Keeping busy at sea

About a year ago we took a two week cruise from Sydney to New Zealand. I never blogged about our trip and shortly after found out we were returning to the States. The day we left for our cruise we had a positive pregnancy test. I felt great on our "holiday" in NZ but the morning sickness set in when we returned. I can hardly believe how much has happened since I left off blogging. Lots to update. Will try to do better. May have to jump around a little. Lots of drafts saved and many more to come.

We thought we'd be down under for two to three years. Instead we only had 10 months. For the first six months, we didn't use any vacation time. Then the first big vacation we took wasn't even in Australia. Go figure! We'll certainly go back to explore more.

Daddy and Alan sinking putts!

Cute little napkin mouse from Primo

The pool.

Alan working on his tan after a chocolate milkshake

Being a silly boy!

Desert!

Alan helping with the champagne waterfall!

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!

Yesterday was Australia Day! So repeat after me "Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie, Oi Oi Oi". Brad decided to work so his back ups could take the day off. Although this did not go over well with the Aussie that is currently training with him. But it works well for us because he'll get a lieu day to use the day we leave for our cruise to New Zealand.

Alan and I tagged along with the Martin's to a picnic at Stanwell Park with friends from church. It was a scorcher of a day as they say. Poor Alan was sweating sitting in the shade! To cool off, I changed him into his togs (swimsuit) and headed for the beach. The scenery was gorgeous but the waves were too rough for little bubs to play in the water. I was amazed how many people were at the beach and park! It reminded me of the 4th of July.

When daddy got home from work, we walked to the carnival in Miranda. There were several rides and bounce houses that Alan is not quite ready for yet. Next year for sure. Admittedly, I had some concerns about the safety. I'm sure it was probably the same at the Lake County Fair when I was a kid but I never noticed. Some rides were jacked up on blocks to make them level but to an older more conservative eye they didn't look all that sturdy. I should have snapped a picture then you could be the judge for yourself. The night ended with my absolute favorite - FIREWORKS!

He looks guilty right? Not too discreet about eating cookies. See the corners of his mouth?

Packed day at the beach

Best buds playing in the sand - Annabelle & Alan

Sea Cliff Bridge (part of the Grand Pacific Dr)

Next year he'll be able to go on the rides instead of watching!

Not ready for this bouncing monstrosity yet either :-(

Fifth from the bottom - FAIRY FLOSS. What is fairy floss you ask? Why COTTON CANDY of course!

Showing some Aussie spirit!

One of these days I'll learn how to take pics of fireworks!

Staying up way past our bedtime to watch fireworks!

I'd like to speak to dada please

I have to laugh at how much Alan ♥'s to talk on the phone! When Brad and I first started dating (many years ago) I could always tell when he was "all talked out" as my dad would say. I would always think of something else to talk about to keep the conversation going. Alan definitely takes after his mum when it comes to being a "chatty cathy"! He has several toy phones but would much prefer the ones he sees mommy and daddy talk on. I've seen several random calls made from my cell phone (hmmm). On a daily basis, he checks our answering machine and we'll ask him if we have any messages. He knows exactly which button to push to hear "no messages" (hint, hint). He also likes to walk over to where the computer is sitting and see if he can Skype when mommy isn't looking. Not like that would ever happen. His favorite people to talk to are daddy and grandma. Any time I talk to daddy I have to put him on speakerphone for buddy. He can always spot the phone in the room and he's quick. He grabs the apartment phone off the wall when we walk by. So here he is talking on the "Magic" phone at the Hilton when the Swatek's came to visit us. You could pretty much push any button on this phone and it would "magically" put you through to guest relations. Several unnecessary calls may have been placed during our stay. Hope you can hear him talking to daddy!

Go Cubs Go?

We've had our Cubs season tickets since 2003. I thought it would be such a treat to get them for Brad just that one year as a Anniversary/Birthday/Christmas present (literally covering all my bases). Well talk about the gift that keeps on giving. Those stinking things keep coming back every year. Now that we're in Australia (don't know when we're coming back or where we'll be living when we do) we finally thought it was time to let them go. Even though there's supposedly a waiting list of nearly 120,000 which would almost fill the stadium three times. And they no longer offer our nights and weekend package with parking so we're grandfathered in. We thought for sure when we didn't pay our invoice by January 8th that they would be GONE FOREVER. We must be meant to keep those DARN tickets because they sent us a reminder email. So now it's back on the table and forces us to make the decision AGAIN. We have NO will power when it comes to these lovable losers. It's so hard to say goodbye...

Our last Cubs game before leaving for Australia

Alan sporting a super cute beanie made by our neighbor Holly

Another Holly creation (thank goodness they stretch to fit all head sizes)

Christmas Day - Better Late than Never (Should be my motto for 2010)

Since I was so awful at blogging in 2009, I have some catching up to do. So I'll start with Christmas since it's the most recent. It's the first time we've been on our own for Christmas. Not really the same without family.

We had a little gift exchange with our friends before they left for Adelaide. The Martins gave Alan his very own pot and pan set along with a set of cooking utensils. What a perfect gift! He is a little obsessed with cooking. Unfortunately having his own set doesn't stop him from dragging the real ones out (every day, several times a day). Darn! They also gave us a really neat portable beach tent. I'm sure we'll get plenty of use out of it!

