Starting Kindergarten

 Our boy has been so excited to start kindergarten, and kept asking me when he was going to start. The day finally came on the 2nd day of school of term 3. We were lucky that he got a spot in the Kindergarten at Maddi's school.  He goes every Tuesday and Thursday and is in the Poteroo group.

 I can never get a photo of all three of them looking so end up taking two or more shots.

 

 We have half an hour to fill in before he can start in the morning as they start a little later than school. We were very fortunate that a brand new park opened across the road from the school. Every kinder morning, Linc and Alex have a play there, and we almost always have the whole park to ourselves.

On his first day he was very excited, but also anxious as we were at the park, and he was worried that we were going to be late. He surprised me how confidentally he walked into kinder and settled in. Linc and I stayed for half an hour, just to make sure he was alright, and during mat time he said, "why are you and Linky still here?!" We figured he was right without us, and that was our cue to leave. The hardest thing was getting Linc to leave. He has made some friends. Everyone seems to know him, and he often gets greeted by name by kids when we pick Maddi up from school. He tells me "that's my friend." But he never remembers their names! It has been really good for him, and he goes to the school assembly every Tuesday to prepare them for when they go to school. Maddi often looks out for him in her lunch break, and visits him through the fence. He gets ready quick smart on school days, and is very dissapointed when he doesn't have school. He seems to really enjoy playing outside in the sandpit the most, and cooking, which he loves to do at home as well.

Here he is as a fireman for the Book Week parade.

On his first day of school Moppy and Poppy arrived in the afternoon from visiting Gina in Sydney, and stayed with us while Alex was away in China. It was a good thing that they were here, as it would of been hard to manage on my own, as Linc was sick. One day we went to Ikea, and the boys had heaps of fun in the kids section. On the Thursday after school, Moppy and Poppy took Alex out into the city for the night. Moppy and Poppy started a tradition to do something special with their grandchild when they started school. Maddi went to Sydney with them, when they started the tradition, and it was Alex's turn to visit the city with them.

 

 
They went out for dinner, and he almost ate a whole pizza. He sure knows how to eat, and is always hungry. They also had dessert as well.

He stayed at the Sofitel with Moppy and Poppy. Moppy said he was so excited, and checked the whole room out. I didn't think he would be that excited about staying in a hotel as we lived in one for two and a half weeks, but I think he enjoyed it a lot, perhaps because he had special time on his own with Moppy and Poppy.

 
The next morning they went out for breakfast and to the Aquarium. He really enjoyed looking at the penguins. By late afternoon, he was back home, and looked very tired. The kids seemed to miss him while he was away, we certainly noticed how quiet it was without him, as he is definitely the noise maker in the house. Maddi told him how much she had missed him, and he seemed to miss her as well. Thanks so much to Moppy and Poppy for taking him out and keeping the tradition alive.
 

The School Holidays

 
 During the beginning of July it was school holidays. The first week we had Grandma come and visit for four nights. We went to our local shops and shopped, took Grandma to our local park and one day went to our local Max Brenner. One evening Grandma and I went out to the city to watch the production of Moonshadow. Grandma is a big fan of Cat Stevens, so she knew all the songs, whereas I only recognised the hit songs. I enjoyed just spending time with her, and having a girl's night out. Grandma is always kept busy when she comes to our house. She catches us up on all the ironing, repairs clothes and toys for us, cleans the house and does the washing. Our house looked like a hotel whilst she visited. I was very grateful for her help and company, as Alex was away for a couple of nights whilst she was away. The time went very quick while she was here.


On the Friday of the first week of school holidays, the ward had a temple day. Coincidentally, it was the morning that Moppy and Poppy arrived off The Spirit of Tasmania. It was our first trip to the temple since we have moved. I asked Maddi if she remembered the temple, and she said she did. It was Linc's first time, and Alex's 2nd time, as he was just a baby when we went to Becc and Brise's wedding. Moppy and Poppy took the kids to Puffing Billy for the morning whilst we were in the temple, and they had such a fantastic time.

 

Alex and I had a lovely morning in the temple, and it was nice to know that the kids were happy doing their activities. Alex and I then had a leisurely lunch at a dumpling place, and met up with the kids and Moppy and Poppy to do some shopping. There were lots of bargains around as the stocktake sales were on, and the kids all came home wearing new shoes. That evening Moppy took Maddi to see the production of Annie. Maddi had such a lovely time, and has been telling us all about it at different times. She really is such a socialite, and Moppy told me that she chatted to the people sitting next to them. It was a late night for them, and Maddi went straight to bed when they got home. She was very proud of her Annie Cup and program that she brought home, and showed us which actress played Annie in her show.

The next Monday, Alex had an annual leave day, and we had grand plans to do something, but we ended up just taking it easy, which is what Alex has needed as it was his first day off work in a long time. We did end up going to Max Brenner, to try the famous chocolate Pizza, but were utterly dissapointed, that they had run out of pizza bases and ended up having an expensive fondue, which we could of made at home for less than half the price! But hopefully the kids will remember it. You can't put a price on that. Another day we caught the train into the city. It was the boys first ride on a train (besides Puffing Billy). They really enjoyed it and I was really surpised that we were the only family on the train as it was school holidays. They got lots of smiles and attention from the other passengers, as they could see how much they were enjoying it.

 
 We then caught a tram to the Botanical Gardens and met up with Petal and her gorgeous little boy Lachie. It was a showery day, but it made it all the more fun to pull out the brolly and for the kids to jump in puddles It was great to catch up with Petal and reminice and catch up on the pieces of each others lives that we have missed out on. Lachie is such a good baby and is very smiley. The kids were very interested in him and would rub his head and talk to him. Petal showed us a good Cafe nearby and we had hot chocolates there, before we departed to go back into the city.

 The kids were so happy and good the whole time, and we did so much walking with little complaining. We walked to the mall and had a look around, and stopped at the kid's favourite, handmade lolly shop and the nearby toy shop. We also spent some time at Federation Square, and the kids were very engaged in the games on the big screen. 

A Chinese tourist asked us if he could take a photo of Linc, because he thought he was so cute. Of course he posed for the camera.

 
Another day a friend invited us around to have lunch with them, which was lovely, as Maddi and her daughter who is 9 got on so well.  The rest of the holidays we tried to sleep in and recover from the busy time we had the rest of the holidays. It was nice not to have to be somewhere by a certain time, and linger in our pjs. We were very lucky to have our family visit us and spend some time with the kids. They were such a great help in more ways than one. What would we do without our Mum's and Dad's?