We Are the Champions (Basketball)

   At least they were in the regular season, where Aliya's basketball team went undefeated. They won their first playoff game, putting them right into the Grand Final. Alas, they couldn't quite pull it off and they had their first loss, making them Runners Up.
   After the Grand Final they had an award ceremony. Here's Aliya receiving her medal.

 

 

The coach was amazing. She'd coached some of the girls last season, and agreed to coach them again even though her daughter had moved up to another age bracket. She was tough, but fair, and taught them a lot in their one weekly practice.

The evening after the Grand Final was an award ceremony, and they were presented with personalized trophies. 

 

It was a great season, although a fairly long one. It started at the beginning of Term 4 last year, early October. They had the Christmas holidays and January off, and then continued through Term 1 of this year. The girls gelled nicely as a team, which made me happy since only one other girl was from Aliya's school. Half of the team was experienced, so the new girls learned a lot from them. Speaking of teammates, would you believe one of the other girls is named Aaliya? What are the odds?

We could see Aliya improve with each game. In February Aliya scored her first basket in a game. Not an easy task since they play with regulation 10' basket height. Her coach awarded her Player of the Day.

   It's interesting (to me anyway) to note the differences between sports teams here and in the US. It's a lot "simpler" here in Australia. No snack duties, for example. In the US, parents take turns bringing snacks for all players after a game. For Aliya's soccer team, I even decorated plastic shoe boxes with the child's picture, colored paint pens, and stickers. These boxes were used for their snacks each week. 
   Also in the US, there was often quite a bit of fundraising, where donations of time and/or money were required. There were opening day activities, as well as formal pictures of both the team and individual. 
   Another huge aspect of sport teams, at least in California, were the constant pizza parties. Usually these were very casual events where the pizza place offered a few free cheese pizzas for the kids. Smart marketing on their part, because inevitably the parents ordered more expensive options, along with the necessary wine and beer, and of course, the kids spent plenty of money on the games and videos that were usually at the back of the restaurant. Still, it was a fun way to socialize.
   No pizza parties here, but we did organize an end-of-season dinner for our team at an Italian restaurant. I made these cupcakes as a treat for the girls. Can you tell what they are supposed to be?

   All in all, we were really pleased with the program, especially our particular club whose motto is, "Where friendship and fun are number 1." Some of the other clubs in the league are a bit more aggressive. Both Aliya and Alanna signed up for next season, so there will be a lot of basketball in our future!
   I was so happy to find this program. We struck out on our attempts at soccer, softball, and even volleyball. The main organized sport for young girls here is netball, a variant on basketball with no dribbling, but I wanted a sport that would translate back to the US. 

Try Baby Try (Vegemite)

One of my "souvenirs" from Sydney was a small packet of Vegemite from the Virgin Lounge. Yesterday, we decided to try it. Here are the results of our taste test.

Ain't She Sweet (Taylor Swift)

   Compared to most of the musical acts that appeal to the pre-teen set, I'd have to say that Taylor Swift is indeed sweet. And while a lot of the songs sound the same to my ear, I have to respect that she plays her own instruments, writes her own songs, actually sings (and on pitch) in her concerts, doesn't dress like a streetwalker, and puts on an age-appropriate, entertaining show.
   We gave the girls tickets as birthday presents, much to Alanna's utter delight. She'd been asking to go ever since she found out months ago that Taylor was coming to Melbourne. I bought three when they went on sale, not sure who was going to get the third one. In the end, Aliya decided she wanted to go as well. I was surprised since she's not nearly obsessed as Alanna is, and I even offered to apply the price of her ticket (if we sold it) towards a new iPod for her. Turned out to be a lucky choice as Andy found her missing iPod touch a few days later!
   I made Aliya take a nap after school, knowing she'd have a tough time with two late nights in a row. Meanwhile, Alanna worked on a poster for Taylor, and put on her Taylor Swift shirt that the Buis sent her for her birthday.

Standing outside the Rod Laver arena:

Part of the pre-show festivities included free mini-makeovers.

And the opportunity to make their own perfume ad. Amazingly, they were given two free hardcopies of the pic and a digital version was emailed out the next day. I guess they can afford to do that when they sell a tiny bottle of perfume for $50.

You can't tell from this picture, but the entire audience is made up of girls ages 5-14, their moms, and a few dads. Oh, and our friend John who came with his wife but not their girls, so feel free to give him a hard time when you come to Australia and visit us. See what I did there?

