Here we are!

As you can see we made it! The flight went about as well as could be expected; AP and AJ played their nintendos and read (only slept 4 of the 15 hours). D had a harder time; J & I spent most of the flight alternately standing with him at the back of the plane. The last few hours Kung Fu Panda was on (the TVs had been on the brink prior to that); it was a welcome distraction.

After landing and getting a rental car, our first stop was a park so we could get our bearings and give the kids a chance to move around. Next was lunch and then the beach!

Before setting them loose we told AP and AJ only to get their feet wet since we still had a ways to drive. However, after an attempt to stay dry, they were overcome by a big wave. It’s Spring here and still a little cold and breezy so they were freezing by the time we got back to the car. Dry clothing was inaccessible so all we could do was get their wet clothes off and wrap them in their blankets for the remaining 2 hour drive. We were all feeling a bit miserable at that point and couldn’t fully enjoy the beautiful scenery; in fact all of us but J fell asleep (I really was trying to stay awake to keep him company!).

These next two are of the park we stopped at before leaving Sydney. We had fun running around and saw some interesting birds and plants.

So far we are enjoying our visit. Canberra is beautiful and I love that we can be in the middle of the city and still smell the forest.

Of course there are the usual inconveniences of adjusting to a new place; shopping is a little different than in the US and we are still figuring out where things are. I haven't attempted driving yet, though J has gotten the hang of it. The kids and I took a 30 minute walk to the shopping center the other day and in that short of time AJ and I were both toasted. Needless to say I bought sunscreen for the walk back.

J took the kids out last night for a kangaroo sighting. I'll try and get those pictures downloaded soon, but that's all for now!