A brief visit across the ditch

Last minute decision to hop on a plane and go visit a friend for the weekend in Brisbane. I emailed the school on Friday to let them know Kien wasn't coming in on Monday. Jef dropped us off at the airport on Saturday morning...minus 1 koala which we forgot at home! Oh the tears. Koala, Kien's sleep buddy and comfort soft toy - how can Mummy forget to pack it? Oh man, it's going to be a tough weekend for Kien without his best friend.

We waited for our departure at the wonderful AirNZ Koru lounge where I ate by self silly on their delicious breakfast buffet. We were so comfortable we almost missed our flight. 

We had to run to the gate, but we weren't the only people still boarding, thank goodness. 

I love how Kien still likes to holds my hand (finger) whenever he can. 

I've come to Brisbane a number of times to visit my childhood friend, Justine. We spent most of the weekend eating and drinking copious amounts of coffee. Her girls are low energy, so everyone is happy just to hang out at home. By the late afternoon though I knew that Kien needed to burn off, so we went over to Justine's sister's place for some trampolining action.

Kien and I conked out pretty early since there is a 2 hour difference between Auckland and Brisbane. 

On Sunday we went to Eat Street Markets - yeah, that really is what it's called. I discovered plantain, which is part of the banana family but used like a vegetable. It's delicious. 

After stuffing myself silly the kids and I got, well, silly.

We then headed home, and although the pool looked very inviting it was a tad too brisk and windy for a swim. The kids broke out the play dough instead and all was quiet for a while.

Then just like that Monday was upon us and we were back at the airport waiting for our flight home.

He was adamant he wanted to eat everything on that plate. He did alright with his attempt.

Good bye Brisbane. 

Ferris wheel and tropical Brisbane

Kien and I have been in Brisbane for a few days now, and Jef flew in on Thursday to join us for the remaining 4 days of this week. It was an impromptu decision to have a quick break away after that gruelling project I've ben involved in went live last Saturday/Sunday. I needed to get away and spend time with my family. I felt burnt out and exhausted, so it is great to be able to have this quiet time.

Kien was great on the flight over. It was an easy 3 and a bit hours with him watching in-flight entertainment for most of the journey.

We have been staying with my friend, Justine, and her family. I've known Justine since we were 11 years old attending Remuera Intermediate. Since we've been here in BNE our kids have reacquainted. Justine's girls and Kien get along so well. They sit and chat whilst sculpturing with Playdough, and hide under the covers watching Peppa Pig together.

We went to South Bank for afternoon tea the other day and the kids took great delight in chasing after Ibuses - this was after we witnessed them stealing food off plates and out of people's hands (while they were eating). Talk about cheeky opportunists!







It doesn't look like anyone does this around here, but I took Kien for walk in the stroller in the middle of the day. We went to the local park, and there was no one around. Kien collected sticks and built a camp fire (as seen on TV by Bear Grylls) and had a great time pretending to light and cook on it.





Then on Thursday afternoon Jef, Kien and I went for a wander around the neighbourhood.











We got caught in a major downpour - massive droplets of rain pouring from the sky. No wonder the drains are enormous in Brisbane.

That night we went on the Wheel of Brisbane.











Kien loved it, as evidenced in the above photos.

We hired a rental car and made our way to the Gold Coast. To be continued...

Part II: Hanging around Brisbane

As news spread like wildfire regarding the incident with the toddler in China I must admit I am trying very hard to apply Dumbar's number here. Either that or I torture myself for months (if not years) with images regurgitating in my mind. All I can say is that I am so thankful for what we have, and to all our family and friends I want to thank you for being the wonderful and caring people you are. It is you that makes the world a better place. xx

The majority of our five days in Brisbane was spent hanging around - just as we had planned.

The kids did a lot of toy-mess making.

They love the water table so much. The table had been emptied, and Kien asked me for a cup of water (I thought it was for him to drink). I gave it to him. The water ended up in on the water table.

Climbing through/in/out of the Barbie kitchen - and sometimes getting stuck in the process.

Feeding each other homemade biscuits.

