Happy Birthday Sis

My sister Vicki and my Mum have arrived for a visit. Vicki turned 50 on Saturday; I wasn't able to get to her party as she lives at Wudinna, about 6 hours out of Adelaide.
So she and Mum drove down to see us, and to drop our nieces off at the airport.

We're pretty well packed up and ready for tonight's departure.
Just heading out for lunch now and a bit of a look around Adelaide before we head for home.

Update:

Five hours later. Mum, Vicki, Sophie and I had a great lunch, catching up on all the stories from the birthday party, lots of laughter and a few tears. Vicki has had serious health problems over the last few years and has had some intensive treatment this year which has seen her health improve significantly.

The kids spent the afternoon shopping and eating Hungry Jacks in Adelaide, followed by more shopping, and more eating Hungry Jacks! I think they were building up their reserves in preparation for tonight's flight and then the drive home to Busselton.

Hopefully their latest purchases won't push them over the weight limit! We're planning to wear a few extra layers of clothes to the airport!

Last night we took a bus to Glenelg to have a look around although the weather was wet and cold. We took shelter in the lounge of a hotel and watched the second half of the football from Subiaco. I booked a table for dinner at The Watermark, a buffet restaurant in Glenelg and we spent a couple of hours eating, talking, laughing and reflecting on the trip, the highs and lows and the funny moments.

I'm confident that the kids have had a good time on the trip. Sophie and I have certainly enjoyed it and the kids haven't given us any trouble at all. Of course, even though we've all had a great time, we're also looking forward to getting home.

A debriefing technique I often use with groups is "The Good The Bad and The Funny".

Here are the kid's respective reflections on the trip.

Zak:

Good- The MCG tour

Bad- The blow up mattresses not working

Funny- Haydn tripping over a bench in the middle of Adelaide

Sam:

Good- The horse and buggy ride through Melbourne

Bad- The trek from Adelaide airport, fully laden with all our luggage, to find a bus

Funny- When the kid stuck his lollypop on my arm and said "sticky" at Sovereign Hill

Joel:

Good- The experience of going to all the footy games

Bad- Watching Freo get thumped

Funny- Haydn dancing at the Queen Vic Markets

Sophie:

Good- Ballarat/Sovereign Hill

Bad- Geelong losing to StKilda

Funny- Sam singing "Miss polly had a dolly" on the train

Kiara:

Good- The atmosphere at all the stadiums we went to

Bad- Nothing was really bad aside from your (Marcus') snoring!

Funny- Haydn eating his ice cream, then dropping it in the street, then being recognised by a bloke at the MCG as "the kid with the ice cream"

Alex:

Good- The experience of seeing all the cities

Bad- Tiger airlines

Funny- Sam ripping his pants on the train home from Melbourne

Haydn:

Good- Eating Hungry Jacks

Bad- The museums and the art gallery "That was like torture"

Funny- When it all goes quiet and someone lets one rip!!

Tekira:

Good- MCG Friday night game, all the people, (even though Essendon got pumped)

Bad- Being sick (for a couple of days)

Funny- Joel falling in the mud kicking the footy at Hanging Rock

Marcus:

Good- The whole trip working out really well, the kids being great. Tracking down Mani and returning her lost phone.

Bad- The very small amount of conflict between the kids over the last couple of days

Funny- Joel and others repeatedly sticking their train tickets in the wrong way

Most Memorable Moments:

Joel walking in front of the car at Glenelg

Haydn falling over the chair

The Geelong-StKilda game

The Bulldogs-Collingwood game

The guy who threatened to stab us in Collingwood

The strange guy on the bus who asked Sam where we were staying

The Italian waiter in Lygon St who put his hand on Haydn's bum when they were having their photo taken

Haydn stocking up on biscuits at the buffet restaurant

Joel slipping over in the mud kicking the footy

The repeated inability of various kids to insert their tickets correctly on trains and buses

Haydn's dance at the markets

Sophie losing her wallet at Ballarat

Our taxis will be here in just under an hour. We're checking in early after the dramas we had with Tiger at Melbourne. Hopefully it will be a smoother process tonight.

Next stop Perth.

Then Busselton.