Meghan comes to vist - Ultrasound #2

So, I’m sitting here in my cozy sweater and fuzzy pants, under my fuzzy blanket, mourning the fact that I had to close the windows because it’s too cold today.  It’s 60°F today.  I suppose this is winter in Australia.  Just because it’s windy and overcast my brain is telling me it’s cold outside!

It’s hard to believe that just two weeks ago Meghan was here.  That week was truly perfect weather.  Blissfully warm, but not hot, days and cool nights perfect for snuggling under the covers with the windows open at night.   So glad she got to experience Queensland at its best.

It was a week full of new experiences for her too!  Hopefully they were all good, but you’d have to ask her to be sure.  We went to the beach almost every day.  Matt taught her how to skimboard and bodyboard.  I like to tell myself that my semi-professional photography skills just made her look good, but truthfully she just picked it up way faster than I did.  See for yourself. 

We also took her to the Billabong Sanctuary to see some of the native wildlife.  One of the things I like most about the zoos here is how interactive they are.  Kangaroos are just roaming around the park hitting people up for food.  If you know Meghan, I’d have to say this day was pretty special for her.  I’m fairly certain she’d opt to clean her patients bed pans over dog-sitting any day.  But that day, she was a temporary animal lover!  She petted a dingo, fed some birds, let a kangaroo come right up and eat out of her hand.  It didn’t even end there…check out these pics of her holding a koala and a wombat!  I just love wombats so I had to get in on that action too!

Unfortunately for me, I’ve got a temporary aversion to boats.  My bout of seasickness back in January was my first clue that I was pregnant.  So I decided to go baby shopping while the two of the drifted out towards the Great Barrier Reef for some scuba and snorkeling time.  Sounds like they had a blast!

Don’t feel sorry for me though, my excitement was just around the corner.   We scheduled our second ultrasound for the week Meghan was here too.  Since she wouldn’t be able to make it back for the birth, we thought she might enjoy being the first to know what we were having.  The sonagraphers here are extremely well trained and very detailed, so we spent nearly an hour with him looking at the development of our babe’s eye lenses, lips, heart chambers, kidneys, etc.  We didn’t get the typical cutesy image, but we did get a positive id on her teeny little girl parts!!!!  Won’t she look super cute in these teeny little clothes from Auntie Megs?

We topped off the trip with a celebratory dinner with Mexican food and margaritas.  Mine was a mocktail, naturally.  It was a great way to wind down the trip with a hint of home. 

Thanks for coming to see us, Meghan!  We love you and miss you!

Check out the rest of the pics on Picasa Web:

Beach time with Meghan	Meghan Comes to Australia	Billabong Sanctuary

Easter Weekend (The Cathedral Tour)

I saw on a talk show that all bad news should be given as a sandwich: good news, bad news, good news.  I think that was Australia’s way of saying “Sorry, we ruined your Easter weekend plans”.  That said, I guess that’s how I’ll begin with our Northern Queensland adventures.

The good news: Matt got a four-day weekend! Excellent news!  We decided to take advantage of the time to head north towards Cairns, apparently a must-see city.  The plan was to make it a nice, leisurely vacation where we get to see some cool stuff without feeling exhausted Tuesday morning.  We’d see some gorgeous coastlines, check out the rainforest, and we’d fit in some baby shopping while we’re in the big city.  Oh, plus we had to fit in mass on Holy Friday and Easter.

It was such a simple plan.  We’d only do half the driving on Friday and stop for church at 3pm in Townsville.  That would leave plenty of time for baby shopping too.  One teensy little oversight: the Australian economy closes down for Good Friday.  Woops!  We’ve encountered our bad news, so lets get back to that good news.  We got to check into the hotel early and freshen up before our hike over to the lovely Townsville Cathedral.  Plus dinner at the hotel that night was an All-You-Can-Eat seafood buffet.  Hello, you big beautiful mountain of crab legs!

Saturday was a breeze!  An easy drive through the sugar fields and banana farms.  In case I haven’t told you yet, the Queensland grown bananas are amazing.  Matt and I tend to stumble upon the most amazing things completely by accident, so when we passed a sign that said “Paronella Park 20km” we figured we should give it a shot.  We weren’t disappointed in the least.

We pull up to the park entrance and had a giggle that this place in the middle of nowhere had parking attendants guiding us to the open space up front.  We saw a bridge over a waterfall and assumed it was just another little park at the bottom of the falls.  We balked about the price of admission until we confessed to one of the staff members that we’d not really heard of the place other than Matt having a vague remembrance of a flyer.  “It’s like no place you’ve ever been,” says the staff member, “most of the people here are either coming back again or coming because someone told them not to miss it.” $38 for a 2 year entrance fee.  Why not?  So we paid and were told to wait for our guided tour to start.  This history of the place is pretty amazing.  (It’s a story best told by them: http://www.paronellapark.com.au/history.html) Even though there was a fire in 1979, you can still imagine the glory this place once held for those who got to witness it in its heyday.  We took plenty of pics…and more than enough pics of the little turtles that have figured out people had food.  Little beggars!

 

 

Cairns was a pretty neat town.  Luckily most of the shops and restaurants stayed open down on the esplanade.  It didn’t hurt our luck that the Rhapsody of the Seas was docked there over the weekend.  The streets were flooded with international tourists, but if that meant they kept the economy flowing, the more the merrier. Side note: this was the first time I’d ever seen a cruise ship up close and I can honestly say I had no idea they were so big!

We decided to catch the 7pm Easter Vigil.  Walking time again…. At dusk the squawking starts and the flocks are on the move, only they aren’t birds.  They’re bats.   It was a long eerie walk.  Why do things always look so much closer on the map?  The Cairns Cathedral had some of the most beautiful stained glass I’ve ever seen.  Unfortunately, I don’t have that personality like so many of our friendly Asian tourists that lets me feel comfortable taking pictures in church.  But I have no scruples when it comes to Googling.