Alan with Dave unwrapping his present from the Martins

Alan sitting with Liesl playing with his very own set of pots and pans

The kids sharing a jolly old fellow's lap

Once our fellow Americans set off on their holiday, the rest of our day was wide open. Apparently most zoos (and movie theatres) are open for Christmas so we decided to keep the animals company. Our zoo passes have been a good investment so far! We've learned to bring a change of clothes because Backyard to Bush is Alan's absolute favorite thanks to all the water features. We've discovered that there are water features all over in Australia (Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbour, and Manly to name a few places). We find it rather ironic that every toilet has a half flush or full flush to conserve water. Yet we need to bring a change of clothes every where we go because this kid always manages to get soaked. I'm pretty sure I use all the water I conserve flushing on laundry.

First stop - the STUFFED animals :)

Komodo dragon

It's always a special treat to see the Harbour Bridge coming down the hill at Taronga Zoo

Close-up of the giraffe

A couple of cute critters posing for the camera

I love how even the mohawk is stiped.

Who needs to turn the crank? Just splash with your hands.

This is the last place we go because Alan could spend all day here

Sticking to the slide after splashing in the water

As we were roaming the zoo we saw this creature on the loose.

The day was still young when we left the zoo. I had wanted to see the Christmas window displays at David Jones department store in downtown Sydney. I was picturing Marshall Field's on State Street in downtown Chicago. DJ's had six animated puppet window displays. I couldn't figure out the connection to Christmas on The Holly and the Ivy or Good King Wenceslas windows. I took a picture of a street banner that made me chuckle because it said "Happy Christmas". I heard that frequently in December and wondered if Aussies would wish me a "Merry New Year". There seems to be a contrarian thing going with them and Americans. However, it was refreshing to have store clerks using the word Christmas since it's been considered politically incorrect in the United States for years. Aussies love to shorten words as well, so another popular phrase was Chrissy pressie for Christmas present. It's really not that much shorter but tell that to an Aussie. Quite entertaining.

Silent Night window display in downtown Sydney at David Jones

A pink cockatoo wishing you a Happy Christmas!

Last stop was Darling Harbour. There were quite a few restaurants and shops open there. We went to Pancakes on the Rocks for a late lunch. We didn't order the American style pancakes (for some reason Aussies think we eat our pancakes with ice cream - I would have said maple syrup and bacon but what do I know).

The massive Christmas tree at Darling Harbour

Terrigal Beach

Most of the time, I organize our outings (figure out where to go, how to get there, what we need, etc). On this particular day, I suggested a nice relaxing day at the beach. I expected that we'd go to any of the many beaches right near our house. Brad on the other hand had greater aspirations for our day. A friend had just told him the night before at dinner about the Central Coast having especially nice beaches. So he went online to do some research where he narrowed it down to two beaches and off we went. Alan napped as we travelled an hour north of Sydney to do some exploring. There were multiple beaches to choose from but we decided to start with Terrigal Beach based on the reviews. Kudos to him for a great pick!

We were lucky to get a prime parking spot from a nice elderly couple that were leaving for the day. First we headed over to the opposite side of the street where all the cafes and shops are located to grab some tucker (food). After lunch, we explored the beach for the next four hours! The water was warm and perfect for swimming. We were delighted to find an occasional sea shell (even though they were rather small). Alan was mesmerized by the tiny shells with snails and bigger shells with hermit crabs in them. So many amazing little creatures get left behind in the tide pools! If only I could identify them all. I often worry that one day Alan will ask me "mommy - what is that?" and I'll have no clue myself. Kind of like when Kylie asked Ashely what a giraffe says and she came up with something about "mmm, leafy trees". Hopefully I'll think that quick on my feet! I guess we'll find out in the next ten years if I'm still smarter than a fifth grader.

Terrigal was easily the best beach we've been to by far! Our favorite beaches are the ones with lots of variety. This one had it all! We really wanted to keep going toward the Skillion to see what was around the corner from there but started to worry that we had wandered too far. Thankfully getting back to the car went much faster. We took just under 100 photos and had trouble choosing which ones to share so we ended up going with the more the merrier philosophy.

The water was absolutely beautiful - even the temp was perfect!

Alan dives right in and tells the sand how happy he is to see it.

A row of Norfolk Island pines along the beachfront esplanade.

Seaweed washed up on shore

Plenty of people checking out the tide pool.

Bucket full of sea shells (a few hermit crabs)

I really love all the color - it's like a centerpiece!

Our future beach bum.

Don't think we'll be taking this sea shell for our Christmas tree (looks like it's occupied)

Algae covered rocks were like a slip and slide.

Daddy showing buddy a snail in a shell

Family photo (Alan must be too worried about the stranger with mom's camera to smile)

Still trying to identify - probably sea anemone of some sort

Beautiful exposed rock after years of erosion from the crashing waves of the ocean.

Alan is standing next to the foot hole where we climbed down (needed a little help getting back up).

If only I could take this colorful rock back with me and add it to our next landscaping project.

Pint size explorers. At high tide the bottom third of the picture would be under water.

Massive pelicans swimming by the shore

Mommy and buddy

Daddy and buddy

As we round the corner, you can see the beach where we came from off in the distance.

Looking close to find snails, crabs, and tiny fish.

Found some! Bet the snails are thinking he should pick on someone his own size.

Water whooshing between two slabs of rock

Camouflaged crab

He's really a sweet boy when he's not sticking the shovel in my face!

Before the rocks are submerged by the waves

After (tried to catch them in action)

Camouflaged kid ;)

The Skillion - so tempting to keep going!

We finally turn and head back.

One last pic from the paparazzi. You can run but you can't hide!

Looks like it could be an old-fashioned postcard. Perfect end to an unforgettable day!