An observant friend noted that my last blog was posted in a not-so-timely manner (Christmas blog in Feb.) Let's see if I can do better today. 11 years ago, Andy and I got the best Valentine's Day present ev-ah:
Best part is, February 14 is not longer a Hallmark holiday for us, it's Alanna's birthday. Lucky for her, the teacher's union here in Victoria went on strike today, so she got the day off of school. At her request, Aliya and I served her heart-shaped pancakes in bed.
Later in the day I took the girls, and a friend each, to Bounce, an indoor trampoline place. She wants you to see the backflip at the end of this video.
Dinner was Alanna's favorites: spaghetti, rolls, and her own creation: Sunburst Salad, a fruit salad she made herself (pineapple, oranges, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe and strawberries.) We dressed up, lit candles, and the girls drank their water out of wine glasses. A very nice evening indeed.
Alanna just came in and said it was her best birthday ever. She's really been having a great year so far, and she's determined to make the most of her last year at her school, and possibly our last year in Oz. All of the Year Six students (the highest grade at her school) get an opportunity to be student leaders for a term. Alanna is a leader this term, and she got to recite the Student Declaration at the weekly student assembly.
She also participated in the Swim Carnival for her school. Just like the last two years, she came first in breaststroke. She found out on Wednesday that she'll get to compete in Districts in the breaststroke, and also the freestyle relay.
Finally, she was elected to the school's Junior School council, after giving a very motivating speech about helping others, especially children who are less fortunate. Alanna's enthusiasm and happiness is contagious. We're excited to see what this year brings! And now I need to get to bed. Alanna has her first drum corp practice at 7:50 tomorrow morning!
For the A-team, the best day of 2012 was the day this happened:
The kids gladly missed their end-of-year class parties to go to the airport and pick up Pap and Gram. Despite traveling almost 40 hours (door to door,) they said it was worth it just to get hugs from the girls Those that know my parents know they wouldn't come empty-handed. One whole suitcase was devoted to books:
And though Christmas was still a few days away, Gram gave the girls these two beautiful dresses that she made:
There was no rest for the weary travellers. The very next day, after dropping the girls off at school, we did a three-hour bike tour of the city.
The electric bikes were fabulous, as you could pedal as much or as little as you desired. Although we didn't go in the CBD (central business district) we covered over 20 kilometers, and rode around the Docklands, by the Yarra river, around two footy stadiums, by the Royal Botanical Gardens, over to Fed Square, and more (and not necessarily in that order.) They provided headsets, so we could listen to the tour guide as we rode. For my parents, it was a highlight of their visit, and a great way to learn more about Melbourne.
And the pace didn't let up. The next day, Friday, was the last day of school for the girls. We celebrated with lots of their classmates and mums at the nearby park after school. On Sunday, we drove east into the country to ride Puffing Billy, a century-old steam train. The best part of the ride is that you're allowed to sit on the sides and hang your arms and legs out over the edge.
A popular holiday event in Melbourne is Carols by Candelight, held at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which was modeled after the Hollywood Bowl. The outdoor concert, held on Christmas Eve, sold out long ago, but Andy discovered that for just a few bucks you could attend the rehearsal the night before. So we walked to the end of our street, hopped on the tram, and went into the city to listen to the singers rehearse.
It was such a hot day, it didn't feel very Christmas-sy, but it got a bit more festive as it got darker and the lights came on.
Some of the singers were contestants from the Aussie version of X Factor, which the girls have been watching on TV, and as we left Delta Goodrem (one of the more famous Aussie singers) performed. Before going home, we walked over to the Melbourne Town Hall, where there is an amazing sound and light show projected onto the building.
The picture doesn't do it justice, you really should check out the video. Stick with it, because the second half is really amazing.
Christmas, well, it just didn't feel like Christmas. It wasn't the weather, since we're used to warm Christmas days. I think it was mainly missing the usual holiday activities we did with family and friends back home. We definitely missed our traditional brunch and volleyball at the beach on Christmas Eve morning. We still went to church on Christmas eve, but it's just not the same. Very few houses have Christmas lights. The streets and malls have a lot less decorations. And it stays daylight until after 9:00 pm. Nevertheless, we had a lot to celebrate and were so happy Pap and Gram were there to share our first Christmas in Oz.
Gram gave me these super-soft, aloe-infused socks...but I didn't get to keep them for long.
The girls wore footy jammies when they were little, those all-in-one outfits that covered up their feet. Now their footy jammies are for Aussie-rules football teams.
Our American friends invited us for a Christmas Day BBQ, an offer we eagerly accepted. Lisa's truffle was amazing!
Proudly wearing the hats that were in the Christmas crackers:
The next day we headed to Apollo Bay...to be continued!
