Hailey and the Spelling Bee

Hailey at the Spelling Bee

Last year, as a 3rd grader, Hailey qualified for the school spelling bee but threw such a fit about going up in front of the whole school with her classmates that we gave her a free pass and withdrew her name. I told her,  "Okay, I'll let you sit out this year but if you make it next year, you are doing it."

Well, fast forward to this year. If I'm her, I'm throwing the qualifying class spelling bee where the top 2 advance to the school spelling bee so I don't have to participate. But, she doesn't. She scores in the top 2 again and I get an email from her classroom teacher that her name will be passed on to the people running the all school spelling bee. 

I actually don't outright tell her that she qualified but instead I have her read Mrs. Matt's email (her teacher). She immediately starts worrying and says she's not going to do it. Oh no, I tell her, you had your free pass last year and this year you are going to do it. Then we drop it. I give her the words to study. She studies them sometimes. Not much. We were on vacation most of the study time and I was barely getting her to study anything on the flight even though she had hours so I wasn't sure how she was going to fare. 

The day came (which also happened to be Austen's birthday) and the whole family (including Papa) joined Hailey at her school to see her participate in the bee. We held our breath each round as she got a new word and spelled it out and then kids misspelled words and were eliminated. Finally, in the third round she got the word "gloaming." None of us had ever heard of this word or knew how it was spelled but now we do! Hailey spelled it - g-l-o-m-i-n-g so she got out in the 3rd round which was more than respectable. 

But, we were so proud of her for getting up there and trying it when we knew she was terrified that that's all that mattered to us. She also said she really liked the spelling bee and couldn't wait to do it again next year! See sometimes you have to push your kids a bit outside their comfort zones or they will never know if they like or dislike something if they don't try. Glad we made her do it! Congrats to our little speller!

Sydney, Australia - Jan. 2 - Jan. 6

Our flight was canceled into Sydney that morning as we boarded the bus to the airport and we didn't have to lift a finger to figure out the next flight or rearranging what we had planned for that day. That was all on the Tour Guides. They were amazing and quickly rebooked all 39 of us on a flight only one hour later. 

However, due to the delay they had to change our biking tour of the Sydney Bridge. We were supposed to bike the bridge and since it had a steep ascent, Hailey and Papa (along with some fellow tour participants) were not going to do it. But, since we were now late, the biking over the bridge got changed to a bike tour around city and Papa was in so Hailey had to go even though she hadn't ridden a bike in over a year (because she refused to move to the bigger size bike). And, just for the record, it's not like riding a bike. Hailey appeared drunk, weaving all over the road, with a guaranteed accident in her near future. This is why Disney is so great though, instead of Tom or me having to stay back with her, our Disney Tour Guide scooped her up and took her back to wait at the bike place. Thank you Disney. The rest of got to experience a quick ride around the harbor where we saw the Disney Wonder (the boat we all took to Alaska) leaving the harbor at that exact time. So cool to hear those horns and very appropriate! Our bike tour was an experience though as one of our fellow tour participants broke his bike and the bike guide had to give him his and he had to run the rest of the tour route with us. Good thing it was a short tour! 

But, the bike tour wasn't the first thing we did when we got to Sydney. They dropped us off for lunch at the Terrace on the Domain where we feasted on pizza, salads and pastas before we started our stroll to the Sydney skyline through the Royal Botanic Gardens. The Gardens eventually led us to an opening where you could see the Sydney Harbor and then a walkway where you held your breath around the bend before getting your first view of the iconic Sydney Opera House. It was breathtaking to be that close. Kind of like seeing the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. After taking a ton of pictures, we embarked on a jet boat tour of the Sydney Harbor. It was a boat that did 360 degree spins and got you wet so we had to be outfitted in rain gear and take off our shoes. It was a lot of fun though and a different experience for all. 

After that we walked to the bike store to get our bikes and then once were done with the bike ride we finally headed back to check into the hotel before freshening up for dinner. We had dinner in "The Rocks" neighborhood at Pancakes on the Rocks, located right by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and within a quick walk from our hotel. We ate pancakes and crepes at this casual establishment and then headed back to the hotel (The ShangriLa) to unpack and get ready for our early call the next day. 

The next day, we ate breakfast on the 36th floor of our hotel which had stunning views of the Sydney Harbour plus the Sydney Opera House. In fact, we could see the Sydney Opera House from our rooms. We slept with the curtains open every night to soak in the skyline and this architectural wonder. Anyway, we traveled that day to the Fitzroy Falls where we saw some magnificent falls made better by the recent cyclone. We canoed the Wingcarribee River where we put the three kids together while Tom and I and Papa went in another canoe. Unfortunately, there was a lot of low hanging branches and another older couple on our trip tried to avoid them and made the mistake of leaning to the same side and ended up in the river. We felt bad for them but I was just glad it wasn't us because we still had to head to the Berrima Village for lunch and shopping and they were cold and wet. We ate in this cute little cafe that made the best charcuterie trays and coffees, hot chocolates and iced drinks. After a little shopping, we visited an alpaca farm where we got to walk the alpacas. Then it was back to the hotel to have dinner on our own. We sat outside at this cute pub (The Endeavor Tap Room) in "The Rocks" area again and recapped all of our favorite things from the trip before the adults headed to the 36th floor of the hotel for a nightcap and view of Sydney.

