John's Birthday Weekend

What did John want to do for his birthday weekend? Go to the beach of course! We spent the weekend in Lorne. The waves were huge and great for body boarding.

Always on the go.. little miss Rose.

Our surfer boy Josh. Josh was standing up on his body board. Maybe it's time to switch to a surf board.

Renton family=beach family (for now at least). Happy 37 John!

Australian Open

We took the tram to Melbourne Park for a day of tennis.

Eleanor, we wished you could have been here.

Venus and Serena Williams played against Hlavachova and Hradecka. It was quite a thrill to see such amazing tennis players!

Venus Williams.

Sisters win again!

Unfortunately we did not have tickets to see Nadal play, but we could watch the men's single's on the big screen. It was a very festive atmosphere with people picnicking on the lawn and milling around.

Science Works

When Josh heard we were going to Science Works this morning he was out of bed and dressed in a flash (this is very unusual!). Science Works is a fun hands on science museum. There is so much to do there we only get through a small part each time we go. I love how the shade covers look like sails.

Help! I'm falling off the train..

Little conductor.

Okay. I think we've played enough and it's time to go home. P.S. It was pouring rain this morning, then the sky was blue, and now it is raining again. They say Melbourne has four seasons in a day, very true.

Hardcore

John was off early last Tuesday so we packed up the car and headed to Torquay (surfer's beach). Rosie fell asleep in the car, so I sat and read in the car. This is a picture of the guys out in the surf (can you see the little black dots in the ocean):) Rain will not stop these guys, they are crazy for the ocean.

Shop Windows

This is the dress we passed every week in the shop window on our way to gymnastics. Rosie knew right away this was the only thing she wanted for Christmas:)

Pretty sweets in a Sydney shop.

Tower of cupcakes.

Gingerbread castle.

Torquay

John was off early on Tuesday so we headed to the beach. Eleanor took Sam and Rosie to get ice cream so John and I could enjoy the ocean with Josh.

Sam getting a little wave time too.

It's so amazing to watch the para surfers. They seem to fly over the waves.

Josh would love to be a surfer dude.

The guys got me a wetsuit so I can join them in the water.

Healesville Sanctuary 2

We drove a little over an hour to the Healesville Sanctuary with Eleanor. Eleanor loves animals!

Petting the kangaroo.

Another adorable koala.

We learned our lesson from last time and kept our sandwiches away from the ibis. This bird had just stolen a poor unsuspecting toddlers sandwich.

A bird of prey.

An emu. My friend Amber has a great story about an emu who stole her friend's diamond earring. They put the bird in confinement and waited for the diamond to come out the other end! Sure enough, her friend received the earring in the mail weeks later.

This dingo doesn't look too fierce.

Josh and Sam were busy entering a drawing contest to win some prizes.

Little miss platypus.

The back end of an echidna.

The beautiful drive home.

Royal Botanical Gardens

We spent Sabbath afternoon in the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Lots of lavender.

A huge fig tree.

City skyline in between roses. They smelled so sweet.

The magnolia trees were in full bloom.

We did a good job of making it seem as though we had the whole garden to ourselves, but really there were plenty of people picnicking and enjoying the serenity.

Gallery of Victoria

We braved the art museum with 3 kids, everyone managing to stay dry while balancing along the fountain!

The architecture inside the museum is quite grand.

This ceiling was amazing. The impressionist art is always my favorite and Eleanor loved the "Wedgewood" pottery. When you go through an art museum with children it feels like someone has pressed the fast forward button! But still a nice visit.

More Zoo

We took Eleanor to the Melbourne Zoo. Eleanor just loves animals and took all these lovely photos.

The zoo has a brand new seal and penguin exhibit:)

Giraffes having some breakfast.

This fuzzy picture of the lizards is for you, Jack. We know you love lizards!

Kangaroo having some breakfast.

It was great fun to see the elephants bobbing for apples.

The boys cooled off with a popsicle in their favorite tree.

We love the zoo!