Fathers' Day 2008

Last Sunday was Fathers' Day here in Melbourne... and though the kids still owe Daddy a present (shopping was not on Joey's list of fun things to do), we had a pretty exciting day. You guys won't believe how it began - Joey woke up at 5.45am to be in CityLife Church together with Henry Bong and team to set up the audio equipment for the Sunday Service. Yes, it's the first time, but apparently it's not gonna be the last!

Joey came home to get us, then we went to church for the 9am service, where the Senior Minister, Mark Conner was preaching that day (http://www.markconner.typepad.com/).

After church, we went home to prepare for a picnic with Caleb, Debbie n family... and Joey managed to grab a few minutes of much needed sleeeeep =)

Caleb and Debbie arrived just before the rain did. So, we had some indoor games first (ok, fine, we didn't plan anything, I don't deserve any credit for having a backup plan - like bees to honey, the kids naturally went straight for the Wii remote controls... hehehe). Fortunately for the picnic plans (and unfortunately for the drought), rain here doesn't last long (nor does it pour buckets of rain all down at once). So, once it slowed down, we got into the car, detoured to pick up some pizzas (which, if u get the ones on sale on Sundays, can range from $3.49 to just under $9 per large pizza... we ended up choosing 2 of our favorite large pizzas, including the special pastry crust we were trying out for the first time, and 2 boxes of brownies, which altogether cost less than $18.00).

Armed with Pizzas, Brownies, Chicken Wings, Sausages, Snacks and Juices, we were on our way to Ruffey Lake Park! One problem though - it was still raining. So, we told Ryan he better pray for the rain to stop, or else we'ld have to go home instead of having a picnic, and without a second thought, he quickly prayed for that. Who can guess what happened? Seriously, God truly honours the prayers prayed with such childlike faith. When we got to the park, the rain had stopped, and the kids ran straight for the playground (which had those big sail-looking shades so it wasn't wet).


There are hot plates provided for public use in the park (just hold down the 'on' button for a few seconds) which we knew about, hence the presence of the uncooked chicken wings and sausages... anyway, it's a pretty cool (err... I mean, hot... haha) facility! Note: the building in the background is the restrooms.


Joey cooked the sausages n chicken wings


and Caleb watched over the kids and took pictures,


while Debbie and I took a moment to enjoy the breeze and think about what a great way it was to spend Fathers' Day (with one father cooking, the other taking care of kids and the 2 of us relaxing). Hahahaha! Well, our magical moment lasted about 10 seconds then we went on with setting up the picnic. =)

The parks here are very well equipped. Besides the awesome playground, public cooking facilities, and restrooms nearby, there are also sheltered areas with tables and chairs,


and even drinking water fountains! (Just twist the tap once to turn on, and again to turn off)


As much as the kids enjoyed the food,


they definitely enjoyed the playground much more!


After we packed everything up and were ready to go, the rain began to fall again, and we happily returned to our cars, with memories of a successful Fathers' Day picnic...

p.s. thanks, CalebDebbie, for the pictures that you recognize on this page ;)