3-31-12

Martin: Chestnut roasting time. May have a little fire out in the back garden tonight.

Me: 5 hour mountain bike ride in South Mountain. 

3-30-12

Martin: Weather report. A nice mild and calm autumn day.

Me: It was a nice afternoon to browse the Tempe Festival of the Arts.

Pic: Heather pushing her twin boys (River & Huxley) with her 6 year old, Micah. Jeri with her daughter, Nina (6 yrs). Lisa with her good dog, Osha (5).

3-29-12

Martin: Here's the red bull ant I caught the other day. He is about an inch long and you don't want to get bitten or stung by them. It was a solitary male wandering around looking for a mate. Rarely see them around our place.

Me: Celebrating Ken's birthday at Outback Steakhouse with Ken's brother and mother.

3-28-12

Martin: Recognize the shopping centre?

This is where we went grocery shopping with Martin the 1st day we arrived in Sydney.

Me: Bob's old TWA flying buddy, Erik was in town today along with Erik's 3 co-workers from Omaha. We rented them all bikes and took them out on the trails. Followed that up with Nello's pizza and Orange Leaf yogurt. A good day with friends!

3-27-12

Martin: It's a stick spider that had set up house outside the front door. About an inch and a half in length.

Me: Pretty evening walk.

3-26-12

Martin: Ok, what is it?

Me: Having some down time after a busy weekend.

PS: Harley's not allowed on the couch but I let it slide (this time).

3-25-12

Martin: Double Bay on Sydney Harbour. Was working close by today.

Me: Bob and I are holding an Open House at our home today. Therefore Harley has to be tied up to the coffee table. She's not too happy about it.

3-24-12

Martin: First round of the soccer season this morning. A home match down at Oyster Bay oval.

Me: Really, reeeaaaally good burritos from our favorite joint down the street. #19 is my favorite: bacon, eggs & cheese.

3-23-12

Martin: Here's a better day.

Me: Celebrated Heidi's birthday at Pita Jungle (good restaurant) with some girlfriends. Topped it off with chocolate cupcakes made by Kristin.

Pic: Me, Heidi, Kristin 

3-22-12

Martin: Grey skies today.

Me: James and Bob working hard!

3-21-12

Me: Blue skies again.

Me: Carrot from our garden. This is the biggest one we've had!

3-20-12

Martin: Some of the wood shavings in the front garden. Adrian and I planned his timber last night and this morning before he took it with him to school. The timber is for use in his timber project. A new hall table.

Me: Bob on our afternoon ride. Sunny and 58.

3-19-12

Martin: Daniel and Adrian hiking with the Camelbacks that Jane and Bob brought them from Arizona.

 Me: Yesterday's rain and today's sunshine = cacti blooms!

3-18-12

Martin: Beach Seagull.

Me: Rainy day in Phoenix. High of 54.

3-17-12

Martin: What kind would you like?

Me: House progress! James has been working in the master bedroom. He took out the old fireplace which we knew we'd never use (it sat where the broom is) and put in a closet (accessible from the bathroom). The bare wood floor that you see on the far right of the pic will be gone soon and be open to the 1st floor, creating a high vaulted ceiling in the dining room. Bob gets back tomorrow and he'll be working on texturing the ceilings this week. The wood door on the left is from Joan (her friend was throwing it away) and I'm going to have James put in on a hanging track to create the bathroom door. Below picture shows what I hope it to look like.

Found the idea on Pinterest, originally from Design Spong. 
Photo by Emily Gilbert.

3-16-12

Martin: May be autumn over here but a lot of plants are still flowering.

Me: Bob was pretty excited when he found out he'd be flying Mitt Romney today. He took him to Puerto Rico. Below is a You Tube link of when Mr. Romney arrived. The first few seconds shows Bob landing his plane. Fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw184dQJepk&sns=em

3-15-12

Martin: Look familiar. Thought I would have finished painting the lounge ceiling by now.

