RentonsDownUnder

Goodbye Australia

2010-07-21T14:56:00.001-07:00

Dear Australia,

We just wanted to let you know what a wonderful year we had in your country. We feel like we have seen so much. From learning to drive on the left hand side of the road to living on a busy block we adjusted to the differences. We will never forget the sweet sound of school children speaking in unison with their lovely little accents, and how it is the law for children to wear a hat in the summer months. We won't forget all your interesting road signs and the first time we saw a koala bear in a tree! We were spoiled with the cafe's and restaurants and did our part in giving back to your economy. We were thrilled with your ocean even though it was a tad bit chilly! The fairy penguins were among our favorite animals and we hope you do your part to protect their habitat. We were enamored with the graceful whales that come to shore each year and the stunning beauty of the Great Ocean Road. We will never forget the incredible Great Barrier Reef, swimming with sea turtles was surreal. The smell of eucalyptus trees reminded us of our childhood memories in California. We will remember fondly the people in Australia that made our time so much more enjoyable. Australia, you were just what the doctor ordered. Farewell for now,

Love, the Rentons

Accomodating

2010-07-21T14:47:00.001-07:00

Tim and Bec were so brave to let us stay with them again before we left. They made our lives so much easier. We feel like their house is our house:) This is baby Henry. I was so lucky to be the one to drive Bec to the hospital shortly after we arrived in Melbourne. As you can see baby Henry is not so little anymore!

Rosie and Elly loved taking a bath together.

Henry wanted to join in the party. Thanks for all you did for us Tim and Bec. You are SUPER!!

Last Days

2010-07-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

Our last Sunday in Melbourne we drove to St. Kilda. You can see the city in the background. It was a beautiful day.

A lovely grassy knoll by the beach.

Friends

2010-07-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Carolina and Emma are mums from school. They kept me good company all year. I consumed countless numbers of decaf mochas with them and occasional pastries:) Our year in Australia would not have been the same without them. I'll miss you girls. Thanks for the memories.

Cars

2010-07-21T14:12:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of our favorite cars in Melbourne.

My friend Renee had this car shipped over from the U.S.A!

The mini cars are my favorite:) Anyone who lives in the city knows that smaller is better.

No problem parking this little yellow car.

Goodbye Whales

2010-07-04T15:44:00.001-07:00

We drove a few hours out of Melbourne to Warrnambool. This was our very first vacation, so we decided to make it our last.

We stayed at the Lady Bay Resort.

The 2 in charge of the 3:)

They say they have spotted 1 whale here already, but we didn't see her. Last year we came in September and saw quite a few whales. It seems they are taking their time to swim from the Antarctic.

Rosie remembers the whales from last year.

We had fun steering little motor boats around the lake.

John and Sam's boat was the fastest!

Is there anything more fun than chasing birds?

One can never get tired of driving along the Great Ocean Rd. It is always spectacular. Goodbye 12 Apostles!

North Fitzroy Church

2010-06-27T18:01:00.001-07:00

Auntie Margaret does a fantastic job of creative crafts for SS.

Vetuta and Claudia cook delicious soup each week for pot luck:)

SS room.

The kids love the run out side after church.

Theater

2010-06-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

This is a big shopping center and theater in downtown Melbourne. It's pretty amazing how they built a building around an old building!

Last Day of Gym

2010-06-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Rosie had her last day of gymnastics last week. The boys were out of school, so they had a chance to enjoy the gym, too.

Sam is a great hula hooper:)

Diving into the pit.

What could be better than pizza at the park with our friend Elly?!

Little Friends

2010-06-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

This is Rosie's little friend Anton. They were both looking especially grubby and cute that day.

Rosie gets all the credit for putting this outfit together:)

Thanks for all the fun plays, Anton:)

Our Favorite Tree

2010-06-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

This is a tree loving family. There is one huge and beautiful tree that the kids love to climb in the zoo. We always have to stop for a quick climb!

Dryer

2010-06-06T00:52:00.001-07:00

Mom wondered why I hadn't posted for a week and asked if life was "dull". Life is never dull with 3 children and the laundry never ceases! It has been rainy most of the week and that means the clean wet clothes pile up. I finally went to the laundry mat and dug my way out of the mountain. 3 cheers for the modern convenience of the dryer! Hip, hip, hooray!

A Jolly Good Fellow

2010-06-06T00:38:00.001-07:00

It was all about Sam last week! Sam turned 8. Wow! Where did the time go? Nothing says birthday like a balloon chandelier.

The V.I.P!

Sam invited 3 friends over for a little celebration. We walked to the local pizza joint (2 adults + 6 rambunctious kids), ate pizza, got quite a few looks-like I can't believe you guys have that many kids, and walked back home for cake and a movie.

Thanks Kai, Jordan, and Callum for helping Sam have such a nice birthday celebration!

A Culinary Delight

2010-05-28T00:01:00.001-07:00

Melbourne is the culinary capital of Australia and we have been sooo spoiled! Rosie is about to enjoy the most amazing ricotta hotcakes with maple infused vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. If you are ever in Carlton, drop by the Rathdowne St. Food Store, you won't be disappointed.

