DUI.
I forgot to mention this in my last post, but it was too fun to not write a catch-up blog. Australia really cracks down on drunk driving. The government has done an excellent job of scaring the crap out of anyone that may attempt to drive after having a few drinks. So much so that people park their buggies inside the gates of our community and walk across the parking lot to the tavern, so if they really tie one on, the cops can’t bust them for DUI in their buggy. I don’t know how much the fines are, but they must be pretty hefty. So how do the cops catch these rebels of society? They choose random places along the roads – morning, day, or night – and make the driver do a breathalyzer test. Jay has had the pleasure of doing one of these tests before. I got to do one on Sunday! While I was waiting in the traffic line for my turn, I was pretty excited because it will (probably) be the only time in my life that I will ever get to take a breathalyzer test. I passed. Phew.

Hot rock.
When I was in college, I had a part time job at a small accounting firm. It consisted of 2 partners, 1 administrative assistant, 3 CPAs, and 3 college students. One of the other students, Angie, ended up getting a job at Deere. Over the years our paths have crossed several times. This week they cross down under. Angie and several other US employees came to Australia for meetings for a couple weeks. Jay, Brian, and I met up with Angie and the others in Sanctuary Cove for a hot rock steak dinner. It was so much fun catching up with her – and watching her attempt to cook the “surf” part of her meal on the stone. I was impressed when she tried the Moreton Bay Bug, which is like a flathead lobster. I’ve been here a year and haven’t tried it yet…

Package.
We got a package!!!!! Kirk and Sherry walked to Sanctuary Cove on Thursday to pick up the package from the Australia Post. 5.5 miles later, they made it back home. I knew it was a bit of a hike, but I didn’t realize it was that far! They are doing so good with their walking. So back to the package… My sister, Sundie, her husband Brad, and their kids Tucker and Lucia, sent us a care package. We got our GFACE tshirts. They say “where marshmallows, tikis, and cousins get roasted”. Love it. They sent an adorable little dress for Lily. And, best part…my niece’s new book – The Adventures of Lucy and Lulu”. How many high school girls do you know that write a children’s book, illustrate the book, get it sponsored by the Red Cross, publish it, set up a website for ordering, manage the website, and donate all proceeds to charity? Yeah, Lucia did all of that. The book has a great message for kids and adults – reminds us that there are always people out there that need a hand, and every little bit that you can do to help makes a big difference. If interested to hear more, go to the Facebook page (same as the name of the book). I am so proud of her. And impressed.

Water.
What do you do at daycare on a hot day in Australia? Cool the kids off in a bucket of water. Lily loved it!

Joey.
When we picked Lily up from daycare on Friday, Miss Steph asked us if we would like to take Baby Joey on our holiday. Baby Joey is kind of like the class mascot. It is a stuffed baby kangaroo that hangs out in a little backpack. The kids in her class have taken turns throughout the year taking baby Joey on their adventures. The parents take pictures and put them in a little travel scrapbook. Such a cute idea! There will be lots of pictures of Baby Joey this week.

Holiday.
Saturday morning we went to swim lessons. It was Ty’s 3rd lesson in the long swim lane, and the improvement over the first week was pretty impressive. When we got home, we finished our packing. The boys went to the marina for hair cuts. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so when we got home, Ty stripped down to his undies for a quick dip in the hot tub. 20 minutes before it was time to go, Ty climbed into his car seat and got buckled. He couldn’t wait to go on holiday. He fell asleep before it was time to go. :). Finally it was time to go to the airport. Hooray!!!!

Sydney.
First stop: Sydney. We had a smooth flight, our bags arrived in record time, and the car was right outside waiting for us. We are staying at Quay West in The Rocks neighborhood. We can see the Harbour Bridge from our room. What an incredible structure. We got in late, but had to take our first baby Joey picture. Didn’t turn out great, but wanted to share anyway.

By the time we got settled in our hotel room, it was around 9:00 pm. I was wanting to go out and explore a bit to get my bearings, but the kids (and Memaw) were looking a little sleepy. Sherry and Kirk offered to stay at the hotel with the kids, so Jay and I got to go out on the town. We went to a little German pub just a few blocks down the road. I had a meal that was not good (dumplings with mushroom sauce – sounded way better than it tasted), so I ate most of Jay’s potatoes and of course sauerkraut. Funny, a bowl of cold cabbage came out first, and I was like, um…have I been wrong about what I think sauerkraut is my whole life? I asked another waitress and she said “that’s not sauerkraut.” When she brought out the real deal, it was delicious. Yum. We had a couple beers and got a kick out of watching all of the people at the pub. There were so many different types of people around us – I love that about cities.

