Kenzie celebrated her first Australia Day this year and our initial plans was to have a brunch at Sydney Olympic Park followed by a stroll along the water and family photos. However, due to family circumstances as my parents had to fly back to the Philippines, we had to scrap this plan. Instead, Ramon and I decided to continue with the plans but at a nearby location; The Coffee Emporium at Rouse Hill Town Centre.
Ramon suggested we go to The Coffee Emporium as he has fallen in love with their Eggs Benedict as they serve it on a milk bun instead of sourdough. He has been put-off sourdough since he ordered it at The Grounds of Alexandria and it was so hard (stale) that it cut his gums. Since then, he we have been finding places that substitute sourdough for normal toast but The Coffee Emporium serve it on a soft, toasted milk bun. Definitely no cutting of gums with that! I decided to order French Toast with Maple Bacon… DEEP FRIED. It hit the sweet spot!
We love Rouse Hill as it’s pram-friendly, there is a fountain and a library but we wish it wasn’t so hot and humid that day and it’s not summer-friendly. It’s a one level shopping centre that is 90% outdoors. I feel for staff members on hot days like this as it’s not fully air-conditioned.
After brunch, Ramon and I strolled along the mall and bought some DIY activities for my besties’ nieces and I can’t wait to give it to them to see what masterpieces they come up with! The mall isn’t very big so our stroll wasn’t for too long but that was a good thing because Kenzie started to get unsettled in her pram. We tried to see if she was interested in riding the Children’s Peppa Pig miniature merry-go-round and something must have spooked her as she bawled her eyes out when we put her onto the ride.
There is a shaded park on the outskirts of the shopping centre and we played with Kenzie there as she loves playing with grass (and anything she can grab hold of). We love how child-friendly suburban areas are. They accomodate for all ages, their parents rooms are large and they have lots of activities.
It’s not your traditional Australia Day celebration, we kept it very low-key as Ramon and I wanted some family time and it was really difficult getting a photo of Kenzie with the Australian flag (she would drop it as soon as I gave it to her). Also, as we are New Zealanders and grew up having to acknowledge the indigenous people of New Zealand; Maoris, in everything we do, I find it difficult to accept that Australia celebrate “Invasion Day”. It’s something I will make sure we will educate Kenzie about when she is older. I would like her to understand why we truly celebrate Australia Day and how different it is to celebrating something like Waiting Day in New Zealand.
Ramon and I had a good family date on Australia Day. We both found our love of taking photos of Kenzie so we are plan on trying to go out every week to a different location in NSW.