Happy Easter!!

We survived our first holiday out of the States.  We did not celebrate quite in the style I was hoping, but it was a great holiday, none the less.  Saturday we got to pick up our new car.  A Ford Fiesta!!  I know, that doesn't sound like the MOST exciting car ever.  It doesn't have a huge motor, it's not a convertible, it's not 4 wheel drive.  But, we are so excited to have some freedom to go as we please instead of only relying on public transport.  It gets great gas mileage, it has more storage area than you would think, it's super safe, and it has that new car smell. Most people drive relatively small cars here, partly due to the fact that the gas price is around $6/gallon.  We have been having so much fun seeing Sydney from our own car.  I have also heard the word "recalculating" from our Garmin more times than I can count.  Sean has done pretty well getting used to driving on the left side; he has only went through one roundabout the wrong direction.  I haven't gotten the nerve up to drive yet.  

Here is it is!

We are so excited to have a car!!

Sean sitting on the right side.  

Saturday was not one of the best days we have had since being in Sydney.  We were excited about getting the car, but the rest of the day was not good.  I lost Carter at the mall and had to have security find him (because he just kept walking when Aubrey and I stopped to look at something).  Sean thought he lost his wallet.  We had to rush to the store to get groceries and Easter egg baskets because we put it off too late and the stores were going to close at 6:00 pm Saturday.  We got the groceries, but the Easter egg baskets are another story.  We have not gotten the hang of the shopping here yet.  There just aren't many places to get ALL your essentials.  I'm sure most Aussies go into a little shock when they go into a SuperWalmart or SuperTarget for the first time.  So far, Kmart has been our best all around store.  Unfortunately, though, it did not carry Easter baskets.  So, we had to just get normal weaved baskets.  Plus, we had no little gifts to put in the baskets because the kids are ALWAYS with me during the day and the stores do not stay open very late in the evening.  I did sneak out one evening to pick up some candy.  All the Easter candy is chocolate.  Cadbury is huge here.  But, I didn't see any Twizzlers, Starburst, Skittles, etc.  I didn't even really see many jelly beans.  We did try some Turkish Delight.  I remember reading about it in the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".  I didn't know that it really existed.  It was chocolate covered gelatin of some sort.  I can understand why it has not really taken off in the States.  Half of the bar we bought ended up in the trash (or I should say, rubbish).    
  

Carter and Aubrey's Easter baskets.  We will do better next year!

Aubrey on Easter morning

Of course, they were still excited Easter morning.  Carter woke up at 6:00 a.m.  By the time Sean got up at 7:30 a.m., Carter had eaten all of his candy except the big bunny.  He was pretty hyper for a a couple of hours.  We found a great church to go to Sunday morning, a Uniting church called Church on the Market Place.  It was just a few minutes walk from our apartment.  The Uniting Church is a denomination unique to Australia.  It has its roots in the Methodist religion, but then it joined with a couple of other Christian churches.  It was such a nice, little church.  It only has 100 to 150 members.  Everyone wears a name badge and every person we came in contact with was extremely welcoming.  We showed up early in order to get a seat.  That was not a problem at all and most people showed up just in time for the service.  After church, we headed to an Easter Picnic at an Anglican Church in Paddington.  There was free gourmet coffee for the grownups and the kids got to play in a bounce house, make crowns, and have their face painted.  We then grabbed lunch, played at a park, and went on a long drive along the coast. We saw many areas we want to go back and explore when the kids are not asleep in the back seat.  It was a great day all around!!

Carter after eating way too much sugar on Easter morning

The Leprechaun King and The Beautiful Princess

This is the largest spider I have seen yet.  It was in the park on Easter.  The web didn't really come out in the picture.  I would call the leaf next to it "medium size".  The spider with the legs is probably about the size of my palm.  I "think" it is a harmless garden spider.

I missed everyone at home, but when I got up the next morning I saw a message on my phone that my family tried to FaceTime (Apple's version of Skype) while I was still sleeping.  So, as soon as I got out of bed, I was passed around on my sister and brother-in-law's iPad at the my family's Easter celebration. I love to see everyone, but sometimes I wish the Face option could be taken out of this equation.  I don't think my family members will actually remember what I look like showered and with makeup on if I have to talk to them that early in the morning.  

As Sean was still off on Easter Monday, and the shops were back open, we decided to go furniture shopping.  After all, we would like to have a bed to sleep on when we move into our new apartment.  First, we headed up to the North Shore to a place my husband's co-worker recommended as the "home furniture mecca".  We looked there for a little bit before realizing that a normal furniture store just could not compete with Ikea.  Especially when we found out that a mattress could not be delivered for over 2 weeks.  We really are trying to avoid sleeping on the cold, hard floor.  So, off to Ikea we went.

Driving across the Harbour Bridge in our car.

We spent over 3 hours at Ikea.  They do have the play area for the kids, but unfortunately, an hour is the maximum time they can stay in it.  We picked out a bedroom set, looked at appliances, dreamed a lot, got some practical items, and the kids picked out a million different things they wanted.  We even did a little grocery shopping.  By the end of the 3 hours, we were pretty Ikea'd out.  We did not leave without injuries.  Carter stepped on some hammock chair thing and the top part of it hit him in the eye.  Luckily, it hit the outside corner of the eyelid or it could have been really ugly.  We headed back to "home" after another long, busy weekend. Have we really only been here a little over 2 weeks?

Aubrey writing down her shopping list at Ikea

Carter's injury at Ikea.  He is doing much better now, he just looks like he has purple eyeliner at the edge of his eye.

 This post is going to end on a fashion trend Sean and I have noticed here in Australia.  Yes, Sydney has a beachy, laid back vibe.  People walk around completely barefoot, even in a shopping mall or in the middle of Ikea.  They are not carrying shoes that have been removed because they were uncomfortable; there are no shoes in sight.  (I guess there is no such thing as no shirt, no shoes, no service.)  We have also noticed that Australians, as a general rule, are not very modest.  But, the most interesting trend to Sean and I are the women that look like they are dressed pretty conservatively, but have their bras and/or underwear showing through.  This does not happen accidently.  I'm talking about a polka dot bra under a white shirt, or something along those lines.  And it is not always young girls.  I see it mainly on women my age or older walking around with kids.  I could not resist taking a picture of this lady at Ikea that is a perfect example of what we are talking about.

Can you see what I see?

Okay, I can't leave the post on that note.  One more funny Aubrey story.  Last night she had a little scratch on her hand for which she demanded a band-aid.  So, I ended up putting a Dora band-aid on her.  However, when I went in to check on her after she went to bed this is what I saw..... 

Aubrey with her Dora "breathe-right" strip