Adieu, Adeiu, to You and You and You

As of two weeks ago we returned to the United States permanently. After our visit to the US at Christmas we decided that we would return to live in the US at some point, but it was just talk and we really didn't have an exit strategy planned. However, after some life altering events we decided that the best place for us, at this time, is in the US where we are closer to our family. So, much as "The Australian Years" chapter of our life has come to a close, so will this blog.

We'd like to return to Australia in the future, we just aren't sure in what capacity. So stay turned, Part II may yet be forthcoming....

Thanks for following along on our adventure.

Winnererremy Bay

We visited Winnererremy Bay a few weeks ago, and I think it may be one of our new favourite places. It has a little something for everyone - a beach, a park, bike paths, hiking trails and the Flying Fox Cafe. I had read great reviews so we decided to grab lunch at the Cafe before exploring. The reviews were right on; it was delicious. I ordered a typical Aussie style burger, complete with a fried egg on top, that really required eating with a knife and fork, while Don ordered the Big Breakfast. Mitch had a ham and cheese sandwich but ended up eating most of Don's meal, which meant that Don ate what I couldn't finish, lol. The green you see on the bottom bun is arugula; they call it rocket and it seems like they throw it on everything here. What happened to iceberg?

After lunch we went to an awesome park located adjacent to the Cafe. It's a great setup, completely fenced and secure so the kids can play on the equipment while waiting for the food to arrive. Mitch climbed the spider web, which rivaled the one at the Powerhouse Museum. Hint, he's wearing a yellow shirt.

We did a bit of exploring...

Here's Mitch doing his best crab impersonation

We had great weather and beautiful scenery - just another wonderful day. I wish I had taken more photos of the beach, the bay and the hiking trails. I guess that just means we'll need to go back soon!

Pottery Class

When Mitch was a toddler we thought we had him figured out. Strong as a horse, active as can be and absolutely fearless. He walked at nine months, and started to run soon after. We assumed that he would be that totally extreme skateboarding / mountainbike guy, full on contact Sporty McSport Sport. However, it's become fairly evident over the years that Mitch has absolutely no desire to play by the rules. We've enrolled him in a few sports camps, but he'd much rather run away with the ball and make his own game out of it, then play with the team. And after a few frustrating tries, we decided that maybe it's not the right time. Or, maybe he's just not that into it.

A few months ago we got Mitch a guitar, and he took to like a duck in water. He absolutely loves it. And even after realizing that learning to play is hard work, and requires LOTS of practice, he's still crazy interested in it! So recently, Don and I realized that maybe it's Mitch's creative side that needs some nurturing.

We decided that an art class might be in order. I was fortunate to come across a local pottery class, with one spot left. Mitch has been to two sessions, and he can't wait for Saturday mornings so that he can play with clay. I'm sure his teacher has a lot to do with it. Teacher Julianne is fantastic, so incredibly nurturing and encouraging. She guides the kids, and praises them when they come up with a concept on their own. He loves it - and we're SO there next term!

Trick and Treat

We've now spent two Halloweens in Sydney, and both have been a letdown. Granted, this is coming from a true blue American, who has years and years of wonderful memories of trick or treating on cool Fall nights, while wearing elaborate costumes. Wonderful Halloween parties on the nights leading up to the big day, and actually being encouraged to wear our costumes to school. Thinking and dreaming of the day for months, almost bursting with anticipation of the thought of gorging ourselves with chocolate and liquid filled wax lips for the next month. But, alas, this is not the case in Australia. Although I think this year it was more popular than last year (thanks to the Disney channel), it still comes no where close to the US, or other countries that embrace the holiday. I had heard that there was a US /Canadian party in the City, so we hit that for a little while earlier in the day. Turns out that it was in a bar, and mainly seemed like a reason to get the parents together to drink. We stayed long enough to grab a bite to eat and for Mitch to break out some killer Jedi moves. Costume decision was easy this year. Star Wars is huge with the kids at Mitch's school, so naturally he wanted to be Obi Wan Kenobe for Halloween. No problem, except that there are no licensed Star Wars patterns. So I winged it. I was a little worried about a wonky seam and the sleeves not being wide enough. All that worry for nothing. Most kids were wearing a plastic cape, or a funny hat, or gel in their hair. Not any type of theme or anything that you might recognize. No one seemed to scrutinize anyone else's costume, or give Kudos. No, "Hey, Obi Wan" or "Is the force with you?"

