Flying and The Gap

This past weekend Sandy & I were lucky enough to escape the kids and head to Sydney and have a weekend with Unlce Jim.

The main reason for the visit was for Sandy to use his gift voucher for a Flight Experience at Darling Harbour which I bought him for Christmas. The Flight Experience was a opportunity to have a go at flying a plane inside a training simulator.

So we dropped the kids off at my mother in laws for a weekend of fun with both grandmas and headed to Uncle Jim's who was kind enough to let us crash at his place for the weekend. After dinner at the Harold Park Hotel which was a saga in itself (spilling drinks!) we headed into the city on the tram.

It has been so long since I have been to the city at night and loved seeing all the lights and sights that the city has to offer after dark. There were alot of hens parties going on and well there were some strange sights !! Also looking around the shops at Darling Harbour was great without the kids !!

The beautiful lights of the city.

The Flight started off really well and Uncle Jim and I were lucky enough to be able to sit in the jump seats and watch. Sandy was able to complete 3 takeoffs and 3 landings and while they were resetting the simulator to go to another airport it had a major meltdown. So we were unable to complete the full 45 minute experience but they were really good and we ended up getting a free photo, the DVD of the experience for free and another 30 minute flight for free which we have another 12 months to use. Yippee another reason to escape the kids !!! (Just kidding kids)
The next day Uncle Jim took us all for a drive to Bondi Beach and The Gap, both of which I have never been to !  It was a great day, the weather was fantastic and the views were breath taking.

The beautiful view of the city from Watson's Bay.

The Gap.
It is such a beautiful place and I can't understand
why people use this place to end it all.

It is hard to see in this picture but there were heaps of boats and canoes in the water and then we saw the people swimming though them. Apparently there was a big fundraising swim for Breast Cancer going on at the time which started at Bondi Beach and ended at Watson's Bay. Boy those brave people are obviously passionate about the cause to even attempt that kind of swim and the swell was huge so they would have coped a hammering. Great job to all those brave people !!

Had to have a picture at The Gap !

Then we turned around and took a couple of steps
back and could have the harbour in the background. I love our country !

Just an interesting point of view,

We walked over to the other side of the headland to have a good look at North Head and we were able to see the North Head Sanctuary where the Australian version of the Biggest Loser is filmed. On our travels we were greeted by a large rat ! Eww, I don't know how was more scared, me or the rat !! We were also lucky enough to see the HMAS Darwin sail through the heads on their mission to Japan to help with clean up from the recent earthquake.

HMAS Darwin

I just had to take a picture of the back of this car which is unrelated to the trip but we did find it amusing on our way to The Gap. The stickers say "I wish my wife was this dirty" then under it reads "She is but not with you". The yellow sticker on the bumper reads "Never drive faster than your angel can fly" and finally the sign in the back window reads "Mother in Law in Boot"!

We had such a great day, the weather was perfect although a little crisp, but there was not a breath of wind and no clouds to  be seen. I know that this may upset some readers - Tracee - but we were really lucky to see this beautiful place in all its glory!

Thanks Uncle Jim for being our tour guide. I love being a tourist in our own city. We have seen and found some great places and have a list of things to do next time we are in the area.

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day this year has been fantastic ! The kids were great, the day was great, the places we went to were great and the weather was great although a little cold since we were in the Southern Highlands.

Our first stop was Harper's Mansion in Berrima. The main reason for the visit to the mansion was that they have a hedge maze in the gardens and since we had such a great time with the maze at Coffs Harbour, Sandy decided that we should try this one out. Again we split into 2 teams and went our seperate ways. Again Sandy and E figured it out first :( ! Better luck next time Donna!

The gardens were a great place to hang out and have a bit of fun and it now being Autumn the leaves on the trees are changing colour and falling. Although the weather is getting cooler which I don't like, I do love the changing colours of the season.

I just love the colours.

The kids had so much fun throwing the leaves around.

Yes they threw them at me ! Secretly I loved it !!

The end result ! I think the kids won !!

My wonderful husband !

E found this chair and just had to have her picture taken.

My offical Mother's Day picture and I love it !!

After looking around the mansion we decided to head over to the shops for a look around and grab some lunch. The first thing we came across was something that I and I think most mothers would like at some stage. It would be a great way to make sure you know where the kids are at all times !!

After lunch we went for a drive around the area and headed to Mt Gibraltar. There is a great lookout at the top overlooking the whole area and it's a fantastic place to take pictures which we all know I love !!

C just hanging out soaking up the sun.

E also hanging out.

The view was fantastic !

I just love this picture. Girls you were so good all day!

After checking out the view of which I could have stayed at all day, we headed for Carrington Falls. Sandy and I have been there before and love the place.

I just love this place to !

At Carrington Falls they have a great walking trail around the top and have 2 fantastic viewing platforms. At the end of the trail there is access to the water and the top of the falls which would be a great place to cool off in the summer. Maybe another day.

My husband walking on water !!

A huge thanks has to go to my wonderful husband for organising such a fantastic day and a huge thankyou to C and E for being so great. If you could both be this great with each other all the time my life would be 100% perfect !! I love you all with everything that I have and am truely blessed to have been given such a fantactic gift that is my family. I wonder what next year will bring. Start planning now Sandy !!!

It is with Sadness......

It is with sadness and excitment that I write this post although a little late. First the sadness that part of my family has moved away from us, but the excitment that they have themselves to be going "home"!

My cousin Jared his wife Tracee and their two beautiful children have left our shores and returned to the US.

Four days before Easter they came down to visit us with the surprising news that they would be returning to the US the following Tuesday for Eliza's wedding and would not be returning. The great thing was (this being the only great thing) that they were returning without anyone but Eliza knowing. Not even parents knew about their return !!!

So here are a few pics from our last time together here in Oz. Hopefully it wont be long before we can be together again.

The girls together for the last supper.
An Aussie BBQ  with snags and tomato sauce!!

J, T and P !!

Just love this little guy who will always be our little Aussie !!

Love this pic to, mummy looks so yummy !!

After dinner at our house we decided that these guys had better go and say their goodbyes to my mum and hope that she could keep the secret from Aunty Diane !! And yes she did !!

Best Buddies !!! Btw Tracee, poor littel E cried herself to sleep that night
knowing that she wouldn't be seeing R again any time soon.

Just the girls !!

There are some more farewell pictures from Tracee's camera which I will update with when they come through.

I would just like to say a huge thankyou to Jared and Tracee for uprooting your lives and coming all the way here to try something new. It is so great to have you in our lives and we already miss you way to much. I am also very excited for you to be going "home" and back to your friends and family. Can't wait to see you again hopefully before 2015 !!!

Nan Tien Temple

Easter weekend we headed to Nan Tien Temple to meet up with Uncle J and his friend Lou.

It is a great place to be and quite a peaceful place. Although on this occasion it was full of bright colour and celebration as it was Budda's birthday.

A beautiful recreation of the birth of Budda

While we were walking around the gardens we could hear a bell ringing and found that it was at the top of the hill. Of the many times that I have visited the temple I have never seen it before. It was great to head up there and the view was fantastic.

The great thing about the bell was that anyone could have a go.

The main reason to ring the bell was to give thanks to your family,
not sure what the kids were really giving thanks for !!

C just hanging around !!

Being cheeky with Uncle J.

Hey C try not to be eaten !!!

E is not cold,
she is pretending that the lion is going to eat her !!

It was a great afternoon and great to catch up with Uncle J although we did run out of time. So hopefully we will be able to get back there in the near future and have another great look around.