West Oz – Pt II: Albany

A four and a half hour drive from Perth to Albany and not a lot in between. We made a brief stop in Williams and had lunch in Kojunup. Pies and a playground for an hour. Both Luca and Scout were great in the car and slept a lot of the way. We arrived in Albany late in the day, Kelly had booked a really cool house right next to the beach. The beach was beautiful so we took a walk before dinner (pic below). A notable night because Luca spent his first night in a “big boy” bed.

The next day coffee (bad) and some shopping behind us we set out to explore Albany. Albany is an old whaling town and was the first town settled in W.A. – a lot of history and a lot of old buildings around. Albany is on the Southern Ocean so it is hit by winds and wild seas straight up from Antarctica and as a result of this it has some very cool coastline and a massive windmill farm. The highlight of the day for us (Kelly may be torn on that statement given she found “bargain” fabric at a local store) was the windmill farm. I know it sounds very boring but with a fog in and the way they sit on the coastline they were very eerie but looked very cool at the same time. On the way out to the windmills, driving along a dirt road, a joey kangaroo jumped out in front of us and it’s mother was right behind it. As they bounced off down the road Kel and I both turned around to see if Luca had seen it and he was sound asleep.


Another great thing about staying in a house is that it has cooking facilities which saves us from multiple nights of take-away which would be the only other valid option with Luca and Scout in tow. On our last night in Albany we went to the local Dan Murphy’s bottle shop to get a bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner and there were crazy scenes! ... lots of people with multiple shopping carts full of booze at the check out getting ready for the Easter holidays – they do things a bit differently in rural Australia, chocolate eggs on the rocks.

West Oz – Pt I: Perth

We had a lot of fun last year road tripping around the south east part of Australia so we decided to head out again, this time around the south west part of the country (Perth to Esperance through Albany and Margaret River). Scouty’s first big adventure!

Luca had been speaking about visiting his cousins Corey and Emilly for weeks and was excited to be going on “holidays” in an “airplane” and taking “suitcases”. The first hurdle came up before taking off when we had to check bags. Luca wanted the suitcases to literally travel with us and wasn’t happy when they were taken away. After that he wasn’t about to surrender his back pack without a fight at security - we got him through but he was unhappy until Kelly took him up to the Qantas lounge and he got to pick out some food and drinks. The 4+ hour flight to Perth went well, mainly thanks to on-demand entertainment service and the novelty of wearing a “music hat” (head phones) for Luca – through all this not a peep from Scout.

We spent the first four days with my sister and her family in Perth. Luca loves hanging out with his cousin’s and they are great with him. We checked out the city, went down to Freemantle, picked the kids up from school and watched Em play volleyball for the school. Of course we also hit a number of parks so that Luca could play on the toys, the highlight being Kings Park with awesome views of the city and a great kids area (see Dinosaur pic below). Perth is a nice city, great outdoor facilities (parks, river area and cycle ways), it is growing quickly but definitely feels (and is) much smaller than Sydney.


A fully loaded car, the kids in car seats, snacks all packed and Kelly’s meticulous planning behind us we left Perth and headed south along the Albany Hwy.

Family Photo

Our first family photo at our local beach last weekend. I know you think we are crazy for so much beach time, but reality hit me on Wednesday when I was touring the local Catholic School. PE class for year 4 is surfing at the beach across the street. Luca and Scout don't know how lucky they have it, in the mean time I'll be spending as much time at the beach as possible, I want them to get A's in year 4 PE right? -kel

Daddy's Little Girl

Mark and Scout at Yum Cha.

South Curly

Yesterday we had our first family outing to the beach, the water was beautiful and we avoided the sharks that have been spotted all over Sydney in the last few weeks. Luca has become very confident in the water and is working on his sand castle building skills! A great time was had by all, here's to many more Saturday's spent at the beach as a family! -kel

Scout snaps

Bubba Scout Ferguson

Luca has been taking the big brother duties very seriously. Helping me choose Scout's clothes, telling everyone her name, Bubba Scout Ferguson (Bubba is an endearing term for all babies in Australia) and teaching her the fine art of the nose kiss. Am loving my time with both and amazed at how much little Scout looks like Luca! -kel

