Visitors to Sydney

So we've had some visitors recently to the Sydney area. One a big pest and the other a delight; we'll let you guess which is which (just kidding Fred).


















These are Bogong moths which come to Sydney and create havoc for two weeks. They get distracted in their migration by the bright lights of the city. They weren't bad last year but man alive if I haven't killed hundreds in the last week. One morning I killed at least thirty in an hour, in the house by the way. They're getting in through a gap in the door jamb. Piper thinks it's funny to watch me and Rick swat at them.

Fred is an old friend from New York who has moved back to London in the last year. He was in town for his brother Harry's wedding. Fred was my first boss at Interbrand and we worked closely on the huge AT&T account he brought in. We had a great, if brief, visit with him. He lived in Hermosa Beach years ago so we have the South Bay in common too.

In other news, our neighbors have started the renovation of their $2M apartment this week. They'll be jackhammering both bathrooms all day on Monday. Piper and I have planned a fun day out of the apartment to avoid the noise. We're going to the aquarium and lunch with an American friend and her daughter who's Piper's age. Then we'll hit the library and maybe the park.

Other than that, things are pretty quiet. Oh, except for the fact that I was made Relief Society president last week and that our new bishop is only 27 years old. Yikes!

Castlecrag, flowers, and dressing up

We took a drive a few weeks ago on a lovely Sunday afternoon to a quaint neighborhood called Castlecrag. We went for a walk while we were there and saw some amazing houses. Piper found some flowers in a small park and loved smelling them. She would actually blow on them when we would tell her to smell.

What a lovely flower!

What an impish look.

Piper is tickling Rick while he's trying to sleep.

Rick thinks this onesie looks like an old-fashioned swimming costume.

Piper wanted to play dress up yesterday so I put one my t-shirts on her with a belt. She looks like she's wearing a kimono and obi.

My new man...

So Piper and I went to the park this afternoon and guess who came to play: Mr. Hugh Jackman. You should have seen the faces of all of the moms at the park, ga ga. He was there playing with his two kids and the nanny. I hadn't realized that they were his kids at first because one's Asian and one's African-American (by the way, they're adopted). I had actually seen his kids at the park before and chatted with their mom. His wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, is actually an actor too. Piper was eating a cracker and offered part of it to Hugh but not seriously. And to think that we almost didn't go to the park this afternoon. Kind of a fun story.

New posts

I've posted two new posts so be sure to scroll down to see both of them. One is from our trip to the Blue Mountains and the other is just some recent pics of Piper. Happy reading!

Blue Mountains

Our friend Darin was in town for work recently so we decided to go away to the Blue Mountains last weekend. We rented this charming little cottage for two nights. It was cold up there, so much so that Piper got a wear her scarf and mittens. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Rick, Piper & Darin rocking out to the player piano doing a medley from "Oklahoma"

The Three Sisters

We took this train not knowing how steep it was going to be. Just make sure you hang on tightly to anything valuable.

This used to be a coal mine and then they built a passenger car to get down into the mine and the forests.

Misty and Piper at the bottom of the railroad ride

At the bottom of the railroad

Rick and Darin

In the leafy treetops

We took this cablecar gondola back up the mountain.

Do you like my hat?

Life is an adventure...

Piper's first carousel ride


Taking a break to read a book


Piper has learned to sit in her chair by herself so I came in find her hiding behind her crib. while having a read


Here is Piper trying out one of the community tricycles at the park.


She couldn't figure out how to make it go but she was sure excited to be sitting on this car.


Piper liked "hiding" from me inside this jungle gym. Every once in a while she'd stick her head out to play peekaboo.

Random photos

We're all doing well down here in Sydney. This week is APEC (Asia-Pac Economic Conference) so the city is in security-mode with lots of world leaders coming to town. Pres. Bush gets here tomorrow. I'm assuming we'll hear lots of helicopters near the house on Wednesday since he's having lunch at Garden Island, the Aussie naval base, that's just a few blocks from our apartment.

Piper loves going to her playgroup. We go together on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to play, dance, paint, and see her friends. She is always clammering to get in the gate when we show up. It's a good outlet for her and a great way to have her interact with other kids. The weather's warming up a bit too so she can play outside more. We tried fingerpaints on the balcony last week but without a whole lot of interest on Piper's part.

Piper is signing up a storm; she knows close to twenty signs now and learns very quickly. This past week she learned the sign for "pear." She is talking more and more too. Yesterday we asked her, "What's your name?" and she replied, "Piper." We'd heard her say her name before but never when you asked her her name.

On another note, yesterday was Australian Father's Day so we had a roast beef dinner and homemade ice cream sandwiches since we didn't celebrate the American Father's Day. Rick got a book and drawing from Piper and a magazine rack from me. Plus, on Saturday we ordered some patio furniture. That way we can sit and eat out on the balcony.

So, here are recent pics of the Pipes. Some are a hoot.

This is Piper and Shann, our friend Hwee-Hong and Liane's little girl. They were in Sydney recently on vacation.

This is Piper getting her second haircut. Rick's stylist Gayna did it for her, although her hair has already grown enough to almost warrant another cut.

Piper currently is loving pears again. This is her eating one like an ice cream cone.

Piper is sitting in the concierge's chair just for fun. Chris, one of our concierges, is on the right.

Piper got into a box of See's chocolate when Rick and I weren't watching. What a mess! She's like her mom though; she loves chocolate for breakfast. It's a good thing we found her before she got her hands all over our yellow couch.