Australia Day

 Cutest little mermaid I know!

 A buried Derek!

 Australia Day is similar to July 4th in The United States. It is their independence day from Britain. Most people here have a BBQ or go to the beach. Everything is closed and it is a public holiday. We did school as usual and then headed to the beach.

 Video chatting with Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandpa D.

One-on-one dates with the kids & Swimming lessons

We decided to put the kids in swimming lessons while we are here in Melbourne. We found a swim school within walking distance from our house. Before the kids first class we found a nearby park and they had fun playing in the bamboo forest. 

After swim lessons the kids were given bags to put their towels in. 

Here they are walking home after their first class.

We've got mail!! The kids got letters from Grammy and Pops and Ella and Milania! 

They love getting mail!

While Derek and Matt went to a cricket match, Rylie and I went out to dinner and dessert. She was excited to pick a yummy treat from the European cake shop. The cake didn't taste as good as it looked, but we had a blast together. I LOVE spending time with her.

Matt and Derek went to a Melbourne Renegade cricket match with David and his son Angus.
Derek bought a jersey and Matt really began to understand the rules of the game.

Queen Victoria Market

After church we explored the Queen Victoria Market. It was amazing. It was huge with lots of vendors selling fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, bread, fish and other items. We had lunch at the market from one of the vendors. It was delicious. We came home with some delicious cherries, watermelon, cold cuts and proscuto. Most of the fruits and veggies were not very cheap. Avocados were $6.99 AUS each!!! This market makes Hay Market in Boston look tiny. There were people from all over the world buying and selling. What a unique place to be.

Derek and Matt talking about tennis. At the Australian Open they passed out a kids magazine and he has been doing the activities and learning about tennis.

Australian Open 2018

It was so cool to be in Melbourne during the Australian Open. We had no idea when we planned this trip that the timing would work out. We wanted to experience the Open since its such an amazing tennis tournament and only one of  4 Grand Slams that happen in the world (Wimbledon - London, US Open - New York, French Open - Paris, and Australian Open - Melbourne)!!!!! We bought ground passes, which allow us to see all the practice courts and tennis courts besides the main ones along with the kids area. We had no idea what to expect, but were ready for the experience.

We first ventured to the kids area and we amazed by the activities they offered for free. The kids did rock climbing, face painting, Jedi training, mini tennis. Later we went back to the kids area for high ropes course and more rock climbing.

Rylie chose to rock climb.

Derek chose to rock climbing and then free fall from the top! It was so awesome to see him tackle this challenge with confidence.

Derek jumped off the top and LOVED it!!

 We played tennis as a family in a min court. It was fun. We weren't very good, but there was a net around the court so our tennis balls didn't go far. Maybe when we go back to Phoenix we can take some tennis lessons. 

Rylie got some beautiful face painting!

  Kids waiting patiently to do Jedi Training! 

 After the kids area we got some lunch and headed to find some tennis. The lines to get into the arena were SO long. It is very interesting how it works. You stand in line outside many doors to the stadium and when a seat opens up you can fill it. Unfortunately, the likelihood of us getting 4 seats together was slim to none. So we headed to some smaller, less crowded courts with the less popular players so we could watch some tennis. We settled on a couple courts one with men's singles and one with women's singles. The tennis was good. Derek sat intently listening to Matt explain the game. Matt loves tennis and used to play tennis as a kid and take lessons.

 After watching tennis, we headed back to the kids area before leaving.

 I am beyond proud of Rylie for tackling this high ropes course. She was so excited to climb the course, but when she got up there the height of the course and the lack of anything to hold onto set in. She was pretty much stuck still for a while. I could see her mind racing and she was nervous. I called out to her from the ground and encouraged her. I tried telling her several techniques or tips for her to move along on the course, but ultimately it was up to her to move. There was a long line of kids behind her waiting to go and my baby girl was scared. I couldn't do anything about it. But eventually she decided she would take some of my advice and step out in faith. SHE DID IT!!! She was shaking as she went but she made it through the whole course 1x. I couldn't be more proud watching her tackle the course and tackle her fear. She never gave up and I'm sure she was proud of herself. 

Way to go Rylie!!

Fairy Penguins at St. Kilda Pier

After having 2 hot days in a row we went out to ice cream before heading to the St. Kilda Pier to see if we can see the fairy penguin colony. The temperature was over 105 Degrees Fahrenheit and there was humidity. The summers here are so crazy because the weather changes so much. Some days are in the 60s and 70s and then there are a few days where the temperature gets over 100. The only AC in the house is in the bedrooms (which is nice for sleeping), but the house gets hot. We usually try and head to the beach when the temperature gets so hot. They do temperature in Celsius here so 37 Degrees Celsius to 40 is VERY hot (98.6 Fahrenheit). Ironically that is the temperature I do hot yoga at. LOL.

Walking out to the pier with St. Kilda beach behind us.

City of Melbourne in the background with kite surfers.

These are the cute penguins we were hoping to see. There is no flash photography allowed and the penguins come out after sunset. We had no idea if we would be able to get any pictures of them, so i snapped this one. 

We found a few penguins who were hiding in the rocks. These penguins are fairy penguins, or little penguins, not the penguins that live in the Antarctic.

We waited for over an hour sitting in this cove as the sun set. People kept coming and coming. Good thing we got there early and got a seat along the boardwalk. When we went to leave the place was packed.

We played lots of games while we were sitting there to keep the kids entertained. 

We finally saw a few penguins swim towards the shore. One penguin swam not too far from us. It was super cool! and totally impossible to get a picture of because it was dark!