Lorne Beach

2010-05-23T04:26:00.001-07:00

We are trying to get a couple more weekends in Lorne before we come home. We walked to the pier and watched the fishermen catching fish.

This is lovely Lorne.

Funny story... Rosie was walking around the pier with her empty sand bucket. I turn around and she has a fish! A nice little man gave her one of his salmon. We took it home and fried it up... gave a bit of it to the neighboring kookaburras.

Autumn colors in May.

Cozy kids.

View from the deck.

Looking for creatures.

Sam laughing at Josh.

Nothing makes John more happy than the beach!

Lunch at our favorite cafe. They have the best fresh squeezed orange juice.

Much of our energy is expended trying to get rid of the kids' excess energy!

They look so sweet sometimes.

Hiking up the big hill (it takes 235 steps).

Donkey Rides and Chooks

2010-05-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

Who wants to ride a donkey? I do! We went back to the Collingwood Children's Farm for donkey rides and scones.

$2 for one loop. Let's head to the Clarks for horse back riding for freeee:)

Chickens are chooks. You can rent chooks here to see if you would want to buy one.

These chooks are so fluffy, I can just imagine what a gorgeous hat this would be. Just train the chook to sit quietly on ones head! lol

Back to Cairns

2010-05-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

We stayed at the Cassawong Cottages on Mission Beach. Having a kitchen is key when traveling with kids:)

Did I tell you that a week before we came here Sam did a header over his handle bars and John had to put about 10 stitches in his chin? Well the stitches came out the day before we left and then Sam jumped off this rock ledge into the pool and opened his chin back up the day we arrived! John had to glue and tape his chin up again. So that's why you see Sam's chin all bandaged the whole week.

Our little place had everything we needed.

The elusive cassowary! These birds are supposed to be the size of a man. We did not see any cassowaries, even though we saw signs all over the place.

Sugar cane fields.

Banana trees.

Drive to Cairns (pronounced Cannes).

We stumbled upon this free pool by the beach while we killed time before out flight. What a find!

It's always nice to see tender moments between siblings.

Beautiful touristy Cairns! The sun just couldn't find it's way out of all the clouds.

3rd Trip Barrier Reef

2010-05-01T04:54:00.001-07:00

3 times is a charm! The turtles were the highlight of our trip! We saw 2. Josh swam right over him and touched his back. It was so peaceful to see him swimming.

The textures were so cool. Here fishy fishy.

This jelly fish is not the dangerous kind. Back at Mission Beach you are advised not to swim because of the stingers. John and Josh also saw a reef shark, I didn't feel left out!

Andy and Peter the dive instructors were great!

Mike was our captain and Jannah made sure we all had plenty to eat. The whole Calypso crew was terrific! We would love to see them again one day.

Out of Africa Circus

2010-05-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

The circus just happened to be in town while we were there. These African dancers were super talented.

And the acrobats.

This little girl can hula! She even appeared on Oprah.

Dunk Island

2010-05-01T03:47:00.001-07:00

We took the water taxi from Mission Beach to Dunk Island for the day.

Kids + pools = love

Islanders

John and the boys enjoyed an afternoon of sailing.

John felt really happy that he still remembered how to sail after all these years!

While the boys were busy, Rosie and I made sand pies.

Yummy!

Earlier in the day we had sea kayaked, then we did a little paddle boating. My arms felt it the next day!

The boys made friends with some other kids and had fun paddling around.

Best buds!

This family could live on an island.. o.k. maybe it's too muggy and buggy, we'll just visit.

2nd Trip Barrier Reef

2010-05-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

The second trip out to the reef was the best because we felt more confident. Josh was the first one in the water and the last one out. He had a hay day with the underwater camera!

Sam and Rosie would float around while the rest of us snorkeled. Sam was a super big help. He would make sure Rosie didn't float too far away!

I was happy just looking at the wonderful creatures. John and Josh had to touch everything.

One of my favorite things was seeing my family underneath the water. It was amazing.

Josh exploring the lettuce coral.

John would dive down and bring creatures up for Rosie and Sam. Rosie would look at it for a while and drop it back in the water and ask for something else. One time she had a sea cucumber half her size laying beside her!

Rosie was the only one who felt a little ill on the boat ride. It was super fun meeting nice people from around the world. I especially enjoyed talking to a nice German couple from Namibia. Who knows maybe we will have to go see them one day.

Dinner with Flo

2010-05-01T02:53:00.001-07:00

We kept running into Flo, so we asked her to have dinner with us. Flo is from Germany and has been traveling around Australia for 9 months. She has had some great adventures. Working on a cattle ranch for a few months was the most memorable for her. We shared a wonderful meal at Friends restaurant and enjoyed learning about Flo's adventures. We wish her the best!

Rainforest Hike

2010-05-01T02:32:00.000-07:00

Since we couldn't go out to the reef every day. We decided to check out the rainforest.

Even with insect repellent we were being eaten up by mosquitos! Rosie looking especially miserable. We told the kids whoever got the most mosquito bites would get a lolly. Josh won.

Jungle walkers.

I was told there is only one edible mushroom that grows in Australia, so it is probably a good idea to leave the little guys alone.

