No Place Like Travel

Chinese New Year takes on a different meaning with a little one. So much more fuss is made and to see well worn events through the eyes of a little one is just magical. Spending it with family is so very special, more than words can ever describe. The lunar new year is always a turning of the page. New luck and fortune, a new chapter. Change will come and may we have the courage and compassion to accept things as they are.

A prosperous red start to the new year

Our little china doll

Thanks for the ang pow Gong Gong and Poh Poh

Happy year of the goat!

My heart melts 

Everyone say cheese!

Show me the money says Squee

Special parking

Let it rain down under the money tree

Under cover moment

Finally the drums start to roll

Not scared at all as Gong Gong keeps his hand on his heart

Loving the dragon dance

Completely captivated

Walking the halls, meeting and greeting

Delicious dim sum lunch at Lucky Chan

Perfect Melbourne sunshine day

Celebration

Chance meeting

Off for a walk

Exploring the Yarra

And a quick shop at the Docklands

Home is where the family is

Delicious dinner whipped up by dad

So very true

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Hanging out locally and at The Local. Morning hungry hippo breakfast down Main Street, followed by a walk by the beach back home. Then another day of photo scanning and digitizing of memories. A seemingly endless Sisyphusean project. Bath time and bed time sneaks up and the little one is put to bed and grandparents are on babysitting duty. We sneak off to drinks and dinner at The Local with the sisters plus two. Another great day in Melbourne. 

Breakfast on Main Street

Shark attack

Light entertainment

Then back to work

Some of the helpers are slacking off! 

The truth…

…on tap

One sister…

Two sisters…

…six tubs of ice cream. Sounds fair!

Yesterday’s post: Photos

Tomorrow’s post:

The generational gap is best exemplified by preferences for photos. I like them digital where there is no need to categorize them, put them in photo albums, or worry that may disappear in a flood or fire. They are there at your fingertips (cloud access willing) and digital photos are even capable of telling you where they were taken. Crazy Daisy falls in the other camp. Mum likes the feel of a photo, the flip of the page, the ability to show them to her friends in a nicely laid out book. So we’ve spent the better part of the day sequencing and sorting baby photos and putting them into albums. I have to admit there is something nice and satisfying about the end product, a book that pages through Baby Boy O’s first few months. 

So very Melbourne. Best coffee culture in the world

Smooches with…

…my little space cadet

Off she goes to audit the shops with her carer

Sorting photos

Such precious moments captured

But nothing is a good as the real thing!

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I remember summer days like these where we would feel slow and lethargic. As a kid the days would feel so very long and the sun shone so very hot. The breeze offers no relief. The ding of the bell announcing recess was over was a welcome sound just to escape the outdoors. That smell of grass and sunshine and baking dirt. Now, given we are all grown up, we jump in the car and escape to Southland to get out of the heat.

Who are these crazy people?!

It’s so hot I’m melting

Lunch at Southland

Baby Boy O is in on the action with a fistful of hot cross buns

Only last week Stinky and I were wondering what happened to Sarah and Michelle. The universe has a funny way of bringing people together

Evening walk with my honey

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Our days are packed with so many activities that by night’s end we are exhausted. It’s a lovely feeling, days so full of things I want to do, people to see and places to be. Poor English Hubby has been working at home whilst Baby Boy O and I scoot all over town. Today we took our first Melbourne train ride together, off to Richmond to meet Cookes for lunch. Aunty Cycle Janice and Uncle Nurse Kev came over for laksa dinner and chats on Darwinism at its best. Add a couple of bags of chips, Vietnamese sweeties, fresh cut mango and a tub of salted caramel ice cream and tummies are way full before bed. 

What?! No more food?

Introducing Baby Boy O to Melbourne public transportation

Someone loves looking out the window

Richmond

Don’t you know I’m famous?

Had to try this place because it had Rambo in its name

Loving the present from Poh Poh

Loving the doughy sweetness of a bao more!

Cuddles with Cycle Janice

Build it up just to tear it down

More to add to the baby bank account. Thank you!

Pre bath time feeding frenzy continues

What are the rest of you having?

