Last night

Yesterday,  we celebrated Australia Day 2014 in Rooty Hill, west of Sydney. There were lots of entertainment for everyone: amusement rides, bands playing Aussie hits, food, stalls and  parachute jump with the largest flag in the southern hemisphere, just to name a few. The night was closed with a spectacular fireworkds display, and here are some of the photos that I captured.

Sky Watch Friday

 This was last Sunday on our way to Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands of NSW.

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Long weekend

We have a long weekend here for we celebrate the Queen's birthday on Monday, every second Monday of June. The Queen's real birthday is 21st of April but we celebrate it on June because if we celebrate it on April, it would coincide with Easter in many years and also close to Anzac Day celebration, which is also a public holiday.

We have a plan to do something this long weekend which we haven't done in long time  but now, I am not sure if we can do it for David is sick with fever . We have also  an invitation  for a birthday party celebration this evening, and I don't want to brave going out in this cold weather with David's condition. And also, our friends  in the Southern Highlands invited us for a visit to their place this long weekend. Well, we actually cannot decide of what to do and haven't cancel all the plans  and commitments yet. As  I checked David a while ago he is said  that he is getting much better now.

Any ways, to all Australians, Have a happy and safe long weekend!

Soggy weekend

 "Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life." - John Updike

 It was raining since yesterday morning and until today. I was planning  to take my son to the city today but unfortunately we can't make it. It is too wet to go out. The weather forecast tomorrow is shower clearing which gives me hope that we can make it this coming long weekend.

Jamberoo Action Park (part 2)

And here is my next post about Jamberoo. While I was on the chair lift, I took advantage of the opportunity to take as many photos as I could of the stunning views around. However, I posted only 7 photos here which I think are the best to share with you to minimize my image usage. Some photos are not in good quality too.
The chair lift took me up to 500m up the mountain.
Hope you enjoyed the stunning views.

Jamberoo Action Park (part 1)

Sometime last December of last year, we went to Jamberoo Action Park, NSW. It is the largest theme park based in Jamberoo near Kiama about 2 hours from Sydney on Illawarra South Coast. It was our first time to visit this place and the kids were so excited when I announced the news to them after we made a booking.
One of its attractions is the Outback Bay. It is a 2.5 megalitre wave pool that is just like the beach. Or if you dont feel like to go to the water you can just relax on the sand or in the deck chairs.
The photo below was taken when the waves were about to stop.
David's new-found friend.
Hubby with the" Catch of the Day".
The kid's mushroom pool.
Another kiddies pool
The Rock is a 5 meter high launching pad into the deep water. That's Dorothy having a go. This is a big " no, no " to those you cannot swim confidently in deep water.

These are the chair lift rides. I decided to made a quick trip on one of this alone without hubby and the kids for they were busy in one of the water rides. The views were magnificent. More photos of the views on my next post. Please check it out.

The rapid river.
The billabong beach
The Outback Bay Kiddies Cove.

The above are just some of the attractions. We were all had a great time even though we were not able to get to enjoy all the attractions but I promised the kids that hopefully sometime this year, we can get a chance.The kids favourite is the Outback Bay. If you are following my blog, you might remember that I posted a short video of David enjoying the waves sometime last December 2011.

In Action

When Dorothy told me that her friend posted a photo of her in Facebook that was taken when they went swimming in a friend's swimming pool. I asked her then what was the photo about and she told me that it's an action shot, a great capture by her friend and this is what I saw. It is indeed a great capture by her friend's mobile phone camera.After I have seen the photo, I told Dorothy not to do it again. Although the pool is quite deep but accidents happen any time and anywhere. I always tell her not to do silly things and such in the pool and she promised not any more.

Swimming

Last weekend, I took David to the shop with me to do our weekly grocery shopping and promised him that we would go to my friend's house for a swim after. Dorothy and her friends were already at my friend's place since morning because she was invited by my friend's daughter to come there earlier to spend the day with her which was fine with me. While sorting out the things that we bought when we arrived, I told David to change into his swimming cosies which he did without arguing. When we finished, we headed off to my friend's house. David went straight to the pool. He was alone swimming because the girls were just finished swimming when we arrived and were already inside the house watching a movie. Even if he was alone swimming he still had a great time in the pool

At Nurragingy Reserve

While me and David were walking at the Reserve one weekend after days of rain, we saw this noisy myna bird taking a bath in the puddle.He didn't mind our presence watching him but we kept a good distance from him and not to scare him until he finished.
I am sharing this post with Watery Wednesday.