Check out the size of this spider!

The green of this fern is so brilliant.

The view of Mission Beach from the top of the mountain. The breeze was heavenly up there.

This is where we would leave for the reef.

After a long hike the swimming pool felt extra good.

Great Barrier Reef

2010-04-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

We rode on the Calypso II an hour out to the barrier reef. Eddy Reef is the closest reef to shore. The day was windy and cloudy, but under the water it was amazing.

Here are just a few of the creatures we saw.

There were plenty of giant clams! Taking underwater pictures is tricky. by the time you hold your breath and get close enough for a photo, you are already floating back to the top.

The colors look like little lights,

Just seeing the diverse types of coral was worth the trip.

Rosie was so tired on the boat ride back to shore!

The kids are hooked!

Reflecting on a special day..

We have an awesome Creator!

Flying to Cairns

2010-04-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

At 4:30 am we hopped in a cab and headed to the airport. Destination-Cairns-then the Great Barrier Reef!

When we arrived in Cairns the heat and humidity was staggering. I felt like we had arrived in another country and I needed a different currency! This certainly was the rainforest. The drive to Mission Beach was lush and green. The roads were lined with banana tree and sugar cane farms. I was too tired to take any pictures.

Autumn

2010-04-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

As most of you are enjoying Spring, we are heading into Autumn:) The weather here is so unpredictable, today it was 84 degrees! Last week we had the heat on and now we have the air conditioner on.

With Autumn comes the leaf clean up. I don't miss the leaf clean up. One year, in Iowa, we collected 90 bags of leaves! That was exhausting.. this year I will watch the leaves fall and enjoy it..

Before Church

2010-04-17T00:58:00.001-07:00

The kids were soaking up a little sunshine in between Sabbath School and Church.

A little treat

2010-04-17T00:56:00.001-07:00

John and I enjoyed a little treat of fresh squeezed orange juice and a poppy seed and orange muffin while Rosie was in school.

Passion fruit

2010-04-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

All this beautiful fruit was from our friends' farm. Passion fruit, lemons, and olives.

I had never had passionfruit before. The seeds inside the rind are sweet and tangy!

12 Years

2010-04-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

We have been married 12 years! Wow. Where did all that time go? We are happy to report that we still love each other and even still like each:) We certainly feel very blessed.

My honey honey.

We enjoyed a dinner alone with this beautiful view of the river and city.

Bell's Beach Ripcurl Pro

2010-04-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday we headed to our favorite place (the beach)!

Bell's Beach is the site of the annual Ripcurl Pro Surf Competion. The winner walks away with $50,000 in prize money!

Sam riding the board.

Josh riding the board.

There were a lot of people watching the pro surfers.

Tom Currin, an American surfer who was the world champion 3 times in the late 80's. Watch how these guys can rip it up here.

Mark Occhilupo one of the superstars of surfing in the 80's.

Fun on the Farm

2010-03-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

We were so lucky to be invited to Adam and Phyona's family farm outside of the city.

This is the luxury transportation to get around the farm (an old VW bug):) Archie (the dog) did so much running after us that he decided to catch a ride.

Sally couldn't wait to show the boys how to paddle around the dam.

Sam and Sam!

Adam has a few "toys" around the farm! He flies this small plane and the helicopter often. If you would like to be dropped off in a remote location just contact him. Don't worry Mom we all stayed on the ground!

Rosie and I are in control! On second thought, I think we'll leave the flying up to the professionals.

Kids on the buggy. The boys had a go of driving the car up on the air strip!

Another useful tool! Josh had a little lesson in digging.

The kids had a ball running up and down the hay bails!

The solitude and peacefulness of the farm was just what we all needed. Thank you Adam and Phyona for sharing such a wonderful day with us:)

Blogger Event

2010-03-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

We were invited to a special event at the zoo to raise awareness for the Earth. We never turn down a chance to visit the zoo..

Not sure who has the shaggier mane?

We were invited because we are bloggers! It was fun to meet fellow bloggers, craft bloggers, food bloggers, etc. We enjoyed a delicious meal and a private tour of the zoo. Unfortunately the baby elephant (Mali) was already in bed.

Listening to music and being kissed by the rain!

Flower and Garden Show

2010-03-24T00:39:00.000-07:00

While Rosie was in kinder, I drove to the Flower and Garden Show in the Royal Exhibition building.

This should help you anticipate spring:)

The Royal Exhibition building.

A grand building indeed.

These exhibits were by students at the RMIT design school.

These are all real flowers:) Such brilliant colors.

This exhibit by a Japanese landscape architect was one of my favorites. I love the textures and color.

I loved the idea of this exhibit also. A room growing with plants..makes me want to curl up with a good book:)

Fashion Show

2010-03-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

Rosie and I took the tram to Federation Square for a little fashion.

I had more fun watching all the people than the show itself!

After the show we went shopping. Rosie likes any shoes that are purple and sparkly!

Collingwood Children's Farm

2010-03-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ten minutes from our house is the Collingwood Children's Farm. It feels like you are in the country and then you look up and can see the city skyline! John always gets these romantic notions of having a farm, I have to remind him that I would probably be the one doing all the farm work!

