We go together!

Kalista took us to this cool lake park and was so sweet to follow us around taking pictures so we could have some Australia shots with us all together. This is the first time D made it into a family picture! A sweet shot of my little ones. . .

And we can't forget the silly!

I love this one! What's funny is that she is always trying to prove how strong she is by picking him up from behind. I'm pleased that it looks like a nice hug though, heh, heh.

This cracks me up! He has so many funny expressions.

I love my kids!

This is J's favorite of all of us. . .

and this is mine. I love that she caught us all laughing! Thanks Kalista--we love you!

Last beach trip

Canberra Day was Monday so we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and head to the coast for one final hoorah. We found a last minute rental at Long Beach called "The Sandcastle." It ended up being overcast and a bit stormy, so we didn't get to play in the sand and surf much but had a lot of fun in the hot tub!

We also took full advantage of their huge selection of DVDs and had a great time lounging around; we all loved the bean bags and the blue sectional was quite comfy as well (in fact the first night AP, AJ, and I all ended up on it).

Even though it was stormy we had some really nice walks on the beach

We even saw a pod of dolphins and were able to walk/run along with them! I couldn't get a good shot--they were too quick and the waves kept getting in the way, but there you see J pointing at them. I did get some video, but couldn't get it to download, so that may come later. . .

And talk about planet strange! We saw some of the weirdest sealife wash up on shore. We are still not sure what these blue things are. They were all over the beach and we couldn't decide whether they were more like slugs or jellyfish. . . and then we came upon this clam conglomeration that kept spurting tentacles. If anyone can enlighten me, I'd love to know what these things are! Also AJ found these spongy things (not pictured) that would squirt water if you stepped on them.

J sporting his new hat that he got at a rugby game he went to with some work buddies two weekends ago. Isn't he handsome?

After all the fun we were pretty worn out. Driving home AP fell asleep in the car. That hasn't happened since he was a baby!

Over the rainbow. . .

For those of you who don't know (I didn't before we came here), Aussies call their homeland OZ. So when we saw this rainbow AP exclaimed, "Oz really is on the other side of the rainbow!"

Sometimes it actually feels that way and, while much is similar to the U.S., much is very different. So here are some of the little “tid-bits” that I keep meaning to mention, but never quite get to:
1. Canberra is very clean and as a whole Australians are very environmentally conscious
-they line dry their clothes (and dryers here are really small)
-people take reusable fabric bags for shopping
-there are recycling bins at the store for your plastic bags
-the dry cleaners reuse your hangers
2. Food is similar, but not quite the same
-groceries (along with everything else) are SO expensive
-HUGE selection of gluten-free food at the grocery store
-Middle Eastern and Asian cuisine are common; Mexican not as (we miss our corn tortillas!)
-You can get baby food in Capri-sun type pouches with a valve for sucking (great for on the run!)
-No velveeta here (AP asked someone at church where we could find some and the response was, “Is that something Italian?”
3. Driving
-on the “wrong” side of the road
-confusing roundabouts
-the roads go in circles or change names suddenly and it’s easy to get lost
-tons of people walk, job, ride bikes everywhere; we do too and the exercise has been great for all of us!

My great find

Being the Queen of Cheap, the cost of things here has been discouraging to me and shopping for anything (from groceries to clothing) hasn't been much fun . But on Saturday (while everyone else was at the beach), I took the opportunity to walk D over to the shopping center and and get a few things we needed. While there I walked past a shop advertising everything under $10. Unheard of here, so I had to take a quick look! There wasn't much, but I did find this dress for $7! Woohoo! J was so proud of my find he had to get a picture (hee,hee).

Since we were already taking pictures, I had AJ snap this one of J and I. And while I was very excited about the dress, I was reminded that my greatest find has been the sweet, sexy, strong, smart (and sometimes silly) man that I married! Love you babe!

What a Dad!

We haven't been able to make as many beach trips as we had originally planned or wanted to (we are about 2 1/2 hours from the coast and that much time in a car with a screaming baby just isn't much fun). AJ has been lamenting that we haven't been to the beach since Christmas, so on Saturday J took A&A to Durras Bay while I enjoyed a peaceful day at home with D.


