More about Thursday

After we did the bits and pieces we needed to do outside the house today, we bought some hot chips...in New Zealand they are fried in oil (eek), salt is added, and they are wrapped in newsprint paper. It's the cheapest (and most unhealthy) lunch imaginable.

I had planned for this by putting $3 in my pocket, and taking along a bottle of sauce and half a loaf of bread (for "chip butties"). We keep a picnic blanket in the car, and I had bottles of drink as well.

We found a park to eat at (one we have enjoyed before), and T1 fell asleep just as we arrived.

We left the car door open so we could see him, and ate our chips under a tree, on top of piles of autumn leaves. It was such a nice time. We laughed together and talked about what super powers we would all like if we could have some.

We thought of words that rhyme with "bud", for no reason that I can now recall.

When we were finished eating, we checked to see if T1 would like to come with us to the playground too...but he didn't stir.

I pushed the kids on swings, as high as I could make them go...they call that mega-pushing, a phrase coined by a young friend of ours.

The ywanted ot be pushed at exactly the same time and height...it took me a while to make it so (adjusting forh t edifferences in wieght, etc)...and discovered why it was so important...

They wanted to hold hands while they swung. They managed this (not very easy feat) for quite some time, amongst fits of giggles...and while I looked on, amazed at how much they love each other.

I went to check on T1, and asked him if he woudl like to come to the park now...he opened his eyes, smiled and said "park", then his baby eyes rolled back in his head, and he was out again.

I chased the kids, and we did more swinging. J9 surprised me (and himself) by going across some monkey bars. I had attempted it, and failed miserably...he as so proud.

I went to see if T1 would like to come and play now, and he did want to...he walked around and around some giant logs bordering the playground, and went up and down the slide multiple times, mostly with A5. He had a very long swing, and didn't want to get out of it.

When we were nearly ready to leave, the fun really began! J9 found a mushroom in the bark, and decided to look for some more. He and A5 wandered around the perimeter of the park, then A5 screamed, "We hit the jackpot!"

They had found piles of field mushrooms, three different varieties.

They also thought they might have found truffles...I don't think so, but they found the weirdest fungi I have ever seen!

They were so cool to play with...they looked like eggs (mushroomish) on the outside, and inside was a jelly-type substance, protecting a white substance...but the white was really an intricately wound spiral kind of thing- like a ball, all squished up in to the egg shape...and encircling what looked like dung.

I'm just going to have to look it up!

We found several of them, and before long another child came over to see what we were doing...all the children had sticks, and were finding more and more of these oddities.

We found one with loads of maggot-like creatures nearby...it was such a lot of fun, and I was so annoyed that I hadn't taken the camera.