Another week in paradise

The past week has been pretty quiet for the Thoe family.  The weather was not very nice for most of the week. The temperature was low 60's (Fahrenheit), but it was mostly cloudy and had winds up to 22 miles per hour.  Sydneysiders were calling it a "blast of winter".  But, I wouldn't quite get my parka out over that.  The funny thing is, Sean and I both saw people in parkas with the full-on fur around the hood.  Yet, if my house/apartment did not have heat, like a lot of houses/apartments here, I would probably feel pretty chilled also when the low was in the 50's.

The kids and I have found a few cool things in very close walking distance to our temporary apartment.  There is a really nice public library just a couple of blocks away and we have went to a couple of story times.  And, right down the road from the library is an awesome park where we spent some time (when the weather cooperated).  We found out the time ti see movies is on Discount Ticket Tuesday, so we finally went to the movie theater in the mall across the street and saw The Lorax.  Carter and I loved the movie.  Aubrey thought it was kind of scary.  But, it is only the second movie she has ever seen in a theater.  We also went to see a puppet show of the Jungle Book.  The kids really enjoyed that.

Carter at the park near our apartment

Aubrey pretending to be a dog at the park

Carter "the actor" pretending to be upset he is in the pelican's mouth

Aubrey "the actor" is screaming for someone to save her

Waiting for the puppet show to begin

We have been trying to prepare for "The Big Move".  We will be signing the lease and getting the keys on Tuesday, April 17th.  We won't actually be spending the night there until later in the week.  We have the temporary apartment until the next weekend (April 21st).  We finally have all our bed linen, some towels to get us through until our crate arrives, and some dishes and silverware.  We are still trying to think of anything else we may need to buy to survive until our crate comes from the States.  The crate is also currently scheduled to get to Sydney on April 17th.  Then, we have from 5 days to 3 weeks for the crate to go through customs.  We are certainly hoping for 5 days!!!    

Yesterday, April 13th, was my birthday.  I have now doubled my age from when I was 18 years old.  How is that even possible?  Didn't I just turn 25 last year?  Friday was nicer weather outside, but the kids and I still had a pretty quiet day.  We spent 2 hours playing at our favorite park and then just chilled in the afternoon.  Aubrey took a nice long nap while Carter and I read.  Carter was engrossed in a Phinneus and Ferb book while I was re-reading the first book of The Hunger Games.  I almost enjoyed the book more the second time around.  I have not read the next 2 books yet, but I bought the whole trilogy for my Kindle.  I am very excited to continue the saga.  

Sean got home from work that night and was changing clothes so that we could go out for dinner.  I got a call from the front desk that a package had come for me.  I went down to the front desk to collect a beautiful bouquet of flowers and 6 cupcakes that Sean had left down there.  He always has to surprise me!  Then, we headed out on a mission to eat pizza somewhere near Bondi Beach.  We ended up finding Bondi Pizza.  I love how so many places have open air seating here.  Nothing quite like enjoying a nice glass of shiraz while feeling the ocean breezes.  Then, Sean was nice enough to take over putting the kids to bed while I enjoyed reading in my room with the door shut.  I know, I know, turning 36 is way more exciting than turning 21!!  Haha!!

The flowers from my wonderful husband

Carter and Aubrey posing near the restaurant; Carter "the actor" was the king of the pedestal.

Today, Saturday, was another beautiful, mostly sunny, mid-70 day.  We began the day at the Paddington Markets.  They are very cool, but we thought it would be a farmer's market.  Instead, it mainly was jewelry, clothing, and home decor. Fun to look at for adults, but not really for kids.  So, we didn't spend too long there.  We then headed up to Watson's Bay to explore.  This is the opening to the Sydney Harbour on the south side.  We could not get all the way to the peak of the peninsula because that land is a Royal Australian Navy base. But, what we did get to see did not disappoint.  We have now been surrounded by Sydney's beauty for 3 weeks.  Can beauty like this become commonplace when it is ALWAYS there?  This was a conversation Sean and I had today.  I mean this is the view from his office that he sees EVERY day during the week....

SERIOUSLY!!!  This is the view Sean sees EVERY weekday.  (Sorry that you see me in the reflection of the window.)

Anyway, these are some pictures from around Watson's Bay.  I also included a picture from the maps app on my phone that points out where we were.

The red pin is where we were this afternoon.  The blue dot is where our temporary apartment is.  The purple pin is where we went to the Paddingtion Markets this morning. 

I like to end posts with funny observations.  Today when we were in the car next to a bus we noticed this sticker.....

This begs to question, "Who tried to get on a bus through the window?" and "If someone was trying to get on the bus through the window, would they really stop because they read the sticker?"