Another Day at the Park

We went back to Rushcutter's Park today. The weather was perfect- sunny skies and about 60 degrees. We took the bus there and the kids ran right to the park.  Tucker is actually really fast!  You would think that big noggin of his would make it difficult.  :)

When we got there the first thing Cooper noticed was that they had added a new piece of play equipment- a blue, bouncy motorboat. Both boys hopped right in for a ride.  Then Tucker took off to explore other parts of the playground.

Cooper spent most of the time we were at the pack finding "problems" with the equipment and "repairing" them as you can see in the photo below.

Tucker played hard for a while, but then found his own niche (not sure if that is the right word)- he found things that were wrong or misplaced and made them right.  The first thing he did was approach a little one whose toy had fallen over. Tucker walked over, stood it upright and then knelt by the boy and watched how the toy worked. Then he was on his way.  He also found two different stuffed animals and quickly returned them to their rightful owner.  I was impressed. I thought he would just take them and play with them or just walk right by. Then again, this is the kid that says, "Uh oh." throughout the grocery store whilst (Aussie for while) pointing at all the things that are out of place or have fallen on the floor. Come to think of it, Coop did the same thing...

The cockatoos and magpies were out and about at the park.  I am still amazed and in awe of these birds. The sounds they make and the "design" of their feathers and other features are just beautiful. I wonder if seeing these birds will ever become ho-hum and we will stop noticing them.  My mom always asks me if I ever got "used to" the beauty of Mt. Rainier when it was "out" and the answer is no so hopefully the same will be true of the birds down under.

Another Day at the Park

We went back to Rushcutter's Park today. The weather was perfect- sunny skies and about 60 degrees. We took the bus there and the kids ran right to the park.  Tucker is actually really fast!  You would think that big noggin of his would make it difficult.  :)

When we got there the first thing Cooper noticed was that they had added a new piece of play equipment- a blue, bouncy motorboat. Both boys hopped right in for a ride.  Then Tucker took off to explore other parts of the playground.

Cooper spent most of the time we were at the pack finding "problems" with the equipment and "repairing" them as you can see in the photo below.

Tucker played hard for a while, but then found his own niche (not sure if that is the right word)- he found things that were wrong or misplaced and made them right.  The first thing he did was approach a little one whose toy had fallen over. Tucker walked over, stood it upright and then knelt by the boy and watched how the toy worked. Then he was on his way.  He also found two different stuffed animals and quickly returned them to their rightful owner.  I was impressed. I thought he would just take them and play with them or just walk right by. Then again, this is the kid that says, "Uh oh." throughout the grocery store whilst (Aussie for while) pointing at all the things that are out of place or have fallen on the floor. Come to think of it, Coop did the same thing...

The cockatoos and magpies were out and about at the park.  I am still amazed and in awe of these birds. The sounds they make and the "design" of their feathers and other features are just beautiful. I wonder if seeing these birds will ever become ho-hum and we will stop noticing them.  My mom always asks me if I ever got "used to" the beauty of Mt. Rainier when it was "out" and the answer is no so hopefully the same will be true of the birds down under.

A Day that Went from Bad to Great

Today was a day of a lot of emotions- for me.  The day did not begin well. I woke up with a horrible case of homesickness and felt terribly disconnected from anyone or anything familiar.  After emailing with a friend and a good cry, we packed up our gear and headed to the bus stop. We were on our way to a new park called, Rushcutter's Bay Park, which I had seen on a bus ride last week. While waiting for our bus, a family of 4 walked by and looked at the bus schedule. They were headed to Bondi Beach and wanted to know if they were in the right place for the bus and which one was best to take. I so proud of myself, I was able to answer their questions just like a native Sydney-an!!  While we were talking, I realized they were American. I asked where they were from and lo and behold, they are from Chicago- well the Chicago area!   We chit-chatted about why we were both there and for how long and all that stuff.  It turns out the dad/husband is working here for a month for an American company and the family came along for the adventure. We also learned that Russell (Doug's company) is a client of this gentleman's company.  Small world.  Anyway, long story short the mom, kids, Coop, Tuck and I are going to meet tomorrow morning for a playdate in the park across the street.  How cool is that?  But wait, the story gets better.