Week 3

It's been a hectic three weeks but I am starting to get over the sleep deprivation and learning the art of juggling a two year old and a new born. Luca and Scout are both doing great, Luca is very interested in his little sister and Scout is happy to eat and sleep all day long. I am enjoying being an at home mom able to go to all of Luca's activities this week. Thursday it was off to the Opera House for a kids show followed by a picnic at the Botanical Gardens next door. Luca enjoyed the show and the picnic, since this was his first trip to the historic spot I went a bit picture crazy. Thank you for all of the well wishes Scout is amazing we are are overjoyed to have her in our lives! Oh and for those who are wondering Scout is named after Jean Louise Fintch from the book "To Kill A Mockingbird" an all time favorite of ours. -kelly

Our daughter - Scout Andrine Ferguson

We are blessed and in awe to announce the birth of our daughter Scout Andrine Ferguson on Friday 23 Jan, 2009, at 8:19am. To say she is perfect is an understatement. Kelly and I have been dreaming and talking about her future a lot over the past two days and we are already getting great pleasure out of Luca's reaction to her. We are incredibly happy and thank you all for the congrtaulatory messages we have received.

The Ferguson Trio's Final Gig

One week out from the new baby being born, Luca's new brother or sister - we are excited. Coming to a venue near you the Ferguson Quartet as of next weekend!

Knowing that Kelly and I are not going to be able to get away by ourselves too much over the coming months we had Luca stay with his grandparents (the Australian varierty) for a few hours on Saturday and went to the movies to see Benjamin Button. I know Kel gave the movie a big thumbs up and Brad Pitt a bigger thumbs up.

We did a Ferguson Sunday morning special today and headed north along the beaches about 20 minutes to Avalon. There is an exceptional French style bakery that we get to about once a month and we ususally stock up on a week's worth of croissants. While we are out there we usually have a picnic breakie and often it is at North Avalon beach. If the weather is lousy it can be in the car looking out at the surf, but if it is great like today we go and sit on the beach. Luca enjoyed checking out the rock pools for crabs and throwing rocks to watch them spalsh in the water - typical boy stuff.
As well as family and friends we write this for Luca to hopefully enjoy when he grows up - it is now also for his brother or sister, our new baby. I am excited for what this new little person is going to bring us, and knowing how much Kelly and I both love our siblings, how awesome it will be for Luca. I pray everything goes well this week and can't wait to tell you all about it.

Sydney International

Two sporting posts in a row…truly a first for me! Last night I was lucky enough to get tickets with two girls from my office to the Sydney International Tennis. This is one of the pre-Australian Open tournaments being held in Australia this month. We had fantastic seats, court side, 5 rows back from Serena Williams. The match we saw was a quarter final between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. I was expecting Serena to smash Caroline, but was in for a great surprise when the match took almost 3 hours, ending in Serena winning 6-7, 6-3, 7-6. We had a fantastic time, the venue was amazing, the seats were fantastic, the weather was hot and the baby belly was at yet another Aussie Sporting event! Only a week to go and number 2 will be arriving, I think last night was the last of my summer sporting adventures, unless you count Mark and Luca playing catch, kick, tackle or don't spray daddy with the hose in the back yard. (another camera phone photo) -kel

An afternoon at the SCG

2 PM on a Tuesday afternoon…where else would any Aussie love to be? The Members Stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground was where me and my very big baby belly hung out yesterday. A colleague at work had Members seats to the Australia vs. South Africa Test, it was day 4 in a series that hasn’t been going very well for the Aussies. I was thrilled to be invited as I have become an avid Cricket fan over the last few years. Got to see the players up close, saw some excellent Cricket (the Aussies have actually started winning) enjoyed the great weather and generally had an excellent time with the old timers in the Members Stand. Not the best photo as it was from my phone, but I still had a great time bragging and showing the photo to Mark! Maybe I am becoming the Aussie wife of his dreams? -kel

Urban Safari

Mark took Luca to the zoo on Friday, a perfect way to kick off the new year. Favorites were the monkeys and the giraffe eating his lunch!

