Summer Down Under - Part II

The Beaches in and around Sydney are something to behold.  Bondi beach was a fun daytrip for us, complete with eating lunch at one of the fabulous outdoor cafes lining the promenade.  And that is one of the things I learned about Sydney - they have fabulous cafes!








The girls enjoyed just running around on the beach





and the Pipsqueak couldn't quite manage to walk on the uneven sand so she developed a fascination for climbing the stairs





















Some things we learned about Sydney in the first few days:

1.  The coffee is GREAT - and there is barely a Starbucks in sight!
2.  There are lots of interesting and colorful birds
3.  The animals are just plain odd - I mean have you LOOKED at a Platypus?
4.  The men here are very fashionable - and there are as many menswear stores as womens' boutiques
5.  The place is EXPENSIVE (it's the home of the $6 coffee - notice the many references to cafes and  coffee but generous doses of caffeine were required to get us parents through the trip ...)

Soooo, onwards to the next beach - Manly with its beautiful beachside promenade







Next stop:  Wildlife World in downtown Sydney - much like a zoo but more focused on just Australian creatures.  This was on the coldest day on record in 29 years, which registered at a high of 13 degrees (Celsius, that is, no idea what it would be in Farenheit but well above freezing and downright balmy by Canadian standards).  But fear not, these hardy Canadians still sat outside for lunch along beautiful Darling Harbour.

We took the ferry, of course:

Saw our first Kookaburra

Cute little guys, but I was kind of disillusioned to find out that they literally have pea-sized brains - therefore not much going on in the way of social interactions ...

Pipsqueak liked the butterfly display!

The winner of the girls' favourite Australian animal award, hands-down, was the Wombat

It was cold and rainy that day ....

Yep, that's yet another coffee cup

The Pipsquak was not amused ....

Summer Down Under - Part I

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.


The roo's sleepiness seemed to match our jet-lagged state ....

 

Then we took a ferry from the Zoo across the Bay to downtown








Anyone recognize this place?



Once downtown, we found the nearest grassy knoll overlooking the Opera House and just chilled for a bit








All in all, a great start to our trip!

I Heart Faces | Beautiful Eyes

I know I have shared this image before, but it came to mind immediately for this week's challenge ...









This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – http://iheartfaces.com

The End of Preschool (for a while . . .)

Miss E had her preschool graduation this week.  It was a fun little ceremony, watching the group of five-year-olds walk up onto the stage in their cute paper hats with their alternating serious and shy smiling little faces.   There were many happy/sad tears while the teachers did a last circle time.  Mostly on the adults' faces because the little ones were just enjoying the fact that their families were there and there was cake!

This preschool has been such a wonderful part of our family life and we will miss it!  At first (five years ago when Mia started in Toddler Class as an 18 month old) we just went by the recommendation of others to give this school in a large bright room of a church basement a try.  We were struck by the bright and cozy feeling of the room, the open and creative atmosphere and the fact that some of the big sturdy wooden toys were over 30 years old.  And we soon learned that M and E were very lucky to have such a loving environment in which to take their first stabs at playing with others, making friends and forging their own relationships with children and adults outside of their family.  The teachers provided not only a fun learning experience.  They also looked after our girls' little hearts.   We have made some good friends, and we have learned a lot about our own children while we were doing our twice monthly "duty days".  We will be glad to return with the Pipsqueak!

I secretly walked around with a lump in my throat for the whole week leading up to the girls' graduations from Preschool and Kindergarden.  I was surprised by the intensity of it - watching my girls grow up and the start of full-time school for both M and E in the fall is the change of an era.  They are changing from "little kids" into "kids".  In the past I have done very well with my motto of looking ahead rather than behind and welcoming and greeting new experiences rather than pining away for the past.  Having children  has apparently turned my excellent coping skills upside down and has just generally left me a soggy mess of emotions which were previously very well controlled thank you very much.   Somewhere along the way I have turned into a person who is not embarrassed by some tears at her daughter's preschool graduation party.  Scandalous!

Now to some pictures of the graduate receiving her yearbook and a family photo:





These are the cards she made for her teachers - you can tell the girl is seriously into hearts ...





The party was followed by a group picnic on the beach at which E had fun hanging out with her friends ....



Pipsqueak found some other babies to play with ....



.... and Miss M played lots of beach volleyball and practiced her "jumping off a log" skills.









We stayed chatting and playing with the girls' friends and their parents until the sun was on its way down and we were some of the last to leave the party, along with a few other stragglers.  By that time, we had shared good food and conversation, had looked out for each other's kids while they spread out on the beach and the grass, and had dug-up some band-aids from the bottom of our purses and diaper bags to assist with those inevitable scratches and scrapes.  Kisses were blown and hugs were given all around as we set back off for home with our stroller, picnic basket, assorted beach toys and three little girls.  And the whole evening somehow dissolved that lump in my throat.   What a fabulous end to preschool!