Australia Day 1

What a long day of travel!  I started out from Harlan at 1pm on Friday afternoon.  Dave and the kids drove me to Marshall Michigan where I met Rick, and he drove me to the airport. I met Mom there, we got through security, got a bite to eat, and took of from Detroit to Los Angeles at 5:50pm.  We landed in LA 5 hours later.  We had a slight lay over in LA.  We boarded our next plane at 10:45pm (LA time) and traveled 14 hours to Sydney, arriving Sunday morning at 8am (Sydney time).  Our flights went well.  The only problem that occurred was with another passenger, and elderly woman, who felt chest pains during the last 45 minutes of our flight to Sydney.  The captain called for a doctor while in flight.  When we landed we all had to wait for the paramedics to come on and escort the woman off before we could get off the plane.  We didn't have to wait too long to get through customs when we got to the airport.  We found the van service to the hotel and got to the hotel at about 10am.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel while we waited for our room to be finished getting cleaned.  After checking into our room, and freshening up, we decided to walk around near our hotel and take in Sydney.  Sydney is such an eclectic city.  The architecture and restaurants/stores have Chinese and European influences.  It's not like any other place we've been to.  Parts of it remind me of China (mostly all the Chinese vacationers) and other parts remind me of London.  The weather is warm and humid, but the skies are beautiful.  We finally felt like we were in Australia when we saw the Opera House in person.  Here are some of the pictures from today...

Mom's boss sent a bouquet of flowers to welcome us (we had to use the trash can as a vase).

The hotel lobby

Sydney Opera House

Our hotel (The Four Seasons)

After our outing, we spent the entire afternoon at the spa getting massages, facials, and pedicures.  After such a long flight and hardly no sleep, it was amazing.  We ordered room service and enjoyed sleeping in a bed.  Tomorrow we have a free day and hope to go to the aquarium and one of the many beaches.

Valentines Day & Chinese New Year

This year Valentines Day and Chinese New Year fall within a week of each other.  So, we've crammed a lot of crafts and activities into a small amount of time.  We typically don't do much for Valentines Day.  This year Liam helped me make a Valentine for everyone in his class.  They turned out really cute.  The kids also made Valentines in Sunday School.  Lilly got to decorate a Valentine at BSF too.  We exchanged cards and we gave the kids a little treat.

For Chinese New Year, we made another dragon to add to the ones we made last year.  Liam painted egg cartons green and then helped me put the dragon together.  The kids also made Chinese drums out of paper plates.  I found a lot of other really great craft ideas on Pinterest, but decided we should keep it simple, so we have things to do in the years to come.  We got out the decorations we made last year and put them up around the kitchen.  Denny and Carol joined us for supper.  We had sweet & sour chicken, broccoli & beef, rice, rice noodles, egg rolls, spring rolls, and dragons for dessert (rice crispy treat/fruit by the foot).  The kids opened their red envelopes full of chocolate coins.  I was pleased to find coins that looked like actual quarters.  They also got one large golden coin.  I know there will come a day when they prefer actual money to chocolate money, but for now, chocolate is much more appealing.

First Trip to the Dentist

Liam and Lilly had their first trip to the dentist. We picked Dr. Darrow because she was recommended at Lilly's cleft clinic. She understands cleft palate mouths. The night before going we read Little Critter Goes to the Dentist,  so Liam was confident he knew what was going to happen. The kids loved her office.  It is a beach theme with sharks and fish hanging on the walls and a huge fish tank in one of the walls. Lilly was apprehensive at first. She gets skeptical when people want to touch her mouth. Liam agreed to go first to help her be brave. He was a rock star. They were even able to get adult style X-rays. Most 4 year olds can't tolerate the camera in their mouth. He did well during the cleaning and had no cavities. He of course, made friends with all the nurses. Lilly went next and got child sized X-rays, but sat well becaue she had seen Liam do it. She also sat still for the teeth cleaning. Dr. Darrow found several cavities, which wasn't surprising to us. Lilly had poor nutrition and dental care at the orphanage. Children with cleft palates also tend to have more cavities. We will get them filled soon. Unfortunately, Lilly will need more dental work as she grows because cleft palates can cause crowding. We're thankful we have a pediatric dentist that understands all that.