Visits to Australian Reptile Park and Milson's Point

Monday we went to the Australian Wildlife Park about an hour north of Sydney... it was the first time we traveled by car as a family, so of course we had to rent a van. What you DON'T see here is that Brady has been getting carsick lately... we can't figure out any other reason than that he doesn't ride in a car regularly anymore (never did it before we moved here... maybe it's the left side of the road throwing him off?) and we spent the first 20 minutes after arrival cleaning him, the van, and the carseat up before we could go in! We normally bring a towel and a change of clothes in case this happens but of course we forgot this time!! Poor Blake had to clean it all up as I tend to get pretty sick myself at the smell... bad Mommy!! ANYWAY, after all was said and done we were ready to head into the park...

This is the coolest place to see Australian wildlife as you can get "up close and personal" with all the animals. Here is a Tasmanian Devil:

A tortoise... this one is young, only in his 40's

A dingo (AKA wild Australian dog)

Wallaby

Here we have a Floridian Gator... they had to import one since it's a reptile park! They also had another saltwater crocodile, much more secluded than this... thought it was cool to see another Gator in Australia, though!

Well, you know this is a koala, but this was the first time we've seen one not in a tree

The kids managed to get themselves completely muddy in the area where you could pet the kangaroos and wallabies... Anna kept getting upset when we'd try to get her our of the mud

OK, Mommy's back, so I'm happy now!!

Kangaroos and wallabies are really SOFT!

Brady feeding the wallaby

On Tuesday we headed off to Milson's Point, the same place below the Harbour Bridge where we saw the fireworks on New Year's Eve last year. It was the first time I've walked down there and the first visit I'd had during the day, so I was happy my parents and I could explore new territory together. It was awesome and we'll definetely be going back soon!


A view from Lavender Bay on the way down

Brady running off by Luna Park

A cool picture my Dad took of the bridge from Milsons Point

My parents at Milsons Point

The bridge and Luna Park from Lavender Bay

Bradfield Park playground

On the way to lunch in Kirribilli, next door to Milsons Point

Nonna and Brady in front of Luna Park

Brady climbing (as he does best) at Bradfield playground

That's all I've got!!! Phew, that was a LOT of pictures (read down if you haven't seen them all). I hope you're all doing great and enjoying the start of college football over in the States!! Go Gators!! Spring officially starts September 1st for us, so I can't WAIT!!! My aunt is coming for a month long visit in just over a week, so it will be a busy Spring down under. Keep in touch and let me know how you're doing, and that goes for ALL of you reading this =)

Indoor Play and McMahon's Point

Our first week in August has been a good one... we bought the kids a little table and they love it. Brady is quite fond of bringing the chairs over to the couch and reading. He gets upset if Anna gets up and doesn't sit with him, as he likes things done HIS way and his way usually includes playing with Anna (that is, unless she's bugging him and then he requests that I put her down for a nap...) Here is a picture I took of the two of them enjoying some books in their new chairs...

I call this Anna's Donald Trump "you're fired" face...

On Friday we went to an indoor playground at the nearby mall with Lynnette and Christian. Neither Christian or Anna wanted to get in the ball pit without their mummies, so Lynnette and I got buried in balls too! I actually had fun, and was surprised that it was deep enough for a full grown adult to get covered! No wonder they were scared by themselves!

Brady had a blast throwing balls at me!

Finally a great shot of my little man looking at the camera with a smile!

Lynnette holding the babies and Christian telling Anna to take it easy and enjoy herself... she's been QUITE the handful this week and was having a fit about playing (very unlike her... I think we have more teeth coming)

Handsome Christian enjoying his playtime!

On Saturday Blake and I took the kids on a walk down to McMahon's Point at the mouth of the bridge on the northern side. We couldn't believe the views we had on our short walk and the fact that we'd never ventured down there before... I think this area will become a more frequent family outing for us. The walk back up the hill from the harbour is a killer, though!

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A shot of the Opera House with the ferries going by from McMahon's Point

The Harbour Bridge from McMahon's Point... Blake and I were wondering what time people must come out on New Years' Eve to see the fireworks from here... we're thinking a couple days after Christmas =)

We're looking forward to my parents' arrival on Saturday morning the 16th... we can't wait to show them around and to explore even more areas of Sydney that we haven't yet seen... it will be so great to see Nonna and Grandpa again after 8 long months without them!!

Hope everyone is having a great August and getting ready for school and football season... we'll really miss getting to watch the SEC this year, so keep us posted!!

