teacher talk and fiery rivers

Yesterday the three of us had a grand adventure. We set off just before 7am, and drove to Ipswich to catch the train to the city. We found the train station fine…parking was another story. Eventually we discovered the commuter car park, and by the time we figured out how to walk back to the station from there, got our tickets and found the platform, we jumped onto the train about 5 seconds before they shut the doors!

The train ride was great. Mayana had a fabulous time charming the pants off all the other passengers. She has recently learned to clap and wave, and thoroughly enjoyed showing off these skills to her adoring fans. She even had breakfast on the run!

 

We went to Brisbane to attend the Education Show. My dad’s business had a stall there, and it was a fantastic place to collect resources, make contacts and meet other teachers. I had some very interesting conversations, and learned a lot. My mum and dad were also there, so they spent a lot of time with Miss Mayana so Pete and I were able to look around properly. It was much appreciated, and Mayana became the new Bizfurn mascot… totally drew in the crowds for her Opa!

When the show finished Pete, Mayana, Mama and I wandered over to the city where we meandered through the crowds, browsed through the shops and ate some lunch.

The big Riverfire event was on last night, so the three of us decided we might as well stay. Despite some pretty awful nappy rash, due to two teeth on their way through, Mayana-berry was coping very will with her big day, so we felt safe. We waved goodbye to Kami and trecked back over to Southbank to find a spot.

The amount of people there was phenomenal. Overwhelming. We ended up meeting with Pete’s brother and wife, his step-kids and their baby girl. It was nice to see Mayana with her little cousins and good to catch up.

me with my niece, Hannah.

Mayana with her step-cousins, Chloe & Dee. They do a great job at peek-a-boo. Mayana was very impressed. Mayana and her cousin Hannah.

Then the show began.

F1-11’s did their initial fly over. Can I just say I’ve never heard anything like it in my life. Ever. While I wasn’t exactly scared of the planes – I didn’t think they were going to hurt me or anything – the noise they made had me feeling a terrified panicky feeling I’d never quite experienced before. Luckily it was over pretty quickly. Then the fireworks. They were pretty spectacular. I’m going to be all fuddy-duddy and whingy here, but I have to comment. Yes, the fireworks were gorgeous but did they *really* have to go for half an hour?? The whole time I was watching all I could think about was the amount of money they spend on this event, when I can think of about 3000 other ways that it could be better spent. I’m not saying can the fireworks, but I sometimes wonder about governments and their priorities…

Anyway, the fireworks were an interesting experience for Mayana. To begin with her face looked like this:

but she gradually warmed up to it and by the end she was bouncing and smiling. Every now and again she’d bury her face in my chest particularly loud bangs, but she’d quickly look back up to see the pretties in the sky.

We left pretty quickly after the F1-11’s did their dump and burn (pretty spectacular!) to try and not get too caught up in the crowd. It kind of worked. In any case Mayana was asleep in the sling by the time we got to the station.

She slept nearly the whole way home, on the train and in the car. Once home she even slept through being changed for bed, and didn’t wake up until after 7am! What an angel.

So our day was a huge adventure, and Pete and I both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And I’m pretty sure Mayana did too!

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