Happy New Year

Yesterday we ventured to the other side of Sydney, taking my good friends visiting from the states, to Bondi Iceburgs for lunch. The view was amazing and the weather was fantastic. We rang in the new year with a few friends last night and are off to the beach today to enjoy some more of the beautiful Aussie summer. Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2009. -kel

One of My Favorite Aussie Traditions

Paddle Pops following an afternoon at the beach! Luca with his cousins Corey and Emilly -kel

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve we hosted a dinner with Mark's family, some friends and our guests from the US. A big turkey, tons of food and lots of laughs. Happy to hear about the white Christmas for my family in the states, but even happier to take a dip in the ocean yesterday afternoon! We both have the next two weeks off, our plans currently consist of more food, more friends, lots of cricket and time at the beach! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Here are some photos from the festivities! -kel

Party Animal

Yesterday we hosted a 2nd birthday party for Luca complete with baby animal farm. At first we thought we might have been going over the top a bit, but after an hour and a half and 12 kids thoroughly entertained we knew we had made the right choice. The baby animals (guinea pigs, ducks, chickens and bunnies) were a huge hit. Luca and his friends enjoyed the party and after a week of solid rain, we were lucky enough to have a bright sunny 100 degree day to enjoy the festivities. It was an exciting day yesterday, Luca said thank you in many ways, but the best thank you of all came this morning when Mark, Luca and I all slept until 8 AM, a first in two years! Our little man is growing up. Six weeks until his life is turned upside down and he becomes a big brother. Somehow I think this might mean another two years until we sleep in again!-kel

Santa 2008

Our annual Santa visit in the city turned out to be a great day with a few unexpected twists! After a morning of talking about Santa, looking at last years photo and saying Ho Ho Ho we were all looking forward to the visit. Neither Mark nor I ever thought we would have our photo taken with Santa again however, after we saw the total and complete look of fear in Luca's eyes when we got to see Santa the only photo option was a family shot. The team at David Jones was amazing, an although he looks happy as can be in this shot the real Christmas miracle was that we didn't leave with a tear stained photo! He was clinging to Mark and I like his life depended on it but after a little coaxing and some funny antics from Santa's Elves we got one smiling photo! After we left Santa was still on his mind and he hasn't stopped mentioning it since. While it was a bit hectic, he actually seemed to enjoy the experience. Now we'll see how he goes next year! -kelly

Deuce

We've been trying to get Luca to understand that it's his special day all week and not his mate Sean's whose birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I think he finally understood today, well I know he did, when I came home from work the first thing he said to me was "happy birthday Luca".

We love the little guy so much it is so great to see him a bit puzzled by getting gifts but generally being so happy with each one that we have to ply it away before he will open another one.

Our boy is nearly 2!

This year has gone very quickly. I was playing with Luca this morning and he was entertaining me with a duck hand puppet, this time last year that was one of his favourite things, the difference being I was doing the entertaining and he was the audience. Luca at North Curly

Apple Cup! Winless Season!

Do I really need to say more? Not really but without overdoing it I did like the start to this news story and thought it deserving of mention on Sunburned Feet...

"PULLMAN -- Outside Martin Stadium, where Cougars fans were still frolicking Saturday afternoon as if they'd just clinched a Rose Bowl berth, one Washington State student jumped into another's arms and yelled, "This is the greatest day of my life!"

Happy frolicking Coug fans!

Have a great day.

- M

Northern Rivers - wrapping up (days 3 & 4)

We could get used to this sleeping-in thing, especially when followed by a swim and a walk to get pancakes and coffee. The only energetic thing we did on day three was to get a couple of bikes from the hotel and cruise around the beaches and drop in on a few open houses. A super chilled day. The highlight was our only fancy meal of the trip at Finns - Kelly's friend from work had raved about this place and it was good.

Day 4. Our last hurrah! After a swim we checked out of the hotel and as we had some time to kill before flying home we decided to get on the road to Bangalow again - it was market day in the town. We really had expected a small farmers type market. No, no, wrong! This thing was big and it was hopping. The hippies had come into town from their mud huts and there were some crusties to be seen, there were also some pretty high fashion couples, bikies, in all a bit of a miss-mash but great people watching. The markets were also superb.

We were gone for four days but it seemed like a lot longer. We will be back up to this part of the country again for sure. We missed Luca a ton and as soon as we got on the Rockstar to fly back to Sydney we were both impatient to see him.

Northern Rivers - small townin' (day 2)

We were sort of excited about getting to sleep-in these holidays so we rolled out of bed at 9:30. Kel headed off to the Spa for some pampering and I went for a waddle on the beach - I definitely bit off more than I could chew and ended up nearly keeling over and had a forty minute walk back along the beach to where we were staying.
Some funky big houses in the area around the hotel so we did a bit of exploring and after lunch decided to chance it with a trip out to the hinterland to visit a small town called Bangalow. Jackpot! Bangalow was great, what Byron should be. Lot's of original small town character, unbelievably cool shops and some nice art work. We ended up spending hours wandering around.

