Palmers in Australia - Sydney Start!

A familiar name: Cahill walk!

 My mom and dad (Dianne and Bryon) came to visit Australia for a month. We met them in Sydney and then drove up the east coast to Brisbane. We then flew to Cairns for three days of exploring the rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. We flew back to Brisbane and then car travelled down to Canberra. The girls went back to school and James went back to work. Mom and Dad flew down to Melbourne for a couple of days and then back to Canberra. We drove out to Wagga Wagga where dad had taken some distance education courses for his degree. Then they were off to Sydney before heading home to Canada. A full and fun four weeks!

Walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge

"Green" apartment in Sydney

 The first day in Sydney we took a train across the river and walked back on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Great views of the Opera House!
We had ice-cream (I had honeycomb) and visited The Rocks museum. Then back to our place for a well-deserved dinner and nap. We found a huntsman spider in our house - the boys dealt with it. Yuck!


The second day in Sydney we took a ferry across to the Taronga Zoo. Lots to see and a beautifully kept zoo that is well-planned and fun for the whole family. We watched a seal show, had lunch with some ibis and turkeys trying to steal bites, and enjoyed discovering all the animals.

Seeing elephants from the cable car

At the tiger exhibit a la Indonesia

Playing at the zoo playground. I went flying off the end of the slide
to the amusement of the adults watching. 

Lemurs - up close tour of their living quarters

Parrots - three in a row

Tree kangaroo

Turkeys everywhere!
They made a mess of the grounds

Komodo dragon - so long we thought there were two!

The bearcat - which is it?

Lucy's favourite - the red panda!

The third day in Sydney we visited the Powerhouse museum. There was a Wiggles exhibit in the basement which Hannah (and I and the girls) really enjoyed. The old trains and space exhibits were also really neat. Mom and James liked the "flat whites" from the cafe next door. We had meat pies for lunch and walked back to the train. Then off we headed to Newcastle!

Tinbinbilla Nature Reserve - Boomerangs!

Our ranger instructors

Aboriginal spears

 We had a marvellous time at Tinbinbilla Nature Reserve. We were taught a bit about the Aboriginal stories about the surrounding lands (that included giant eagles laying eggs on top of mountains and snakes forming the deep valleys) and how they made boomerangs and spears out of the surrounding vegetation. Then we were taught how to properly throw a boomerang. And it is hard! It must have taken a lot of practice for the Aboriginals to be able to hunt and kill the kangaroos and emus. The wind direction is important, the angle of your wrist and arm, the snap of your wrist and the strength of the throw. In addition, there are 7 different shapes of boomerangs depending on what you were using them for. Incredible!

Learning to throw the boomerang - Allison and Lucy

After the boomerang lesson we walked to the nature park playground and had a picnic lunch. The kids played on the equipment (I say kids, but I'm pretty sure that James went to the top of the spider's climbing web too).

Then we hiked along a path back to the car. We saw a lot of kangaroos. There were so many that at first I thought they were just part of the landscape (like funny shaped rocks or fallen trees) until a few of them moved. Most of them were lying down in the sunshine. Very fun afternoon enjoying the natural Australian landscape! Loving it!

Holding up our shields

 

View along our hike. And yes, that is a kangaroo on the bottom left. 

The family hike. The tiny brown dots in the background are kangaroos. 

 

Everyday life - parks, playdates and fun times

At the local shops

 It's now winter so we are wearing our "Spring jackets." It never got cold enough to actually wear our winter jackets from Canada. We did wear mitts and scarves though. No point wearing boots either - no snow. It did have a bit of flurries at one point this winter in Canberra. But not enough to even throw snowballs. If you want snow, you have to drive 3.5 hours to the Snowy Mountains which have a snow season of about 6 weeks if you are lucky.

Allison winning at award at school

The trees in Canberra are mostly exotics so there were plenty of colours this autumn (no one says "fall" here). The oaks were gorgeously golden, the maples marvellously red, the evergreens ever green. What was funny was there were still flowering shrubs the entire season. Bright pink flowers in the middle of winter! That's what I like!

 

 Playing at the Arboretum again. A glorious sunny day. We laid back on the grass and watched the kites in the sky. Next time we'll have to bring our own to fly.

  Play dates with friends.





Home life - eating, playing, working, sleeping. Daily ups and downs, grumps and smiles. Glad to be alive and together!

 

 

Hannah's Birthday

 Hannah turned two this year. For her birthday, Hannah went to see a live Wiggles show. Hannah and I went together. Hannah was enthralled the entire time. Whenever I tried to sing along to a song Hannah would shush me - "No Mommy, I'm listening." She'd clap her hands and did the actions for "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" but singing was not allowed. The Wiggles is an Australian show that we watch every day. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the live show was done - the actors and actresses really do enjoy what they are doing. It made it every more enjoyable for the audience.

Afterwards, James, Allison and Lucy met us at the entrance with a Wiggles balloon that Hannah loved. What a fun afternoon!

That evening we had chocolate cake with candles and sang the birthday song. Then opened presents and cards. Hannah really likes her purple ball.

Grandma and Grandpa also Facetimed us and they had a cake too. They blew out the candles on their cake and sang Happy Birthday to Hannah. We pretended to eat the cake through the computer screen. For the next couple of weeks, every time they Facetimed us, Hannah would ask "Cake?"

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!

 

 

Munroe visit to Canberra

Bob tailed lizard

James and Suzanne walk up Mt. Ainslie. They saw a bob-tailed lizard (or blue-tounge skink).

 Chilling at the house - having tea on the deck, playing with Grandpa, eating yummy meals, doing daily life together.

At the library

Manicure date with Nana

Book shopping

 

View from top of Mt. Ainslie