Photo Update

Here are a few links to some photos.

Kevin's Wildlife Photos

Our trip to Soverign Hill in Ballarat - gold mine town

Uncle Sean's visit

Hair Cuts

Daddy Daycare comes complete with hair cuts. The kids have differing opinions though. Haley wants daddy to cut her hair and Robbie has his usual wavering opinion. In December daddy cut both Robbie’s and Haley’s hair with mommies help in distracting Robbie. They both did great and got nice cuts. Cutting a girls hair is trickier than you’d think. How do you make her look cute but not sexy, sweet but not sassy, adorable but not hot? Mommy was happy with the cut but daddy wasn’t sure until the hot moms from playgroup approved. A job well done!

Time rolled on and hair grew longer. Robbie needed a cut badly in February. He was getting quite a mop on top. Daddy asked Robbie if he wanted it cut by daddy or someone else. He said, “Daddy only.” We were all set up and ready to go. We had the towel wrapped around him. He was cozy and ready. Daddy got one cut in then the screaming “NOOOOO” with the twisting head and the kicking feet started. I got that to stop but I couldn’t get Robbie to stop following the scissors with his face. His head spun around like an owl. He did have the best shaped bangs in town. We ended up taking him to a salon where he sat like a statue for his cutter. He was wonderful. Haley didn’t want her hair cut there she wanted daddy to do it.

Another month rolled on and Haley still didn‘t get her hair cut. She was looking a little ratty at the ends. She was also getting wavy hair instead of her normal straight. Since I’ve had a flat top for a decade I knew nothing about split ends. For a week Haley has told me she no longer wants me to cut her hair she wants a pro (mommy got her hair done last week and it cost me a fortune --- and don’t ask how it cost me a fortune if I’m not working. It still cost me a fortune!) We wanted to surprise mommy when she got back from Sydney with a new do so today was the day.

Today’s journey was to find a salon to cut her hair. We rode the tram and while we were walking up to the salon Haley said, “I want my hair cut where Robbie got his cut.” As any great dad would do, I told her I already knew that and we were on our way. We entered and there was only a man cutting today. There was also a 15 minute wait. Since I didn’t think Robbie could last 15 minutes plus Haley’s cut plus my cut I asked Haley if she really wanted to get her cut there. She said no. I had no hard feelings leaving since there were no hot chicks cutting hair there.

We went to the next place I knew of. We marched up. Haley looked in and told me that she didn’t want to get her hair cut there either. Again, no hotties so no disappointment from daddy. I asked her why she didn’t like the two places. She said, “I’ll pick the next place you want, daddy.” What a sweetie. She is converting over to the spoiled, snooty girl who only gets her hair done at top of the line places (and too young for that I might add) but yet still wants to please daddy (which will be over way too soon). I was out of known places except for my barber.

We went walking through the city. I found another place and just before walking in she says, “I only want you to cut it daddy.” What love and trust, huh? We turned around and started walking home. We passed another salon. We went up and I asked Haley if she wanted it cut there. No hot chicks so she said no. We went back home. PS - None of the salons give a break for cutting kids hair.

The whole tour took about an hour and then we were home with daddy cutting Haley’s hair. Daddy took about an inch off last time cuz he was afraid to make it too short. Mommy told him that they normally take an inch off. With the known split ends and such a long time between cuts daddy went to take two inches off. I must have wet and combed her hair for seven solid minutes before getting the courage to make the first cut. It was a nice, accurate two inch cut in the middle of her back under layer. Yes, I was going to try to layer. The next cut was horror. Turns out it was about four inches. That was a little too much. Then I had to make the rest even with it. When I was done, it was still long hair. My cutie had four inches off but that was OK she still had long hair….wet. As it dried the wavy curls came back and pulled it up. Mommy’s gonna beat me.

It’s cute but it’s short. It’s only to her shoulders (err, umm, chin when it dries) now. Quote after dinner tonight, “Robbie, mommy’s going to think I’m a boy cuz my hair is so short.“ If any of you ladies know how to weave please let me know before Stacey comes back.

