Day before Christmas

The boys are waiting for Santa.


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Sean's 2009 X-mas List

A detect a theme...

Trout for dinner

Huckleberry Pond. The only fishing hole where a five year can fish without getting board.



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All American Melidrama

Merry Tixmas Party from the local playhouse...





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Happy to be at Nory's

Marisol and Kyle came down to see an Imagination Movers show this weekend. On Sunday we wnt to Nory's for dinner.


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Motocross riding on NV

I went on a motocross adventure tour today. For $300 they provide a KTM 525 motocross bike equipment and a personal guide as well as transportation to and from. The guides a very knowledgeable about the trails and tailor your ride based on your ability level.



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Thanksgiving at the Wenk's

We spent Thanksgiving at the Wenk's in Las Vegas. Marisol and Rob put on a great table with Polish dumplings and a huge 22.5 lb turkey. On Friday, the women were all about the shopping so the men and children went to the Bass Pro's Shops to see stuffed wildlife.









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Warren goes Mtn Biking

I took my nephew, Warren, mountain biking at Carbon Canyon State Park. He made it all the way to the tables. It is still called "The Tables" even though there is only one table that survived the Yorba Linda fires two years ago. I rode along side him and pushed him in the back until our bars overlapped and he went down. Ouch.


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Steven's B-day Party

Sean's school buddy, Steven, had his birthday at Valley View Lanes. The bowling venue is always a best bet. Here's a sample of the boys having a great time...

Sean' B-Day Lunch

So I took a minute out of my day and drove from Burbank to deliver Sean his favorite lunch - pizza and nachos with rootbeer. The principal and the school librarian both made a point to come over and comment that Sean is a super reader and is really doing well with the computerized accelerated reading program.


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Meghan and Sean

After homework is done the kids link up their DS's and race Mario Carts. Meghan just got hers for her birthday in Aug. I put one of the R4 cards in it that we got in Hong Kong earlier in the year. Now I am haunted at odd times by the sound track to Bomberman. Ugh.


Here we are at Seal Beach on one of many trips over the last few years. We didn't get to go as often this year now that I am working full time.


Meghan and I enjoy going fishing on Sunday's. (notice she is wearing a dress). She likes to reel them in and chase the ducks and rabbits. But beware the ugly turkey. He isn't right in the head.


Sean is eating a rare Peruvian delicacy of yucca frita con crema de huacaina at Nory's.


Here is Meghan at Cawthon Elem Sch during one of Sean's Soccer practices.


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Halloween

We had a great Halloween. We did trick or treat on the way to the park where they had games and stuff. We came home with a couple of gold fish among other edible and non-edible things. The last fish we got from there lasted almost two years!

SEan's B-day at Farrels

We all went to Farrels IceCream Parlor in Mission Viejo for Sean's birthday.



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Mr Thomas ('lil T)

So we got a new dog - Mr Thomas. He is little and black and nice. The kids love him and after only one day has settled in nicely.

Perth Animal Park

After coming back from Hong Kong, we went to the Caversham Animal Park to pet indigenous Australian life.

Here at the Caversham Wild Animal part in Western Autralia, you aren't just feeding the animals. You are fattening them up!

This is a Wombat, 'nuff said.

This is an Emu. Emu's are equal parts unfriendly, curious, and unintelligent. This EMU snatched a lady's camera right from her hand. "Stupid is as stupid does." Fortunately, the lady called a volunteer who retrieved her camera and suggested a little payback below.

We went to the beach in Perth. Sean is sporting the latest sun protection. With the help of a little 30spf goo, we managed to avoid sunburn. The sun is brutal down under. The temperature was very mild - a little warmer than Socal.

Thus ends our little trip to the AU. This is one destination we would like to revisit. With Yermack help, organization, and drive, we really did accomplish a lot. Our Hong Kong mini-trip was really amazing and not something to pass up.

We also left a lot on the table like Ayer's Rock, Manly Beach, Barrier Reef, Blue Mountains, Melbourne, and the Perth Aquarium. The geographic scope is amazingly large. Doing these back to back would be the US equivalent of visiting Disneyland in CA and then the White House.

