I'm Due for a Blog!

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last blog!? Time is flying. You all need an update.

We are busy hosting company at the moment. T's mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law are here in Perth with us. We are all having a nice time. There are lots of things to see in the area and we've had gorgeous weather to get out and spend some time outdoors. Today, we took the ferry to Rottnest Island. What a beautiful place! I'll blog more about that and post photos later. We'll have to go back for a long weekend or something to snorkel and just relax on the beach.

C cut his 3rd tooth today. He's not having the troubles he had with the first 2 teeth. Those seemed to cause a lot of discomfort.

D is VERY busy with her aunt and uncle. She has them drawing flowers, reading her stories and skipping rope. Life is good for the girl. She has also been offered enrollment at one of the Catholic schools in our area so we are all very excited about that. The school year begins in February here in Australia. So, she will begin 2 full days per week in February 2009, in what is called kindergarten here, or "Kindy."

Like I mentioned earlier, we've had gorgeous weather here the last few weeks. It looks like winter may be wrapping up and our days will again be filled with 70 degree temps and sunshine. I'm starting to move winter hats and sweatshirts out of my backpack and replace them with wide-brimmed hats and sunscreen. We're all looking forward to spending time at the beach again. Now, if I can just teach C not to eat the sand!

Rockstar and Happy Chappy

I could not possibly take enough photos or video of my children. It's pretty much every day that they are doing countless funny, entertaining things. I ought to have a camera permanently built into my hand. Since that isn't really an option, I try to get the camera out as often as possible to capture their antics.

C's happy disposition earned him a couple of nicknames while we were in Bali. He smiled constantly at anyone who made eye contact and several friendly Australians gave him the name Smileychops. And others chose Happy Chappy. They've stuck and we're enjoying using them on our grinning little man.







And though he smiles at everyone, no one can make him giggle like D does.

And, those of you who Skype with us have probably seen and heard D's rockstar performance. But, for those who haven't, you'll have to see her rock. She was given an electric guitar and microphone with amplifier for her 3rd birthday. (Not from her parents, I can assure you.) And, at the same time, was inspired by David Cook's ability to adapt songs to his own rocker style on American Idol. At the moment, the video I have of these performances are too long to post on blogger. I'll work on taking a shorter video and get it posted soon.

So Now I'm 30

It really isn't so bad at all, being 30. In fact, it's a lot like being 29. And that went just fine for me too. I wasn't anticipating too much emotion over this milestone birthday and it has been quite pleasant.

Thank you to everyone who remembered the day! It made it special to get cards, emails, and food! I actually celebrated several times. I went out with a big group of girlfriends last Wednesday night. We had a marvelous dinner with live Jazz and tasty cocktails. The band even played and sang "Happy Birthday" to me as the waiter brought my dessert with a sparkler stuck in the top. It was great fun!

Friday was another girls' night out with the moms from playgroup. Lots of talking and laughing and food!

Sunday (my actual birthday) was lovely. Church, a food expo, a (much needed) nap, and then a BBQ with friends.

Todd and I will have a night out, just the 2 of us, on Friday. Hopefully, I'll remember to snap some photos to post. Surely, you are curious to see what I look like as a 30-year-old!

No Parades or Fireworks, But There Was Budweiser and Oreos!

Happy belated 4th of July to my fellow Americans! We had a nice Independence day here in Perth, but it wasn't the wild day we are accustomed to back home.

We began the day at Toddler Jam with our good friends Kelly, Jacob, and Ollie. D wore her stars and stripes and I pulled something red, white, blue, and stripey from C's closet. D received many compliments on her ensemble. (Thanks again, Connie, it was lovely to get 2 years out of this adorable dress!)

That evening, T's office hosted a nice 4th of July party. Everyone was invited, not just the Americans, so there was a nice big crowd. They brought in American beer (as was mentioned in the title), ordered pizzas and treated us all to Oreo cookies! So American!

The Social Club put a lot of work into the party. They gave an American trivia game and posted information about American cities and landmarks all over the office. It was very well done and a lot of fun.

We even had party favors that Delaney has worn several times over the weekend.

Just so you know: Australia has their own day of patriotism and celebration (including fireworks). They celebrate Australia Day in January.

Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree...

I wouldn't say that I'm necessarily a bird watcher, but, I did notice the other day when a kookaburra perched on our back fence. I hadn't seen any wild ones since moving here, although we hear them all the time. Then, on Friday, I looked out the window and there was one on the fence. I took a few photos and before long, a friend joined him. I laughed, trying to get them to do the same, but they wouldn't make their distinctive call. A third kookaburra was flying around but never sat on the fence with his pals. I was able to get really close to these 2 and snap their picture.

Merry, merry king of the bush is he. Laugh kookaburra, laugh kookaburra, gay your life must be!

We're the Toddler Jammers!

We enjoy lots of activities throughout the week and one of our favorites is a weekly musical playgroup called Toddler Jam. It's not a class like the Kindermusik we did back in Dublin. It's a pay as you go playgroup. 45 minutes of live music lead by Eliot, a very talented guy with a guitar and a number of other instruments. Then it's morning tea (fruit and crackers for kids, cakes for the mums) and an hour of playtime. It really is a great program, lots of fun for kids and parents.