Aliya counted nine costume changes.

   Thankfully, the show ended about 10:45. Unlike the girls in front of us who fell asleep, Aliya stayed awake and entertained the entire time. Alanna was completely overwhelmed to have her idol in the same building (I felt the same way at the Paul McCartney concert) and she didn't sit down or stop singing/screaming the entire show.
   The tough part was getting home. We still had a 20 minute walk to the train station (buying a bootleg t-shirt for Aliya for $10 along the way, score!), a 15 minute train ride, plus 10 minute drive home. Needless to say, after two very late nights in a row, the girls were exhausted. I let them sleep in the next morning, and took them in to school late. Surprisingly, the assistant vice principal was quite understanding about it all, and she even asked how the concert was!
   

Sydney Part 5

   At last, the day Alanna had been waiting for: the day of the Harry Potter Exhibition! Alanna has read the entire series numerous times, and after getting the complete DVD collection from Santa, she's watched all the movies. Needless to say, she's a huge fan, so she was eager to see the huge collection of artifacts from the movie. 
   Monday morning we checked out of the hotel, stored our luggage with the bell clerk, and walked to the Powerhouse Museum. Pre-bought tickets in hand, we waited to get into the exhibit. Because of the high demand, you were given a 30 minute window to enter the exhibit. Once you were in, however, you could stay as long as you liked.

   We weren't supposed to take pictures (which didn't stop Andy from taking pics with his phone) but you can see some of the exhibits in this photo gallery. 
   The exhibits were fantastic, and we have a new appreciation for how much thought and work went into the costumes, props, and decorations. Taking it's cue from Disneyland perhaps, the tour ended at a large giftshop where, for exorbitant amounts of money, you can buy your own Maurader's Map, Gryffindor Scarf, Hermione's wand, and much much more. We settled for Souvenir Program ($25) and three boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Jelly Beans ($5 each). In case you're wondering, the flavors are: Banana, Black Pepper, Blueberry, Booger, Candyfloss, Cherry, Cinnamon, Dirt, Earthworm, Earwax, Grass, Green Apple, Marshmallow, Rotten Egg, Sausage, Lemon, Soap, Tutti-Fruitti, Vomit and Watermelon. We tried a few of the nasty flavors and yes, they are truly nasty!
   The tickets included entry to the rest of the PowerHouse museum, so we took some time to explore. It's a fabulous museum, much more than just a science museum. The website says it's "Science + Design" and Wikipedia notes that it has  a diverse collection encompassing all sorts of technology including Decorative arts, Science, Communication, Transport, Costume, Furniture, Media, Computer technology, Space technology and Steam engines.We couldn't resist checking out the Wiggles exhibit.

We had a snack at the museum cafe, then walked over to a nearby park. Have I mentioned how fabulous Aussie playgrounds are? There were great slides, flying foxes, water play areas, very cool tire swings, you name it!

 I was hoping we'd have the time and energy to check out the Chinese Garden of Friendship, but no such luck. 

Instead we walked through Chinatown and bought some Sydney t-shirts for the girls, and then headed back to the hotel to reclaim our luggage. 
   At Sydney airport, we breezed through check-in and security (you don't even have to remove your shoes!) and headed for the Virgin Lounge. Whoo hoo, more free food and drinks. 

The trip home was uneventful. We pulled in around 10 pm, and quickly got the kids to bed, as they had school the next day and another big night ahead of them!

Sydney Part 4

One of the best deals in Sydney is the "Family Funday Sunday," where $2.50 buys unlimited rides on the buses, trams, trains, and ferries. As soon as we discovered this bargain, we knew Sunday would be our ferry day. Happily, Sunday was indeed a "sun" day, as the sun shone brightly and warmly all day. 
   We decided to walk from our hotel to Circular Quay (pronounced 'key') since the day was so nice and we had a few stops we wanted to make along the way. We cut through Hyde Park, stopping to admire, and in Alanna's case, imitate, the Captain Cook Statue.

 On the back of the statue it states that Captain Cook "Discovered This Territory 1770." Someone felt that it needed a bit of correction, changing it to read: "Aboriginals Discovered This Territory 50,000 BC."

