Outdoor Fun

We've been making the most of the spring weather and spending lots of time outside. Monday was a public holiday so we got together with seven other American families for a beachside barbeque. The kids had lots of fun playing at the park and the playground.

Most of the gang enjoying our potluck. We all brought our own meat and then a dish to share. Lots of parks have free or coin-operated barbeques here so it's easy to grill. Aussies love their barbies!

Alex crammed the food in as fast as possible to get back to his ball.

Check out these cheeky monkeys!

Alex, Austin, and Wilder are quite the trio. These little guys ran around and laughed the entire time.


Hugs!

Swapping places...

More laughs...

Ben and Patrick ran around playing footy together. I don't think Ben had any idea what footy is (technically it's Aussie rules football, and US football is called gridiron) but he still enjoyed it.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and finally packed everything up as the temperature dropped. It's finally shorts weather but still pretty chilly at night.

We're in the middle of two weeks of school holidays here so all our normal activities are on hold and we're keeping busy with other adventures. Yesterday we met some friends at the zoo and had a great time seeing the animals and playing. Ben was very excited to see his girlfriend Brynn, who's normally at school during the day. Look at the sweet kids holding hands!

Alex has no interest in the young love...he's too infatuated with all the things in the world that need exploring.
I guess I was busy chasing after these guys and keeping up with the group (5 other moms and 8 kids) to get any other pictures. That may have been a few too many people to easily navigate around the zoo but at this age the kids are more interested in playing than looking at animals.

Today I took Ben to a holiday sports class that was a great success. It was 90 minutes of hitting and kicking balls, running around, and playing games. Little boy heaven! Only Alex is too young to attend and he was pretty heartbroken not to get to join in with all the little kids. Ben tried his hand at cricket for the first time.

Never thought I'd be cheering on my son during his cricket swing! He actually really liked it so maybe we'll have to look into a league here since t-ball isn't an option.

Another game that involved lots of running, jumping through hoops, and tossing balls.

While Alex and I played at the edge of the park I spotted lots of ringneck parrots in the trees. I never get tired of seeing the birds here.

Tomorrow is a playdate at the beach and picnic lunch so we'll keep all this outdoor fun going. It's hard to beat the warm sun and a cool breeze!

Whale Watching

We just spent a wonderful morning on a 4-hour whale watching cruise. This time of year the whales are migrating back to Antarctic waters after spending the winter in warmer, tropical waters north of here. It's estimated about 30,000 humpbacks travel the "highway" each year and we set out hoping to meet at least a few of them.

We drove half an hour north to board the boat then rode the boat for 45 minutes back the way we'd just driven, so we were actually whale watching directly in front of our house but probably 6-7 miles offshore. The boys were excited to be on the boat but began to grow impatient for something to happen. It was really rocking in the waves and we couldn't let the boys walk much so they found other ways to stay entertained.


Finally, we spotted our first whale!

It was a little juvenile, maybe 2-3 years old and hung off at a distance for a while. Boats have to cut their engines 100m away from any whales so all we could do was drift and enjoy him.

Looking back toward the shore and Perth's skyline. I guess I can quit staring out the window obsessively because I'd never spot a whale at this distance.

Finally the little guy decided to come in for a closer look and he brought a buddy with him.

The two little whales spent a long time investigating our boat and slowly circled around it and dove under it.

Amazing!!

They were literally close enough to touch a few times. (Hard to see but the whale is under the surface between the two black heads) Can you tell the boat's a little lopsided as everyone rushed to see the whales? It was tough to get good pictures with an uncooperative camera, rocking boat (thank goodness for dramamine!), and two non-swimmers that had to be within arm's reach the entire time.

A quick video of the two little ones casually swimming around our boat:

Ben enjoyed seeing the whales up close but after a couple of hours at sea both guys' patience had worn thin and I brought out my magic weapon. TV magic kept them entertained (and safe) while Matt and I enjoyed the rest of the cruise.

We happened on a pod of larger whales that were busy doing something - hunting fish, maybe? There were four fairly close and eat least three farther out, judging from the number of spouts we saw.

The water was churning as they swam around and they showed no interest in our boat at all. They were swimming much faster and were pretty exciting to watch.

One last flipper...

It was a really awesome experience and so amazing that all this action is happening at our doorstep, but a little too far away to see. We enjoyed every minute watching these majestic creatures!

Back at the Beach

A rare moment - the boys sitting on the porch enjoying a cookie and one anothers company together! Alex is a very reliable treat courier. For months now I've been able to hand him two cookies and tell him to give one to Ben and that second cookie always makes it to big brother. I'm waiting for the day Alex discovers that he can eat the cookie and not tell Ben!

