New Zealand was amazing and words can't describe our experience there. I'll get on the ball one day and share some of our 600 pictures of mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, fiords, and wildflowers. The kids were pretty terrific considering we drove about 5 hours a day and covered 2000km in 6 days, then flew 15 1/2 hours to get to Houston. But the highlight of our trip is definitely being here in Houston and spending time with our families. I've taken lots of pictures here as well, mostly of the kids enjoying their grandparents, but I haven't spent any time on the computer because I'd rather be sharing in the fun with everyone. Tomorrow we're off to Alabama for 4 days to see Great-Grandpa Kirkham so it will be a while before I get around to those pictures.
From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful Christmas full of love and laughter. May God bless each of you this season and touch your heart with the true meaning of the celebration.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
And So It Begins....
Packing for a 6-day trip, 3-week visit, and overnight stop is no small feat. Not to mention each country we visit will have a very different climate, so I'm pretty much packing a little of everything. Multiply that times 4 people and we have a lot of suitcases! Since we always come back with about twice as much stuff, I'm trying to get creative and pack the suitcases inside one another on the way home to conserve space. Good thing I've got lots of help...
These boys are getting really excited. Now if I could just keep them otherwise occupied long enough to get everything inside their bags, we'd be ready to go! We don't actually leave until tomorrow afternoon so I still have some time to get everything together.
I can't believe we've already spent 4 months in Perth. The time has really flown by, even though the days have been really long sometimes. It's the most beautiful place I've ever lived but definitely lonelier than Singapore and feels much more isolated from the rest of the world because we're so far from everything. The closest major city is Adelaide, which is still a good 1,200 miles away. It's been hard to meet people here and even harder to find activities for the kids since there's not a lot offered for preschoolers and as a result the classes I've looked into have been full with very long waiting lists. At least we'll get Ben back into preschool 2 days a week in February and Alex is on a list to start 2 mornings later in the year, so I can finally get a bit of free time for myself. I look forward to going to the grocery store without it being a huge production with my supporting cast.
Anyway, we are thrilled to go home and visit our families and catch up with old friends and new babies. Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels, healthy kids, and happy journeys. Now back to packing and let the fun begin!
These boys are getting really excited. Now if I could just keep them otherwise occupied long enough to get everything inside their bags, we'd be ready to go! We don't actually leave until tomorrow afternoon so I still have some time to get everything together.
I can't believe we've already spent 4 months in Perth. The time has really flown by, even though the days have been really long sometimes. It's the most beautiful place I've ever lived but definitely lonelier than Singapore and feels much more isolated from the rest of the world because we're so far from everything. The closest major city is Adelaide, which is still a good 1,200 miles away. It's been hard to meet people here and even harder to find activities for the kids since there's not a lot offered for preschoolers and as a result the classes I've looked into have been full with very long waiting lists. At least we'll get Ben back into preschool 2 days a week in February and Alex is on a list to start 2 mornings later in the year, so I can finally get a bit of free time for myself. I look forward to going to the grocery store without it being a huge production with my supporting cast.
Anyway, we are thrilled to go home and visit our families and catch up with old friends and new babies. Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels, healthy kids, and happy journeys. Now back to packing and let the fun begin!
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Christmas at the Kirkham's
While most people are pulling out boxes from their attics with decorations or setting up their Christmas trees, December at the Kirkham household means time to pack up and fly across the world! Literally, we booked Around the World tickets this year on Star Alliance. We had to make three overnight stops and fly in one direction around the globe. No problems there! We decided to take a mini-vacation to New Zealand on our way home, spend 3 weeks in Texas and Alabama, then overnight in Singapore on our way back to Perth. Our entire trip is 22,500 miles and will take us through Auckland, Christchurch, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Mobile, Moscow, and Singapore. That's a lot of flying! And in New Zealand we're renting a motorhome and driving around the south island for 6 days so these kids should be pretty good little travelers by the time we get home in January. Thank goodness for DVD's! Needless to say, we can't wait but I think there may be 4 grandparents on the other end who are getting pretty excited themselves. They have missed these sweet little faces this year!
I've done a ton of online shopping already and I know there is a mountain of stuff waiting for us at my parents' house. First item on the list - more pacis for this little guy. When he carries around three at a time no wonder they disappear!
And he usually gets a little help.
