Great Barrier Reef Day One Green Island

These pictures are from our first day at the Great Barrier Reef. We got up at 5am got everything ready, woke up the kids and walked them over to our friends house where we dropped them off and caught a cab to the airport. When we were leaving Enoch gave Garrett his little Lego Ninjago guy and said. "Here dad, take this to remember me". It was really cute. It was a long flight up to Cairns and we tried to sleep, but unfortunately there was a couple next to us that just couldn't make out  very quiet and it was very difficult to sleep with all their kissing noises in my ear. RUDE! Garrett thought they would calm down part way through the flight and he was right. They did sleep for about 25min. They got their strength back and kept on going ;) Garrett Has always wanted to travel by train in a berth and on our plane there were little berths with curtains so you have a little privacy. We figured maybe that's what this couple needed. Please somebody get them a curtain.

(Sea Cucumber)

So when we got to Cairns we dropped off our luggage(our room wasn't ready yet) and went to lunch but it was still breakfast time there so we had breakfast for lunch :) I had a savory french toast and G got the traditional English style "Big Breakfast" we have come to love since moving to NZ.  Overall though the food in NZ is better than the food here in OZ so it wasn't quite as good as going to "The Elements" or "Polo" in Wellington. We ate, went back to our hotel where our room was ready and we changed and walked over to the pier and got on our first boat excursion of the trip. We went to Green Island and this is where we took all these pictures and a bunch of video as well. I will try to add more videos later.

This was one of my favorite fish. These guys are so unique looking. At the end of this post is a video of one and you can see it a bit better. Very cool fish.

We saw lots of these as well

Green Island(the part we went snorkeling) wasn't all that exciting. I think we went to the wrong side of the island. It just wasn't that colorful and it wasn't nearly as bright and colorful as the reefs further out and up in Port Douglas.  We saw some reefs but mostly the ground looked like this:

These guys are really neat looking as well. I love their long noses.

This fish was pretty big but you can't really tell here.

Whale Watching Trip #2

Oh boy did we see whales- These next 6 shots were replayed over and over and over as we slowly went along on the boat watching the whales. We saw lots of backs and tails and blows but never a nose and never did any of the whales come all the way out of the water. Such a bummer. 

Don't get me wrong we really enjoyed seeing whales but frankly the dolphins were a LOT more fun. They played and were fast and had such a great time. They jumped out of the water and we saw their faces.

There really is something incredibly magic about seeing Gods magnificent creatures out in their natural habitat though. Whales are SO LARGE and so majestic  I love seeing them. I was just a little bit disappointed that we didn't see the whole whale.

We were jealous of these guys-they were SO CLOSE to these two whales. You can only see one here but there was a mum and baby.

 

 I did enjoy spending time with this guy.

We saw at least 4 different whales this time and possibly 5 but I can't remember for sure.

And this girl

And being out on the water and seeing beautiful things

Love this lighthouse. Every time we go by it in the harbour it makes me smile, but when we walked out to it one day it wasn't quite as impressive. Kinda ugly actually :) I will prefer to think of it from a distance.

These guys were pretty picturesque made us laugh. The lady in the red parka is a environmental specialist where whales are concerned. I was wishing I could hear all she had to say.

 In the harbour one jacket was sufficient

 

once we got out to sea I needed two. It was windy and cold.

There's a different view. This is a different whale and it popped up right by our boat. That was fun.

Overall a very fun trip and we would definitely recommend it if you are in the area during the season. June-Oct. but going mid season is much better than going at the very beginning.

Post Concert Fun

After the violin concert we caught a bus down to Hyde Park and hopped off for a quick trip to the Art Gallery of NSW. We went through the hospital grounds which has a really cool fountain and Ethne was being so funny. She danced around it and marched and had lots of fun. She always does.

Nice action shots don't you think? Her hair makes me laugh like a Pantene commercial.

The botanic gardens by the Art Gallery.

Ezra played his violin in the grass

Thirsty?

After the Art Gallery we walked down to Circular Quay and Ezra's dreams came true. He has been begging me to let him come down here and play the violin and now in hindsight I really wish I had. He didn't want to come because he loves playing the violin for people, but for the money. He just knew he would get rich from doing it and he sure did.

He was out here playing for a total of 5min.(we timed it) before we got stopped by an enforcer.  He made $23.55 IN FIVE MINUTES.  That is $282.60 an hour. Kudos son that is more than dad makes.  There were so many people who stopped to watch him and who talked about how cute he was and they just kept bringing him money. Almost everyone who stopped took his picture and many took video of him. Later he told me "mom, all these people were taking pictures of me and video and I didn't even care".

