Just trying not to blink ...: Summer Down Under

Yep, Sydney Australia. That is where we spent most of July this year. All of my big intentions to blog while we were travelling apparently went out the window when the reality of travelling with our three little ~~brats~~ girls set in. As far as I can recall from the blurr of activity that surrounded us while we were away, I spent my downtime gratefully settled onto any available couch with a glass of red wine and my Ipad to browse other more accomplished bloggers' new posts rather than trying to string together coherent words myself. So ..... in an effort to to remember some of our trip for years to come, I will do my best to recall as much as possible here.

After blowing the last of our airline points accumulated over the past ten years on the trip, off we went for a 15 hour overnight flight.

The girls get big points for behaving very nicely on the flight. They each slept for more than 6 hours, which left "only" 9 hours to entertain them. As long as we kept them supplied with food and snacks, they generally kept themselves busy with their sticker books, colouring books, Ipad and onboard entertainment system. The Pipsqueak slept for quite a bit and spent the rest of the time bouncing up and down on my lap or toddling around our seats.

Tired Girl!

Not exactly a flattering shot, but that is how the Pipsqueak spent most of the flight - firmly attached.

Note the matching purple outfits - even the Pipsqueak kind of matched. They love it and it somehow makes me feel like we would have an easier time picking them out of a crowd if we ever lost track of them. I have visions of losing them at the airport and yelling "THE PURPLE STRIPEY ONES ARE MINE". Something like that ...

The apartment we rented was in an old stately building on a tree-lined street in the suburb of Mosman, a five minute walk from the Taronga Zoo.

We ended up moving into a modern house a few days into the trip because it turns out that the older buildings don't have any heat, or insulation, and the overnight winter temperatures were too low for comfort - I know, leave it to the Canadians to complain about the cold in sunny Australia.

Our first day was spent at Balmoral Beach, enjoying the soft sands which are so different from our Vancouver beaches, having a picnic in the park and generally getting settled.

Day two had us exploring the Zoo (we spent many a day there!), where we got to see the iconic Australian animals we had read so much about.