40 Little Toes in Texas

Sunday, January 2, 2011

We're not in Kansas anymore (or anywhere in America for that matter)

I recall a blog post when we first moved to Australia about shirtless, shoeless men in McDonalds. Similarly, in the past few days, I have noticed several things that have made me think of Dorothy. "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Here are just a few of them.

1. A grown man walking down our main street wearing a speedo and a t-shirt... and nothing else!
2. An increasing number of people shopping without shoes.
3. A child skateboarding (barefoot) through the grocery store.
4. Christmas Carol services at the beach.
5. Shrimp on the barbie as part of our Christmas dinner.
6. BBQ church every Sunday in January. (That's a real Aussie sausage sizzle after every evening service - did I mention it is in January?)
7. Watching Bowl games while it is 85 degrees and sunny outside.

We are definitely not in Kansas anymore!

Happy New Year!

It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day on New Year's Eve in Sydney. We spent the day playing in the pool as a family.

After dark, when the little girls were fast asleep, I took the two big kids over to a friend's house to watch fireworks. We were able to park in their driveway and avoid the crazy crowds. Then, we walked up the street and had a great view of the 9pm family fireworks. We even had the Opera House in the background. We finished up our kiddie New Year's Eve with poppers back at their house.

Happy New Year!

Australian Walkabout Wildlife Park

I don't think we will tire of petting koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies anytime soon. Another activity (with mom in wheelchair) was a trip to the Walkabout Wildlife Park. The kids ran around with kangaroos, ran from the emus, and had a good 'ole time.

All four kids in one picture with the posing wallaby...

and then...

...the wallaby shifted! And, the kids all jumped. Too cute!

Boxing Day delights

We had grand plans for boxing day this year. In the running were things like - go to the beach, go to the botanical gardens, walk the opera house steps, explore the Rocks - and the list goes on. Sadly, after a wild encounter with the slippery garage floor, I spent the day, along with mom and dad, at the Royal North Shore Hospital. Poor mom - another broken ankle. Poor dad - has to do everything for mom now!

But, we made lemonade out of lemons. With the help of a wheelchair, we were able to make the best of their last few days in Australia and still have lots of fun!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to you! The excitement of four little kids on Christmas morning is hard to beat. This year, our oldest came and woke us at 3:30 am because he couldn't sleep. Ha! Back to bed with you was my response. Funny enough, when I woke up about 6:45, all was quiet in the house. Santa had come and the kids were still sleeping. It was a mere few minutes before they were all awake and the present frenzy had begun! Lots of toys and treats were had, and then we carried on with what seems to be one of the laziest days of the year. We sit around in our pjs playing with all our new toys. This year, there was one difference- we all went for a swim to play with our new toys! We ended our fabulous day with shrimp on the barbie, ham, veggies and banoffee pie for dessert. Yum Yum! Hope you had (or have since it is not yet light in America as I post) a very wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has come and gone in our house. We had a wonderful time as always. We spent the day making Christmas goodies - peanut butter balls, Happy Birthday Jesus cake (with some special cupcakes for Santa), and more. Then we went to the evening family service at church before heading home for our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner, it was time for birthday cake and then one present before bed. The kids seem to have figured out now that the one present always seems to be new Christmas pjs. Now, to bed to wait for Santa...