Uncle Sean's visit

So there I was.....forced to go golfing last Sunday morning (the 4th of the 3rd of 07 is how the Aussie's say March 4, 2007). I went kicking and screaming because golf is no fun :) As soon as I left for the course, three months of planning between my brother and wife went into action........

Sean was flying in from Asia. Stacey was going to pick him up at the airport while I was golfing. It was a surprise for the kids and myself. When she went to leave she discovered the tire was off the rim in the parking garage. Uncle Sean then had to take a bus from the airport to Southern Cross Station; a 10 minute walk from home. She coaxed the kids to riding in the pram (stroller) instead of the car to go pick up a surprise person to go to the beach with us. (Believe me changing plans from car to pram or any change for that matter is often a struggle with kids.)

At the station Uncle Sean had snuck up behind the kids. He held his suitcase over his head and Stacey told the kids to turn around. Haley screamed, "Daddy!" (Some say he looks like me. I hope that’s not true.) Sean lowered his suitcase to show his face then she asked, "What are you doing here? You're suppose to be in Michigan?"

Meanwhile, Adam and I are now fixing the flat tire in the parking garage. Stacey had rung (called) him on his mobile (cell phone) and told him of the change in plans. When we finished we went back to the lift to go back to the apartment. We hit the button, waited, when the door opened......there was my brother standing right in front of the door. I was too surprised to give much more than a, "Hey." You know guy lingo for, "WOW! It's great to see you. How'd you get here? This is great. What a surprise!" So Uncle Sean didn't get the surprised excitement from the kids or I he expected but we showed him a good time in appreciation during the entire week he was here.

We relaxed for about 30 minutes after Sean arrived then got our day going. We went to the place where we treat all new comers to Melbourne - to BBNT (Burgers, Burritos, Nachos, and Tacos) on King St. It is not far and it is a good location because we were coming back to Telstra Dome for Uncle Sean's first footie game. The game was just like last time but better as mentioned above (ya, that's right. All you skimmers didn't read that part did you? I said the footie game is better with Uncle Sean). The kids got to choose which team to barrack (root) for before going in and they got blow up hands with one finger extended (number one not the middle for you men). They loved the fingers. (They enjoyed them more at home where they got to beat Uncle Sean or poke him in the back when walking.) During the game Uncle Sean was going to take them to get ice cream. Unknown to us Haley told Uncle Sean she knew where to get it. After making Stacey very nervous because they were gone sooooooo long Sean explained that Haley took them to the other side of the stadium. Then in big brother fashion I politely pointed out the ice cream stand at the top of our stairs. I guess mom was right. I shouldn't have hit him so many times as kids. Uncle Sean and the kids really enjoyed the game. None of us understand the rules but it's fun to cheer and yell at the referees.

Sleepy Sean and the kids slept in to 9:30 on his first day. We then had to make heaps (lots) of phone calls back to the US in the morning to let everyone know everything was OK. We finally got out of the house around 1:30. The kids and I showed Uncle Sean what Daddy Daycare was all about. We showed off the piers and future plans for the area in the Docklands Model Area then wandered over to Waterfront City. That night we went down to Hardware Alley for dinner. We warned Sean about the slow, poor service in Australia. That night was not slow nor poor service. We met a Canadian who is staying in Melbourne and waiting tables. That was the reason for the good service. She was imported! Sean got to try a two authentic Australian dishes; kangaroo and chicken schnitzel.

On Tuesday I let Sean and the kids sleep in again. We leisurely got out the door and on the road to go to Phillip Island. (You all remember Phillip Island. It's the place where we saw lots 'o wildlife and fed the roos and saw the penguins come home, etc.) On the way to Phillip Island we stopped at the Mura Wildlife Park. We were suppose to be able to touch the koalas, feed kangaroos and wallabies, and see all sorts of animals. It was pretty much a bust. We only found one, count it, one kangaroo on their grounds. The emus were behind a fence. The plus side was that they had three dingos (Asian wolves that migrated to Australia nearly 4,000 years ago. Steve Irwin says that if the migration occurred 4,000 years ago that should make them an indigenous species but they are not considered such) that were active. We ate lunch there. Sean found out that in Australia a Hawaiian hamburger is a bun with a piece of pineapple on a slice of ham. He was disappointed there was no burger.