Took me back to the days of riding all over the hills of WV with Amber:)

Josh loves a good challenge:)

I'm sure this coat will make some nice warm yarn.

Big Fat Pig.

Scones with cream and jam? Yes, please!

Walking to School

2010-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

This was a rare occasion where we were early enough and timed it right to be walking with lots of friends to school. The kid's school is just a couple blocks from our house, but I always walk them because we have to cross a very busy street.

Most days we are rushing out of the house 5 minutes before the bell rings!

We love getting to walk through the flower shop to and from school. Rosie has won the owner over and gets whole bouquets free! I told him he's spoiling her!

Snorkeling

2010-03-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

Watch out James Bond!

The boys did a terrific job of snorkeling for the very first time.

Isn't it great to get to the age where your parents just don't embarrass you anymore:)

Blow Hole

2010-03-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

This blow hole was super fun to watch:)

There she blows!

Hike to Wineglass Bay

2010-03-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

It was a perfect day for hiking, not too hot or not too cold:) We parked the car and hiked up and up and up..

This lookout of Wineglass Bay was the goal! So pristine and perfect. This beach is only accessible via a 1.5 hour hike.

Hikers,

Grandpa and Rosie ready to go..

A nice picnic lunch on the rocks,

Mom and Dad

More of the up and up..

Cool wooden bench.

Peek a boo.

Our first wild sighting of a wallaby.

Exhausted from the hike:)

Fun on the Beach

2010-03-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

Boys being boys! It was so wonderful for the kids to be able to run and shout and run some more.

Sam trying to scare people by making "giant" penguin tracks.

Awesome octopus. We decided it was best not to touch him, did you know Australia has more dangerous/poisonous creatures them anywhere?

Mom and Dad looked younger after all this fresh air and Australian sunshine:)

At low tide we walked across the water to Diamond Island for some good old-fashioned exploring.

Bicheno.

Tourists

2010-03-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to show you some of the beautiful old buildings in Hobart. They were charming.

The kids had fun burning off some steam at a park downtown.

Another pretty building.

My tourist parents!

Bicheno, Tasmania

2010-02-25T02:33:00.000-08:00

Looks can be deceiving! They weren't being sweet, or peaceful:) But Bicheno was beautiful and peaceful.

We stayed in a self contained cottage. We have learned that when traveling with kids it is so much easier to stay somewhere with a kitchen. Making your own meals saves lots of money, especially here in Australia.

The water was so blue!

Dad was the only one up with the sun:)

Fairy Penguin tracks! We had such an adventure each night after sunset. We would creep down to the beach and patiently wait for the penguins to come out of the water and go to their little nests in the bushes. One time they came about 10 feet in front of us! I think they were saying, "Can you please move so I can get to my home, I've had a long day of fishing!"

At low tide we could walk out to this little island.

Tasmania stays so pristine because it is so removed from the rest of the world.

This field was full of fuzzy sheep.

I think this one was a pet.

Maritime Museum day 2

2010-02-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

We headed to the Maritime Museum for a little history lesson. We thought of John's Grandfather who was a Captain in the merchant marines and Uncle Paul who has also docked in the Hobart Harbor several times working on cargo ships.

Back in the day..

Diving must have been a little cumbersome with all that gear.

John's Dad could rival any of these handmade ships.

View of Hobart from our room. Rosie loved seeing all the cars going to work, she is quite the car expert (thanks to her brothers).

Hobart, Tasmania day 1

2010-02-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hobart, Tasmania is a gorgeous city! This is the view from our hotel.

The Grand Chancellor Hotel.

The Salamanca market is a fun place to walk around and shop. Tasmania is one of the world's finest wool producers. They also have many beautiful wood handcrafted items. Too bad they also come with such hefty price tags!

I loved all the old stone buildings.

This ship belongs to..

this kitty cat:)

and this sailor!

The expressions Grandpa got when he said "smile":)

Mt. Wellington

2010-02-23T02:14:00.000-08:00

We drove up to Mt. Wellington, up and up and up..

The views from the top of the mountain are absolutely breathtaking. We were so high, I thought the wind was going to blow us off the mountain!

This is the gorgeous city of Hobart, Tasmania. What more could one want than mountains and sea!

We were above the clouds. And boy was it freezing!

Click here to read more about Mt. Wellington.

Wish you were here too, Ken and Tonya.

On Our Way to Tasmania

2010-02-23T01:58:00.000-08:00

We were all excited and a little anxious about sea sickness as we headed out of Melbourne on the Spirit of Tasmania. The ferry left at 7:30 p.m. and arrived in Devonport, Tasmania at 6:00 a.m.

Dad had concocted some ginger water to drink (it was pretty tasty) and Mom and I took a couple pills. Lucky for us, no one got sick:)

Beautiful view of Melbourne.

Sunset on the boat with my honey.

More Animals

2010-02-23T01:37:00.001-08:00

I advise you to skip this post if you are bored of all the animal pictures..

They kind of have the same expression.

Mom and Dad feeding the roos.

You can't help but love these little guys, they are soo cute!

Woo woo!

Being batty.

Nice doggy dingo!

