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RJ’s Birthday Party

Luke — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:07:53 +0000

RJ’s birthday was loads of fun. After school, we gathered up most of his classmates and walked them to the park near our house, where we enjoyed fruit, snacks and cupcakes! We had a nice dinner and more cake that night with Grammy and Poppa. The next day, RJ invited two of his friends to go see a movie with us in the city. Happy birthday RJ!

RJ's favorite present was this jaw from a 10ft lemon shark.

His other big present was a set of Lego PowerMiners, mostly because it comes with the largest rock monster available.

After school, it was time for RJ's "Not a party" Party in the park. Half the kids joined our train that snaked through the school toward our house.

A big part of your birthday is the birthday hat... RJ decided it was good enough to wear all day long.

LR is happy to hang out with some of RJ's friends... for a little while.

Kid pile-up at the swing!

RJ blows out the candles... Only one girlfriend this year!

Mum hands out the delicious cupcakes that Grammy made.

C and RJ peek over the edge of the slide before disappearing.

Apparently, a slide is the most fun if it has seven people on it.

Later that night, after dinner, we had another cake for RJ.

The next day, RJ invited two of his friends to go to the movies with us.

We always wave to the train drivers as they arrive at the station.

The three guys watch the world cruise by out of the window of the train.

We had fun spinning a huge stone sphere balanced on a fountain. We got it moving really fast!

One the way to the theatre, we stopped to watch a street performer do some amazing juggling tricks.

The kids enjoy the traditional 'Choc Bombs' -- chocolate covered ice cream cones. We used to get them at the movies as kids too!

Our USA Adventure 2010, Part 6: Cousins (and a new arrival)

Luke — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:07:51 +0000

We sadly left Wyoming and flew to the East Coast where we were greeted by warm, humid weather… We definitely weren’t in Perth anymore. We arrived at the house to find a pool AND our cousins all ready and waiting for us. Time to have some fun!

We had some great times splashing around in the pool, hunting frogs down by the pond, picking veggies in the garden. Grandma Wendy and Aunty Grace took us all to the lake one day, and Dad took the four kids for a huge play at the park while our new cousin arrived. The next day we went off to the hospital for our first visit!

We finally arrived in Shepherdstown to warm weather, cousins, and a swimming pool!

And water canons! The kids had a great time chasing each other down!

Run RJ! Bl. wants REVENGE!!!

Like the final scenes from a western... Everyone is gunned down and there will be no (dry) survivors.

RJ turns to the grown-ups and starts making threats... Mum is not as amused as he is.

B. takes RJ around to the frog pond and starts teaching some of his frog catching techniques.

The four cousins, Br., LR, Bl. and RJ, sit quietly by the pond, waiting for the frogs to return.

LR and Br head off to the veggie patch to find something for dinner.

The garden is amazing -- full of fresh veggies! The girls help Grandma Wendy find and pick the best corn for the night's feed.

The girls work together to bring back the giant bucket of veggies.

Auntie Robin and Uncle Jason made it to dinner too... Two days later, she wasn't this big anymore!

RJ emerges from the lake amazed at being surrounded by so much fresh water.

Bl. does his best fish-face for the camera.

Look out Mum! RJ brought the water gun along with him!

Auntie Grace and Grandma Wendy serenly bob their heads above the water.

Time for a boat ride! Immediately afterward, they recruited Dad to drive and forced him to go from one end of the lake to the other... and back again!

The sand isn't the same as back home, but it's still good enough to build sandcastles.

LR and Br. head down the slide together at the local park.

Bl. is wearing a hat.

LR forgot her hat!

Br. has her hat.

And RJ is willing to fling his hat away!

LR goes for a wild ride on the roundabout!

Hold on tight, RJ!

We stopped by the hospital to meet the new baby. Mum makes sure to get her cuddles.

She sure is a sweet little thing.

Even Dad got a chance to hold her.

Our USA Adventure 2010, Part 5: Hot Springs and Rodeo

Luke — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 03:07:53 +0000

The hot springs, geysers and other exciting geological activity isn’t confined to Yellowstone. Thermopolis, a small town not far from Cody, WY is home to numerous hot springs (it’s actually located in the creatively named “Hot Springs County”). The locals were quick to take advantage of a few of the springs by directing their output into swimming pools and water slides. We enjoyed a relaxing morning there, splashing around and having a great time.

