We have just enjoyed a lovely long family weekend taking in some of Adelaide's unique features and having lots of fun together in the process.
It started on Friday, which was student free day at school and also the first day of the Royal Adelaide Show. Now, I had planned on perhaps avoiding the Show again this year on the premise that our children have never been to the Show before, so they didn't know what they were missing. Silly me, however, had failed to take into account the important fact that 5-6 year olds are very cluey and they actually talk to each other at school. So, the girls came home from school on Thursday with in-depth information about this Royal Adelaide Show and all the wonders it had to offer and armed with the knowledge that it would be happening tomorrow!
We were blessed to receive some entry tickets for Matt and I, so we geared up and bit the bullet. And I'm so glad we did! I have very fond memories of attending the Show as a child. When we lived in Perth we went every year - my Mum's dad and brother owned various show rides so we enjoyed the benefits of knowing the "Showies" - rides, carnival games, little plastic fairy dolls on sticks etc. The only expenses were the food and the showbags (which then were relatively reasonable - now, I think there are probably families who save up all year to buy the hundreds of bags of "stuff" they cart out the gates at the end of their day). When we moved to Adelaide the rules changed a bit (we didn't know the Showies in Adelaide), so we went every second year and there were certain limits on rides and showbags, but we always walked away feeling very indulged and satisfyingly exhausted. We had really fun family times at the Show.
Anyway, having visited a theme-park or two, I had the strategy for our day planned. I had enough food packed to feed us all happily for the entire day (including chips and cupcakes so there were some treats involved). Our first activity for the day was a visit to the showbag hall where we found the Bertie Beetle stall and purchased a blue bag for each of the kids. Right, they had their lollies and were ready to play (big tick for me - showbag hall done when it was still quiet with no nagging for goodie bags having taken place). After a wander through the Lifestyle Pavilion where we sampled various cooked treats and picked up a Woolies Fresh Food Kids free goodie bag for each of the kids, our next stop was the kids carnival which housed the inevitable rides and carnival games. Now, the kids had been prepped that they could choose one ride to enjoy here (they are used to HK Disneyland where they can hop on everything as many times as they'd like). However, when they saw the games and all the glittering (cheap, tacky, plasticy) prizes on display, they decided to try their luck at one of these instead. Asha had a go at fishing for a noodle box and won a blue stuffed cow. Shae and Ethan opted for a variation on the clown game where you feed 5 ping-pong balls into the mouth of the clown (or in their case a mermaid and a penguin) and win a prize from the section marked with the number bearing the sum total of the balls played according to the channels they land in. Ethan won a plastic toy truck (with a picture of some vegetables and a Chinese baby on the side) and Shae picked up a Barbie telephone. And that was side-show alley taken care of - ANOTHER big tick for me! And three very happy campers.
Next stop was in the horticulture pavilion where we were treated to a fashion parade entitled Wearable Blooms. It was an interesting concept with some lovely intricate designs and some rather unexpected bawdy antics. Like I said, interesting. After that we glided past the cake displays to see if our friend Sue had taken out another prize this year - unfortunately not. And then we began to wander toward the animal pavilions. Fortunately for us Asha was side-tracked by a performer who was setting up his act on a stage we were passing and she asked if we could watch. Sure! We had no real agenda, so we set up camp. And for the next half an hour we were treated to the BEST juggling and street performance act we've ever seen. All we can say is "Go Mr. Spin! We love you!".
As our day drew to a close we watched some V8 utes driving in formation (that wasn't anyone's highlight and we didn't stay long), visited the farmyard nursery, saw some show dogs, sampled lots of different types of salami and olives and then made the trek back to the car. Picked up pizza on the way home and thus ended a fun and surprisingly low-stress day. Minimal whining, no melt-downs (by us or kids) and lots of joy.
Saturday morning was lazy (bliss!) and then in the afternoon we visited the Railway Museum with our friends Brenton and Hayley. Brenton in a train fanatic and made the entire experience a lot of fun and very memorable (by fanatic I mean - this is where Brenton held his 30th birthday celebration - he just LOVES trains!). We spent two hours jumping on and off old railway carriages, exploring engine rooms, riding the miniature Thomas train and enjoying the thrill of seeing Brenton in his element! It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without him there.
Shae, Ethan and Asha with Brenton and Hayley
(and one of the many train engines at the Railway Museum)
Sunday was Father's Day and we enjoyed a 'low-key' lunch with Matt's parents at our house. It was simple and relaxed. I wish that I could've given my Dad a hug and kiss and some bbq steak on the day too, but he and Mum are currently enjoying some time overseas - so, across the miles, Dad "I love you and thanks". Adequate words would take a whole post of their own, so I will save that for another time....
