Wintery Fireworks

We went off to see the fireworks at The Docklands this evening. It was a cold day so I wasn't sure if I was fully comitted to going until around 3pm when I had to decide if I was going gung-ho on getting dinner & kids ready in time, or if I was going to relax and stay home. Or make yet another trip to Chaddy.

Invited some friends but they were all contemplating the weather too, and seems most of them had more sense than me and chose to stay home. The fireworks started at 7pm and even though my kids are usually in bed at around 7.30pm, I figured it wouldn't kill them to have a bit of a sleep in tommorrow morning (and would reduce the bags under my eyes by at least 10%....always a plus!).

Due to being on the water of course, the area is always a little cooler & windier, but we sat near the buildings and were quite sheltered.We were very rugged up though admittedly, expecting the chill.

Unlike most fireworks displays, we had an awesome view and there weren't hundred's of people pushing & shoving for a better view, so everyone was happy.

That is until the noise began : )

I am not a fan of winter but I wasn't in the rain, I wasn't running in and out of schools or shops, I wasn't in traffic, I wasn't trying to get anything done - I was just enjoying the cold - rugged up and prepared, ready to embrace the cool evening & enjoy a little taste of winter with the kids.

After the fireworks display which went for around 15 minutes to some wonderful classical music (otherwise known as Ballet music by Miss A), we enjoyed a hot chocolate at a nearby cafe.

It was an enjoyable night & the kids were in bed by 8.30pm. Thanks Docklands for the event, and again Little Melbourne for the heads up.

It's a long way to the top

I've been meaning to try some stuff for a while (my whole adult life), that seem to become just one of those things that you always say you'll do & don't actually get around to doing. I guess I have my own sort of bucket list. It hasn't been anything I have spent hours constructing, just whenever a good (or sometimes bad) idea pops into my head, I file it under 'should-do-that-one-day'.
Well, last night after much organising & date changing, a group of us went rockclimbing. Wow.

I am someone who is not on the BFF's side of heights. In fact you could say I have a fear of them IF I don't feel safe. This was going to be a challenge to me & a few others with the same issue.

We had our safety instruction & a quick practice on a baby wall with the instructors overseeing our ability to not kill each other on the full height OMG walls.

The practice walls were hard enough to start with as none of had any real technique or know how but that was part of the fun, being able to have a laugh at ourselves (& each other)...

When we had a few goes we ventured into the I-can-do-this room but were still a little freaked by the sheer height of the walls. Some of us started negotiating by saying we'd be happy to get half way.

Once we were up though, you get so into working on your technique & what rock to cling onto next that you don't realise quite just how high you really are.

I amazed myself & a few others who knew my fear, by making it to the top of several different walls, as did some of the others in our group with fears or injuries. Some people just weren't afraid at all...

The anchor or balleyor at the bottom has an important job of hanging onto your rope, but also sometimes talking you through the tricky areas. After a while, you find your neck is locked in an upright position much like an airline tray table.

As the height of the walls we were climbing grew, as did our confidence & some of our stronger participants tried the angled & not so flat walls. I was impressed.

No one in our group had ever done it before so we were all out of our comfort zones and were able to not only learn a new skill, but have a great social night that didn't involve food or drinks.

I highly recommend an attempt to anyone, because after seeing where our group started & how we finished up, it reinforced my belief that adults need un-serious play time too and coupled with something energetic was a win-win for all.

Our social group is accepting new members so if anyone would like a go at something like this or similar (dinners...yes there does have to be food involved sometimes, shooting range day etc, please check out http://www.facebook.com/pages/Strictly-Speaking-eating/237697946258157 )

Have a go people! Thanks to the group for making it such a great night. x

Big Day Out

Not officially the first day of school holidays but near enough, we had a great day in town today...accidently. You see we went out for brunch and then as we were heading home, our one year old was tired enough to fall asleep. Don't normally aim to get the kids so tired they sleep in the car, but today I was kinda hoping that he would.

I bargained with the girls that if they could refrain from singing their twinkle-twinkle-old-macdonald mega mix at the top of their lungs and he were able to fall asleep before we hit the freeway, then perhaps we would go somewhere fun.
It worked. My darling boy asleep & my darling girls quiete. Suddenly I panicked though...Master organiser and over crammer; I had a whole day to fill with no immediate ideas. As it was a little dreary outside but not freezing, my idea had to meet certain criteria: had to be focused on the kids, so the markets were out; had to be outdoorsy but be semi covered in the likely event of rain- so the parks were out (and kind of done to death), ummm... Then I remembered a great website called Little Melbourne that I have been scanning as the approach to school holidays got faster and faster. They had an idea... The National Gallery Of Victoria had a Kids Corner & Kids Space that was free and interactive.

It had been a while since we had been into the city - in fact I think it was during the Moomba festivities and we were on the other side of the bridge, so the kids loved that there was money in the fountain, but more so, that there was water running down a wall.

Shaan prehaps wasn't so sure...

The kids corner is literally a corner of the gallery dedicated to kids of all ages with varying themes from time to time. The current theme was Kaleidescope; colrs and shapes.



Some of the activities were things you could do at home, but because the entire space was theme dedicated my kids went shape & color crazy. They especially LOVED these colored lights that were sensored & followed you leaving a trail of light on the carpet below where ever you had moved. Had my girls running in circles for at least 30 minutes. Brilliant!

After a good two hours, we went out into the gardens for a walk around and spotted some lions...

After a great day out we were all getting cold & tired ...

Lots of ways to keep entertained for free these holi's. Hope you enjoy yours too.