Spit to Manly

Today we did the Spit to Manly walk. It started out and ended a beautiful sunny day, but just a couple of kilometres from Manly we got a small downpour.

The boys did very well. There was a small phase in the middle where Callum, in particular, kept asking how much further there was, but the administration of some chocolate fixed that.

It was quite funny watching their faces last night when we suggested we might do the walk this morning. Declan was unreservedly keen, but Callum's face went through several expressions of not being particularly keen, realising that objecting wouldn't make any difference, and then composing his face to looking enthusiastic for our walk in the morning. It's good to see he's learning how to react, even if he's still pretty transparent.

Star Wars meets Indiana Jones

As part of the loot from his birthday party, Declan got sets of Indiana Jones and Star Wars Lego. The boys decided tonight to make a stop motion movie from them. Rough plot - Indiana Jones and his father drive up to a checkpoint in their motorbike with sidecar. Knock over the checkpoint, and the hospital patient waiting there. Suddenly, a spaceship lands. R2D2 gets out to help everyone. Indiana Jones takes his place in the spaceship and it takes off.

There are a few hanging unresolved plot elements remaining from this movie (which only lasts 30 seconds), but I'm sure they will be resolved in future episodes.

Invention Book

There was consternation this evening, as Callum realised he had mislaid his invention book. This is the book (an A5 notebook) that he writes down and draws all his inventions as they occur to him. We talked through where it might be. In his secret place under the bed? No, he'd looked there, and taken everything out, and it was missing! Could he remember the last invention he put into it? Aha! Hypnogoggles, he remembered! and then he remembered putting it into a drawer near the lego to hide it from spies.

But then, disaster! It wasn't there either. Still nowhere to be found.

Finally, Evan sifted through all the accreted junk by Callum's computer. Triumph! An invention book, which Callum clutched to his chest while falling asleep.

Parties

A belated report on our party weekend last weekend.

Saturday was Jennifer's 40th, at a bowling club. The boys (after a shaky start) had a great time playing lawn bowls. They mostly understood it, but with occasional moments when they decided to run away with the jack instead of playing. Callum was very impressed with the cake - not the part that the adults were impressed with (a sculpture of a stylized pregnant Jennifer), but with the cake being in the shape of a 40.

The Lees stayed overnight, which Callum and Declan were very excited about - with Aidan sharing their room. And then Sunday afternoon was Declan's star wars party. A space knight (a distant cousin of the Skywalkers, for copyright reasons) turned up to play lots of star wars games with all of Declan's friends, or as he renamed them, the Jedi club. Declan (and his friends, from the looks of it) had a great time, and Declan was thrilled getting lots of presents.

On Sunday evening we were all quite exhausted.

Battleships

Tonight we managed to have a non computer TV evening by playing Board games (possibly inspired by the McManus-Bateys). First all four of us played Blokus (which we'd forgotten how to play tactically after six months hiatus) and then the boys settled down to play Battleships on their own.

They can't quite manage it yet, Declan needs a bit of reassurance that he understands the coordinate system. So after a few almost meltdowns, I went over to sit with Declan and give him hints. But it was almost a full game, Callum against Declan. By the end, when we had a couple of ships each to find, they started giving each other hints - quite hilarious to listen to.

They mostly involved trying to hint where "the swimming was nice". The trouble was, Callum suggested the swimming was nice where he didn't have a ship, whereas Declan's more nuanced hint was "the swimming is nice in row B, but then I got hit by a torpedo" (meaning that his submarine was in that row).

Providentially, I suspect, Callum accidentally knocked over his board before either of them won, and I packed them off to bed to dream about their almost victory.

New pen

During Declan's birthday festivities, Granny produced a pen she had found somewhere (probably lifeline). It is a folding pen, which is labelled Callum. It is now Callum's favourite thing, and is attached to his belt loop at all times. With the smallest provocation, he will whip it out and show you all its features, particularly noting how useful it is if he needs to write on something at waist height.

Tired

We went out on Saturday night for an evening of Board games with the McManus Batey family. We were having such fun (the grown-ups, particularly), that we didn't actually get home until about 9.30. The boys rose at their usual hour this morning, and have been fairly short tempered all day.

But this afternoon we went to the Ian Thorpe swimming pool (next to the Powerhouse) and had a fun time exploring it. It's got a mammoth inflatable slide in the Olympic pool (so big that you have to prove you can swim 10 metres unassisted before you're allowed on) and two smaller pools which are lovely and warm (one including various exciting fountain and bubble effects). Highly recommended, even though Declan did need a fair bit of help to climb up the slide.

The combination of lack of sleep and swimming meant that the boys were asleep by about 7.30.

Happy Birthday Declan

It was Declan's 5th birthday today, and he was very excited. He's been looking forward to it for months. At 6 am, he and Callum bounded into our room so he could open presents - a star wars dress up from us, and an air/water pistol from Callum. He took cupcakes to school for the class to share at morning tea, and told me that next week he will get a Birthday certificate at assembly!!

And this afternoon the grandparents came over and he was showered with lego star wars gear. The best present, though, was a star wars activity book which Granny found somewhere that Callum and Declan did together for much of the evening.

Right now, if it isn't already clear, he is obsessed with Star Wars. Trains are a bit passe, as are the Thunderbirds. He is friends with all the children at his table at school and loves playing tip and spies with them in the playground at lunchtime. And although he is sometimes shy with strange adults (like waiters and shop assistants) he seems to go into every new playground with the knack of finding someone roughly his own age to play with.

Declan's reading

Declan's reading is coming along in leaps and bounds. He was re-tested at school this week and has moved up to level 6. His teacher had some very complimentary things to say as well.

As I write this the boys are sitting on the couch reading with Callum helping Declan with the bigger words.

Harry Potter

Last night we decided to introduce the boys to the world of Harry Potter, by watching the movie. Callum had already read the first book, and as a result wasn't keen on the movie. "I don't like Harry Potter, it's not real. Magic is old fashioned. I prefer spies". We convinced him, though (mainly through not providing an alternative), and he really seemed to love it. Declan was quite scared through the scary bits (especially the chess game at the end), but they were both quoting bits of it this morning.

It will be interesting to see if Callum decides to try the books again.

Train reprise

On Friday, when the grandparents came, Grandma spent a bit of time with Callum and Declan making train tracks (which they haven't done for a while). As a result, the floor of the landing upstairs, their bedroom, the playroom and our wardrobe is now covered in train tracks.

Callum spent some time explaining the system to me this morning, "the train comes along this track, and then goes around this turntable, so it can leave it's tender behind. Then it goes across this ski-jump, as a test, and then it goes down the snowboarding route [which is the small ramp next to the stairs, all the way down to the ground floor]". I'm not quite sure why, but they have decided that snowboarding is the next big recreational activity for the trains of the Island of Sodor.

This morning they were also watching the Thomas the Tank Engine movie for the first time in a long time.