Mommy/Daughter Weekend Away

I took Mina to Melbourne last weekend to see The Lion King on broadway (since it wasn't making a tour stop in Perth). The first night was spent getting a mani/pedi, eating Haigh's Chocolates (which you can't buy in Perth...or outside of Australia for that matter), and buying yummy Zumbarons (macarons from Adriano Zumbo's Patisserie). Good start to our weekend, I'd say.

The next day we went to the performance...loved it!

The next day we went to the SeaLife Aquarium

Sunday night we left back for home...only to have our flight unexpectedly diverted to Adelaide. Whilst still in the air we were told there was a technical issue- an "electrical smell" and "unusual odor"- anyways, after an uneventful emergency landing we were greeted with fire trucks, police, and news reporters. After 3 hrs of waiting around, an engineer decided we wouldn't be able to continue on with the flight. So off we went with a hotel voucher to stay overnight. I have to say Mina was such a trooper during this whole ordeal.

Our recovery flight was scheduled for Monday night so we had an entire day to spend exploring Adelaide. We went to the zoo...then after eating Haigh's chocolates all weekend we discovered that Haigh's originally started in Adelaide and they offer free tours/chocolate at their factory (so we had to go & eat more chocolate)...then the rest of the afternoon was spent at the South Australian Museum.

So, I can now say I've been to all 6 states in Australia: Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, and of course Western Australia. Thanks to Brian for holding down the fort an extra day. I'm glad I got to have some precious one-on-one time with Mina.

Feb/March Round Up

Emiko's class performed at the school assembly- they did a Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Rap.

One direction concert. I was supposed to take the 3 oldest girls but then Emi decided she didn't want to stay up late (she values a good night's rest) so Kaiya brought her friend, Sam, instead. I may or may not have danced along with the kids...

Weekend AWC girls trip down in Mandurah...the view from our resort.

Some forgotten Denmark/Albany photos. I love this photo of the girls on the whale at Whale World mostly b/c of Mei's expression- hysterical.

A photo of Brian feeding the birds at a wildlife park (they pooped on his shirt):

Another photo of Little Beach. Emi refused to show her face.

We killed this bird on our drive home from Denmark...sad face.

With Mei now in school 2 days/week I was able to volunteer to help at Kaiya's field trip to the zoo. What a fun group of kids.

When Kaiya's class performed at a school assembly they were divided into small groups to demonstrate various styles of dance from all over the world. To give you an idea of the variety: Bollywood, Native American, Aboriginal, German, Malaysian, etc...Kaiya and her partner were assigned country line dancing- the Boot Scootin' Boogie. It was awesome.

Annual Sculptures by the Sea exhibit at Cottesloe Beach

Mina's class assembly- the kids were assigned to talk about the different job responsibilities of various professions. Mina was assigned to be a fireman...err, firewoman. She rocked it.

Celebrating Pi Day not on 3.14 but on 3.22- my homemade peach pie tasted amaze balls.

Then & Now

Mina- June 2012

Mina- March 2015...can you believe she managed to find the same little tree to climb?!

Mina- June 2012- she went through a phase of "posing" for the camera...we never knew how she was going to pose and but it was always creative!

Mei- March 2015- oddly enough, Mei has now started the creative "posing" as well...interesting that their poses at the Tree Top Walk in Walpole were similar to Mina's nearly 3 years ago.

Denmark/Albany

Due to a public holiday we had a 3 day weekend the first weekend in March. We drove down to Denmark/Albany for the weekend (about 4.5-5 hr drive). Highlights are as follows:

Panoramic shot of Elephants Rocks/Green's Pool

On the stairs the lead down to the beach.

Exploring the "elephant rocks"

We went on a short hike up to Monkey Rock.

At the top of Monkey Rock- great views of the coastline...pretty windy too (as evidenced by Mei's crazy hair)

Albany Wind Farm

Whale World- a museum dedicated to the history of whaling in Albany- that's a whale skeleton in the background.

Little Beach- ranked one of the top beaches in Australia. Too bad it was chilly that day- unbelievably pretty, turquoise water- would've been great to have a swim!

On the beach...the sand is so fine it squeaks underneath your feet!

Tree Top Walk in Walpole...exploring the tingle trees in the forest.

Kid-Free Weekend

About a month ago Brian decided he'd like to go to Sydney and wondered if we could find someone to watch the kids so we could have a weekend away. I managed to find someone...and 2 weeks later we were Sydney bound. It was such a relaxing weekend of sleeping in, taking long walks, eating without interruption, and sightseeing. Our hotel was right on Circular Quay and we had some great views! The opera house and harbour bridge are still just as impressive as when I saw it last.

We climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge- in these very flattering (mandatory) jumpsuits. Here we are at the top.

We took the ferry over to Manly Beach for dinner.

I got to see my friend, Katie...she lives in Sydney!

World-famous Bondi Beach...

Scenery shot whilst on our coastal beach walk.

Shh...don't tell our kids we went to the aquarium without them!