Thomas the Train

Can you believe it, Thomas the Train came to Australia for a visit and we got ride on him! Owen was soooooo excited. The kids even dressed up in their train gear (thanks to Ashley's 3rd Birthday party where we got the hats and bandannas). And we had a great time. The weather was gorgeous and they had all kids of fun activities, carnival rides, jumpy castles, pony rides, petting zoo, ice cream, and of course a few gift shops. All the while Molly enjoyed cuddling up in my little sling, except for when we woke up to pet the goat. It was a great day for everyone and the kiddo's were worn out by the end, every parents dream!

Hanging out at home!

Molly is take little snooze while Owen is working on perfecting his shark impression by showing all his mean teeth. A little later the kids were missing Texas a bit so they decided to put on their cowboy hats and hop on their horse. (thankfully it's not a real horse because Owen is missing his riding pants.) Molly on the other hand doesn't know what her crazy siblings are up to and just happily sits by and watches.

Swinging

Molly loves swinging in here cute and cuddly little lamb swing. Thanks Auntie Erica and Uncle Drew!!

A day at the park.

All of our visitors have gone home, so we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and take a nice walk around our favorite park, Kings Park. I think I mentioned this park in a previous blog. It is a huge park with lots of different areas, playgrounds, cafes, BBQ/Picnic areas, etc.. and it has a great view of the city. Emily and Owen love running across all the bridges and climbing on the rocks, while Molly found the outing a bit tiresome!

Easter

This year we had a nice simple and quite Easter with Jeff's parents and our new baby Molly! The kids favorite part of the day was searching for hidden easter eggs in our backyard. Or perhaps it was eating as many chocolate eggs as they could!

Emily's actual Birthday!

On the day of Emily's 4th Birthday, we went to a wonderful wildlife park that lets you feed and touch the animals. It is one of the few places in Australia where you can touch a Koala Bear and a Wombat. Grandpa and Grancy were here to help us celebrate, unfortunately Grandpa was feeling a little under the weather and wasn't able to join us at the park. But the rest of us had a great time playing with all the Kangaroos and petting the other Australian animals.

Emily's 4th Birthday Party

The first thing Emily said after we told her we were moving to Australia is, "Can I have my birthday party at Australia? I want a Princess Party." I think she really thought that Australia was a place to go to have parties, like the Little Gym or Libby Lou! But she talked about having her party at Australia and talked about exactly how she wanted it. So we couldn't disappoint her. So we invited some friends and had a great time dressing up like fairy princesses and we even had a visit from a real fairy.

Back to reality

Thanks to Gigi and PawPaw, Emily and Owen got to have some fun while we were in the hospital. Owen didn't even have to miss his swim lesson. But they were both exctited for Mommy and Molly to come home. Emily loves being a big girl and able to feed Molly a bottle.

Baby Molly is Born!

Finally baby Molly is born and I was so happy, to get to meet her and to not be pregnant anymore! She was born on March 31st at 8:40 am and she weighed 2.92 kilograms (6.4 pounds). Her full name is Molly Karen Clark. Of course we have lots of pictures of Molly. Emily and Owen are so excited to meet their new sister and just want to hold her all the time.

Fremantle

We tried to get in a few tourist trips with Gigi & PawPaw before the baby came. So we headed town the coast to the port city of Fremantle. Here we ate lunch at Joe's Fish Shack (despite all appearances it is not the same as Joe's Crab Shack, but one must be a take off of the other) right on the ocean and then we locked the kids up in the historic Fremantle Prison.

BBQ at the Beach

One of the things that we love to do is to go and enjoy the beach. We often go and have breakfast at a little cafe on the beach or we meet friends for a Beach BBQ Dinner. In the evenings the beaches are full of people surfing and kite surfing, and most of the beaches have nice playgrounds for the kids to enjoy so it is fun for everyone. Here are some pictures of Owen flying a kite and us watching some kite surfers as we BBQ with friends. However it's not all fun in the sun with kids in tow, sometimes we have meltdowns! And when the day is done they are ready for bed.

Off to School

Here in Australia the school year coincides with the calender year. So kids start "Kindy" in February if they turn 4 before June. So Emily started school! The progression goes, Kindergarten, PrePrimary, Year 1 -12, etc.. So Emily is now going to the Ladies Methodist College with 19 other little 4 year old girls! Yes that means there is a lot of pink & purple, and lots of princesses. Here are some pictures of her in her uniform and having a fun play date with one of her best friends Selena.