Hello family. I have been meaning to do this post for a LONG time and now I'm doing it. So let me take you back to January 2010...Sydney...no, let's not do that! Anyway as you all know we couldn't quite get it happening down there in Sydney. I guess we really are the country hicks we never wanted to be after all. But very happy hicks! So here we are back in "The Shire" (local name for Northern Rivers). We settled very quickly back into family life and have no regrets about being home. Mia and Henry are doing very... Continue reading

We are home! We had an amazing trip, saw so many things and did so much it's hard to remember it all at the moment so I'm glad we have the blog to remind us. I have to say our best memories are the time we spent with our family. Being at Jenn and Jon's and visiting the farm. Before we left we had a Slater family get together...thank you so much. And a visit to the farm, it was pretty windy and cold out there. To add to the excitement seven horses got loose from a nearby farm and... Continue reading

Yes we are still here...sorry it has taken so long to post this, we have been chilling out (excuse the pun). So we went to Billy Elliot before we left NYC and LOVED it! We left NYC with mixed feelings but we were excited to get on the train to Canada. The train was awesome, so relaxing and roomy. Sorry these photo's are not in any order but there is an explanation for each of them and I hope it makes sense. Henry and Mia get room service (Quebec) while Rick and Rachelle enjoy a night out. From our hotel... Continue reading

We are in our final days in New York (boo hoo) and feel like we are just getting comfortable here. It's an amazing place, we are already talking about another longer trip! The last few days we have been to the Bronx Zoo and The Brooklyn Childrens Museum. Sadly it was too cold for some of the animals to be outside but it's a beautiful zoo with lots of inside exhibits so it was still lots of fun. This ia an example of the cool habitats at the zoo, they are indoors and huge. They had some ice sculpting going... Continue reading

Merry Christmas! Our first real Christmas tree. The kids stockings - we left Henry's stocking at home so Mia and I went and got some fabric and Rick made him this awesome orange stocking! Opening presents... Christmas cheer! After lunch we walked up to Prospect Park. Had the obligatory snow fight... Made some Christmas videos... And took the opportunity to take some family shots. We had a great Christmas. Much love to you all...see you in the New Year. Continue reading

Warning: Lots of photos. We've had some snow. This is our street the night of the storm. And the entry to our apartment! And then the next day. Most people came out and shovelled early so you could walk around, luckily it was Sunday so they had a day to clean before the working week started. The following day it was horribly cold so we decided to head for the beach! Coney Island. Here is Mia and Henry heading for Nathans, birthplace of the hot dog. I don't think Mia was too impressed... Then she got into the swing of... Continue reading

We've had a bit a delay in posting due to a big snow storm we had, I think it stuffed up our internet so we were without it for a few days. The snow is beautiful, the biggest storm in NYC since 1996 so we were lucky to catch it although it was a huge clean up! We had people skiing down our street! Anyway this is what we were up to before the storm. We took Henry to a very cool park near the MET, made of all natural materials, wood concrete and steel. He really needed a good... Continue reading

Rick and Mia headed out for the day on Monday to go to The MET but alas it was closed so they spent the day seeing this and that, taking some photo's, long walk through Central Park, general father/daughter bonding. They saw this awesome black squirrel and were very excited! Mia "Gossip Girl Steps" Mia looking like a real New Yorker with her coffee. Tuesday we took the kids to the Museum of Natural History. Mia's favorite scene was The Moose. T- Rex as in Night at the Museum. This lady was really cool. She showed us how to use... Continue reading

We made it to NYC safe and sound, had a great flight and a beautiful clear day so Mia got a good view of Manhattan (Henry slept through it). After we settled in to the apartment, which is great and in an excellent spot, half a block to loads of shops and restaurants, we went up to eat lunch, then got the subway into Manhattan. We lasted about 2hrs, went to a little market in Union Square, then the amazing Barnes and Noble! Our apartment. Mia's birthday breakfast! Henry in the subway. Doggy bag. 5th Ave Mia wanted to go... Continue reading

We had about seven inches of snow overnight. When we got up this morning it was -18 degrees Celsius. Jon and Rick took the boys to the BIG hill on the sleds. School was cancelled so there were plenty of kids there. This afternoon Jon had the day off work so we all went to Discovery World. Here is Mia on the Flight Simulator - her plane landed nose first! Rick lost a wing and landed upside down. Bed of Nails!!! Producing electricity. A photo of Mia's hand transferred onto a screen of bubbles. After we all went to a... Continue reading

Okay post one. Well first we went to the airport. Thanks Hugo and Ellen! Time to go. Rick's flying face. First thing on the first morning we get introduced to "The WebKinz" (latest toy obsession). Thanks Sara. Little bit of snow when we arrived. Guess what the kids are doing? Setting up the tent in the basement. Jenn and Jon took us to the Country Valley Inn to see the Christmas lights. Christmas Light Tunnel Cousins in a sleigh. Would you really want to touch it anyway? Barb and Tom come to visit!! Gracious host, Jon. Party boy! Lose the... Continue reading