A new sprinting legend is born

School sports days; I was always the slow kid.
You know, the one that lags a mile behind the rest of the pack and might even skip a little towards the end, as if to say the hoardes of spectators, 'Huh... what race? I'm cool.'
I was always that kid, and probably still am, try as I may to change it.
So enough about me, and more about my little brother Louie - who WON A RACE TODAY!
Cue, evidence:

Yep, that's my eleven-year-old Speedy Gonzales.
I am very proud, and obviously very happy to live vicariously through him to get my taste of the sweet victory that I'll never race to on my own.

The best bit is that he was feeling extremely nervous this morning when he woke up. At six am. You see, this kid: Ben, is something of a sprinting legend in Louie's school. He has won sports day races THREE years in a row, or four, even. While Louie has been known to kick up his own fair amount of dust for the kids left behind to eat, Louie is a mere Year Six in comparison to the mighty Ben's Year Seven self.

But Louie was determined to change this, and put a series of competitive advantages into place.
1:: He ate a breakfast of protein powder and egg milk smoothie (I discovered this when I entered the kitchen and tried to sip on what appeared to be a delicious fruit mixture left behind... blehhh).
2:: He tied up his shoelaces extra tight.
3:: He had butterflies all the way to school - gearing up to enter the fight AND flight response, eh? eh?
4:: And, finally... he got his sister to dress all in blue in support of his "faction".

Actually, I did that all on my own accord - I told you I wanted to live wholly in the moment.
Anyway, to end a long story short... oh look, who is number two on the podium below? Is that.... Ben?
Ohhhh yeah.

Hooray for Louie!!!!!

I'm so proud.

Today's story, however, has its extreme highs... and one very sore low.
Moments before Louie's race, I was standing on the grass and gently swapping from foot to foot. I needed to pee. Badly. But with my camera around my neck and Louie lined somewhere near the front of the multicoloured pack of kids across the oval, I was too anxious to leave.

A stream of colourful kids making their way to the starting line

It took a while but Mum finally convinced me that I should go - run - because Louie's racing group appeared to be stalled behind various streamer-adorned groups of girls, and I should make it in time.

But woe is me, I didn't.
I washed my hands and ran out the door with watery droplets flying out everywhere, reaching our spot only to find Mum and Tom had moved onwards to the blue faction's tent. Please, no, I thought.
Tom told me the words I didn't want to hear - "You missed it."
I spotted Louie approaching the podium and knew it was true.
Gahhhhhhhhh it was literally THE ONLY RACE I had missed in the trip to the bathroom. Stupid, STUPID coffee.

A bad idea when you await an exciting spectacle

I grabbed my camera and took a quick snap of Louie standing above Ben on the podium, then one of Louie eating watermelon. It felt good to witness his satisfied and happy face, but I was so disappointed and I still am.
I thank Mum and Tom for not taking any pictures of my teary eyes, but yep it sure happened. I told them I had been so keen to make up for all the times I haven't been able to make Louie's sports days over the years, because he's always lived in a different state from me. Naw.
Anyway, I know as long as he keeps fit and determined, there's always his high school years =].

Louie and I. 

Love you buddy, well done.

By the way.... there was a last minute entry into the sports day races.

And guess who won?

Hahahahhaha I will never get over how gooby I look in this photo.

xZ

An Australia Day recount, from someone who wasn't drunk

Marching into the froth

As a young adult, I've often spent Australia Day on the beach, boozing with friends, listening to JJJ Hottest 100. Like everyone else. This year, though, it was all about the fam, in our new location: Margaret River (ie. I don't know anyone else!!). 

It was a bliss day - nice and hot, as it should be - so we dined out for lunch before hitting the beach. 

Check it out...

Rivermouth Beach, Margaret River, WA

Don't you just feel like you're there? In the clutches of that great aqua swell

And lunch was pretty relaxing too! At a place they call "Sea Gardens" which overlooks the ocean. 