We made it back to the US fine. Now the challenge is to get the kids back on the right time. Sean was up all night - 27hours! Ok, gotta go wake them up and keep 'em up.

Dog police come for Wilson

So the Dog Police (SEAC) came to the house b/c Wilson has no license. They were going to fine Dad who is watching Wilson! Poor Wilson. I called them multiple times without success. They never called me back!

Hong Kong Trip part 3

Our last meal in Time Square HK. Kids are somewhat few and far between outside of a school. Our group withh 6 kids all under 10 is a unique thing we were met with acceptance such as in this case where we had our own private dining room, or we were given the brush-off. 3 hours after this picture, we were on a flight back to Perth. This meal was the best we had in HK. Each meal we had was better than the last. Everything is about 50% the cost in US. So we had many extravegant meals for reasonable prices.

Once on the Peak in the center of the shopping mall, we hit the stores and tourist shopped. The girl had a twenty minute meltdown that attracted the attention of everyone in a 100meter radius. Her fit was so violent that a Japanese tourist had to assist me with the stroller down the steps.

On the Peak, a sign outside the Burger King takes "mind the gap" subway warning to a new level. There are funny signs like this everywhere in the land of Engrish. This guy looks like he is about to take a digger.

So the girls went fabric shopping in Schenchen. That left David and I with all six kids. We are stuggling up the hill to the Zoo and the park by the Peak Tram. The kids make things a little more difficult with endless trips to the washroom and constant bickering; but they also live in the moment and really enjoy the smaller things that make the trip more fun.

Hong Kong Trip part deux

On the ferry the girls hang out the side and watch the boat wake. The weather was overcaste with the clouds touching the tops of the sky-scrapers. The weather was about 20C with 90% humidity. I was in a constant cold sweat.

Here we are standing on the elevated walkway to the Ferry to Kowloon and watching Hong Kong grow. The water front is being pushed out all the time. Nealy all the banks and buildings are insolvent, but the economic momentum still drives growth.


On the way back from the night markets we took the subway. Sean is watching a man play his PSP.

This is the primary park in Kowloon accross the bay from HK big island. Along the perimeter of the park are the tailors and markets most associated with HK shopping. When the kids would stray off the paths, the security would correct them faster than we could as parents. No sitting on steps or laying down on park benches. And keep off the grass!

Hong Kong Trip

The girl and I are waiting for the subway... We made an effort to use all the different forms of mass transit. I have been on subways in many different cities and countries.

HK has one too, but it is like no other. The trains are so long that the gradual curvature of the track prevents you from seeing one end of the train to the other. The train cars are connected seemlessly. Larger and more quiet, clean, fast, and efficient than anything I have ever experienced.

The is a 100 year old trolly system which is virtually free on the streets. The taxis are standardized and regulated. The expressways are all elevated. The buses have right of way. The ferries criss-cross the bay as if in some weirdly timed dance. All the while people stream to and from city orifices and buildings.

The insides of the buildings are as extreme as the outside. This is the inside of HSC bank building downtown. After all 11 of us going up the escalator and taking a few quick photos, we had to explain to police what we were doing seeing that we were not bank customers. 98% of the people in HK are Chinese. There are some ex-pats, but very few relative to the whole population.


There are many parks in Hong Kong. They are often not kid friendly and consist of paths and gardens with security and fences. At this fountain in the Charter Park we are trying to line up the kids for a group photo that never came together.

The architecture is absolutely astounding. Tall and slender is the starting concept. And there is construction going on all around all the time. Old buildings crumble in the 90% humidity while brand new building are constructed immediately next to them. There seems to be no regulation or plan. Pure capitalism unleashed and expressed



Here we hit the streets of Hong Kong mounted on our virtually indestructable family urban assault vehicle - the Pergo Peregonator. Hong Kong has over 20 Million people on a mountainous island the size of Rhode Island.

There is shopping mall after shopping mall and resataurant after restaurant. We could eat at a different restaurant every meal for a year and never see the same person twice!