Monday, July 28th

Our day started out a bit crazy this morning... I got out of the shower to find that Anna had already begun helping herself to some Cheerios before breakfast. Brady discovered this and proceeded to dump the entire box onto the floor before I could get to it. The kids happily ate Cheerios on the floor but the only problem is that regular Cheerios here have a light sugar coating similar to Honey Nut Cheerios in the US... and they stick to EVERYTHING they touch... (note their pajamas and feet in particular). I took these pics before I spent the next 20 minutes stripping them down, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming the floors all over the house! Of course I fed them breakfast first =)

We're in this together, sis! Let me give you a hug to thank you for opening the box of cereal and creating this terrific disaster! Couldn't have done it better myself!

Later in the day we received our gifts from Boo and ABoo's cruise around the Baltic Sea. Thanks so much guys! Brady loves his Russian hat and both kids loved the Russian wooden doll figurines (now I just need to locate the "inner dolls")!

Anna loves her new baby doll... look at that face when I handed it to her!

Have a fantastic last week of July everyone, and thanks again Boo and ABoo!!!

The last couple weeks in pictures

We've had a busy and very cold July (well, not super cold by US terms, but cold for JULY!) I've been busy snapping photos of some of our activities, so here are some pics of the kids from the past couple weeks...

North Sydney markets are on the 2nd Saturday of every month and it's fun to go out and browse the merchandise, plus just relax to a live band and munch on some food in the sun! Here we were waiting for some friends and these photos are taken in front of the library...

Anna never misses her morning nap

A couple random shots from around the house... the first one was Anna getting ready to push Brady around in her baby doll's stroller (I couldn't believe he fit!)

Our good friends Lynnette and her son Christian from South Africa with Brady and Anna at the Secret Playground... we can actually talk there without chasing kids since it's completely enclosed and it's tucked away on a quiet street so it's relatively undiscovered.

We ventured back to Waverton Park on a pretty day this time. The first picture is the view of the harbour from the park

Christian running around looking for a ball to kick... he's 2 weeks younger than Anna and weighs more than 10 lbs. more than her! He's such a cutie pie!

Lynnette and Anna sharing a banana... actually Lynnette was sharing it with Christian until Anna spotted food and then it was all over for Christian!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Winter has truly arrived!

Our week has progressively gotten colder and colder by the day! Here are a bunch of pictures I've taken this week in my quest to be a better photo-documenting mother =)

Monday's playdate at Kara, Morgan, and baby Tessa's house

Morgan getting in the car

Anna eating the end of a toy crane

Brady practicing careful driving techniques

Here's Anna again

Morgan giving Brady a hug

Now on to Tuesday, we went to Clifton Gardens in Mosman for the first time. It's getting colder today...

And Morgan and Brady found the water fountain!!

Kara and I discovered what they were up to a little late... Morgan was especially soaked and Brady wasn't far behind!

Brady had fun even being wet, but we left shortly after this due to the boys shivering!

After a chilly romp in the park on Wednesday, we stayed inside for the afternoon to keep warm. The kids had a ball playing in the toybox.

This morning was the coldest yet and was overcast as well. Of course, after we got home from the park it got sunny and a bit warmer!

Anna and Ryan playing in the car at Waverton park

Brady couldn't bear to be left out and Anna is ready to GET out, but Ryan is hamming it up for the camera!

Naomi and Ryan coming down the slide!

There's our week so far!! It was so cold today that we actually ended up in mittens and gloves before the park trip was over. I brewed coffee before I left and again when I got home to warm up. I'm jealous of the warm summer weather over in the northern hemisphere and am eager for spring to come. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Playgroup and our 4th of July

Here are a couple photos from playgroup a couple weeks ago:

Kara and baby Tessa

Anna and some of their friends and mums from Kara's mother's group

Brady painting... our budding artist!

Anna dancing to Hot Potatoes by the Wiggles (on TV) following our 4th of July outing

Brady after the 4th of July outing

Well, for the 4th of July we decided to meet up with some fellow Americans at the American Society of Sydney. We had a great time eating BBQ and listening to "Born in the USA" blasting while looking out over the harbour at the fireworks display the group put on. They had a DJ blaring the music, and Bruce Springsteen was followed by "Sweet Home Alabama" which we found very appropriate and pretty cool! I didn't get any pictures at the event because it was nearly dark when we got there at 5 pm and it was pretty cold outside while we were watching the fireworks. I'll be sure to get some pics at our next AMSOC event which will be for Halloween.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!!