Learning the transport network the hard way

So today was my only "free" day, with no hockey, no training, no obligations so what did we do? No we didn't declare it a pj day and sit around watching movies all day long. Instead mum insist that i do a practice public transport run to get ready for school with me leading the way. 

We were in no hurry so we didn't check timetables, just headed out. The journey started off well, not having to wait long to catch the bus or the tram. In fact we made it all the way to my school with no dramas at all. In fact it was so drama free that we decided to stop for lunch on the way back. 

After lunch was when decisions needed to be made - Milla had a dentist appointment to get to. Should we catch all catch the tram to the dentist or should we return home and then just mum and Milla gontonthe dentist?  

Going home first was the choice that won. Of course heading toward home, the transport connection wasn't as smooth. By the time we got to the bus stop, we had missed the bus by only a few minutes. We now had a new dilemma, wait for the next bus and be a few minutes late for the dentist or head back to try and catch the tram. Seeing that mum hates being late, we headed for the tram as mum called ahead to say they were running late. Naturally the tram had just left but another tram was in sight so it seemed we wouldn't be too late. Of course that team sat for ages without moving. Finally when it did move it was so slowly we could have walked faster. What did we do next?  Not sit and enjoy the slow leisurely ride. Instead we got off and walked back to try and catch a bus. To continue with the excitement, there wasn't a bus in sight and we didn't even know where the bus stop we needed was. We tried to hail a taxi but the only taxi that stopped only stopped to tell us he wasn't taking passengers. We even tried calling for a taxi but they didn't answer the phone. Clearly getting to the dentist was going to be hard work. 

Mum called the dentist to say that we were still stuck in Footscray. Luckily for Milla they had a cancellation so she could still go there whenever they could. So here I am, almost an hour after missing the first bus, back at the same bus stop, waiting for a bus that of course we missed by a few minutes. At least this means I get to go home instead of being bored waiting at the dentist!

So, what did I learn today?

1. Always get to where you are going before stopping for lunch. 

2. Leave earlier than you think you need to, public transport can take forever and it always takes longer than you imagined. If it doesn't take ages you get to where you need to be you will be early and that is good too. 

3. Make a decision, stick to it and see it through, heaps of time is wasted each time you change your mind. 

4. Mum's brain must still be broken, she has forgotten how to make a decision!

5. Running late is better on a full stomach however, running through the suburbs with a full stomach is less fun!

Most importantly it isn't what I have learnt, it is more important that I have convinced mum that I can read timetables, make contingency plans and I will have no hassles getting to school on my own next week!

Exploring the Streets

Very, very soon, I am going to move from Cubs to Scouts and I am pretty excited about it.  Sure Cubs is great fun but Scouts is even more awesome, the activities they get to do are pretty amazing.  

Tonight, instead of going to my normal Cubs night, I joined the Scouts for an extra activity they were going to try - street orienteering.  Somehow I managed to get mum to come along and supervise our team (by supervise, I mean just make sure we didn't get completely lost or go over time) as we 'power walked' our way through the streets trying to find as many markers as we could.  We were out exploring the streets for an hour and covered 3 or 4km, finding heaps of different markers.

I am sure mum really really wanted to take pics of us in action but she was way too busy just trying to keep up with us as we tried not to run.  I never realised just how hard it is to try and walk when you are racing to find something!  Maybe next time we will sign up as a running team instead of a walking team.

Let me say it now - street orienteering is wicked, I can't wait to go again.  

Love AJ Pickle

Wishes for Everyone

An amazing afternoon of exploring and we found not only a Labyrinth but a Wishing Tree.  

The Wishing Tree

The tree was covered in wishes from many different people.  It was beautiful.

... when I grow up

Love and Laughs

Contentedness, Beauty, Peace

Super Powers :-)

I wish for a Kitten too!

Happiness for all

The Labyrinth

A public holiday and with school about to go back, it was the last day we were all likely to be home together for a month or 2.  It was the perfect reason to get out and about.  Dad planned an adventure for us to go exploring around the Yarra, in the Fairfield area.  We jumped in the car and headed out to have some fun.

Dad's plans went out the window when we saw a signpost that said 'Labyrinth' with an arrow pointing in the opposite direction.  Naturally we ignored Dad's directions and headed off to find the Labyrinth.

Now I don't know about you, but until now, all I knew about a Labyrinth is that it is a movie that is kinda scary, where everyone gets lost in a ginormous maze.  (I probably should watch the movie again now that I am older, hopefully it won't be so scary!)

Luckily the Labyrinth we found was nothing like that Labyrinth.  This Labyrinth was made from rocks and was a single pathway that we followed around and around until we made it to the middle.

Follow the Path

I tried to relax and enjoying the slow wander through the Labyrinth, but I don't wander slowly very well.  We are kids so going slow really isn't what we do.  In fact, we went through the Labyrinth twice and still managed to get back to the start before mum!

Getting there

Almost to the middle

One of the biggest challenges was to stay in between the rock walls instead of jumping over them!

We had a great time exploring the Labyrinth.

