My transition to grannie-hood is complete:
We took Little Aussie to The Lego Movie...
and Loved It!!
This movie has all the right ingredients...
a good-hearted and slightly very naive hero, Emmet:
a feisty biker-chick femme fatale:
an 80's Lego spaceman:
and is altogether lots of fun for everyone.
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Later we decided the Time was Right, to reveal to Aussie our vast collection of 1980s big-boy Lego, lovingly kept all these years for our two sons.
There are literally hundreds of tiny pieces, and everything had been deconstructed. There were no instructions - and instructions, according to the movie, are key to success and an ordered life.
Nevertheless, Mr C assigned himself the task of Body Recovery,
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eventually putting together no less than Fifty tiny little people...
including that little blue spaceman -
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As soon as Aussie arrived, he asked to make another waterhole cake ..
and so we did ...
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Off for a walk in the rain with his Dad...
while we old folk have a wee rest...
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A kookaburra came to visit today - we rarely see them.
They are an Australian king-fisher, and are birds of prey.
Feel free to catch any snake you see, my feathered friend.
They have a most distinctive call, or 'laugh', and I found one on YouTube for you to hear it.
Now, don't think I'm not watching what Kate is wearing over in New Zealand...
My favourite, the blue Alexander McQueen coat -
look at the back detail:
So elegant with the ponytail hair.
Today in Dunedin, a sweet little hat for church, in beautiful teal blue.
Yesterday's coat, in bright green.
This one has superb pieced detailing in the bodice:
Had to make this one big so you could see it..
Under the green coat, a sweet old-fashioned silk tea-dress.
This afternoon in Queenstown, casual Kate in the look she owns:
skinny jeans, navy blazer, navy espadrilles - chic...
And the prize for complimenting the host nation must go to the gorgeous black evening dress with silver bead embroidery of the New Zealand emblem, a silver fern.
Thus far, no yellow. Is she saving that for us, and will there be a wattle dress???
Thank you to everyone who helped me with suggestions on making the necessary reservations to see the Arena Chapel in Padua.
We have succeeded in making a double booking, one for night, and one the next afternoon. Just to be sure.
Phew! You know how it is when you have your heart set on something and only one opportunity to see it...
Blessings to you all, and have a wonderful week.
XXXX
I am thinking that perhaps I will give the lego film a miss!!! Delighted that persistence paid off and that you succeeded in getting the tickets for the Arena Chapel. I have seen and heard kookaburras in our local wildlife park, but that is not quite the same as having them actually fly into your own garden.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I should have added a Disclaimer: To avoid embarrassment, only see this movie if accompanied by a small wide-eyed child!
DeleteHopefully, the ticket process will work out when we turn up to collect them when we arrive in Padua. At least we have the paperwork done at our end.
It is hard to imagine kookaburras held in a wildlife park and not flying free. I wonder what they think of that? When we bought this house there were tame ones came looking for a handout; obviously previous owners had been giving them meat, but we declined to continue this idea and they went away.
Your huge box of Lego brought back so many memories! We have loads of 1980s Lego that my oldest two sons had, boxed up and waiting in our crawl space for grandchildren to play with. I'm sure any instructions that came with the sets are long gone by now as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm tucking your waterhole cake idea away to do for Lucy when she gets a bit older. I'll just substitute Canadian animals and call it a lake cake.
I'm so happy for you that you got your tickets to see the chapel. Great idea to book for two different times. Just in case.
I'm so glad we kept the Lego all these years, Kristie. You will have fun with yours too, one day. Canadian animals would work so well with that cake - just buy one of those tubes of plastic animals and you are set to go!
DeleteHow fun to share the old Lego with Aussie! He must be having a ball. The waterhole cake is so cute, I can see why he'd want to make another. Thanks for sharing all these photos of the royal visit, I hadn't seen any of the newer ones. Kate always looks so beautiful and put-together. I think that blue coat she wore to see the airplane is my favorite of all the great outfits she's worn there.
ReplyDeleteAussie's Dad was having a great Lego time too, and made nine creative space vehicles, much to the little guy's delight. I'm glad you agree with me, the blue coat is the best Kate look last week. Wonder what today will bring?
DeleteWhat a shame all our grandsons are at least 5 years too old for the Lego film. :-) They are all passionately keen Lego modellers, though Grandson#1 is gradually growing out of it as his teens progress. Have a super visit with Little Aussie and of course his parents. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, the Lego film is firmly aimed at the little guys - then again....
DeleteWe were trying to figure out at what age our sons outgrew the Lego, and figured it was about age 15. Which means I have kept it for 20 years before it came out this weekend! There are times when hoarding is a good thing!
Wonderful lego! When I was small, boys used to play with Macarno (not sure if I've spelt that right). Then lego came along and equalised the playing field (so to speak). Both my daughters loved their lego, and it seems it still persists. Lovely fashion photos of Kate. She is very elegant isn't she?
ReplyDeleteMy brothers played with the Meccano, and were very good at it, Val. They still have fond memories of it. I'm glad your girls liked it too, and there is a bit of 'girl' lego among our collection. Lots of those tiny little flowers, which I collected yesterday and made a little garden bed. Kate is certainly very elegant this tour, perhaps a little more 'grown-up' than the Canadian tour 3 years ago.
DeleteWell I'm glad that all of those little lego people have been reunited with their various body parts after all these years!!! They will be happy. I love the green coat that you showed Kate wearing above, it is very chic I think. Also the black dress with the fern detail. Looking forward to seeing if there are any wattle's coming out when she visits you in Australia! xx
ReplyDeleteThose little lego people have their cute 80s smiles all over their faces, Amy. I found them a special box so they won't be immediately smashed up again. Royal tour fashions definitely keep me amused, as they bring out all the best looks.xx
DeleteHaving had girls, Legos have not been played with so much, it was all about The My Little Ponies in the past.
