BOWL-ER-AMA!!!!!

Ever had one of those days when you realize you want out of the house, but you have no idea what it is you want to do? Then add the fact that what ever you decide to do also has to entertain a 4 1/2 year old and a 2 year old. At that point your choices become a little limited. Ho-hum...The park - been there, done that. The beach - too COLD at the moment. The Zoo - yea, we've seen it. So, why not BOWL?!

9:45 on a Monday morning found Ginger and myself taking the girls to the local AMF bowling alley. Upon our arrival, we quickly realized we were the only 4 people under the age of 70. Evidently, Monday's are geriatric bowling day. This did prove to work in our favor, as every one stop to stare and admire the 2 cute little girls. We even got Ashtyn in for free. I think the only one of us who was impressed with our all too cute bowling shoes was Kenyon. She LOVED them! Shoes on...time to find some balls. Now, finding a ball that will fit the hands of my girls is impossible, BUT...I did figure out that my girls are strong...bowling with a 6 and 7 pound ball respectively!

Since daddy took bowling in college, our next bowling date will be with him, so he can show us how it is done!

Kenyon dressed the girls for their bowling date!

SOOOOO in LUV with "our" shoes. Who knew they came so small?

Is it just me, or does she look a little drunk? She was actually saying CHEESE!

GO BALL GO!

Big A did grow tired of bowling and decided to enlighten us with her "booty" shaking dance moves. The 80's were the popular music choice at the bowling alley. There is the possibility that Michael Jackson was playing as she was dancing.

Kenyon showing us how to bowl a strike.

This is what bowling scores look like when you let my little darlings help you bowl. It's ok...a good time was had by all!

Team Lunch at "Mackers" after bowling. The girls won some Shrek ears in their packet of apple slices.

My little some ogre!

SYDNEY or BUST!

As usual, when attempting to travel with 2 children and 3 adults, things never start out as planned. When you think about taking a trip, there are a few things that you DO NOT want to happen on the day you leave, or over the course of the trip itself...

1.) Someone is sick when you leave for your trip. (James)

2.)Child falls at school and hurts herself. (Ashtyn)

3.)Someone gets sick while on the trip. (Ginger)

4.)Mom gets an attitude during the course of the trip. (Brandy)

Day of departure adventures:

My poor husband had been fighting a stomach bug and then a head cold prior to us leaving Brisbane. Then, as we are going through security, James gets stopped due to the fact that the x-ray machine picks up a picture of his pocket knife in his carry on bag. James then has to run to the nearest "newstand" buy some stamps and an envelope and mail his knife to himself. (Knife was delivered upon our arrival home!)

Ginger and I drop off girls at school and head to the gym for a quick workout. After a lovely leg workout, we head back to pick up Ashtyn. When we get to her school, the director informs me that "Ashtyn has had an accident" DUH, DUH,DUH!!!! Evidently, Ashtyn was running forward, while facing backwards, and ran into a large wooden post. Post - 1, Ashtyn - 0. Ashtyn ended up with a bleeding top and bottom lip, and a busted gum. BLOOD everywhere. However, Ashtyn did not let that stop her. She continued to play, eat and only cried for only a minute! Post -1,

Ashtyn-1! Ginger and I took her home for lunch and a nap.

At 3:15, taxi arrives to take our brood to the airport. I wake Ashtyn up from her nap, she bumps her mouth on my hand...BLOOD EVERYWHERE!!!! Cup of water, ice and many paper towels later...we are all off in the taxi...airport bound! The girls were angels in the airport and on the plane. Even though the plane was delayed about 45 minutes. We proceeded to have the slowest taxi driver ever from the airport to the hotel, and then played musical beds with the kids trying to get them to bed. At the end of the night it was James and Kenyon in one bed, Ashtyn and I in another bed, and poor Aunt GG on the fold away bed. Not to worry though, because the sleeping arrangements were different each night there.

No alarm clock needed when traveling with Ashtyn. She had us up at 6:30AM, 5:30 AM, 6:30AM, and 6:00AM. Day 1 started off with breakfast at Starbucks and mass quantities of coffee. We walked Circular Quay (pronounced key) and The Rocks. Saw the Opera House, The Syndey Harbour Bridge, The Ice Bar, The Founders of War Bar (oldest pub in Sydney), napped in the hotel and had pizza for dinner. Unfortunately this is also the night Ginger ended up sick, and Saturday morning is the morning Ashtyn decided to wake us up at 5:30AM, which meant that she was ready for a nap at 11:30AM. James and Kenyon went off to explore. After nap, we all rode the ferry to Darling Harbour and visited the Aquarium. Sunday found us back on a ferry headed to Darling Harbour again to explore the shops, International Fan Fest for The World Cup, lunch, train rides, and the largest outdoor McDonalds ever. James and I also got a Sunday afternoon run over The Sydney Harbour Bridge...beautiful views! Monday we returned home, tired but glad that we were able to see the sights. I very quickly fell in love with Sydney and can't wait to go back!

