Australia Vacation -- Day 8

This morning started with two girls getting a full night's sleep! Yeah!!! That is the way a day should start. So, we started with a good breakfast before hitting the pavement toward Circular Quay. We caught the ferry and had a great view of the Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge on our way to the Taronga Zoo.



The zoo was great! It has separate sections -- Australian, African, and Asian, as well as a "backyard bush" critters (sheep, goats, turkey, pigs) -- and was laid out well. We saw elephants, giraffes, koalas, mountain goats, snakes, red pandas, a komoto dragon, and much more. Yet, what was Olivia's favorite thing? Feeding the sheep. Next year's vacation: a farm in the midwest!

Below is a shot from our apartment. The morning and sunset views are quite nice! The girls enjoy going out on the balcony and seeing the city. It has been a bit chilly (compared to Guam), but it isn't too bad.

Australia Vacation -- Day 7

Day 7 and where did we go today? The aquarium! It was nice, with lots of animals. It was a short walk from where we are staying. We came back early and tried to get some naps in, which were short. Then, we walked around some more (in hunting mode for Italian food). We finally found a food court, ate, grabbed some delicious dessert, and headed home. The girls turned in early, and we are ready for another day tomorrow!

All pictures are now uploaded to Flickr. Enjoy! See you tomorrow.

Australia Vacation -- Day 6

Back on the plane. The Qantas people were extremely nice and helpful in finding an extra seat for Katelee and giving Olivia a coloring/activity pack. The flight from Cairns to Sydney was about 3.5 hours. We arrived around 4:30 p.m., grabbed our bags, and hailed a taxi to take us to our next “home.” The apartments we are staying at in Sydney are very nice and right down town. We unpacked. Mark took a quick trip to the grocery store around the corner (and McDonald’s across the street). We ate. Then, the girls crashed – they shared a King-sized bed for the first time. How did it work? Well, Olivia cried at 11:30 with a nightmare. Katelee woke up about 2:00 crying, so we brought her into bed with us. Then, Mark switched beds at 5:00 due to Katelee kicking him and the need to keep Olivia in bed at the crack dawn. We've rented a crib for the rest of our stay! We grabbed a bunch of brochures to plan our days here, and we’ll head out tomorrow on our next adventure! See you then!

Since we don't have the picture of Katelee enjoying a fudge-cicle on the plane (all over her face), enjoy the prettier one of Courtney at Port Douglas from Day 5.

Australia Vacation -- Day 5

This was our final day in Cairns. We were pretty conflicted how to spend our final day. We rented a car for the short jaunt up the road to the zoo. Mark managed to get everyone there despite driving on the left hand side! At the zoo, we saw more kangaroos, some crocodiles, monkeys, wombats, a red panda, and more koalas.






Then, the moment of decision – turn right to Cairns or turn left to Port Douglas. Since we hadn’t seen Port Douglas, we headed left! The drive was great -- rain forest on the right of us and beach on the left! Port Douglas was a quaint, little town. It reminded of us of Eureka Springs, Arkansas – lots of little shops and restaurants along a main town road. There was a nice playground we found for the girls, and they played a while. Then, after lunch, we headed back to the apartment to pack for a flight the next morning.

Australia Vacation -- Day 4

What Australian visit would be complete without visiting the Great Barrier Reef? Of course, how do you accomplish this with two little girls in tow? Well, we had an excellent manager of the hotel serve as our tour guide/booking agent. She found an awesome deal through a company called Reef Magic that allowed the girls to come with us. They even threw in a helicopter ride for free! The day consisted of an early morning rise to catch our tour bus. They took us to the pier, where we hopped on a huge, two story catamaran ship. We took about a 45 minute ride out to the reef (quite choppy) to an anchored “dock” – Marine World.

Mark took the first plunge into diving while Courtney took the girls on a semi-submersible vessel around the reef. Mark managed to see 3 sharks, an eel, lots of fish, gorgeous coral cliffs, colorful sea squirts, bumpy sea cucumbers, star fish, giant clams, and a jellyfish (that he touched). The only thing missing was Courtney.