Sisters (junior)

Sisters (senior)

Yesterday’s post: Building

Tomorrow’s post:

Reno Charlie and Opera Cat have been renovating their place for years. Seeing it come together is beautiful. A happy place, full of life and light. Just like their lovely family. Building takes years. Gardens take time to grow, then taste so very sweet. We look forward to the dinner party with the long rustic table that stretches from the deck, through the window and into the garden. Cheers. 

Made with love – 5am and Gong Gong is in the kitchen

Watching the world go by through a curtain of rain

Loving every spoonful

Baby Boy O skyping with all the grandparents

Over the West Gate Bridge

Lego nose job

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Playing pick up toys with Opera Cat

What can you do with a plum?

Master builders

Youngest foodie on the block

Like peas in a pod

Big game in play

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Much sporting excitement tonight with Murray playing Krygios in the quarter finals of the Australian Open. Crazy Daisy is worth her weight in gold, especially when she turned to English Hubby and declares, “tonight are enemies”! Unfortunately there are no remaining Aussies in the competition, and mum has also lost her lover boy, Federer, so the field is wide open for her vocal support. 

Off to see the ducks (part 2)

Brunch at Main Street with my boys

Noshing on roast beef and vegetable purée with Turkish bread

Off to the beach

For a wind swept walk…

…and family selfie

Chasing seagulls

C’mon gimme a hug!

Pre game dash for munchies

England v Australia

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In a blink of an eye 20 years flies by. Cousins grow up, new families are created, and conversations move from Barbies and Lego to house prices, grandsons and worldly travels. They say it’s always about journey, but when you’re on that path every day it is hard to notice the gradual change. Then all of a sudden over afternoon tea the passing of time becomes evident and more memories are made.

The look of pure joy

Love bug

Catching up over a cosmopolitan afternoon tea

Playing duck with Grand Aunty S

This is how we roll

Captivated by the cuckoo

Theory of relativity…Energy = Memories and Cousins Squared

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I’m reminded of why Melbourne is known to have ‘four seasons in one day’. It has threatened to rain since the morning, with intermittent sprinklings under an ominous looking sky. Nevertheless we pushed on and managed to fit in a walk to the local coffee shop this morning, muffins and coffee on a park bench, lunch and cupcakes at Soniana’s place, zoo dancing, the case of a missing trailer, and a walk to the park to play. It has been a wonderful day with wonderful friends. This is what make it feel like home. 

Braving the weather

One cappuccino with two sugars and a decaf soy latte please

Muffin break

Baby Boy O gets his little super puff snacks

Coffee break and cuddle with Smelly

Making butterfly cupcakes from scratch

I want…

…CUPCAKE!

English Hubby doing some light reading and seeing the error of his ways

Making lunch, with olives too!

Loving the attention

Off to the park

The most amazing women in the world, reunited

Cheeky bunnies – one hard head, one dibber dobber, one five year old going on fifteen and one smiley olive eating princess

This picture says it all

Soniana always knew this day would come

Capping off a perfect day with dinner at The Local with Scoobes and Fatty Patty

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Airline tickets are now booked. In December we will depart on the next leg of our nomadic lives, with stops in London, Singapore, Bali, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and back to Dallas to resume our road trip. 91 days hopping countries, and continents via plane. Lugging baggage and adjusting to time zones with a little one in tow. All I can say is thank goodness for our brilliant travel agent who helped us through a monumental booking exercise – juggling a multi-city gig, making flight times as reasonable as possible and planning with precision to avoid rush hour traffic en route. As John “Hannibal” Smith of the A-Team genre use to say, I love it when a plan comes together. 

Really looking forward to quality time with family and friends all round the world. 

• Thanksgiving in Dallas: ~24 Nov to 1 Dec
• Christmas in London: 1 Dec to 27 Dec
• Years’ end in Singapore: 28 Dec to 31 Dec
• Wedding in Bali: 31 Dec to 7 Jan
• Sun n Surf in Sydney: 7 Jan to 13 Jan
• Chinese New Year in Melbourne: 13 Jan to 23 Feb
• Hanging out in Hong Kong: 23 Feb to 28 Feb
• Lounging around Los Angeles: 28 Feb to 2 Mar
• Returning to the RV in Dallas: 2 Mar onwards, heading east

Planing frenzy: Tickets – check. Travel insurance – check. Request for bulk head bassinet seats – in progress. Visas – to do…