Cowabunga! (Shepparton)

So, we went to Shepparton during the school holidays. To be clear, Shepparton, a 2.5-3 hour drive north of Melbourne is not your usual tourist destination. When we told people where we were going, the typical responses were, "Why?" or "Do you have family up there?" 
   Our friends chose Shepparton for a long weekend and we were happy to join them. We were glad we did, because we found a ton of fun activities at bargain prices.
   The drive up was fine once we got through the city, although the weather was drizzly and gray. We made a pit stop for some snacks along the way, where Aliya ended up stuck in the bathroom stall when she couldn't open the lock. The gap underneath the dividers was pretty small, and the floors were dirty and wet. I went into the neighboring stall and stood on the toilet. I was able to have her do the same on her side, then step onto the toilet paper holder, where she could reach my arms. I was then able to pull her over with only minor trauma. To add insult to injury, she then realized she had left Fuzzy Bear back home! Boo and bullfrogs.
   We continued on our drive, passing through Nagambie, birthplace of Black Caviar, a famous horse who won 22 consecutive races. A bit further north, we we spotted beautiful, bright yellow fields of canola.

Once we got to Shepparton, we checked into our apartments. The price, amenities, and location were excellent. The "24-hour check-in" service, not too impressive. According to the lady I spoke with, after struggling with the computer kiosk, it was the first touch-screen in Australia. I believe it, because it sucked. The lady, who lives 100 km from Shepparton, guided me through the process, cancelling my registration, re-registering me, taking the credit card info over the phone...so glad they have that touch screen!
   We unloaded our gear, and headed back out. First stop was KidsTown, a park sponsored by many local businesses. An amazing park, it was totally deserted when we visited. Guess everyone was scared off by the rain.

The slide could have been more slippery

Kookaburra sits on the monkey bars...

Why, yes, there are camels behind the girls

We booked two-bedroom apartments across from the lake. The full kitchens meant we could make our own breakfasts and lunches. Shelly and I drew the line at cooking dinners though. We were on holiday too. So usually we went to "members-only" clubs that offered affordable dinners. I don't know what to compare these places too in the US. You could become a temporary member, and hence dine or gamble there, by filling out a brief form. You order at the counter, and food is delivered to your table, making for a speedier dinner. 

Special breakfast treat courtesy of USA Foods

Watching the footy Grand Final (think Aussie SuperBowl)

We even had live entertainment:

Despite the cold, the girls had a great time at the Skate Park.

While the dads were in the pub drinking and watching more Footy, the girls went to Aqua Moves:

We spent most of Sunday at Emerald Bank Adventure Park. This might be the best value in all of Victoria. $5.50 per kid bought them a wristband for all activities:

Tractor rides, with plenty of roo sightings

Pony rides

Archery

Strike a pose!

Go karts

Merry Go Round, might have been a bit too big for that one, ya think?

Rock wall climbing!

They made it to the top.

Train rides

This park was family owned and operated by some super nice people. They even organized some old-fashioned games for us, including egg-and-spoon races, skipping races and:

Sack races

Three-legged race

Leap frog

But by far, the highlight of the trip was finding, and posing with, the Moooving Art. We were told there were 99 cows in the Greater Shepparton Area. We found 53, and the girls posed with all of them. Here is a cow-lage of some of the favourites. Be sure to click on the link to enlarge the pic. 

And some of my favourite ones:

breakfast food cow

BatCow

Pajama cow

Police cow (in front of police station, naturally)

Creation of Adam painting cow

Map cow

Other side of Map Cow

Shrek Cow!

Hot Rod Cow?

We stopped at a few towns on the way home to get more cows. Last stop on the way home was Meteorite Park and a nearby bakery for some (meat) pies.

Meteorite cow

Perhaps the best part of the trip was it was one of those vacations where, once you arrive home, you don't feel like you need another vacation. Good times!

If I Fell (Aliya goes to ER)

   By some miracle, we made it ten and a half years as parents without a trip to the ER. Alas, all that came to an end on the last Friday of Term 3.

   That night, Aliya was sitting on an exercise ball, goofing around as kids usually do. Unfortunately, she fell off and landed hard on the tile onto her shoulder. Louder-than-normal cries, and the fact that she immediately used her good hand to hold her arm stable, made us wonder if she dislocated her shoulder.

   We tried our normal parenting tactics (distraction) and also some ice and some pain reliever. An hour later she was still in a lot of pain. We called our friends to get an ER recommendation, only to find out their daughter had a major injury that night as well. At her swimming lesson, she dove off the diving blocks and went too deep, banging her head on the floor! Fortunately another dad at their school, who is a doctor, stopped by and checked her out. She was fine, thankfully, other than a knot on her head and scraped on her hands and elbows.

   Meanwhile, it was getting late. We finally made the decision to head to the ER. Andy drew the short straw offered to take her, and I stayed home with Alanna. A good decision, since he's much better at entertaining kids in doctor's waiting rooms:

   They got home just before 1 am. The x-rays didn't reveal a dislocation, although the doctor said because the image was low-res, there could be a small fracture. He said to keep an eye on it, wear a sling, and get another x-ray in 5 days if it still hurt.
   She wore the sling for a day and a half. On Sunday, she wore it to a birthday party where the kids were playing tiggy (tag.) When I saw her fall on her arm, laugh, get up and keep running, I was pretty sure we wouldn't be needing the x-ray.
   So, we should be good for another 10.5 years, right?