The Opera House Debut

Today Erin made her debut at the Sydney Opera House! She has been enjoying weekly classes with the Australian Girls Choir all year, and today they had their year end performance in the Concert Hall at the Opera House. They produce an amazing, high quality performance, with impressive choreography and drama, for all ages- a great thrill for all of us. Rick's parents have been visiting during the month of November, and they seemed to really enjoy the show, so let's hear it for Sydney!

What an amazing highlight for her to look back on as she grows older- to say, that she, as a seven year old American girl, thrilled audiences in the grandest of venues!

Before the Performance

Following the Performance-
The view from the northern foyer of the Opera House


Love, Anne

Happy Halloween!

Today is October 31st, the day when good little northern ghosts and goblins head out with their flashlights in the cold dark early evening to trick-or-treat their way around the neighborhood. Halloween and trick-or-treating does not have the cultural hold on Australia that it does in the US. We hear that some trick-or-treating does go on, but clearly not like the US- the only mention I saw of it in retail was a little orange and black "Trick or Treat" logo this week in the Woolworth's, or Woolies, (one of the two largest grocery chains) circular on the lolly page. As far as I have heard, there was little to no conversation at school about Halloween.

Neither Rick nor I are very big on Halloween (when I was 5, it was all my mother could do to get me to put a brown paper bag over my head to go to the Sunday School Halloween party-- I got so stressed I ended up with a nosebleed that sent me to the ER). In fact, when we were here in 2004, when the girls were 2 and 4, we were here over October 31, and I was so grateful to get a year off! However, now that we live here, we are trying to keep up with our American traditions, so we wanted to give our kids some Halloween experience. Given that it is early summer-time, pumpkin patches are not to be found. Rather than pay dearly for one of the 4 pumpkins I did find at the super grocery store, we took another transplanted American's suggestion and went with a watermelon, which had the distinct advantage of being quite yummy during the scooping process. We ended up with a jack-o-pig (the photo does not show the little piggie corkscrew tail made from the stem that inspired the pig). We couldn't leave it out because the flies would have descended on it, so the poor little guy has spent most of his short little life in the fridge!

After some negotiation on costumes-- Erin wanted to be a train, and Claire wanted to be a princess-- we ended up with the Princess Express, with Engine Erin pulling the Princess Claire Car and the Little Lachlan Red Caboose. Lachlan wasn't too keen on his caboose, but it was a cute idea! We stocked our two closest neighbors up with candy (some of the distinctly Australian candy was Sour Geckos, Caramello Koalas and Freddo Frogs) and the Princess Express visited both homes- at one the gentleman treated them to a trick before they got their treats, and at the other, their babysitter greeted them as a ghost with a fuzzy purple hat, which sent Lachlan retreating back towards our house! It was great fun, and we are once again so grateful for the little neighborhood "village" that has made our children feel so special.

Love, Anne


Scooping out our summer treat (post swimming lessons in our pool).

Our jack-0-pig (it has a corkscrew stem on the backside)

The Princess Express train

The Little Red Caboose couldn't quite get with the program.

Little Lachie Turns Two!

Today was Lachlan's 2nd birthday. It is so hard to believe that this is the little guy that was born two years ago in New Haven. As a newborn, he cozily napped in his Baby Bjorn as Rick and I walked in the crisp 2005 fall weather, having our first serious discussion as to whether we would even consider moving to Australia if the chance arose. He spent 6 weeks camped out in a pack-n-play in his nursery, after our furniture was shipped out. He has managed 3 trans-Pacific flights in 9 months, and will take 2 more this January. He says "ta" instead of "thanks," and wakes up in the far too early morning hours to the calls of tropical birds. He's seen lots of adventure in his first two years, and his sunshine, laughter, silly faces and easy-going nature have been a joy during our transition.

We named him Lachlan because we decided to have a third child during our first time here in Australia in 2004. When we discovered we were pregnant, we emailed Rick's colleague Kent to find out good Australian baby names. Lachlan turned out to be in the top 10 most popular Australian baby names, but it is very rare in the US. Once we discovered that we were having a boy, we knew Lachlan was his name- despite the fact that we had promised one another, when we first started having children, that we would not name our children names that they would have to spell for everyone they met. We just knew that was his name, and when he was born, we had lots of quizzical "And how do you spell that?" comments, followed by "Oh, that's interesting," a pause, and then, again "Now, how do you spell that?"

But here in Australia, there are Lachlans on every playground, in every school, on every beach. Lachlan Macquarie was a former governor of New South Wales who arrived in Australia in 1809 and is giant in the history of Australia. He appears to have gotten a thrill out of naming things after himself, so among other things, there is an island, a river, a lake, a port, many streets, and even a nearby shopping centre, named Macquarie. Our Lachlan can find, among other things, streets, a city council and a river bearing his name. When we named him, we had no idea that he would someday live in a culture where he would seem so, well, familiar.

Now that we are here, he is no longer my "fall" baby, but my "spring" baby. Instead of a birthday season identified with cooler temperatures, falling leaves, cornstalks, mums and pumpkins, we celebrate his birthday amidst fragrant flowers, hot dry winds, school holidays and water balloon games. And when we sing "Happy Birthday", we add in three "Hip, Hip, Hoorays" at the end, just as we have learned to do for Australian friends in the past 9 months.

