Our Little Saint

Today, we had a chance to go to the Queen Victoria Market. I adore this market, great food, but more importantly great goods. It is a great place to look around. I had my little shopping helper. For being such a good boy I rewarded him with some St. Kilda attire. St. Kilda is an Aussie Rules Football team that his daddy has been a huge fan since he was a boy. Needless to say Harrison loves his new gear.

Downtown

We decided to give the Monagle family a well deserved break and spent a night downtown in the Grand Hyatt. It was a fantastic day, the girls got to ride on the tram and enjoy a relaxing bath in a luxurious setting. Long gone are the days of romantic nights with just Andrew and I staring into each other eyes. All of us piled in a deluxe king size bed with remarkable views of the city. We would not trade these fantastic memories for anything! Just a note of caution, if you press the emergency stop button in the elevator, it comes to an adbrupt stop. Poor Harrison, he nearly jumped out of my arms and balled his little eyes out.

Wild Times

Yesterday, we had the chance to visit the Melbourne Zoo. It was a very cold morning, this worked to our benefit, as we were pretty much the only people there. It is rated among one of the best zoo's in the world and I can see why. We got up close and personal with some gibbons, got to hold butterfly's in the butterfly room, got to watch elephants frolicking in the water and were inches away from a gorilla. We also got to see lots of kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats all native to Australia. It was a fantastic day!

All in the Family

Here is a great shot of all the cousins together. From left to right, Laura is holding Hap, next to her Max, Andy, Ben, Alice, Piper and in the front Kate is holding Polly. Sarah was away in Hobart at a diving competition. She placed 1st in the syncro event, amazing!

Jump!

As I mentioned, jumping on the trampoline, has been a favorite activity of everyone. The girls and Andy have been very patient and Piper and Polly have been loving every second of jumping on the trampoline. These pictures are of Polly, Alice, Andrew & Andy, and Piper each showing their unique style.

Off to Grandma's We Go!

We had a great visit with Maisie. This was the first meeting of Maisie and Harrison. Maisie was pretty good the day we visited her, apparently she has not been feeling that well. It is always wonderful to see her. Piper and Polly did their best to put smiles on the residents faces. The picture of the hands was a great idea of my mom's. She suggested we get a picture of the 4 generations. Maisie's hand, Mary's hand, Andrew's hand and Piper's hand. It turned out great.

The Little Mermaid

Well not really. I am so glad we have Piper and Polly signed up for another round of swim lessons with Conrad. I think a refresher will be good for Piper. This picture was taken at a great indoor pool called Waves. Every half hour they turn on the wave pool, it was fantastic, but a little scary for Piper. This was a great afternoon with Paul and Andy, the girls had a great time!

Sunny Sisters!

The girls have really had a great day and this is a great shot of the two of them enjoying a beautiful sunny day!

Trampoline

This is not the last picture we will have of Piper enjoying the trampoline. She has already logged several hours of jumping and is just having so much fun, jumping along side of her very patient cousins (Kate is in the photo above).

Easter Picnic

Today, we headed to Jells Park for a wonderful Easter picnic. The boys (Andrew and Andy) had a chance to play some cricket. Polly also tried her had at the sport, she looks like quite a natural as you can see. Piper loved the orange soda and Polly enjoyed taziki dip. We had a lovely picnic lunch and it was just a beautiful day!

Good Egg Hunting!

So the girls have now mastered the art of the Easter egg hunt. They went right out and were picking up chocolate covered eggs at a feverish pace. The clothing, swim suits, flip-flops and games were nothing compared to the golden wrapped eggs. Needless to say, they have been on a bit of a sugar rush today.

Funny Bunny!

Hap loved Easter. He has had a great day watching his sisters running around and gathering chocolates. He has been a great sport, considering he has not had quite the same fun as Piper and Polly.

Sweet 18!

Today, Laura and I were able to celebrate our birthday's. She turned 18 - a big milestone here in OZ - this is the age you can drink and start driving. Seeing that I am only a few years older I could totally relate;-) It was a fantastic day and great to celebrate the big 18 with Laura. The picture is of lucky little Hap with Laura's friends who were just giving him so much attention, he loved every second!

A Well Deserved Rest

We made it!!! 19 hours of travel and we are here, what a releif! We could not have asked for better traveling companions, the girls were wonderful and little Hap was a real trooper. Piper even made a friend, Natalie who also has an American mommy and Australian daddy, she also attends Montessori school. All and all it could not have gone any smoother. Here are the girls resting after their long journey.

Before & After

Today, our little Harrison had his first haircut. He smiled the entire time and was just so cute, I could hardly stand it. You can see the before and after for yourself:-)

Sam's Super Party

Molly (Sam's mom) and I took prenatal yoga together 4 years ago. It seems like just yesterday, I called her to find out how it went and what she had. Sam as you can see, is now 4 and it seems hard to believe that it was 4 years ago Molly and I were preggers together. Sam had a Super, Superman party. You can see Polly loved the cape and Sam is a very good super hero, complete with his best scary face. Hap was doing his best imitation of Captain Sleepy.

The Hunt is On

This morning the bunny visited Gigi and Grampys, he left lots of fun little surprises. The favorite being a book about Horton for Piper and a Horton stuffed animal which Polly is sleeping with right now. They had a great time. As a special surprise this weekend Tia and Jon came to see the girls.

We Love a Cute Accent

This is Piper's friend Zak, he is so cute. We Power girls must have a thing for cute boys with accents, Zak's parents are from England. He and Piper have so much fun together, they love catching the chickens and hunting for lizards in our backyard. Zak and Piper go to the same school, hense the matching uniforms.

Eggcelent Afternoon

This afternoon, Piper and Polly decorated eggs with Tia and Jonnie. They spent a long time perfecting their eggs. They painted them and finished them off with sprinkles. Each one was a true piece of priceless art. Mommy will cherish the eggs they make each year, we have some from last year that Katie made with the girls too.

Blast at the Beach

Piper, Polly, Sullivan and Etta had a beach date today. The girls just frolicked in the sand. They always have such a blast together. They learned how to jump off the sand dunes today, Sullivan jumped first and then Piper and Polly were quick to follow.

Girls vs. Boys

It just so happened that I was photographed with Piper and Polly and Andrew got his pic with Hap. The girls were on a sugar high by this point and Hap is teething and as you can see he is using an Easter egg, how appropriate.

Easter Egg Hunt

Today was the annual Hermosa Beach Easter Egg Hunt. Little Polly was just teetering last year and Piper had no idea you had to actually pick up the eggs. This year was a different story, Piper moved more quickly then I have ever seen to pick up eggs and Polly followed closely behind. The Bunny was there (I think this bunny is a tiny bit scary, but the girls did not mind). They had train rides again, and again they were a huge hit!