Ice Skating in Brisbane?

Yes, we went ice skating over Easter.  I wanted to do something "Canadian" with the kids over the holidays.  I looked into it and there are 2 Ice World's in the Brisbane area.  One is only about 15 minutes outside the city.  So, we checked into the public skating, packed up the warm coats and mitts, and headed out!!  We all had such a great time.  I'm really glad we went.  It just felt like home!  It's funny because we love all that Australia has to offer - a wonderful way of like, kangaroos, palm trees, amazing beaches, koalas, geckos....all the good stuff, but I have to say, the skating felt good!  And the cold air was great!  Hmmmm, we are definitely going back.  Shamus has asked twice already if we could go again.  It was really great.  But, renting skates is horrible!  The blades are super dull and they are NOT comfortable.  May have to get our skates sent over!

 

Lace'em up Dad!

The only bummer was that you had to be 3 to get to skate so B didn't get to participate.  She was very disappointed at first but got over it quickly.  She cheered Shamus on.  And loved wearing her warm clothes.  She didn't want to take anything off after we left the rink..and it was 25 degrees outside!

Look out Canada, here comes Outback Shamus!

Actually, some of the kids were pretty good skaters.  And there is a Can-Skate for kids and a hockey league.  And curling!  So, we may see about skating for the kids.  Buying equipment is crazy expensive here so I'll have to look into it first.

Shamus was pumped.  He really enjoyed it.  And he did quite well.

The Cheerleader.

Darryl and I had a chance to go off on our own to do some skating and it was really nice.  Again, the skates are crap but it was really enjoyable.

And no day of skating is complete without hot chocolate.

And then we finished the afternoon with some Air Hockey.  Shamus thought it was awesome.  Damn, it is a fun game!!

So, that was one of our Easter highlights.  Of course Darryl's birthday was another.  And we had a big Easter dinner at our place on Sunday.  We had Nick, Mariana, Clo, Rej, and Kate over.  Clo made some amazing appetizers so we all had full bellies before the dinner even came!  Great company and too many deserts!

Darryl's Birthday!!!!!!

Darryl's Birthday!  Purdy's birthday was on Saturday.  The big 3 3.

He didn't want a birthday cake...but that doesn't fly with a 2 and 4 year old.  So, I did cupcakes for the kids.  Yeah, it's not really about YOU and YOUR birthday wishes after you have kids! :)

So, here are the birthday cupcakes for Darrylie.

But, here is what Darryl actually wanted for his birthday...

A lemon desert.  I'm not sure who likes it more, Darryl or Cari.

And thanks to Cathy for mailing us some lemon pudding mixes!!!!

So, Darryl and I enjoyed the lemon desert. 

Ah, but it's not just about the birthday food.  It's about presents too!

The kids are at the fun age of making gifts.  They each made a picture for Darryl.

And a little something from the gang.

Finally....chocolate.  

A nice day with Dad. We're very thankful for having such an amazing Dad and husband.

Happy Birthday Darrylie!! 

We love you!

And Happy Easter to everyone!  Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

Brisbane Science Center

Darryl took the kids to the Science Center last month and they loved it.  Since then Shamus has been asking to go back.  We went on Sunday and it was really impressive.  There were a lot of things to try out!  The above pic - basically a camera snaps a picture and the flash causes a shadow on the back wall.  So, the kids liked doing silly poses and then seeing the shadow behind them!  Rock on! 

And nothing like a good race to get the heart pumping!  Shamus loves to run so we did this one over and over and over and over....you get the picture.  :)

Too dark....you can't see me kickin' butt!

Yes, that is Darryl and Breagha trying to pick up a 80kg fridge.  Thanks to Breagha, Dad was able to get the fridge off the ground!

This was Breagha's favorite because Shamus would spin her around and around in the chair.  The point is to tuck your legs in to see that you will go faster than if your legs were sticking out.  Of course B is too short so she just enjoyed the ride!

This was cool...there was a skelton on the other side of the mirror.  Once you started to pedal, the skelton would appear and you could see all the bones in your body pedaling the bike!  We liked the skelton but I couldn't name all the bones!  

Love this table set.  Reminded me of Giant McAskill in Cape Breton!

And Shamus checking his heart rate after all the running!!

There was so much to do there so we will have to go back as we didn't get to do it all.  

Hope everyone at home has a wonderful Easter Weekend!!  Wish we were there to enjoy all the yummy meals!  Miss you lots!

The Purdy Update

I just like the above pics so decided to post them!  Remember, this is my journal!

I was back to work this week.  It was a pretty good week but I hate leaving Darryl and the kids at home!  I wish I could go to the beach with them, and the park, and the science centre!!  And the list goes on! 

