Colorado Girls' Trip

At the LA airport, we all parted ways. Nana, G-Da, & Liam headed back to Mississippi while Julia & I hopped on a plane to Boulder, Colorado. Liam looked slightly stunned, and my parents looked way too comfortable with this arrangement (they had not yet had the pleasure of flying with Sir Squirms-A-Lot). After flying with both children, our short flight to Denver with just Julia was an absolute breeze!

The mountains were still covered in snow when we first arrived, and Julia was thrilled to find that there was some still left on the ground in the parking lot even for her to stomp through (pretty much just sludge, but she didn't mind). We had perfect weather though cause the next day it was sunny and just warm enough to be out without coats.

It was so great to be back in Boulder! I told Matt it was lucky my parents had taken Liam with them or else I probably would've just told Matt that we were staying in Colorado for good and for him to just hurry up and join us! In addition to just soaking up the wonderful mountain air and showing Julia around my favorite city, I got to catch up with some good friends and meet their children. Julia was in heaven-- time as an only child again and lots of playmates too!!

Julia & Fiona at Chatauqua Park

Eamonn & Sarah's daughter, Fiona -- she was so precious, and once she and Julia had gotten over their initial shyness, they had a ball playing together!


Flying child!

This is why I love Boulder, CO... not many places have a playground right at the base of the mountains!

Emily and two of her children, Rosie & Lily

Lily and Julia are only a couple of months apart, and Rosie (a bit older than Liam) worked hard to keep up with the big girls!

Playing tag

Hide-n-seek

Queens of the Mountain

Julia loved their playhouse and told me very matter-of-factly, "Mama, we have to get one of these"

Tulips in full bloom on Pearl Street....have I mentioned how much I love Boulder?

More from Pearl Street (for those of you who don't know Boulder, it's a great pedestrian street with cute shops and restaurants. Plus there are all these little child-friendly features, like the animal statues to climb on and a water play area in the summer)....

Jack (Emily's oldest child) with Lily & Julia


We also got to go to Lily's 3rd birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, and Julia had a blast!

Ski-ball champions

Julia & Jack in a heated air-hockey match

"1, 2...I think we're missing a few kids"

While we were all distracted with the older children, Rosie snuck over to the tables and stuck her face in the side of the chocolate cake

Birthday girl, Lily

Just making sure she gets every last crumb!

We had a great trip, and if I have my way we'll be back very soon (at least for another visit)!

Disneyland - Part III

Last pics from Disneyland...

Nana and Julia on the Winnie-the -Pooh ride (for the second time!)

Descending into Ariel's Grotto for the Princess Breakfast

Seated with our slightly overwhelmed little princess

"Seriously, guys, what's with the chick in the funny hat?"


Julia loved the parade of princesses....

And now on to the rest of our trip...photos to follow soon!

Disneyland - Part II

In no particular order, here are some photos from our wonderful few days at Disneyland! I have to admit, I was skeptical about the Disney experience, thinking it would be gaudy, in-your-face marketing, but I was wrong. Yes, there are a million places to buy Disney paraphernalia, but the whole concept of Disneyland is just so impressive, appealing to adults and children alike. I was won over immediately (and not just by the Pirates Suite!).

Nana & Julia in the princess outfit that G-da got her (you can tell which photos are from the first day because that was the only day she didn't wear her princess dress)


"Hey, Mickey? Yep, I'm here in Disneyland. Where are you?"
(Liam's new favorite past time...talking on the 'phone')


Playing the steel drums in Tarzan's Treehouse

"But mom, it's a lot quicker if you just crawl under this pesky ole rope"
Liam didn't understand the concept of waiting in line

The lines weren't actually all that bad, and with lots to look at Julia didn't usually mind the wait

Waiting with sleeping Liam

Except for the scary tunnel filled with giant dinosaurs, the train that went around the whole perimeter of the park was great fun!

Skipping down Main Street


Watching a parade


Mesmerized by Playhouse Disney- Live .... best thing we did! Both children absolutely loved the show!

Dancing along to Handy Manny


Nana's favorite character meet-and-greet


The children weren't the only ones excited by the candy shop!


Relaxing during a parade


Tired princess with her giant baloon


Hanging out on Main Street

If you look closely enough you can see Nana, G-da, & Liam on the Alice in Wonderland ride

Relaxing at our banquet table after a long day at Disney

Disneyland - Part I

As usual, this post is long overdue... The children and (more importantly) I survived the 13-hour flight from Brisbane to LA. Although they only slept for about 3 hours total, they did as well as could be expected. Julia thought it was such a treat to get virtually unlimited TV-viewing time, which left me free to wrangle monkey-man Liam as he tried to crawl over the seats and out of the plane. Liam is a little ham though when he's got an audience, so once he discovered that he could stand up in the carseat facing the back of his seat and "perform" (i.e. crowing and squealing) for row upon row of people behind him, he was pretty content. He also got some good walking practice as he and Julia and I did laps around the plane...walking down a narrow aisle on a slope in the middle of turbulence is a great way for a 1-yr-old to improve his balance!

