.
Then the parents came and picked up the boys. Each parent messaged to say that their kid had a great time and hadn't stopped talking about it. Winner. Really it was just so great to watch the joy on their faces. We didn't stop all day, the boys were great - so helpful, so polite and so keen to have a go at different rides. Noah even said that he wanted to go to Luna Park for his birthday. It really helped having the rain because the lines were short, and God was just so amazing to just have it rain when we were at undercover rides. We didn't need to change anything!
Daniel's favourite ride was the Big Dipper. He said he wasn't scared at all (I don't know that's the whole truth, but he did love it) and the dodgem cars.
Alexander's favourite ride was the Wild Mouse and also Coney Island with the mirror maze where he kept walking into dead ends, and the big slide.
Eliza's favoured rides were Coney Island with the big slides and the mirror maze and also the Wild Mouse. I do love that Eliza enjoys roller coasters too.She did giggle the whole way around the Wild Mouse.
So it was a brilliant way to celebrate Daniel's 10th birthday! He has a lovely group of friends who got along so well. It was a perfect day doing such fun things. The joy on their faces was the best reward and seeing them have a go and encourage each other. I loved seeing them know their own boundaries too. I wish the day could have gone longer but that's ok. We will just have to head back again another time. The kids sure are keen to do that!
Here is the process of the cake that I made for him. It was pretty challenging to make but I'm very happy with the finished product. It worked out quite well and Daniel said it looked great.
