Holding a Wombat

On our last official day in Sydney, Ryan and I partied like it was 1999. We took a bus tour to the blue mountains, took a ferry boat ride in the harbor, hiked all around the blue mountains, and went to a petting zoo and actually petted exotic Australian animals. It was the perfect ending to a dream second honeymoon (and unlike our first honeymoon in Acapulco, I didn't get strep throat, my glasses weren't stolen on the beach, the sewer didn't back up into the coastline, we weren't stranded on an island for several hours, and we weren't blackmailed by locals on the beach.) Definitely an upgrade in romantic vacations!

I'm petty a wallaby! How lucky is that?!

This was probably the highlight of my time in Sydney.

I'm holding a wombat that is 6 months old, with Ryan as my witness.

Her name is "Piglet." And if I could have smuggled her on the plane with me, I would have.

It's illegal to have wombat as a pet, even in Australia... but people didn't think that we could land on the moon, and everyone thought the Berlin wall wouldn't come down... so there's still hope.

(And FYI... I got to hold a baby lion on my honeymoon at what I'm sure was an illegal petty zoo. I have this thing about holding random animals... it fills my soul.)

 

This is what Piglet will look like when she's older.

Darling.

Ryan was legit scared of this koala. Isn't that sad. He had to be asked to scoot in a little closer for the picture. I was on the left bc that was the side that was allowed to pet the koala, and I came to Australia to pet a koala.

Ryan wasn't afraid to feed the kangaroo.

Neither was I.

This is an overlook of the Blue Mountains. It's the only shot where my eyes were semi-opened.

Ryan kept teasing me about it, but he's got a hat on.

I had a kangaroo burger for lunch. A little gamey, but with beets and swiss cheese, it was delicious nonetheless. And they call that black bun a "Bush" bun. I'm sure it's just to amuse the tourists, but it works!

Hiking at the bottom of the rainforest in the Blue Mountains. 300 foot waterfall.

Camera ran out of juice. Bummer.

In several shops I saw lotions for sale that included "placenta" in the title.

As an American, that just doesn't have the same appeal that I think it does for the people of Australia.

Incidentally, as an American, I had more than a few people ask me about the "crazy American election" and the leaked Trump video. I imagine it would be easier to explain the appeal of placenta cream, than it was to explain our election.

Our flight home was cancelled, and so in the interim of finding a new flight, we hung out in the sky lounge with tasty treats.

They even had a massage chair in the lounge.

And it's official: I like massage chairs.

From start to finish, my trip was incredible. Thanks to my handsome husband for making this happen, and to my wonderful nanny and friend for holding down the fort whilst we were away. All were safe and happy upon return.

Separate Passions

Ryan is passionate about architecture. I'm passionate about food. This day in Sydney combined both of our two loves, and each other. That's passion overload, but in the best way.

Ryan was the keynote speaker at an Architecture conference.

200+ people attended consisting of educators, contractors, manufacturers, and a chef.

Part of his presentation. I think it was about how 13 white houses costs the same as 1 red house.

Handsome.

Who doesn't love a panel discussion on offsite construction!?

The cooking class I attended at the Sydney Seafood School.

The demo was delicious.

We're about to start cooking!

My group were a little fearful of the wok.

Crab cakes. Prawn salad. Hot smoked trout. Fresh Fabulous Food!

The seafood market. 

***This post is for October 2016 Sydney trip.***

Bondi Beach

October in Sydney is the start of Spring. WE hit the beach, where the weather was delightful, but still a little cool to actually go swimming. It wasn't crazy packed, and I indeed still love warm sand between my toes.

Where did we brunch? At a seaside cafe called "Trio."

The hot chocolate was incredible.

And so was the corn fritter with sweet pepper chutney, ridiculous amounts of bacon, arugula and goat cheese. Boom, baby!

Ryan dined on some delightful indian inspired egg dish with hummus and pita bread.

Napping on Bondi Beach! And yes, he did get a little sunburn.

He eventually woke up.

Another fun sign. This one was on the back of the bathroom.

In reality, the Squatty Potty ad would say otherwise, that a squat is simply a better 

position to get er done... 

*** This post is for another day of our October 2016 Australia trip***

Back In the Saddle

My trip to Sydney merits at least a few more posts, especially for the pictures. It was a second honeymoon, but with more magic because we we're old enough to appreciate it more.  

Deep fried heaven.

There's something delightful about fish and chips bought right on the shore.

Fresh fish = fabulous fish!