The Wishing Tree and the Labyrinth

Sometimes it is great to change plans at the last minute, to see what surprises are just around the corner.
Happy exploring,

Love Princess George

Being helpful

Yes I know that AJ complains that there are too many girls and that they are always hanging around at Nan and Pop's place but it isn't my fault that I am really good at making friends and that I have great friends living so close to their house that we can visit each other all the time.

Anyway, AJ should remember that having girls around isn't always a bad thing, sometimes they can be extremely helpful (instead of completely annoying), just like when we went fishing except I didn't want to do any fishing.


Instead of getting in your way, I let you guys do the fishing and I did all the hard work - I took all the stinky carp to the dead fish pile for you!

You're welcome AJ!

Love Princess George

Look what I caught!

I love being on holidays, especially when I get to stay at Nan and Pop's house.  The only bit that I don't like is being sick and throwing up every night (fingers crossed that is over now!)  Oh there is one other thing that can be annoying - I am always surrounded by girls, they are everywhere.  Seriously, this entire neighbourhood seems to be made up of girls!  Luckily Nan took me out to Tungamah to catch up with my cousins, well my mum's cousin and her boys.  Hooray for having boys to hang out with!

The best part of the day was going fishing.  We wandered down to the Boosey Creek, the same place that we went camping a few years ago, and threw in a line.  It wasn't long before there was a tug at my line.

AJ and his first catch

I couldn't believe it - I had caught a fish!

It wasn't long before I caught another fish, and then another and another.  We caught heaps of fish.  The others were a little disappointed that the fish we caught were European Carp and no good for eating but I didn't mind, I don't eat fish anyway!

I like the country life, hanging out by the creek, catching fish and having fun.  I could get used to this.
Love AJ Pickle

Another Day, Another Beach

Like I said yesterday, being dragged along to hang out with girls can be a pain and being stuck hanging out with 3 little(ish) girls can be very painful.  Luckily we were in another pretty awesome place again today.

When we arrived at the beach we had the whole place to ourselves. 

I was able to go bodysurfing before the crowds turned up.

Once it was too busy in the water and I was thoroughly waterlogged, I decided it was time to join the girls on the beach. They were digging holes to see who could dig the deepest hole. I knew that I could did the biggest hole so I started digging.  Then, once my hole was the biggest, the girls helped bury me.

                           

Hmmm, I really didn't think this through!

Luckily I could get my arms free then I had to start digging my way out.  Let me tell you, it is much easier to dig a hole than it is to dig your way out of a hole!

If you don't count the wicked sunburn that I now have, maybe hanging out with girls at the beach isn't so bad!

Love AJ Pickle

Sleep Out

It is no secret that we love camping, the only problem is that we are always so busy that we never make time to go camping. A few weeks ago we wanted to go camping in the backyard but it turns out that our tent is bigger, WAY bigger, than our backyard so that didn't work.

Well all of that has changed now and we are the proud new owners of a new tent that we can all fit in but still fits in our backyard. To celebrate, we went camping the very night we got the tent.

It was great camping in the backyard. The best thing was that we could quickly run inside to get anything we had forgotten.  And yes, you do need to have a cow with sunglasses when you go camping!

We tried to convince mum and dad to join us on our camping adventure but we had no luck.  Hopefully  our whole family we will get to go camping properly soon.
Love AJ and Milla

Such a drag!

Sometimes it is frustrating when I get dragged along to things with Milla, to places where there are only girls or little kids to play with.  Then other times it is awesome, especially when the places that I get dragged to are at the beach!

I hope that you had a chance to enjoy the sunset too.
Love AJ Pickle

Loving the Beach

It is only the second day of the year and we are visiting our second beach of the year.

It was stinking hot today so we had a pretty quiet day with friends at home then mum surprised us and packed a dinner picnic to take to the beach!

Beach love

Perhaps 2013 is the year of beaches!
Love Princess George

A New Year and a New Beach

What better way to start the New Year than by driving to a 'new' beach.  OK, it isn't really a new beach but it was a part of the beach that was new to us, we stopped here to avoid the crowds on the main part of the beach.  Anyway, spending the day at the beach is always fun, there is so much to do.

Of course you can splash around in the water, go for a swim, search for sea creatures or find pretty rocks.

Enjoying the beach

You can also dig holes in the sand. We had this great idea to dig holes and bury ourselves in the sand to avoid the sun.

Almost buried

If you are lucky you can find some seaweed pom poms and pretend you are a cheerleader!

Ready, OK!

What a great way to spend New Years Day,
Love princess George and AJ Pickle

I was at the Color Run too!

If you look at Milla's post it would be easy to think that just because it was her idea to go in the Color Run that she should be in ALL of the photos.  Well I want everyone to know that I was there too.

Mum and I on the way to the course

Waiting to start

About to begin

The Color Fun has begun

So much colour and so much fun!

And now for the best photo bomb ever... 

Kimberley came to the Color Run with us and wanted proof that she made it to the finish line :-)

Photobombing Kimberley's photo

I wonder if I can go to another Color Run in another city?