Besides Jessica, whom Kien still mentioned today and wanted to watch video clips of her, his new found "best friend" was Tess.

There were moments when the children didn't quite see eye to eye - mainly due to typical toddler behaviour coming from a boy. See this here rocking horse in the picture below? Let me tell you a little tale...

Sarah was on it. Kien wanted it badly. BADLY. He behaved like it was the end of the world. I enticed him to playing on a ride-on car instead, but do you think he wanted to do that? So after much commotion and refusal for anything else other than the rocking horse, Sarah, being the sweet girl she is got off the horse to play on the ride-on car. Guess what? Yip, I don't even have to say it. It happened TWICE in a row. Same scenario played out all over again. The boy just wants to have his cake and eat it too. He learnt pretty quickly (or maybe not) that he couldn't have his own way all the time.

Sunday markets

We were out the door by 8am to get to the markets and back in time for Kien to have a nap, which is BNE time was around 9:30am. It was sunny (and hot), and we all had our glasses on.

One worn wonky, the other upside-down.

Kien was hot and bothered, and boy can you tell.

Sarah, however was a cool as a cucumber.

He perked up again after he was able to get out of the stroller while we sat down for a coffee. It turns out that in Brisbane they make a large flat white the same as a latte with no foam. It surprised me when I ordered my latte and the barista said "so you want a flat white then" and I said "no, a latte is different to a flat white because it has more milk and I want my latte with no foam", and she looked at me funny. Yes, embarrassingly I told the coffee lady how to make a coffee. It wasn't until I questioned Justine and Bianca that they told me the small bit of trivia.

We got home and Kien went straight into the cot. 2 hour naps are the best. Peace and quiet.

Part I: Outdoors in Brisbane

Storms - you can hear the thunder rumbling from far away, and you can see the dark clouds rolling in, swallowing up any blueness with thick and billowing variable shades of gray. Amazing!

What's more - the rain. It pelts down streams, not droplets. The drains outside are enormous, but not big enough to cater for these types of extreme downpours. There were floods reported on Friday, not at Justine's, thank goodness.

We took the kids to Justine's mum's place for a swim/paddle prior to the storm. Man, these two love the water.

Kien hasn't really been swimming so he was apprehensive. But he enjoyed it for the most part.

But 22 month old Sarah was not phased at all. She really loves to splash around in the water. Even when she slipped and went under she came up and was all smiles!

The wind picked up and it was way too cold to be in the pool. I took a quick snap and we all dashed inside to put the kids under the warm shower.

Kien had a reaction to the chlorine, and his eyes started really bothering him. We drove through peak hour traffic home - good thing traffic in Brisbane is not the same as Auckland. Twenty minutes later we were home, and 15 minutes later the antihistamine started kicking in. 30 minutes later Jessica was making him laugh.

Wynnum, Queensland

This coastal village is 15km from Brisbane CBD, and it was a perfect afternoon outing for us on Saturday (after the rain in the morning). We were going to let the kids loose in the water-park, but seeing as all other parents had the same idea we went to the playground instead.

Kids love slides! I remember really loving slides when I was little. I guess it feels like a small roller coaster on the way down and the thrill makes you want more.

There was a small children's playground not far away on the same strip, so we strolled over there. Kien saw the bouncy seesaw thing and wanted me to go on the other side. Good thing there was Jessica who wanted to go on it too.

And then there were three.

This is such an awesome playground. The view is fantastic. The facilities are mostly equally good.

They had the metal slides, which actually don't slide. Sarah learnt about it the hard way.

Check out the giant red patch on Sarah's forehead.

It didn't stop her coming back for more though.

This starfish sculpture is pretty cool. Kien was very careful getting up and standing on the uneven surface.

Swings are always a hit. Little sister helped to push her big sister.

Snack time was on the picnic table with what seemed like gail force winds ripping through the area.

Kien lost his chips a number of times.

Sarah and Kien were standing next to each other, and I asked them to both hold hands. Without even looking for her hand he reached out and went by touch.

Sarah was very compliant.

OK, one more pic just for good measure, because that's what a gushy mum does.

More to come.