Early Autumn Afternoon at the Beach

On Saturday afternoon, Craig and Graham headed over to Collaroy beach. The surf was seriously big. So big that no one was allowed to go swimming. That didn't bother the boys. They only wanted to dig in the sand.

 The spot they like the best is right beside Collaroy beach rock pool.

 Craig likes to dig tunnels.

 Another boy brought a toy to play with Graham in the natural rock pools.

 After the other boy left, Graham kept playing by himself digging sand out of the water and putting it on the rocks.

 Meanwhile, in the background the surf was getting smaller but still much too big for little boys to go swimming in the waves.

Aunty Suprana Goes to Clontarf

(Back in January) Aunty Suprana's second day in Sydney was a good one. Craig and Graham's parents had long said that any visitors from overseas should be brought to Clontarf Reserve for a barbecue. Aunty Suprana was the first!

Craig helped cook the marinated prawns. (Craig's Mum's homemade marinade is the best!)

Before lunch the boys had spent most of the time playing on the excellent jungle gym. After lunch it was time to hit the beach.

A lot of thought went into how to dig the tunnels just right before running water through them.

Graham was quite diligent with the water tests.

Craig kicked water at Mum so she took shelter behind Dad.

Craig and Aunty Suprana had fun in a new boat.

It was a beautiful summer day, perfect for messing about in the water.

Aunty Suprana got out of the boat to allow Craig to get in.

But Craig had other plans.

After heaps of fun and games, on the way home, a stop was made at Tania Park on top of Dobroyd Head. You can see straight through the heads of Sydney Harbour from there. It's a spectacular view but a good camera is needed to really capture it.

Video Retrospective

A few videos were made in August last year when Mum came home after a few months away.The boys were very happy to have Mum to play with again. It more than made up for the cold weather.

Aunty Suprana First Day Afternoon

The first thing Aunty Suprana did was show off her selfie stick! Taking happy photos was easy.

Graham wanted to hold the stick and needed to be stopped in order to be in the photo.

After lunch, Aunty Suprana tried to take a nap. But, children don't understand jet lag. Watching videos on a tablet computer kept the boys quiet.

Then, there was a late afternoon walk alnog Dee Why beach..... and more selfies.

The boys reached the top of Long Reef headland first.

Not long later they had their picture taken again.

Collaroy Beach Playground

Not far north from home is lovely Collaroy and its very long beach. Mum had a day off one Friday. She suggested some time on the sand and the boys readily agreed.

While Mum relaxed, Craig dug a tunnel.

Graham amused himself at the top of the beach.

Craig's earthworks were functional and without adornment.

Soon, the boys moved off the sand into the recently refurbished playground. It's set up with lots of things that little kids like.

The playground has a lovely backdrop of sand and waves.

The boys also practised their climbing skills.

When the boys want to have fun, Collaroy is the place to go.

Aunty Suprana Comes to Visit

In the summer holidays my Aunty Suprana came to visit. On the first day we had a water fight.

I wore my new rashie and used my new water pistol.

I waited downstairs in the park.

We had lots of water pistols.

Everyone had a water pistol.

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.