First quarter of the weekend: breakfast at Mission Bay.
I arranged for us to meet bright and early at Mecca Stonehouse in Mission Bay at 08:00. The sun was shining brightly when Kien and I arrived, and all 4 children had a nice sociable session on the swings.
After breakfast the kids enjoyed the warmth of the sun out on the beach.
While Naadia's son, Josh, got wet from wading in the sea and the fountain, her daughter decided to give cuddles instead. A child's embrace is so lovely!
The weather turned from bright and sunny to cloudy and grey within a matter of minutes, and the rain started descending from the sky heavily. Kien however did not care! He was too interested in sliding to leave.
Second quarter of the weekend: brief visit to the shop.
It was very brief. It has become increasingly harder to get Kien to nap, and on Saturday it took almost 1 ½ hours of me going in and out with promises of books, milk, more books, more milk etc. before he finally slept. He woke up grumpy, so it was no surprise that he wasn't particularly friendly toward any of his relatives. We called it quits pretty quickly and our way home was via Wynyard Quarter playground. It was cold when we got there; so cold in fact that I wrapped myself up in the picnic blanket, and Jef also joined me in there for a bit as well. When it started to rain we promptly went home.
Third quarter of the weekend: BMX track to see Flynn ride.
It seems something was in the air as Flynn apparently woke up in a foul mood on Sunday. I woke up early, baked some muffins to take along for morning tea and see Flynn ride his brand new bike.
No, this isn't Flynn on the brand new bike!I had hoped for at least one picture of Flynn on the track, but no - he barely did ½ a lap and wanted to play with Kien instead.
Despite Flynn's morose petulance he did not show it toward Kien in the slightest. Instead he was cheerful and considerate, helping and guiding Kien around the perimeter of the track.
Fourth quarter of the weekend: Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Kien napped in the car on the way there after he refused to sleep at home. He had an absolute meltdown though prior to falling asleep. It was hard on mine and Jef's ears, let me tell you!
Highlights of the zoo visit?
A giant happy bunny rabbit. It hopped around, dug, burrowed - and its ears were floppy and coat was shiny.
Peacocks flying on roofs - they just look too big to fly!
Doves playing with pigeons.
Best of all?
Duck sitting under a Camellia bush. It let me get so close to take this picture.
Not sure why they called this place a sanctuary. It wasn't. We were there for less than 40 minutes and Jef found it depressing. So we left.
Michelle and Thomas had a bunch of visitors in the caravan, and we joined them. The caravan is perched on a giant rock overlooking a vast plain in the wilderness. You can see the base of a lovely mountain way off in the distance, and wild cattle often roam these parts. Kien actually spotted a herd as he was admiring the view outside.
The camera never lies!
Reality is so far from my description, but when I found the shot on my camera and made a colour and contrast adjustment, what sprung to mind when I saw the result was the movie "Into the Wild".
