18/09/2023
Lachlan was the first one up Saturday morning, not happy that he could not find anyone to play dinosaurs with him at 05:00. He was not waiting around as he jumped into Eloise’s drawers choosing a beautiful pink dress to start the day.
After a scorchio week, we were all happy lazing about getting our energy back with some big adventures ahead. We finally got around to saving Lachlan’s King at great expense to hayfever exposure.
By midday, Lachlan was more than happy to dig into his new dinosaur pasta for lunch. Eloise made sure that he slowed down while eating before they both had a tactical nap, it is still fairly humid which is knocking it out of us.
After a solid two hour nap, Eloise helped Super Mum start wrapping the presents. We had somewhat invited ourselves last minute to “Jujjjuj uj uj jjujuu’s” dad’s family birthday party.
It was a terrific family (and us) event, the kids certainly had a great time meeting new children and played very well. It was great to have the cricket on. Watching Joe Root’s demeanour rapidly deteriorate as Australia edged closer and closer to his day-one declaration was almost as good as the viral “Bluey’s cricket episode perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the game”
We dropped the kids off in the Child Minder 2000 which started off as a big hit, although Lachlan was not impressed being double bounced by the big girls and Eloise had no intention to slow down.
Once the big girl jumps were done, Lachlan was thrilled to get his own turn.
It was a big night for sport with “unlikely and sensational late goals from Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean maintained Scotland’s perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying as Steve Clarke’s side stunned Norway in Oslo”. Turns out Lyndon Dykes was actually “born and raised in Australia to Scottish parents”, so we were all celebrating.
Down south during the day, “King Charles III has taken part in his first Trooping the Colour since becoming monarch. Princes Louis and George and Princess Charlotte joined other royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a flypast in honour of their grandfather’s official birthday. In a surprise tribute, aeroplanes were used to spell out the King’s initials, CR”. It would have been cool to see the aircraft fly over London.
On Saturday in somewhere close to Palermo, Nali and Grandpa DAVE were doing something. Eloise is starting to worry that they are actually lost and is asking each morning “where is Nali and Grandpa DAVE?”
After a late party night, the kids actually treated us to a Sunday 07:00 sleep-in, amazing! Although it was like sardines in our bed, somehow Lachlan still takes up the most room. Eloise quickly sprung into action and got Liam out of bed, “HAAAAPPPPPYYY FAATHEEERRRSS’S DAY”. Lachlan was quick to follow with a signature body slam and headbutt.
Eloise then quickly dashed out as she realised she had not finished wrapping yet and ordered Dad back into bed.
Lachlan was jumping up and down with his gift, he could not wait to get stuck into the new Bluey book he chose.
Due to international Father’s Day law this was in fact my third Father’s Day in Scotland. Not wanting to break tradition it was the usual hop skip and jump to Heaven. Lachlan had his wee Scottish kit on and could not wait to get out in the sun.
After parking next to the Old Course we made our way up the 18th fairway to St Andrews. Although, we got off to a slow start as Lachlan thought he found a beach.
Liam was excited to look at all the same stuff in all the same shops on Golf Place. Luckily Eloise was keeping a close eye on him to make sure he did not linger in any one part for too long.
We checked out our favourite second hand store and the kids helped themselves to a golf ball each.
Happy with their golf ball choice, we returned to the sacred turf to let the kids run around, it was the perfect day for it. They just continued to run and run, they can make as much noise as they want here.
We returned to one of our favourite pubs, The Jigger Inn, halfway up the 17th fairway for a lovely lunch. We were a bit early, but the kids had no concerns and were still entertained with their golf balls.
It was such a nice day we decided to walk, or in Lachlan’s case, run the Old Course. With the kids seeing how many throws it would take to get to the flags.
Eloise spotted the number three and celebrated with a fruit shoot and a sit down, pointing out that she is three years old.
The Old Course links terrain was proving tricky at times. The kids also found plenty more sandpits to play in. Eloise enjoyed making sure they were perfectly raked afterwards, Lachlan never really hung around for too long, more interested in finishing each hole.
Once we had made our way around the coast, closer to the 16th tee block it was a lot quieter with just the odd dog walker here and there. We had sneakily brought our hickory mashie niblick and we had the freedom to hit a few full shots on the Old Course. Admittedly we were pushing our luck after Liam’s drive over the Swilican Bridge. It was pretty incredible. Super Mum kept her eyes peeled for officials but we amazingly seemed to be in the all clear. It is a bit tricky to work out though with six courses side by side, it truly is the Home of Golf.
The kids had had enough of all of these mini sandpits and wanted to head to the proper beach, which was actually reasonably busy down the way.
After digging a few holes, Lachlan continued to work on his trademark frisbee delivery.
It had been a terrific Father’s Day, we were all starting to slow down. However, knowing the kids were going to fall asleep in the car on the way home at an awkward time, we decided to stop off in Stirling on the way home to better time their sleep and grab some dinner.
To end the week, Nali and Grandpa DAVE flew a long way north to end up a little way south. Well, longish, nothing is too far away in Europe we suppose. They arrived in Malta on their own after a gigantic feud with their travel companions broke out. Just kidding, hopefully. Where have the others gone? Stay tuned for the next episode as we continue to inaccurately track people across Europe.
What a great Father’s Day! Love the Bluey book!