I'm starting to feel like a broken record every time I talk about the beautiful weather here but it's been amazing. Sunday's high was about 72, clear sunny skies, low humidity, and a low around 50. The forecast all week looks about the same, some days a bit warmer. Who could ask for more? We took advantage of the perfect afternoon to enjoy the beach right in front of the house.

Playing in the sand and exploring the seaweed and shells quickly paled in comparison to the water. It is still COLD but it didn't keep two little guys away.

The reef slows the waves, making them perfect for little boys.

Getting wetter but all smiles!

Alex took great pride in leaving a trail of handprints down the beach.

Sweet baby face!

Ben spent most of his time throwing wet sand into the waves. What a perfect playground for little boys. Now that Alex isn't running headfirst into the waves we should be able to play at the beach a lot more, but next time they'll wear swimsuits for sure!

We were also fortunate to enjoy a spectacular sunset on Saturday night. Knowing our amazing view is temporary, we slow down each evening and try to spend at least a few minutes soaking up the last light of day and enjoying the peace outside. Occasionally that requires locking the kids inside for a minute to get the "peace" part but it's always a nice chance to remember to be grateful for all God's abundant blessings. It's easy to see His handiwork in such a colorful sky.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

More priceless quotes from the funniest kids I know....

B: My breath smells like wackanonies and watermelon.
me: what's a wackanonie?
B: It's just something boys have.
me: do girls have them too?
B: No, they have breasts.
me: (hysterical laughter) Where did you learn that?
B: I just taught myself.

B: Our table is made of black. The bench is made of wood.
me: Where do we get wood?
B: From woodpeckers

A: (after hitting his head on the table) I bump my head.
B: Yep. That's what happens when you stand up under the table.

B: (riding his car down the slide outside and crashing at the bottom) wheeeee!!!!!!! OUCH.
A: My turn!!
I'm learning a lot about having boys, especially the fact that the end result being painful doesn't necessarily deter the other boy from wanting to try the exciting new game. Can't wait to see what they cook up in the future! Guess I should be counting my blessings that Ben hasn't seen Alex in his new favorite place to play...

Dancing Machines

Ben's dancing has come a long way....remember these days?

He's much more expressive and energetic at 4 years old! Nothing beats dancing like nobody is watching.



And since this song happened to be Ke$ha (pronounced kesh-her if you're an Aussie and like to add R's to the end of words ending in A) Alex joined in a minute later.

SciTech

I'm not sure why it's taken us a year to finally visit SciTech, the children's science center here, but I'm glad we finally made it! The kids absolutely loved it so we got a membership and took Daddy back a few days later. We're both science geeks ourselves so we weren't exactly bored either :)

There is a great preschooler area full of exhibits that were perfect for both Ben and Alex. This machine combined balls, wheels, and loud noises so of course Alex was in heaven. He kept trying to shoo the other kids away from it by declaring it "mine". Luckily, it's big and requires several kids turning wheels at the same time to get the balls all the way around so there was plenty of room to share.

Ben enjoyed the ball floating in the air.

Both boys worked together (yes, it happens!) to pump some water up through a series of tubes.

Love the carnival mirrors!



Both boys also loved the viewing bubble inside the aquarium.



There is a really cool construction site with pulleys, ramps, and wheelbarrows and the boys had no problem wearing their protective gear.


It's a hard day's work!

On our second trip we checked out some new things with Daddy. It was a lot less crowded on the weekend without the school field trips.

The boys found the power drill with no problems. It's bolted down, obviously, but I was still a bit concerned about the fact that kids are free to put their hands anywhere on it while it's going. Sometimes it's nice living in a country where people aren't worried about getting sued all the time...sometimes I wish people were a bit more careful about potential injuries, especially with power tools in a children's museum.

Cool tornado exhibit

Back at home, Ben has been wearing his patch each day and we've had much more success lately with this one that fits over his glasses.

Alex had a sticker stuck in his hair that looked just like a little barrette. I never could get the picture of Alex as a sweet little girl, but got some great smiles instead.



He is truly in the throes of the terrible twos. Yelling, hitting, crying, and all those other lovely tricks that toddlers learn. I don't remember Ben throwing fits this way but maybe I just ignored them since I was busy dealing with a newborn, or have forgotten because of the sleep deprivation. He's finally gotten two of his 2-year molars so hopefully that will help his disposition. This little guy still knows how to charm us, though, especially when he's singing along to the radio...he seems to be a huge fan of Ke$ha.