Roos and Cricket and Happy Birthday to Ron!

Saturday was packed full of fun. We started off early and picked Anna up from Bacchus Marsh before heading onto the Ballarat Wildlife Park to see some Kangas, Emus, Wombats and Koalas... oh yes and some dangerous and poisonous snakes. Fun! The Roos just loved Padre as is evident by the photo below of the little Roo practically falling asleep in his hand!

 A couple of Roos even tried to get the Roo food out of his pocket. Tricky little fellas!

We found all the Emus resting in a corner of the park. Mom wanted to see how tall they were (they're pretty gosh darn big for birds...) so Anna was trying to coax them up with Roo food. It didn't work. It was funny though. We were walking away when some other lady got too close to one of the Emus and they all jumped up so we of course went back or a photo op. Anna kept trying to get mom closer to the Emu... love the expression!

We were only at the park for a brief amount of time because Andrew called to say that his team was batting first for their cricket game and he was 3rd up... so we rushed to the car and drove back to Bacchus Marsh just in time to see him start batting.

Anna and I went to get lunch which ended up being traditional Aussie Meat Pies. It was funny to watch mom and dad eat them... they are a bit tricky but I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat a meat pie with a spoon! Oh Madre, you are too funny.

After eating our pies we really got into the game and it ended up that we needn't have rushed back at all to see Andrew bat because he ended up staying in the rest of his teams turn to bat and made a century with 124 runs! Way to go Andrew! Very impressive. Everyone thought it was the fact that he was showing off for his Audience that came 1/2 way across the world to watch. It was pretty cool that Mom and Dad got to see Andrew and Ron play cricket together. It was Ron's birthday that day as well (Happy Birthday Ron!) and he made a wicket while bowling (got an out while pitching for you Americans) which was great too.

After cricket we met up with Anna's sister Ira and her family and some friends of Anna and Ron's who all came to Boston for the wedding 4 years ago and went out for a delicious and fun dinner in Bacchus Marsh. It was great to catch up and for mom and dad to be able to chat to Andrew's family that they met back in Boston. It makes the world feel small even though it is oh so big. I kind of like that. Smile.

The next day we had a quiet day to recover from the exhausting itinerary I had us on and had a lovely little picnic in the park behind our house with some of Andrew's friends. Eddie was there and so was Aaron who were both in our wedding. Mom and Dad got to meet Aaron's wife and their 2 super cute little girls Abbie and Paige. I was quietly pleased that Abbie seemed to take a liking to me that day because I got to play with her all afternoon. So cute! Rochelle, if you're reading this I'm totally inviting myself over to play and have a photo session when we get back from NZ! Here's a picture of the group courtesy of Anna from our little picnic. Thanks Anna!

On Monday we went to Drouin so Mom and Dad could meet Nan. We had a lovely little lunch together before Mom and Dad headed off Tuesday to continue their adventures. We're off to meet up with Mom and Dad in New Zealand tomorrow. They've been exploring Tasmania this week and are visiting with Em and Tony in Sydney for the night. It's kind of crazy to think that we'll be back in NZ after 6 years... never thought that would happen! But it's pretty cool because last time dad and I were there he found out about Andrew and never thought it would last (surprise surprise Padre! Look how that turned out! Happy me.) While we had a really special and great time traveling just the 2 of us, I know we both were wishing at the same time that we could share it with Madre and Andrew... and now we do! More adventures to come... Stay tuned!

Great Ocean Road, Cape Otway Lighthouse and Treetop Walk - Our Adventure Continues!

Since Madre wasn't feeling so hot, we gave her a rest day on Wednesday and stayed home watching cricket and lawn bowls before venturing out to lunch. Then mom and dad napped while I did some work and Anna and Ron came to visit for dinner. It's crazy to think that it's been 4 years since Mom and Dad and Anna and Ron met/saw each other at the wedding back in Boston. They picked up like no time had passed at all and chatted the night away!

Thursday morning we were up early to head down south to the Great Ocean Road. This windy and very curvy "mountain" road travels along the coast and hosts beautiful views of the Great Southern Ocean. Lucky I've been down this road a few times because the drive is pretty tough and doesn't leave much option for the driver to look out the window. Also lucky I was driving because even being in the drivers seat my stomach was doing flips! Eeeep! Sorry Padre!  It's so beautiful though and I think well worth the long drive.

We stopped in Apollo Bay for lunch which is also where we stayed the night. We continued on through the Great Otway National Park before reaching Gibson's Steps which is my favourite part of the Great Ocean Road. I think it's so cool that my first time on the Great Ocean Rd I stopped there with Andrew, then when Moo came to visit we took her there and then recently Twinnie and Drew (it was one of their favourite spots too) and now Mom and Dad! Lots of photo ops! Yay!