Ginger and I at The Ice Bar. It was a cool place to be. No pun intended! The whole place was made of ice. Chairs, the bar, the decorations, statues... The really fun part was the attire they made you wear. Very attractive overcoats (sized for the big and tall), some ancient Ugg's (also sized for the big and tall). You were only allowed in the bar for 30 minutes, due to the temperature. Tourist trap...but it was worth it!

Kenyon at The Aquarium. She LOVED this mermaid. Yes, we cut Kenyon's hair. She asked for it. It makes her look like an 8 year old and not my cute little 4 year old :(

Yup...Ashtyn doing what she does best...chasing birds. I am still waiting for the day when one poops on her, until then...run for your lives birds!!

This little pub was neat. Ginger and I went in and had a few beers.

The girls riding inside the ferry that took us from The Quay to Darling Harbour. It was a little chilly outside, so we opted for inside rides instead.

International Fan Fest. The World Cup was/is very popular in Australia. They had the big screens set up to play every game live. Too bad the Socceroo's (yes, that is the name of the Australian soccer team) lost their first game to Germany 4-0. And to think...I bought a Socceroo shirt!

Looking back at The Quay.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge. James and I did our Sunday run over the bridge and back again. Amazing views from there.

The family with the Opera House in the background. Planning for the opera house began in the 1940's, with final completion in 1973. The construction stage began in 1959 and the overall cost was 102 million dollars. It was amazing to see up close.

The family with The Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

Kangaroos, Koalas, and one little devil.

We have figured out that a main attraction for visitors that come to see us, will be the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Who would not want to see kangaroos, koalas, all sorts of birds, dingoes, and tazmanian devils? Kenyon and I are now the proud new owners of a year long pass to Lone Pine. (Ashtyn is free, at least until she is 3.) Beware family and friends...we will get our money out of these passes, so be prepared to feed some kangaroos and hold a koala!

This time around, we bought some kangaroo food. Needless to say we were a very popular group and easily had our choice of kangaroos to feed. Unfortunately, this also meant we had kangaroo poop to try to avoid. Ashtyn managed to pick up a kangaroo poop pellet and ask me what it was. Washing hands was a must after that.

This guy grabbed a hold of Ginger's arm. Take a look at how tall he is compared to Ashtyn. He was a little aggressive with the food bag. Ginger's food bag looked like it had been attacked by a paper shredder by the time this guy was finished with it.

Me and my girls feeding the roo's. Kenyon walked around to EVERY kangaroo to make sure that each roo got some food. It seemed like she had the never ending bag of food. It took about half an hour for her to give each roo a food pellet.

As you can see, the kangaroos are a big hit with both girls.

Kenyon sitting in front of the geriatric ward. The pin behind her is where they retire koalas that are older than 12 years of age. The oldest koala in captivity lived to be 23 years old, her name was Sarah and she resided at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

This little guy is a tazmanian devil. I was a little disappointed. Warner Brothers had me expecting a twirling twister of an animal spitting everywhere.

They keep the koalas that are carrying joey's in separate cages. Kenyon spied this little guy inside his mother's pouch. Ginger had to grab a photo. Awwww... :)

It's a Pirate's Life For Me.

Several weekends ago, the girls had their first invite to their first Australian birthday party. As you can see, I am a little behind on getting these pictures posted. A good time was had by the whole family. James took his usual place at the grill, or the bar b que as it is called here. The kids took part in all the party games, and I made sure that I kept one eye on the kids and one eye on the snack/food table.

Kenyon and her little friend Annaka. They make cute little pirates.

Ashtyn has a new favorite face. She is quick to share her "new" look with me when she doesn't like what I say, doesn't like what I do, does not agree with me, or does not get her way...so I pretty much get that look off and on all day.

My little cutie blowing bubbles.

Our little athlete! She can get up to the monkey bars by herself and get all the way across by herself as well.

Rodents, Boobs and Football

After reading the title, one might think that this blog is written by a man. They would be wrong! The Saenz family has been busy here in Brisbane. First things first...it would appear that we have a rodent/marsupial/unidentified animal that would really like to make it's way into our nice, warm and cozy home. James and I woke up on a Saturday and a Sunday morning, to find evidence of a break in at the back door. Not a scary break in, not a human break in, but one of the animal kind. Of course, thinking as most Texans do...our first thought went directly to hunting.