Markets.
Sunday morning the kids woke us up way too darn early. I am waiting for the day the kids realize that vacations = sleeping in. So up and at ’em!! We got ready and headed down to The Rocks markets. There were some really interesting booths. I picked up a little throw pillow that says “Sydney” (figure that the only way I can convince jay to let me buy more “damn” pillows is to have them be souvenirs). I also bought this adorable little shirt/smock/dress. Fun stuff! The architecture around the area is really neat – very historic. Lots of cool old buildings.

Opera House.
After we wandered our way through the markets and ate a little breakfast sandwich, we headed over toward the opera house. Our first sighting of it was from across the harbour- breathtaking. Even though the sun wasn’t in a great spot for a photo, we had to take a pic.

Jellies.
As we walked along the harbour, we looked down into the water and saw thousands of jellyfish! I am not even exaggerating. I LOVE the jellyfish exhibit at the Omaha Zoo, so I could have sat there and watched them all day. I couldn’t believe how many there were. Thank goodness I wasn’t in the water. Yowzers!!

Bridge.
And more great views of the Bridge.

Opera House.
We made our way over to the Opera House. Wow. Ok, so I have seen pictures of it, and have thought, “that’s a neat building.” But seeing it in person…wow. That’s all I have to say about that. Wow.

So we went inside, only to find that you can’t actually go into the hall unless you pay to go on a tour. Eh. The boys didn’t want to see inside it that bad. So we went to the gift shop and Ty batted his beautiful long lashes and somehow convinced me that he “really super bad” wanted the $80 Lego set of the Opera House. We will be getting some kraggle.

We went outside and let Ty burn off some energy by climbing the 10,000 steps. Took an opportunity to take some pictures. Wow.

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We headed out to find a place to eat lunch and passed by a booth that was selling tickets to the shows at the Opera House. Memaw saw a sign that said The King and I was showing. She got all excited and made a comment about how amazing that would be to see. I said, "let's just go see how much the tickets are." Off she and I went. I was thinking that if we were to see a show, we would all go. Then Sherry said, "oh no! We will leave the kids with the boys!" Sold. Sherry and I are going to the Tuesday 7:30 PM showing of The King and I at the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!! Experience of a lifetime – we can't wait!!

Italian.
We ate lunch at a little Italian sidewalk restaurant. Views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Family. Sunshine. Light breeze. Perfection. Happy.

Fountains.
Lily and I explored a little area that had beautiful fountains while Jay and Ty went to get ice cream. Seriously. Can Lily get any cuter?!?!

Evening.
We went back to the hotel to try to get Ty to lay down for a nap since we had walked 5 miles before lunch. I had a little headache so I took a nap as well. When he woke up we went up to the top floor of the hotel to check out the pool and amazing views overlooking the opera house, bridge, and harbour. Ty wants to go swimming but we are saving that for a little later as the next couple days are supposed to be cold and rainy. We were going to walk across the bridge to the Luna Park amusement park to see the “ferry go round”, but it closes at 6:00 on Sunday’s. We went back to the sidewalk cafes by the opera house to find a place to eat dinner. We are at a seafood restaurant, so I had scallops and Alaskan King crab. Yum. Ty saw some people taking a picture on the steps so he had to do it as well. Also snapped a picture of the opera house lit up at night. So beautiful.

Chocolate.
There are these yummy little chocolate shops all over, so of course we had to grab some dessert to take back to the hotel. Um……yum…… I asked Kirk if he ever thought he would be walking down the street in Sydney, Australia carrying $85 worth of chocolate (wasn’t quite that much…). Nope. Never. But we are all so glad we have the opportunity. 🙂

Lily fell asleep on the walk back to the hotel, Ty snuggled up in his pjs, and although papa offered to watch the kids again, Jay and I were tuckered. Such a fun day, amazing adventures. I normally plan out nearly every minute of a holiday, but I didn’t have time to do that this trip. I think that has been a pleasant surprise. We had nowhere to be at any specific time, so we could just explore and wander and rest whenever we wanted. It was quite nice!

More to come as the week goes on. G’day mates!