Love AJ Pickle

Colour Fun at the Color Run

Ages ago, I saw and ad on TV about the Color Run and it looked like fun.  Then every time I used the computer there would be a pop-up reminding me about how much fun the run looked.  I mentioned to mum and dad that I wanted to do a fun run and suggested that it would be heaps of fun to do the Colour Run as a family.  Surprisingly they agreed and before I knew it we were signed up as Team superRelish and there was no backing out.  Not that I wanted to ever back out, have you seen photos from other Color Run events - so cool!

Anyway, today was THE day.  Dad had picked up our race packets on Friday so we were all set to go.

Waiting to begin

Ready to go to the Color Run

Still waiting

Almost ready to start

The START is in sight

 

Come on folks, they said fun run NOT fun walk!

The colour begins

All coloured

Chalk is like paint when it is wet :-)

Even my tummy was 'painted'!

I think this is my favourite family photo EVER!

A messy colourful superRelish family

I had a blast at the Color Run and can't wait to sign up again next year.
Love Princess George

PS - there are more pics of our crazy fun on Facebook or on Flickr

Summer is finally on the way

Do you know how I know that Summer is on the way?  It could be because the sun is shining more or because we don't need to wear a jumper all of the time, but the real reason I know that summer is finally on the way is because our season Summer Fun passes to Adventure Park Geelong have arrived!  That means it is time for us to jump into the car and head down to Adventure Park to have some water fun.

All of our old favourite rides were there, the Lazy River and the Wild West Canyon but there were new adventures to try too.  Before long we were clipping on life jackets and pedalling our way around the lake.

Enjoying the ride

A helping hand

3/4 of the family racing around the lake

It looks like we have found a new favourite, enjoying the single paddle boats on Barracuda Bay.

Another great day and I am looking forward to even more water adventures at Adventure Park.
Love AJ Pickle

70 x 2

Friday was a pretty special day, it was the day that our Nanna Pat and her twin sister Aunty/Nanny Bette celebrated their 70th birthdays.  We know Aunty/Nanna Bette isn't really our Nanna, she is our great aunt but since they are twins and they look so alike, sometimes we get confused and we just call them both Nanna!

Aunty/Nanna Bette and Nanna Pat - 70 years and 1 day old!

The nannas didn't know about it, but the kids, grandkids and some of the nieces and nephews had a surprise planned, we had organised to all go out for lunch together and then to a winery.  First we had to get everyone there.  Now I guess most people would just meet wherever we were going but this is no ordinary family, this is a family that likes to have fun, so we all caught a bus out to lunch!

I am pretty sure all the trouble makers are up the back!

We headed out to Byramine Homestead for a great lunch and birthday cake, as well as an explore of the area.  The kids got to have a party lunch - can you imagine just how crazy it was with so many of us hyped up on junk food and fizzy drink!

Some of the boys, replenishing the energy supplies.

Most of the adults didn't mind, they were enjoying some of this!

Drinks for the grown-ups

Even when we caught the bus back to town, the party wasn't over.  Really, it was just beginning.  There was more food, more cake and more fizzy drink for everyone.  I think there were some pretty tired and grumpy party folk this morning!

Thanks for sharing your special day with us Nanna Pat and Aunty/Nanna Bette,  we love you.

Love AJ and Milla

In the Olden Days

I know mum and dad think that all we did when we went to Nanna's birthday party was run wild, eat junk food and drink fizzy drink but it wasn't just about the party stuff, we got to learn heaps about life in the olden days.

The party was at Byramine Homestead near Yarrawonga.  It was built a really long time ago, it was one of the first house in the area.  Mrs Hume, the person that owned the house had it built so that she could feel safe living there with her 9 children after her husband died.  The house was an unusual shape and design.  There was a room in the middle of the house that was octagonal where you could pretty much see into every other room or hallway in the house.  If she felt afraid, there were plenty of hiding places, every room had some removable floor boards so that they could climb down into a cellar space to stay safe.  It was pretty amazing.  I loved being able to walk down into the cellar and then climb out through the floor boards on the verandah!

The kitchen was in the building where the servants lived!

Do you know what else I noticed?  The kitchen was outside the house, in it's own little house.

They had people live with them who did all the cooking.  I think mum would love to have someone live with us to do all of the cooking!

There was a sewing machine there so instead of the cooking mum would be able to make heaps of stuff instead.  She would make all of our clothes, our blankets, our toys.  Pretty much anything we needed she would have to make





The bedrooms were pretty big, but the beds seemed to be small.  I think that in a year or so I would be too big for the beds and my feet would be hanging over the end of them.

I also noticed that there wasn't really a bathroom there either, that would mean no showers for me.  I would have to wash a little bit, using a pitcher of water and a basin but that really wouldn't count.





There was also heaps of places to play outside and trees to climb.  This is one of the oldest non-native trees in all of Victoria!

I love going on adventures and imagining that I lived in different places but as fun as it is to try for a little while, I am glad that when I get home we have electricity, hot water and a fridge full of food!
Love AJ Pickle