On the way home we drove around and located a few neighborhoods that had balloons on the fences, indicating that they were passing out candy. Most people handing out candy also asked Mitchell was his trick was. The poor kid had no idea what was going on. One person wouldn't give him candy until he did a trick. When he said he didn't have one, she asked if he had a song or a dance for her. Mitch offered up a knock knock joke, which seemed to appease her, thankfully. We hit about twenty houses and decided to call it a night. We decided to stop at one more house on a corner that had some decorations outside. We walked up and Mitch rang the bell. Three girls came to the door ranging in age from about 8 to 12. One girl gave him candy, and another pulled out a squirt bottle and nailed him straight in the face with a stream of water. The girls laughed and shut the door. My poor little boy, turned around with a smile pasted on his face, but with a look of terrible confusion. I was so shocked I just shuttled him back to the car. At this point I had no idea what was in the bottle, so I was a little concerned. I ended up going back to the house on my own, to make sure it was just water in the bottle. I had originally posted the whole conversation, but suffice to say that the mother was completely apathetic and didn't understand why I was miffed, after all, her kids were just playing "a little trick" on him. * sigh * Someone needs to take Halloween 101. Not a great ending to the night; kind of a buzzkill. It really bothered me, I guess I took it personal. That was until Mitch went to a birthday party this morning and the parents were talking about Halloween. I mentioned the spray bottle incident, and one of the parents sheepishly mentioned that they were thinking of filling some spray bottles to squirt the kids but got busy and forgot about it. They were honestly under the impression that they were supposed to play a trick when kids came to the door. I ended up giving everyone an education on Trick or Trick etiquette. They were totally clueless, and genuinely appreciative for the info. Unfortunately the party ended, so I didn't get to go over wrapped versus non wrapped candy. Fun size Kit Kats = good. Marshmallows = not so much. And yes, someone actually dropped this piece of carrot in Mitch's bucket.

Looking back and putting all that other stuff aside, Mitch had a good time. And that's what really matters. I have more photos on another camera, but I just don't have time to download them. I'll have to add more later. I hope everyone back home had a Happy Halloween!

Cupcakes !!!

Wow - has it been almost six weeks since my last post? I must be so excited about our upcoming trip to the States I guess I figured I'd just tell everyone what we've been up to in person. Anyways, back to the subject at hand - cupcakes. I've always been pretty crafty, but since I've had Mitch and gone back to work full time I just haven't had time to really sink my teeth into anything. I used to cross stitch, but man that takes a long time. Plus, my self diagnosed ADD prevented me from ever actually finishing a complete piece. I must have had 20 different Samplers started (but never finished) lying around the house. I also love scrapbooking, and even brought all of my scrapbooking goodies to Sydney. But without a large space to lay everything out on, it's just too much work to take it out and put it all back at the end of a night. And let's be real, It's all I can do to stay awake after making dinner, playing games, bathtime and home readers. Anyways, while surfing the net a few weeks ago I found a cupcake decorating class in Sydney, and all of a sudden I HAD TO TAKE THAT CLASS. So I signed up with my friend Laura and we took the class on Saturday. I can't even describe how much I enjoyed taking this class. I got to be creative, and learned something in the process. I think the decorating bug has definitely bitten. I'm already planning all the occasions I can make cupcakes for. I think I have a new career aspiration. It's always good to dream....

Pirate Mini Golf

A few weeks ago we went to Pirates Mini Golf in Narrabeen, about 30 minutes up the coast. There were two courses, caves and a pirate ship. Of course, Mitch wanted to go on the ship. About half way through he was visibly disappointed, I think he thought we would be going out on a real pirate ship. Given his expectations, I can understand his disappointment when he boarded the S.S. DryRot pictured below.


But, even though it wasn't a real pirate ship, we had a lot of fun and I think it was the perfect age for Mitch to give it a go.

Max Brenners

Don and I celebrated our ten year anniversary a few weeks ago. It sort of snuck up on us. I know, I know, we only had ten years to plan, right? We had talked about going out, but then all of a sudden the day was upon us, and we didn't have a sitter. So instead of a big romantic night out, the three of us went to dinner, and visited Max Brenner for dessert. We're good friends with Max. Although we don't get together often, when we do it's like we were never apart. Mitch ordered the ice cream dipper and Don and I shared the fondue. Absolutely sinful!

Who can resist 100s and 1000s (aka nonpareils)??

The anticipation....

Fondue - milk chocolate and dark chocolate