Flying High

The kids and I have a good situation worked out, I run with the jogger and Rosie while the boys ride their bikes. We do a loop around Princes Park and then stop at the playground of the day and the kids can all play. Hooray!

Josh getting some pretty good air!

Sam can fly too!

Lemonade Creek Cottage

We stayed at the Lemonade Creek Cottages in Lorne. It was a delightful place to stay, all tucked away up on the mountain. There were so many colorful parrots that would come to eat the birdseed on the porch. Every time I tried to get a picture, they flew away!

It was freezing the day we got to the cottages, but nothing could stop us from a dip in this heated pool. As we swam a flock of cockatoos flew across the sky. It was enchanting:)

Farming By The Sea

I was blown away by the beautiful farms dotting the coast line on the Great Ocean Rd. I was determined to get a shot of the sheep grazing with the ocean in the background. If I was a farmer this is where I would want to have a farm:)

I hope the sheep realize what a great view they have.

A little greener than the outback! Is this what you imagine Australia looks like? Remember this is our spring so I'm sure the grass turns brown come December. This time of year is really lovely.

Zip line park

The kids had loads of fun at this park in Warrnambool.

Can you imagine a park in the U.S. having a zip line? We didn't even have to sign any liability papers! lol The kids played here for along time.

Josh racing the zip line.

Great Ocean Road

I think the drive along the Great Ocean Rd was the prettiest drive I have ever experienced.

Rosie wouldn't look at the stranger taking our picture.

The Arch was made over many years by water seeping through the pores of the rock.

The 12 Apostles (now there are only 6) are the most photographed rock formations along the Great Ocean Rd. As we walked out to the lookout it started pouring rain. We only got a quick glimpse, but as you can see they are beautiful. Imagine how stunning they must be at sunset!

Koala Sighting

This is the sign that I would expect to see in Australia. We were driving through a forest of Eucalyptus trees. It smelled just like San Francisco. John and I both love that smell, it takes us back to our childhood visits to our Grandparents:)

I spotted this cute guy sitting up in the tree as we were driving along the Great Ocean Rd. He was so cute, just looking down at us. Josh really wanted to take him home, but we decided to leave him be.

A Cleaner World

John is a vigilant trash picker: it is impossible for him to see a piece of trash on the beach or in the woods and leave it. Think how clean we could make our world if we all just picked up one little or big piece of trash each day. Good job, honey:)

Logan's beach: so clean after John was there.

Griffith Island

John and I have decided we are going back to a simple life. This vacation has felt like just that. We enjoyed watching whales for free and hiking around a gorgeous island for free. The simple pleasures in life are sometimes the best. Spending time as a family in the quiet of nature was wonderful:)

We had fun collecting seashells. Maybe we will send you some:)

The colors of the ocean and grasses were so beautiful.

God really did a good job with His creation!

We enjoyed a beautiful hike around Griffith's Island. As we started to hike it was raining and in a short time the clouds blew away and the sun shone. It looked like a little piece of heaven on earth!

Whale Watching

We loved seeing the whales at Logan's Beach so much we went there 3 times!

Can you see the whales? They come to Logan's Beach between June and Sept. to mate and nurse their babies. They are about to head to Antartica to feed for the summer.

Watching the whales is breathtaking! They are such amazing creatures. We could see them just hovering under the surface of the water! Josh and I also saw a sea lion playing at the edge of the surf!

Pancakes with lemon

Instead of drowning pancakes in syrup, Australians drizzle a lemon/sugar mixture over their hotcakes. It really is delicious. John and Josh think it's better than syrup, Sam and I still like syrup:) Try both and give us your opinion.

Wearable Art Show

The kids sang "We are the world" in Italian at the end of the fashion show. There were some very creative outfits.

Josh was the robot in the middle. He designed and built this in art class.

Rosie liked the skirt this girl had made. It was very colorful and puffy!

Boys Room

This is what the boys room looks like when they are at school. You will notice that we still have plenty of legos here. Legos made the cut to come on our trip. We had a 50 lb suitcase full of legos!

This is a more realistic picture of the boys room:)

More House

Can you see that we are supporting the local flower shops! When you don't have many decorations, flowers are a real treat. The nice delivery guys had to carry our sofa up a curved staircase, I pointed out the positive side to the situation and reminded them that at least they don't have to go to the gym after work=) Do you notice my drying rack in the corner here? We are doing our part to save energy by air drying our clothes. There's nothing like a nice stiff pair of jeans. Since Josh likes soft clothes so much we thought maybe we should let him earn drying points. The laundry around the corner is a real bargain at $1/12 minutes of drying time!

Do you like our tiny kitchen? Cupcakes are in the oven as we speak for Josh's birthday! I have so few things as far as kitchen gadgets go that I am now one of those (insert adjective) women with perfectly clean countertops! ha No offense to all you lovely ladies with perfect countertops, I've just never been able to pull it off until now.

School Friends

Sam loves to play with his friend Michael after school. Michael is a super gymnast. I really encourage Sam not to follow what Michael is doing.

Playing in the sand box after school with Andrew.

Baby Henry

I was so lucky today to meet baby Henry Iseli for the first time. He is just as sweet as can be. Rosie was happy to get to see Elly again. Elly still asks where the boys are. Living at her house for 3 weeks probably felt like half her lifetime! Bec you are so lucky to have a beautiful new baby, but I sure am glad I get to sleep through the night tonight=)

Our house

This is our house. We live a couple blocks from the boys school. We are so lucky to get to cut through the drive-thru flower shop each day on our way to school. Lygon street is a half a block and we will never go hungry with all the great restaurants. We hear the best gelato in town is just a walk from our house. Sept. 1 was the first day of spring for us. Josh will have a spring birthday next week=)

Our room is the second story front room. We finally got our mattress delivered yesterday. It is so great to sleep on a comfortable bed. John and I are trying to get used to the sound of traffic and people at night. We live on a pretty busy street. But the location is fantastic.