It was pretty warm out in Bangalow although not one word of complaint from my heavily pregnant wife, she is definitely a trooper. It was time to get back to the beach and the pool. I needed to cool off and give myself some time to think about what to put on the line with this years Apple Cup bet - I was feeling confident!

Northern Rivers - beachin' (day 1)

It's bittersweet leaving the little guy for 4 days but after a short trip on Rockstar we we're feeling the warmth. The sun is out, the skies are blue, Kelly is hitting her fourth Australian state (Queensland) and turning 31 all at once.

We jump into the rental and wave good bye to the Gold Coast as quickly as we can, heading for the NSW border and a slower pace. We make a quick stop to view the Miamiesque skyline of Surfers Paradise and are more than happy with our decision not to hang around.

We spent the morning checking out the northern NSW coast culminating in a lunch time stop in Byron Bay. Some beautiful beaches and disconcerting warning signs "brown snakes are prevelent in this area" are the highlights. Byron has only gotten bigger and more bustling since I was here in 1998, the beach is still beautiful however and the view from the lighthouse headland spectacular. After a quick bite we headed back north along the coast to find our hotel and for once it lived up to the promise of the brochures. We took a dip in the massive pool and spent some time lounging around and reading (these activities were repeated numerous times over the next three days). We drove to a nearby small town (Kingscliffe) for dinner and ran into the gnarliest looking line of black clouds I have ever seen. By the time we had our food and were in the car the storm had let loose. We had about 5 miles to drive but it was pretty scary with the sky pitch black except when interupted by crazy lighting and thunder all the while it was raining sideways. Glad to be back in the hotel that night.

The Race That Stops A Nation

A public holiday in half the country and it may as well be in the rest of the country. The Melbourne Cup is a BIG deal down here.

For Luca just a chance to hang out with his friends an extra time this week and get an ice cream cone as a special treat. Almost as good as winning the trifecta!

My name is Luca and I live at Curl Curl

We've had a few hectic weekends in a row getting the driveway/front fence project close to completion and it seems like everything else has stopped. We made sure we took a little time out last Sunday to explore the headland at the local beach and have some fun togther. It was a fun time even though the weather turned a bit sour just as we were leaving (after a weekend of sunshine and hot weather - always the way).

Last week was also eventful for Luca who made us proud by confidently saying his name at art & moves. He gets invited to do this every week by the teacher and after about eight months of invitations he finally told the lady that he was Luca Ferguson. Our little boy is growing up.

progress

We are slowly making progress on the front yard. The new wall is in, the driveway has been laid, the gates will be here this week and this weekend Mark and his dad built two new raised beds inside the wall. Luca was right into the action loving every second of the construction, lending a "helpful" hand wherever he could! -kel

Fishy Weekend

It was a three day weekend in Australia and it rained almost the entire time. Needing a little out of the house adventure we headed to the Sydney Aquarium on Sunday morning. We enjoyed all of the fish the Great Barrier Reef exibit was our favorite. As per usual Luca kept us laughing...in the shark encounter (underwater walkway with HUGE sharks and sting rays swimming all around us) Luca saw another visitor through the glass and started shouting and pointing "man, man, man" here we had taken him to the Aquarium all we apparently needed to do was take him to anywhere he could point at people and yell for entertainment. Needless to say we got a few funny looks! When we got home Luca had to practice his swimming like the fish, the pool being too cold he headed for the bath. -kel

Summer (almost)

We are not there yet but when you get spring days in the 30'sC it seems like summer. We spent our first few hours this morning at Curly beach pool, a place we are going to get to know well this summer! Luca is loving the water much more than last year already.

Wobbegong Sharks

Yesterday Luca's nanny took him and his friend to a local beach where the Sydney Aquarium was releasing Wobbegong Sharks into the wild for the first time. When we got home from work there was lots of fish talk and some grubby boys who had spent the morning at the beach on a windy spring day. Australian news covered the shark release and the boys are pictured in their double stroller for about 3 seconds during the story. http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/ (Search for Success for Shark Breeding Program to view the story.)

buba

As my belly is quickly growing we’ve been talking to Luca about the new buba (buba in Aussie lingo is an endearing term for baby). This morning Mark caught this photo of Luca giving the new buba a kiss. In reality the poor little man has no idea what the new buba is going to mean to him, let’s hope the terrible two’s don’t hit at the same time! -kel