The streets of Cody are filled with real cowboys (fully decked out with real cowboy boots, real cowboy hats and really large belt buckles), so no trip to Wyoming would be complete without going to see cowboys in their natural habitat — a rodeo. The events were pretty exciting and did a good job of convicing us that the competitors were all quite insane. An Australian was competing in the bronco riding and we think he won… We yelled out a hearty, “Ozzie ozzie ozzie! Oy! Oy! Oy!” for good measure.

We had such a great time in Wyoming — it was pretty much non-stop activities and entertainment — most of which wouldn’t have been possible without the hospitality of our friends DD. and C. Thank you so much guys. It’s just amazing how much we got done; it really was terrific.

RJ takes to the warm, hot-springs fed pools at Thermopolis!

RJ and Mum watch from the warm pool as LR and C. head down the waterslide.

Go LR, go!

C. and LR chilling with the noodles. The hot springs feed the pool with fresh hot water, while the minerals in the water keep bacteria and algae from growing. It smells a little strange, but the kids can swim for hours without turning blue!

Dad and RJ practiced diving under the water.

C and DD enjoy some lunch at a nearby park. After swimming all morning, we were absolutely starved! There were hot springs bubbling up here too.

RJ gives Flappy, his pet pterodactyl, a stern talking to after he refuses to behave during lunch.

Time to go explore the area! The boardwalk is there so that we don't inadventently walk somewhere unsafe and break through the surface into a boiling hot spring.

We stopped by a friend's place to visit their trout pond. He even let dad have a go of his off-road Segway. It was a lot of fun, even if you do look quite ridiculous while doing it.

LR tried hard to catch a trout, but it's very difficult to get them interested when your brother is standing beside you shoveling scoops of fish food into the water.

LR and C. are all dressed up and ready to go to the rodeo!

Insert theme song to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" here.

The rodeo was full of exciting events. The bronco and bull riding looked extremely painful. The "Heading and Heeling" team roping looked a lot safer... for the riders.

One of the bulls throw his rider and charged across the ring to where one of the rodeo clowns was sitting. The clown ducked into the barrel just moments before the bull powered into it and knocked it flying.

The rodeo clown emerges unscathed from the barrel! His hat was a little worse for wear.

This clown wasn't so lucky. Both he and the bull rider limped away from this encounter.

C. and RJ climb one of the fences to the holding pens and check out the horses and cattle after the events. The animals seemed quite calm and happy and not upset after their ordeal.

A shop in Meeteetsee, Wyoming... across the road from the Cowboy Chocolatier where we stopped for a treat.

We had such a great time in Wyoming, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help and hospitality of our great friends, DD and C. Here’s a final picture of LR on the fossil hunting plains (click for big version).

Goodbye Wyoming! We had a great time!

January Wrap-Up

Luke — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:07:09 +0000

January was a really busy month! With the kids on summer holidays, we had lots of activities during the week and on the weekends. While down south we also did a bit of fishing, life-size animatronic dinosaurs came to town, we caught up with some friends and grandparents, and lots of wildlife around our house stopped in to say ‘Hello!’

A total of 5 very small fish caught over two nights -- the kids rated it a massive success!

We caught some very small fish and let them go again.

RJ spent some quality time with one of his favorite pals, the anthropomorphitronic T. Rex.

RJ and X go head-to-head for some competitive downhill sliding.

LR molded and decorated a tea cup.

RJ worked on a new pet dragon.

RJ and LR sculpting some clay creations during one of their school holiday activities.

We were visited by an evil scientist... The black lab coats always give them away.

It's a race and RJ got a huge head start. I don't think Poppa will catch them this time.

Mighty knights RJ and C engaged in a fierce battle to decide who would let the dinosaurs on the trampoline.

Local property moguls, LR and J, worked on their plans for buying up the city.

LR and RJ caught a frog in our pool. We haven't had rain here in over two months and he was looking pretty thirsty. We took him down to the nearby swamp where he can hopefully find a few friends.