IMAX

Metal Art at its best!

Getting Ready for a DAY of walking!

Stay-cation Day 5:

For our last day of our holiday we decided to take the kids to see a few more local beautiful sights.  We began the day with a walk across the Harbour Bridge and then up to the top of one of the pylons.  As you climb the stairs of the pylon, there is a museum that describes the process of building the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  At the top of the pylon is a stunning lookout called PYLON LOOKOUT.  There are breathtaking 360 degree views of the gorgeous Harbour.  We had a great time and learned quite a bit about this historical icon that we cross on a regular basis.

The Centre Pin

We love the view.

After spending a few hours at the bridge, we had lunch on the streets of the ROCKS.  Then, we traveled by ferry to Darling Harbour.  It is another area of the harbour that is the home of the world's largest IMAX screen and I had arranged for us to see "Flight of the Butterflies" later that afternoon.  "Flight of the Butterflies" is a beautiful documentary about the Monarch Butterfly.  As you watch the movie in 3D, you feel as though you could reach out and touch one.  It was very educational and reaffirmed my love of butterflies.  Someday when we move back to the states, I am going to plant a milk weed plant in my yard so that Monarch Butterflies can lay their eggs on it.  What amazing creatures! (I would highly recommend it if you are given the opportunity to see it.)

In addition to the movie, we sat, devoured GELATO and just enjoyed the warm sunshine as it caused the harbour waters to sparkle.  It is always a delight to be able to people watch in one of the most spectacular cities in the world.

The girls fell in love with this beauty as we were getting lunch at the ROCKS!

Let the FLIGHT begin

PORT STEPHENS

STAY-CATION DAYS 2, 3, & 4:
Last week during our holiday, we decided to take the girls North a bit to see Port Stephens.  Port Stephens is approximately a 2.5 hour drive from Sydney.  It is a port that is 2.5 times larger than the Sydney Harbour and forms a bay called Nelson Bay.  It is a beautiful bay with lovely beaches and the bay is the home to many bottlenose dolphins.  

We had a GREAT time filling the trip with sandboarding, shopping, watching bottlenose dolphins in their natural habitat, and enjoying their famous Bub's Fish and Chips (best in the state of New South Wales).   As we were driving there, Tom and I thought it felt like the rural towns that you see on the way to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  It was a little weird to know that we are living in Australia where the vegetation and landscape is different being half a world away but we were having a deja-vu moment.

Sandboarding was a blast.  We rode in this really fun 4-wheel-drive red bus out to the dunes.  We hiked the sandboarding hill after a few instructions.  It was a little scary going down the first hill and then we got the hang of it.  Jane went down the hill 20 times in an hour (record is 65 times in 4-hours).  She was like a little energizer bunny....I was exhausted after hiking the hill a few times.  We had a few tumbles where our ears and hair got filled with sand but, we did not have any broken bones --- SUCCESS!  I have to say that I like the sandboarding more than snow sledding.  

Tom

Claire

Grace

Stephanie

CRAZY - Jane

We also took the kids on a charter cruise that took us dolphin watching in the bay.  They are stunning creatures and it was fantastic to see how playful they are.  Port Stephens is lovely. 

THREE SISTERS

We are on holiday (vacation) for the next two weeks and our plans this time included a stay-cation around more of Sydney.  There is so much to see and we want to see it all.  

Yesterday we spent the day in the Blue Mountains.  The Blue Mountains is a mountain range that is just a short drive from Sydney ---1.5 hours to the West.  The mountains are named for the blue haze, caused by light striking eucalyptus oil particles in the air (courtesy of our travel book).  It is a beautiful place with stunning views, 200+ bushwalks and gorgeous vegetation.  There are rugged cliffs and rock formations, ravines and waterfalls.  We had a wonderful day....it was a bit windy but, we have heard that is normal.  

View from Echo Point

See how windy....look at our hair.

On our way out there we were encouraged to stop and have lunch in a darling little village called Leura.  As we were pulling into the village, the girls got very excited because it reminded them of Park City, Utah.  They fell instantly in love.  We walked up and down the streets, went to the CANDY SHOP and bought old-time candies, and we had lunch in a tiny cafe.  They were thrilled and would have loved to spend more time hanging out in the village however, Tom was on a mission and wanted the girls to fully appreciate the Blue Mountains National Park.  We did NOT drive 1.5 hours for SHOPS.  I think sometimes he forgets that he is in a family with four females and shopping is in their DNA.  We would drive anywhere to SHOP.

Loved seeing the Cherry Blossoms -- reminded me of HOME!

Jane found a dog that she wanted to snuggle....we miss our Cooper.

We continued on our journey and we arrived at Echo Point.  It is a lookout point where you can see the expansive view and the THREE SISTERS.  The Three Sisters is a giant rock formation that takes it name from an Aboriginal legend.  The story tells of three sisters turned to stone by their witch-doctor father to keep them safe from an evil bunyip or monster.  However, the father eventually died and was never able to turn them back.  Tom thought this place was very fitting for our girls ----Three sisters with three sisters.  He reminded the girls that they needed to make good choices in their lives because he would hate to have to find a witch doctor to turn them into stone.

The Three Sisters

Three sisters standing besides three sisters.

