February

So I have had these pictures downloaded onto a post forever now but I never got around to writing a post to go along with the pictures.  It was starting to get on my nerves never being posted so I buckled down today and finished the post.  Enjoy-

Uncle Seth came to visit  way back in February!  The boys loved having someone new to climb on, sneak food from, and play games with.  Poor Seth played "I Can Do That" with Forest probably 5 times a day while he was here.

We took Uncle Seth to all the must- see places: opera house, botanic gardens, aquarium, wildlife exhibit, ferries, and the Sydney Eye Tower,

Seth was great and did a lot of outings on his own, which was nice for the boys who get tired being dragged all over the place all day.

We took Seth on the Coogee to Bondi hike

(that is Bondi beach behind Seth) 

 We also did the south head walk

Seth found out he has a new fear of heights (just kidding) 

 Seth also got to see Forest show off his swimming skillz

 The adults got to have a fun night out and go to a fancy shmansy restaurant.

 After a whole day at the beach we went to a rugby match - pretty awesome!

 We went the Olympic stadium here in Sydney - it is HUGE!

 On a really rainy day we hiked in the blue mountains - oh so rainy!

 The rainy weather didn't keep Bridger from being Bridger

 While on the hike Forest slipped and got totally muddy so I let him wear my shirt while I wore my jacket- poor kid had a hard hike.

 On the last day of Seth's visit we walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  We had had BEAUTIFUL weather while Seth was here until the last two days of his trip but that didn't keep us inside.

 Seth also went to an Opera at the Opera house, here is a picture of the inside.

We had a great visit with Seth and had a lot of fun exploring more of Sydney, hanging out at the beach, and playing lots of card games.  Hope you come back to visit again!

One more video!

Here is a video of Forest. He is so speedy on his scooter!  He can keep up with any big kid!  He has been a star on his scooter from day one (they can be a little tricky to get used to since you have to lean to turn with these scooters).    It was fun to watch him pick it up and go!  He is one pretty awesome kid!

Second Try

Since the last videos did not work, I hope that I have fixed the problem and that this video can be viewed now.

Isn't it SO cute seeing West bring up his little leg while gliding?  He is so good on that little scooter!  I love to watch him go!

scooter professionals

Not to brag but I am pretty sure my boys are the best scooterers in the whole world. 

Enjoy the videos! 

(Sorry about the bouncy videos it is hard to jog and keep the camera steady at the same time.)

 Forest is super speedy and can keep up with any big kid!

The Outback

Okay buckle down for the LONGEST post ever! Are you seated?  Have you had a bite to eat?  I would recommend it because I am pretty sure this post is going to take a while to scroll through.  Just be glad that not all 700 pictures from our vacation are on here all right.

Here in Australia, Easter is a public Holiday so Bridger had Friday and Monday off (wahoo!).  
Here is our trip day by day.

 ------------ DAY ONE -----------

Friday we headed on our way through the blue mountains.

Aww I just love the blue mountains.

 (this picture is actually from the drive home but I like it of Bridger)

 

 We saw awesome signs like this!  Unfortunately the only wombat we saw was a dead one...  poor fellow.

We drove for about 5-6 hours on Day 1 and ended in a cute town called Dubbo (say "Dah bow")  We played at a really fun water park, swam in our hotel's pool, and played tennis that evening.  All-and-all a great start to our holiday.

-------------- DAY 2 ------------- 

We woke up and headed to Dubbo's Saturday market.

 and got some delicious fresh fruit

Then we hit the road, again, and headed into the outback.

Look at that straight road!

Welcome to the Outback

the best part of driving in the dessert are the speed limits.  Sa-weet!

hmm.. Bridger seems to be going above the speed limit.

We drove for about 7 hours that day and the kids did amazingly well.

 Westly danced and sung us songs

 Forest quietly played on the ipad or colored in activity books 

Most of the outback looked like this 

but because of abnormal amounts of rain this year we did see a lot of flooding

 this is not a lake

About an hour from our destination we went through a ghost town.  All that was open/ not boarded up was a very unique petrol station.

 Finally we made it to White Cliffs

 Just in time for Sunset 

 To watch the sunset we were on top of the motel.  So we headed back down into the motel.

White Cliffs Motel is Australia's largest underground motel.

The mountain was first dug out for opals and then families moved into the old mining holes and dug out homes.  Being in the mountain/ hill keeps the house about 72 degrees, wonderful for desert living.  The motel was originally a home but when the local motel was over booked the family welcomed visitors to stay.  They since have expanded but have tried to keep it the same "family- feel" and so all guests are welcome to eat dinner together.

Here are more pictures of the motel.  The rock color is really the brownish color you see in this picture.  But they sprayed most of the rock with the white cement to help make it more secure and more clean.  There are some places where they let the natural rock color shine through.  These places are sprayed with a clear sealant sort of a thing.

 

   Our dug- out

  our skylight

----------------DAY 3--------------



Bridger woke up early and enjoyed a peaceful sunrise

  

 We headed out that morning and walked around the old opal mining holes.

 The flies were AWFUL!!!!  There were so many of them buzzing around us.  Whipping the branches around us really helped a lot to keep the flies at bay. 

 The dry earth 

 After walking around the opal mines we headed to "Jock's place"  which is a man's home/ "museum"

 Jock had the THICKEST Australian accent, I hardly understood him and I pretty sure he hardly understood me.  

it was kind of interesting walking through the old mines.

Bridger had a good time playing and trying to scare me

AHHH! So dusty!

We then hit the road - the dirt road- to Peery lake.  We drove pretty slow on the empty road so we let the kids out of their car seats. 

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!  Yikes!  I think this is foreshadowing of what it will be like when he is 16.

Westly was so serious while driving.  He never once took his eyes off the road.

Searching for wild life 

Aww an Emu!  We saw so so so many Emus during our Holiday, it is ridiculous how many pictures I have of them.

  I love watching their tail feathers bounce as they run away.  They are so funny to watch!

Is it a flock or Emus?  a gaggle?

I can't believe this is the only picture we took of the pink cockatoos!  I love cockatoos! 

(Bridger actually took this while driving)

A wedge tailed eagle.  Unfortunately the camera died on me right after this shot so I wasn't able to take a better photo.  But we saw 3 of these huge guys (the size of Westly with a wing span about the length of my arm span)  only about 10 feet from us!  Pretty awesome!

Can you spot the kangaroo?  This is the first (alive) kangaroo we saw on the trip and Bridger spotted those little ears while driving!  I am pretty sure Bridger has Superman's eye sight.

Seriously Kangaroos are so awesome!

After the lake we headed back to the motel and spent an enjoyable evening watching the sunset, eating, playing cards and enjoying the stars. 

DAY 4  we drove 12 hours home.  The kids were amazing in the car and so we made it home in no time.

What a perfect Holiday!