Jenolan Caves

Friday after school, we drove about 7 hours (including a stop for dinner) to a place in the Blue Mountains called Jenolan Caves (pronounced Ja' nolan).  We stayed two nights in a two bedroom cottage.  The cottage was a bit dated and only had rain water so drinking water had to be boiled.  There was eight cottages in the same place and a nice playground and some outdoor barbeques.  As we were driving to the cottages late Friday night, we actually saw an echidna crossing the road.  Echidnas are very rare and difficult to find.  It was neat to actually see a wild one and one that was not sleeping.  Typically in zoos, they are asleep. 
We awoke Saturday morning to find more wildlife.

The kangaroos would hop a bit away if the kids ran through or made too much noise.  However, if you were quiet and slow moving, then the roos didn't hardly move. 
The kids really enjoyed the playground for the little bit that they got to play on it.  It was raining Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. 
Anyway, after breakfast, we drove the last 8km to Jenolan Caves.  You actually drive through a cave to get to the Jenolan Cave House.

This place is a hotel, restaurant, etc.  The ticket office is near it as well.  You drive past it just a bit for parking.  It was built in 1898, after the original buildings were partially destroyed by fire.  The caves have been a popular tourist destination since the 1860's.  Original tours were done by candle light.  Electric lights were finally installed in 1887.  In some of the caves, you can see where early tourists wrote their names in candle smoke on the cave walls or ceilings. 
Our first tour of the day was to the Orient Cave.  It is an awesome cave, filled with fancy formations.

Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but these pictures are nothing compared to the real thing! 
After the Orient, we did the self guided tour of the Devil's Coach House and the Nettles Cave.  Each of us had a little handset to listen on.  The kids got to listen to a special kids version while we had the grown up tour.  It was a very enjoyable tour and the kids asked to do it again and again. 
After the self tour, it started to rain.  We had to eat our picnic lunch in the car and then had to kill a little time before our next tour.  We drove out to Kanangra Wall, but it was too rainy and foggy to see anything.  We drove back in the pouring rain and had to park and walk through the pouring rain to our next tour.  We were all a little wet as the umbrellas didn't keep us dry.  Poor Jay had no umbrella so he was completely soaked and quite a bit cold on the next tour. 
The Lucas Cave has some very vast chambers.  They even hold concerts in one of the chambers! 

This is my favorite picture from the Lucas Cave.  Unfortunately, we were in a large group and I was near the back.  The guide was trying to move us through quickly and was dimming lights by the time I would try to take pictures of stuff.  The Lucas Cave is the most popular and most visited cave in the park. 
Rain made us change our Sunday plans so we went back to the Caves and booked the Imperial Diamond tour. 

This is the River Styx. 

This is the Gem of the West. 
We had a great time and can't wait to go back and visit some more caves.
I posted many more pictures on Facebook if you are interested in seeing more pictures.

Barrington Tops, revisited

So on Sunday we revisited Barrington Tops, but went to the Northern part instead of the Southern.  There wasn't much for walking trails, but the view was fantastic!  We'd been tired of the heat in our area as well and it was much cooler up at the Tops. 

This area really made me feel like I was in the Dakotas at the edges of the Badlands.  It is amazing the diversity of landscape that there is in just the small part of Australia that we've visited. 

The road was mostly a dirt road with free range cattle and sheep. 

On the path to Devil's Hole Lookout, we found a lizzard.

The view from Devil's Hole Lookout...I don't know why it is named the way it is.

A tree had rotted away, leaving just a bit of stump. 

On the Honeysuckle Trail...feels a bit like Jurassic Park. 

Those white flower looking things...not flowers, but mushrooms of some sort.  They are as large as a dinner plate!

School and such

Monday was our first day back to school.  New school years are a little different at Tomaree Primary School.  Students return to their previous year classes and spend the first 3-4 days with their old classes.  No idea why...they just do.  On Thursday of this week, the older boys should move to their new classes.  Sam also started a new school this year.  Previously, he went to a pre-school at a long day care centre.  Now he goes to a community pre-school that is much closer to our house.  Birubi Point Community school is a very nice little school.  Sam is in school for pretty much the same amount of time as the big boys.  Sam settled in very nicely his first day.  He goes three days a week for almost the same amount of money that we used to pay for one day.
I have to pack lunches and snacks for all three boys.  It creates quite an assembly line of boxes on the three days a week that we need all lunches packed.

