TRAVEL: Our emotional visit to Australian War Memorial - Canberra

My girls are obsessed with knowing more about World War 1 at the moment.  This is not a bad thing, and really extends from the focus on the centenary of Gallipoli landing this month.  Part of this learning was an assignment on a person who fought in World War 1 - which Laura with the help of my Mum did on her great-great grandfather.   As a family we were fascinated by our own personal link to the first world war.   

My great-grandfather John (Jack) McCarthy 56th Batallion

So we decided quite on the spur of the moment, given we had a break in netball commitments to go down to the War Memorial.  Hubby and I met in Canberra, so there is a certain sense of nostalgia when we visit.

As soon as we popped onto the M5 motorway, the excitement was building.  The frills have been learning about recipients of the Victoria Cross and all along centennary drive (the M5 through to Canberra) all the rest stops are named after Victoria Cross recipients... so everyone with their iPads and me with my camera were capturing them to reference later at the memorial.

VC photo-capturing

and we were even lucky enough to stop at one!  

What has changed is all the coffee stops along the way, coffee vans at most rest areas these days.. a very welcomed sight by hubby!

When we arrived, it was just at the end of the Op Slipper parade, which was a parade to commemorate the end of our defence involvement in Afghanistan and Middle East.  This memorial is to the west of the war memorial main building.

My smallest frills were so excited when they saw the statue of Simpson and his Donkey (Jack Simpson Kirkpatrick), as they had just learned about him the week before at school.

At this point I asked them to pose in front of Australia's Parliament House and hubby explained to them why there is a direct view from parliament house (old and new) 'so politicians making decisions about war would be constantly reminded of the sacrifices of war'.

Inside the Australia War Memorial, it's a very emotional place.   I would suggest heading up to the Roll of honor and hook up with a guide.  They have fascinating stories about the names on the wall.  Where they came from, where they joined, a bit about their family and loved ones and what they did in the war.. it really helps humanise those people.

We laid poppies in the wall next to my great-grandfathers' batallion and also at Jack Simpson Kirkpatricks (in the First Aid section).

The Hall of Memory is quite a solemn experience.  You can't be there and not contemplate the person this could have been, the family they left behind, their experience of war.  The stained glass windows, ceiling and murals are just magnificent. 

Then we headed into the new World War 1 section.  Quite frankly it's amazing.

My girls loved seeing the uniforms (and later they tried some on - more on that soon).  

It looks so heavy!

Laura and I were mesmerised by the Gallipoli landing boat, bullet holes and all.  Well worth a look and you can even touch it.  Having exhibits like this makes it so real and instantly relateable.  Laura was working out how many men could fit in there and then I reminded her they would have equipment as well...

There were diaries and films and interactive displays - I loved the artefacts most of all.  This is a recruitment poster from World War 1.

Remember our stop off? We went and found the Victoria Cross Medal recipients in the Hall of Valour, which is shaped in the shape of the Victoria Cross.

It's hard to tell what the kids' favourite part of the War Memorial was, and I'm only showing you a small sample of what we saw and experienced, but a must-must-must-do for the kids is the Discovery Zone.  The kids can get hands on experience of many war experiences.  There's uniforms for them to try on and try all kinds of things.

This is the dug-out.. where the kids can put their foot into an open space and...

See what trench foot looks like! (Yuck!)

Fly in a helicopter from the Vietnam War...

Hang out in a submarine (and a have a kip)

And try out some morse code...

For us of course the World War 1 section was the focus, I guess because the girls understood more about the war.  As my grandfather served in World War two and my own father in the Gulf and Afghanistan, I think we have a lot more family history to go through and then go back.  I honestly think you need a few days.. and it doesn't matter if you went last decade, last year or last month (or even yesterday) you can always see new things at the War Memorial.

Key info tips:

• War Memorial is free to all members of the public
• It's a long day, if your kids are younger than teens, split it into two days.
• Food and drink is not permitted, but there is a cafe on site, it's a tad on the expensive side, but less than the movies
• Tours are free you can pick these up at the front entrance or join one that might be in an area you're in.
• If you want to find records of those in your family - their research centre is open every day except Sundays
• The giftshop is where you can pick up poppies for $1 each.  The giftshop has a fabulous range of books, videos, posters and memoriabilia.  If you can't get to the memorial, you can order from their shop here: 
• The last post, bring tissues if you are there for it.  A tear springs to my eye if I hear it anyways, but there, it's profound.  Every day at 4.55pm.  You can watch a live stream of it here each day.

ACTIVITY: Sydney Easter Show 2015 - my top ten tips

Whilst my feet and my knee recovers from the Easter Show, thought I'd share some of our highlights... I think this is the third time we've been to the show since having kids which is pretty good when you consider they are 9 and 10.

They have grown so much! *sniff*

Last time we went we tried to do everything, and that became a stupid amount of exhausting and an even stupid-er amount of cash spent.   This time we stuck to a couple of rules - but here's my ten tips:

1.  Arrive after lunch.  It beats the rush and cuts down on the amount of junk you can consume whilst you are there.  There's also a stronger likelihood you'll make it to the fireworks.

Patting baby chicks, Steggles Poultry Farm

2.  If you are arriving by public transport and using the main entry, do your showbags first and secure a locker.  We did this last year and instead of paying $10 for a locker, we offered someone who was cleaning out theirs $5 for the keys and we both paid half price.  Then you can do the Woolworths Fresh Dome for lunch ($2 toasted cheese sandwich is a bargain!) and then make you way down to the end of the show.

Learning to milk a cow - Dairy Farmers Working Dairy

3. If you are parking instead at P1, take the bottom entrance near the rides, do all the animals and work your way up to the fresh food zone for dinner and grab your showbags on your way out.

