Australia - Week 1

First achievement was actually making it here in one piece with 3 kids! Actually they all did fantastically on the flight, all the flights were on time and so we really could not have asked for much more. iPods loaded with movies was a good way to keep the older two in check...breast feeding seemed to work for Angus! Also, the first drive on the other side of the road was quite uneventful whihc is nice, especially when doing it after about 3 hours sleep on the flight!

Upon arrival it took us a few days to adjust to the time zones. The kids were waking up at 4:00am for the first few nights but are now on Aussie time. So far...some relative visiting and spending time with my mother have been the main activities. I did go to see the Eels play the Knights in the rain on Monday night - a fun night but losing in the last two minutes was not a part of the plan.

Have tried to consume as many pies as humanly possible. Consuming beer and Solo whenever possible. Other junk foods and assorted crap being thrown down at a rate of knots. Will seriously need a purge when I get back to the USA but that is something to worry about later.

Managed to catch up with a couple of (close to) Newcastle based friends. Evo - an old cricket mate from Richmond - works in Newcastle on occasion so we caught up for lunch. Maybe can arrange another meeting involving beer in a few weeks. Daniel and Alethia also came up during the week - always good to catch up.

Last night we went to my brother's house for a BBQ and some beer. Fat Yak was recommended to me before the trip and it has not disappointed. Of course, several other brews were sampled as well last night. A lot of "James" beer (Bogues and Squire). Today we are off in a bus to see the Eels play the Broncos in Parramatta. Kids will be kitted out in blue and gold...just hope the rain stays away...and we don't blow this one!

Next week...still unknown - maybe a couple of days in Sydney to catch up with some people but nothing planned as yet. Much beer and many pies in my future...that is for sure!

Australia!

We are close to being ready for our trip on Friday. I think I remember Mindy saying something about packing some clothes and things for the kids...so I am assuming that is done. My main focus is getting content downloaded to our new Apple devices. In addition to Mindy's iPad and Naomi's iPod Touch, we decided that with the looming trip, it would be quite tough for Fiona to sit there and watch Naomi play on her iPod for 24 hours. Alternatively, it would be quite tough for Mindy to sit there and watch Fiona play on her iPad for 24 hours! So we brought forward her birthday present and got her one the other day. However, that is not all... Mindy has been hitting the gym and the MP3 player she had been using had some issues with it, so we decided to get her an iPod Nano. And, not wanting to feel left out, I was eying the 160GB capacity of the classic, so with a shrug and a "what the hell", decided to get one of these for myself. Since then, the computer has been running 24x7 ripping CDs for everyone to load. Also, this week, we have been ripping some DVDs for the girls to watch while on the trip.

Looking forward to the holiday there. Not sure what we will be doing. The only thing that is somewhat planned is a trip to watch the Eels play on the 26th. Certainly a trip to Sydney will be happening at some point and I think Mindy has been sorting out some other options as well. Prime focus of the trip is visiting family, friends, drinking beer and eating pies. Pretty sure all of this will not be an issue.