D has always enjoyed it but now C is getting old enough to appreciate it too. At one point they pass around big tubs full of kids' instruments and we play along with the song. Last week C grabbed a pair of maracas and jammed right along to "Mellow Yellow." D was on the tambourine. They also hand out little plastic plates which make surprisingly great instruments when smacked together.

A favorite for all is when the quiet song is played and all the kids lay on the floor together while the parents wave a big parachute over their head. C flaps his arms and kicks his legs with excitement!

Fabulous Bali!

We've returned from a great, relaxing vacation. Bali is a beautiful place and the Balinese people are lovely. They are so nice, in fact, that it took me the first couple of days to figure out if they were sincere! But the smiles and generosity never stopped all week long. Each waiter, hostess, shopkeeper couldn't get enough of the kids. So glad our kids are friendly and rarely shy. C probably enjoyed their affections the most as he suffered no language barrier. He had Balinese people tickling, hugging, snuggling, and smiling at him nearly every minute of the trip. And he soaked it up! As we waited to board our flight on the way home a group of employees from the airport shops carried him around and entertained him for about 20 minutes.

Our flight left Perth at 9:30pm rather than at 5:15pm as our tickets read so after checking our bags we went home, had dinner, gave the kids baths, and then returned a little closer to departure time. Here they are preparing to fly, in their jammies.

When we landed in Denpasar, Bali, a quick clothing change was needed because their winter pajamas had them covered in sweat!

We had a couple great adventures outside of the resort but spent most of the time relaxing right there at our accomodation. C got into the spirit of vacation and took long, restful naps. We let him sleep and one of us stayed in the room with him each time while the other took D down to the pool. Then, when C woke up, we would rendez-vous poolside for more swimming, lunch, and exotic drinks! I think our kids may be part fish. It's so much fun to watch them in the water.

C loves to be in the water without the swim ring but is far too wiggly for me to keep a hold of him all the time. Sometimes my arms need a break so he happily floats on his own. And don't worry, we kept lots of sunscreen on that bald head of his!

Our most exciting trip outside of our resort was a trip to The Elephant Safari Park in Taro, Bali. I expected to see a large number of elephants. I even thought we may get to ride them. I had no idea the animal interaction we were in for! Crikey! Check these out!

C was asleep in the backpack in this photo with T and the tiger. There was a second tiger cub asleep on the floor. They were beautiful.

Prior to our cuddle with this baby orangutan he snatched our water bottle right out of my backpack and drank the whole thing. Truly a cheeky monkey!

This lion cub was so sweet you could almost ignore his GIANT paws. He was napping the first time we stopped to pose with him, but the 2nd time around, he was bright eyed for photos with D.

The first tiger cub that was so still with T, let out a slightly frightening noise as D approached so we placed her beside the sleeping cub. She gave him a little pat and we were on our way.

The lions' enclosure was right up to the window of a nice restaurant the park. When we were first seated, the lions were all lounging in the shade. But a short time later, this female came to the water to drink and we were able to get some wonderful photos.

Here are all 4 of us at the safari park. I swear I intended to get more photos that included all of us but that is much more difficult than one might think.

After seeing many animals we found that the safari park also included a few carnival rides and a water park. None of us had bathing suits but we couldn't not partake! So in went T and D while I dug out a (lucky) spare change of undies and shorts for D. T visited the gift store before hand and found himself a lovely pair of zookeeper style shorts to swim in and a t-shirt for D to wear home. C and I sat on a deck chair and I just let him stretch his legs after being in the backpack all day.

T and I enjoyed 1 night out, hiring one of the resort's babysitters to stay with the kids. We did a little shopping and had an amazing seafood dinner on the beach. Other nights, the hotel offered "Themed Buffets." We went for Italian night, Mongolian BBQ night, and Aussie BBQ night. It was great to have such tasty and quick options. Everything was delicious!

The resort also had a spa villa that provided an array services. I went for the full 3.5 hour package including massage, body scrub, manicure, pedicure, and aromatic flower bath. It cost about $40. However, Balinese massage is a little different than what I'm used to. More like a mild beating. But I must say it was invigorating! I wasn't at all sleepy afterwards. And it was a first for me having muck rubbed all over me from head to toe, and then, once the muck dried, having yogurt spread on top of that. I felt like I was on some prank show. The Balinese Punk'd! Note: there are no photos posted of this experience.

I should also mention, I had an hour long reflexology treatment by the pool that was fantastic and T enjoyed a hot stone massage at the spa villa.

Our flights to and from Bali were filled with young Australian families. On the way home we sat behind Jesse and his little brother Tristan. Jesse entertained us much of the way with verbal abilities close to those of the D's. But my favorite part was watching him "eat the air" that shot down from the ceiling. I asked him to do it again so I could take his picture.

So that's the scoop on Bali. Only thing I'd change is to have our friends and family there with us! On multiple occasions T and I mentioned various people who would have loved the activities/foods/sights in Bali. Just wanted to let you know we were thinking of you, even as we vacationed! I'll get more photos uploaded to Winkflash if you want to see more photos from the trip. There are plenty more!