Monday, November 14, 2011

The Spinning Vomit Wheel of Doom

Yesterday, we took the kids to a new park that we hadn't been to before. That's one of many things to love about Sydney: there are parks and outdoor recreation everywhere. I love it. Jason and I often wondered, How did we live in Dallas all those years? Where one chooses from a succession of mall play areas to visit? We loved our time in Dallas, and miss our friends there, but we realize now what we were missing. (Sorry, Dallas peeps. Y'all are still my boo.) However, for shopping and restaurants, Dallas is hard to beat. That we miss!

But anyway, this park is part of the Sydney Olympic Park, and it's right on the Parramatta River. It's called Newington Armory. I don't know how we'd never been there before--the place is HUGE. There are tunnels through hillsides, and slides, and a zipline. There are swings, and bike paths, and climbing walls. At one point I asked Ava if she was having fun. She stopped and said, "Mom, I'm having the time of my life."

Wow.
Grace loved the slides and the zip line, but Ava and Nate spent most of their time on this spinning disc thingy.
I'm pretty sure that's its official name. Y'know, it's a concave disc set at an angle that spins and spins and spins until you want to die. Okay, perhaps I'm projecting a bit. I can't handle things that spin. Even the teacups at Disneyland. But they loved it!
Even when some boy fell on Ava's nose, she still wanted to get back on. When I showed the photos to my mom, she aptly named it the Throw Up Express. But thankfully, we were spew-free for the duration of our time there.

So, in conclusion:

Opportunities to run and scream: Check
No vomit: Check
Chance to feel brave and dangerous: Check
Minor injuries: Check
--(This injury and the recounting and dramatization of it provide fodder for post-game analysis on the drive home, which is why it's deemed a positive thing, you see.)
Grace going down the slides till the world burned to a crisp and time ended: Check

This adds up to a gold star outing in our book! It was a great day, and anytime we need very tired kids at bedtime, we will definitely return.

4 comments:

  1. That's a wonderful park! I would love to see Ava, Nate, and Gracie in action there. That spinning disc is different looking too. How do the kids keep it spinning? Is Gracie on a zip line in that picture. Isn't she the Big Girl now?

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  2. Wow, that does sound like a great place. I remember being struck, in Sydney, with not only how nice the parks were but how creative the stuff in them was.

    You would not get me on that spinning vomit machine for anything. Anything.

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  3. First, As a native Texan, I'm glad to hear Dallas peeps are still your boo. I like being your boo.

    And second, but certainly more important..I'm glad to hear your peeps were all barf free. That's how I gauge the success of an outing too.

    Also, I would like to note here that I forgot how to spell "gauge" and had to google it. I don't know why I wanted you to know that.

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  4. ok, I thought I commented on this earlier today, but it looks like it's disappeared into thin air! we have got to check that park out, it looks amazing!
    btw, in case you wanted to know, I believe a zipline is called a 'flying fox' in oz:)

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