Food Farm

4.  Showbags:  this year I have two picks for the Mums... $15 Women's weekly bag and the Sukin natural body care bag for $25.    Kids and Dads, to me they didn't seem so great this year.  We don't let the kids get 'a bag of sugar' but one showbag that has things they can use.... Laura chose an Alien one... Eloise a Paul Frank one and Olivia a Total girl one.  They are all happy with that and honestly, one bag is plenty.

OzHarvest Stand, Food Farm

5.  In the Fresh Food Dome - Woolworths have lots of food bits - I particularly liked the salami guy - really good quality for a reasonable price.  The Nougat stand is a must for us too - we got some last time and love it.  

Wildfire Chlli Stand - Woolworths fresh food dome

Hubby loves the chili stand and took the 'Carolina Reaper Challenge' which is the hottest chili in the world.  Now, let me tell you he grows and cooks ghost chili, so has quite a good palate for chili, but this was very hot.  He got a lanyard for his trouble, watery eyes and a quick trip to the gelato stand.  I will admit I did my fair share of sniggering with that one.

6. There's kids cooking demos at the Woolies Fresh Food section but for kids you really can't beat the 'Food Farm' which is down near the cattle sections of the show.  It really helps explain where food comes from and there's a fab cooking class for primary school kids.  It runs several times a day and shows kids how to make rice paper rolls and apricot bliss balls.

Healthy active kids cooking class - Food Factory

Healthy active kids cooking class - Food Factory

 It teaches basic knife and peeling skills using safe utensils which you can buy at a reasonable price  (3 for $20) too.  My girls loved it, and got to keep their aprons! 

Healthy active kids cooking class - Food Factory

 That's a must for any mini-masterchefs at your house and best of all - it's free of charge!

OzHarvest Stand, Food Farm

7.  You can pretty much get anything on a stick...

waffles on a stick - Woolworths Fresh Food Dome

apples on a stick - Woolworths Fresh Food Dome

Chocolate dipped fruit on a stick - Woolworths Fresh Food Dome

Cheese on a stick - many location

Chips on a stick - opposite Cattle Judging Lawn

Dagwood dog - available throughout

8.  Cut yourself some slack with the junk food - we didn't go overboard but sno-cones ($4 each), dagwood dogs ($5) are part of the fun.  We also tried deep fried cheesecake and deep fried oreos today ($6 for cheesecake, $6 for 4 oreos).

Deep fried frozen cheesecake - Opposite Dinosaur Ice World

Deep fried Oreos - Opposite Dinosaur Ice World

Olivia loved the oreos, basically the coating is like doughnut (same as cheesecake)

9.  We opted out for rides this year - our girls weren't thrilled with this but we gave them the choice of showbags or rides because the rides cost us even with vouchers about $100 last year.  They do look fab though don't they?

Giant slippery slide - Kids Carnival

Sideshow Alley - Kids Carnival Area

10.  Other tips I can give you is take sunscreen, drink bottles and if you don't have a pram invest or take a shopper trolley, you can buy them for $20 around the show- the Women's weekly bag alone was heavy and warranted some 'transport'.  

Do you have any other tips?  What are your must-do's for the show?

Activity Report: Frills go bowling!

Well if you're having the Queens Birthday Long Weekend, and you're in South Eastern Australia - you're probably freezing.  I am.  But I don't mind so much - we're keeping ourselves busy with boardgames, dancing to 80's music video clips on TV and a spot of cooking here and there.

Something that we did last weekend was go to two birthday parties.  This happens when you have three daughters.  Party invites at times are more frequent than toilet trips (ok I am exaggerating, so what?).. I like a birthday party where the adults can get involved a little - not just 'supervising' or being in separate camps... the best fun I've had at birthday parties is where the adults get to play the games too.. don't you reckon?

One of our parties last weekend was great like that - it was a bowling party.   Ten pin bowling has certainly moved along from those daggy shoes and the smell of foot odour.  It's pretty chic these days actually.. OK the shoes are still a little daggy.. but you don't have to try millions of pairs on - you just see how big your foot is on the on-floor sizer:

We went to Dee Why AMF Bowl and it's lovely and modern, bright and clean.   I was impressed.  And the birthday party ran like clockwork.  It did require some parents to stay and help some of the kids - but I didn't mind.  We were all having fun.

It's so exciting and our group of 4 - were first time bowlers so we were all learning together.  In the beginning I was putting the ball on the frame (which helps beginners aim) and aiming it - by the end they were lifting the balls themselves and positioning the frame.

They put the gutters up too, so no one feels totally like a dumkopf.

The kids were loving it, no cross words, no competitive biffs, just pure fun - this is the birthday boy K, strutting his bowling moves!

And no more scoring with pencils!  It's all computerised.  That saves a lot of arguments!

My girls did pretty okay I think!

Then it was time for the party - and well the party food isn't exactly gourmet or healthy - but it is a party and if you can't indulge at a party - when can you?

The birthday boy enjoyed himself - and that, is the main thing.  The other factor was it was his Mum's birthday, and she had no washing up! Bonus!

And you bring your own cake or pay for one - up to you - happy birthday K

The lowdown - 
Buy your tickets online - They are much cheaper !  Online you can get tickets for $7.95 a game whereby normally they could be almost double that.


Party cost from $19.90 per child - includes 1 game, arcade tokens, party bag for each child, and party food as pictured.   This may vary upon where you live and what packages they offer.  Click here for more info.


Do you go bowling or did you as a child?  We're going back, the kids love it and it's a great activity to do as a family - especially in extreme weather!