Marapana Wildlife World

We had to take Amanda somewhere to get up close and personal with kangaroos for her first trip to Australia and we chose Marapana because it's also one of the few places to cuddle a koala as well. It's about an hour south of Perth near Mandurah.

The galah parrots greeted us on the way in.

We all got a bucket of food and quickly made friends with the first kangaroos we met.

Our family with a roo family



We all fell in love with this joey who refused to get out of his mom's pouch.

Ben pet the little guy and even offered him some food.

We saw this joey bouncing around later and couldn't believe he somehow managed to fit back in his mom's pouch, too! Look at those big feet!

We fed the ostriches and emus as well and laughed at how they maneuvered their long necks through the fence.

Don't feed the camels there...turns out they've figured out the system! This one stole the bucket and dumped all the food in his mouth.


We made some new friends when we spread out our picnic lunch...lots of ringneck parrots looking for crumbs...

...and this sweet one-armed kangaroo looking for friends.

Speaking of friends, this snake did NOT find one in Ben! He was not thrilled about this close encounter, although he did go back to pet it a little later.

Finally we moved on to the main event and it didn't disappoint....the koala exhibit was terrific.

This little baby was running around on the ground for a while and I just about jumped the fence to take her home.

Are they not the cutest little pair in the world?

Koalas really know how to relax!

We each got to take turns holding the biggest koala, Crystal. She was sweet and soft and so cuddly!



Ben asked for a turn to hold her but I said he was too small. Then he asked to hold the baby instead because she was just the right size. I wish, Ben....that would have been a priceless picture!

Instead, the boys had to settle for petting the ones within reach and that seemed to do the trick.


Such a fun day!

Christmas Down Under

This was our first Christmas overseas and it was definitely fun to spend it in Australia. We haven't had many Christmas eves like this:

We spent the morning at Leighton beach with several other families watching all the boys enjoy the warm sun and cool water. It was a postcard perfect day! Here is Ben hanging with his buddy Malcolm.

Later that evening we were so excited to pick up Aunt Amanda at the airport (no pictures, unfortunately) so she could spend a week with us here. When we got home, all attention turned toward Santa's big visit that night. The boys left some cookies, M&Ms, and a carrot for Rudolph. After answering some serious questions about the size of our chimney, we put the boys to bed and got busy playing Santa ourselves!

All the loot!! It was so exciting going to bed knowing how much they'd love all the surprises in the morning.

Hooray!! Santa was here! And this is the sunlight at 6am on an Australian Christmas morning.

The big surprise was downstairs...

The kids jumped their little hearts out but had to get back upstairs to all the exciting new toys.
It was really great having Amanda here to share in the Christmas joy with us but we also got to Skype with Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham, Grammy and Grumpy Shepherd, and Jason, Stacey and little Reid. The boys opened the rest of their gifts with the family watching, so we all got to spend some time "together" on Christmas.

We had a lazy Boxing Day (26th of December) and lounged around at the beach on hot, perfect day. There was not a wave in sight and the ocean was as calm as a swimming pool.

Happy faces!

The boys got to swim out as far as they wanted for the first time since there were no waves, but I learned the hard way that there were jellyfish out there!

Today we started taking Amanda around to some of our favorite places. First stop - Margaret River Chocolate Factory. It's easy to find Ben and Alex there....they'll always be right next to the sample bowls!

We did some wine and cheese tastings at several vineyards in Swan Valley. Also did a little buying :)

The vineyards look beautiful right now and they're just bursting with grapes.

We're having so much fun with Amanda and look forward to all the other activities we have planned this week.

Kowloon Park

We visited Kowloon Park which was a terrific place with koi ponds, playground, an aviary, fountains, and even a big swimming pool. We all enjoyed the koi pond and its ducks and swans.

Even a big flock of flamingos in their own pond.

The roots from this tree were pretty impressive climbing down the wall.

The aviary was pretty interesting as well with macaws, hornbills, cockatoos, parrots, and several other birds.

We spent most of our time on the playground letting the kids burn off some energy. It made me feel like I was back in Singapore watching an auntie sweep each leaf into her tray. It was also fun watching people up the hill doing their tai chi.

