Perth Zoo Today!

It was a great day for the zoo! The best time always seems to be when the sun is out but not so hot that the animals go hide in the shade and spend the day totally inactive. We picked a great morning. Sunshine, breeze, mild temps. And the animals were out to say hello!

Mr. Tortoise.

Can't walk by these tortoise statues without crawling on top for a photo op.

C and the black-capped capuchins. He loved the way the cheeky ones were wrestling and chasing eachother around the enclosure.

Mr. Orangu-tan.

The fabulous carousel.

The Perth Zoo is a great zoo. We toured the largest section, sat down for lunch, stopped over to see Simmo the croc, and headed home in time for C's nap. Perfect!

Mommy's Day at Kindy

Once per term a parent, or other family member, from each family is supposed to spend the day (or part of the day) with the kindy class. It's always a fun-filled adventure. Yesterday was my turn and I had a thoroughly great time. I do wish I could fit into the dress-ups though.
D, Lauren, and Eloise.

Funny faces this time!

Fairy Princess Dinner.Stamping spots on the Ladybug.
Decorating cakes in the sand pit. D, Aimee, and Anthony.

And a babycino and pastry reward for a great day!

Back to the Beach

We had some HOT weather this weekend and the only way to spend the time was at the beach! This was our first day at the beach (here in Perth) for months. So we were really excited to get back. It was also a great way to spend T's birthday.

Last year, C enjoyed the sand but was a little shy of the water. This year, he's showing that he's an Aussie! C loved the sand and the water. Who wouldn't!? It was great!

Both kids had a great day. We could barely get them to sit down and eat lunch.

D with her friend Megan. They didn't catch any fish, but they sure tried!

C decorates the sand castle with a belly print.

T also enjoyed a massage, pancake breakfast, steak dinner, and ice cream cake for his big day. It made for a great day for all of us!

New Wheels

Spring has arrived and we realized it was time D had real bicycle. She's been riding around on a little tricycle that we bought when we moved here in July 2007. Time for some new wheels!

D even rode her bicycle all the way to the swimming pool on Tuesday when daddy needed the car. She did great!

She'll use the training wheels until she's a bit taller and can get the hang of balancing.
C is also the proud owner of some new wheels. He got these pop up race cars for his birthday. We'll have to get them to the park soon so they have some space to run.

Beep beep! Coming through!

Happy 2nd Birthday C!!

C had a marvelous birthday weekend. He turned 2 on Saturday and woke to a very excited sister and a stack of gifts just right for a 2-year-old boy. The house is finally starting to look like a boy lives here. We have heaps of princess, dolly, Barbie, doll house, mermaid, little pony, and pet shop toys. Now, you'll find a decent selection of trucks, pirates, and Lightning McQueen!

After a gift-opening frenzy and some Skype with family, T took the kids to the playground while I did some baking and prep work for the Sunday birthday party. But most of the day was spent with all 4 of us together, C and D enjoying the fun new toys.

Birthday banana cake!

This year, we had a shared birthday party with C's good friend Ollie, who just turned 3. The boys shared very nicely- it was a fantastic day!

We gathered loads of friends at Castledare Miniature Railway (I blogged about this place a month or so ago). There were probably 5 other birthday parties there that day but Ollie's parents, our good friends Kelly and Gareth, secured the best spot at the place and we set up tables, chairs and picnic blankets.

Guests arrived and everyone rode the trains.

While the party goers played a round of "Pass the Parcel"...

C was making a new birthday rule... the birthday boy gets to eat as much chips and salsa as he'd like. And double dip.

T and Tim cooked the sausages and onions. They were excellent!

Ollie's dad, Gareth, is the cake man. These cakes were amazing! Since we were at a railway, there needed to be a train cake. But, Ollie wanted a car cake. So what did we have? A homemade Thomas the Tank Engine Cake AND a Lightning McQueen cake!

Waiting so patiently for cake.

Homemade goodies to take home. It's a train-shaped cookie. The party was scheduled from 11-1. We finally filed out with the last guests shortly before 3! What a party! C was covered in food and dirt. I stripped him down, changed his diaper and he fell asleep in the car mere minutes after we pulled away. Happy, dirty, sleepy birthday boy.

Swimming with the Sea Lions - Jurien Bay, WA

A week ago was a long weekend in Australia to celebrate the Queen's birthday. We thought it was time we got out of town. We booked 3 nights at a villa in Jurien Bay, about 25o kilometers north of Perth. It was a great little place to stay. Just a short walk from the beach, restaurants, and shops.

Jurien Bay is no fancy tourist spot but it was just right for our weekend away. T booked a SCUBA outing for Saturday morning and a few hours later the kids and I joined him on the boat for the sea lion snorkeling tour. This was so cool! We boated out to an area near some tiny islands where a colony of sea lions lives. C fell asleep in my arms (can you imagine?) on the way out so I passed him to T and struggled into my wet suit. I had not worn a wet suit before. When I snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef, the water was warmer and I wore just a stinger suit. Wet suits are not easy to get into!

The tour company did not have wetsuits for kids so we hadn't planned on D getting in the water. But, the kind skipper showed us to a floating ring with a clear plastic bottom that she could sit in. Once I was suited up and D was in her suit, she and I got into the water. We began to paddle around. Soon, T appeared beside us. Very surprised and wondering where our son was, I looked back to the boat. There was C, sound asleep in the boat captain's arms. Actually, Ian, the kindly captain had laid him across a pillow, on the bbq, on the back of the boat, and was standing with his arms still around our sleepy, little boy. It was hilarious!

So the sea lions swam up to us, around us, under us. They were friendly and fun and playful. The water was chilly, and D was just in her bathing suit, but she was having too much fun to notice the cold, little waves that consistently splashed over her. What an experience!

Those lumps on the sand are not rocks- they are lazy sea lions!
I had been in the water for about 30 minutes when I heard C waking up. He had fallen asleep in my arms, and woken up in the arms of a strange, bearded man- so he wasn't happy. I left D with T and returned to the boat. Snapped this after C had calmed down. C couldn't stay mad with all those funny sea lions swimming around.

The ride back was lots of fun for the kids. C had become good buds with Ian and hit him up for a turn at the wheel. And then D had to have her turn. Hard to photograph but these were dolphins playing in the water on our way back to the boat harbor.

Sunday was a drive out to The Pinnacles. These are limestone rock formations that are left behind after the sand that once surrounded them blew away. They cover a large area inside a national park.

The warm afternoon was spent at the beach. Ahhh! This was fantastic.

D let us bury her in the sand for the first time. I had to pay her 50 cents. But she loved it and laughed her head off.

Monday brought rain, so we packed up and headed back to Perth early. We stopped in Swan Valley for lunch and made it home with enough daylight for D to ride her new bike for a bit and for T and I to unpack and do laundry. Wish we could get away every weekend!