Me: Back to garage saling. I picked up this bench for $10! Planning to sand, stain and use it in our yard. Love that it has roses on the back...reminds me of my Grandma Jacobsen who enjoyed her roses.

3-14-12

Martin: Big boys with their toys after school.

Me: Harley's home! I drove to L.A. to meet Pat and Bob and pick up Harley. She had a grand time at their house. Thanks for taking such good care of our girl!

3-13-12

Martin: Biggles. Beloved dog of "The Rocks", downtown Sydney from 1980 to 1984. 

Me: Janna and Kavan came to visit us today. He has grown so much in 3 weeks. Kavan is such a sweet baby & handsome boy!

3-12-12

Martin: On the way to the shops this morning, there was a small 'Free Tibet' demonstration going on. This little Tibetan boy was playing around on his own with a paper plane. 

Me: I wanted a photo of Bob's vacation beard. He had to shave it today for work tomorrow.

3-11-12

Martin and Me!

Bob and I are back home again in Arizona. We already miss Australia and our friends! It sure was a FANTASTIC holiday in the land down under. Meeting Martin felt like reuniting with a friend I've known since childhood and Ruth, Adrian and Daniel are now like family. The touring through Sydney, the hiking in Tasmania and the island excursions of The Whitsundays exceeded our expectations. What amazing adventures we had! Thank you, Martin for encouraging us to visit, helping us plan our trip and showing us such a great time. Thank you, Ruth for your hospitality & delicious homemade meals! Thank you Adrian and Daniel for the body boarding at Wander Beach and fun outing to Manly. It was the trip of a lifetime and we will cherish the memories (and the 2600 photos I took) forever.

3-10-12

Bags are packed. Today we leave Australia. :-(

 Before heading for the airport we ate at this quaint bakery; La Renaissance Cafe Patisserie. 

I highly recommend the almond croissant!

We took one last stroll down by the water.

One last look at the Sydney Opera House.

Waved good-bye to our wonderful friends and headed for the train. We'll soon have 16 hours in the air to reminisce about our amazing time in Australia.

3-9-12

We've climbed to the top of the Harbour Bridge, we've walked under the Harbour Bridge and this morning we walked across the Harbour Bridge.

This gave us a view of the Opera House, a new cruise ship that docked in the harbour over night, & our hotel (brown building in the center right of pic) with that cool pool on top.

Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Harbour.

When we got to the other side of the bridge we paid to go into the Sydney Olympic Swimming Pool. $7 per person....what a bargain for this view!

What a cool experience too. It was really fun to swim a mile in this historic landmark!

After our swim we laid on the sun deck and admired this.

Do I take too many photos of this building?

Around 2pm Martin, Daniel and Adrian met us at the hotel. We strolled through the nearby outdoor market and had Turkish pide (wrap filled with spiced meat). Yum! And then followed that up with chocolate milkshakes. Mmm.

This is just one of many, many brides & grooms getting their photo taken around the Opera House and Harbour!

An aborigine man playing the didgeridoo. Very unique sound. 

We met Ruth when she got off work. Her office building is just a few blocks from our hotel. From there we took a stroll through the Botanical Gardens.

It was so great for ALL of us to enjoy the beautiful afternoon together. Gorgeous park!

Then we came across these huge bats. Ick! I don't like bats and they were hanging all over the trees in this one section of the park. One tree had at least 25 bats in it.

To the Opera House. Smile!

This time for a close-up view.

Interesting to see and touch the tiles.

No visit to the Opera House is complete without a foot race up the stairs.

Group shot.

We're goofy. I know.

The Harbour and city is always filled with activity.

People eating at the various restaurants or just enjoying the surroundings.

Tourists.

Outdoor dining at a delicious Italian restaurant at "The Rocks". The Rocks is an area near the Harbour that has numerous top restaurants, cafes, markets and shopping. Plus a lot of history that I'd like to read up on.

After dinner we grabbed ice cream cones and headed for the hotel pool.

Awww.

The boys hammed it up in the pool.

Adrian.

Daniel.

It was a fabulous last day and night in Australia!