Scaredy Cat from Ballarat.

For the last year or two, every time we have driven past the city my Big Boy has pointed at random skyscrapers and told me how much he wants to go to Eureka Skydeck. Every. Single. Time.

I have no idea where this has come from... but then he has also told me that my Mum (his beloved Nanna) has been there and went on 'The Edge' and she screamed, which is about the point that his story falls down because Nanna is not a screamer for starters. Besides which I asked her and she assured me she has never been there. When I told the boy that though he replied that she must have just forgotten. Mmm hmm. Okay whatever.

Anyway when RedBalloon gave me the opportunity to take my big two for an adventure I realised I could make my boyo's wish come true. I didn't think so hard about the fact that I have a fear of heights until later on. Whoops!

So we dropped the little two at child care and made our way to the city. The closer we got the more my stomach tied itself in knots, and I was not alone. My big girl told me she had butterflies as well, so I put on my super brave face and tried to convince her (and myself) that it would not be scary at all. She believed me at least.

I was so glad that our RedBalloon vouchers were prebooked as it meant once we had parked we just passed over our tickets and were ushered to the lifts without delay. The elevator goes up 88 floors in less than 30 seconds (did I mention I don't like elevators either?) so I didn't have time to panic any further... we were at the top in no time and my boy was bounding out of the lift.

As we stepped out of the elevator I was stopped in my tracks. Despite my stomach lurching over how high up we were, there was no denying that the view was spectacular.

Two awestruck kids... the girl even forgot about her butterflies!

View of the Yarra

And the other direction, gee I wonder who took this photo!
Arts centre on the right too <3

A very different view of a Melbourne icon... that tiny green dome around the
middle is Flinders Street Station!

We gave over our tickets for 'The Edge' experience and picked up a pager for when our turn came. It came far too quickly for my liking. Just as I'd adjusted a little and forced myself within a metre of the windows 'beep beep beep'!

We were given cloth slippers to put over our shoes then allowed into the glass box, at which point my heart was absolutely racing. I clung to the rail with one hand and my daughter with the other as my boy figured out where he wanted to stand. The door slid shut and the opaque glass box started sliding out from the building.

As it slid to a halt there was a clunk sound then suddenly the glass walls, floor and ceiling cleared and we could see through to the cars below, the sky above and the city stretching out forever.

I'd love to tell you that I was so overwhelmed by the view that I enjoyed every second, but the truth is that I was so white knuckled and my teeth were clenched so hard that I had my work cut out to say to the kids 'Ohhh isn't it lovely, how amazing!'. I think I was far less convincing this time, but they were both utterly enthralled and loved it a lot more than I did!

Least convincing 'I'm not freaking out' smile ever.

Of course as soon as we were back in the building my son wanted to do it again, but I needed a wander to calm my nerves so we looked around some more. In many of the windows there are these kaleidoscope type thingies on poles with the name of the landmark which you will see through them. We spent ages look at all of these and I regaled my enthralled children with stories of city adventures from my younger days. Well, I did regale... but enthralled may be a bit of a stretch.

Earned these!

Watching the world go by from on high.

Melbourne landmarks...

... through the kaleidoscope

We spent the better part of an hour gazing, and I think it is fair to say that my boy's expectations were met and then some. Once I realised that the likelihood of the building being blown over was remarkably slim I really enjoyed it as well. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have a day with my big kids doing something really special.

We headed back down to earth both literally and figuratively, having had one of those experiences that memories are made of. I'm so thankful to RedBalloon for the opportunity to do something my son had desired for so long, and the chance for my big girl and I to be super brave and proud of ourselves as well.


If you'd like to test your limits or do something amazing for someone you love too, RedBalloon have a special offer for you:

Offer: Spend $129 or more on any RedBalloon experience, and receive $30 off. 
To redeem:  Visit www.redballoon.com.au and enter the promotional code REDMUM08 at the checkout to receive your discount. 

Terms and Conditions: Offer valid until 31/12/13. Promotional Code can only be used once per person. All purchases are subject to Red Balloon T&Cs, for full details see: www.redballoon.com.au/help/terms-conditions

Thanks to the team at Digital Parents Collective for inviting me to be a part of the RedBalloon Experience Program. I will be sharing my awesome experiences with you over the next 6 months. Stay tuned!  As always, all opinions are my own however the experiences are complimentary.