Margaret River Roadtrip

For their 6th wedding anniversary my Aunt Pat and Uncle Hank took a trip to Australia. They spent time in Sydney, Cairns, and Uluru before coming to Perth to spend some time with us. We were VERY excited about their visit because we hadn't seen them since December and we haven't had any company here since August 2008. Aunt Pat and Uncle Hank are marvelous company- always helping out, interacting with the kids, and just so much fun to be around! Knowing Aunt Pat was a fan of good wine (as are we), I couldn't resist taking them down to Margaret River. This is wine country, about 4 hours south of Perth, and it's marvelous!

Some Perth friends had recommendations about where to go and stay so we booked a really nice 3 bedroom house for the weekend and spent Sunday and Monday exploring the region. We stayed at a holiday property called Tamala Ridge near Prevally Beach (in case you are planning a trip!).Sunday was a full day. We drove down to Augusta where the Indian and Arctic Oceans meet, and spotted a pod of whales. Photos were hard to snap. You'd see a spray of water and then a fin or a back rise above the water's surface. It was so cool!! Laurance Winery was a perfect spot for a long lunch (Thanks Lisa!). We arrived in time to get the best family table, right beside a nice playground. We tasted the wine, devoured the amazing lunch, and sat in the sun, watching the kids run and play. Perfect! Loved this chandelier at Laurance Winery. Those are all wine glasses!After that were stops at 4 wineries where we tasted and picked up a few favorites. Finally, a stop at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory.

The house came fully equipped and had a bbq. So we picked up groceries for dinner and made it back in time for sunset on the Indian Ocean from our balcony. Cloudy but still incredible over the ocean.

With the sun gone for the day, C could focus his full attention on the guacamole and chips. He was so busy with the dipping and crunching he didn't even mind me styling his hair into a new do!

On Monday, we woke to rain. So we took our time getting around and headed into the town of Margaret River to visit a few shops. Before long, it was lunch time so we drove out of town to the Duckstein Brewery. Beautiful place, great beer, fantastic food! Below is a photo of Aunt Pat's lamb cutlets but up in the left hand corner is the platter of bratwurst and sauerkraut that T and I shared. It was outstanding!
Our last stop before heading home was Simmo's ice cream factory. Yum! Fantastic ice cream, a playground, and an ice cream eating emu, or so they say.

The kids had a go on the Merry-go-Round. C gave us a wave and a giggle at each pass.
We made good time getting home and made it back to Perth in time for dinner. Uncle Hank took some really nice city photos from the south side of the river, near the restaurant where we ate dinner.

Lots of photo credit to Uncle Hank! Thanks for sharing your photographs!

Handmade Gifts

I have a lot of blogging to do right now. It's a bit overwhelming to tell you the truth. We've just had my Aunt Pat and Uncle Hank here for a week long visit and had SO MANY adventures with them, I could write for days. First though, I have to share some special gifts that were made for D by a great friend of ours. Maggie is an excellent knitter and was needing a project to keep her busy during a recent trip home to Denver. Some time ago, she knitted her the gorgeous scarf but now D has a matching hat!

With holes for her pigtails! Is that a perfect D gift or what!?

C couldn't let D be the only one in the photos. He received a great hat from Maggie when he was born, but as you can imagine, it doesn't fit him anymore.

Grocery Helper C

C's fav thing to do when we return from the grocery store is to help unload the bags. He does a pretty good job, pulling things out and handing them to me. Sometimes I direct him to the pantry and sometimes to the refrigerator. Other times (like when he's jostling the bananas or a glass jar of something) I snatch it away and put it away myself. Last week, he found a new use for the groceries- building box towers!

We took a stroll into a local shopping area yesterday and picked up a few groceries. The kids were in the double buggy, C sitting in the lower seat where I can't see him. He was a little upset about having all the milk at his feet so to distract him, I handed him the bag of kiwi fruit. He went quiet and seemed content to be helping out.

Upon returning home, I saw what it was that kept him so quiet and content. What 22-month-old wouldn't enjoy pulverising a bag of kiwi? After tossing it in the trash I wondered if I should have just made smoothies. Very helpful C!

Big Nature Weekend

We are enjoying some really beautiful weather in Western Australia at the moment. The last week as been fantastic with sunshine, low 70's in temps, and more sunshine. We like being out on these beautiful days. Sometimes though, I'm just not too creative with our destinations. Luckily, our friends are!