I love this little no smoking post they had in an outdoor shopping area.

I'm a sucker for kitsch!

I love signs in foreign countries!

Korean Barbecue? Don't mind if I do!!!

I loved the flowers. I didn't have my phone so I asked Ryan to take a picture for me.

He said he would if I got in the shot. Thus this picture.

***This post is for some of our October 2016 trip to Sydney, Australia***

Pumpkin Pounds

It is fall break for my kids (only two short days here - hardly a break!) but in honor of our time off, we decided it was time to get into the season with some pumpkin purchases at Pack Farms.  Most of my kids felt it was there duty to locate the largest pumpkin they could find (even if they couldn't pick it up.) Plus: They will make fabulous Jack-O-Lanterns. Minus: I had to pay per pound.  When it came time to check out, we all guessed how much our 9 pumpkins weighed together. I threw out a random 120lb guess, with my kids adding or taking a away a few pounds. The clerk guessed 150. We actually ended up purchasing 182lbs worth of pumpkin paradise. I wish the clerk had been right about the weight... actually I wish I and been right!

Norman was watching all of the people at the farm pick up the pumpkins.

He tried to folio their examples...

And just ended up hugging a bunch of pumpkins. Darling.

The herd selecting future Jack o Lanterns.

The farm even had a little hay maze. Norman loved it! And Annie, Simon and Owen enjoyed taking him through it.

*** This post is for Thursday, October 22, 2016***

Preston's Costume

With a big trip to Australia, and plenty of things to juggle upon my return, I'm way behind in posting some updates on the kids. It's Preston's senior year, so he's trying to pack in as much fun as possible.  He performed with his choir tonight (a musical family home evening) and a few days ago he went to a Sadie Hawkins Dance with some friends. Because the dance is close to Halloween, it's always a couples costume affair. Preston and his date went as Harry Potter characters: Ginny Weasley and Tom Riddle. Fabulous!

How cute are they?!

I LOVE this picture. It's just so perfect, and creepy.

Another random picture. Open window. Stairs. Magic Wands.

The question remains, who's house are they in?

Some spooky abandoned property in Park City, so I'm told.

Most people don't recall the Viking in the Potter series, but you better believe there was one. The infamous (or in-famous) Jackson Viking.

He's in the middle. Tall and handsome, singing his heart away.

We were all there, cheering on our Preston. 

*** Sadie Hawkins was on Saturday, October 15th, 2016***

His concert was today.

20,126 Steps in Sydney

My fit bit was put to good use today. Ryan and I all day walked about 9 miles all over Sydney, from parks to bridges to shops to museums to food.  I think we held hands the entire time, and might have even skipped to a few places.

The day began checking out Saint Mary's Catholic Cathedral.  This picture of Mary and baby Jesus is simply stunning to me. The Catholic focus on Mary warms my heart.

These statues (called the Altar) all depict prominent women in the Christianity.

Epic.

The far left had Mother Theresa.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

True that.

This turtle in the fountain at Hyde Park kills me dead.

These birds (the size of a chicken) are found wandering all around. Their beaks have some red on them. I really like them.

We dined today at The Tower restaurant.

It's 95 stories high, and the restaurant slowly rotates, giving you a 365 degree view of Sydney.

The buffet was pretty good, but the view was incredible. I now know what Kangaroo and Emu taste like...they don't taste like chicken:~)

A shot of the dining room.

This was my dessert plate. Everything was delightful.

See, I really was there.

Info about the Tower. They printed it out so you know it's all legit.

After lunch we went to The Botanical Gardens and caught the Chocolate exhibit.

The shrubs in the entryway are monkey, bc monkeys love Cacao!

Actually, they only love the sweet tasting pod around it. They don't eat the seeds.

We love cacao beans bc they're over %50 fat!

The entire exhibit was covered with green walls (aka walls that are covered in plants.)

This giant wall was made to look like a cow...b/c milk is a common ingredient found in chocolate.

Super playful, and ridiculous.

There's not much to say about the above story.

Except, when your ox is in the mire... sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Free samples at the end.

Our nighttime entertainment found us at the Sydney Opera House. We got to listen to the Sydney Orchestra...perform all of the epic background music... to the movie....

Back to the Future... in the Sydney Opera House.

Random. Fabulous. Incredible.

I wish the picture was better, and you could read the Back to the Future Sign.

Love the "Intermission" sign, printed in the style of the movie graphic.

*** Today was pretty epic. This post is for Friday, October 7th, 2016***