Birthday Weekend

 Turned the big 33 last Friday. Fairly under the radar, seeing as it was full of last-day-of-term excitement and parties (but I pretended those were for me so it was all good.) We did head up to Sydney for the long weekend and my fam was gracious enough to let me call most of the shots - like following our friends to the Olympic Aquatic Center for a swim, and hitting the beach on the way home. (How on earth do my kids all of a sudden not like the beach?? It was just me and Summer in the waves... Dad's winning them over slowly, darn it all.)

 Bless that Krispy Kreme. We fairly got in an accident trying to maneuver out of the turn lane when we saw the sign. Then we bought an extra dozen for our friends, only to discover in the parking lot that they'd just done the exact same for us! So awesome. Sign of a true friendship :)

 Highlight of the weekend though was getting to accompany our sweet friends, the Klenkas, through the temple and witness their sealing afterwards. What a sweet and special privilege. We love them. (Still waiting on a pic...)

Will getting swarmed with the bucket'o'gelato

 Hot day. Can you tell? This guy stole an hour of our lives that we'll never get back. But the last five minutes when he juggled fire, knives and apples on his bike was cool.

new view of the Opera House and Bridge from far side of RBG

Of course the kids love staying at the "temple hotel" and were thrilled when the Sorensons stayed as well. They hosted games in the rec room and even sleepovers at their place - what a fam :) I'm a nerd and didn't even snap a pic of the pj parties. Maybe because I was running back and forth trying to nurse two babies and a sick child to bed. First night was the worst, got in late, settled down later and Summer bed-hopped until dawn. There is simply nothing like trying to keep a 2 year old occupied or even remotely quiet in a room full of 5 other sleeping people at 5am. You know what I'm talking about. Brutal. I kept snatching cat naps between 10-minute episodes of Curious George on Youtube because I was too delirious to think of any brighter ideas. The next two nights everyone slept through until 9am though, so no complaints. They were so zonked that Annie fell off her top bunk and Kenna "sleep-barfed" into the bucket by her bed - neither of them remembering a thing in the morning. Now that's running 'em ragged.

 So yes, we swam, bungee-tramp-ed, hit Darling Harbour and the Royal Botanical Gardens, then showed them the Nan Tien Temple and beach on the way home. Great weekend. Loved it all, especially quality time with the kiddos. Darren's fond of blasting the music during long drives (mostly The Killers new album this time, which is mega-awesome) and rolling down the windows - all enveloped in it together. Good times. I think their favorite part was actually the buddhist temple, though. Annie said, "All these Chinese people were saying stuff in another language and sitting down in strange positions and looking at us thinking, 'what are these white people doing here?'" Too cute, that girl.

It was a lovely weekend and I'm so glad I got to share it with the fam in an awesome place. :)

Mmmm. First tumble in the waves and right back at it.

Sydney: Round 2

Took the 3 hour drive north to attend the (LDS) temple in Sydney and had a spectacular time, yet again. We stayed an extra day and visited Oceanworld at Manly, Sydney Acquarium, Sydney Wildlife World and some gorgeous Manly beaches for some much appreciated fun in the sun. As luck would have it, our trip coincided with a fabulous Lego display at some of the sites, and the weather was a dream. Added bonus: downtown parking (right off Darling Harbor) for a mere $10 as opposed to the regular rate of $75/day. Score! Subtract the outrageous web of toll-roads that cost almost as much as our accommodations, and it was another great visit. I do miss having a temple 10 minutes away, but the drive's not so hard to swallow when the destination is freakin' Sydney, Australia :)

Had to document one of the four times in her life this lady has actually accepted a bottle. I'll tell ya what though  - I love a quick weekend getaway for that priceless concentrated family time.

I've never seen koalas do anything but sleep, until now. Whoa, nelly, they were all over the place eating, climbing, walking, I even saw one jump from one tree to another. Totally fell in love.

Leave it to McD's to snag prime downtown real estate.

Ever since visiting LegoLand in CA, I often wonder how it would feel being a professional Lego artist. Check out that wall sized lego mural - impressively artistic and very cool.

the sign reads "Manatees: the original mermaids" - wicked cool

Look closely - those are "water dragons" not seaweed

See those specks? People started dropping from the sky on our way home - now THAT'S the way to end a day: skydiving mid-sunset. That one's going on my bucket list.