Super Sam

2010-02-14T02:34:00.001-08:00

Sam is a real go getter out in the waves. He sometimes gets tumbled around, but keeps on going always with a smile:)

Trying to warm up after lots of body boarding in the chilly water.

Surf Life Saving Club (aka lifeguards)

2010-02-14T02:18:00.000-08:00

All the young, tan and buff lifeguards congregated in Lorne on Sunday to compete in the Surf Life Saving Club competitions. They were very impressive and could make one feel very inadequate. Really though, aren't they the ones you would want to save you?

This race went on and on until all but one was eliminated. The goal was to get to the red pole first.

We quickly bored of watching the uber athletic compete and walked down the beach to have some fun too.

Sea Treasures

2010-02-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

Nature always has the best inspiration, textures, colors, shapes..

All these tiny shells live on the rocks, a lovely purplish hue.

Sam was enjoying this little sea slug.

Cute little starfish.

A very camouflaged crab.

We worked hard to catch this big crab.

Grandpa LeVos with his catch of the day.

Some Beach for Mom and Dad

2010-02-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad made it out of the snow to sunny Australia! After a very long flight they landed in Melbourne and their very unorganized daughter made them wait an hour at the airport. I know, that's terrible. John took off work to take me to the airport to pick up the rental van and we realized the rental van was waiting for us in the city, so back to the city to pick up the van and then back to the airport. Mom and Dad knew that in their heart of hearts I would not just leave them at the airport to find their way to our house. To make up for wait, we took them to the beach this weekend for some rest and relaxation:)

We never get tired of the exotic birds here. The parrots love to eat out of our hands.

Clever Mr. Cockatoo uses his beak to climb around.

I looovvee these Americans!

skype

2010-02-07T19:54:00.001-08:00

We have been having so much fun skyping with all of you. I can't believe we didn't do this sooner. It makes the distance between us all seem a little less. Join skype, we would love to talk to you:)

Friends

2010-02-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

Rosie and her friend Raquel enjoying a lunch out with their mommas. Rosie just went to orientation for pre-school yesterday. They call it kinder here. She will be going to school a whopping 2.5 hours a week! ha I'm sure I will be able to fill up that brief time in my day easily. She can't wait for me to drop her off and leave!

John's Birthday Weekend

2010-01-31T02:41:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-24T02:08:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-17T19:54:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-17T19:50:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-10T02:18:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-10T01:39:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-07T13:55:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

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!

Queen Victoria Market

2010-01-06T00:50:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite places in Melbourne is the amazing Victoria Market. One could spend hours here. You can buy fresh everything here, fish, meat, eggs, cheese, olives, bread, candy, pasta, tea, vegetables, fruits, cheap made in china stuff, even Ugg boots!

A wonderful way to get your daily dose or overdose of sodium! Olives, olives, olives..

A real deal, 5 chicks for $7!

Lots of lovely eggs.

The produce here is soo good. Super fresh and delicious.

Wonderful dates and all kinds of dried fruits. Perfect for homemade granola.

And just to make all the wonderful vegetables work extra hard, some hot American jam doughnuts! Yum:)

Melbourne Museum

2009-12-31T21:24:00.001-08:00

Monday we took Eleanor to the Melbourne Museum.

Rosie enjoying a big puddle from the previous night's rainfall.

The Melbourne Museum.

The new animal exhibit is pretty wild!

Super bug and butterfly exhibit.

A real tarantula! Aahh!!!

Rosie, Josh, and I amongst the dinosaur bones. A great way to spend the morning.

Sydney Day 3

2009-12-30T02:32:00.001-08:00

Day 3: We headed to the ferry building armed with umbrellas.

An excellent reminder on the street. It is a little difficult to remember to look the correct direction.

A lovely view of the Harbor bridge.

What city are we in again? Oh yeah.

City from the ferry.

There were so many gorgeous houses and apartments along the shore. Can you imagine the view these folks have of the city?

Sydney is a city with so many inlets. You would definitely want to own a sailboat if you lived here.

Eleanor and I walked around Manly Beach with Sam and Rosie while John and Josh boogie boarded in the ocean.

These guys are addicted!

Manly Beach.

Sydney Christmas Day

2009-12-30T01:49:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful hotel Christmas tree.

I sewed stockings out of the leftover bazaar flag fabric to make things feel a little more homey. The kids had fun opening a few presents on Christmas morning. I love reminding them that this year is a year of experiences and not presents. Being overseas is a good way to keep Christmas to a minimum.

We headed to the Sydney Aquarium for a day of fishy fun. We say Manatee, they say Dugong.

Fun fact: What is the only male in the animal kingdom that can get pregnant?

Answer: Sea horses and Thomas Beatie

Seeing the creatures from inside the aquarium tunnel was really cool.

Wouldn't want to be in the tank with this guy!

John getting some good pictures.

After the aquarium we ended the day in the hotel with a wonderful Christmas dinner. Santa even came to visit. We told him he better get moving because the kids in the U.S.A were waiting for him.

Sydney Day 1

2009-12-30T01:01:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Sydney the day before Christmas and joined hundreds of other tourists milling around the Sydney Opera House. It is memorable to see such a famous landmark.

