Mudgee revisited

Those of our avid regular readers (right!) will remember that Kel and I took a trip to Mudgee in Jan 2006... we enjoyed it so much we headed back, this time with a special guest. Luca is a dream passenger - four and half hours in the car with a brief stop for a feed and not a word out of him - although he loves the Waylon Jennings live CD and sings up a storm everytime we put it on - advanced musical taste for his age, we'll just bypss the Wiggles thanks.

There's some good country driving out to Mudgee, no highways for the last 100 miles but with good visiability and rolling hills it is enjoyable. Some areas are really dry out there ... we're having a rain issue in inland Austalia at the moment.

Mudgee is an up and coming wine region and Kelly and I really enjoy a couple of the wines from out there ... so a visit to these vineyards was on the cards as was a visit to a couple of olive oil places that were closed last time we went. We stayed at this crazy B&B, the Beverley House... crazy because it is decorated with such ostentacious random stuff that some how works when put all together, we slept on a four post bed with statues all around us ... they added a pool during the past year which was a real bonus as it is usually in the high 90's F this time of year.

Anyways... we get in at 2pm, get the little man settled and head straight out to the main olive oil place we wanted to visit the last time ... closed again, they don't re-open until the first weekend in March (next week!), this story was repeated at every olive oil place around - next time we go it will be March or later. That was the bad, the good was that we saw Kangaroos jumping around in the wild again and our favorite vineyard was having a huge sale for their wine club members, which we are ... an added reason to come visit us, nice wine for dinner every night!

The whole trip was fun, we mixed it up on the way back driving down a few goat tracks to get to some seriously small towns with a ton of character - Lue & Kandos. And to top it all off we get back to Sydney and it has been raining solidly - the rain dances I have been doing since we got our new water tank have worked - I'm the only reliable white shamen working the northern beaches of Sydney!

We live in a land down under where women glow and men thunder! Cheers.

A face only a mother could love...

Luca is a remarkably good baby, cries on average less than 5 min. each day. He is super happy little boy full of smiles. On the rare occasion he does cry Mark and I usually can't help but laugh because he pulls the funniest faces. Here is one recently caught on camera! - kel

Baptism BBQ

Sunday Luca was baptized at the Catholic church here in Curl Curl. Similar to church services in Australia, it was short and sweet, at times I thought the priest may have thought he was in a speed reading contest. None the less it was a nice ceremony. After the service we had our first BBQ at the house with about 50 of our friends and family. Luca slept through the entire event! The pool was a big hit with the kids, Mark christened the new BBQ with a huge feast and it was fantastic to finally see the house box free and fully unpacked! -kel

Port Stephens

We took a well earned break from painting, cleaning, unpacking and re-packing to get away for a couple of days three hrs north of Sydney in Port Stephens. We buckled the little man up and he travelled like a champion on his first vacation - barely a peep out of him, although I swear we caught him singing along with the Waylon Jennings CD a couple of times.

Port Stephens is awesome, as Kelly said it is hard to believe it is so close to Sydney you really feel like you are on an island somewhere (yeah, I know Australia is an island ... you know what I mean). We stayed in Nelsons Bay but also checked out a couple of other spots near by and we really liked those ... Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay are really, really beautiful.

Although there are Koala crossing signs on the roads we didn't see any although Kel gave it her best shot and probably has a kink in her neck still from all the time she spent looking up in the trees as we drove and walked around. It was a pretty chilled time we did little more than go to the beach (Luca was automatic with his screaming as soon as I put his feet in), walk around the waterfront, eat well and have a few beers. Kelly made lunch reservations on the way back at the Wonganella Winery - cool place, nice food and I hear the wine is good although I was happy with a vanilla milkshake.

We took the scenic route back to Sydney through Newcastle and I entertained(?) Kelly with stories about my previous trips to the area. It was great to get away and hopefully we'll make it back up to Port Stephens sometime soon. 2007 is off and flying, I can't believe it is February already!

I love my auntie

Luca was perplexed when I told him Aunt Tiffany was a Cougar fan. Then I told him her and Uncle Jeff would some day (hopefully soon) have cousins for him to play with. For now he is willing to overlook her allegiance to WSU.

smiles, smiles and more smiles

This weeks milestone with Luca has been smiling. He is ticklish under his arms and smiles all the time. He weighed in today at 5.24 kilo's (about 11 1/2 lbs.) and received a clean bill of health from the doctor. Mark and I continue to enjoy being parents and are still in awe that Luca is our baby! -kel

Ferguson Family Swim

Today was the first family swim for Mark, Luca and I in our new pool. As you can see from the photo, Luca might not have had as much fun in the pool as Mark and I. As a little Aussie we are starting him in the pool young, we will share pics soon when he starts to "enjoy" the water! I braved a swimming suit 6 weeks post birth but only because the pool is in our backyard! My dream come true I finally have a pool -kel

5 weeks and our lives have been turned upside down!

