The day started early today with the alarm going off at 6am (!!). All three kids slept until about 0645hts which gave Nattie and I some good quiet time to finalise packing and enjoy the serenity.
We dropped our Kia Sorrento off in down town Jasper (with no charge as yet!!) and then had a yummy Canadian breakfast at Smithy’s!
The boarding and check-in process was seamless although we had to pay CND $40 for over weight baggage. We were carted all the way down the train line to our cabin in a golf cart as it was raining. Andrew was the name of the guy who was organising us pre boarding and onboard was Chris, a great Canadian with a very deep authoritarian voice – great to alert the boys to the need to behave for the next 23hrs!
Towards the end of our flight from Hawaii, we were on the descent into Sydney. Toby had been watching toy story two and had his headphones on. The plane atmosphere was quite quiet and all of a sudden without notice Toby calls out go Woody go Woody you can do it you can do it. This was quite loud because he was unaware of how loud his voice was as he had his headphones on most of the plane erupted into laughter and it was a very cute moment.
Today we make the Journey to Banff. This morning we started out early and went to the sulphur hot springs in town. It was amazing. A lot warmer (39 degrees Celsius) than we expected. It cost us $30 which included two towels. So strange to be in 39 degree water and it be only 5 degrees outside. We stayed in for about 30 mins and W and T came out with bright red faces! It was great getting there early as there were only about 30 people there which contrasted from yesterday when we saw there was hardly room to move later in the day.
The boys are tired and have not been well behaved. We were going to go on the Gondola in Banff however a combination of bad behaviour, weather and cost we decided not to do it. We will drive from Banff to Lake Louise then onto Jasper via the Icelands Highway.
The day started off with finding out that poor Bob had been sick a lot of the night (vomiting), and feeling lethargic/unwell. We eventually got out of the house and visited the Elk Island Park where we had to pay $16 for entry – we only saw some Bison on the side of the road on the way in, and nothing else! It was a beautiful spot but the boys were being feral and Jack was hungry so reality was that it wasn’t all that pleasant experience! After a lot of moaning and groaning we got out of there and headed to find some lunch which ended up being Denny’s! The servings were typically huge! After that everyone was a bit happier and we headed to the Millennium Place Skating Arena! It was lots of fun, and Will did great. Daddy didn’t survive too long as the tight fitting skates really hurt his delicate feet.
We headed home via the shops to prepare salmon and white fish – Carol and Jamie with Morgan and Ian – unfortunately due to a miscommunication they ended up not being able to come.
After a 9ish hour flight we arrived safely in Honolulu – immigration was relatively painless and the flight itself could have been worse. The boys were super excited and a bit scared at take off but soon got used to it! They settled down to sleep within a few hours although Jack was a bit more unsettled.
We got into our airport transport with ‘Charlie’ – a super nice Hawaiian man who the kids loved. Our accomodation in Waikiki was about 25 mins away and was called Waikiki Banyan Condo – we stayed in room 409. We insisted on a few hours sleep for all of us before heading for a walk down to get some breakfast ‘Maccas’ and then a very quick visit to the beach then back to our room and out the front door to the pool!
Jack had a sleep after a few hours in the pool and Will and Tobes then chilled for some time on the couch. We then went for a quick dinner down the road at Cheeseburger in Paradise in Waikiki! Back to the Condo and off to the airport! Next stop Vancouver!
So Will’s class is invited to participate in the school ‘Young Speaker’s Competition’. The aim is talk about something that interests you, i.e How something works or is used, a natural phenomenon, procedure ‘How I made’…Demonstration ‘How to’ or ‘My Pet/Family’…We decided it’d be fun for Will to talk about camping and more specifically, setting up the camper.
Together, we came up with this;
Our Family goes camping as often as we can! We love camping!! We own a camper-trailer. We tow it behind out car. When we get to camp, I help Mum and Dad to set it up. Now I’m older, I can do a lot more! It takes about one hour to set it up. It is very comfortable to live in and I sleep with my little brother Toby. Inside, there is a sink with running water and taps, an oven and even lots of lights! My Dad likes to play music in there too! Part of the setup is to wind it up with a special handle. You need muscles to do this! When it is all set up, we then go riding on our bikes. We love to explore our new environment. Mum and Dad then try to relax!
The days were being counted down, and down and down and finally the day came for Will to have his party on Sunday July 28 2019. Mummy made an incredible ‘Treasure Chest’ cake and Will had about 15 of his friends there. It was a bit chaotic and Mum and Dad were relieved when it was all over but William got some lovely presents. The weather was perfect and Nanna, Poppy, Pa Pete and GJ came along, as well as Paul, Son, Soph and Hugh. Here’s some pics from the day:
It’s been a huge school term for William and he’s now on Term 2 holidays. This weekend has been a fun one for both him and Toby but tonight, Sunday, he was sooo so tired, the most tired I think I’ve ever seen him that he became so sad and distraught, didn’t know what to do with himself, was pining for Mum (who was at work) and it took some time to help resolve/calm him. I sat with him in the loungeroom, and initially he wanted nothing at all to do with me, he was crying, waling and pining for ‘Mumma, I want Mumma’….I calmly told Will that he knew Mum was at work and that I loved and adored him and that it was time for bed. He refused to move, put on his ‘pull up’ or do a wee…all William wanted was Mummy.
Several minutes later I got closer to him, kept on telling him how much I loved him and that he was feeling so sad because of his tiredness. I finally convinced him to do a wee, and get his pull up on and slowly go into bed. By this time, Toby had fallen asleep in his bed (most unusual of late)…by himself. Will was a great help and saw that he needed to be stealthly quiet…I got up on the ladder to be with William and I played ever so quietly ‘A Million Dreams’ from ‘The Greatest Showman’…one of his all time faves. He drifted to sleep whilst mouthing the words and it was a moment of bliss for me as his Dad….the calmness and serenity that overtook his previous sadness and acopic mind only 20 minutes ago was a really beautiful moment. Sleep well beautiful boys.
The highlights of this weekend for Will and Tobes (and some respite for sick/pneumonic Daddy) was that they had their first sleep over at Pa Pete’s and Granny Jude’s on Saturday night. They had a great time and their energy and zest for life kept Mum on her toes. On Sunday, we caught up with Dan, Trine, Patrick and Thomas at Dee Why park at the beach where we met their friends Cassie and Dan (also) who had Harry and Jack!
This afternoon Will and Tobes got to hang out with Aunty Son and Hugh in Manly before Hugh started work at Maccas. The highlight of this trip was that they had Daisy dog to walk and be with – they loved it!
With soo much excitement from the previous days training, Will was sooo excited to be a) getting his first pair of soccer boots and b) playing his first game against the Koyotes!! He did really well and whiling there was no official scoring I do think they probably won! Will scored quite a few goals but what’s best is that he got player of the week!!!
Beautiful weekend away just the two of us. We stayed at 43a Webb St Booker Bay. We caught the Palm Beach Ferry up to Booker Bay and the weather was magic! We strolled around town first then walked a short distance to our accomodation.
Thai for dinner on Friday night and beautiful Sardinia meal on Saturday night.
This evening Nattie and I went to Will’s first ever parent info night. We met Mrs Robinson and Mrs Noll. It is amazing in what Will has already learnt in this short space of time! Here’s some pics of the things he’s done so far, and his class.
Toby is 3 now and so the dummies have been surrendered and the fairies took them!! He has been a little sad and unsettled though surprisingly well considering.. Florence Fairy left him a note and also a Paddington to cuddle and Thomas train to play with as well as smarties for filling his tummy!!!