He's a great little mate.

Love, Anne





The day begins with our madhatter.

When he saw his cake, he cried "cars", and then, immediately- please????!!!!!, because he wanted to grab hold of them.

Presents!!!!

Water balloons with sisters.

APEC Holiday

It's been a while since we've had a proper blog. It seems that not as many "blogworthy" observations come to mind these days. So, our apologies for our silence-- Rick's comment was that things don't seem so different anymore. We've been here long enough to take school uniforms for granted, to expect eggs and beetroot on our hamburgers (seriously!) and not find Erin's heavy Australian accent so unnerving! However, we do have some ideas percolating, so stay tuned....

As you may know, APEC has been meeting in Sydney for the past few days. This has caused quite a bit of mumbling and grumbling from some Sydneysiders, as heavy security cordoned off parts of the Central Business District for the past week. Ninety-two motorcades were scheduled to be crawling around the city on Thursday. This number did not include the fake motorcade that the satirical Australian TV show "The Chasers" managed to get through several layers of security- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/06/1188783415499.html.

The New South Wales government had the foresight to declare a public holiday yesterday. There was even a campaign to encourage people to leave the Sydney area and explore other parts New South Wales on the 3-day weekend. We headed to Oceanworld Manly, an aquarium on the Sydney Harbour, but away from the Central Business District, and found it delightfully quiet- it seems that most people took the advice to stay out of Sydney to heart.

So, we offer a few photos from the day. Lachlan could not say the word "fish" enough, Erin and Claire were throughly engaged in the reptile show (mom avoided the python, but the kids thought it was fun to touch!), Anne enjoyed the shark tunnel, and Rick spent a good amount of time studying the displays of Australia's extraordinarily venomous snakes and spiders, so that he would know what to run from!

Anne

The day begins

"Feesh!"

See George Bush on the other side of the Harbour?

A gorgeous rainbow to end the day

Our first visit home

We spent the end of June and much of July in the US for our first visit home. It was a great trip- especially upon reflection, now that the horrors of jetlag are receding into distant memory. We enjoyed seeing family- one thing that this adventure is teaching us is how important those family ties remain. Unfortunately, time with friends was limited, but we were able to share some time with those who might as well be family! Please know, friends, that we miss you all....

Our holiday album can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com.au/annedacey/USATripJuly2007

Anne

Proud Aunty

Introducing Cooper Hans and the two proudest parents in the world, my only sibling Kate, and her husband John. Cooper arrived into our family last week, and we could NOT be more thrilled! He's a healthy, happy little bub, and, aside from his proud cousins, definitely the cutest baby I've ever seen.

We can't wait to give you all sorts of kisses and cuddles, Cooper!
Love, Anne, Rick, Erin, Claire and Lachlan

Winter in Sydney

OK. Close your eyes and compose your image of an Australian on a typical day in Australia. Think quick. Is it a fit, tan man in khaki shorts and dusty boots, walking through the arid outback in the hot sun? Perhaps a barefoot surfer in his Billabong tshirt? A young girl in her plaid summer school dress, shading her eyes from the sun with her wide-brimmed hat, standing outside of her open-windowed classroom?

Now, consider this young American transplant about to sit down to breakfast on a sunny June morning:

Granted, our heating system conked out last night. Tragically, it gave out on the coldest night that we have experienced thus far- a low of about 42 degrees Fahrenheit. But to be honest, I never imagined that it would get chilly enough so that I would have to break out my L.L.Bean wool sweaters and mittens. People told us to bring our "winter woolies", so we did- I just couldn't picture when I would wear them.

Actually, the weather here is still mild compared to what we experienced in Connecticut in the winter months. In June, July and August, the daytime temperature averages around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. And in the strong sun, it can be quite warm. It just seems that Australians are not prepared for the chill in the air (or perhaps we Americans are just wimps). Most homes do not have central heating (we are fortunate to have central heat in our home when it is working!), and certainly no insulation to keep in any warmth. Many people rely on space heaters to warm up a central room or two, and then dash down the hall to their bedrooms and dive under the doona to have their night sleep. In winter in New England, you knew you had to bundle up to go outside, but you could count on it being comfortable when you stepped inside. Here, you don't know what to expect- I often see people wearing a scarf and hat indoors. Alternatively, I've also observed many people who strike me as underdressed for the weather- in shorts and t-shirts, or only dressed in a thin shirt while I am wearing a turtleneck, wool sweater, heavy fleece and wool mittens. Clearly my blood is too thin for a country that is milder than my own!

As one person observed to me, "We reckon ourselves to be a warm country, and therefore we spend 3 or 4 months of the year being chilly." So true. I always wondered why those UGG boots lined with wool came from Australia- now I know. I may even go out and buy a pair for myself.

The chill aside, I thought I would share a few pictures from a peaceful winter Sunday afternoon.

I love my new sandpit!

Boys vs. girls t-ball

The girls won!

Anne