I received my cousin Natalee's photos from her trip down here in March. She took some amazing shots. I've uploaded a few for your viewing pleasure.
Me and my girl waiting for the bus
That's one tired chiquita.
First snorkel attempt
Natalee and Piper enjoying the reef view together
A lone mangrove
Petting a koala at the Koala Park SanctuaryPiper and Rick were playing with her puzzles the other day while I was doing something in another room. Piper came knocking on the door and Rick told me that I needed to come out and see what was going on. This is what I found.
The kid at the end makes me laugh so hard. His Aussie accent is just priceless, and spot on.
Exchange 1
Misty: What do you want to eat Piper?
Piper: Fruit.
Misty: Okay, a banana?
Piper: Yeah.
(After eating the banana) Misty: What else do you want to eat?
Piper: Fruit.
Misty: How about an apple?
Piper: No, fruit.
Misty: Raisins?
Piper: Yeah.
Exchange 2
(Piper sees a cat eating)
Piper: Mouw.
Misty: Yes, a cat. What do cats eat?
Piper: Cereal.
In Piper's defense, dry cat food does look like cereal.
Exchange 3
(After Piper tasted some canned pumpkin pie filling)
Piper: Mmm, more, I like.
In an attempt to entertain Piper one afternoon I pulled out our game of Yatzhee. I taught her how to shake the dice and say Yahtzee! while lifting her arms in victory a la Grandma Dody. She's got it down pretty good I'd say.
Piper has been on a bit of a naughty tear lately. She's normally a fairly mild-mannered, obedient child. She says please, thank you, and excuse me regularly with hardly a reminder. However, of late she hasn't been listening very well, has had several tantrums and subsequent time-outs, and has taken a liking to screeching when upset or frustrated, or sometimes just for fun.
Last night while I was making her dinner she drew with a black crayon all over one of our cloth-covered dining room chairs. She was being somewhat supervised so the drawing didn't last long at all. She got a time-out immediately and was actually happy to help clean the mess afterwards. Thankfully all of the black marks came out - good thing for her.
Rick's been a bit saddened by Piper's orneriness because she's been withholding hugs and kisses from him. Let's hope that this whiny, contrary phase is short-lived.
Last Friday was ANZAC Day which is equivalent to the U.S. Memorial Day. Rick got the day off so we took the opportunity to go to a rugby match in the afternoon. We went to see the Roosters vs. the Dragons. A guy who used to be in our ward is a first string player for the Roosters. It was great to see a live game. Mindy and Zoey came along. The girls had a good time. The match was the perfect length (an hour and forty-five minutes) so the girls actually didn't get too bored.
In the morning Piper and I went to the Powerhouse Museum. We had lots of fun, so much that I didn't get any pictures of Piper playing there. We saw full-sized planes, trains, we learned about electricity and the environment. It was good that we left when we did because it got crazy with kids (we went during the school break).
The last two pictures are of Piper this past Wednesday at the World's Largest Playgroup. All over Australia playgroups had big activities in their local areas. We went to the one for the Eastern Suburbs. They had free facepainting, cake and juice, arts & crafts, and an obstacle course. Piper and I waited for half an hour to get her face painted. She was surprisingly patient. She wanted to get a dinosaur on her face but the lady didn't know how to do a dinosaur. So instead Piper got a tiger just like Peppa Pig from TV did. She would tell me "roar."