AP is not as much a fan of the beach as AJ and refused to go at first. However, when J told him he needed someone to build sand castles and play D&D with, AP quickly got ready to go! They ended up having a great time.

The water was really clear and they were able to see all kinds of fish. A&A spent a good amount of time hovering over this pool studying the fish and it was one of the first things they told me about when they got home.

And they finally found some docile kangaroos! These Eastern Gray Kangaroos are apparantly the more friendly breed and they let A&A pet and feed them.

The Joeys were more approachable than the grown ones. Aren't they cute?

J is such a great dad and I appreciate his willingness to take A&A out for the day. Thanks to their awesome dad they had a great time and made some great memories!

Happy Day

AJ asked for help with the words of the song they were learning in Primary (The family is of God), so we did a search on LDS.org and found this link:
http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,8218-1,00.html
We started singing it and AP came over to see what we were doing. He doesn't usually care for church music, but was fascinated by the light patterns (so was D), and without even realizing it was soon singing with us. After singing it all together, I left to put D down for his morning nap. When I came back AP and AJ had their Littlest Petshop animals at the computer (with the song still going).
AP (referring to the screen): there’s the portal from Heaven to Earth
AJ: we don’t go through a portal we go through mom’s belly
AP: and how do you suppose we get from heaven to mom’s belly?
AJ: Ohhhh. Ok it can be the portal.
AP: OK, Gameon (his caterpillar) is going through the portal.
AJ: Goodbye Gameon! I’ll be coming to Earth soon, so don’t forget me!
AP: I won’t forget you. I’ll be down there waiting so hurry up!
This line of play (a kind of cross between Saturday's Warrior and Dungeons and Dragons) continued into the afternoon and was very fun to listen to. So, thanks to the request of my sweet little girl and the finding of this link, we had a very wonderful day.

Peas Please!

D is at that age where he really wants to feed himself but it's hard to let him because it's so messy. Peas are a nice compromise. He loves them and I love that they don't splat everywhere!

What's the real story?

Last night I sent A&A off to brush their teeth. Soon after, I heard shrieking coming from the bathroom. When I went in to see what was going on AJ was crying while AP stood looking somewhat guilty. When I asked what had happened they both started talking over each other, so I split them up to get their stories. I wrote it down as they told me. . .
AP’s version: “We went into the bathroom and AJ smiled her evil smile at me and laughed her wicked laugh and then ran to the faucet and turned it up to its full height of hotness.”
Here I stopped him, stifled a laugh, and asked him if he was exaggerating at all.
“Wellll. . .ok maybe she wasn’t laughing wickedly. She was trying to do an angel smile, but I knew there was evil behind it. . .”
I raised my eyebrows at him, and tried again not to laugh.
“Ok she didn’t have an evil smile, but she turned the faucet all the way up to hot and then she put her toothbrush under it until it was burning hot and then put it on my face to burn me! It was so close to my brain it must have zapped it so without thinking my hands went up in alarm and smacked her.”
AJ’s version: “I was wetting my toothbrush and I accidentally turned on the hot water. Then I put my toothbrush on AP’s forehead.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I don’t why--"
Here I interjected, "So are you sure you weren't trying to tease him?"
No answer just a ducking of the head (which she does when she has been caught).
"All right go on."
"It burned him so he hit my head. That hurt and made me scream and cry.”
I read AJ’s version to AP and asked him what he thought.
“Hmmm. Let me see that (the notebook) and I will circle what really happened.”
The highlighted portions are what he circled. Nothing like getting the real story.

Questacon Fieldtrip

We went to Questacon (aka The National Science and Technology Center) with a homeschool group on Thursday. This is AP's favorite place in all of Australia and we have been several times (we bought the yearly membership and it has already paid off in just three months). Just like everything else though, it was even more fun with friends!

Setting the record straight

My friend Vivian told me that after getting upset with her girls the other day she thought to herself, "I bet Heather never gets mad at her kids." I laughed (like you did just now). Then I told her that yesterday I was a mean mom and without skipping a beat AJ chimed in with, "Yeah, really mean." So lest anyone be confused, not only can I be a mean mom, I can be a really mean mom.

