Happy Surprises

This city is growing on me more and more.  Since living in Sydney a couple years ago, I have been partial to the gorgeous grand harbor over looking circular quay, the opera house and the harbor bridge.  Really, nothing beats that view.  However, Melbourne has it's own little pockets of charm.  They are well known for their cute little lane-ways lined with trendy cafes and restaurants.  They are just buzzing with people all day.  The city has such a friendly vibe, whereas Sydney was a tad more snobbish.  They both have their share of good and bad points.  Being here almost a month, I am pleasantly surprised how much there is to do here.  Free stuff too!

For instance..  This is what the kids and I did today.

Walking up the big hill to the Shrine of Remembrance in the Botanical Garden

Playing in the fountains at the Children's garden

So much fun!

playing in the water stream

Playing in the black stump

Looking at the little fishies and trying to catch them

Can't get enough of the tropical vegetation here.  Ahhh, summer in paradise!

Since we are spending a lot of cash on Fiji, I am making it a priority to keep the kids and I busy doing cheap and free activities around the city.  So far, so good on that front.  Lot's of playgrounds, walks in gardens, Markets, swimming in the pool etc.  I was worried about not having enough to do at first, but I think we've got our groove now.  I still feel mildly guilty that they aren't in school, but I think they are learning just as much here.  Isla is now an avid underwater swimmer, and Ian and Drew are great at hiking and very efficient at rock climbing (eek!).

Making the most of our time here and looking forward to finding more happy surprises.

The journey is the destination

I'm here!  Sorry I've been lagging on the blog front.  No excuse really, just long busy days - enjoying Melbourne!

A little bit about what we've been up to..

Last weekend we jumped into a car on Australia day and headed to the Yarra Valley for the Healsville Sanctuary.  We were psyched to see some Aussie wildlife in action, seriously it never gets old!

Petting a Kookaburra

REALLY???

So excited!

Headless Emu

Wallaby?

Kookaburra and BATS

Kids were SUPER hungry so we left the sanctuary for a quick lunch in town.  Then we decided to go for a little drive in the area, but it turns out that the terrain is quite twisty, turny and hilly.  Not condusive for full bellies and tired children.  Needless to say, we had to stop on the side of the road for Drew and Isla a couple times.  After lots of whining and crying, we waved the white flag and headed back home.  The day was cut short, but it wasn't a total bust.  Devon took Isla out to see the Australia Day fireworks.  Wish I had taken the boys too!  I remember seeing fireworks almost every weekend on our balcony in Sydney.  Boy do I miss that view!!

The kids and I make it through the week by keeping busy running errands, going to the playground, going for walks etc.  They are getting better staying by me and IN the stroller.  We live in a busy area and have to cross some very busy roads to get where we want to go.  It makes me a little anxious and I have to really explain to the kids to always stay close to me at all times.  So far, so good!  I am thankful for a life in the 'burbs on a nice quiet culdesac!

Last night, I met Devon out downtown for some shopping and dinner.  I scored 3 cute dresses and a cardigan and am excited to wear them in FIJI!!!  :)  We walked around a bit and found a small lane way lined with little restaurants.  All the purveyors were touting their restaurant, offering free glasses of wine, saying that THEY were the best.  Devon was having a good time playing with them, trying to get them to offer more free stuff.  Ha, it was comical.  We ended up at a little place, sat outside under the stars.  Salmon, wine, mushrooms, and some sticky date pudding for dessert.  Yum.  Good thing I joined a health club to work it all off!

Woke up this morning, packed a picnic lunch and headed out to the Dandenong Ranges national park for some scenic hiking.  We first headed off to see Sherbrook Falls.  About a half hour walk through thick dense forest - or jungle as the kids called it.  It was beautiful - we were surrounded by some of the worlds tallest flowering trees.  They were towering over us, some over 200 years old.  So cool!  I absolutely love that the kids enjoyed themselves and were able to walk the entire way without TOO much complaining.  This is what we saw:

Devon pointing out the park rules

Finding the perfect walking sticks

Devon poking the tree making sure it was empty of any animals

canopies of trees

Large

Looking for koalas.  :)

We made it to the falls!

Boys played ring around the rosy on the way back.  They really are good friends!

Such a cute moment!

 We then headed to the Mount Dandenong Observatory for a spectacular view all the way to Melbourne.

Melbourne is out there somewhere!

The wishing tree

Isla trying to catch a butterfly

Found an awesome playground on the drive home.  Great ending to a great day!

Tomorrow will probably be a day to Costco - Yay!  It has taken me nearly 2 hours to write this post, so I must retire into bed.  

Take care and I love and miss you all!  xoxo

Little Victories

It's the little victories in life that inspire and motivate.  I have my fair share of feeling defeated ie. at this instant the kids are flighting, screaming, crying, hitting, throwing... and I am escaping the madness by posting on my blog.  Maybe this is due to the fact that I found an Aldi yesterday accidentally, and they are the only store in Australia that sells fruit snacks.  We were so excited by this 'little victory', that the kids have been ODing on the little gummy sugared crazy kid makers.  These are probably the cause of their unrulyness.  I think we'll stick with green veggies for the rest of the day.