We stopped in at the Aquatic Center where the girls swam on Friday, hoping to reclaim the goggles the girls left there. The goggles were sent from the US and are the only type the girls like. Alas, they weren't in the Lost and Found, so no luck there (but plenty of moldy towels and swimsuits if you're interested.) As we were leaving we noticed there was a play area set up in the gym area and the girls eagerly joined in the fun. They loved the jumpking castle (aka bounce house) and they channeled their inner gymnasts.

 Even mom got a ride!

Then we went next door to St. Mary's Cathedral.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and we didn't get a great one of the outside, so here are three from the Wikipedia page.

Making our way north, we next visited the Hyde Park Barracks Museum. The jail was built in 1819 for convicts, so it was perfect for our little troublemakers.

We skipped the Sydney Mint Museum, but we did make a quick stop outside the Sydney Hospital to rub the boar's nose (and make a donation) for good luck. 

 We walked past the Parliament House, and the State Library (Alanna was tempted but managed to resist the pull of all those books!) Finally, we arrived at Circular Quay. I tried to get our ferry tickets while Andy queued up to buy some food, but I wasn't allowed to purchase the Family Funday passes without a kid. I thought about grabbing a random child nearby, then thought the better of it and headed back to Andy to get one of my offspring.
    After some "sustenance," (and I use the term loosely since it was Hungry Jacks, aka Burger King) we boarded the ferry. We were able to grab the first row of seats outside, but we didn't really use them. We could see much better standing up looking over the bow.

 

 Can never have too many pictures of the Opera House, right?

 "We're kings of the world!"

 And you can never have too many pictures of the Sydney Harbour bridge. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see groups of people doing the Bridge Climb. Alas, you need to be at least 10 years old, which ruled out Aliya. Not to mention it costs around $200 per adult, and $150 per child, which pretty much ruled out the rest of our family! (Really, it had NOTHING to do with me not wanting to be 134 meters above the water...)

 

 Yet another view of the Opera House.

 We chose the Watson's Bay ferry because it provided a nice long ride almost to the entrance to Sydney Harbour. Here's a map of the harbour area to get an idea of where we were and where we were going. The marker is where our hotel was. 

Heading into Watson's Bay, where apparently you have the choice of eating at Doyle's, Doyle's, or Doyle's. We chose Doyle's, the take-away version.

Girls enjoyed their huge double scoops of ice cream. At least Aliya did until she accidentally pushed the ice cream off the cone and onto the ground. Mean Mom strikes again and wouldn't buy her another one, especially since Dad warned her about that very thing. Luckily for her, Alanna kindly shared the rest of hers with Aliya. Crisis averted.

Alanna can never resist at least getting her feet wet when she sees water. You can see a ferry in the background.

Aliya showing off her sunnies (sunglasses.)

   While the girls played, Andy and I shared a box of fish and chips. They're extraordinarily popular, but really, I could take them or leave them.
   Eventually, we walked across to the other side of the peninsula to see the Pacific Ocean. There was a beautiful cliff walk there.

If you look really hard, maybe you can see California, just about 8,000 miles northwest of here...

This girls couldn't resist a stop at the playground on the way back to the ferry. This really cool apparatus spins around, goes up and down, and also tilts, making for a really fun ride.

On the ferry ride back, the girls were befriended by a very outgoing and chatty little girl who was actually on our outbound ferry as well. The girls were ready to adopt her and bring her home, although I doubt her parents would have gone for that. Interestingly enough, her dad is an American and her mom is an Aussie. Typically, at least on our Facebook group for Americans living in Australia, it seems to be American women married to Aussie men.

Feeding time again. A friend recommended an inexpensive (by Sydney standards) Italian restaurant that was kid-friendly with a nice view. Perfect.

Refreshed with pizza, pasta, and vino for the adults, we took another ferry. This one headed straight across the harbor, then to the west. We'd thought about getting off and doing a few rides at Luna Park, but unfortunately it closed at 4 pm (on a Sunday???)

  

   The ferry ride took a lot longer than we thought. It was very uncrowded though, and the girls had a good time running around playing hide and seek.
   Back at Circular Quay, we considered our options for getting back to the hotel.   Once we remembered that our tickets were good for the train, it was a no-brainer. We could get on at the station right at Circular Quay, and it was fun riding the double-decker train. Our stop was just two blocks from the hotel, so we were safely back home in no time at all. Three days down, just one to go!