Another Amazing Day in the City

We woke this morning determined to do something fun today. Work has been a little stressful lately and the back garden is now officially complete, so we felt it was time to get out of the house (not that it's all that uncommon). We jumped in the car and made the 1-hour trip to the city to visit the Australian Museum where they're doing an exhibition of dinosaur bones. Miyako went wild with all the displays, and much to our delight, Kent really seemed to get into the whole thing as well. He was squealing with joy as he ran from one display to the next, touching many things he shouldn't have. Miyako wanted to watch a movie about life in Queensland 10 million years ago but was horrified when it showed a swarm of baby dinosaurs being ambushed by a much larger meat eater that roared with contentment when it was done chewing.

After the museum we walked across the street to Hyde park where there was an outdoor photography expo, which was also very nice. The weather was absolutely perfect (quite typically so, however) so we stayed out for quite some time. Kent chased ibises. Miyako picked flowers. We felt like tourists, taking so many photos. We wrapped up the morning with lunch at our favorite Japanese noodle shop in Victoria Gallery. It was all very pleasant.

Tomorrow starts the last week of the semester. It's been a tough one, yet again. I had to go into work THREE DAYS A WEEK FOR THE PAST 13 WEEK! Slave boy, slave boy...

Enjoy the photos and leave us a comment, please.

Dressup and Reptile Show

Miyako's long been a fan of dressing up but mix that primal desire with her current obsession with princesses and you have hours, and hours, and hours of fun. See the slide show for her newest looks as well as a peek at how brave she was at a recent reptile show held for the kinds in her play group.

Voting, Fireworks and Sculptures by the Sea

I've done it! I've cast my vote for Barack Obama. He's the first candidate I've ever voted for who really excited me. My last vote for president was really a vote against Bush, even though I thought Kerry was pretty good anyway. Gore, before that, was okay but I wasn't really interested in politics at the time.



Last night went to the grand opening of a new hardware store near the house and were treated to what must have been the best fireworks display we've seen in quite some time. The best part was that it was almost directly over our heads. Kent was asleep when it started but when the sound woke him, he was quite thrilled.



(That's Miyako's friend, not Kent)

Today, we went to Tamarama beach to see the annual art event, Sculptures by the Sea. It was wonderful and the seaside was more amazing than ever. While walking along the cliff wall, we talked about how it wouldn't be unreasonable for someone to spend thousands of dollars to visit a place like this. We live 40 minutes away. We even got to see a whale and her calf making their way down the coast along with a pod of dolphins. I even got a picture of the mother.

Some more photos

Here are some nice recent photos. Click HERE to see them in album format.

This, to me, is Australia

The sun-burned gum-tree siding, single Federation finial, rusted tin roof, and the perpetually cloudless, bristling azure sky all meet in a single vista to create what is for me the archetypal Australian scene.

From Home, Darling Harbour, and New Swing

Taken today at the summer farm festival, Camden, New South Wales.

A busy week

We had a very nice two weeks with the visit of Grandma Takeo from Japan. Celebrating her birthday and visiting the Blue Mountains were among the highlights. I think she most enjoyed quiet days in the garden with the kids.

Last night we went to the Outback Steakhouse to get a taste of the "real" Australia. I was so impressed by the lengths the restaurant went to make the experience seem authentic. They had large murals of the desert on the walls, piped in aboriginal music, and all Australa's finest on tap. Best of all, it seems the customers really wanted to get in on the act as well: all of them were speaking in an Australian accent! (I could tell it was fake, though)

Today was "Free Farm Day" in Camden and we had a wonderful time: petting animals, milking a cow, having a picnic, watching sheep shearing, listening to country music. It was very enjoyable.

Here are some photos. Enjoy.