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