The Phillip Island Wildlife Park was awesome again. Sean got a great big kick out of feeding the wallabies and roos. The roos were very aggressive this time. The would come hopping across in a pack (that's neat to watch), circle us (oh, that's cute too), then reach with their sharp claws and open mouths trying to rip the bags of food from our hands (uh-oh, we're in trouble). You have never seen a two year old boy transform into a cat trying to stay out of water until you witness Robbie (who is a third of the height of an adult kangaroo) scale up and keep scaling up over my head, screaming to keep the roos away. I think Uncle Sean got the biggest kick out of feeding the roos but the next biggest is the barking owl. You can go up to his cage and bark twice like a dog. The owl will return with his own two barks. It is hilarious. This could go on for hours and almost does with a two and four year old. We have to drag them away. We got to get very close to the koalas. They had been fed recently and were actively eating. We saw flying foxes (bats), wallabies, wombats, quolls, roos, Australian outback (a large area out back with bush trees and dried up lakes), emus, dingos, Peregrine falcon, kite, barking owl, barn owls, Tawny Frogmouth owls, cassowaries, cockatoos, koalas, blue tongued lizards, turtles, echidnas, lorikeets, pelicans, Tasmanian Devil, and others.

We ended the evening watching the penguins come in from the ocean after dusk. You watch them come up and tentatively walk across the beach in groups. Then you can observe them from the boardwalks as they return to their burrows. We looked up to see billions (well it looked that way but we didn't count) of stars. There are more out there than anywhere I have seen before. We cruised home after the penguins around 10:00 and chatty-cathy kept me awake the whole way.

The next day was Wednesday. Our first mission was to go to the Queen Victoria Market. It is an open air market where Uncle Sean could get a lot of cheap souvenirs (nice to all those who got something from him and are reading this). I stopped at the near-by 'school bus' playground with the kids to feed them and Sean went to the market. He came back shortly because I forgot that the market was closed on Wednesdays. After lunch we played on the playground. Sean got to witness the Aussie kids and parents first hand when a boy tried to knock Haley off of the monkey bars. She then went into protection mode for Robbie and would block the kid off anytime he tried to push near Robbie. I'm so proud of her. Sean also witnessed the kid step on a 14 month old and when that didn't work for him he kicked the baby (said just like in South Park) to knock him over and out of the way. After the park we came back for naps. Sean and Robbie needed them. I worked with Haley on the alphabet. That evening Sean came out to cheer for me in my third running race. I had a friend, Keith, pace me. He did a great job and we almost met my goal of knocking another two minutes off my time. I could have if I had listened to him. I was just too mentally weak.

Thursday Uncle Sean got to experience Daddy Daycare at its finest. We woke up late, took a long time getting ready, and rushed out the door trying to get to the Toy Library to return our toys before they closed at 11:00. We barely made it with 30 seconds to spare. We left there and went to a playground with a teeter-tauter that had its fulcrum15 feet in the air with swing hanging down. Uncle Sean and Daddy had a blast playing on this one. Watch for the video link in a few days. We ended the day over at Science Works museum. Uncle Sean and the kids loved it.

Friday we went to the Moomba Festival. We watched pro wake boarders and wake skating. We also went over to the river and saw ski jumping. The kids got to play at the carnival and then we headed over to Little Italy for dinner. Most of the time in Little Italy you get approached by the host as you walk by each restaurant and pick one based on the free drink or dish they are wheeling and dealing. We went right for the first one to offer us two booster seats. Sean was disappointed.

