Everything have been so special from all the time with family, to seeing old childhood friends, spending lots of time with two of my best friends in the world, and all our weekend adventures with my parents.
I love just watching my parents and the kids from the sidelines, it makes my heart skip a beat every single time, and I take so many mental pictures to keep and cherish for the months and years to come.
This week we had a Friday adventure with my one friend, that I have known since the the second grade. Our girls are pretty much the same age, so it made for a fun day.
Picnic beside the river, jungle gyms, swimming pools with super cold water, and we were the only people there all morning. It was a ton of fun to catch up, and watch the kids play. Language barriers seem to pose no problem for the kids - making friends wherever we go.
Three little ice cubes in a swimming pool - it was so cold - brave little souls.
and lots of running, climbing, and sliding.
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| They make me so happy! |
It was such a fun day!
My mom, Hayleigh, and I spend Saturday at a lovely little food market (iphone pictures), and did a little shopping.
Ian wanted to stay with my dad and help him around the house, in his own words "soon we will go home, and I won't get to see my oupa every day, so I want to do everything with him," that kind of tucked on my heart a little bit.
We all had a great day, doing different things.
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We spend Sunday at the Monte Casino Bird Garden. It is one of my favourite places, and we always always go there when we are home. It is so much fun, and just so beautiful. Here is the post from our last visit in 2014.
We went super early, to miss the crazy rush, and to be home early in the afternoon.
We fed some ducks - this was a major hit. They ate it right out our hands - so gently - definitely not the ducks from our local duck pond, back home.
One of my personal favourite parts is the part that you get to feed the little birds nectar. As predicted my kids hated every single minute of it (Ian hated it back in 2011, and they both did back in 2014, as well as in Hawaii earlier this year) - so my dad and I had a blast instead.
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| He was so not impressed with this move! |
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| Save with ouma and away from the nectar, all was good in his world again, |
We had to dodge the rain for a little while, so we hung out in the frog room. The kids loved this, finding all the frogs, scorpions, and spiders hiding away. It was a ton of fun. Just like my dad said, we are very well educated in frogs now, thanks to the rain.
It is just so much fun to walk through the garden. The landscaping is beautiful, the gardens are colorful, it is clean, and there is so much to see. The kids loved it, but they are just so fast.
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| Break time. |
The bird aviary is super fun as well. There is a ton of birds, a little snake park, and for the first time since I have been they have lemurs that hang out. The bridges where is hit with the kids.
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| Old school selfie. |
This is also the first time since we have been going with the kids that they were able to sit still and watch the bird show. They were so little before that it lasted about five minutes, and the wiggles would take over.
This was so much fun. I loved watching them all excited and in awe of all the wonderful birds.
Hayleigh wanted to sit in the way front, and Ian well he wanted to sit up high with my mom - so we divided and conquer.
It was such a neat variety of birds.
The kids actually learned a ton from the bird show - I love doing fun things and learning through it - hands on.
We finished up with the parrots - they are so colorful and beautiful, and they also have a little bit of a cheek - but never the less they are super cute to watch.
Oh and a rogue lizard on the walkway.
We finished up our morning with a quick lunch. The kids favourite place to eat here....
I love little outings and adventures with the kids, and what an added bonus that we get to spend some extra time with my parents.
This whole trip was kind of a last minute decision for our family, to make it through this year, and it has been so rewarding.
For all who wanted to know. Nate is doing just fine in Texas, working and finishing up school. We are all excited to be reunited in December.
Happy Monday!
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