ReplyDeleteNo idea what little Mariel gets addicted on. Right now, she is very interested in the iPad..and so much more.
I have followed Kate´s wardrobe on the Duchesse Kate blog ( which I first found from your blog list ).
They surely must have a roomful of clothes along on their visit.
It must be a rough, yet interesting trip!
Of course, there had to be My Little Ponies at your place, Mette. We never had them but I do like their pastel prettiness. Isn't it incredible how early babies can begin to use the iPad. Aussie is very skilled with it now, playing various games at odd moments. It is handy when waiting in restaurants, and other awkward times. I was thinking the same thing about the royal clothes - they almost need a separate plane to carry it all about, especially when you add the baby stuff! Yesterday there were 3 outfits, and a couple of plane trips to different cities - I think it would be rough too, very exhausting. Hope they get a quiet rest before they hit Australia on Wednesday.
DeleteLove the kookaburra - we occasionally get one over here - who knows how they got here.
ReplyDeleteWhen do you leave for Italy Patricia?
Our dear Royals will be heading your way on Wednesday - I won't know what to blog about once they're gone!
Interesting re the kookaburras - it is a bit far to fly. Maybe there were taken across back in the 1800s.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks yet til we fly out, so I will be watching the royal tour of Aus with just as much interest.
It is early morning, I am (or was) playing the kookaburra video and DH called out from the other room "What is THAT?" Poor guy, I don't think he had even enjoyed his first cup of coffee. The bird must be fun to find in the garden.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the update on the royals, the silk tea dress is so classic.
Darla
A kookaburra's laugh can brighten the day Darla...but perhaps not when via uTube and early in the morning! Love that silk tea dress, perfect for High Tea!
DeleteI have been watching William and Kate and baby Prince George.. They are a lovely family.
ReplyDeleteWe kept loads of leggo from my boys and gave it to Thomas my first grandson.. For years we added to his collection. Now its been handed down to Max. There is Leggo all over the place. So pleased your grandson enjoyed the film.
I remember so well the kookaburra .. They used to come to the trees outside my bedoom.
so pleased you have your tickets Patricia.. you will find it so much easier.
wishing you a happy Monday.. love val xxx
It is nice to hear you also had the fun of handing on the lego to the next generation Val. I'm sure Max is loving it too. I keep forgetting you have lived in Australia - of course you would know the happy kookaburra's laugh when they come to visit your garden. Happy Monday/Tuesday, love P. xx
DeleteHello Patricia,
ReplyDeleteIt is all rather amusing and not a little daunting to see Lego coming round again and reinventing itself in the process. Lessons for us all here, perhaps?! We find it hard to imagine what a Lego film must be like but, then, the minds of small boys are also another country to us too!
What fun you are having with your grandson. So good to make the most of this time since they grow up so very quickly. And, how fortunate he is to be the inheritor of the great Lego collection. These things are so collectible these days. Only the other day we were reminiscing fondly about Bako building sets only to find that they are extortionately expensive to buy now.
Hello Jane and Lance, Yes, I think there are lessons to be learned from the Lego, including the constant reinventions to keep up with the times. It is interesting to see how much fun the boys have with the older version. Our grandson is a constant delight, similar to yet different from our own sons. Only 4 years old, but he saw a TV advertisement for an iPad which appealed to him, requested his father buy it, saying it was "Kid Appropriate". I should add the words were not in the ad, so he has heard this elsewhere. The mind of small boys is indeed another country!!
DeleteIt is a wonderful moment isn't it, when you realise you were not crazy to keep the box of lego/ the ghastly Barbies/the Sylvanian family figures/ that raggy old , much loved 20 years ago teddy/book etc etc. Seeing things that caused our children pleasure, doing it all over again, is a real delight.
ReplyDeleteWe wern't allowed to take Liam to see the lego movie, because his dad wanted to take him. So we took him to see something else....that was good too...and the whole going to the movies experience is something that 6 year old Liam relished...especially as it involved pizza beforehand.
Our news reports of the Wills/Kate trip are full of how popular they are in NZ.... where are all the Republicans that used to be around ? Have they all been converted back....or is it just our press ? Jx
Yes, Janice! Not crazy at all to keep all that stuff. We use and read the old raggy books too. So delightful! I can imagine the fun taking Liam to the movies, especially with pizza. Sometime in the future you could view the Lego movie with him on a DVD? The Wills/Kate show is indeed a huge success in NZ, and bound to be the same here. Republicans have gone Extremely Quiet at the moment. The crowds are good, and a huge one is expected in Brisbane, so I don't think it is just the press. The Queen must be proud of them :)
DeletePatricia,
ReplyDeleteThe lego movie sounds like a good one. My son would loved to have watched it when he was little, as he was into legos. The kookaburra sounds so funny. I've never heard of this bird before. Kate looks lovely in these outfits, especially in the teal one. And my favorite is the picture of them holding the red rose.
I think I'll have a piece of that delicious cake now. Happy Easter, Patricia.
love,
~Sheri
Hello Patricia, my apologies that I've missed some of your recent posts and hope I've not missed your Italian trip. Lego - the bane of my life over the years with two children and then five grandchildren who've all enjoyed the pleasures of piecing those bricks together and then leaving the odd pieces on the floor where I'd always end up with sore feet after treading on them barefoot - that'll teach me. Catch up soon Patricia.
ReplyDeletePatricia x