Birthday girl is 7!

  We are getting close to the end of birthday season in our family. MA turned 7! We are constantly amazed at the person she is becoming. Generous, kind, laid back, & almost always willing to help out. She got the extra treat of having the fam here to help her celebrate. MA got her ears pierced as soon as the mall opened. She had been going back and forth for a while on whether she wanted them pierced or not. Finally she decided she wanted to do it while Grandma, K&K were here. So we did a special girls trip that morning.

 Swimming during the day then we ate dinner on the patio.  Birthday dinner was steak, potatoes on the grill, and broccoli. She didn't want any vegetables :-) Chocolate cake with sprinkles on top, a big pile of presents from friends and family (here and in the US) & she was one lucky birthday girl. A camera, Legos, a color it yourself backpack, & some new clothes were a few of the highlights.Such a change from a normally winter birthday.

 Someone was having a hard time with his sisters birthday 

Something new for 2013

  New Years Day, we made another trip to the Gold Coast. This time we went to Surfers Paradise. Lunch at a pub just off the beach and then it was time for LilBlair, Kat, & Kara to learn something new & entertain the rest of us! Surf Lessons! 2 hours later they were all exhausted but I think they had fun. Everyone was able to stand up on the board. My mom and I were the photographers, Matt & the kids kept us company in the water, while Papa manned the blanket and whichever kids were playing in the sand.

  The surf was getting rougher as the day went on. We saw the lifeguards rescue several people. Wow! It was amazing to watch them work. Just as we were packing up, MA and Grandma were walking back from a quick swim. MA had a run in with a jellyfish. They are all over the water and beaches right now. These little blue ones are everywhere. There are also some giant clear/ light blue ones that wash up every so often. Poor girl.

NYE 2012

  2012 is coming to a close and what a year it has been. Moving to Australia, kids growing up, making new friends. The bar is set pretty high for 2013.
  We were invited to our friends/neighbors house for a NYE party. So we lounged around most of the day and headed our after dinner. It was a wig/crazy hat party. Matt and I went out earlier and picked up an assortment of harts for the fam to wear. Matt liked his so much he wore it most of the day. We had so much fun at the party! Drinks, dancing, friends, & family. The kids danced up a storm all night. DB & EL made it until about 11:15 before they crashed. Grandma and Papa offered to take them home to bed. The rest of us (including MA) danced in the new year. We watched the Sydney fireworks. They were amazing and crazy to think we were there just a couple days before. Gangnam Style & YMCA (which only us Americans did the dance moves) were MA's favorite songs I think. Happy New Year! Here's to 2013!!

 Don't listen to the haters. Thanks to my sisters for teaching the kids that one.

Hello Sydney

  My mom, sisters, LilBlair, & myself did a quick trip to Sydney. We left on the 1st flight Friday morning and caught the last flight back to Brisbane on Saturday night. We didn't have much of a plan once we got there, just whatever caught our eye. 1st stop was obviously the Opera House. Kara was so excited to check it out. We decided to do the official tour. It was close to lunch so we grabbed a bite to eat at the Opera Kitchen. Midway thru lunch we realized we had missed our tour time (Sydney observes DST, Brisbane does not). Luckily we got new tickets for the 1st thing the next day.
  We wandered around for a little while and decided to try the Hop On Hop Off tour bus. It was interesting to hear about the city & buildings. We hopped off at Bondi Beach. Holy Cow!! I have never seen so many people at a beach and it was even windy and cool. We didn't stay long. Back on the bus and we finished up the tour. For dinner we tried a place where you cook your own meat. The restaurant was cute and had a good atmosphere. We all grilled our own food and luckily it all turned out well. Drinks at the Opera Bar and it was time to call it a day.
 

As we walked all over Sydney it was interesting to see all the prep work for the NYE fireworks and parties. Saturday we started off with the Opera House tour. I was amazed! They have over 2,000 performances each year. Spectacular views. There was an opera rehearsing in one of the halls. Just sitting there was something I will always remember. We walked up on the Sydney bridge, the same level the cars drive on, not up on the top of the structure. Then we trekked all the way over to Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour has so many cool looking bars & restaurants. We stopped at Margaritaville and caught the ferry back to Circular Quay. Dinner by the water and our time in Sydney was over.
  It was so much fun to go with my family and see another side of the Sydney without the kids. We all had a lot of fun!