Wilson Promontory

This was our last outing before Ash left and it was amazing. It is a beautiful National Park that stretches along the coast line with the most amazing views of the ocean. It has a lot of great hikes and these pretty rivers all over. It was very green with lots of trees. Most places are not this green in the Summer. I think this is one of the prettiest places we have been so far. It looked like I had always imagined Australia looked. It was cold and very windy but it was worth it to see the incredible scenery.

We had planned to go for a hike around the river and then head to the beach so my kids did not have swimming suits on. The water was too tempting.

Thanks for coming Ashlee we had a great time.

Healsville Sanctuary

Friday we went to Healsville Sanctuary which is a great place to see all the Australian animals. We went there when we first moved here and it was so fun to see all theses animals for the first time, so we wanted to take Ashlee. They have an animal hospital there so you can watch as they are working on the animals. They happened to be operating on a koala that was having a problem with its eye. They were sewing its eye shut to help it heal and to keep the koala from rubbing it. Then after the vet was finished she came and asked if we wanted to go in and see the koala while it was waking up. The kids were excited to see the koala. Brady was loving it, he has wanted to be a vet since he was three. While we were in with the koala they brought in a bird that was hit by a car they needed to check it out to see what was hurt. We only stayed and watch for a minute because Abby had seen enough. Brady and Ashlee would have been happy to stay and watch but Abby won.

This guy did a boomerang show then after he sold real boomerangs that really work. He was showing the boys how to throw them properly so it will come back to you.

Melbourne

Ashlee took all these pictures of the city that Travis and I would never think to take, so I thought I would add them. They look so Melbourne. This is Flinders Street Station. The main train station in the city.

Travis's work building.

This is Australia not just Melbourne. Brady had been going to school for a few weeks when we first moved here he asked me one day after school "mom what is rubbish?." I felt bad he had been at school being told by his teacher to put his rubbish in the bin and not having a clue what she was talking about.

Swimming far from Home

We decided to go to Victoria's only water slide park for the day. It is a little over an hour from our house. The problem was we couldn't find it. After an extra 20 minutes of driving around we gave up and ended up at a community pool that had two water slides that we saw from the road. It turned out to be a lot of fun. It was a pretty hot day so it was nice to be in the water and to enjoy the sun.

Just Hanging Around

The kids and Ashlee had a fun time playing basketball, playing at the park, and the kids favorite going to the Milk Bar. The Mike Bar is a little convenience store that has a some of the basics and lots of candy, most neighborhoods have them within walking distance. We have one on the same street as our new house. The owners of the milk bar will be sad to see Ashlee go, the kids got her to take them a few times a day. Hey what are aunts for???

Blake shooting hoops

Playing at the park across the street from our new house

The Australian Open

Ashlee and Brady went to The Australian Open on Wednesday they has so much fun. Brady was in heaven spending the whole day with Ash by himself. They watch lots of tennis and they also had fun things for the kids to do. They had a girl there sing Miley sings and lots of different games for the kids to play. Brady won a ball at one of the games and wanted to get it signed by one of the tennis players. The line was really long to get them signed by a tennis player so he wanted to get it signed by a ball boy. They didn't have a pen so he got a picture with one of the ball boys instead.

Waiting for a train to the city.

Blake's Birthday Party

Blake had a Birthday party with his friends at the park. It was a really hot day so I was a bit worried about it but it was windy and then it cooled off a little. It turned out better then I thought it would. The kids played at the park , opened gifts and went on a treasure hunt to find there goody bags. Everyone seemed to have a good time and it was nice to see our friends.

The Great Ocean Road

Travis, Ashlee, and Blake went for a drive along the Great Ocean Road and they also stopped at the Beach last Sunday. It is a beautiful ride with the most amazing views of the ocean, but it is a very winedy road so you have to take it slow. We went last year and everyone but Travis and Blake got sick and had to pull over at least once. I had to be at Primary and Brady wasn't feeling well so we stayed home. We were sad to miss out on the fun but they had a great time. A Koala they saw from the road

Ashlee Comes to Australia

Ashlee Travis's sister came to visit us this week. She got here on the 17Th. After Blake opened his presents from his aunts and Grandma she was ready to see the sights. We took her golfing of course. Trav and Ash took the boys to the city to ride the Southern Star, it is a huge fairs wheel that you can see the skyline of the city from. They also went around the docklands. They said they had a great time.

Blake is "4"

Blake turned 4 on January 13th. We had a family party, he opened his presents, we went to McDonald's and miniature golfing and then we had cake. He had a Diego cake. Blake is such a fun, loving, and very silly little boy. We are so glad he is part of our family.

The Zoo

On our last day in Sydney we went to the Zoo. It was a nice zoo that over looks the city, very pretty. We went to a bird show and a seal show that were a lot of fun. It was a very hot day so the kids enjoyed cooling off in the water. We had a good time but I think Travis and I are all zooed out.