We had the opportunity to do some bushwalking and to drive through a fair bit of the national park.  It is beautiful and we really enjoyed our visit.  Day 1 of our stay-cation was a sucess ---more to come.

BIRTHDAY WEEK

Every September we have birthday week.  Two of our girls, Grace and Jane, are born one day after each other and it makes for a very exciting, special, sweet and exhausting week.  We feel so blessed to have these two beautiful, kind, loving, generous girls in our family.  

We kicked off their birthdays with Taylor Swift concert tickets.  They have been begging for tickets and I was lucky enough to get them for us to attend the concert here in Sydney on December 4th.  (Thanks Paula! Friends in the states are still watching over us....from across the world).  

Grace was first to celebrate and she turned lucky number Twelve.  She celebrated with many yummy goodies including Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast.  She wanted to take chocolate cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting with a mint slice on top for her school treat and chocolate fondue for her treat at home.  She wanted Fettuccine Alfredo, Caesar salad and bread for dinner - all homemade of course!  I was a busy lady.

On our girl's birthdays we like to decorate their rooms and tell them why we love them according to how old they are...

The 12 reasons we love her....
12.  We love Grace because she is a fantastic hairstylist.
11.  We love Grace because she can ALWAYS brighten your day with a smile, laughter and jokes.
10.  We love Grace because she is dramatic!  She knows how to play a part and help you to feel alive.
9.  We love Grace because she is beautiful.  The dimple on her cheek warms our hearts.
8.  We love Grace because she is compassionate.  She is always open to consoling others - Empathic!
7.  We love Grace because she is the "Piped Piper" when it comes to children.  They can feel her love and kindness.

6.  We love Grace because she hates contention and will do anything to avoid it.
5.  We love Grace because she has a bright beautiful blue eyes that allow you to see her soul.
4.  We love Grace because she is hardworking and does not give up easily on HARD things.
3.  We love Grace because she is intelligent.  Spelling is natural, comes easily and way better at it than MOM!
2.  We love Grace because she is a divine daughter of God and has been entrusted to us.
1.  We love Grace because she is one Power, Petite, Package of shear joy.  We cannot imagine our lives without her!  

WE LOVE YOU - Happy 12th beautiful girl!

Jane was next to celebrate her Nineth birthday.  She wanted Krispy Kreme donuts also for breakfast, she wanted lollipop chocolate dipped marshmallows with sprinkles on them for school and Gram's famous cinnamon rolls for her treat at home.  She wanted Spaghetti with meatballs, bread and green beans for dinner.  I had my work cut out for me.  I was exhausted by Tuesday night.  

The nine reasons we love her---
9.  We love Jane because she is a fantastic public speaker.
8.  We love Jane because she can do 10 double unders in a row on her skipping rope.
7.  We love Jane because of her silky, blonde, long, and beautiful hair.
6.  We love Jane for her kindness towards others....Always kind.

5.  We love Jane because she is a "smartee" pants.  She has learned her times tables in JUST a few short months.

4.  We love Jane because she is gorgeous -- inside and out.
3.  We love Jane because she is tough.  Broken bones don't even slow her down.
2. We love Jane because she is a divine daughter of God and a gift to our family.
1.  We love Jane because she is the Best, Beautiful, Baptized Babe who just turned 9!

WE LOVE YOU JANE - Happy 9th gorgeous girl.

FATHER'S DAY

For many of you, you are probably thinking Father's Day post, she must be really behind in her entries but, in Australia Father's Day is celebrated in the September.  This year it was September first.  We were really excited to celebrate Father's Day this year with our special father and husband Tommy.  Technically Tommy will enjoy two Father's Day celebrations each year, as we are living in Australia.  

Tommy is a wonderful husband and father.  He is so great to our daughters and we cannot imagine our lives without him.  When we lived in the states, he worked out of his home office and since we have moved to Australia he is back in a corporate office.  The girls used to love being able to run up to his office, tell him about their school day and have him around for afternoon snack...basically they really miss seeing him except for the few hours in the evenings.  But, we are adjusting.  So to celebrate this AWESOME guy, we went to church and then to a Muogamarra Nature Reserve that is only open 6 weeks a year because of the wild flowers that grow there.  It was beautiful and such a fun way to spend the day, bush walking and chatting with Mr. Tommy.  We finished the evening off with a little butter chicken (Tom's favorite).  It was a SPLENDID DAY.  

Best Bits about Tommy:
FUNNY
HARDWORKING
HAPPY IN THE MORNINGS....birds are singing and bees are buzzing, at least in his head
SWEET
CONFIDENT
GENEROUS 
SPIRITUAL
A GOOD TEACHER
A SOFTIE...we need one to balance meanie mom.
INTELLIGENT
A GREAT PROVIDER
ADVENTUROUS ABOUT BIG LIFE CHANGES 
and many, many more.  We love you!

Some of the beautiful things that we saw, smelled and touched! 

We enjoyed the views....stunning as usual.

Tommy with his gaggle of girls - Claire, Grace & Jane.

Fantastic View!

Butter Chicken, Naan and Cucumber Salad....Tom thinks I may be a little bit Indian.  He LOVES this dish.  :)