Our 1st Weekend

Most of our Australian friends work - as they do. So, we tried to spend as much time as possible with them on the weekends. On our first weekend there, we started out at Grannie's and visited with little Harley for awhile. The boys played well together, though Harley isn't as versed at playing with other kids as my boys are (of course, mine always have each other anyway!). Grannie broke out her Russian dolls - so Jed broke out a big smile.
Here's Harley sitting on Grannie's lap.
Harley was pretty happy watching Jed play with the dolls. Then, he took off with the biggest one, and Grannie couldn't figure out where it was (apparently, Harley is a hider - he hides lots of things!) until the next day when we came back!
Grannie told us about a train show in Hughes, so we took the boys - why not? At the train show, they had this ride-on train thing, so all three of my boys got on it. Is it me, or does Roger just look too big?? Lots of other parents were riding too, though...glad it was Roger and not me!
Now, for the most exciting part of Jed's weekend...time with Uncle John. When we got back out to John's farm (where we were staying), John met us there, and he was finally able to fulfill Jed's wish of taking a ride in the Ferrari. Yes, our friend John has a Ferrari. When Jed first saw it the day we arrived, he went nuts (Jed's a bit of a car buff). He couldn't wait to go for a ride in it.

But, John flipped a coin to see which of the boys would go first, and Kit got lucky. So, here's Kit in the Ferrari. It was short-lived as he started crying as soon as John started backing out of the garage. I mean, hey, he's only 3...
Once Kit was out, Jed couldn't get in fast enough! It struck me rather funny that we were using a booster seat to ride in a Ferrari! So, Kit was out, and Jed was in, and could he have a bigger grin??
I thought that they were just going for a spin around the farm (John has a labyrinth of roads there), but they were gone for awhile. I think that John took Jed into town and stopped and chatted with some people (as John does - we joke that he's the mayor of Canberra!). He knows everyone. But, here is Jed upon returning from his ride - just as pleased as when he left.
On Sunday, Roger and I wanted to do some markets (we had to replace some dishes, etc.), so Grannie and Auntie Rena offered to take the boys for what we thought was the morning, but they actually wanted to take them all day to the zoo and aquarium. It didn't take Roger and I long to dash out before they changed their minds! Woo-hoo! The markets were SO much easier without the boys. So, we had the whole day to ourselves - something we haven't had in a LONG time - it was so nice.

That evening, Grannie & Auntie Rena had organized a dinner at APK (Australian Pizza Kitchen) so we could celebrate the boys' birthdays since they had missed them. The whole "Australian family" showed up. Here is Skye (Rena's daughter), Rena, and Jed.
Here's Skye (Harley's mom) and Harley with his new pirate hat.
Kit has really come out of his shell lately. He was so excited that we were having a party for him and for Jed. Grannie even came equipped with party hats and ribbons to wear for them.
Jed was pretty happy about it too, though a little more composed...
And, of course, Grannie made cakes for each of them. Here Kit has just finished blowing out his candles.
And, Jed blowing out his candles...
We asked the waitress to take a picture with all of us in it before we left...starting with Jed in the bottom left corner and working our way around the table left to right: Jed, Grannie Jay, Auntie Agnes, Rena, me, Granger, Roger, Kit, John, Clayton (Harley's dad), Skye, and Harley.