It has been a crazy 5 weeks! I never could have imagined how my life would change so dramatically with Luca's birth. Mark, Luca and I are all doing fantastic, Luca is growing, cheeks are getting chubbier by the day, I am getting used to the middle of the night feeds, Mark is still the most amazing doting father you have ever seen. I have never seen anyone who enjoys changing nappies so much! The house is slowly become unpacked, lots of little jobs still left to do but as unorganized as things are at the moment, we are loving living in our own house. Here are two new pictures of Luca from last week. Pictures of the house coming soon! -kel

The Little Man hitting the town

Life is getting back to normal - not there yet but directionally we are happy with where it is heading.

Three days before Christmas we had the dual pleasures of finally moving into our new house and finally having our container unloaded from the U.S. (a full 15 months after it was packed). Fast forward 2 weeks & we now have fewer boxes everywhere a functioning kitchen and lounge room and the little man's room is taking shape.

Our broadband connection is due on Jan 8, so expect some stories from Kel around this time about the move (and some pics of the house). The post pregnancy period is effecting her in strange ways so please remember with any stories about the amount of t-shirts, bags and coke bottles I brought from the US there is a definite level of exaggeration, but we really are awash in her shoes.

Through all this Kel has not only been looking after Luca but has also been entertaining. The Aussie unannounced drop-by-visit is something Kelly is not impressed with but she is at least starting to understand it is not just me who does it, it just happens down here.

The little man is doing great and we have not been shy about taking him out to restaurants, parties and BBQ's. Through everything he has just been chilling out, obviously he has been quite a hit with the ladies.

Christmas 2006

It was all about Luca and moving in to our new house this year. Even through the craziness we have made time to take a few small walks to enjoy our new neighbourhood.

Merry Christmas to you all and a healthy and happy 2007 .

Home...well almost.

We brought Luca home to Mark's parents on Friday. We are all three doing well, getting some sleep and looking forward to moving into our new house next week! It has been an amazing few weeks, thank you to all of our friends and family for your love and support! - Kelly

Luca Jack is in the house!

The happiest person in the world on December 5, 2006 had to have been me.

Kelly and I are beamingly proud to announce the birth of our son Luca Jack Ferguson. Born at 3:45am & weighing in at a fighting 8lbs 2 oz the little bloke is doing well as is the hero of the show Kelly.

Some early photo's ... I expect there will be a few more shortly!




We also have to thank our friends and family for the sincere congrats we received, if it wasn't for being so overwhelmed with Luca we would have been overwhelmed with the well wishes from our friends. We are fortunate to have you all.

Green Grocer

Here are a few new pictures of the house, we are making progress, hoping to be in the house before Christmas. Also one picture of the Green Grocer Cicada that Mark pulled out of a tree in our front yard…it’s still taking me some time to get used to the super-sized bugs and wildlife here in Australia. -kel

Huskie Triumph and No Nappies for 4 weekends

Apple Cup 2006 proved to be a great win for the Huskies! (Huskies 35 Cougars 32) Mark and I have an annual bet and this year I actually won -last two years have been horrible losses

http://sunburnedfeet.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_sunburnedfeet_archive.html

This year the bet between Mark and I was the looser had to change Nappies (Aussie for Diapers) for four weekends in a row. It was with great jubilation and excitement that I celebrated around the world the fantastic win! I called my sister, the huge Coug fan who actually witnessed the game in person, left her a few messages, danced around the house then quietly reminded Mark that our unborn baby would definitely be a Huskie fan! Your never too far away to be a Huskie Fan! Go Dawgs! - kel

Halloween 2006

Some American friends of ours here in Australia, threw a HUGE Halloween party over the weekend. What do you dress as for a Halloween party when you are 8+ months pregnant? Britney Spears of course! There is no one else like the trashy American Pop Diva! Pics below of Mark and I dressed as Britney and Kevin Federline and my friends Julie (sailor), Felicity (Bavarian Beer Princess) and I. -kel

Aussie Lingo Lesson #6 – The Baby Edition

We have lived here for 1 year and 3 weeks, I thought I had mastered the language, was convinced they did speak really speak English in Australia…then we got pregnant…here are a few of my favorite baby/pregnancy terms Aussie style!

