A day of fun in the fields

Today we all went out to Whittlesea (a little way up north from the city) to a place call Funfields. With a name like that, how could you possibly go wrong?

 

They're the Victorian equivalent of Dreamworlds tiny kid sister. Not an enormous selection of rides, but plenty enough to have fun with for a day, and best of all - virtually no queues! There was an area specifically for tiny tots, with electric ride-on racing cars and bikes. These were the quite possibly the favourite, and had Lucas and Alicia rushing out the exit to immediately re-join the entry queue quite a few times!

 There was also a downhill toboggan ride (kids needed to ride with Mum and Dad, but that was fine), a go-kart track (same deal), a crazy dodgem-boats pool, and even a rocking pirate ship!

And if that was all too much excitement for a family to have, you could also wind down and relax for a nice 18 holes of mini-golf!

And finally, there was also a modest selection of water slides and tube rides. Not really the most adviseable activity to partake in on a brisk Autumn Saturday, but Lucas and his thick-skinned Dad have never really been prone to taking advice of that nature...

All in all, a great day out! Now, if only Alicia hadn't slept for the hour-long trip home, she might actually be asleep by now...

Radio silence

Sorry for the extended break between posts, everyone - we've certainly had things happening in the last few months, it's just that we either (a) forget to take our camera along; or (b) forget to use it!

Anyway, here's a few photos that we have actually managed to take over the past couple of months. I shall try to improve the frequency of posts from now on.

Launceston Visit

The Melbourne Birds took advantage of the Australia Day holiday to tack on some extra Annual Leave, and pop down to Tassie for a short visit to the Home Land (a.k.a. Launceston). We had an absolute ball, catching up with all the relatives (mostly the Birtwistles, of course), and just generally relaxing and having fun.

With the weather being so pleasant, we spent quite a lot of time at the recently-refurbished Launceston Acquatic centre. A fantastic facility, with heaps of fun to be had by all.

A new friend moves in...

We were delighted to have the Johnsons (who migrated south very recently, only just missing the QLD floods!) over for dinner the other night. It was great to catch up, and we look forward to having them over for many more visits. Lucas and Bethany got on famously and played together very well, but Lucas was not quite as besotted as Alicia, seen here getting cosy with her new "big friend".

Alicia pretty much ignored poor Cameron, which would have been more of a pity if he'd actually CARED (which he didn't, instead taking a rare opportunity to explore a whole new world of big boys' toys).

Mad scientists

Behold, two mad scientists hard at work on their next ingenious project.

Drs Lucastein and Alicie-Curie direct the dim witted, hunch-backed Igor to carry out their nefarious bidding, pushing the very bounds of possibility itself.

They said we were Mad, but we'll show them, we'll show them ALL! Mu-wah-hah-haaaaah...

Nanna Bird comes to visit

We were very pleased to have Nanna Bird come over for a visit during the school holidays. She provided some very welcome company, not to mention assistance (particularly in the "keeping Lucas entertained" department).

We all went for a trip down to the Peninsula on the weekend, to check out the sand sculptures at Frankston, and also to visit the Sunny Ridge strawberry farm. Nanna decided to leave the actual task of berry picking to those more willing and able (at least, willing to wear plastic bags over their shoes), but was happy to assist in the eating part!

Australian Idols

One of Alicia's presents for Christmas this year was a little keyboard with attached microphone, and she has already had heaps of fun singing and mashing the keyboard. We see her and Lucas here, singing along to their respective "favourite songs".

Press the play buttons at your own risk. Caveat auditor.