Perth Day Two

Yesterday we went to the beach... twice! Actually, it was just the beach by the river. The water wasn't quit sea water and not quit fresh. Perth is in Western Australia. It is a semi-tropical climate with all the associated vegitation and wild inhabitants. The culture can be summed in two words - Wild West.

So we went to the Perth Zoo today. It was a great zoo. They had all the animals plus kangaroos that you can pet. It was just the Mahoney's out and about today as the Yerm's had school. Tomorrow we go to Hong Kong first thing in the morning.

So long Sydney and hello Perth.

The Sydney run-down...

There was limited connectivity at the Hotel in Sydney, so I had limited time to write. And the internet is a little slow here in Perth so I won't be uploading many pics until I can get it working a little faster. I uploaded some pictures complete with smart remarks on my Facebook account.

Friday:
The girls left at 7am to go climb the bridge. The kids and I were up at 8 and, surprisingly, the Yerm's weren't. We went down by ourselves and had a great b-fast at Kaz's. Sean had a nutritious b-fast of hot chocolate, hash browns and a chocolate muffin. The girl had thick toast, bacon, and some eggs. I had (horns blare) - Big Breakfast.. and a "flat white". Awesome.

After a little exploring, we picked up the Yerms, breezed through the McDonalds for b-fast, and then on to the Aquarium. The aquarium is good but a little over commercialized with photo op.s and concessions trying to bilk you out small change.

The big tank has a number of different fish. Apparently, part of the exhibit is the demonstration of the food chain as some of the fish were eating and fighting over eating other fish in exhibit. Shocking! The kids found this added dimension very interesting. I have never seen a sea turtle eat a fish's head before.

We then waited until the girls finished the bridge tour and met up with us outside the aquarium. We lunched at the end of Darling Harbor and on to the touristy shopping mall there. Outside the mall we spent some time playing in the fountain. That of course ended badly as the children apply the rules of "something worth doing is worth over-doing until your parents yell at you."

Saturday:
David and I climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It wasn't strenuous. But it was warm and we had to wear funky overalls. They were even funkier at the end of the 3 hour tour. While on the bridge, the James Craig Tall Ship we had toured the day before at the Maritime Museum sailed underneath us.

The Roch wasn't feeling well that day. So we hustled back to the hotel to find kids in various stages of punishment and isolation.

We gathered everyone up and went to Museum Station Cafe in Hyde Park for lunch. Then we proceeded through the park to the Barrack's Museum where the girl had a huge 20 minute meltdown in front of all the tourists on the street. I calmly cleaned my Oakleys and read a book. Then the storm passed and it was as if nothing happened.

The Police Museum which was closed during the week was open and we toured the Femme Fatale Exhibit. That last part might have been a little ambitious, as the adults could hardly keep their eyes open and the kids were running amuck. Then back to the hotel to gather enought courage to go to dinner.

Seeing that it was my birthday, the choice was left to me. I chose a place that nobody liked and was too far away. Silvia didn't even eat anything, the kids were tired, and we got caught in huge thunder shower which soaked us to the bone. Then to avoid the storm, I opted to take the monorail the two stops which cost $35aud! meh.

Sunday:
On Sunday was a large St Patrick's Day parade down George Street in Sydney. We'd gotten a late start. So getting to Manly or Bondi Beaches was a little ambitious. David describes it as "facing the tyranny of the clock." That left us with the lowest common denominator option of shopping at Darling Harbor. We had lunch in tourist packed food court there, made it back by 3:15pm, collected our baggage, and left for the airport about 3:30pm. No worries. We took our shoes off in airport security at the airport and received funny looks from officials there. Meh.

The girl slept most of the flight and only awoke to vomit all over mom and the lady next to her. But the flight crew descended on the scene like in Monster's Inc when they find that sock.

So we made it no problem to Perth. Did I mention it is 30 degrees here and the houses are made of brick? E-Z-bake ovens. The accommodations are great and the kids slept with mom. Bonus!

The Yerm kids are off to school and we are lazying around this morning. I want to go to the beach. It is expected to be around 32 C today with high humidity and sunburns eminent.