We arrived at the park. We played and played then stopped by the cafe and had a snack (delicious banana bread for Tucker, yummy carrot-nut muffin for me and toast with butter for Coop- toast is a big thing here). We played a little more and then took the bus back home.  After "alighting" the bus, we headed to Woolworths (the grocery store) to buy nappies for Tucker. As we were walking, we heard a hello and looked to see who it was. It was FloridaGirl and her family!  What a wonderful surprise!  They had just finished lunch in the city and were on their way to our local Starbucks.  What luck!  And how cool that we actually ran into someone we know here Sydney where we really do not know anyone.  This day was shaping up!

Here are a few pics of the boys playing at the park:

cafe at the park

I cannot believe I almost forgot this part. We were playing at the park and heard a crazy-loud bird cry.  We looked up and there were 3 cockatoos just flying around! I had heard that this happened in AU, but this is the first time we had experienced it. It was amazing!  I must have taken a hundred pictures hoping one would turn out. The natives were looking at me like I was insane. :)

cockatoos!

After Tucker's nap (and a short nap for me), we took Coop's bike to the park across the street and he rode around for a while.  We just put his new siren on his bike.  He got so many smiles from people as he rode around sounding his siren.  Yes, I know I am crazy for buying a siren for my kid, but is was a moment of weakness- you know you have all been there!

Our building from the park

Then to top it off, my sweet, sunbathing Pugs....

So a day that began terribly but ended up quite well. Running into a new friend, meeting a fellow Chicagoan, seeing cockatoos, a bike ride through the park and two happy dogs.  It turned out to be a pretty good day after all.

A Day that Went from Bad to Great

Today was a day of a lot of emotions- for me.  The day did not begin well. I woke up with a horrible case of homesickness and felt terribly disconnected from anyone or anything familiar.  After emailing with a friend and a good cry, we packed up our gear and headed to the bus stop. We were on our way to a new park called, Rushcutter's Bay Park, which I had seen on a bus ride last week. While waiting for our bus, a family of 4 walked by and looked at the bus schedule. They were headed to Bondi Beach and wanted to know if they were in the right place for the bus and which one was best to take. I so proud of myself, I was able to answer their questions just like a native Sydney-an!!  While we were talking, I realized they were American. I asked where they were from and lo and behold, they are from Chicago- well the Chicago area!   We chit-chatted about why we were both there and for how long and all that stuff.  It turns out the dad/husband is working here for a month for an American company and the family came along for the adventure. We also learned that Russell (Doug's company) is a client of this gentleman's company.  Small world.  Anyway, long story short the mom, kids, Coop, Tuck and I are going to meet tomorrow morning for a playdate in the park across the street.  How cool is that?  But wait, the story gets better.

We arrived at the park. We played and played then stopped by the cafe and had a snack (delicious banana bread for Tucker, yummy carrot-nut muffin for me and toast with butter for Coop- toast is a big thing here). We played a little more and then took the bus back home.  After "alighting" the bus, we headed to Woolworths (the grocery store) to buy nappies for Tucker. As we were walking, we heard a hello and looked to see who it was. It was FloridaGirl and her family!  What a wonderful surprise!  They had just finished lunch in the city and were on their way to our local Starbucks.  What luck!  And how cool that we actually ran into someone we know here Sydney where we really do not know anyone.  This day was shaping up!

Here are a few pics of the boys playing at the park:

cafe at the park

I cannot believe I almost forgot this part. We were playing at the park and heard a crazy-loud bird cry.  We looked up and there were 3 cockatoos just flying around! I had heard that this happened in AU, but this is the first time we had experienced it. It was amazing!  I must have taken a hundred pictures hoping one would turn out. The natives were looking at me like I was insane. :)

cockatoos!

After Tucker's nap (and a short nap for me), we took Coop's bike to the park across the street and he rode around for a while.  We just put his new siren on his bike.  He got so many smiles from people as he rode around sounding his siren.  Yes, I know I am crazy for buying a siren for my kid, but is was a moment of weakness- you know you have all been there!

Our building from the park

Then to top it off, my sweet, sunbathing Pugs....

So a day that began terribly but ended up quite well. Running into a new friend, meeting a fellow Chicagoan, seeing cockatoos, a bike ride through the park and two happy dogs.  It turned out to be a pretty good day after all.