First Day of School...

August 17th 2009 God has given us a restful and productive summer holiday.

The kids and I are both glad to get back to the school routine with a few games of soccer thrown in for good measure.

Today is a simple and easy day covering books, reading over handbooks, checking supplies, etc.

We are looking forward to another school year packed full of new things to learn, new challenges to overcome, faith deepening experiences and growing in love and grace, as we work together in God's goodness. We pray God will work in us all to will and to do according to His good purpose.

Barcelona v LA Galaxy 2-1

On Saturday evening we had tickets to go see Barcelona FC- the European Champions, play LA Galaxy. It was held at the Rosebowl in Pasadena, CA. There were 93,000 people at the game. It was the biggest crowd at a soccer game since the World Cup in 1984

We met our friends the Granados's at the ground...

and sat by them for the game
This will give you a little of the atmosphere...


The end result was Barcelona 2 LA Galaxy 1

Legoland!!....

The day had finally dawned....

We arrived with different emotions. Some were unenthusiastic, but there was one who couldn't believe the day had finally arrived...

The only question was what do we do first?.....
...a visit to New York perhaps?
...or Paris?

what about the Sydney Opera House?...

...or even go as far as the Taj Mahal?...

We even saw the inauguration of President Obama...

...yes all made out of Lego!!

There were a few famous people/robots we had to meet...

One of them even challenged Andrew!!

There were rides that the girls enjoyed....

This is what happens when you don't eat your dinner in Legoland!!!!

...at the end the day we left with one very happy and contented little boy...
Legoland was a great day out...

Here is my honest assessment of it...

It is definitely geared towards little boys up to 12 years of age (who are into Lego). There a few things girls will enjoy also, princesses, pink bricks etc,. I felt it was over priced for what was in there. We had some coupons which kept our prices down, buy online they are $10 cheaper than gate prices. There are a some good rides for the whole family and 1 or 2 that Andrew didn't even face. If you are wanting thrill rides don't go here. The food inside the park was like anywhere else...good but overpriced, budget for it and share a 'feast' lunch at the Castle part of the park.

On the whole our family enjoyed the day. It is not like Disneyland where you will save up and every 4-5 years perhaps return. It is definitely a 'once in a lifetime' trip, so make the most of it while you are there. My suggestion would be get together with any other family that has boys and plan have a dad and lads days out, let the mums and daughters go shopping or whatever else they fancy. It saves money and everyone is happy!!
especially those little boys!!

Travelling south...

Wednesday 29th July

We started on the long haul to SoCal.

We planned to stay overnight with our good friends The Elliotts in Riverside,CA.

It is always an adventure there with all their wild life. Andrew had a great time chasing lizards, watching hummingbirds, catching june bugs, seeing wasps catch terantullas...seriously, this did happen..sorry I didn't get it on camera. So here is what I did catch on camera of our adventures there.

Chilling on the patio...

renewing fellowship with friends....Alistair and Lizette Winters... I spy with my little eyes...Lizards...this one just came out for a few seconds before retreating back under the umbrella stand...

Old Ben, he came with them from Scotland... The Hummingbirds were hard to capture on camera..they are fast

Even though it was July, Pastor Elliott was able to catch a june bug and put a string on his leg..watch the video below and you will see what happened...

What a safari we had just in the back yard and our holiday had only begun!

I almost forgot to let you see the glorious sunsets at the Elliotts resort.Spectacular or what?You would think it was some faraway tropical paradise...well I suppose it is!!

Truly the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places...

A day at 'Wackford'.......

Ok, so Dad had been to Kentucky and returned, I had finished decorating our bedroom and a big promise was to be fulfilled to the kids...a day at the Wackford Aquatic Centre.
It was to be a day of relaxation and fun.

...and it was. Rob and I chatted some, read some, swam some and watched the kids dive..This is Deborah it was about her 10th time.. no fear

...it was Andrew's first time, he was a little cautious

...as for Esther she doesn't just jump in...she decides to do a forward flip!! ...oh and Andrew did find the courage to take that BIG step!!! It was a great day by the pool, sadly Lois missed some of it, she had to work and could only make the last couple of hours. I'll be posting the rest of our holiday time over the next few days...stay tuned!!