Sydney - Part 5

Our primary reason for going to Sydney was to apply for Liam's U.S. citizenship, which has to be done in person at the U.S. Consulate there. Aside from many formalities (stacks of paperwork, entry through metal detectors and on private elevators), the appointment was much less of an ordeal than I thought it would be. Matt & I signed on the dotted lines and answered the relevant questions, and Liam woke up just long enough for the registrar to check that the passport photo was actually of him.

Our newest U.S. Citizen


Julia stayed with Nana while we were the appointment and had a ball trying on some of Nana's jewelry (she even let Nana do her hair-- amazing!)

Then they met us in Hyde Park, and we headed over to the Australian Museum

Pausing for a family photo op in front of another statue of Captain Cook

Julia always starts by insisting that she wants to walk but somehow always ends up hitching a ride

And then there's the prince in his palanquin...

Hard to get past the gift shop at this museum. Julia loves umbrellas and thought this was a fantastic twist on the standard.

We went to the Australian Museum specifically for a dinosaur exhibit they were advertising, but the whole museum was great for the children as most of the rooms had at least a few hands-on exhibits. The whole front room had stuffed Australian animals that the kids could pet...

Listening to the sounds of the ocean in a conch shell. Julia proclaimed, "It's got waves in it!"

Morning tea break...Julia's favorite treat these days is "pink milk" (strawberry-flavoured milk...is this an Aussie thing cause I don't ever recall seeing it in the States? You can also get banana-flavoured milk...chocolate milk is one thing, but I find this completely bizarre!)

We must have gotten so enthralled with the museum that we completely neglected taking any more photos. We did see the dinosaur exhibit and we spent a long time in a fabulous children's area that had painting stations, animal tails and ears for dress-up, kid-friendly science exhibits and so much more. Definitely a must-do if you're in Sydney with children!

The children slept the whole way back. Matt went to pick up the rental car so we could head out of the city a bit, and my mom and I took the opportunity to wander through Chinatown.