Sydney's Concert at St. Mary's

Friday, June 7, 2013

Sydney tuning her cello.

The St. Mary's orchestra

Sydney

Sydney participated in the 140th Concert Celebration at St. Mary's.  There were two performances. We went to the one on Friday night.  It was a play/musical/dancing.  They told the history of St. Mary's through 14 decades.  Sydney played in the orchestra.  They sounded great.  She has really enjoyed being a part of this group.  She will miss her school and the fun groups she has found to join



.

Adam's Birthday spent in Sydney

Sunday, June 2, 2013

They look like they should be in Mary Poppins.

a lorikeet

We went into Sydney for Adam's birthday and to show JoAnn and Dana the city.  It ended up being a rainy day.  It was unfortunate to have to dodge the rain all day, but it kept the crowds away.  We came out of the carpark and looked at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.  Then we headed towards The Rocks.  On the way, there were two lorikeets sitting a stand.  We were able to get very close to them and feed them a piece of bread.  They are really beautiful and one of Sydney's favorites.

JoAnn and Dana

Enjoying our dinner

We went in and out of stores and the market for most of the afternoon.  We had fun shopping and avoiding the rain.  Thankfully, it did stop raining for a little while, and we were able to sit by the harbour and enjoy the view.  We had dinner at our favorite German restaurant. 

A view of the sails on the Opera House

King Kong on the side of a building

Sydney under glowing plants

The Opera House

The kids walking under the milky way

A sphere made out of traffic cones

Sydney Harbour Bridge with Luna Park beneath

After dinner, the Viv'd light music show was going to start.  There were different light effects set up in The Rocks and along the path to the Opera House. In addition, the sails of the Opera House were lit up, and some buildings had light shows projected on the side of them.  It ended up being really cool.  Unfortunately, it really starting raining again.  This made things a little difficult, but still fun.  The sails of the Opera House were by far the best part of the event.  The lights changed quickly, and there were a variety of patterns and designs.  If it had been nice, we would have sat and watched the show for a while.

Sydney and Dagan in front of a huge light bulb

Another design on the sails

Fitzroy Falls/Kangaroo Valley

Saturday, June 1, 2013

After the Black Belt Run, Sydney had to be a school for a rehearsal for her big concert at school in a week.  Since she was gone for most of the day, the five of us headed to the Southern Highlands.  The kids wanted JoAnn and Dana to go up Macquarie Pass, the really curvy road.  At the top, we stopped at the old cheese factory that has shops before heading to Fitzroy Falls.

Fitzroy Falls

They are looking at the falls.

You can see the tail feathers easier in this pic.

Dagan kept trying to touch the ceiling above the path.

 The waterfall had lots of water today.  You can tell that it has been raining.  Right next to the lookout platform, there was a lyrebird scratching in the dirt.  It had really beautiful tail feathers.  Dagan wanted it to speak because it can mimic any sound it hears.  He was making quite a few different noises, but the bird wouldn't imitate him.

One view of the Lyrebid

Enjoying our meat pies and the view

The Meat Pie Shop

Next, we were off to get JoAnn and Dana their first meat pies.  Adam and Dagan have been wanting to try the meat pies in Kangaroo Valley.  Dagan had watched a tv show that talked about them when we first got here.  We curved our way done into the valley.  The store was in the middle of this beautiful valley with not much else around.  The sign on the store stated it was established in 1880.  The inside was really quaint.  We tried 5 different types.  Adam and I liked these pies better than all the others we have had.  Dagan likes the ones at Robertson's the best.  He likes lots of gravy. 

We had to follow the same path we took to get here on the way home.  After riding the curvy road to the top and back down for a fourth time, JoAnn, Dagan, & I had had enough.  We were more than ready to get out of the car for a while.

Belt Exam/Black Belt Run

 Friday, May 31, 2013

Sydney was able to spar with her friend, Emily during the exam.

Dagan Ninja crawling

Dagan with Master Walker

Sydney with Master Walker

Sydney and Dagan had their last belt exam today.  They both earned their green belts.  This is the belt that both kids wanted to earn before we head for home, so they are both happy and proud of themselves. This time, we think Dagan's group had it a little easier than Sydney's.  Dagan was pretty happy about this.  Master Walker poked fun of Sydney's push-ups again.   He told her she needed to get a half inch from the floor because she must have had a blank look on her face when he said get a centimeter from the floor.  She just laughed which is good because knuckle push-ups are still difficult for her.

Off they go!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

They started by the lighthouse.

They are coming down the hill.

They turned the corner for the last stretch.

The group after everyone had finished.

Today was the Black Belt Run for Zen Dan Kwan.  Dagan wanted to do it, so we told Sydney she was running, too.  He was excited about it.  Sydney not so much.  Adam and Dana took them up to the lighthouse to start.  JoAnn and I stayed at the apartment.  They literally run right next to our home on the bike path, so I was able to get some pictures as they came down the hill and headed towards the Dojang.  Dagan finished a little ahead of Sydney.  Sydney finished the 2.5 km in 12 minutes 20 seconds.  Dagan didn't ask for his official time, so we only know that it was a little faster than Sydney.  The both did a great job!

Dagan's Jump Rope for Heart Day

 Friday, May 31, 2013

Look at those skills!

Dagan loves getting his picture taken.

Yeah!  He smiled!

Today was the jump off for Dagan's school for Jump Rope for Heart.  We went to the assembly at the end of the day.  Each class performed their jump roping skills for the school to a song of their teacher's choice.  They had been practicing their skipping all month and wanted to celebrate as a whole school.  For the last act, the teachers came out to perform.  The kids really liked this part.  Adam and I are always amazed at the music that is played at school.  We like the songs, but don't think they would be allowed to be played back home.

The teacher's act - the male teacher was Dagan's teacher last year

HARS Museum

Sunday, May 26, 2013

This morning we went to Berry.  There are a few cute stores Sydney and I thought JoAnn would like to see.  We bought a couple of jelly rolls from the quilt shop.  Now, we can practice making a quick quilt top when we get home.  The guys got coffee and wandered around until we were finished.  Then all of us went to the Donut Van to get some warm donuts.  YUM!

Sydney in the Canberra

Dana in the cockpit of the Canberra

View of one of the hangers at the museum

After our donuts, we headed north towards Wollongong.  Dagan wanted to stop at the HARS Museum which is an airplane museum on our way back.  This museum provides you with a tour guide because it is located in a functioning small airport.  There were two airplane hangers full of planes, and our guide provided lots of great information about them.  During our tour, we went outside the hanger a couple of times to watch a few planes take off and a helicopter takeoff. 

Watching the helicopter take off

The helicopter is ready for take off and the plane is in the air.

We see this plane fly over the over by our apartment.

Sydney and I in the Connie.

JoAnn & Dana in the Connie

JoAnn in front of the CAC Sabre

Dagan looking at the hand signal on the jeep.

The goal of this museum is to be able to fly all the planes in their museum.  Unfortunately, a few restoration projects are too extensive, so they will not be going into the air.  Fortunately for people visiting the museum, this is a good thing because we were able to get into a few of these planes. 

Sydney in the cockpit of the Neptune.

Dagan in the front seat of the Neptune.

Dagan & Adam in the back of the Neptune.

I am crawling over the wing in the Neptune.

The kids favorite was the Neptune.  Dana, Adam, and I went in, too.  It was rather tight.  We had to crawl into the front open space, the cockpit, and over the wing to get out the back of the plane.  It was something we definitely hadn't experienced before.