Just Darling

Hey Friends!  I think my favorite part of Sydney is Darling Harbour.  If you are ever get the chance to visit Sydney, don't miss out on this gem!  Sorry for the blurry picture (we were so busy the whole weekend was kind of a blur!)  This is BEAUTIFUL Darling Harbour in Sydney and the extra BEAUTIFUL Lili enjoying a brisk walk back to our hotel after indulging in churros!

Me and Ollie!  (Another blurry one!  Sorry, guys, I'm trying to figure out my new camera!)

Ollie has been on a routine of doing a 6 hour sleep at night starting at 8 PM so Lili and I were able to go out dancing a couple of the nights we were there!  It was fun to get all dressed up and dance the night away!

Me and Matty with our "tired parent" look!  {Please tell me it will get better and that these dark circles under my eyes will go away eventually!}

My cutie pie!

One of up-side-down Ollie!  He was such a trooper during our Sydney adventure!  What a good boy!

We are off to swimming lessons today!  The girls are really ready to swim!

Enjoy today!

From China to Mexico

Hey Friends!  One of our favorite stops in Sydney is STARBUCKS!  Having lived in Seattle for the last 7 years prior to moving here, Starbucks has become a staple for us.  Unfortunately, there is no Starbucks in Canberra, so it's always one of our first stops in Sydney!  Lili enjoyed the stop too!

Our time share is really near China town.  We loved venturing through some of the market stalls.

Then it was play time at darling harbour park!

The girls, climbing the mountain to get to the top of the slid.

Addi holding hands with a swimmer at the wax museum.

We went from Chinatown to "Mexico"...or the closest thing to Mexico that you will get here in Australia!  Churros!

Lovely hot chocolate for two!

Churro mustache and beard.

Our 18 churro fiesta!

"Ahhh!  She's biting my mustache!"...What a fun stop! We left there with very full bellies!  This was our Churro dinner!

I'm off for my morning run and then on to my daily routine!  It feels so great to get a blog done first thing in the morning!

Enjoy today!

I'm Happy and I know it!

Hey Friends!  I have another blog for you filled with pics of my adventures with my bestie!  The whole family had a wonderful lunch at Delissio!  It was SO good.  However, they didn't have their chocolate tasting plate.  I was so bummed.

Me and Lili!

Dessert!  Since the chocolate tasting plate was off the menu, we rolled with some bread pudding and tiramisu!  Ya just can't go wrong at this restaurant!

On our next adventure, we were off to Sydney!  Weekend Getaway shirts and visors!!! 

The ladies, at our timeshare in down town Sydney!

One this crossed off our list:  eat meat pies!!! 

The pies even smiled at us as we ate them!

That's all for now, enjoy today!

Healthy Balance

Hey Friends!  Happy Friday over here in Oz!  While my cousin Lili was visiting, we hiked Mount Ainslie with two kiddies in tow.  Ollie caught a ride on the mommy express and Addi walked for much of the hike! She hopped on the "upper deck" of the mommy experss; my shoulders for a bit of the walk.

Auntie Lili and Addi looking at the view of Canberra.

This is a view that never gets old!  I love it!  Canberra is such a beautiful city and we certainly enjoy showing it's beauty to our guests!

Me and Lili at the top of the Mountain.  After our hike down, we were desperately in need of some snackage.  We stopped by a cafe near the War Memorial and Addi ate an entire ham and cheese croissant and Lili got her iced coffee with ice cream that she had been craving.

Special moments with Auntie Lili and Ollie.

After our day hiking, we decided a day of pedicures, chocolate and shopping was in order!

Fondue for two?  Why not!

After a sweaty workout class, we indulged in coconut water and...

a beautiful Bobby Flay concoction that Matt made for us.  Cornmeal pancakes with chili cream and salmon!  One of the best meals we ate all week!  yum!

It was so awesome to have my bestie here with me to indulge in fabulous foods and enjoy fantastic workouts.  I love living my life with a healthy balance of eating good and exercising! 

Enjoy today!

More Adventures

 Hey Friends!  I'm back again today with more adventures from the last couple weeks.  The picture above is so strange for me to look at.  It really makes me realize I have 3 kids now!  This is a picture of my 3 kiddos at story time.  I am so busy with life, it's difficult to take a moment and let it set in that there are 3 little munchkins now! :) 

 When my lovely cousin was visiting, one of my fun adventures was baking my first cheesecake.  It was amazing!  I made it with goat cheese and boy it was yum!  We served it up one day with warm fruit and the other day with chocolate!

 We HAD to take Lili to the Pancake Parlour.  Matt was so excited because we got there in time to order off of the breakfast menu!

 Auntie Lili and Addi!

 Later that day, we headed out to the park. Auntie Lili was silly; putting on Addi's hat.  **After Lili left, the girls both cried because they wanted her to stay and play with them!  They loved their Auntie Lili time!

 A trip to the park just would be the same without feeding the ducks and swans. 

The swans got a bit bossy, so we decided it was time to leave! 

I have a busy house this morning, filled with lovely little girlies (I'm babysitting).  Time for me to go play beauty shop, princesses, house, and so much more! 
Enjoy today!

Tid to the binbilla!

Life is always better when your best friend is in town!

 My cousin Lili (a.k.a. my best friend!) came for a visit and we were SO busy while she was here.  Sorry for not blogging like I usually do.  I love having her here.  She is the peanut butter to my jelly and the macaroni to my cheese :)  She's simply the best to have around! 

 On one of her first days here, we headed out for a big breakfast before we went to a nature reserve.

 The girls shared a HUGE breakfast and the loved it!

 Next stop: Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.  Look at all the roos :)

 Us gals with the roos.

 The family went on a bush walk.

 Addi showed off her balancing skills.

 The super fun, BIG slide!

 Ollie and Auntie Lili.

It was such a fun day and a great time to introduce Lili to some roos, emus, and platypus!

Hopefully, from now I'll be a bit better about keeping up with the bloggy.  It's been way too long and I have WAY too many photos to add.  Stay tuned for our fun adventures of the time that Lili was here.

Enjoy today!

A special note to those of you who have said you would like to come visit us...The count down is on.  We have one year left in Australia.  So, if you have ever thought to yourself, "I would love to see Australia and not have to pay for a hotel and stay with a really awesome family." Then you should start planning your trip now, before I take down our guest bed and set up Ollies crib (ha!).  Seriously, all people are welcome to come here and stay with us :)