We all woke up early this morning keen to explore so we decided to skip school for the day and packed a picnic to take into the city. The first stop was the War Memorial, a fantastic building with great views to Capitol Hill. Nick took the boys inside with Katharine while Annie and I looked after Tally and explored the gardens and then we swapped over. We found great grandmas Rita's brother on the Roll of Honours, as he died on HMAS Sydney, and it seemed to leave an impression on the kids even if they didn't quite understand - they asked so many questions afterwards. We could have spent hours in the Memorial if we hadn't had our four-legged friend with us but instead drove into the city to buy some bread for lunch. Nick dropped me off by the central shopping centre so that we could stock up on coffee pods and I found a bakery at the same time. Canberra seems a fantastic place to shop and I passed some great cafes on the way - another time!! We drove down to Lake Burley Griffin and found a park beside the Captain Cook Memorial Jet. We had our picnic sitting under some cherry trees and watched the world go by - Canberra seems to be quite an active city and lots of people were using the paths that run around the lake. We even saw a tour of Segways!! I found a café at the top of the hill for coffee and once fully fuelled again we set off for Parliament House. Nick sat with Matty and Tally in the park while I took the other three up to the doors to peer in through the windows. I decided not to go in as it was getting late, even though all the kids want to, but we climbed up to the roof instead and they rolled down the hill/roof! On the way home we drove around all the embassies and the buildings were all very impressive, especially the American Embassy! It was nearly 6pm by the time we got home and the kids ran off to play with their friends. We sat and did a bit of work for a little while and then Nick made everyone dinner. By the time we had finished and the kitchen was tidy it was gone 9pm and we were passed it!