Commonwealth Games

A few years ago I went to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester with a few friends. I must admit I didn't help much in the planning of the trip, but enjoyed it immensely, I was impressed with the friendly atmosphere and excitement of the events.

When I saw the Commonwealth Games was coming to Australia I was determined to take a trip with the kids. 

Getting tickets to events was tricky - there was a ballot system and many of them got snapped up really quickly by locals. I managed to get a few off Gumtree and then the organisers organised a second release of tickets.

In all we managed to secure tickets for six events (athletics, gymnastics, beach volleyball, swimming and hockey). Ticket prices were really cheap and it was remarkable that we were able to watch top class sport at such reasonable cost (we watched Australia v South Africa and Pakistan vs India in Hockey for $20 each for example)

The kids loved the atmosphere. All of the stadiums were packed and getting to and from the venues was also pretty easy - the wonderful light-rail that travels along much of the Gold Coast was both modern and fun to use.

The occasional conversations you had with people was also a really great feature. At one point we met an Irish cyclist and stopped for a chat, at another we ran into some South African swimmers boarding the same carriage as we were and talked about the conditions for swimming with them.

Some of the stadiums were spectacular as well. The swimming took place in an open-air pool which was built by the sea, and as we waited to go in we saw dolphins splashing in the surf not far from the swimming pool. 

The kids adored the beach volleyball. The atmosphere was so upbeat - there was music and dancing and the sport itself was fast and exciting.

We stayed in a kid-friendly resort too (which happened to be really close to a light rail stop) so it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. The Games are in Birmingham in four years time - it'll be a difficult act to follow!

The excitement of the athletics

The gymnastics was our first event

Trying our hands on the hoops!

Enjoying the beach volleyball on Coolangatta Beach

Hockey at night time - great seats!

Swimming Carnival

The annual swimming carnival is always exciting. Our carnival was delayed this year due to a storm which washed out the outdoor pool in Dickson and so the kids took part in a rearranged day at CISAC in Belconnen.

Both Audrey and Eli swam ever so well. Audrey is unfortunate as she has several girls in her year who swim really in squads, but she put in a really good account in her races.

Eli won all of his four races (breast stroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly) and brought home some ribbons.

Fibonacci Numbers

A couple of squashes from our garden

These two squashes grew in our vegetable bed. They resemble weapons more than vegetables!

Space Suit

Eli told me on Saturday that he needed to complete a project on space travel for Monday morning. Fortunately I had some old heating pipe hanging around and together we sprayed a bucket and made a Mars space suit.

Camping at Woods Reserve

We decided to have a spur-of-the-moment Easter camping trip to Woods Reserve before autumn arrived and the nights became too cold. The campsite is about 30 minutes from our home and is nestled next to a babbling brook. There's no shop/kiosk there (fees are by an honesty box and kids under 16 are free).

Having wandered up the stream on our first night we then headed to nearby Corin Forest on Sunday for their easter egg hunt. It was well organised and the kids collected a good bag of eggs. Corin also plays host to an alpine run - a toboggan type ride on a track. I've seen it advertised widely but never been along - it was surprisingly fast and loads of fun. Being Easter the ride was packed but it was a nice little trip.

The somewhat strange video is by courtesey of our 'no-pro' as I left our camera and phone at home by mistake.

Meet the Raiders

We're big Raiders fans and the club does a lot to engage with the community, regularly taking part in 'meet the Raiders' sessions where you can variously chat or get stuff signed. Here are a couple of pics taken with Jack Wighton (Eli's favourite) and Josh Hodgson (Raider's hooker, who sadly has been injured for a lot of this season).

Pretty much sums up our Saturdays!