Month: April 2018

Wherever we are, as long as were together, we’re having fun!
I still haven’t decided who Eden takes after. 😉
    

What is it about Yum Cha that makes you want to eat SO much while you’re there? Is it the small little dumplings that deceive you??? I’m not sure but we ate at the best yum cha place in Sydney and it was SO yummy and SO filling! Ezekiel isn’t about the yum cha life so he was perfectly happy grubbing on his plate of noodles!

After lunch we roamed the powerhouse museum. There were several floors filled with awesome exhibits! I was excited to see the information about the periodic table since we just finished studying elements before we left for Australia. They also had a huge space exhibit that was pretty neat. None of us enjoyed the zero gravity exhibit; it’s making me sick just thinking about it. However, we learned a tone of other cool information aside form the vomit inducing zero gravity exhibit. Did you know that astronauts have to workout at least 2 hours a day just to maintain the muscles in their body while they are in space? That’s wild!
   

Do What the Australian’s do. GO TO THE BEACH!!! We spent a fair amount of time at the beach when we were in Australia but I hardly ever took my camera with me. We would take the 5 minute walk down to the beach and go for a swim almost every day while we were there. It was Paradise! FYI, swimmers must stay within the flags. The lifeguards know the conditions and they put the flags on the beach every morning where there are the safest swimming conditions. Then the surfers were to surf on the outside of the flags!

When we got to Sydney Leanne had made us a delicious dinner plus an amazing flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Last time we were in Australia we didn’t know that I’m allergic to almonds so, not knowing Leanne made the cake with almond meal. She felt so bad that I couldn’t eat the cake that while we were in Kangaroo Valley she made a new cake with hazelnut meal so that I could eat it! If that isn’t an amazing friend I don’t know what is! That’s the kind of friend I hope to be to others!
By the way; the cake was amazing!

Of course we stopped for coffee and food! I LOVE the coffee there but there just isn’t enough of it! I always ordered a piccolo which is espresso with a bit of milk in it. So, less than a latte but more than just a shot of espresso. I did find an interesting observation though. When I was in Australia I took the time to sit and enjoy my coffee. I wasn’t rushed to get to schooling, or rushing out the door to an appointment. I just sat there and enjoyed my coffee and company. Why is it that we get into our routines and we rush through the good things in life??? These past few weeks I’ve tried to slow down and really enjoy the goodness in life instead of rushing from one thing to the next. I’ll let you know how that’s going in a few months.
We visited a TINY French bakery. They were very busy so Eden and I stood outside and drooled over the amazing pastries in the window. It is VERY uncommon to find doughnuts in Australia. Eden sure enjoyed the pink one we found at the bakery!

On Saturday David and Isobel came for lunch and a visit! We have known them for over 10 years! They first met our children when Ezekiel was 4 and Eden was 2! 4 years is too long to go without seeing friends so we’re committed to traveling to Australia every 2 years now. Doesn’t sound like too hard of a commitment to keep right?
Anyways, We had the most fantastic lunch and the best time visiting! David is a genius and we spent quite a bit of time discussing elements, bonding and orbitals. David promised to Skype with Ezekiel when he has a question too tough for mommy . . . that may be next year with my super inquisitive son!
Isobel is always such a JOY to be around! She borough the most amazing home made ice cream! It was such a treat! She thought about the kids as well and brought them both chocolate bunnies!
Australia not only has the best coffee but their food is amazing too! I don’t know  if it’s the biodynamic farming, the lack of chemicals they use in farming or what but the quality of the food there was far beyond what we have here.
 

We drove over to Robertson and visited the Illawarra Treetop Adventures. They have a beautiful 1.5 kilometer walk to the 500m of steel bridges 20-30 meters above ground in the rainforest. We walked out onto 2 swaying springboard cantilevers suspended 25 metres above the forest floor. We also climbed a spiral tower that rises to a breathtaking 45 metres above the forest floor. The tower was pure torture! Going up wasn’t bad since I just looked into the tower wall. Once we got to the top there was no shielding my irrational fear of heights! However, the beauty we witnessed at the top was worth risking everyone’s life.
I’m a very short person so I’m not used to being up high doing my normal day to day routine since I’m so close to the ground. I think I need to look into studies proving that short people are more afraid of heights than tall people.
During that trip we also found out that Ezekiel also has a fear of heights. He stuck very close to an adult at all times and once he even told Zeph, “I’m not scared . . . I just want to hold your hand!” It was very sweet since the children adore him so much and they obviously feel protected by him too!

Thursday we ventured down to Kangaroo valley. It’s a very tranquil place where we like to go and just enjoy spending time with each other. Its a great place to just be still and observe all of God’s beautiful creatures and His creation!
Of course on the way there we stopped for some meat pies and the men had beer. The drive down into the valley is like no other! The road is lined with rainforest type foliage and every once in a while you will get a glimpse of the majestic of the rock cliffs that line the valley floor. My description isn’t doing this place justice. It’s truly a beautiful work of art!
While we were in Kangaroo Valley we saw a ton of wildlife. A family of wallaby’s would visit use quite frequently and the children enjoyed quietly sitting out on the deck and drawing the wallaby’s and the nature around them. That’s homeschool at its finest folks!
Writing this post is making me truly miss our time there. There is no internet, no TV and no distractions! I think I finished 2 books while we were there and we had a ton of quality time together! I couldn’t have asked for a better long weekend!
 

On Wednesday we went to Clovelly beach to snorkel! Bryan and I took turns snorkeling while the children played on the beach!
Clovelly has a few resident Blue Gropers that we enjoy visiting every time we are in Sydney. These fish definitely have personality! One of my most favorite things to do it just swim and observe the fish and I LOVE Clovelly because the fish swim right next to you as if you’re part of their school! Doesn’t get much better than that!

Before we visited the Taronga Zoo we went and had coffee at the beach. The Australians know how to make coffee!!!  Every single coffee I had in Australia was AMAZING! I don’t know how they do it. It’s painful trying to find even a decent coffee in the states outside of our house. So, that was a VERY nice treat so have so much great coffee while traveling!
Back to our trip. The beach where we had coffee was gorgeous! We walked around a bit and took some pictures then headed to the zoo!

The Taronga Zoo was AMAZING! The animals might have the MOST spectacular view in all of Sydney! Seriously! They are right on the  Sydney harbor! Anyways, we had a fantastic day together and Eden even pet a snake!