the parental units come for a visit!

g'day everyone! its been a hectic last few weeks! i got the chance to play tour guide for my folks (we probably should have hired a professional....). i had pretty much the whole time off, except for about three days.

the first day they were here we spent out time walking around a bit. i showed my parents cafe e torta and we went to the grocery store. mom and grandpa fell asleep before dinner so daddio and i went out to dumplings, lucky for us neither of us got food poisoning. the second day we went down to st kilda and saw some of the board walk opening. later that day we met with leisa and al at southbank. we went back to st kilda the next day to meet up with my dad's friend john. after breakfast i was lucky enough to get a massage with my mom while grandpa and daddio soaked in the salty sea baths. they pump salt water from the ocean into giant hot pools. grandpa loooooved it. in fact he enjoyed it so much that daddio got him a week long pass. the two of them went almost everyday. we all drove up to newcastle and my parents were fortunate to be able to visit michael and christine. i rode up with them in the car, but decided to fly back so i could work the day after. it was a long ride, however it was nice to visit. my parents spent the weekend in sydney with michael and christine. i think they had a wonderful time. once they got back to melbourne we had a few days to hang around before they had to head back to the US. the first day back mom and i did some shopping while grandpa and daddio explored the area around the apartment. we also went to leisa and al's for dinner that night. the next day dad and grandpa went to the forest to see the sawmills for dad's wood business. that night a few people came around to meet my parents, it was very laid back and i think everyone enjoyed the evening. on the last day before they left daddio and i took a drive down near frankston. it was nice to have a car to drive along the coast, it made me even more excited to start traveling. the next morning we checked out of the apartment and got coffee from torta before my parents had to head off to the airport.

this is my dad on his birthday (also the day they arrived). he is opening his birthday present. i was so excited they were coming that i went and checked into the hotel early and waited a few hours for them to get there. i also bought them happy birthday/welcome to australia muffins.


richard. he looks pretty good for having just ridden back from kentucky by car and suffered through the flight to australia.


here is is doing a tim tam slam. megan and pat came over with tim tams. daddio is obsessed with doing tim tam slams, i became a bit worried when he started doing them by himself.


tim tams and some coffee.


we had lunch at southbank with leisa, alister, hanna, gabe and josie. josie enjoyed riding on dad's shoulders. he also gave her ice cream for the first time!


here is leisa and gabe.


grandpa crashed that night! too much excitiment with the kiddos.


we popped into my house to have a look around. here i am with chris in out livingroom.


unfortunaly all the pictures from the car on the way up to newcastle are not flattering enough to put on the internet, so there will be no visual documentation from that portion. the car ride was pretty long but not unbearable. daddio drove the whole way. it was good to see michael and christine again, my parents were so excited.

here is michael at an overlook near newcastle.


michael trying to convince grandpa to go hang gliding (he even offered to pay!).


grandpa next to the hang gliding sign.


my mom at an overlook near nerlson bay. you might recognize this location from some of the pictures in an earlier post.


mom, michael and grandpa at the overlook.


mom on the beach!


the day after my parents left micheal was going to a biker event. here is grandpa warming up the seat for him!


grandpa in his couch potato shirt.


mom and grandpa behind michael's bike.


michael taking grandpa for a spin. ro's face is priceless! daddio is making sure he doesnt fall off the back.


grandpa looking at the rental car's engine. it was a wekkend of machines!


view from their motorboat on sydney harbor.


christine and mom in the hotel room in sydney.


grandpa and christine's father in sydney.


these are almost all the pictures i have at the moment. i didnt get any of the other ones off dad's camera. hard to believe they were here a full two weeks! time went by so fast!

now it is back to work to save up money, things are still good in melbourn. i have a few babysitting gigs this week (today i had the task of supervising 7 kids all under the age of about five....). then im going to see mt eerie on tues with megan and the schonberg ensemble on thurs with pat. i also found a great compilation CD of melbourne music, it is called melbourne waters 2. i havent been able to find the first CD at the library but might by it from a local store. check it out if you can find it. i also found a CD by a guy named grand salvo, ive really enjoyed it. i am also reading no one belongs here more than you by miranda july. it is a collection of short stories and was suggested by a friend. it is a quick read but pretty good for tram rides.