Boys day out 2

We swiftly found ourselves at the area of the penguins which has been up-dated with dinosaur bones, not sure of the link but very impressive.  To my relief the penguins were there and Tom started smiling and didn't stop all day.  Now that was over we could relax and enjoy the rest of the zoo.  Oli stepped in and said we had to go to the meerkats.  I made him watch the baboons because they were hilarious but no, he moaned and moaned till I gave in. The reason he loves them so much is because you climb down into some tunnels and pop your head up in their compound.  Oli must have done it about ten times.  We could now enjoy the rest of the zoo.  We eventually found ourselves at the play area with the dragon which amused them for five minutes, I am sure Tom is so happy because he hasn't been big enough to get up there by himself.  Alex's close friend Sam was with us and he is great fun as he plays with all three of them.  In the photo, Sam is pulling and pushing the rope to make them fall off the rope which highly amused Oli who was desperate to hang on and be the like the 'big' boys!

Boys day out

Sunday was a busy day for the Bailey boys.  Firstly, Alex is desperate for cash - his obsession with Pokemon means he will do anything to earn money and buy cards.  We have two sparkling cars now.  Mummy disappeared for the day to watch the Circ du Soleil which sounded amazing, although her over enthusiasm led me to think she may have gone to see the Chippendales instead!  I spoke to the boys about where we could go and the zoo was where they wanted to go.  We went to MacDonalds first, the reason being they get Pokemon stuff at the moment otherwise it would have been a salad somewhere else.  On our arrival, I took the photo of Alex on the lizard and Oli was not too impressed - 'I am here too!' Since we have been living in Auckland Tom has been searching for the blue penguins, everytime we come they are not there.  There was a poster with it on and Tom became very twitchy.  Oli was in charge of the map today and led us through the zoo very seriously.

Auckland Botanical Gardens 2

The activities kept the boys busy for a couple of hours and we also had Mark and Tamsin to help keep the enthusiasm up.  It had a play area with a maze and tunnels in the centre which really helped boost the interest levels.  To be fair, the boys were excellent and never moaned and stayed on task with all three of them completing  their booklets and receiving their free seeds.  There was more to see but we were happy to leave today knowing there is more to enjoy. The cafe is also excellent and even though it was busy the food appeared quickly, a huge plus in Alex's case who is currently eating every in sight.  We will definitely return, highly recommended.

Auckland Botanical Gardens

Although we have been here nearly three years, we still feel like tourists and returned back to our travel guide to find something new to visit.  Auckland Botanic Gardens was highly recommended and they were right to do so.  We were expecting a large field with a few plants in it but were pleasantly surprised by something way beyond our expectations.  They had a children's area which involved activities to do in the park which set them off searching for plants and answering questions.  The boys literally sprinted off in excitement!

Tom and Oli's Chipmunks birthday party

The boys had to wait till they got back to school so there friends would all be available for the party.  We organised it straight after school on Friday as it is usually a little quieter, it was also a breeze to organise - always a huge bonus.  In fact, it worked out to be even better as they had recently introduced a brand new slide and guns that fire foam balls.  The boys hardly came out of the foam ball arena and they became extremely excited when I entered the area.  Shoot Mr Bailey! I think that was many children's highlight.  I asked Tom what his highlight was of the party, shooting you daddy. Nice.

Walk to Takapuna market

Fran and I had a busy day infront of us with planning for a school, so we decided to treat the boys with a long walk to Takapuna market from Milford across the beach.  The boys are all still obsessed with Pokemon and there is a stall which sells them for a dollar each.  It makes their day when they can buy a couple each and it also means when we get home they disappear for a couple of hours so we can get on with our school work.