When Mark returned (and warmed up), we all headed over to a waiting helicopter. We hopped on the helicopter and did a quick (5 minute) tour around the reef. From the air, we caught a sight of sea turtles swimming, the reef itself, and Marine World. Afterward, we all enjoyed lunch on the boat.

Then, it was Courtney’s turn to dive while Mark took the girls on the submersible again. While Courtney missed any sharks, she saw some huge parrot fish, lots of coral, a sea anemone, and a sea pen (looked like an old quill pen). When she returned, it was time to head back to the pier and home. Unfortunately, the girls didn’t get to really play in the water or snorkel because it was so cold and choppy, but they still seemed to enjoy the boat ride. What a full day!!!

Australia Vacation -- Day 3

Today we mulled around the apartment a little bit in the morning as we decided what we would do today and how we would get there. The general plan was to head into Cairns (we are staying just North of it). So, we looked at different options. When the rental car option fell through, we took the bus to the Esplanade, which has the Lagoon. Essentially, this is a very large pool that is too cool! It starts in inches of water and got deeper by the end. The deep end overlooked the ocean and mountains. It had fountains for the kids, and half of it was a sandy beach. The girls loved it, even though it was a bit cold and overcast.

The Lagoon in Cairns

When we finished with the Lagoon, we headed for some ice cream! We enjoyed it, and then we headed down the sidewalk to Muddie's Playground. This is an awesome playground for kids!!! There were tons of climbing areas, swings, water fountains, a zip line, twirly gadgets, bouncy toys, etc., etc. The girls loved it, and we stayed until a good shower forced us to leave. Since Courtney was hungry, we ate lunch a bit early (Fish-n-chips anyone?), and then went to the Night Market (which opens at 4:30 p.m.). It is essentially a bunch of tourist souvenirs in one area, as well as massages for 15 bucks for 40 minutes! We didn't see anything we liked there, so we headed on out. We did manage to grab some gifts and sunglasses for tomorrow's BIG outing!!!

Slowly uploading pics still. See you later!

Australia Vacation -- Day 2

Day 2 was great! We woke up around 7:00 a.m. and headed out the door about 8:30. We caught a bus from Down Under Tours at 9:00. They took us to the train, which took us up the mountain, through the rainforest, to Kuranda.

In Kuranda, we ate lunch at the first place we could find -- an Irish Bar & Grill. Then, we made a beeline to the Koala Park. While the girls were thrilled to cuddle a Koala (they were too young to hold one), I think they were equally excited about feeding, petting, kissing, and mauling the kangaroos and wallabies.

After the Koala Park, we headed (much to the chagrin of Courtney) to the Bird Park. This was an open aviary with over 500 birds flying around the place. We bought a bag of food, stepped through the curtains, and we were swarmed by all kinds of birds (75 species). Mark was delighted; Olivia was cautious; Katelee was curious (until she was bitten); and Courtney was tolerating it all (she disdains them). It was loud and crazy as birds flew in from all directions, landed on us, bit us (crazy devil blue bird, ticked off toe-biting bird, etc.). It was great fun (says Mark).


After Bird World, we shopped for a little bit, ate some ice cream, and headed for the SkyRail. This is a 7.5 km gondola ride over the rainforest. It even has a couple places to hop off and see the forest up close. It was a fabulous view and ride (even if Katelee slept through half of it).

And we dusted off the evening by eating next to the beach at a great Italian restaurant. We enjoyed a great pizza and view! We got the girls in bed by 7 and were asleep by 8.

We took over 140 pics, so it may take a bit to upload them all.

See you tomorrow!

Australia Vacation -- Day 1 Epilogue

Unfortunately, while waiting for the bus to return to the apartment, Katelee kissed the pavement. So, all pics you see from the rest of our vacation may show Katelee a bit swollen in the lips.

