Steamy steam trains

Hats off to the people who do what they love, for the sake of what they love.

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Sam is turning 4 and last weekend we had a party for him and his friends at the Brisbane Bayside Steam Railway. The railway itself is a miniature sized station and a few kilometres of track. You get on at the platform, sit on the trains. You smell the burning coals that they put into the boiler, or hear them start the "diesel". And they take you for a ride around the bush.

It was a stinking hot day! The car thermometer read 40'C as we drove in. I couldn't stop sweating.

Still Sam's friends turned up. What champions. And the kids loved it! I was anxious about the heat - and whether we should have changed the venue given the heat. Then seeing the kids not phased - I relaxed some more. And the parents - who battled on too, enjoying the moment for what it presents.

I am heaps thankful for them.

Around and around on little tracks, the electric and steam trains ran. Up the hill, backwards to the remote station and back to the platform. There was even a "diesel" train (actually, it's a petrol). From what he's seen, Sam thinks you can pull start a diesel train haha.

It made Sam's day. 

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The guys who show up twice a month to put on the rides, and throughout the month to maintain the track - they are amazing. They commit themselves to a place for the benefit of others.

I am heaps thankful for them.

Don't break our tower!

It was a spur of the moment on the day. 

Then again, I've been waiting for this day for a long time.

Sam NEEDED to build a lego tower. One that uses every piece of lego we have.

First we sorted the bits.

We built a heavy foundation. I built one side and Sam copied what I was doing.

We built the beams brick by brick. We even graded them according to their colour.

And when it got tricky, I gave Sam more sorting tasks.

And then needed to use up all the train tracks. 

By the end I had to rob bits off the tower because there were not enough bits to build the pylons for the scenic bend. This is the scenic bend on the right. You can see the spire is now a little shorter.

And then we had an idea. What would it be like to go for a ride on the train?

 I cannot wait for real Lego.

Scooter, Museums and all that Frass

We took the boys to the museum and to the parklands for a swim.
Afterwards, I asked Sam what was his favourite part.

Looking for the eggs!

In the museum, there was an area where you could see stuffed Australian animals and touch some fossils. One display was a glass cabinet of stick insects.

And then near the help desk, there was a sign that said something like:

"Help us find eggs in the frass!"

Sam responded to the call for help.

Sam loved it.

Sorting through poo with some tweezers and sometimes without, Sam looked for tiny stick insect eggs and put them on a petrie dish.

It looks like many others before him enjoyed it too.

What a great lesson for motivating people:
Make it voluntary.
Make it slightly tricky.
Disguise the disgusting with fancy words.