We picked up McDonald's for lunch and I couldn't resist getting a picture. Never thought I'd see twisty pasta as a choice there and it sure did not look good.

It was a great getaway for the family but we're happy to be home and getting ready for Christmas and Aunt Amanda's arrival tomorrow!

Disneyland

I went to Walt Disney World a few times as a kid and always loved it. I've looked forward to the first time I got to take my own kids and Matt, who's never been to a Disney park, to enjoy the magic. Hong Kong Disneyland was a great start because it's small and geared towards the younger crowd so it was a perfect day for these two. Do they look a little excited on the way out the door?
And a funny side note - I dressed them in matching Buzz Lightyear shirts to keep track of them, but as it turns out, it's not hard to spot two fair heads among all the dark Asian hair.

We rode two subway trains to the Disneyland connection and started to get pretty excited when it pulled up.

Even the hand-holds were in the spirit of things.

Finally, we arrived at Disneyland! And two little boys were NOT happy to stop for a picture.

The front entrance looked pretty familiar to me, although on a smaller scale.

Mickey plants! Ben was impressed.

And the main guy himself, all decked out for Christmas. Unfortunately, there was a huge line for pictures every time so we never bothered even though the kids would have loved it. And most of the people in line were adults. Gotta love Asia.

More friends.

We arrived at opening time and headed straight for Buzz Lightyear's Shoot-out adventure.

It was a fun ride with laser guns and targets everywhere so of course Matt and I had to compete for the best score both times we went through. Alex was too overwhelmed to even notice that his gun had a trigger. Ben actually did some good shooting.

Cool ride!

Next, Matt took Ben on Space Mountain. It was the first roller coaster I ever rode and I hated it. That may have had something to do with my Granny who also rode it and screamed the entire time, but it scared me off roller coasters for decades. You can't even see Ben in this picture because he was ducked down and Matt was holding his head.

Afterward, Ben was a little shaken and said he'd rather not ride that again. He was a really good sport, though. And poor baby with the crossed eye! We had pulled the kids out of bed for a midnight flight when we left Perth and his glasses were forgotten. He had to spend the entire week in a blur...I hate that he probably would have enjoyed Disney a lot more if he could have seen it all.

We also rode the spinning rockets in Tomorrowland...lots of fun.

Break for lunch and some mickey-shaped mango pudding.

We caught the tail end of the Christmas parade and the kids were so excited to see all their favorite characters. No fairy princesses for these boys, just Toy Story and Mickey.

Ben waved to Buzz.

Alex was taking in all the action with huge eyes.

Another thing to love about Asia - picture taking is serious business! Look at all the tripods in this picture.

We offered to take pictures for several different people (hoping they'd offer to take ours in turn) and were turned down. It's hard to beat the self-portrait.

Finally got someone to take ours together! This is tinkerbell's castle, a lot smaller than Cinderella's.

We had to ride It's a Small World and it was a favorite for the kids.

It was more fun seeing it at Christmas because everything was decorated and they actually threw in a few holiday tunes instead of the same song the entire ride.

Can't visit Disney without a ride on the teacups! Ben and Alex were amazingly patient to wait in the lines for each ride, but we were also very fortunate that most were 15 minutes or less.

Our last ride was on the flying Dumbos, my most memorable ride as a kid.

Hi Daddy! Hi Alex!

The kids had to have their balloons to take home (lots of fun on the crowded subway) and we even saved them and managed to get them reinflated at home today so the fun continues.

Main Street USA was completely decorated and really felt Christmasy. We had gorgeous weather (probably around 70F) but it got cooler and overcast by dinnertime and really seemed like it should be Christmas. Each lamppost had a different color and character's hat on top and Alex pointed out and identified every one. Ben wouldn't stand too close for a picture because he was afraid to hurt his balloon.

Back at the hotel with two tired and happy boys! Some Lightning McQueen pj's and Mickey balloons finished off their day perfectly.

As much as I loved Disneyworld as a kid, it was so much more fun to watch my own kids' excitement over the things I remember loving. This park was the perfect size because Ben walked every inch of it without complaining and we did everything in one full day. I hope it's a day the boys will always remember as fondly as I remember my trips.