The wind was very gusty that day. Our mission was to find the pool near the Botanical Gardens.

A beautiful view of the Opera House from the Gardens.

Sam, Eleanor, and Josh:)

The kids enjoying a water sculpture in the Botanical Gardens.

A gorgeous old tree in the Gardens.

The Roses were especially nice.

Sam with a nice view of the city skyline in the background.

Here is the pool we were trekking to. John is trying to make up for 5 years of inconsistent exercise. This pool was right on the water.

Josh wanted to get a picture of the battle ships in the background for his friend JJ. Hi JJ:) After all the walking we did, the kids had little trouble getting to sleep on Christmas eve.

Family Christmas Picture

2009-12-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

We took a quick family picture overlooking Werri Beach before we headed to eat wood-fired pizza. Do we look hungry:)?

Josh, Sam and Rosie.

Grandma Eleanor and Josh.

Sam.

John and his mommy:)

Werri Beach, Gerringong

2009-12-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

Eleanor was so nice to watch Sam and Rosie while John and I took Josh to the beach, all by himself! It was so relaxing to just sit on the beach and not worry about anyone drowning, or being taken to sea in an undertow, or being eaten by a shark or stung by jellyfish. John and Josh had so much fun boogie boarding. They are promising to buy me a wet suit too, so I can join them.

Love this picture! Josh was in 7th heaven. A sea lion came out of the water and jumped right between John and Josh! It was only about 10 feet from Josh.

Pondering her future as a professional sand castle builder.

Rosie on Werri beach.

Melbourne to Gerringong

2009-12-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

We drove for 8 hours from Melbourne to Gerringong on our way to Sydney. The landscape looked like this for about 7 hours then all of a sudden we started driving through mountains that seemed like rain forest! It was beautiful.

Voila! The beautiful little beach town of Gerringong about 90 km from Sydney.

It's a little tempting to stay. Don't worry Mom we're not:)

We stayed at the BellaCharra Boutique Hotel. Picked obviously by the lovely pool!

Hotel Christmas trees and an occasional Christmas song on the radio are our biggest clues that it really is Christmas:) Australians probably can't enjoy all those Christmas treats like most do because instead of donning a baggy sweater, they are donning tiny swimsuits.

Melbourne Life

2009-12-24T20:36:00.000-08:00

We took Eleanor to our favorite cafe for a nice brunch, after we all went swimming. We have a nice 50 meter pool not far from our house.

This little girl can walk and walk.

View from our front porch.

This is one of the streets in between our house and one of our favorite cafes. Our suburb is known for it's victorian terrace houses built in the late 1800's during the Victorian Gold Rush.

So many of these homes are remodeled and very modern and bright on the inside. If you have a million dollars you could buy one:)

Lorne Beach

2009-12-18T23:22:00.001-08:00

Lorne is one of our favorite little beach towns, a couple hours southeast of Melbourne. We go here whenever John is not on call on the weekends, so of course we had to take Eleanor (John's mom). We love seeing all the exotic birds here in Australia. This kookaburra was waiting for us to give him some meat. We didn't have any for him, but John managed to snap some great pictures.

Sam and Josh were so excited to finally get their wetsuits. Josh would still have his on if we let him! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa LeVos:) They will be used a lot this summer.

These trampolines were super bouncy and fun! Australians aren't bothered by the word "liability".

The view from our hotel in Lorne.

The water here never really warms up, probably because if you keep heading south you run into Antarctica. It doesn't seem to bother the kids. I'm the sissy. Rosie was knocked down by a wave right after this picture and just got up and laughed! She's pretty tough.

Sam writing sweet messages to me! Notice he calls me "mum" now.

Aaawww:)

Time in Lorne

2009-12-18T23:11:00.001-08:00

We spent 10 days without John while he crossed to the other side of the world for job interviews. The good part of the deal was that he came back with his mom (Eleanor):) It only took them a few days to recuperate (must be easier traveling without children). So the day after they arrived in Melbourne we headed out of the city to the beautiful beach town of Lorne.

Another beautiful lookout in Lorne.

John and I:)

Diggin for Gold

2009-11-30T00:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a post that I forgot about. We went to Bendigo a few weekends ago. Bendigo is a town a little over an hour from Melbourne. We rode the tram and learned about some Bendigo history. The town was formed in the late 1800's when thousands of people rushed there to dig for gold.

View of the gold mine.

Josh and Sam did find some miniscule particles of gold, they were very excited:)

The tour wouldn't be half as interesting if this guy shaved his beard.

Little gold miners. Rosie was pretty well behaved for the hour long tour under ground.

Forget the gold dust, where are the nuggets?

Discovery Center, Bendigo

2009-11-30T00:25:00.001-08:00

So here we are at yet another science discovery center! The kids had a great time and the place was practically empty.

Rosie getting dizzy.

Another example of a super fun and way too dangerous for the U.S. vertical slide. A guy would hold the kid at the top of the slide and then let go. Josh was clever enough to stand up at the end and sock surf!

Army of Sams at your service.

Oh shoot! I shrunk Josh in the wash!

Yummy! Who looks the most appetizing. Cute little Rosie?

Harry man, John?

