Big Birthday!!

She is officially a teen!  We celebrated the birthday in Adelaide with lunch as a family and a little bit of shopping.  Then she had all of her girlfriends come for a sleepover the next weekend. 

They camped out on the trampoline only to wake up to sprinklers at 2 am.  There was much shrieking and some tears as they all got soaked and had to come inside to pile on the living room floor for the rest of the night.  All in all it was a birthday to remember!

Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy was our half-way point on the drive and we stayed there on the way out and on the way back.  On the way back we did the actual tour of the town and one of the old Opal mines.  The town was founded when soldiers were traveling through and had to dig underground to escape the heat.  In the process of digging they came upon opals and decided to stay and continue to dig.  Houses were even dug underground as that was the only way to stay cool in the extreme temperatures of the desert.

Adelaide!

We stayed at a house that was about a 10-15 minute walk to the beach.  I loved the house!  I have to admit one of the greatest disappointments about coming to Alice was our housing situation, and this beach house was a nice break from reality.  The kids enjoyed hanging around the house as much as going out I think, although Aubrey didn't like having to share a room with Derek.  Derek on the other hand loved being in a room with Aubrey and thought the skylight they had in their room was the coolest thing ever!

 We had to go by a school on the way that had a playground, which was a good place for Jeff and I to workout and the little ones to play. 

 

Glorious Beach!

 We spent a day at the Adelaide Zoo which was really fun.  It was a bit rainy, but we still had a good time.  They have a petting area of the zoo where the kids were able to pet kangaroos and these little rabbit like kangaroos called Bettongs.  

When it was time to go we let each of the kids choose a souvenir from the gift shop and Darcy was quite taken with this plush bettong.  She kept kissing it and I thought it was perfect since she had gotten to pet several of them inside the zoo.  But then when it was time to go, I guess she'd had enough and threw it aside.  When I went back to find it so we could buy it, it was gone!   It was the only one left, and I was so sad thinking someone else must have picked it up and bought it.  I seriously searched through the whole pile of animals and all around, but it was no where.  So I picked up a different animal to get for her and was about to go purchase everything when I saw it's tail sticking out from underneath a different pile of animals.  Whew!

 

Roaaaaaaad Trip!

 The kids had a week off of school for Spring Break so we piled into the Rhino and ventured out for a 15+ hour road trip to Adelaide.  We felt a bit like sardines all squished together, but I have to say I was really impressed with how well everyone got along.  Here is the first leg of our trip with stops in Kulgera, Coober Pedy, and Port Augusta.