On another victorious note, Devon and I attended 'The Tennis' last night.  Melbournites always ask us if we are in town for 'The Tennis'. That's what they call it.. 'The Tennis', no idea why.   It is huge here, people sit in the middle of downtown watching it on the big screen.  We went to the quarter final game between Federer and Tsonga.  It was super close the entire time, but Federer proved his 2nd place ranking and beat Tsonga in the end.  It was a nail biter and we were able to see it live thanks to Devon's work.  We also could expense food at the arena!  They have a lot to learn about stadium food and could take a lesson from Target arena.  It was all overpriced warmed up nastiness.  Oh well, the evening was free... except for the babysitter.

Today's victory is still up for debate.  Loaded up the pram with the kids and a large fan that we had previously purchased that needed to be returned to the downtown target store.  Was feeling quite motivated today and it looked like a beautiful day.  Began the journey and quickly discovered that it was going to be more of a challenge than anticipated.  The kids fought over who got to sit down, Isla lost and whined the whole way.  But we did have a little fun!

Our favorite bubble tea store.  Isla's favorite - mango with tapioca pearls

Watching the giant chess game

The giant chess game

Drew wanted to be carried (what's new?) through Target.  Got the return done with lots of staring eyes.  My kids make easy tasks so... not easy.  Deep breaths, smile on my face, keep going.  After the return was completed, we were off to Myer - a big department store not too far from Target.  This is where it got to be too much for me to handle.  Kids started making a scene, Ian running all over and touching EVERYTHING, Isla tipped the stroller over and fell backwards, and Drew wanted to be held (what's new).  It was H - E - double hockey sticks.  Got what I needed and got out of there.  The walk home wasn't bad due to the chocolate bear crackers and fruit roll-ups - desperate times people!!

Me on the sweaty walk back home - probably about 3 miles total in 90+ degrees!

We made it.  We're home.  Everyone is still alive.  Victorious I am!

Now on to making dinner.  Now THAT would be a MAJOR victory!  

Until next time!

Love you all.

St. Kilda beach, date night and Mornington Peninsula

We experienced a random heatwave on Thursday which was a good reason to stay inside and have a 'day off' from activities.  We have been keeping very busy during the week, so this momma was tired and needed some reprieve.  We did, however, take an evening trip to St. Kilda beach only to discover later that it is full of druggies and prostitutes.  We had fun playing in the water and getting ice cream not knowing that we could be stepping on hypodermic needles at any time.

 No needles were found, just fun to be had!

Friday - Date night!  I was able to find a fabulous babysitter through Aussie's online advertising website called 'gumtree'.  Sarah is a uni student that just moved here from Sydney.  She has free time everyday until classes start again in March.  SCORE for me!!  Unfortunately for her, I heard Drew scream all the way down the hallway after leaving.  That boy has some serious separation anxiety.

Devon and I had a very nice (and very expensive) dinner at Hare and Grace downtown.  Scallops, Mushrooms, King fish, risotto, prawns, cucumber salad.  Yummm.  Nice end to the first full week in Melbourne.

Saturday - Woke up late and decided to reserve our mini-car and drive down the coast to Mornington peninsula.  It was a spur of the moment decision as we didn't have anything planned and why not jump in a car and just go!?  That's what spontaneous adventure is all about!  Yes, even with 3 kids in tow.  On our way down, we came upon many vineyards, pick your own cherries and strawberries, tons of kangaroo crossing signs (only kangaroo sighting was unfortunately on the side of the road).  We stopped at a beautiful vineyard called Morning Sun.  They had delicious wood fired pizzas, and delicious wine.  Double bonus!

Notice the bachelorette party behind us

 Now that we were sufficiently fed, on our way to the next adventure.  It was a long trek down a boardwalk stairs, but worth it.  The walk back up.. a very different story.

Kids were worn out, tired and cranky after the long trek down the stairs, climbing on the rocks and then the long climb back up.  Isla cried the whole way, Drew was really thirsty, and Ian was a huge trooper. As soon as we got back in the car, they all passed out.  Yay, for sleeping children!

Drove around some more and found a nice calm beach to play in.

Kids were in the water for over an hour.

And nothing beats a trip to good ol' Macca's after a long and tiring day.  Devon ordered me a Pavlova Mc Flurry and an Aussie BBQ lamb burger.  Gotta love Mc D's in Australia!

It was actually VERY tasty!

It is now after 11pm, put the kids to bed over 2 hours ago and they were still making noises until a half hour ago.  I have no idea how they have so much energy to stay awake for so long.  Just another exciting day down under - too wound up to sleep!  All is quiet now, so I will head to a peaceful slumber.  Ahhh, bed.

Love and miss you all!