Toothless Sam? and freaky mom? Cheers:)

A Warm Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T00:15:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal with Tim and Bec. It is always fun to do a joint effort meal.

It did not feel like Thanksgiving with the warm sunny weather and I can see why most Australians have a barbeque for Christmas. It doesn't make much sense to spend a lot of time cooking in a hot kitchen when it is hot outside! This is Rosie and her friend Elly, they are buddies.

A family picture of the Iselis taken by Josh:) We should have eaten baby Henry for dinner, doesn't he look juicy:) ha ha

Healesville Sanctuary

2009-11-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

We drove through the Yarra Valley to get to the Healesville Sanctuary. As you can see in the picture it is beautiful countryside. It feels similar to Napa Valley, CA.

John hasn't run out of patience with me yet for wanting to get a picture of all these different wildlife signs. I haven't seen a Wombat in the wild yet but the sign is the next best thing!

Healesville Sanctuary was relaxing to walk around. Looks like the kangaroos are feeling a little lazy.

This aggressive bird decided to help himself to Rosie's sandwhich.

There he is just walking away with it!

Poor Rosie looking so sad. Don't worry we had more:)

These koalas were just chillin in the tree. They look pretty comfy. What a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Princes Hill Primary Bazaar

2009-11-25T18:52:00.001-08:00

The kids had a big fundraiser at their school a couple weekends ago (the school raised almost $60,000)! They had a ball going on rides and hanging out with their friends. Even the food was delicious, John and I had falafels.

This is Sam with his friends Finn and Michael.

Rosie worked on her eye hand coordination by making a bracelet with beads. She did the whole thing herself!

I love this picture of Sam because the look of sheer joy on his face is obvious:) He did this ride again and again.

Sam was being a good big brother and took Rosie down the American Bozo. Do you think an American Bozo invented this one?

Josh was off with his friends most of the time, but here is a rare picture of him. He is getting too old to hang out with me:(

American Grocery Store

2009-11-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

I trekked 45 minutes away from my cozy neighborhood to find the American Grocery Store. Seeing all the familiar brands was nice, but I decided that that the prices just weren't worth the trouble. I had to get Libby's pumpkin for our pies, John is the pie maker, for Thanksgiving. I thought about just skipping the whole thing and pretending it never happened but Bec said I was being unpatriotic. So tomorrow, Bec and I are making a Thanksgiving meal.

All the groceries you see in the picture cost $100! The box of life cereal was $12, but the kids felt it was a nice taste of home. We also enjoyed root beer floats last night. Can you believe Australians don't drink root beer? crazy! Well, we are going to miss all of you over the holidays, I think we get more homesick as the holidays come around. Hugs:)

Melbourne Zoo Field trip

2009-11-18T15:48:00.000-08:00

Sam's class enjoyed a field trip to the Melbourne Zoo. The butterfly room is always a favorite.

Sam was still enough to have one land on his head!

Sam loves to have a good time with his friends!

Flags for Bazaar

2009-11-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

For the School Bazaar (a big fundraising event) I sewed flags to hang on the fence at school.

The flags looked very festive. Unfortunately the flags have since been vandalized and are no longer around. I was feeling pretty bummed this morning that people do such rotten things. I had spent so much time trying to make them look nice. Oh well, I guess that is one of the bad things about living in a city. The bright side is that the flags made it for the bazaar:)

Sailing at Albert Park Lake

2009-11-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

John has been wanting to get the boys in a sailboat and finally had the chance a couple weeks ago. John has fond memories of learning to sail with his Grandfather and wants to pass that on to our kids.

I think Sam would have liked to just jump in the water!

Penguin Parade

2009-11-18T15:08:00.001-08:00

We went to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade. Phillip Island was just beautiful, it reminded me of Prince Edward Island in "Anne of Green Gables". It is quite an ordeal to see the penguins. You buy tickets, walk out to the beach where there is stadium like seating, then sit and wait until sundown for the little creatures to hop out of the ocean! I thought it was hilarious that you can even buy popcorn! It's like a real live penguin movie.

Like clockwork, at sundown, the penguins start hopping out of the water in groups. They are not sure whether they want to brave the long walk across the beach (as the ranger put it, "they get stage fright"), finally the urge to get to their babies win and they waddle across the sand in little groups.

You can hear the penguins making a clucking sound as they go along. Their little houses are all along the boardwalk, we were able to see them fairly close. The babies are so cute and fuzzy. We were not permitted to take photos so I had to get those off the web. The kids really wanted to bring one back.

We were instructed to please check under our cars before leaving! Mrs. Proctor we thought of you because we know you loved the Penguin Parade so much:)

Finished Sweater

2009-11-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

Bec's mom gave me the pattern for this sweater and I have seen several little girls wearing this one around. I am quite pleased with mine until I see one at school that was made by her grandmother. I just can't compete with the skill of a seasoned knitter, maybe one of these days.. at least Madeleine wears hers. That is a step. We have a few that will be passed down to her cousin Shilo that did not get much wear!

The Melbourne Cup

2009-11-05T18:47:00.001-08:00

John and I had a little date the other day at the races. Tim and Bec were so nice to let us drop all the kids off and enjoy some time to ourselves. The Melbourne Cup is a huge deal here, it is a state holiday! John was feeling like he belonged in the mafia with his suit and hat.

