Foddrick

Yesterday we were heading out to a wedding and this is one of the rare times that I wear a suit. Campbell was impressed so he said "Hey Dad, you look smiffy". Harrison corrected him in the way that only older siblings can and said "No Campbell, its sniffy".

Campbell and Harrison were wrestling on their new trampoline, when Harrison exclaimed "OK. No more wrestling!". Campbell who had enjoyed the upper hand retorted with "Just because I'm better than you!"

Chris, the kids and I all went to Seaworld yesterday and had a great day. We took advantage of the offer to get season tickets at half price, so hopefully more days like this will ensue.

It was late it the afternoon, and we were ready to go home. The kids had just had their first ride on the pirate ship and we pretty hyped up from that. So it follows that on the way home, the kids wanted a ride on the carousel, which as you can imagine, it a pretty big comedown from the pirate ship.

The kids lined up by themselves, as they were tall enough to ride without adult accompaniment. In due course the boarded the ride, and the fun began. Campbell was riding the horse like it was a real horse, rocking up and down and hanging off the side. This drew the ire of the twelve year old, or at least she looked twelve, who was controlling the ride. Several times she asked Campbell to sit down, but he just ignored her. I even went over to address Campbell to little avail.

This is a quick congratulatory note to my children, who have finally mastered the art of riding bicycle. After a couple of month hiatus where the bikes became very unpopular due to the removal of training wheels, the kids were inspired by the neighbourhood kids who rode without training wheels. They just jumped on their bikes and they could ride. Campbell was a classic. He rode in total disbelief saying "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

This of course means that Chris and I can get bikes too now, and hopefully enjoy some family rides in the summertime.

All parents out there, are no doubt aware of the "Silence" game. If you are not a parent, here is a brief rundown.

• Normally played in the car
• Normally played when kids are talking a lot or being annoying
• Requires more than 1 child to work
• The "winner" is the child who stays silent for the longest

This has worked well for a few months for us, until today. Harrison, who plays far too much RTS for a 5 year old piped up during the game.
"Excuse me, can I please pause the game for a minute ?"

Here endeth today's lesson on the perils of technology.

I took the kids to the park today as I felt I needed to do something a little out of the ordinary for them and give the DVD babysitter a break.

It was a short walk to the park; maybe 5 minutes, and the kids were excited to go there. To any adult, it's just a park - a bit of play equipment and a seat or two, but it's so much more to my boys. They leapt upon the equipment with great gusto, and I filled their buckets that were hooked up to a pulley. They happily played for 45 minutes and it could have been longer had I not curtailed the excursion. Not once did they want to watch TV or play their computer.

It all started when I was being correctly accused of dropping spent toilet rolls on the floor and not depositing them in the receptacle provided. Looking for a scapegoat, I uttered, "Have you ever considered it could be your sons?" This suggestion was laughed off and I thought it was the end of it.

However, I find out Harrison mentioned this incident to his Nanny the next day. From what I am told, it went a little like this."Daddy said that we drop the toilet rolls on the floor, we don't use that toilet, it was him!"

I'm not sure what the moral of the story is, but I won't be blaming anything on the childen again, at least when I am not 100% sure they are asleep!

We took the kids to see their first dose of monster trucks last night. A good time was had by all. The main highlights of the day were running around like lunatics and the fireworks. Both of which can be had for less than the $80 price the day cost. In any case, the parent enjoyed the night too.

I'm slowly starting to realise that I will no longer be a physical match for my 4 and 5 year old children. In so much as containing their strength without fighting back myself. Campbell is already a powerhouse - I will need to be kind to him as he grows older.

Tonight the tooth fairy makes her maiden voyage to 10 Maidstone place.

Harrison has lost his first tooth ! He is officially a tooth-less terror ! It remains to be seen how generous she decides to be..