Vivid

Vivid Sydney is a fabulous little festival. The night the boys visited the weather was lovely. Their tour began at the top of Martin Place. Sadly, the skills of the photographer did not match the weather.

The boys were only slightly interested in the first exhibit.

The lighting of the MLC Centre was superb.

Photos simply can't do justice to the multitude of movement.

The boys spent minutes standing and watching.

The video below was taken by someone else on the same night the boys were there. It shows how much was going on with the foliage moving, birds flying and other animals crawling up and down the tree trunk. It was very entertaining.



The next exhibit was lots of fun, too.

Once again a lack of photographic skill is evident. Little butterflies flicked across the tiny screens. The boys, and many other people, had heaps of fun tapping the screens in an attempt to 'catch' them. Graham dissolved into fits of giggling while playing.

This little waterfall had rows of people taking videos.

It's really quite clever.

Some of the installations were less entertaining but still worth a look.

While others were genuinely artistic.

Then the boys walked from Martin Place to Circular Quay.

They danced.

The display on the museum was excellent.


Then the boys played on these circles that responded to pressure.

Graham stayed in there for 15mins until he was asked to leave. It wasn't too crowded but there was crowd control at the entrance.

Customs House looked great, too.

This display was one of many in between Circular Quay and the Opera House.

The photos don't do the displays justice. There were many people with very professional-looking camera equipment taking photos and videos. Youtube should be full of stuff.

The boys had fun but it was quite a lot of walking, especially for Graham. He was carried on Dad's shoulders all the way back to the car for the drive home.

A really nice video of the Opera House show can be found here.

Pandas Can Swing

Life is not always exciting for Craig and Graham. Sometimes they seem to be very content with playing the simplest of games. One favourite pastime is taking a swing and two soft toy pandas to the little park immediately downstairs from home.

There's not many possible variations of games that can be played with this type of equipment but that doesn't stop the boys from experimenting within those limitations.

It's unlikely that the pandas feel dizzy.

A little brother copying his older sibling is very common.

While Graham plays with the swing, Craig can usually be found up a tree.

The weather has been warm enough for these games on many days recently.

And the pandas have never complained.

A new game that the boys both like is searching for Easter eggs that Dad has hidden in the park. It's a really good way to get the boys outside.

Despite Easter being finished long ago the boys haven't finished the eggs they found in Earlwood.

After eating chocolate Craig has plenty of energy.

And Graham doesn't mind receiving a push.

Jenga Master Craig

A few weekends ago, the boys spent an afternoon with Aunty Annette. During the visit Craig must have played Jenga to pass the time. When he got home he insisted on playing again with Dad. Graham helped get the Jenga blocks out of the box.

Craig built the tower.

The tower got taller and wobblier but Craig wasn't fazed. His little fingers were surprisingly nimble when pulling blocks out.

He was also very steady when putting blocks on top of the tower and he obviously enjoyed himself, especially when he won.

Craig also plays other games with Dad. He recently learned to play dominoes,

Chinese Chequers,

and, Guess Who? You need some entertainment when you live in a home with no TV!

I Am The Hunter

Easter Sunday was a near-perfect day. The morning weather was beeyooteefull and the trees were full of Easter eggs! Well, that's the way things were in Wanstead Reserve in sunny Earlwood.

At the appointed time of 10am impatient children waited with their baskets for the hunt to begin.

They had to wait for latecomers.

It may have seemed like forever for the boys but it was only 10 minutes for the adults.

Finally, they were off. All the big kids stormed past this little tree and made a beeline for bigger trees where lots of eggs were hiding. Aunty Anne guided Graham to places where the competition to find eggs was less fierce.

Which didn't mean that Graham would actually pick up the eggs himself.

Meanwhile, Craig needed no such help.

He was in there with the best of them and occasionally diving in first.

Aunty Anne worked so hard helping Graham that she probably deserved to have a decent photo. You know, at least one that showed her face but .......

As a result of all that help Graham had plenty of chocolate eggs to enjoy.

Craig had done a great job. He had way too many eggs to eat all at once. The photo doesn't do him justice. His little basket had more eggs than could be easily counted. No one had more.

The boys sat down to enjoy the spoils of the hunt.

Back indoors the boys got busy with a little toy that featured an elevator.

Graham loved it.

After lunch the boys were taken outdoors again. The playground in Wanstead Reserve isn't huge but it's perfect when there's only two boys!

They really had plenty of space. There was a wide grassy area that wasn't being used at all.

They walked along the river and then crossed over to the other side where there's a much busier playground. There were lots of kids having lots of fun. The boys played there until dusk and it was time to go home.

There was good news when they arrived home. The toy that Graham liked so much had become his! It's previous owner had so many toys that this one was being given away.

In fact, both boys quite like it and they've been reasonably good about taking turns.

P.S. The next morning, Graham behaved like it was Boxing Day. When he woke up, the first thing he did was run out of bed to the living room to make sure the toy was still there! The smile on his face when he saw it was where he had left it the night before was radiant. :)