Saturday we went swimming with wild seals, fish, and dolphins. Swimming with the seals was amazing. We got within three feet of them. We checked them out. They checked us out. They would dive around us, swim under us, or lay on the surface and scratch their bellies. We were snorkeling near a man made platform. If they weren’t in the water, the seals were on the platform. If they were on the platform, they seems to be arguing about personal space. It wasn’t too good to drift near the platform in case someone got thrown off. The boat then took us to an area to view the fish. I still am laughing after hearing Uncle Sean and Adam squeal through their snorkels because they were afraid of the jelly fish in the water. Even Stacey wasn’t afraid. Next we went in search of the dolphins. This was were Stacey got the delight of her Australia visit. She got to see four swimming around her. She also got to video some porposing at the front of the boat. She was delighted.

It was sad to take Uncle Sean to the airport on Sunday morning.

We were busy all week. We walked a lot. I got a great laugh when Sean complained one evening about how bad his feet, knees, back, and legs hurt. I remembered well how all the city walking hurt us before we got used to it. Uncle Sean brought some cooler weather with him. It did not get into the 30’s while he was here. It was warm and got into the mid to high 20’s (low to mid 70’s). The evenings were cooler though. Most of them were very breezy and upper teens (low to mid 60’s).

It was the fastest week we have blown through since we got here. Thanks for visiting Uncle Sean!

Pictures with Uncle Sean will be uploaded later along with a video of the chasing kangaroo.

All about the kids

Daddy Daycare. Ah, Daddy Daycare. These are some of things that just make Daddy Daycare what it is. The kids have continued their daycare training of clearing their own places after each meal. What we've added is where to eat. Most meals are sitting on a phone book with a towel covering the chair (can't stain these cloth chairs purchased for high ranking executives and not for a four or two year old). However, at lunch or brekkie (not dinner cuz mum is around) we often build a tent in the kitchen to eat under. The kids love it and ask for it all the time. They sit on the tile. I drape a sheet over the doors that hide the fridge and pantry and over the counter drawers. It makes a beautiful tent. Haley is getting really good at addition. We haven't been practicing her numbers or letters as much as before (she only wants to do addition or skip the school part). They have been learning their shapes, colors and how to fall and get up and try it again on the playground. I even push them down just for fun if they haven‘t fallen recently. Robbie is getting back to how he was in Michigan with slides and going down again. Neither are afraid of bugs or spiders (not even the 6" diameter Huntsman spiders (those spook daddy but not the kids)). Don't worry though...they know not to touch a red back spider or funnel spider. Those are the dangerous ones here and we've only seen them in exhibits. They wrestle all the time. They laugh all the time too. They play together and do audibles (icon that makes noise during instant messaging). Before we leave for playtime they always clean up their toys and put them away in the toy chest. Well not always but we try. Haley is getting more defiant. I have to ask her to do things a few times before she stops what she is doing and does what she is suppose to. That, in turn, has translated into Robbie following suit. So both are testing me more. Does the “terrible two’s” mean two kids?

When traveling around we are advancing too. We leave the pram (stroller) at home more often and we walk more. We also get onto the trams and trains as a team. Both kids know the routine on how to do it. They also know our tram numbers and train platform numbers while traveling to gymnastics. On the trams they have advanced to being able to stand up. They always ask if they can watch the tram driver. If there is room they run up to the front and sit right behind them. They tell him when he has a green or red T (the light for the tram is similar to your round driving light for an intersection except it is in the shape of a T for tram). They know how he moves the lever to go faster or slower. It is really amazing how quickly they pick this stuff up during observations. They take turns pushing the tram stop button or pulling the cord. They also take turns putting the tram pass into the machine for validation (great, now I can't get on and try to scam a free ride.... of course, not that I would ever try that anyway). Haley has recently discovered that the tram only beeps for the first person to push the button. Therefore, she lets Robbie put the tram pass into the machine first so she can push the tram stop button first. Smart, huh? And they take turns pushing every button. Whether it is on the lift (elevator), cross walk, open door, and every other button. I'm the one who has to remember whose turn it is and they never complain (at least any more) about whose turn it is now and who was last. Haley does calculate and sometimes gives Robbie an extra turn at a stop light so when it comes time to push the button in the lift it will be her turn. Amazing.

