there was this one time...

home

we were worried that we wouldn't be able to take these puppies home. but they made it. and they are sitting in our american refrigerator. :) chris' favorite australian beer.
we are totally jet lagged. we stay up late and watch movies, and at about 2 pm, we take a good 3 hour nap. caleb has been crawling next to me and falling asleep too... the other 2- i have no idea what they are up to. haha. but they are good kids. they let us sleep. chris and i have been walking around like zombies. hopefully it will wear off in a few days.

chris brought a footy home for the boys. and cam just loves it. he has been going to the field with dad everyday. they have made up their own little games- so cute to watch.

thank you

for an amazing time. for the memories. for taking the time. for your generosity and kind hospilitality. we felt truly loved. and we love you.
thank you so very much.

and thank you to all the grandparents who stayed home and watched our 3 babies. they had a wonderful time with you guys. we could not have left them in better hands. every minute we thought of them, we knew they were okay. better than okay. thanks you guys.

in sydney

we sadly left melbourne the other day. here at our hotel, they charge up the kazoo for the internet, so this will be quick. we are climbing this bridge after breakfast:

we saw superman being filmed the other night:

and we went to bondi beach yesterday. look at this! it's a pool that is filled with ocean water. so amazing. i loved it.

we head home early tomorrow. get this: we leave friday morning here, and get there friday morning. crazy.
bye!

footy

the boys went out for a saturday afternoon footy game.

bunch of cousins, uncles, a brother and a dad... reuniting after about 8 years.. to enjoy this national pasttime. beer and meat pies were consumed. and my man did a good job with my camera. from a girl's point of view, i like the name footy better than football. doesn't seem as brutal as american football. just a friendly, little manly game of footy. sounds better doesn't it??! :)

up close

early yesterday morning, auntie joey found a koala in her front tree. chris climbed up and had some quality time with it. :) look how close he was! he was able to get some petting in. such a cool thing to see a koala in the wild. the day before we were out on a walk and saw another in a neighbor's tree. and joey told us that one time a baby koala came down into russell's arms and they played with it for hours. that would be the best. my kids would love it. i would love it. the ability to have the wild pet in your yard sometimes, but not really the responsibility of actually living with it. haha.

cute though, huh?

merrick's beach

The beginning of summer at merricks

The winter’s gone and spring has past,
The welcome summer’s here at last,
With sun and all its warming rays,
To lighten all our care worn days.

Sweet are the flowers which fill my room,
Casting off all care and gloom,
For they, make such a fragrance rare,
That floods thro’out the cottage air.

Yet, we can find such beauty here,
If only we will stand and stare
And see, whatever season brings
For each of us who love these things.

I, always find such peaceful days,
When resting in the warm sun rays
And feeling, what is here for me
In my country cottage by the sea.

Ronald Edward Robb (chris' grandfather)
Summer 1985

the last few days were spent here... visiting chris' dear aunt joey, uncle russell and their beautiful children.

we had a lovely time. lots of laughs, lots of stories. why do we have to live so far away? :(

city of melbourne

being a tourist is fun. but hard on the feet. haha. we spent about 6 hours walking the downtown area of melbourne, the capital city of Victoria which perenially wins the worlds most liveable city award. melbourne is an urban masterpeice, a wonderful cross section of old victorian architecture set against modern skyscrapers and shopping districts. we caught a few trams. but mostly walked and took in the wonderful sights. gorgeous.

chris' favorite spot was the Australian Center for Moving Images where student short films played in one of a dozen personal viewing stations. cameron would have loved the video game exhibit, dedicated to sonic the hedgehog! after a few days in the mountains, it was good to be back in the hustle and bustle of city life---offices, shops, restaurants, stunning churches and theatres mixed with trams, cars and people moving every which way.

we couldn't have asked for a better day to walk through the city. gorgeous weather. not too cold and not a bit of heat. crisp and yummy.

animals

we went to healesville sanctuary today. it was gorgeous because you didn't feel like you were in the city zoo-- like in LA, where all the animals are behind a wire fence. :) these barely had a little rope strung across. the emu's would come right up, i thought they would jump right over the puny rope. ha! the kangaroos were quite lazy... sleeping. chris frightened them and they started hopping, i thought for sure they were gonna jump out and drop kick us. the dingos made this funny howling noise and all i could think of was that movie with meryl streep. :( the tasmanian devil was this funny little animal, looking nothing like Taz. we went right up a one wallaby. cute little thing. i was too chicken to get any closer though.

but our favorite by far were the koalas. sweetest little animals. usually we sorta-see them faaaar away up in the tree at the LA zoo, a little ball of fur, doing nothing. just zoning out from eating so many leaves. but this was different. we were so up close. one woke up and toddled around, climbed some trees, ate some eucalyptus leaves. chris said they reminded him of Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. totally!!! cutest little snuggle bugs is what they are. they kinda reminded me of my kids. :) i want to take one home.

night stroll

andrew, chris' 23 year old brother (remember him, Kira?!) not to be confused with his 16 year old brother Tudor (21st Century families are waay confusing, aren't they) took us out for a little walk around the Toorak neighborhood. this neighborhood is the equivalent to Beverly Hills, i think. lots of cute boutiquey shops...cute little restaurants, pubs and cafes. definitely gonna come back in the daytime and do some serious shopping. :)
sorry so short. gotta run... koala and kangaroo seeing today... everyone's waiting for me. later!

the first three days

were spent in Mount Buller. we drove straight there from the airport, through the gorgeous, lush australian countryside. tons of farm animals just grazing, wild cockatoos flying everywhere... green hills that made me think of sound of music. :) (this is jamie talking if you can't tell:) ) it was crazy going from that horrendous LA heat to this. beauty. love the sight of untouched snow. so peaceful. i managed to take my first ski class. it went alright, i was a bit snappy at the instructor... skiing is supposed to be fun, but it is clearly a lot of hard work.. and if you know me, you know that i am not that athletic. i was whooped. but grateful i had the opportunity. so i only went that first day. the next few days were lounging around the cabin, watching movies, reading, relaxing. so nice. crazy that i didn't have internet for those first days, and i was like in withdrawl-- haha. chris had a blast on the slopes, he's a natural. and he looked like a local up there, all cute in his snowgear. :)

so now we are in the city. i'm totally giddy to be here. ready for our adventures. i am a city girl, you know. :)