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As of yesterday Penny is on her two week trek across country by train, and we are a little family of three once again. F celebrated by going to his 2nd day of creche/daycare and having a major meltdown. So major it merited a phone call to mom and dad for a rescue just after lunch. However, today we tried out our new gym and he spent about an hour and a half at the creche there and I literally had to drag him out of the Little Tykes plastic car. So glad he's happy there! Who knew Little Tykes plastic cars would make a great incentive to go work out?
While Penny was here we did a few trips to explore our newest home state. North of Perth a few hundred km is a nifty rock outcrop called The Pinnacles, along with some spiffy beaches. We also did some touristy stuff around the city and a boat trip out to Rottnest Island. A few of you have asked about this island, it's just west off the coast and is the one without any cars where everyone rides bikes. The first Dutch settlers thought the many small marsupials on the island were giant rats and so named it 'Rats Nest' (Rottnest). They are, in fact, Quokkas and are way cuter and cuddlier than rats.
We also did a whirlwind trip to the southwest portion of our current home state of Western Australia. This part of the state is known for it's wineries, in fact if you're a wine drinker and have sampled Aussie wine you've probably had some from the area we were in called Margaret River. The southern hemisphere's longest wooden jetty is nearby, with an underwater observatory at the end of it. We continued on south and east from there to check out the Great Southern Forests and the Great Southern Ocean (that's a whole lot of greats). You'll see a lighthouse in the slide show, this is where the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean meet. Just like the Arctic Circle, Travis was a little disappointed there wasn't a dotted line to mark the spot.
Travis' birthday fell during the trip and to celebrate the rare occurrence of his birthday in the summer (we sort of missed it last year since we'd just landed in Brisbane) we did a beach day. I also managed to whip up an ice cream bombe cake that was so so so good that it may get resurrected for winter birthdays, too.
Travis also climbed a fire watch tree during the trip. Insane - 61m up on rebar pegs hammered into the trunk. You'd never be allowed to do this in the US boys and girls. When asked if anyone ever fell off the guide at the bottom said, 'Yes, but they usually manage to grab something on the way down and no one has been seriously injured.' Comforting to those of us afraid of falling. My most daring adventure was the Tree Top walk which was a swaying walking 40m up in the trees. Travis planned this trip all on his own while I was back in the US, which I think may have had something to do with all the longest, highest, southernmost, things that were included ;) It was a lovely lovely trip.
I also whipped up some homemade popsicles about the time I made the bombe. They were a big hit, too.
Christmas day was one of the days we were at sea all day. Travis brought a wee tree, lights and all, all the way from Perth in his 
After our little family celebration we went up on deck to wait for Santa to arrive 
The ship was all decked out for the holidays, with trees and menorahs, and a giant display of gingerbread houses. After following Santa's jazzy marching band from the pool deck (on deck 9) to the gingerbread deck (on deck 4) all the kids lined up for a sit on Santa's knee. EVERY kid (500 under 18s on this cruise) got a real honest to goodness gift!
