The last 2 weeks.....

Perth = awsome.  True.

We stayed with friends for the 2 weeks while we were there and Finn & Isla were very good considering they are only 2 & 3.  However.  Nothing can prepare people who don't have children for what it is like to have 2 small people invade their lives 24x7 while in the run up to a huge wedding.  Especially when said little people never really got into 'Perth time' and insisted on 06:00 starts to the day fresh as Daisy's.....  Thankfully we survived and are all still friends!

Some highlights were:

3 fantastic nights at Ledge Point in the Big 4 site in a lovely little cabin right next to the playground.  2 minute drive to one of the most amazing beaches I have ever been to.  We only ever saw 1 other couple on the sand at the same time as us.  White sand, azure water, 28c in the water and 30-35c out.  A little break of paradise.  Locally caught fish for lunch.  Shell collecting by the little people and even a little reading for the grown ups on the beach!  Heaven.

We took a day trip down to Preston Beach and I was almost lost for words (a rare occurrence!) when 5 feet away from where the water met the sand a huge stingray cruised past.  We had an amazing view of it and could see the rippling sides of it as it swam by and even the white underside.  10 minutes later and 2 dolphins cruised past not 20 feet from the shore.  This was really one of those days when we appreciated what an amazing country it is that we now live in and really just.....WOW.

The Wedding - a beautiful day.  Hot!  39c.  We melted.  Finn & Isla were pageboy and flower girl respectively.  They took on the serious task very well and I actually thought Finn may pop on the morning of the wedding due to extreme excitement.  They walked down the aisle holding hands which was really cute and then were actually very good during the ceremony, which may have been due to the large number of tic tacs I had in my clutch hand bag!

We also met up with Andy's cousin and her new husband who live in Perth for a play at Whiteman Park and then off to the Duckstein Brewery for lunch.  Had a very interesting chat with them as they both work for the mines and so had some great facts on the business of mining iron ore.  The mine is 90K's inland from the sea port where the ore is shipped out of Australia.  The ore is moved by trains that are 2.3k's long and pulled by 3 engines and pushed by 2.  25 trains a day make their way to the coast and each train has a profit of $1 million!  A great, interesting day with good company.

A few other things....BBQ's, meeting new friends, catching up with old friends, breakfast several times at a new wonderful eatery chain in WA - Dome!, beach time, roo spotting and happy days.

Slight disclaimer.  There are no pictures of the bridal party as the groom has a bit of a stalker and well you know.....just in case.....  :(  They both looked beautiful though!

A good day is finding a new park

We are in the middle of a much appreciated cold front in Sydney at the moment.  The temperature dropped to around 22-26 degrees over the last few days from a sweltering and sticky 36-43 which we have experienced over the last few weeks.  

It was so lovely when it happened.  We were in the City on Sunday meeting up with 2 friends that we used to work with in the UK who are here on holiday.  The heat was oppressive in Darling Harbour where we met up and we took respite in Starbucks for an hour catching up before heading out into the plaza and taking the children on the carousel.  It was around 36 degrees and sticky, sticky, sticky!  We walked on around the harbour and said our goodbyes and then walked around to our lunch booking at Tony Roma's.  A short digression - this was a deal that we bought from Cudo - unlimited famous ribs for $15 a head, a pretty good deal I think and they were really, really good.  I love ribs, they are definitely in my top 5 of things to eat.  Anyway - out we come and the clouds had gathered overhead, the wind was blowing a hoolie!  It was trying to rain but not really getting anywhere and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees!  It was soooooo refreshing after the heat wave.

So today I decided that I would make the most of the cooler less sunny day and take the children up to the park.  When it is so hot as it has been for the last 8 weeks or so it makes it really hard to just visit the park as the children sweat, get crabby, hot & bothered etc so I have avoided it and we have stuck to many, many pool days.  Great fun but the park today was a welcome change for all concerned.  I discovered a park that I have not been to before in a place called Galston which is in the Hills district of Sydney.  We had driven past it before and Finn very much liked the look of the huge skate park there and wanted to take his scooter.  We headed in there and spent several hours playing on the equipment, skating around and exploring.  It was a balmy 24 and lovely!

We did attempt the pool yesterday but all concerned (especially the smaller members of the family!) voted it too cold!  So to get our swim fix we are going down to the Olympic pool this afternoon when Andy finishes work.  It's great there with rapids and a water squirting climbing frame next to the pool.  This will be a staple for us to keep up the swimming during the cooler months ahead.

Off to hot and somewhat scorched Perth on Friday for a 2 week holiday and a wedding, thankfully we won't be anywhere near the fires that are currently burning.  Australia really is getting a kicking from Mother Nature at the moment.