. April 2011.
Hi there!
Welcome back to another month's worth of action and adventure!
This month we did some travel, splashed about in the water, did a little socialising and settled into another house. The kids have been busy as well.
OK, let's hit it!
Swimming
Sam, Jake and Dave entered in the 800m sea swim recently. Michelle was going to, but couldn't make as she had to work that day. It was a nice afternoon for it and the water was warm and very calm.
Jake took off at the start and was overhauled by Sam a bit further down the course. But he swam really well and one the First Prize for his age group. Sam did a good time as well and placed second in her age group. And Dave...... finished. Unfortunately he didn't go fast enough to make the treble!
Sam and Jake also managed to squeeze in another swim meet - was meant to be a fun, fast and furious sprint meet - short races and over quickly but took a bit longer than planned - Michelle managed to get her hair cut and blow-dried and d
o grocery shopping before it was done! Kids did well as usual and enjoyed doing 25m races for a change. Michelle managed to put them down for the noodle race (not that it was advertised as such when entering them) but Jake wasn't keen! Sam did it but got disqualified - she wasn't supposed to actually swim using arms etc!
Sam getting her trophy at the Sea swim
VEGAS!
We headed to Las Vegas for Easter. We spent a week there and had a really good time. There was so much to do and see (for all ages) and we were busy every day doing something.
There are a few pictures here, but the
re are more if you follow this link:
and also:
High lights included:
The Fountains at the Bellagio
We popped into one place to watch a horse show. We got a little less than we bargained for. The horses were miniatures! Us and about 12 other people crammed into the indoor arena to watch the spectacle. We probably lasted about 30 mins of that before the kids begged us to leave. So we did and then we found a bowling alley in the same building which we had a go at. Then Michelle went shopping so Dave and the kids went to
watch the latest kids movie in 3-D, then off to the pool for a bit of splashing about.
This is just wrong...
Some rock climbing
Jake, sitting on a ledge, tying his laces... as you do.
The obligatory tourist shot!
Appraising some art work
We took in the pirate show one night. Apparently they weren't getting the crowds that they used to so jazzed the show up a bit with a few sirens. No, not the ones that go with flashing lights. The Sirens dance about and sing and flash other things...
(there were some pirates in the show as well)
Some of the Sirens.
We went on a Helicopter flight to see the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. The flight was about 30 mins each way and we landed down near the water in the Grand Canyon where they gave us a wee glass of bubbly for our troubles. The kids got coke or something and were pretty happy with that. It was pretty cool trip. Dave and the kids got to sit in the front next to the pilot for the flight over which they thought was awesome.
Don't follow that rock...
Grand Canyon
Hoover Dam
Jake shapes up with Joe Louis at Caesar's Palace
Sewing anyone?
View from the bottom...
... and from the top!
Checking out Venice
The final highlight of the trip was a show - we saw "O" by the Cirque du Soleil - it was incredible - base around water on stage (varying depths, sizes of pool, and sometimes no water). Included trapeze artists, high divers, synchronised swimmers, acrobatics, clowns, boats, fire, dance and music. It was really worth it - we were entranced!
Birthday Boat Trip
One of our friends celebrated her birthday in April. We decided to help her and a bunch of us went out on a dive boat for the day. After loading about 45 coolers/Chilly Bins, 17 Kids, 16 Adults, 1 Gas BBQ (with bottle), some tables, chairs, a tent and umbrellas, off we went.
We started off at the reef near Stingray City where everyone had a ball leaping off the roof of the boat into the water (Note the pic at the top of the page). Following that, we unloaded the boat and spent the next few hours on the beach at Starfish Point.
We even had a couple of strippers come along to do some Jelly-Wrestling for our entertainment (the birthday girl!).
It was a great day and everyone had a good time and plenty of laughs. Some even got to catch a few zzzz on the boat on the way home!
A cheeky rum at Sunset
Big day for some...
More boat trip pics:
Diving
We went out on a mate's boat for a dive during the month as well. We went out to a spot on the North Wall one Sunday morning. As usual, the pesky Lion Fish were in attendance. We also saw a bunch of Spotted Eagle Rays gliding about, but didn't get a decent photo.
Michelle spotted this Moray with a rather large hook in his mouth.
Nice piercing buddy!
More dive pics:
Sam's been wanting to dive since she turned 10 and got a resort dive for her birthday. She absolutely loved it and has kept asking us when she could dive with us - she obviously had to get qualified first and the opportunity came up in the holidays after Easter with a friend taking her through the ropes, including 4 sea dives - she had a ball and came back with tales of everything she saw each day. So Sam is now officially a PADI Open water diver and is able to dive with us down to 40ft - she can't wait for our first dive so watch this space...
Sailing
Jake and Sam have been carrying on with their sailing this term as well. They held a regatta at the end of the term for the kids one Saturday afternoon and both Sam and Jake went along. Jake has been doing pretty well of late in the Pico and the coach suggested he try some single handed sailing in the little Opti. Jake entered himself in the Single Handed races while Sam teamed up with a mate and went in the Pico Class.
Sam and her mates were just out to have some fun and weren't too bothered about the result. Jake on the other hand thought that he could take on the world on only his second day sailing in the new class. His hopes were dashed and his confidence took a bit of a bashing as he struggled to keep up with the older more experienced kids. But he certainly showed he can sail and will be back in the new term ready to master the Opti.
Jake in the Opti
House Move
We decided to upgrade a little on the accommodation front and move just around the corner to a slightly bigger place, but this one has a pool. The kids were pretty happy about that. We didn't think we had too much to move but in the end we carted plenty of boxes of accumulated things and suitcases of clothes etc. This process took about three or four evenings to complete until finally we had nothing left in the old place so moved into the new. The one big item that we had to move was the trampoline. It was too big for any trucks or vans etc so in the end, with the help of a couple of mates and six kids, we carried it up the street, along the road, around the corner and over the fence into the new location. The tramp was big enough to block the road to traffic and a few Sunday morning drivers would
have got a bit of a surprise to see a trampoline being taken for a walk. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us, as it would have made a good picture!
Mudslide built for two...
The next thing to sort out was the house-warming. That was hastily planned and a bunch of friends came around one Saturday afternoon/evening to check the place out and help empty a few bottles.
Egyptian & Greek Days
Jake's year studied Egypt this term and they ended it all with a Egyptian Day where they all dressed up and ate an Egyptian lunch after putting on a concert in the morning.
Sam's year had Greek day (sorry no photo of her or her friends in their outfits as Michelle forgot the camera!) - the concert was held in an outdoor amphitheatre right on the water's edge - it was a great venue and the kids had a ball singing their Greek songs, then it was back to school for a Greek lunch.
The High School put on an annual production - this year it was Aladdin - we went along to check it out and was very impressed with the singing, acting and choreography - was a lot of fun and very well done.
El Jake
More pics from April:
NEXT MONTH:
Maybe some travel for some...
Some swimming...
Maybe some sporty stuff....
Possibly a few beers...
A party maybe?
Anyway, find out next month!