Please click Watery Wednesday to see more watery sites all around the world.

At the Filipino Christmas Bazaar.

It was my first time to attend this Filipino event here, Pamaskong Tiangge (Filipino Christmas Bazaar). If not for a friend who was selling tickets at work, I wouldn't be interested to witness this annual event that always takes place in Blacktown International Sportspark. The venue is close to where we live, just about 20 minutes walk. My daughter was interested also to come with me, and so we headed off to the venue after lunch. I bought a ticket for her at the gate for I had only 1 ticket which I bought from my friend at work. It was more darer than the pre-purchase ticket but couldn't do anything but had to buy one for her.
There were lots of Filipino booths selling different kinds of Filipino food. Since we already had our lunch I just bought a halo-halo for me and a triple choco ice cream with fresh cream for my daughter.
The roasted pigs looked so delicious and crunchy. They were selling it by kilo (35$/kilo) and many people taking advantage of the opportunity to buy it.The highlight of the event was the special appearance of the two famous Filipinos celebrities, Bea Alonzo and Diether Ocampo. I think they were also the reason why many Filipino attended the event there. Both of them are very popular in the Philippines.

Last Sunday

After doing two loads of washing of the covers of our lounge set and cushions last Sunday, I felt a bit tired and didn't have the mood to cook lunch. I thought at first just to make sandwiches because I bought sandwich ham the day before, but Dorothy told me that she was in McDonald kind of mood and so as David, so off we went to the mall to have lunch in MacDonald. I bought them double cheese burger with chips and drinks, and just a drink for me because I didn't feel that hungry at all. then after the lunch, i decided to take them to our new local library because it is just located nearby and it is open every Sunday from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. It was their first time to visit the new library and they were surprised how big it is compared to the old one. There are many computers added and more study rooms too for big ones as well as for the kids. We stayed there for over an hour and David was able to read 4 books there while Dorothy grabbed the chance to borrow her favourite books.

Today

While I was having a nap, the sound of the loud thunder woke me up. I groggily looked outside through the glass window, and I could see the sky was covered with thick dark clouds. Then suddenly rain was pelting down and I realised I have some clothes hanging out on the clothes line and the guinea pigs were still outside too. We put the guinea pigs outside so they can graze grass while I was cleaning their hutch but I didn't put them back to the hutch after I finished cleaning it. I called Dorothy to help me and she hurriedly went outside to get the guinea pigs who were already scared to death, while I took down the clothes from the clothes line which were already a bit wet. Then we noticed that it was hailing the size of small marbles which stopped after a few minutes but kept raining hard. Now, the rain has finally stopped but it's quite cold.

Tomorrow

We are getting excited for tomorrow we are going to Jamberoo Action Park, NSW biggest theme park and the ultimate place to enjoy a full day of water thrills and spills. It is located near Kiama and 2 hours drive from Sydney. It will be our first time to visit the place. Glad that the Social Group where hubby works decided to hold their Christmas party there giving us the chance. We will start early at around 7am for the bus that will take us there will be leaving at exactly 7:30 am. The social club will be supplying sausage sizzle and drinks (cordial/water), and I will bring some nibblies, fruits and lemonade for us. I told the kids to sleep early so they can wake up early too.

Cancelled

Last Saturday, when me and Dorothy were about to go to her tennis lesson, I received a text from the head coach informing me that Dorothy's tennis lesson was cancelled on that day because her tennis coach wasn't feeling well. I was just glad that I had checked my mobile phone before we head off to the venue. I hope her tennis coach gets well soon. And a make up class will be scheduled sometime this term.

At Manly beach

Just want to share with you photos that I captured when visited Manly beach today. It was our first trip to the beach in Spring. The kids had a great time playing in the sand and swimming in the water. Hubby wasn't with us because he was working overtime.