Our day out

I was reminded again this afternoon why I hate grass - apart from the hassle of trying to get it to grow, to get it green again after the winter and then having to cut it - it makes me really itchy.  Something I only remember after the picnic.  But I do so love picnics and having picnics with my children, so the joy of getting to the garden (in this case the botancial gardens not mine) for the a picnic surpasses the irritation afterwards.

During our time at the garden as usual we went through a couple of seasons - it was overcast, it threathened to rain and then it was hot-hot again.

Alexandra was very enthusiatic about packing the picnic basket and Matthew was suddenly picky about a sauceless hot-dog (something he insisted on the week before) - as a result we came back with almost as much picnic stuff as what we went with.  Except of course for Mommy's flask of tea which was completely drained by Mommy. 

Our outing included the obligatory reading of the notice board outside of the gardens where is shows with symbols what you can do and what you cannot do inside.  They got stuck on the hiking symbol and were not sure about the meaning of the guy lying down with the half moon above him, but the glass and the bottle was an easy one. 

Another obligatory event at any garden outing is the ride on the big toy train.  I settled down with the picnic and left when to do a round trip on the train.  I noticed when they came back that they were standing by the 'train-lady'. My children's memories at any place stretch back at least two years with perfect clarity, so it was easy for them to recall that they should get a lollipop with the train trip.  Matthew was perplexed that this was no longer the case.  The Gardens had asked them not to hand out sweets to the children any longer as the birds were apparently being hurt when they found the lollipop sticks.

I bought the newspapers before we got to the gardens with the hope that I could relax and read while the children amused themselves.  No I don't know what I was thinking.  The newspaper had a little outing, got rained on a bit and blown a bit as well, but not really read.

I was going to take the camera so that I could take photos of the gardens and my children, but I have managed to run down the battery on the camera (and the Garmin) and in my dear hubbie's absence I have no idea how to charge either.  I did take some pics on my cellphone and as soon as I manage to download those which may involve having to find a cable which I didn't think was important at the time ...