1. What is the animal?

2. What does it want?

3. How do we get rid of it?

See below for evidence of the damage.

It is either a really thirsty animal, who is tired and needs some caffeine, or it got really mad when we tried to cover the hole with a case of coke.

I think we are a pretty cool family, and fun to be with, but I am also pretty sure that I don't want to share our house with what ever animal wants in! Nifty hole in the back door.

Stay tuned for excerpts of our hunting adventures. I have placed poison and traps inside and outside the house. My next step is the nearest hunting/fishing store for a bb gun or pellet gun. I guess sometimes you just can't take Texas out of the girl. James got on line to identify some of the animals we have seen in our trees at night. What we were calling a opossum is actually called a bandicoot. He has also identified the Australian version of a opossum, called a Brush Tail Opossum. Sorry...no photos of our nightly neighbors. James has threatened to shoot himself a Brush Tail Opossum and make himself a hat for a souvenir...we shall see!

So one night, I walked into our bedroom to find this lovely little blonde girl wearing my bra. She promptly told me "I have mommy's boobs on." The way she said it was so cute, I had to grab a photo. Of course this lead to the older sister needing to "wear mom's boobs" as well.

So proud of her "big boobs." She informed me she would be grown up when hers looked like mine. Hmmm...what do say to that?

You can't tell in the photo, but this is "pantless" Ashtyn riding her car on the back porch. Good thing we have a wall in the back yard and tall trees. Hopefully our neighbors don't see the 1/2 naked 2 year old running around.

Kenyon has started playing AFL. That means Australian Rules Football League. Even I am not sure of all the rules, but she seems to be enjoying it. I am hoping it teaches her to continue to run away from the boys, and oh yes...knock em down every once in awhile!

Practicing a kick!

Rule Number 1. HOLD ON TO THE FOOTBALL!

Rule #2 - Knock down anyone who gets in your way!

Kenyon "freight train" Saenz let Coach Shawn have it after he tried to stop her!

I think we are just about ready to sign her...know of any football teams that need some assistance?

I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it where I like...

We ended Saturday afternoon with a bicycle ride/wagon pull down to the park. Ashtyn got the wagon and Kenyon was excited to finally get to ride her bike. Riding to the park sounds like a lot of fun...until you realize that we live on a large hill. That means you end up racing down the hill to get to the park, and then ask mom/dad to wheel the bike, hold you and pull the wagon back up the hill.

Ashtyn, ready for her wagon ride, down the hill.

Barbie bike - check, Barbie helmet - check. Now, will someone please open the gate and let me out?

"Am I doing this right daddy?

"Here Kenyon, let a pro show you how it is done." James sure does make barbie look good.

You can sure work up a thirst while being pulled down hill in a wagon.

Nothin to this bike riding thing. If I can master swimming, I am ready for my first triathlon.

On second thought, maybe a little more practice.

From a house to a home...

Thursday arrived which much excitement and anticipation! It was D-DAY...delivery day! James stayed home to welcome the delivery trucks while I took the kids to school. Upon my return, there, parked in our driveway was the most beautiful vehicle I have ever seen. Yes, I do believe a tear or two slipped down my cheeks.

If you ever doubt that your kids appreciate their toys, take them away from them for about 11 weeks. They will show their appreciation then.

The girls rediscovered Barbie...

and remembered they had outdoor toys.

Beds were a favorite among the whole family. I think the kids were both tired of air mattresses and pack n plays. This delivery also transitioned Ashtyn into her toddler bed, and I am happy to announce she is doing great with the transition. No fussing, no crying and no climbing out of bed.

James and I stayed busy all weekend, unpacking, and trying to find homes for our things. But in three days, look what we accomplished...

Looking at half of the kids game room. When you come downstairs, this is the room you see.

Other half of the kids game room. Their game room, bathroom, bedrooms, laundry room and a storage room, are all downstairs.

Looking in from the front door. You walk into our house on the second floor. Our bedroom, bathroom, guest bedroom and bathroom, kitchen, eating area and living room are all upstairs.

Yes, through this door is my little kitchen. I do miss the big "Texas" sized kitchen from our old house, but this kitchen does have better windows and a better view.

Yup...that white thing in the bottom right hand corner, is a fridge. Our beer fridge to be exact. The only other place to put that would be downstairs in the storage room. Who wants to walk downstairs to get a beer, glass of wine, margarita etc? Not anyone in this family. So, we have made the fridge part of our decor.