Ekka!!!

I decided that this year we were going to go to the Ekka. Peter has been living in Australia for 12 years now and has never been and neither have the kids. To make the experience as enjoyable and less draining on the finances required a bit of forward planning and preparation. During the week I researched the Showbags to find suitable ones for the kids and ones that I liked. I found that my taste in showbags has definitely changed from the last time I went (sometime in high school). Just looking at all the different ones, I kept thinking as a teenager I would have thought they were really cool, but now I just think a lot of them are just a bag of junk! The night before I also printed out maps, and a bit of a program of the various 'shows' that were happening at different times. I also glad wrapped some cheese and bacon rolls for lunch and packed some snacks.
To make the most of our day we got the kids up and dressed at 7am, hopped in the car, Macca's drive through for breakfast (we decided this was the better meal to spend money on than lunch at the ekka - a hash brown beats a dagwood dog any day!) and then on to the train station to catch a train to the Ekka grounds. First stop was the Main Arena where we watched some horses doing show jumping while we finished breakfast.
Then we hit the Showbag pavilion. Ben wasn't really interested in the showbags, although he found great entertainment in playing his own games with the pictures on the advertising boards (such as picking us all lollipops). Ben got a 'Wiggles' bag, Joanna a Tiny Tots bag, I got the Better Homes and Gardens bag and Peter just got a piece of fudge.
We decided to head to the Animal Nursery next. The kids both had a great time getting up close to all the sheep, goats, calves, chickens, pigs etc. We also saw a cow milking demonstration while we were there. Ben then wanted to play so we went over to 'sideshow alley' and he had a ride on a Merry-go-round except instead of horses there was a tractor, motorbikes, fire engine, digger etc. Ben first chose to ride on a motorbike, but then changed his mind and rode the tractor.
In no time it was time for lunch, we found a shady spot near the band stand to eat. Then it was time for the Ekka essential - the Strawberry Ice-cream!!! Ben really enjoyed his and I must admit mine tasted very good too. For rest time we put the kids in the backpacks (they both fell asleep) and toured the fresh food pavilion tasting quite a few different wines (from wineries in the Granite Belt and Burnett). Afternoon tea consisted of a yummy soft fudge centre cup cake (that we bought from one of the stalls in the pavilion) and then it was time to catch a train home after a big tiring day (that everyone enjoyed).