They have a new buddy too. There is a shop owner just outside of our apartment. They love going by and waving and saying hi. They get disappointed when he is not working there. He is very friendly. We also have a building cleaner that they look for and say hi to all the time too. She is very sweet. The shop owner is a big time Kangaroo barracker (supporter of the Kangaroo Footie (Australian Rules Football) team). He's converted the kids over too. Their first game they barracked for the Melbourne Demons. Well sort of.....

Two weeks ago we took the kids to a preseason tournament footie game. It was the Melbourne Demons vs. Hawthorn Hawks. Footie is similar to rugby but much faster. The game is packed with action. They play on a oval field about 200 metres (meters) long and 150 wide. The guys are running all over the place. It is exciting when the action is in front of you but because the field is so large most of the action is somewhere else. Each quarter is about 25 minutes (yes, about 25. only the official on the field keeps the time and that’s 100 minutes of play). Each score is worth one point within the outer goal posts (called a Behind), 6 points within the inner goal posts (called a Goal), or 9 points within the inner goal posts and kicked outside of the 50 metre mark (called a Super Goal). Each team scores about 80-90 points per game. The kids loved the game. We cheered when the Demons scored AND when the Hawks scored. We were sitting in the Hawks section and the kids didn't care who scored they loved cheering. They would stand up and clap and yell. It was great. Stacey took them for a walk around the stadium. They got ice cream and souvenirs (fleeces with the Demon logo). What could have been better? The better comes in the next game when Uncle Sean went with them.

Superbowl Monday (yes, Monday)

So there I was, leading the party with the kids (pronounced ‘keedz’ in Aussie). It was easier finding chips, cheese, salsa, and the like here in Melbourne (remember…pronounced ‘mel-bin’) on game day than in MI. Just before the game I called another American who was working here. The point of me calling Adam Kline was to rub it in that I was watching the game while he was working. I put the phone up to the TV for the opening kickoff and he got to listen to Chicago return the opening kickoff for a TD. I was his hero. Rats, foiled again. That wasn‘t my purpose! Anyway, to set the stage…..

The TV is loud, as if I had 20-30 people in the room watching the big game. I have got a junk food spread that my dad would have been proud of: three types of Doritos (plain Doritos are the only way to get tortilla chips here), crunchy potato chips, salsa (hot of course), cheese dip, cheese slices, pretzels, and nuts. (I was missing his chex-mix but you can’t have everything). I start frying chicken balls to put into burritos for the lunchtime meal for the kids. When….

Knock, knock, knock. I am standing right next to the door so I open it quickly without thinking. It is the Victorian Apartment Inspector. Turns out they are required to come every three months to make sure tenants are not trashing the place. We had a quick discussion about how I did not receive her letter notifying me of her inspection. She offered to come back. I offered her to inspect then. She said, “No thank you. I’ve seen enough from here.” She left and then it all came together.

I had the TV blasting. Just before the knock I was loudly cheering at the game. I answered the door with no shirt on. The place smelled of smoke because I was frying the chicken. The smoke detectors were hanging from the ceiling because they were going off. The counter was covered in food bags (guys don’t serve chips in bowls - that’s why they sell them in bags). The couch cushions were strewn across the floor for the kids to bounce and play on (Daddy Daycare remember). And, I’m sure to every non-parent the poopy diaper in the garbage created an offensive smell.

So that was my inspection. We haven’t been kicked out yet but I can’t wait until our six month inspection!

The game was much different than it is in the states. We saw very, very few commercials here. Instead we listened to three guys in tee shirts try to recap what a crazy start the game had. They didn’t seem to know much about football and were trying to explain it to Australians who may know even less. The commercials we did see were for local items so they weren’t as creative as the US. Also, this would have been a fun one to go to Glenn Babiak’s party since he is a Chicago Bears fan. But, we didn’t get an invite this year. (Not the first party we were forgotten about. Just because you leave the country people pretend you don’t exist anymore and won’t invite you anywhere).

