Terrarium Take Two

We waited for May to come, looking for Mrs Hairylegs to emerge. And it did and so to July which ticked by and there was still no sight of Mrs Hairylegs. We decided that perhaps there was something wrong despite the cocoon looking very healthy. Very carefully we cut it open  to find the remains of Mrs Hairylegs. On a brighter note, it meant that my terrarium could now be restored to its former glory.

Off to Moxom and Whitney, an awesome florist in Braddon who took a few weeks to create this wonderful lush forest full of lovely colours and textures. So nice to have it back looking fabulous.

Farewell to the School Holidays

We were very lucky to have a beautiful day to celebrate the last day of the school holidays and decided to take full advantage of it. With the mountain biking enthusiasm still bubbling from the excursion to Stromlo during the week, we made our way to the other side of Mt Majura to test out the pump track and ride a few of the easier trails.

Unfortunately the wild weather from the previous week meant that the pump track was unrideable due to many fallen trees. Instead we chose to try out the dirt jump track nearby. There were several options to explore in this small area which led to many fun laps.

Once we had exhausted the various routes around the jump track, we meandered back along the Crazy Crab single track to the parking area. On the way to Mt Majura, we had dropped Andy off on the west side of the mountain so he could fit in a run. Before continuing on the next part of our adventure we rested at the picnic tables to consume some food and lo and behold Andy arrives. Perfect timing. A quick change into cycling gear and we were off to ride The Flash.

This single track was a little more challenging negotiating rocks, roots and mud. Only a km long, we completed a few laps before taking the sealed bike path under the Majura Parkway to the 'real' trails! As we entered the forest, we spotted a small group of Yellow-tailed black cockatoos enjoying the seeds from the pine cones. Ella was very excited about seeing these large birds in fact I think that may have been the highlight of the outing for her!!

We chose to ride Radicle and Smitten Kitten trails which traversed the lower slopes hoping that these trails would be ok for the girls to negotiate. Radicle was muddy and slippery and it wasn't long into this trail that Katy expressed a desire to go back. We convinced her to persevere and continued on only to encounter a deep ravine which no-one was keen to try to ride. The girls had problems just getting up the other side without their bikes!!

After that, the trail came good and we wound our way up emerging onto a fire trail. A family conference was called with the decision to wrap up our day's adventures and head home. The wide fire trail was mostly downhill which meant it was quick trip back to the car. Coffee on the way home finished off the day nicely.

Sharing the Parkrun Love

We were joined by first timers, Josh, Mia and Susie at Parkrun this weekend. Patrick on the other hand is a season professional!

As in the previous week I acted as sweep accompanying the last of the group. Andy charged off with Patrick and Josh in pursuit; Ella, Mia and Susie started together while Katy and I eased into the race. It wasn't long before we caught up and the girl cousins were happily running along while Susie and I chatted behind.

I was impressed with our girls - 2km out and neither of them had walked. Katy dropped off slightly in the 3rd km but it was Ella who stopped first to walk. It turns out she was offended when Mia asked if they could go faster!!

Susie kept Katy company who was progressing at a very even pace. Ella meanwhile was sorting our her emotions and spent several minutes sprinting to catch up before being puffed out and walking. Eventually she figured it out, reeled Katy in and continued on her way at a much better speed! I didn't see her again until the finish.

Susie also decided to try to catch up Mia but according to the results didn't quiet achieve this ending up a minute behind. Both Josh and Mia ran really well for their first park run and seemed to enjoy it.

Katy began to get tired with a km to go walking several times. Once she figured out the finish line was close she upped her pace and sprinted in.

Both Ella and Katy had massive PB's - 2 minutes and 5 minutes respectively and still seemed happy post race. With soccer beginning this weekend, Parkrun will have to be put on the back bench for another few months. Hopefully we will get a few runs between the conclusion of the soccer season and start of little a's season.

Stromlo bike park

We had our second Dad home day of the holidays last Thursday, and considered heading down to the snow, or off to rock climbing before we decided to test out the bike park at Stromlo. As soon as we arrived, Ella headed straight to ride along the bridges, up the biggest jump she could find and over see-saws. (I would have loved to join her on these daredevil escapades, but I had too look after Katy.) Despite a couple of little slips and crashes she was completely unfazed, and continued to search for any risks she could seek out.

Katy, on the other hand, started somewhat circumspectly. She avoided the bridges and walked over the see-saws. But once we got onto the bumps and mud puddles she came into her own.

Ella was adamant that this trip would involve no single track riding. In essence, we were banned from doing anything that resembled exercise. But, when giving the option of doing some switchbacks, off we went. Again, Ella zoomed off, but after the first lap Katy got the hang of it, and managed to stay with Ella on the second lap around. The ride finished with Ella hitting some large jumps at high speed and losing control. In fairness, she took it well, but we all decided it was time to cut our losses and head for the coffee shop.

Kspace Explored

We'd heard on the grapevine about an area known as Kspace at the National Museum where one could build their own robot then time travel into a place of Australian history to explore! Sounded like the perfect activity to get out of the house on a cold Wednesday afternoon during school holidays! We coerced seasoned Kspace adventurers, the Walter clan to join us and take us through this interactive game.

Kspace took 3 years to build, costing $2 millions and opened exactly a year ago. Our first stage in this three part experience, was to design our own robot. Each person is positioned in front of a massive touch screen with 4 people making up a team. Using the touch screen, the kids selected different types of parts for their robots head, body, arms and legs. Each section could then be manipulated in relation to the pattern and colour. This process needed to be completed within a 5 minute time frame before a photo was taken of the participant and superimposed onto the head of the robot! Giggles all round as their robot did a little dance!

Waiting to start

Listening to instructions!

Choices, choices!

Katy, Max, Mira and Ella's robots.

Photo being taken.

Robots dancing!!

From the Design Studio we were herded into the darken space of the Time Pod. Here the journey into the past began. A video clip explaining where they were and what was happening around them beamed up on more massive screens. This time however, each child using their own control panels to explore and completed missions unique to that time and place. These were done both as a solo participant and also as one robot where each participant controlled a part of the robot (i.e. Katy was responsible for moving the robots head to look around).

The fun was quickly over and we headed into the Cool Down area, where we were suppose to learn and reflect....ours just emailed their robot and joined the queue for another turn!!

No doubt we will return on another rainy day to complete another time travel mission!

No Words Needed

Ice Skating with the Cousins

A great advantage of the school holidays is the swapping and playing with the cousins whom we don't see much during term time! Andy had Josh and Mia for an afternoon. Together they ventured into civic to go to the Winter Festival in the City and more specifically ice skating!

The outdoor ice skating rink in Canberra is not exactly the highest quality. It's always crowded with people, very few of whom can actually ice skate (Ella and Mia were just about the most competent people there). The ice skates available for hire are pretty atrocious, and there is a permanent 5mm deep puddle of water sitting on the ice. So every fall ends up with a wet bum. Despite these issues, all four kids loved it, and by the end even Katy was skating about by herself.

Afterwards, all four wet, soggy, cold kids were happy for a coffee stop to warm up before heading for home.