 St Monica's Cathedral Creation Windows
(Click a window for more information)

And finally, it SUNDAY!!  Our Easter obligations complete, today is ours to roam.  Matt’s only request is to drive the Defender through some rainforest.  We headed north up the coast towards Port Douglas.  We enjoyed some of the most beautiful coastal views imaginable.  I don’t think our pictures do the coast any justice.  Just imagine the color you’d expect the ocean to be in paradise and that’s what it was. 

Our first stop (after a few sidetracked scenic view stops) was the Mossman Gorge.  It’s a series of skywalks through the Daintree rainforest guiding you to some beautiful views of the gorge.  I almost wished we’d brought our swimmers; it looked like a nice little swimming hole.  Next we headed inland through the tablelands.  Can’t say that was as exciting as the coastal drive, but we did make a few scenic photo stops.  One of those stops was way off the beaten track, called Emerald Falls. I only made it half way up the walking track before my back and my little baby told me it was time to turn around.  It was still a nice view with the sound of the falls all along.  We didn’t make it back to the Kuranda in time to catch a ride on the skyrails, but by that time we didn’t care.  We’d already had all the fun we could handle! 

We were back in Cairns in time for a delicious dinner at the Turkish restaurant.  We both had lamb, our Easter tradition.  Then to top off the night, we waked through the night market and finished the evening off with gelato!  I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weekend!

Click here to view the all the photos from the weekend:

A Little Rain and a Whole Lot of Sunshine

A little rain….that’s a lie actually.  When they said Queensland had no true summer / winter only a wet and a dry season, they weren’t lying!  Last week it rained for 7 days straight.  Yes, that’s right.  7 days all in a row.  We got a whopping 14+ inches.  The forecast says there’s more on the way.  Along with the rain comes the mozzies.  Funny that they shorten that word even though they’re some of biggest mosquitoes I’ve ever seen in my life!  Evil little buggers!  And here’s something else you’d never have thought of before you made your decision to live in paradise.  Palm trees aren’t all they’re made out to be.  First, they don’t really provide that much shade.  Second, they shed just as bad as your favorite furball of a dog.  We’re dragging enormous palm branches to be garbage bin weekly to be broken down and hauled away.  Thirdly, falling coconuts are loud!  It’s fortunate that I figured out what the noise was quickly.  The first couple nights in the house I woke up in a fright at the sound of a 3 pound coconut hitting our metal roof and rolling away.  Throw in a storm and there’s a lot of banging around and clean up to do.  I’ll take an oak tree and a pile of fall leaves any day! 

But really, there’s not a lot to complain about here.  What’s a little rain when you’ve got so much too look forward too?  Matt and I are expecting our own little ball of sunshine near the end of September this year!  I’m currently about 14 weeks along and sooo glad be out of my first trimester.  Luckily, I was able to sleep through most of it (and the rain).  We had our first ultrasound March 9 and it was a healthy little 4cm humanoid.  The next ultrasound is slated for May.  I'll be sure to keep you all posted as we progress.

We had intended to do a big post a few months ago about our sailing lessons and expedition.  Naturally it was the hottest weekend we’ve had since we’d been here.  Not a cloud or a breeze for 3 days.  Equally exhilarating and torturous.  But I think we’ll always remember it with fondness since that’s how I figured out I was pregnant.  I KNEW I wasn’t prone to sea sickness!   So, our deepest apologies for not having much to share about the sailing weekend.  I was a bit too miserable to give a care about taking photos and we’ve been a bit busy since.  But we did see some amazing sites like Whitehaven Beach and snorkeling near some of the best reefs in the world.  If anyone wants to visit, we’re ready to go again now!  Preferably before I hit third trimester though!

Great Barrier Reef Aquarium

Wandering around Townsville on the last day of Matt's holiday vacation, we stumbled upon the most marvelous treasure: The Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium.

Hopefully this is just a preview of the beautiful reef life we'll be seeing while living here.  Thank goodness I happened to have my camera in my bag so I could share these treasures with you all.

My most favorite creature was the Mantis Shrimp.  He's colorful and crazy looking 

Click this pic to play the video

Matt liked the sharks and rays

The jelly fish were so tiny and fun to watch

Click picture to play video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

I always wanted a Seahorse!  Mom- can I get one now?

Click picture to play this video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

Oh - and I got video of some Nemos and other fishies for Brooklynn

Click picture to play video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

Some more crazy shrimp:

Click picture to play video. From Reef HQ Aquarium

Click on the photo below to link to the slide show - tons more pics to see!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Matt's birthday has come and gone! We had a fun few days too!  The weekend before was his company Christmas Party on Hamilton Island.  I think we might have enjoyed the ferry ride as much as the island itself.

Hamilton Island is a popular tourist trap, but there's a reason for that.  It's gorgeous!  Unfortunately we didn't get to spend much more than a few hours exploring.  We did learn that there's plenty reason for a repeat visit: scuba, snorkeling, paddle boarding, helicopter tours, jet skis, sailing and fishing.  Oh!  And everyone drives golf carts!  We can't wait to go back and spend some time.  That is, when we have more time to spend!

Grandmas have no fear!  Matt and I are eating well!  I made a cherry pie for his birthday, a black cherry pie to be specific because that's all they had in a can.  It was delicious!

Turns out the reason they don't have canned cherries is because no one has ever heard of cherry pie!!!  Matt took a piece in his lunch and ended up sharing the whole pie because they'd never tasted it before.   What a nice guy!  He earned another pie!  Lucky for him, my baking skills are improving!

Enjoy the slide show!