On Saturday morning, we met up with 3 other families at John Forrest National Park. Our friend Judit had read about a great walk up to a waterfall so we all packed lunches, sweaters, and hats and headed out to the Australian bush. It was a really beautiful place.C enjoyed the ride in the backpack, getting to walk around a couple of times and join his pals on the ground.

D was thrilled to spend the morning with some of her best friends.

The waterfall was pretty and before long our whole group had climbed their way out onto the rocks, just beside the falls. The kids had so much fun climbing the rocks. Below are T and C perched on the little cliff.

Here are the 16 of us. Took 3 tries with the camera timers but we got right!On Sunday, we joined other volunteers at Rosalie Park in Subiaco to plant native flora in honor of Tree Day. There were several of T's co-workers there as well. Upon arrival, I was skeptical of how productive I could actually be while keeping track of 2 little kids. But it was a really fun morning for all of us.

The people organizing had set out hundreds of plants in plastic pots. They gave a quick explanation of what to do, and we all set to work. At first there weren't many volunteers, but lots more arrived a short time later and we all finished the job in just under 2 hours.
T got the job of digging the holes. D used her kid-sized tools to sprinkle "Fairy Dust" (soil conditioner) in each hole.I buried the plants and C stacked up the empties. And knocked them down. And stacked them up again. And so on. The after photo.

We plan to visit Rosalie Park from time to time to see how our native garden is growing. And D has plans to water them all with her watering can.

T's New Calling

Well the big topic around here is 'When are leaving Perth and where are we going next?' I am completely unable to answer either of those questions. But, I do know that if T decides that his current gig isn't working out- he's got experience in something else!

We spent Saturday morning in Fremantle, a fun area with interesting shopping, dining, and sights. We all stopped to watch a very entertaining street performer. It's usually my bad luck to be called up as an "assistant," but it was T's turn this time!

When the performer learned that T couldn't juggle, he found other tasks for him.

Like helping the man balance on a board, on a rolly cylinder, on a chest on legs.The kids thought daddy's chance to perform was great!

Had to snap a photo of C and I for fun. He just looks way too grown up in this shot though!

Set Ups

It's become an official term in my family. Kids play with Legos, army men, zoo animals, farm animals, whatever. It's their "Set Up." They set it up down to the littlest detail, and then are devastated at the idea of breaking it up and putting it away. So, we snap a photo. And then, the zoo, farm, house, battle scene, whatever, lives on in eternity.
I am certain that my aunts and my mom have countless "set up" photos of Batman and Robin, zoos, and Army battles. I think we'll end up with a fine collection from our kids' imaginative work.
At playgroup on Wednesday, D built the finest Duplo house she's ever done. And she wasn't smiling when we told her it was time to pack away her creation. But bringing out the digital camera made it all better. And now she can share her awesome Duplo house with you!

Plenty Corrupt

C has just gotten over a yucky cough and cold, both kids actually. It was a rough couple of weeks around here. C wasn't really doing any talking or signing, just yelling and whining! And it was wearing on all of us.
This week, however, is a complete turn-around! Mr. Personality is back and we are laughing our heads off.
Family, if you have concerns that the distance between us is preventing you from corrupting my children, you'll have to admit that C is pretty weird all on is own.
Below is C, with D's underpants on his head. He did it all on his own. He found them on the floor, figured out how to pull them onto his head, and then yelled for my attention with a big laugh. D and I laughed and laughed. And I ran for the camera.

Even when C is ill, it's rare that his appetite goes anywhere. And he's eaten very happily over these last few weeks. With cough, runny nose, congestion, you'd expect a little dip in the appetite. But it's seemed more like a feeding frenzy. He's been cleaning up his plate and demanding items off mine!

C has also turned into a dipper. Ketchup, butter, ranch dressing, tzaziki dip, Boursin, exotic Thai, guacamole. Bring it on! He'll eat anything with a dip or spread on it. And tonight, to both kids happy cheering, was BBQ ribs and sweet corn night.

A plate of ribs, diced small, kid-sized corn on the cob, steamed broccoli and cauliflower. As C would say, "MMMMMMMM!" In the middle of his plate is a spoonful of homemade bbq sauce. C happily dipped his bits of rib meat (gone in 30 seconds) and then moved on to the rest. He believes strongly that corn on the cob can never have too much butter so I keep hearing, "Buh! Buh! Buh!"

But buh wasn't enough! Corn wasn't enough! Soon C was dipping his cornless-cob in the bbq sauce and enjoying the sweet and spicy sauce, then going back for another dip. I should have just gotten him a spoon!