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.

Phuket

Now on to Phuket. Our stay here was wonderful. Mom's friend Theera at the JW Marriott made sure that we were taken care of. The hotel is pretty isolated from the rest of the island but we made several day trips and also took advantage of things we could do at the hotel. One day we went sailing and got to see the insides of several caves which led to private lagoons and had interesting rock formations. We also went swimming in the Gulf of Phuket which is full of little islands. Among those islands is James Bond Island where they filmed one of the Bond flicks (ask my dad, he'll know which one.)

On another day we took a tour of the island and saw a Buddhist temple, Promthep Cape, and took in the nightlife of Patong. I preferred our part of the island best.

While in Phuket Rick and I got a babysitter a few nights for Piper and enjoyed dinner at the hotel's great restaurants. One day I took a Thai cooking class at the hotel, as well as a luxuriant massage and facial.

The rain didn't affect our plans all that much. The first day we arrived in Phuket it rained so we couldn't go swimming. However, the hotel is very family-friendly and so we took Piper to the Children's Pavilion to play with other kids and toys.

Our last day in Phuket we went snorkeling at Khai Island which is where all of the sea turtles go to lay their eggs. They try to keep most of the islands protected for the wildlife. The Marriott is located on Mai Khao (pronounced "my cow") beach which is a shelter for sea turtles.

As for all of you who are interested in how the island has recovered from the tsunami, Rick and I both agree that if you hadn't known that there had been a tsunami three years ago, you wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe that's just because we'd never been there before but from what locals tell us, things have gotten back to normal pretty quickly.

On a side note: Thai drivers are crazy. They drive in the shoulder lane, don't yield, and go too fast. I'm glad that we weren't the ones driving. Oh, and car seats for babies are not de rigeur.

Piper smelling a flower from our welcome leis at the hotel

View of our hotel room from the bathroom

Another view of our room


JW Marriott at sunset

This is the market I visited with my cooking class. In the forefront are bags of quail eggs for sale.

This is Khun Theera (Mom's friend) and me at my cooking class.


Anyone for Thai food?


Out to dinner at the hotel's awesome beach-side steakhouse


Out sailing in the Gulf of Phuket


Check out those amazing watermarks on these cave walls.

The rocks and foliage were so beautiful around all of the little islands.

Piper facing off with Captain Mark

My favorite picture of the whole trip. Piper decided that she wanted to steer and just took ahold of the helm. She looks like she knows what she's doing and is very determined.

Rick and Piper at Wat Chalong

Sunset at Promthep Cape

Grabbing a snack at Promthep Cape

This shot would have been beautiful but the clouds hid most of the sunset.

Taking a tuk-tuk taxi after a long day

This is a gigantic millipede I found on the garden path to our hotel room.

Rick and Piper swimming with friends in the kid's pool

Rick and Piper on the waterslide

Piper playing in the sand while Rick got a foot massage

Piper is ready for a sunset swim on Mai Khao beach. The waves were very strong here; it was all I could do to keep her from running in head first.

We could see elephants every day on Mai Khao, offering rides to the kids.

This is Rick and Piper on the day we went snorkeling. Notice the fishing boat in the background. We all got a little sunburn this last day.

The whole family at the hotel after a light dinner

One Night in Bangkok (or a week)

During our recent vacation to Thailand we went to Bangkok and Phuket. Below are some pictures from our six days in Bangkok. While there we hired a tour guide, who was awesome. She took us to a Buddhist temple, the floating markets, the Tiger temple, the Bridge on the River Kwai, and a few other short stops. We also visited the Golden Palace, Wat Pho, and the Chatuchak market.

We learned a lot about Thai social mores. Women aren't allowed to touch monks. You can get arrested for saying something negative about the king. You never touch anyone's head, even a child's. And when visiting a Buddhist temple you should be respectfully dressed (no shorts, sleeveless shirts, or shoes) and never point your feet at the Buddha, but instead kneel down.

Rick got a couple of suits custom-made, cheap. And it only took them four days too! Piper got SO much attention from the Thai people. We all had such a great time together.

Our hotel room at the Peninsula

Our bedroom at the hotel


The hotel boat that we'd take across the Chao Praya river


Rick and Piper at Siam Paragon, a luxury shopping center


Misty and Piper in a "pirate" boat. We finally understood that they were saying "private" boat.


Rick and Victor during a fitting for Rick's tailor-made suit


At the Golden Palace grounds



Temple of the "Emerald" Buddha. The Buddha is actually made of jade, and he has his "clothes" changed three times a year in a royal ceremony.


The Golden Palace where the King and Queen used to live


Rick and Piper taking a walk on the Golden Palace grounds


A "tuk-tuk" taxi. We didn't take one of these in Bangkok but we did in Phuket.

Rick and Piper at Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Piper smiling despite the heat

With Tong, our tour guide

A wooden temple that was found by a woman decades ago but they never found out who built it.

At the floating markets

Traffic jam!

We got a short private tour of a china factory. All of this is hand-painted and is the special china that the King of Thailand uses.

Petting the tiger cubs at the Tiger temple

Yep, that's me petting a full-grown tiger.

Rick and Piper petting the tiger too.

Piper got in on the action too.

Feeding the monkeys bananas on the side of the road

Mama and baby eating bananas

At the Bridge on the River Kwai

Rick carrying Piper into the Chatuchak weekend market, which has 8,000 different stalls

At the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American that re-ignited the art of handmade silk and then he mysteriously went missing.

Piper enjoying a Virgin Colada at the Peninsula hotel pool

Rick and Piper in the hotel pool

Catching some rays together at the pool. Piper loves the water.