A few birds and koalas!

Here are some pictures from Wildlife World that I forgot to add to my Sydney post. We saw so many cool animals and bugs, but these are just a few of our favorites. We loved the colorful birds. J got a shot of this green fellow upside down. I have no idea what any of these birds actually are. . . I guess I have some homework to do! We loved the vibrant colors of this one. Their markings are so amazing!

and I was so excited to finally see koalas!!

Because it was so rainy they were all huddled up trying to keep dry and warm. If you look closely you will see the baby this mom is cuddling in her arms (that is not just a big belly).

Our visit to Sydney

We finally made it back to Sydney for some sightseeing. Our intent was to stay the long weekend, but it was rainy and quite chilly (I won't say cold out of respect for those of you putting up with snow) and we ended up only staying one night. We got in Friday night just in time for J to make the last temple session of the day (it started at 7:30 and he got there at 7:28). I went for a session Saturday morning and it was such a neat experience! Below are some pictures of D sleeping in the car (something he rarely does--unlike most babies he starts to scream when the car starts). Also shown is a picture of A&A in front of the temple. What a sweet little face! I was trying to capture the length of his lashes. . .they amaze me.

Argh, bright light! And then he woke up.

Sydney Temple

After I got done at the temple we headed to Sydney Harbor. We took the ferry to circular quay where we saw the Opera house and then took another ferry to Darling Harbor to visit Wildlife World. AJ was in heaven while on the ferry. Even with the rain pelting down and the wind blowing her around she wanted to stay out on deck (while AP preferred to stay in the cabin where he made all sorts of new friends). When we docked one of the crewmen told me "she was just gorgeous out there," and insisted on sending her off with a makeshift poncho (garbage bag with a hole cut out the top for her head). One mom also told me AP "was lovely to entertain my son" while on the ride. I love the Aussies' descriptive terms!

Fun at the Gardens

Here are some pictures my friend Kalista took while we were at the Botanic Garden Friday morning.

I was so happy she got this shot of the Kookaburra! We have seen quite a few since we got here, but didn't have pictures of any. D is always attacking poor Adelaide! He gets so excited when he sees other babies, and he loves hair so the fact that Addi is a baby with hair makes her irresistable.

How can you not love that face?! I love that this picture captures his little spark of mischief.

But this next one is all angel! AJ and her clay cat; she and AP have started a playdough petshop complete with vet. We are constantly having to reattach heads and tails. . .

Aren't they sweet?!

Thanks for the great pictures Kalista!

Webkinz celebration!

Last February my friend Cathi sent A&A each a Webkinz which they have gotten hours of fun from. They love their little plush friends (sleep with them at night) and have had such a great time playing the games and decorating their pets' rooms online. However, as February approached so did the impending expiration of A&A's online time with their webkinz Pinkiepiglet and Hydra. AJ was especially sad because she left Pinkie in the U.S. and their only playtime has been online. We decided to help ease the pain of their expiration with a farewell party. So A&A designed the cake and we made and decorated it for our celebration. Then much to our surprise when they got online to play with their other webkinz Pinkie and Hydra were still there! A&A had each gotten an additional pet over the summer and we didn't know that additional pets extend your time with ALL of your webkinz. . . oh well it was a great excuse for a party with yummy cake!

So nice to hear

This afternoon I sat down to do social studies with A&A and, after too many nights of not enough sleep, I could barely keep my eyes open. So as soon as we were done with our reading I laid down on the couch for some quick shut-eye. While "napping" I heard the following:
AJ: "Isn't mom being lazy?"
AP: "No. She deserves a break. She has to get up in the night with D and all she does all day is take care of us."
AJ: "Oh yeah. What would we do without her?"

What are you speaking?

I went to drop off J's dry cleaning and the guy asked where I was from. I told him the U.S. and he looked a little confused, then asked if I had been born there. I told him yes that I had lived there my whole life. He responded by saying I didn't sound like other American's he knew (apparantly his American friends are from CA and NY). So after I left I was trying to figure out what to call my accent? Downhome? Hillbilly? Or maybe just Hick?