I was impressed with how brave he was and how he kept going even when he messed up. A few times he took his bow and stirred up the money with the tip of it and I just couldn't help but laugh. He was so serious about it. To him this was a business venture. ALL business. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. We have video of the full 5 minutes but I can't get my blog to load videos right now for some reason.

The man who put a stop to it was very kind and polite. He didn't chew me out he just said "Are you his mother? He is very cute but he has to have a permit to do this. You can get one online and then he can come down and play. He is very cute..."  If we were going to be here longer I would absolutely get the kid a permit. Our "enforcer" said the permits are easy to get.  He could have his mission paid for during one cruise season. Right now there are 1000's of people every weekend when there are cruise ships at the Quay.  The thing I am the most excited about is all the mileage for practice I will get out of this.  I told him he never would have been able to do that if he hadn't practiced. He said "mom, I wish I'd never did that". I said what? He said "complained all those times about practicing". YES!!! I am thrilled.

After we were told to pack up he put all his money in his wallet and we took  the kids to get gelato to celebrate all their hard work for the Summer Violin Concert and Ezra's dream come true. Ezra had dairy free coconut, Ethne had blood orange, Enoch had cookies and cream and G and I shared a scoop of Rocher.

After Circular Quay we went to a shopping center on George street and looked at Christmas decorations while Garrett bought a second card reader at JB-Hi-Fi.  The first one he bought he put in the bottom of the stroller in Adelaide, SA and if fell out and was never found :(

It was SO FUN to see all the Christmas decorations out and I finally started feeling like the holidays were upon us. So exciting. I love Christmas and Thanksgiving and New Years Eve.

We walked a long way down to World Square to eat "The World's Best Dumplings" at Din Tai Fang. As a general rule I do NOT like Chinese restaurants and neither does Garrett. We love pretty much all other Asian food but Chinese restaurants seem to be the McDonald's of Asian food in our humble opinion. BUT, this place has the only dumplings I have ever had that I loved. Some of our friends in Sydney love this place and made it a must do on our list. I went with some girl friends earlier in the year and loved it.Well I loved the dumplings. Their fried rice is good but not the best I've had. Their soup broth tastes generic but their dumplings are like a little piece of heaven. If I were to go back I would just eat dumplings and forget about the rest.

They are little dough pieces filled with your choice of veg. sea food, or pork and broth. You can put them in a soup spoon and puncture them or just pick them up with your chopsticks and pop them in your mouth but be careful because the broth inside is very hot. If you are ever in Sydney looking for dumplings this is the place to go. *I should add that I know there are some other good Chinese restaurants but you have to know where they are. You can't just drop into any Chinese place and know the food will be decent to really good.

After dinner on our way out of World Square we did some Christmas shopping for those whose names we have drawn this year. And of course when I walked by T2 I was pulled inside where I wanted EVERYTHING, but only allowed myself two items (that I paid a ridiculous amount of money for). That's what happens when you sell a really great product. People come in, they spend lots of money for a small amount of goodness. It's just too tempting. Everything you smell and taste is delicious and calling your name. I can be a few floors down in the shopping center and still find my way to T2 without even trying. Sigh. I use the fact that we are moving to stock up ;) Merry Christmas to ME!!

Summer Violin Concert

Practicing for the concert later in the day. These guys have worked really hard and I am SO proud of them.

Enoch Played Andantino almost at the end of Suzuki book one. When he started with Tori in March of this year he was only barely past the twinkles. Now he is 5 pieces away from the end of the book. He is getting better all the time. He has grown so tall he went from a large 1/8 size violin up to a 1/2 size. I am so proud of him and all his hard work and effort.

Enoch and Ezra worked really hard for the South Harbour Sydney Ward Primary Program as well this year. They played a duet of "Stand For The Right" and their teacher was so pleased with it that she decided they should also play if for the Summer Violin Concert this year. She is a professional violinist and had only heard the song a few times when they boys played it for her, but she was able to play the melody & harmony with them without any music. Now that is amazing to me. I was blown away when she just played it out of no where. WOW!!

Ezra just started violin this year for the very first time in March and he has come so far. We went from "I HATE violin and I am going to QUIT" every single week to  more than 1/2 way through Book 1 earning over 60 concert points, playing his violin in public everywhere we go and playing in front of 170-200 people in church in only 8 months. I still spend a LOT of time coaxing, teaching, scolding, and bribing but nothing like I did in the beginning. Ezra is a bright boy with a bright future. He is definitely going places and I couldn't be happier with him.

Earning their medals-final concert points still to come. They needed to earn 30 for a medal and they earned over 60.

At the end of the concert they play group pieces. Tori let Ethne join in with her pink violin. Ethne was SO excited she could hardly stand it.

The payoff ;) Enjoying a cupcake brought by one of the parents.

Great Job boys we are all proud of you!!!