Ha the beautiful autumn leaves. When we were at Sainsbury, Tong commented that they had a lot of products that we had in Singapore, there were a lot of familiar sights too...except their Mac had ipads with games and trees with yellow leaves...and the weather was colder. heh
We came to this trail and it was gated up. Thinking that it was closed, we played outside the gate.
Attempted a jumping shot
Ha, flurry of leaves...
well, we spent quite a while there. The kids were content with piling the leaves and then kicking them everywhere...
Found sticks and had stick fights...Jun looked like he was a Kungfu master practicing some deadly moves...ha...
We saw a man walk out from the gate and realized that the gate was not locked. We merely had to lift the latch. So we went to explore the nature trail.
Sauntered along the peaceful river
Ambled further down the trail
Ah, after two hours of exploration, we headed home for lunch!
Spent the rest of the day in the toasty apartment in warm thermal wear...well...they mostly binged on snacks and TV...
All snug as bugs in bed. The kids woke up rather early, Tong would wake up at 6am...and the rest by 7pm...and they could go off to bed as early as 7pm. Well, with the sky getting dark at 5pm, there were few activities to do at night and the stores closed early too.
so yeah...slept early and rose early. what a great sleeping habit.
Day 4 - To Preston Park and Museum
The apartment where we stayed at
ho ho the intrepid adventurers. We took a public bus to Preston Park and Museum. I sat next to a lovely old lady who shared that she went to Singapore and told us what to expect at Preston Park.
Wow, the outdoor playground blew our mind away. It was sprawling and had interesting structures... like this "Viking" swing...ha
A giant spider web that led to a suspension bridge and a tall slide. Jie climbed to the top but dared not come down the slide.
A tinier playground that was suitable for Jun
Tire swings
And a toddler swing for the littlest baby, who was one friendly guy and often said hi to the people he met - he especially loved to say hi to babies and other toddlers who seemed younger than he was
A sand pit with diggers
Jun was having a whale of a time playing with the wet sand
You would not believe it, but they spent quite a long time just at this sand pit while I shuddered in the cold and they seemed perfectly fine with the chilly weather.
Very scenic and tranquil...not a crowded place
Even a simple rocking structure made them happy. They claimed it was a rocket and they were launching into space.
Playing with the autumn leaves was always a highlight.
Went into the museum. A one-time admission ticket was actually an annual ticket!
The ancient building
There were interesting displays, like this grand old carriage
Depiction of what life used to be like
Toys of olden days
A colouring corner
The most interesting exhibit was a recreated Victorian Street! We could even enter some of the shops along the street and touched the exhibits.
A real café along the street. Had cold sandwiches, hot chocolate, tea and a scone for lunch...the scone was absolutely scrumptious.
We saw many poppies in this greenhouse that was connected to the museum. We knew it had something to do with the commemoration of the anniversary of World War 1 but did not know why poppies were used. After reading up, we learnt that they were the only flowers that blossomed on the bloody battlefields. What a meaningful message - a symbol of life and hope - such a stark contrast to the devastating war that took millions of lives away...
Jie took this photo for us
Tong insisted on wanting a turn to take a photograph too
Loved the cheeky little monkey
Back to the playground. We had been out since 10am and it was 3pm. Gosh...they decided to play for a longer time and wait for papa to pick us up when he knocked off from work.
It was amazing how they could spend hours at this playground.
There were 4 spaces so jie commented that it would be perfect for them when Emmelyn came along...
On the Viking swing again
This spinning disc held their interest for a long time. They were running like crazy hamsters on the wheel, having dance challenges and doing all sorts of funny things on it...
Ha, papa finally came at 445pm, the sky was getting dark. What a day. When asked about their thoughts about the best day thus far, Jie wisely said that it was the first day as we landed in this lovely country. Well...and this day at the playground...perhaps...but better ones could be coming soon... ah ha, so we spent 6hours and 45 mins outside... nothing could stop us, the bold explorers!
Day 4 - On the drive back to Solihull
All warm and toasty
The ride was close to 3 hours, it was a good thing that they slept most of the day...
After a simple meal of heated up pizzas (oh gosh, their pizzas were so affordable, always less than 2 pounds each and so delicious), papa went to work while the kids played on the ps4 for hours till papa came back.
We braved the drizzle and went to the malls to get more groceries. Then, it was dinnertime...Yay, the weekend was here so we would be exploring more places with papa! Hurray.
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