Madre and Padre even sat still long enough for me to take a couple of super cute photos of them together. (They tire quickly of photos and me asking "do you want a photo here?" .... don't know how as their daughter is a photographer... but I thought these were super cute and worth sitting still for 20 seconds!) Eeeep! So cute. And I just love the picture of Mom looking out to the ocean... beautiful Mummo!

We even saw tons of bluebottles (stinging jellyfish) on the beach! Well at least I think that's what they were... but as no Aussie's were with us and Andrew's not seen one before I am just assuming. I'm almost officially an Aussie though so my executive decision is yes, that's what they were.

We went another kilometre down the road to the viewing platform for the 12 Apostles. It was pretty windy and cold!

Mom even wanted to get payback for all the "dangerous" photos we take and send her so she pretended to fall of the cliffs. Funny Mumma!

The next morning we went to the Cape Otway Lighthouse which is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Australia. It was raining on the drive there and then the sun came out as we walked up to the lighthouse keeper's house on the hill overlooking the ocean. Beautiful! The lighthouse itself was stunning and 78 steps later we  saw beautiful views from the top.

After the lighthouse we headed to the Treetop walk which Moo and Twinnie and Drew have also all been on before. We ran into a bunch of college kids from the US (one from Boston and one who had run the Boston Marathon) who grabbed a quick photo of the 3 of us on the top of the viewing platform. Cute! It was a bit scary walking up top with the trees and looking down through the grated platform. Mom held on with 2 hands pretty much the entire time. 

Don't worry though, we made it back safely and trekked up to the car before the long drive home where Laura and Tim cooked up a FEAST for dinner. Mom and Dad even tried Kangaroo! Thanks Laura and Tim for such an amazing dinner... I don't think I've ever been so full! Yummo!

Madre & Padre invade Melbourne - A Day in the City!

After working towards this trip for 4 years now, Madre and Padre Cashman have finally made it to OZland! Yay parentals! It's pretty cool to have them here and for them to be able to see our life 1/2 way across the world.  Now as much as I would have liked to join the parentals at the start of their trip, I was busy with work and moving into our new place! Mom and Dad started up in Port Douglas in QLD and had a great time with beautiful sunny weather. They saw the rainforest (walked the same trail that Twinnie and Drewseph and Andrew and I walked) and saw the Great Barrier Reef. They then went to the Northern Territory and saw Uluru (Ayers Rock) and went on a camel ride (shout out Chester!) I would have liked to follow them around to document their adventures but alas, I had to wait until they got to me in Melbourne.

Poor Madre picked up a cold as they headed to Uluru and she felt pretty terrible by the time they made it to Melbourne. She was a total trooper though and armed with boxes of tissues, she ventured out to the city on their first full day here.

We stopped first at PSC so they could see where I've spent the last 4 years of my life (I'm sure I've spent more time there than at home, sigh). We had lunch at the food court on Southgate and then took a river cruise down the Yarra. I'd never been on the Yarra before so it was quite exciting. We saw great views of the city and even grabbed a picture of the PWC building for Peter! (Hi Peter!)

Our little boat was called the Grower and I forget how many bridges we went under but it was heaps. There were some really old bridges as well as some funky new modern designs. We went all the way out to the Bolte Bridge which was cool as I've only ever driven over it. A lot of the bridges were quite low... literally, at one point dad stuck his hand up above him (while sitting down) and touched the underside of the bridge. And while we were out at the Bolte, the tide had surged and on the way back the captain had to take the smoke staff and hatches off the roof and almost had to have the males in the boat move up front to keep the bow of the boat low enough to make it under the bridge... literally made it by a couple of inches. Pretty cool!

After our super fun river cruise we wandered into the city to check out Melbourne's laneways. We stopped at my favourite place, the Little Cupcake store and got a box of goodies. See how much Madre loved them? Actually, I think Padre loved them more... guess whose "little" cupcake is the big one? He he he.

We walked around to see Fed Square and iconic Flinders Street train station which was crazy busy as always.

To end the night we took Mom and Dad (as a Christmas present from all of us kids) on the Tram Car Restaurant. Anna and Ron took me on this tram car for my first visit to Melbourne and I thought it would be a great way for Madre and Padre to see more of the city. Dinner is cooked and served on the tram car as it makes it way around the city. The food was delicious (even though I sprayed the entire front of my shirt with my meal... tight quarters and me being clumsy) and we had after dinner drinks to top it all off. The tram made its way down to St. Kilda and Port Melbourne where we saw Luna Park and the ocean and the cake shops. Yummy!

Merry Xmas Madre and Padre! Hope you had as much fun as we did!