Now for all you slappies that have harassed me since my college days. The only three artists I have CDs for are Janet Jackson, Rolling Stones, and Prince. My artists have performed at the Superbowl. How about yours? Prince put on a good show didn’t he? No “wardrobe malfunction” but it was good.

After the halftime show, the kids and I went outside to play. We missed the third quarter but made it back for the finish. After the game we went back outside to play again. It kinda sucked though. I had to reapply their sunscreen to go outside after the game. Did any of you have to do that too? It was 75F and very sunny. I squinted the whole time until I put my shades (sunnies in Aussie) on.

Sad Times

We have been here three months. We are past the half-way point. I get sad thinking that I am going to have to tuck my shirt in again (I still wear one in public sometimes). I’ve also come to the conclusion that I don’t like Adam much. I’ve worn pants four times in the past three months and he was responsible for three of them. I wore them for a Christmas dinner with his family, at New Years Eve (not with him), to a bar that may have had a dress code against shorts (turned out it didn’t so I was tricked), and to a dinner with other US GM employees (really not me but Dan likes my kids) on assignment here in Australia being treated to the dinner by a visiting US GM Director in engineering. Pants make me feel as uncomfortable as if I were wearing a bather at the beach. (A lot of men wear bathers here. You know the Speedo bathing suit).

We’ve had a large group of new kids and moms join the biweekly playgroup since the new year. It has been a lot of fun for the kids to play with these new kids both at playgroup and at other times during the week. We’ve gone swimming with Jules at the Melbourne Aquatic Center (an amazing place with a wave pool, two zero entry play pools for kids with fountains, a big water slide, a four foot deep lap pool, and an 18” deep 20’x20’ play pool. We went to the Melbourne Museum with Alex and Thomas (both of which have found houses way outside of the city and will most likely soon become past playmates). There is a four year old, Avantika, that we’ve tried to hook up with but have had difficulty while they are finding a house. There is another four year old, Naomi, who has a two year old sister, Emma, from Seattle that just started playgroup. They moved here in November also but just found out about playgroup last week. Their mom is really nice and this would have worked out perfectly for the kids but Naomi just got accepted into kindergarten for four days per week. Therefore, we will only see her on Fridays. Poor Haley.

We lost our first American two weeks ago. Paul Tran went back to the US. There was a lot of talk about extending his assignment here but it didn’t get done before he left. He flew out here with us and showed our family the ropes. We miss him. The kids especially miss seeing Mr. Paul at dinner. They made him come-back-soon cards and gave him their prized window clings. We will be losing another two soon. Melanie Giasson’s three month assignment will be up soon and Cindy Hamkins (a friend for college) got a promotion and will be going back to the US early.


Another sad thing is that the days are getting shorter. It is so depressing. The sun comes up at 6:45AM and sets at 8:30PM. Ugh! Can you guys spare some in Michigan?

The last sad thing is that I am getting a wicked tan line on my ring finger. That’s going to make slipping it off in the bar more difficult.

Good Times Keep on Rolling

The kids started their classes two weeks ago. They swim on Wednesdays and have gym on Thursday. They are in separate swim classes. Haley is in a level 1A (entry level without parent) class. She is older than most kids at the 1A or 1B levels. She is picking up on the instructors teachings quickly. Robbie is in a parent-tot class. He is the role model for splashing and putting your face in the water. The techniques used by the instructors are much different than what we’ve seen for them in the US. They seem to be pushing the kids more and using interesting, entertaining ways to keep them going.

They also started a gymnastics, play, project class. They were in separate hours (1.5 yr to 3 yr old class and 3-5 yr old class) but that turned out to be too much for both so they are only in the 3-5 yr old class now. Haley is tops in the class for the gymnastics portion. They start off with singing and moving for warm-up, do a free play on the gymnastic equipment (balance beam, rings, bars, tumbling) and finish with projects and cool down activities. It is a lot like what they did in the US in a tumbling toddler class but with Wiggles and Australian kid music.