Australia Vacation -- Day 1

Day 1 started relatively early (considering the late night last night). We immediately went on a hunt for food! We stopped by the front office and officially checked in, grabbed a "port-a-cot" (pack-n-play) for Katelee bedtime confinement. We also got the low down on the nearest places to eat -- 100 yards from our place. As we were leaving, we were shown a bat that had flown into the volleyball net and become entangled. They had called the "people who get bats down from volleyball nets people," and they were on their way. So, we packed up the kids and headed out to enjoy some bacon and eggs and toast and fruit at a little bistro on the beach.



After we finished eating, we headed across the street to the beach and playground. The girls played for a little while, and then we headed back to the apartment.

When we were coming back from our breakfast at the beach, the "people who get bats down from volleyball nets people" had arrived and secured the little critter. They were feeding him juice (since he may not have been able to eat last night), and Olivia was enjoying the show. Score one for "no cost entertainment!"

We decided to let the girls nap a little early (the pack-n-play worked), and we made a game plan of taking a bus to the big mall/supermarket down the street. We shopped well past Katelee's tolerance level, and Olivia was so jazzed on the quart of chocolate milk she had for lunch, it was a wonderful experience! We managed to get our necessary items and food though, and then we caught the bus back to the apartment. We settled in for some good (and easy) PB&J dinner, washed up the girls, and got them to bed. We hope they sleep well, because tomorrow is a big day!

(see you then)

If you want to see a few more pics, you can see them at Flickr (or click the Photos link on the right)

Australia Vacation -- Lift Off

Well, we departed the lovely island of Guam on Thursday for the "big island" of Australia. Courtney managed to overcome all of her pack rat genes and fit all of her stuff in half of a suitcase, and the girls took up another suitcase. Unfortunately, the plane took off at 6:30 p.m., which is right at the girls' bedtimes. No problem for Olivia -- we just plugged in a DVD movie and she was in a trance until 10:30. Then, she dozed for about 30 minutes until we landed. Katelee, on the other hand, was a bit more of a handful. She was quite fussy about bedtime, and then she became so tired, nothing would satisfy her. All the dreaded passengers with kids that scream? That was us! Although, Courtney was generally able to get Katelee to settle down after a couple minutes. And then, once we landed and she saw the border patrol dog, she was happy again! Once we landed, we grabbed a taxi and got to our place about 1:00 a.m. It took a little settling in, and then we all crashed. But, we didn't have a crib for Katelee, so she slept in the queen bed with Mark, and Courtney kept Olivia company in the room with the two twin beds. All slept well until 7:30 the next morning. Day 1 done.

Great Shots

Happy Anniversary Love

Thanks to a great friend, Mark & Courtney were able to slip away for a romantic dinner to celebrate their 7th Wedding Anniversary. They enjoyed a well cooked meal at PROA, followed by some decadent dessert -- carrot cake and chocolate mouse cake! It was fabulous!

Here's to the next seven!

Pics of the Day

The girls had a fun afternoon of playing in the pool and swinging.







Of course, they needed a bath after it was all said and done. Olivia helped suds up Katelee!

Horses

Well, we made it to the Friday night Festival. The girls enjoyed the bouncy castle and music. They especially loved the horse ride. Courtney, on the other hand, especially enjoyed the deep-fried Oreo cookies and funnel cake! Mark just enjoyed his wife and girls!

Re-Introducing Daddy to Guam

We enjoyed a fun family day this morning on the southern side of the island, playing in the tidal pools. We played until we were hungry enough to eat at Jeff's Pirate Cove. Then, it was home for naps. This evening looks like a Celebration in the Park, so we'll see if we make that. Enjoy the pics!

Home Again

Mark arrived home safely Monday night to a wonderful welcome from friends and family! Since then, he has been busy recovering from jetlag, getting reacquainted with the base, and loving on his girls. Thanks to all who came out to welcome me back!!!

Being Girly

Katelee found some of Mama's makeup under the sink...actually, she has been playing with it for months, but just figured out how to open the lipstick. Too cute to not share. Liv was cheesing for the camera, too, of course! Pretty girls.