But it was a good work week and a great social week too.  I went out on Wednesday with coworkers as one of the girls left for Bulgaria on the weekend.  We went for drinks to the "Pig N'Whistle" which is just like being in Nova Scotia!  Really great.  Then Darryl had some quality time with the boys on Thursday.  Him and a bunch of the Ex-Pandemic boys went out for drinks....and Darryl was a little seedy on Friday.  :)  But, he did manage to get the kids to the beach on Friday.  Well done Dad!!!!!

And then on Friday night I went to the ballet.  Yeap.  My first time and I really really liked it!  Clo, Mariana, Clo's coworker, Catherine, and I went to the "Ballet in the Gardens".  It's the Australian Ballet and it was a free performance in the Botanical Gardens.  I've never been to the ballet before and I have to say that it was quite amazing to watch the dancers.  As Clo said, "it's like figure skating without the skates."  You really can't take your eyes off the dancers.  And the weather was perfect so happy about that!  Thanks to Clo for the invite.

The weekend was spent with Darrylie and the kiddies!  We spent almost the whole day at New Farm Park on Saturday.  And then today we did some running around before relaxing at home.  Ended the evening with some intense "Hungry Hippo" action.  The kiddies are now in bed and it's quiet time!  Ahhhhhh.

The weather here is finally starting to cool down which is a wonderful break.  Darryl started running again and I'm starting this week.  It was just too damn hot before!  Even at 6am it can be 28degrees!  So, I'm enjoying the walk to work more now as it's not so hot.

Oh, and the reason why I was doing this post in the first place!!! Darryl has a new job!  

Yeap, no more this Purdy...

This was Darryl on our vacation...checking out the job offers.  What did we ever do before the computer???

He ended up getting 2 offers on the same day while we were on vacation.

Back to work Purdy!  No more down time!

He had one offer from a studio in Melbourne and one from a studio in Brisbane.  The Melbourne offer wasn't very good though (money wise as Melbourne is even more expensive than Brisbane.  Australia is $$$) so that made Darryl's decision easy!

I said back to work!

 The studio that he will be starting with (THQ) seems to be pretty good.  And Mike (our friend from Montreal) is there so Darryl already has a friend!  :)

Damn it man, put the beer down and get to work!!!!

The Whitsundays PART 2

So as you saw in the last post we just got back from the Whitsundays. We had a great time - it was relaxing and exactly what we needed! And the area was truly beautiful. We stayed on Hamilton Island which had the best Kids Club...and we didn't end up using it! No diff, it was so nice to get away on a family holiday. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and Stace and I loved the relaxing evenings.

Saturday and Sunday were quiet days. Checked out the island, went to the beach, and the kids loved the pool and hot tub. Or "hot bath" as Breagha called it. :)

We did our first excursion on Monday. We did a day trip to the Reef. It was quite good - there was a daycare service on the boat so we put the kids in the daycare so Stace and I could go snorkeling. Breagha cried the whole time apparently. Good times. And there was a semi-submersable boat that the kids and Stace went on while I continued to snorkel.  It was a pretty great set up for the family. We were really happy about the excurstion but the snorkeling didn't "wow" me. We were a bit disappointed because we thought we would see so many AMAZING sea creatures. But, it was no different than any other snorkel we did elsewhere. Hmmm, but the coral was quite nice so I guess that is the main thing! 

It is not out on the reef but I liked the pic ...  Lay off!  alright! It's my blog!

The kids were excited to look out the front to see our approaching destination.

A ribbon section of the reef.  The water color is beautiful and this is still not the best for clarity.  It gets more clear than this.

Reefworld.

Getting ready for a dip!

This was great for the kids.  I guess it's like the biggest oceanarium in the world. 

Mum and kiddies in the semi-submersable boat.  Another great thing for the kids.

This clam was about a metre long.  Very cool.

The coral takes so many interesting shapes.

This guy was at least 2.5 feet long.... and that is no fish story... well, technically, I guess it is.

Lot's to feed on

On Tuesday we did another excursion - off to Whitehaven Beach!  Stace was pretty excited about this trip. Whitehaven Beach is suppose to be the most beautiful beach in Australia. Which means that it should be damn nice! And we weren't disappointed.  It's basically like flour. That's how soft it is. Amazing.  It was beautiful.

Look at that physique! Bonjour, monsieur Jacques Cousteau. 

Now that is a beach!  The sand here is 98% silica. It is simply beautiful.  I guess that is why it is amongst the top ten beaches in the world.

Again with the frolicking.

Wow!  that flash is bright... oh wait... that's the sun.

Right after this picture was taken, Breagha sprang into the water and caught a fish with her bare hands.  And it was a Great White Shark!  At one point the shark swallowed Breagha but she super kung-fu kicked her way through it's stomach.  Then we all had shark steaks for lunch.

Now that is a fish story.

We were there too.  Actually Stace and I met Shamus and Breagha there.  What are the chances of us all taking the same trip on the same day.

We love the beach.

Shamus, Breagha and Jackie O

Eh! I'm The Fonz.  Ciao!