No matter how well a flight goes, when you're traveling by yourself with 2 toddlers on a 13-hour flight, you're gonna be completely exhausted by the time you actually get off the plane. It was such a joy to finally clear customs with 2 tired littlies and a lot of luggage and be greeted by my parents who were well-rested (for perhaps the last time on this visit) and ready to help! We somehow managed to get us all on the Disneyland Express and headed straight to the Disneyland Hotel. Julia excitedly chatted with Nana & G-da about seeing Mickey Mouse and Cinderella.

Checking-in

When we got to the hotel (around 10am) they told us our rooms wouldn't be ready till 3pm. I was so ready for a shower and a chance to unload all our stuff, and I must have just looked and sounded incredibly pitiful when I said to the lady, "Is there ANY other room that might be ready now?" She said to wait a minute and then disappeared into the back. When she came back, the manager was with her, and they were both grinning. "I think you'll like this room," she said, and she told us to come with her to just "check and see if it'll work for us."

They ushered us into the elevator and up to the top floor of the hotel. Down at the end of one hall, beyond all of the ordinary hotel-room doors was a set of dark wooden double doors and a doorbell. She pressed the doorbell, opened the door, and as "A Pirate's Life for Me" played on the doorbell, she showed us into the Pirates of the Carribean Suite. As we all stared wide-eyed and grinning, they gave us the tour of the penthouse suite.

Our entry hall

Looking from the entry hall into the living area with banquet table, chandelier, fireplace, bar...oh yeah, and a lot of the actual props from the Pirates of the Carribean movie (e.g. Jack Sparrow's gun). Basically the only thing missing was Johnny Depp himself!


The living room

Part of the view from mine and Julia's bedroom (looking down you could see the pool). From our living room we could see the fireworks each night, and the balcony went around the whole place. I didn't get any photos of the master bedroom but it was massive!

As we walked around we kept waiting for the "catch", but there wasn't one. I never win anything, and suddenly we'd been upgraded from the most basic room to the nicest suite in the hotel (which we were told normally rents for $7000/night!) at no extra charge! When we asked why we were so lucky, the manager said. "We just like to make a little magic!" Welcome to Disneyland!!!!

After we got over the awe and shock of the suite, we headed to Downtown Disneyland for lunch at Brennan's. Julia slept through a delicious meal, but Liam enjoyed his lunch and lots of people-watching from our patio seats.

Sharing his grilled cheese with G-da

By the time we actually entered the Disneyland park, though, both children were sound asleep...
It actually worked out well though, because we walked all around while they slept, getting our bearings and scoping out the best toddler-friendly rides for when they woke up. More on that soon....

Easter at Wivenhoe

Every Easter Matt's family gathers at Wivenhoe Dam. Peter (Matt's dad's cousin) and his wife Jennie have a house there with lots of land and horses -- perfect for camping out while still having access to all the amenities, including a lot of good food! This year my exams started the week after Easter, so Matt took the children to Wivenhoe on Friday, and I stayed home studying till Sunday then went to join them. Julia and Liam had a fabulous time with lots of cousins to dote on them and keep them busy (I think Matt even got a bit of a break despite my absence).

A small slice of the view of Wivenhoe Dam

Not sure what Matt was going for with the first few of these posed pictures, but here are some glimpses of the family...

Taylor


Jennie & Greg (family friend)Connor, Jessie-Claire, Tobias

Happy Liam playing with the pebbles by the BBQ grill --
'Hey Mom, look at these great snacks I found!'


Peter (Jon's cousin) with Jon & Liam -- Julia calls Matt's dad 'Pop' and when she saw Peter with similar features (including a moustache), she began calling him 'Uncle Pop'

This year for our big Easter dinner, we had a traditional New Zealand 'Hungi'. I'd never heard of a Hungi (traditional or non-traditional), so I was interested to see the process which began with digging a huge pit in the ground. It's a lot more involved than your average pig roast (not that I'm entirely clear on the process there either), and the preparations took nearly 3 days! Rocks are placed in the pit and then the food is prepared...

Pound after pound of meats (lamb, chicken, pork) were placed into these foil-lined crates. Potatoes, cabbage, and corn went into other crates, and then the crates were placed on top of the pit on sticks (I think) with a fire over the top. They poured ice onto the hot rocks below to create steam and halfway through the cooking process, the crates then drop down onto the hot rocks. I'm sure there was a lot more to it than that, but the result was some incredibly tender meat and delicious veggies! Quite an experience!


**Pictures from our USA trip coming soon***