I painted Louie's face! He was super keen to post his picture on the Triple J website

However, it ended up being pretty pricey. All thanks to a quiet mention in the menu that we'd overlooked...

'Happy Australia Day! Here's a surprise 17.5% surcharge on your meal'

While saving a kangaroo is a very Australian feature of our day, a restaurant keeping this detail quiet is not. Has anyone ever heard of this before? Maybe I just don't eat out much on public holidays... Oh well, luckily we had only ordered one meal each and no drinks... so it ended up being around $100 with $20 being the surcharge amount.

:) 

Anyway that's all, just a quick share of life. 

Sorry, I'll integrate some fashion into my posts again SOON, I promise. 

xZ

A-maze-ing

Once upon a time I may have wondered if giant hedge mazes actually existed - thinking what a fun feature it'd be in your backyard, and how oh-so-lucky my Sims characters were when I spent time making mini pixel hedge mazes for them.

Last Sunday, I realised that I was, in fact, living DOWN THE ROAD from one, real, giant hedge maze!

And so my family and I visited for a little arvo treat.

Amaze'n, Margaret River, is a big family amusement garden... set up by a couple 17 years ago who still run the show today. Visitors arrive at the site first by entering the park's café (and perhaps buying delicious icecream like we did) and then there is a fee charged before they are able to enter the grounds where the giant hedge maze and several smaller activities are spread out.

The maze, by my standards, is indeed gigantic. You can't see over the hedges, and only sometimes can you see through them. I'm proud to say that my family and I did manage to survive it without sneaking through any branches! Though it was tempting to cheat because we were racing each other to the exit.

Also, yes, we got lost. Which is what you want from a maze like this. Am I right?

Tom ponders the way.... "Didn't we just come from there?"

Taking a break from the race to just stroll and enjoy 

So I probably loved this maze mostly because it reminded me of both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and of Labryinth. I kept wanting to see funny little creatures around every corner, and I imagined creepy eyes peering through the branches, watching us. My little brother Louie did a commendable impersonation of Cedric being dragged under the enchanted hedge and I asked the others, 'How cool would it be to be in here at nighttime?!" 

...but I knew Tom was spot on when he teased that I'd be scared out of my wits in such a situation.

Sneaky, sneaky overview

:)

The smaller activities in the rest of the garden were worthwhile, too. Actually, the 'Turn Left Maze' was great for a bit of intellectual challenge - where, obviously, you are only allowed to turn left around the miniature hedge blocks and work your way out by logically deciding how to get there. 

There was also a 'Stepping Stones' puzzle which challenged the hell out of us! You had to follow a sequence of white, red, black - following the painted lines between the stones in order to find your way to the middle one. It's very complex especially if you forget which way you came before each consecutive try. Pretty sure only two out of five of us succeeded.

Lastly, we checked out 'Flying Saucer Hill' which I liked because, in amongst all the creative and complexly grown features, here was one natural hill that had been bought with the property and likened to an image of a flying saucer, so smack boom, here it was, and labelled as an exciting landmark on the map.... brought to you by Amaze'n:

The incredible Flying Saucer Hill

Just so you know, we made good use of it...

Mum rolls down the hill and takes a second to lay there and regain normal functions.... 

I [maturely] yell: "Mum's drunk!" 

Mum: "Ohhhh, I AM drunk, I feel out of it now!" and lays there some more while surrounding picnickers are amused [or judging].

Haha.

So that's my share of a weekend, hope you enjoyed yours just as much. Has anyone heard about other giant mazes existing? There's got to be some!

Look forward to replying to any lovely comments, as always. 

xZ 

Oh and one last thing; I wanted to say that I'm not sure why I chose to wear a full-on touristy style hat on this day, but WOW am I glad I discovered it in our home. Bright blue and yellow, with an IN-BUILT SOLAR FAN to cool your face,,, it is definitely WORTH all the capitals in talking about it! Sweet stylin'.