The kids have been coloring window clings in the shapes of different Australian animals. I trace the animals onto a flimsy then they use a paint pen to drip and smear color on them. We’ve sent some back to the US and will send more. In the first batch, Haley sent some to her class along with her favorite book and a letter. Her teacher told us that the kids love the book. She also told us that Haley wrote that she is learning addition at Daddy Daycare and all the other kids wanted to be like Haley and learn it too. She is getting quite good at it if you want to test her.

The window clings are the only thing Robbie will color. He doesn’t like coloring books or project books. Instead of coloring we sing the ABCs (he still gets caught in repeating DEFG), the days of the week, and counting (he can count to 20 almost without any errors). Many parents remark on how well he talks for his age - even with his accent. They also comment on how well both of them behave, listen, and play well with the other kids. They both have run after another non-listening kid to try to bring them back to their calling mum. Robbie even does it to kids bigger than him. He is a tough cookie too. He fell the other day and chipped both of his front teeth. He cried but wasn’t outrageous about it so we thought it was a normal fall. We didn’t notice until brushing his teeth. We still need to get that fixed.

Funny story about Robbie…. We were at dinner with Ms. Melanie the other week. As with most dinners, it was long with poor service. Robbie and Haley had had enough and were up from their seat and moving around (it’s really hard to expect them to stay in their seat for two or more hours for dinner). They started crawling on the floor and that’s when I stopped them. Robbie came up showing me his fingers. “Yucky,” he said. I figured it was some goop he pick up on from the floor. Then he told me he stuck his hand down the back of his diaper. I used the cloth napkin to wipe his fingers and then escorted him out to change his diaper. Melanie made me take the poopy napkin with me (I, of course, would have left it) and I had to explain to the host why I was stealing their napkin.

Bedtime is getting earlier for the punks and that translates into earlier wake up time. I no longer get time in the mornings to do email or IM (that is one reason why I didn‘t do this update earlier as I projected in my original email). Can you believe the kids are waking up between 7:30 and 8:00! That’s outrageous! The good thing with that is that they get to see Stacey in the morning before she goes to work.

We are cruising the city less. On the weekends we have been adventuring out and during the week we have four days of planned activities. We are still discovering new playgrounds; two of which have pictures included - Federation Square and the Pirate Ship.

Haley plans on making a big sign for our return. She wants to inform all of you that she is Haley and Robbie is Robbie. She doesn’t think you will recognize them when they get home because they are growing so fast due to them eating so many vegetables. So look for the sign in May.

Thank you all for listening (and hopefully enjoying) our rambling stories and adventures here in Australia. We are having heaps (that’s lots in Aussie) of fun and would do this again without hesitation.

December break vacation 2006

Our December vacation started with a flight to Sydney and a quick 2 hour drive to the Blue Mountains.

We had a few issues checking in to our hotel, but we eventually settled in. The next morning, Kevin went for a run around the area. He found a playground that had picnic tables inside caves looking out over the mountains. So we went to the bakery and got some yummies to take to the playground. It was a very memorable and enjoyable breakfast! We spent the rest of the day exploring the mountains. First we went for a long downhill climb to the Leura Cascades. There is where we learned 'Robbie size steps' and 'adult size steps.' The waterfall was beautiful and worth the walk.

The rest of the day was spent at Scenic World, the ultimate tourist center. There was a train that went straight down the mountain to a rain forest. We walked around and saw some info on the old coal mines that used to operate in the area. Then we took a gondola back up the mountain. The last ride was a glass-bottom cable car. Check out the picture where Robbie is pointing to the valley below his feet.

The final day in he Blue Mountains was on the Zig Zag Railway. This was a big hit with the kids. Everyone had to get out of the train on several occasions while the train changed tracks. Robbie loved watching the train from so close. Haley loved picking out new seats every time we got back on.