Baby Cino

We were up early this morning (5:30 AM alarm from Luca...UP....UP...UP) out the door and running errands. After a stop at my favorite French bakery and quick chat with a few cows in a local pasture we were off for coffee, juice and Luca's first baby cino (steamed milk with a dusting of chocolate). A cold and wet Saturday in Sydney, this afternoon we're cuddled up in our trackies watching the Olympics splitting the cheers between the US and Australia. Wishing you all well. -kel

bye bye ugly hedge

It's been a busy winter around 45 Bennett. Last weekend we took out the hedge/noxious weed in the front of our house. This weekend it was all about trench digging to pour the fittings for our new rendered wall with gate! Mark, his dad and Luca's godfather (the master builder who built our house) did most of the work. Mark's mom and I "helped" Luca help daddy (we kept him out of the way) as these days whatever daddy is doing Luca is doing. The highlight of Luca's day was the concrete truck in our yard, you should have seen his smile, ear to ear! Had to put a stop to the help yesterday when Luca got distracted and started eating the concrete! Only a few more weeks and we'll be finished. I'll be sure to post some "after" photos, here is a shot of my boys hard at work. -kel

3 + 1 = 4

Mark, Luca and I are excited to announce we are expecting a new addition to the family arriving in late January. Here is the first photo shoot, legs were kicking like crazy during the ultra-sound.

A Day In Tigertown!

I haven't converted Kel to football fanaticism but she at least pays attention to how the Tigers are going and when they return to their spiritual home for a game at Leichhardt Oval she is as keen as my dad and I to go.

A great sunny winter day, Luca off having fun with his Australian Grandma so we were off to the footy. My dad showed Kelly and I the house that he spent his first eleven years in (and it hasn't changed a bit!).

A full house of Tiger fans urging them on our team had a great win over the competition leaders. A few beers at the Leaguesy on the way home to complete a fun day.

And the next day all three of us were on the front page of the sports section of the main Sydney newspaper ... albeit along with a section of about 400 others in the crowd. I'll take my fame wherever I can get it.

Luca Lingo Lesson #1

Some of you may remember my Aussie Lingo Lessons. Well now that I have an 18 month old I thought I would post a little Luca Lingo Lesson, those I have desipered and those I haven’t…if you understand those I haven’t, please please let me know!

The words we understand:
More – Give me more of what I want NOW
Shuuuuzzzz – Shoes (currently the most adorable black and white slip on Vans)
Tst – Toast
UP – Pick me up out of my cot now, usually yelled from his crib
SHHHHH – Sleeping time, the traditional shhhh noise including the finger held up over his lips
Duckduckduckduck – Duck
Bol – Ball
Ish – Fish
LuLuLu – Luca this is what he says when you ask him his name
Mummy – Please give me more food now

Yet to be determined:
Daaadlea
Whowhowho
Woah

Some how I think this is the first of many lingo lessons, can’t you imagine a lesson when he is 16 using words like sick to talk about something cool?

Cheers - kel

Look, up in the sky

Is it a bird? (quite possibly) Is it a plane? (most likely)



Luca's new found passion for pointing out birds and planes got a workout this morning with a trip to Rosebery to check out a fabric printing business that Kelly had long wanted to visit - right in the flight path to Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport. The planes were flying low and flying often.

We were supposed to be going up the coast this weekend but a mix up by the agents saw the place double booked so we tried to make the most of it at home by visiting a few favourite places and places we have wanted to go to for ages.

We also had fried chicken ... a surefire way to make any weekend special!

Luca

Fall

Amazingly the water is still warm and the sun making regular appearances. It’s Fall in Sydney, the days are shorter, the wind is cooler, the leaves are falling but we’re still at the beach. Have I mentioned how much I love living here? Mark and Luca at Freshie on Sunday. -kelly

Home sweet home

I arrived home from Paris on Wednesday morning. Paris is about 30 hours of travel from Sydney, a long long way away. Seeing Mark and Luca was fantastic, I think Luca grew taller while I was gone. He also mastered “Ut-Oh”, officially his first word. He says it and he knows what it means, the funny thing is that is the only word he knows, so he says it over and over and over. While I was gone Mark and Luca had some serious boy time, lots of footy, beer drinking and hanging out in their PJ’s. Mark, being the great dad that he is, taught Luca about gardening, the environment and water conservation. In other words it’s fun to pick up leaves and put them in the compost and watering from the watering can once each day is plenty. Here is apicture of Luca at the garden workbench playing in the buckets and dirt. Seems like someone might have a bit of a green thumb like his grandpa and daddy….-kel