Grandad's School Holiday Program

We had a lovely surprise visit from Grandad last week who we can thank for bringing along the HOT Perth weather - six days of 37ªC plus. The boys spent much of Sunday afternoon in the garage building a storage box for the deck (Andy's 2013 summer project). They made great progress completing the main section. The evening was spent at the Summer Sounds concert in the Botanical Gardens where we picnicked while listening to Shiraz Jazz.

Monday was Grandad's first session of holiday care...looking after both girls for half of the day. Pippa was taken on a walk via the local playground which conveniently was located next to the IGA shop that sold ice creams! No need to say more! Lunch was followed by some quiet TV time before I arrived back home at 3pm. We decided to get out of the warm house (30ªC inside) and headed down to Ricardo's for coffee and cake.

Tuesday Andy was off to work so we all went to the National Zoo and Aquarium. Our plan was to walk around the zoo until we got too hot then cool off in the aquarium section. Unfortunately the aquarium was closed due to renovations (that were meant to finish in September!) On entering we were introduced to and encouraged touch to Nigel, a small corn snake with pretty orange and yellow patterns. Later as we were leaving we met Frank, Nigel's brother!

As we wandered around the zoo, it was difficult to spot many of the animals who were hiding from the sun. We did manage to see - the white lions pacing, as was the cheetah; the otters happily playing in and out of the river; Berani the Sumatran tiger and the cougar were lying in their dens; lemurs and tamarins swinging and playing; the giraffe was busy eating while the zebras were trying to find some shade in their temporary enclosure; we watched the zookeepers clean and feed the meerkats; the snow leopard was nowhere in sight and the brown bears looked to have been swimming; both the tasmanian devil and dingo were snoozing in their respective dens.

We could not walk along all of the paths as some were closed because the aquarium was not the only thing having work done. Currently the eland/zebra enclosure is a busy building site with construction of 3 luxury villas! It will join the ever growing list of up close animal encounter experiences on offer at the zoo. By 1pm we'd exhausted the exhibits and ourselves and it was time to go home.

Wednesday a mostly job day with a few treats thrown in for good measure. The girls spotted the trampolines while we were in the mall and were soon jumping high and doing backflips! Big smiles all round. Completed the coles and markets shops spending the rest of the afternoon cooling off in the paddling pool.

A morning of well deserved rest was on the cards for Grandad on Thursday as the girls went off to Nana's. Pippa was happy as she finally got some attention and a walk! Grandad then picked up the girls, followed by Andy and were off to the cool off at the cinema. The girls were excited to see their first movie - Frozen - the latest disney movie based loosely on Hans Christian Anderson's story the Snow Queen. From all accounts everyone enjoyed themselves although it was very intense for both girls. Katy retreated to the safety of Andy's lap early on and remained there for the rest of the movie while Ella was sobbing when it looked liked the princess had died. Post movie both girls chatted about the movie and characters all afternoon.

Friday morning saw Grandad going solo again. Equipped with painting stuff, the girls showed off their artistic abilities taking up most of the morning. As the day heated up, the paddling pool came out with everyone seeking relief in the chilly water before retreating to watch the cricket. We decided to go out for dinner trying to avoid heating up the house anymore - it was already 32ªC inside! Bella Vista, an italian restaurant overlooking Lake Ginnindera was a fantastic spot. Great food and service.

Grandad's last day began with Little A's. The meet was combined with Ginnindera so a few more girls joined our group of under 7's. The program included turbo jav, 70m, shot put, 100m and discus. Thankfully we moved through each discipline quickly, finishing much earlier than expected and thus avoiding the heat. Highlights included a massive discus PB by 3m and losing a tooth before the start of the 70m!

Rest of the day was cruisy. Grandad's flight was scheduled earlier than normal so the girls came to the airport. On approach to the airport we could see the cool change coming through. Unfortunately this meant the incoming flight spent 15mins circling above the airport in a holding pattern due to the weather. Then soon after landing, the ground staff were pulled off the tarmac. Eventually Grandad boarded his plane an hour late. We were sad to see him go.