I wanted to get this shot so you could see the city in the background. The weather was great, not too hot but a little windy.

The Melbourne Cup was the 7th race that day and a horse named "Shocking" took the trophy! The lady sitting behind us bet on Shocking and so she was very excited for the win.

Majestic Music was my pick for the 6th race because the jockey was wearing red,white, and blue! A lucky pick for me:)

I made my little hair "fascinator" with a flower and some fleathers. The fashion at the races is almost as important as the race itself. It was fun to get dressed up for a day.

Cool Creatures

2009-11-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

We had fun searching in the tide pools for cool creatures. Sam is also proud that he has recently lost 3 teeth:)

This is a cool crab. He has things growing on his back to stay hidden.

This is a crab also. You can hardly tell this is a living creature, he is so well camouflaged!

We had a great little picnic spot overlooking the bay.

Erskine Falls

2009-11-04T00:43:00.000-08:00

We had fun climbing around the rocks. A nice way to spend a Sabbath afternoon.

Beautiful Erskine Falls in Lorne.

Sam had a bad dream the other night, he dreamed Josh left for college! Sam just loves his big brother:)

Italian Day

2009-11-02T00:38:00.001-08:00

The kids celebrated Italian day at their school last week. Parents brought Italian food for lunch and the students watched a game of soccer (teachers vs. students). Sam dressed up as Super Mario (his mustache didn't make it far in the day).

Sam and his friend Ava.

Josh dressed as a Roman gladiator. I made his costume by cutting strips from faux leather and glueing gold circles to the end. It was a pleasant surprise that most kids made their costumes, seemed like a lot of creativity was involved.

The Beach in Lorne

2009-10-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the beach.

This girl could dig all day:)

The boys numbed up the lower half of their bodies in the ocean. It is still a bit chilly. Only kids would want to get in, oh and surfers.

Crazy for Cockatoos

2009-10-25T20:22:00.001-07:00

We went to the beach this weekend and were completely enamored with all the beautiful birds. We put seed out on the deck and at one point had 22 cockatoos and 5 parrots.

The birds almost look majestic with the sunlight shining through their feathers.

A Kookaburra even came to say hello. He made us a little nervous with his big beak.

Mr. Cockatoo and our little 2000 Toyota Corolla hatchback. It is the best driving around the city and squeezing into tiny parking spaces. Now that I think about it, all the parking spaces here are miniture! One would not want to drive around an American size SUV here.

The boys enjoyed getting the parrots to eat out of their hands.

This cockatoo was especially clever and opened the tin of birdseed! We enjoyed watching him so much that we shooed him away and repeated the process several times!

Ooh delicious! I just love those sunflower seeds.

Kids enjoyed searching for creatures in the tide pools.

We saw this adorable Koala along the road. Makes you want to give him a good cuddle, until you see him use his very sharp claws to climb up the tree.

What a View!

2009-10-19T23:11:00.001-07:00

My friend Emma took Rosie and I out to Brighton (a beautiful beach front neighborhood), today. As you can tell it was pretty gusty. We enjoyed a stroll along the beach and a soy cappuccino.

This is the view from Emma's mom's house. Just gorgeous, only if you like the beach and sailing:) Thanks Emma for a lovely morning.

Tram to Tessuti (fabric heaven)

2009-10-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

Rosie and I took the tram today for the first time. Only one nice gentleman offered to give up his seat (and not a young one at that). We were on a mission to go to Tessuti fabrics on Flinders Lane. Rosie kept busy with a box of toys on the floor and I had a wonderful time browsing the gorgeous fabrics.

They had a wonderful collection of Japanese sewing books. I'll post more on that when I get a project or two finished. The fabric in Tessuti is couture worthy. One bolt with white feathers was $179/meter! After feeling pretty clever for making our way downtown on public transportation we took the wrong tram home and ended up walking quite a distance. Getting back to familiar streets is always comforting. We stopped by Rosie's favorite park, had a good play and headed home. All in all a good day. Next time will be even easier.

Day Off

2009-10-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Spring is in full swing here. We can't pass the flowers without Rosie wanting to smell them:)

John had a morning off the other day, so we enjoyed a walk to our favorite cafe on Rathdowne St.

Umm, nice warm mocha:)

Delicious eggs with asparagus, mashed potatoes, and toast.

Art On The Street

2009-10-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

This artist in downtown Melbourne was amazing. I would be curious to know how much money he makes from doing his art on the street. I wouldn't mind having "the girl with the pearl earring". Very good imitation.

Brunch Under A Fig Tree

2009-10-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

What is the point of living in the city if you don't take advantage of all the fabulous food? We have been doing just that. We ate brunch at a little cafe on Nicholson St. You would never know by looking in the front of the cafe that tucked in the back is a beautiful outdoor eating area. The orange juice was fresh squeezed with orangy foam on the top. Yum. The only downer was the smoker sitting at the next table.

What a beautiful fig tree.

Flying High

2009-09-30T02:50:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-30T01:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-28T04:37:00.001-07:00

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.