Part 2 of our vacation was in Sydney. We actually met up with some fellow Michiganders :Melanie, her fiancee, Shawn, Adam and his family in Sydney. We had a big group dinner for Xmas Eve in Darling Harbour. The next day was Christmas so not many things were open. We took a ferry ride across the harbour to go to Taronga Zoo. The ferry ride was where we got some great pics of the Opera House and the Bridge. The zoo was wonderful too. There was a cable car that takes you over the animals and to the top of the zoo. Then you walk downhill all the way to the bottom.

Our last day in Sydney we walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the Kline family. We found a terrific playground and relaxed the rest of the day. We wanted to have dinner in the Sydney Tower which overlooks the whole city. There was a 2hour wait to get down from the tower though!!!! So, went back to Darling Harbour and had another relaxing evening.

Part 3 of the vacation was further up the coast in the Gold Coast. It is like Orlando in Daytona - lots of theme parks in a touristy beach city. We went to DreamWorld first. There was a Wiggles World which the kids enjoyed very much. We also saw a Tiger show and a crocodile show. It was fun, but no Disney World. The second day was a beach day. We spent the whole day there and had a wonderful time. The kids were jumping waves, building sand castles, and digging out their own swimming pools in the beach. Kevin and Stacey took turns body surfing and playing with the kids. It was a blast! The adults got very burnt though!!!! Fortunately, the kids did not. So, the beach was not a good option for our very last day of vacation. We went to Sea World. It was just like the one in Florida minus the killer whales. The dolphins were all over the park. They had all sorts of experiences you could for to be in the water with them. We opted out of it this time, but Stacey was ready to jump in the water.

We returned to Melbourne just in time for New Years Eve. We watched 2007 come in at our friend Cindy's apartment. It is a 5 minute walk from our apartment but she has a much better view of the waterfront and the fireworks were shot off right in front of her porch. It was fabulous! Haley and Robbie stayed awake for all of it. They felt so 'grown-up' after being up that late.

Well, here are the pictures so you can see how much fun we had:

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The album should work now if you copy both lines

December, 2006

The first post of Daddy Day Care in OZ.....



December was a very busy month. There were all sorts of events and parties going on around Melbourne to bring in the holidays. Our first event was a picnic for all the employees and their families that are on international assignments at Holden. It was very nice to talk to other people in our situations. Some of them had been here for 4-5 years and others were almost as fresh as us. The kids met Santa at the picnic for the first time really. Both of them asked for scooters, pink and blue. Haley and Robbie both got their faces painted, which is a very common party activity. We went to a couple other festivals for xmas and hanukkah that always end in fireworks. The month felt like one big show!

Kevin and the kids fell in love with the ScienceWorks museum. That is where a lot of the indoor pictures are from. I think Kevin explained the tinker toys and building a brick wall in his last email.

We also joined a Toy Library - a place where you can rent out toys - the greatest invention ever. So, Haley had a pink bicycle and Robbie had a motorcycle (no power though). They loved touring around town in them. Mommy and Daddy did end up carrying the motorcycle on many journeys though. We also rented a car as seen by the typical couple photo in the album.


The highlight in December was going to Philip Island. It is an island about a 2 hour drive from Melbourne.

The island is best known for their colony of penguins that parade on to the beach every night. It was quite amazing. The penguin's eyes are very sensitive to bright lights so no photos are allowed. This is from their website

We went with a group of our American friends: Adam, Paul, Melanie, and Digvijay. The other thing some of us did on the island was a wildlife park. At the park, we were able to feed kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats. Haley loved it. Robbie was a little nervous. he liked watching other people feed the animals and he preferred to just throw food on the floor. He did, however, feed a joey several times. I guess he likes the one the same size as him ;-) We got quite a few great pictures. Be sure to check out the album below.

Kevin spent a lot of time photographing all the wildlife there (and everywhere else we have been). We will set up a separate album for all the animals that we encounter over our journey. I hope to post that soon.

Here are the pictures from December in Melbourne:

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