Mother's Day and Sydney VIVID

Mother's Day was a lot of fun this year.  Both of the kids' schools had activities to make the day extra special.  At Cade's school they had a Mother's Day Stall as a school fundraiser.  The parents/boys purchase a $10 gift wrapped in clear cellophane and donate it to the Mother's Day Stall.  Then, that Friday before, each boy brings $10 and gets to go shopping and pick something out and wrap it.  Cade picked out some soaps and made a sweet card.  I loved how involved he was with the process.  Paige treated me to a Friday afternoon Mother's Day concert at her school.  We got dressed up and they performed about 6 songs and then we had "afternoon tea" following.  My favorite song - "You are my sunshine, you are my sunshine.  You make me happy when skies are gray.  You'll never know Mom how much I love you.  Please don't take my sunshine away".  She continues to sing it for me in the car each morning.  The weather was beautiful on Mother's Day. We enjoyed a great brunch at Manly Beach followed by a ferry ride into the city to visit the Sydney Fish Market.    Father's Day in Sydney is not celebrated until September for some reason.  The best question came at the end of the day when Cade asked, "Mom, when do we celebrate kid's day?"  Both Matt and I answered at the same time, "EVERYDAY!"

The evening before we had an Australian family over for dinner.  Cade and their son are in the same class and play soccer together.   We laughed so hard when they showed up to our house with a pack of Budweiser for us:)

Every week, Cade has a news topic that he presents to his class.  They are usually pretty simple, like tell us about your favorite holiday or your favorite movie.  This week, they were asked to sing their favorite song.  We had been practicing, "Twinkle twinkle little star, my mommy drives a racing car (I wish - my Toyota Aurion is far from a racing car, but at least my kids think I am cool:).  Then the night before as we were getting ready for bed, Cade changed his mind.  He decided that his favorite song was 'Call Me Maybe' and that is what he wanted to sing to the class and I said, "Well, OK, can't argue with that".  I didn't get a call or a letter from the teacher, but I would have loved to have seen the looks on their faces.  The school is very formal and I am sure it was unexpected, but you have to let kids make their own decisions:)

This week, there were several US Cerner associates in town for a user group conference and on Friday night they wanted to experience Sydney.  We took a cruise around the Sydney Harbour and it was a real treat.  Friday was the opening night for Sydney VIVID, a spectacular artistic light show on the Sydney Opera House.  It was really beautiful and the art was unbelievable.    These pictures were taken from our boat. The lights from the show lit up the water and bridge and made for a great picture.   It did start raining on us towards the end so we went to the Opera Bar for drinks and dinner following.  The VIVID show is running for the next 2 weeks, and we plan to take the kids to see it again next weekend.  Check out this video for preview.

Getting Cooler in Sydney

As it is getting warmer in Kansas City, it is getting cooler in Sydney.   Although, not too cool, it still hits the low-mid 70’s during the days, but the mornings and afternoons once the sun goes down can be chilly.  Cade started his second term and blazers are now compulsory (required).  He is in full swing with activities (soccer, swim, drama and handwriting) and increased homework.  He is exhausted by 7PM every night, but he is so excited to get to school in the morning. 

We have been embracing our city life and taking the bus into the city on Sundays.  The bus stop is two blocks from our house.  The kids love riding the bus and love crossing over the Harbor Bridge.  Paige has been singing a lot of songs around the house as she is preparing for an upcoming Mother’s Day Concert at her school.  She entertained the bus patrons and the streets of Sydney with her musical talents of “The Wheels on the Bus” that we quickly captured in this video.  

 

Matt was in Melbourne and Brisbane all last week traveling to Clients with Cerner’s Chief Operating Officer.  It was a productive week for him, but a long week for me.   Our Internet was pretty much out for almost 3 days last week which was so incredibly frustrating.  We had a technican come out to the house only to tell that they were performing upgrades in the area.   I was warned about the Internet in Sydney, but I mean really, how can a major city get away with such poor service?     I squeezed in a few lunches during the week and attended a new book club, The American Society of Sydney Women.  It is a more serious book club than I am used to.  My book clubs in the past have been more like wine clubs.  It is fun group and a good way to meet more people.     Last Sunday we had breakfast at our new favorite restaurant at Balmoral Beach called the Boatshed.  Future visitors, you will definitely love this place.  Not only is it on the water, it has amazing food and hundreds of fresh cut flowers daily.  

We were shocked to see that Kansas City was hit with May snow.  Sending warm thoughts your way.