On Saturday Matt and Ben went to pick up lunch from the Flying Taco (a Perth version of Freebirds! Not as good, of course, but good enough) and happened upon a street fair. Wonder what color snow cone Ben chose?
Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a day at the beach. The weather has been beautiful but the wind is still a little cold and we had to leave when everyone started shaking. This was a great little pool made from the high tide rolling in.
Alex takes frequent breaks for snacks. This is his "more" sign, the only one he ever learned except for his "blankie" sign. Between the two of those his major needs are covered. He's talked earlier than I remember Ben talking so maybe he hasn't needed to communicate as much through signing. He also points a lot more than Ben ever did so it helps decipher the cries when he wants something.
This kid can polish off a bunch of grapes in no time.
Cute boys sporting their new Christmas tees. I thought they were memorable because of their Aussie terminology. Ben's says "I love toys, lollies, and Santa" and Alex's says "Happy Christmas". I also love that they can use the word Christmas here and not get sued.
Today I took the boys to check out the Perth Zoo. I knew I'd been spoiled to Singapore's amazing zoo and tried to keep an open mind, but this was a big disappointment. The exhibits are small, the animals are hard to see, and most of the time the bottom half of the windows were blocked to the kids couldn't see anything from the stroller. It was okay but I don't think we'll be going that often. There was nothing for the kids to touch or feed so they got a bit bored. A few of the highlights:
the little penguins
the echidna, an egg-laying mammal
kangaroos, of course
these beautiful plants are called kangaroo paws and I thought the colors on these were particularly pretty. They're usually all red or yellow.
The sun bear came right up to the window and gave the kids a good show.
Alex was talking and trying to touch him.
This is what we saw over and over - a dingy habitat, no animals, and graffiti on the windows. Even in the big animal exhibits, they had one elephant behind an electric fence, one crocodile sleeping far away, two giraffes behind a lot of trees...you get the idea.
This carousel was a hit, though! The kids both loved it and wanted to ride again.
Lunch was good as well. Fish and chips (an Australian staple) always hit the spot.
Ben got his first candy necklace as well, so we ended the day on a good note!
I've done a ton of online shopping already and I know there is a mountain of stuff waiting for us at my parents' house. First item on the list - more pacis for this little guy. When he carries around three at a time no wonder they disappear!
And he usually gets a little help.
On Saturday Matt and Ben went to pick up lunch from the Flying Taco (a Perth version of Freebirds! Not as good, of course, but good enough) and happened upon a street fair. Wonder what color snow cone Ben chose?
Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a day at the beach. The weather has been beautiful but the wind is still a little cold and we had to leave when everyone started shaking. This was a great little pool made from the high tide rolling in.
Alex takes frequent breaks for snacks. This is his "more" sign, the only one he ever learned except for his "blankie" sign. Between the two of those his major needs are covered. He's talked earlier than I remember Ben talking so maybe he hasn't needed to communicate as much through signing. He also points a lot more than Ben ever did so it helps decipher the cries when he wants something.
This kid can polish off a bunch of grapes in no time.
Cute boys sporting their new Christmas tees. I thought they were memorable because of their Aussie terminology. Ben's says "I love toys, lollies, and Santa" and Alex's says "Happy Christmas". I also love that they can use the word Christmas here and not get sued.
Today I took the boys to check out the Perth Zoo. I knew I'd been spoiled to Singapore's amazing zoo and tried to keep an open mind, but this was a big disappointment. The exhibits are small, the animals are hard to see, and most of the time the bottom half of the windows were blocked to the kids couldn't see anything from the stroller. It was okay but I don't think we'll be going that often. There was nothing for the kids to touch or feed so they got a bit bored. A few of the highlights:
the little penguins
the echidna, an egg-laying mammal
kangaroos, of course
these beautiful plants are called kangaroo paws and I thought the colors on these were particularly pretty. They're usually all red or yellow.
The sun bear came right up to the window and gave the kids a good show.
Alex was talking and trying to touch him.
This is what we saw over and over - a dingy habitat, no animals, and graffiti on the windows. Even in the big animal exhibits, they had one elephant behind an electric fence, one crocodile sleeping far away, two giraffes behind a lot of trees...you get the idea.
This carousel was a hit, though! The kids both loved it and wanted to ride again.
Lunch was good as well. Fish and chips (an Australian staple) always hit the spot.
Ben got his first candy necklace as well, so we ended the day on a good note!
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