Pram – Stroller
Cot – Crib
Theater – Surgery
Cesar – Cesarean
Nappies – Diapers
Teets – Nipples

Here is a picture of my Aussie Baby Shower held this weekend with a bunch of my girlfriends. Thanks to Joann and Julie for organizing and for the terrific afternoon! - kel

Meet Bluey….

Bluey is the Blue Tongue Lizard that lives in the back yard of our new house and our neighbors house. Apparently all of the construction in our back yard has had him on the move lately, Tommy and Adam (pictured below) our neighbors have been showing him good hospitality. They carry him around the yard, watch cartoons with him inside their house, and chase him Steve Irwin style whenever he manages to find time alone! According to Tommy and Adam’s Dad this is just another one of the “joys” of living in Australia! - kel

Aussie Lingo Lesson #5 – The Home Remodel Edition

As we have been going through the remodel I have realized there is a whole Aussie language just for construction. Here is a small sample of my favorites:

Gyprock – Dry Wall
Chippy – Carpenter
Bricky – Bricklayer/Mason
Sparky – Electrician

Latest state of the cabana and house, all going well…but maybe not done before the new Ferguson arrives…

Hong Kong Phooey

My last Xbox business trip so I made the most of it from the start – I managed to fit four movies into the plane ride over, (Nacho Libre, XMen 3, Solo & Kenny), and another one on the way back (11 Canoes).

I’ve been to Hong Kong half a dozen times, always with work, and I really have not had much time to look around - so although still not close to enough time I made sure I had a late flight out and had a day to explore this time around.

The MS office is a bit out of the way in Cyberport on HK Island so I jumped the Le Meridien shuttle to Central, walked to the Star Ferry terminal and caught the ferry over to Tsim Sha Tsui.

Walked up to Mong Kok mostly along Nathan Rd, I wasn’t in the market for a new fake watch or handbag or a new suit made in 24 hours and got sick of the Indian guys asking me so I took a detour through some of the back roads which was a great move – I had some awesome BBQ baby octopus skewers from a street vendor and got to check out some of the food markets the locals use.


Mong Kok was cool, of special interest was a street that had about fifty stores selling Adidas trainers, some models that I had never laid eyes on before – unfortunately they were not good value at all so I’ll save myself for the next trip to the US (I didn’t realize comparatively how great value trainers are there!). It was a day of much walking, good food, great people watching and I enjoyed being somewhere very different to Australia. By the time I got back to ferry I was beat, I rode the shuttle to the airport and enjoyed my last meal on Bill – Popeyes fried chicken.

Cheers - Mark

The name is ... William Wallace

September is going, going, gone and not a single blog entry – it’s not that we have been doing nothing it has actually been a crazy, crazy month.

Kelly returned from the U.S. where she was a bridesmaid in her friend Christy’s wedding at Lake Tahoe, she also brought lot’s of great presents back from the U.S. – so I was glad that she made it home :-)

We both graduated from ante-natal (pre-natal) classes at the Mater Hospital (I was about to say we graduated unscathed but the crowning video wasn’t so easy to forget). I received warnings from nearly all of my friends about how bad the classes could be, especially some of the other guys in the class asking stupid questions – we must have lucked out as the two days went pretty smoothly. Kel left her mark on the class by scaring every other mum-to-be out of any thought of taking the gas for assistance during birthing telling them all that there is no way any credible hospital would let you have gas in the US – never one to shy away from voicing her opinion this girl!

Everything with the baby is going well – a couple of really hot days have made life hard for Kel so hopefully we can get into the water for a swim soon.
The first Kelly pregnancy photo on the blog – taken in Balmain after a stop in at the William Wallace for a few cold ones.

The house is moving full steam ahead – Kelly gets much pleasure out of telling people we are off to water our kitchen and living room (it helps the durability of the concrete slab to keep it moist so that it can cure slowly). I’ve been trying to put in a day a week to help out, my hole digging skills have improved measurably, my belly has decreased in size and the palms of my hands now have the texture of dog paws. The office hag on the building site!

And while on the subject of the office I also have decided to change jobs – saying good bye to Xbox definitely means I lose any credibility I had with my friends kids and now I can listen to everybody whinge about how bad their mobile phone reception is and how slow their broadband connections are.

Movie line of the month :- “Chancho, when you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room... Just for fun.” (Nacho Libre)

Cheers - Mark

P.S. Cougs are off to a great start and I see the Huskies have also had a couple of lucky wins.