While we used very little disposable packaging last year, my goal is to use even less this year.  Their fruit snack treat is the only item in disposable packaging and it comes like that.  All sandwiches, chips, etc are all put into washable boxes.  They each have their own colors so that I can keep them slightly straight while packing lunches.  Each boy's requirements are a little different.  Sam won't eat the bread of his sandwiches if they're lunchmeat sandwiches and he can't have peanut butter at school.  He gets jelly or almond butter and honey.  Sam also is not permitted to have candy or chips in his bag for his school.  We don't do candy anyway, but Sam gets pretzels instead of chips.  Tom likes cheese on his sandwiches, but Joe does not.  Sam and Tom both have afternoon snack, but Joe does not.  Sam doesn't like oranges in his lunch, but Joe and Tom do.  I hope to stay as organized as I have been the last few days.
In other news, it's hot...damn hot.  The eastern part of Australia is experiencing a very prolonged heat wave.  While late January through late February is the hottest time of the year, it's not typically quite so hot nor so hot without any cooler days mixed in.  The heat arrived on the 24th of January and hasn't let up yet.  Tuesday was the worst with a high temp of 42.2.  That's 108 degrees!!!!  Today is slightly cooler and is hovering around 97.  It's too hot to be outside and it's too hot to go to the beach or do anything.  Of course, it's too hot to be inside since we have no air conditioner.  We are managing, but just barely. 
We may get a storm or two through in the next day or so, but the temps should break for a bit and be down in the high 70's next week. 
Northern Queensland is also bracing for a category 5 cyclone.  Scary stuff.  We are nowhere close, and we don't know anyone up there.  The state of Queensland has been through a lot lately as large parts of it had been flooded.  The storm surge is expected to be over 8 feet high.  Crazy stuff. 

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam, 6 days old

Age 4 mo, visiting Baltimore Zoo



Age 5 mo, asleep in Great Grandpa's chair, in Montana

First Birthday Party

June 2008

Apple picking

Christmas 2008

Wanting to wear a short sleeve shirt in 20 degree weather

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

Summer 2009

Christmas 2009

January 2010

Easter Parade 2010

Starting school, fall 2010

Home again, home again...

As much as I loved my trip home to visit family and friends, I am happy to be back here.  Today is the first of many busy days over the next few.  While I've done really well at reducing my busy nature, I managed to make the next few really busy.
I stayed for a scrapbooking crop in Maryland, but it squished the amount of vacation time left for the boys to only a few days.  They go back to school on Monday, and it is already Thursday.
So for the next few days, I have to unpack the suitcases, prep for back to school, prep for Sam's birthday on Sunday, clean house for said birthday party, and host the party...all this while fighting jet lag.  What exactly was I thinking?
Our trip home was fairly uneventful.  For the first time in a long time, I didn't have to have extra security searches.  I tend to be the one that has bags gone through, pat downs, body scanners, etc.  I guess being the adult with three children has some perks.  Perks were few though.  I was throughly stressed and tired by the time we arrived yesterday.  I am tired today too. 

Chuck E Cheese

A promise kept this trip home was a visit to Chuck E Cheese.  As an adult, this has probably been the only CEC visit that I have enjoyed.  Why?  Because we were the only ones in the whole place.  Not too busy over here on the Eastern Shore, I guess. 

 I love that Sam is into ski ball.  If he's lucky, he gets points from one ball.  That gives him two tickets and he thinks he's rockin' it.  He tends to play two types of things with his tokens: ski ball and any rides.  Tom plays games that give him tickets.  I kinda dislike that over half of all the games are just the ones that you put a token in, it rolls down a slot, and you may win tickets if it goes through a hole.  Annoying that the game is over uber quick.  Tom, of course, had 172 tickets by the time he was done and was able to get the most cheap plastic crap.  Joe does some of everything, but enjoys the racing games the most.  He's getting so grown up. 
In other news, Grandma Betty made some wonderful blankets for the boys and sent them over to us.  These fleece blankets are a massive hit with the boys and are great!  Grandma Betty is Jay's sister's ex-husband's mom.  But she's family and lovely. 

Mr. Giggles, Mr. Bubbles, and a near perfect pinochle hand

Part of the big reason to come back to the States this holiday season was to meet the newest member of our family, Lucas.  Born in late September to my brother and sister-in-law, he is at the perfect age to laugh at the silly antics of his older cousins.  And laugh he does. 

It was lovely to meet Lucas, though bittersweet in a way.  We won't see him again for at least a year and he'll be quite grown by then.  It was fun to meet the little 3 month old though and my boys love him.
Another highlight of Oma and Opa's house is taking bubble baths in the giant bathtub.  It's practically a swimming pool for the kids. 

 The boys love the bathtub and think it's a big treat to have a swim in it.  It's far bigger than our bathtubs at home.
Ever since I was a small kid, I can remember listening to my parents play pinochle with my grandparents.  Whenever we'd visit Montana or they'd come to us in Ohio and Indiana, they'd play cards.  I learned to play while in middle school but for some reason, we never really played.  We'd sub in for a person here and there, but playing was reserved for grown-ups.  We taught Jay to play during his first trip to Montana almost 10 years ago and officially entered grown-up realm.  We were allowed to play.  It is a partner game and you never partner with your spouse.  We also, for some reason, play a guy and gal on each team.
We've been playing pinochle almost every night since we've been here.  Most nights, it was Dad and I versus Jay and Mom.  Most nights Dad and I have lost.  Last night, we won both games.  I managed to pull a near perfect (in my opinion) hand.  Between the meld and the play, it was 720 points! 

Pretty darn cool if you ask me.