The next day was our last day in Sydney. We had the morning to explore Sydney on our own and we chose to hit Bondi Beach with some of our new friends. The kids (Austen and Peyton) had a surfing lesson and we enjoyed the sunshine before hitting the boardwalk for some lunch and heading back. Papa chose to sit this one out and explored Sydney on his own that morning. We all were scheduled to meet at 3:45pm for our private tour of the Sydney Opera House. There are not enough adjectives to describe this wonder. Amazing, magnificent, impressive...the lists go on and the inside was just as impressive as the outside. We had our last dinner together as a group - a private dinner also scheduled for inside the Opera House that evening and it was such a fitting way to end the trip. We may have altered the table cards or asked our Tour Guides to alter the Table Cards so we could sit next to all of our new friends on that last night but it was a fun way to end the night. Not wanting the night and our time in Sydney to end, we took a slow leisurely walk back from the Opera House to the hotel while others took the bus. 

Sydney was stunning and I only wish we had more time to spend there. But the entire trip was just memorable and how could it not be? We did things and had access to places we wouldn't have had on our own. We had three generations there too making memories. It was every bit worth the time, effort and money it took to get there. We are all glad we went and got to have a different vacation experience than our usual beach vacations. We definitely would do it again (even though we missed our connection home due to our flight arriving 1 hour late from Sydney to San Fran) and the kids are already contemplating their next trip. As for me, I'm still digging out two weeks later! 

Last night with friends

The girls

Inside the Opera. House

Surfing buddies w/ their teacher

Alpacas!

Trying some natural remedies

Papa at Sydney Harbour Bridge

Papa's smallest cup of coffee

The Bridge

Our Tour Guides - Melissa and Kim

Canoeing on the river

Taking my alpaca for a walk

Our speedboat tour - so fun!

Hailey when she bailed on biking and the Disney Wonder in the background

Melbourne - Dec. 31- Jan. 2 (Happy New Year from Australia!)

We got up early on Dec. 31st to board our flight as a group to Melbourne. It's nice when you're not in charge of getting everyone to the airport and dealing with luggage, etc. It was a breeze. We boarded our flight with our Group of 37 (plus two tour guides) and when we landed, we were off to hit the Gaol Watch Tower and the city jail to learn about where they kept a lot of prisoners. Apparently, the Gold Rush in Australia made some people a little greedy. Dinner was at Taxi Kitchen with the group and then we finally went back to the hotel to check in before getting ready for the 9:30pm fireworks (not many were holding out for the midnight fireworks). Our guides led those who wanted to go to a park by our hotel where you could watch the fireworks and be the first ones in the entire world to welcome in 2024! Not a bad way to start the new year! 

Hailey feeding the Kangaroos

The next morning we had a new breakfast buffet at the hotel (our favorite of the trip). We stayed at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne which was probably my favorite hotel of all three -although they were all nice. We started the day by kayaking on the Yarra River. Tom had Hailey, I had Peyton (who barely paddled) and Austen and Papa were together. Austen was always aiming to be first in the competitive group.  On the other hand, I should have put myself in the leisurely group because without Peyton doing much paddling, it was a lot of work! Still it was great to see all the amazing architecture and buildings in Melbourne. I was so impressed with the city. It was clean and nice and not what I was expecting at all. My Dad could have moved us there when I was in the 6th grade and it wouldn't have been a bad place to live - it's just so far from the rest of the world.  

After kayaking, we went straight to the Melbourne Sky Deck where we got to walk out on "the edge" of the city and participate in some virtual reality games of Melbourne. The views from the Sky Deck and the top floor were stunning. Melbourne has so many parks that were planned into their city, it really is impressive. It was time for lunch and we went to a Michelin star restaurant for dumplings. It was very good but you had to use an iPad to order your food and our table wasn't so skilled at putting in the order so it took awhile to get our food. But, the dumplings were great! They had these robot "cat" servers that came out of the kitchen and delivered the food to your table. Papa ran into one of the cats when he was walking in (I don't think he knew what it was) and then spilled his hot tea (but he only spilled once the entire trip!). 

When lunch was over, we headed to a walking tour of Melbourne. Again, impressive! They had these little alleys tucked away all over the city with shops and amazing graffiti. They had big Xmas windows like our Macy's stores with Bluey as their theme this year. Hailey loves that show but being the youngest in the group, she was embarrassed and didn't want to get her picture taken next to the windows. 

It was Jan. 1 so dinner was on our own that night and it was hard to get a reservation places because a lot of them weren't open after New Year's Eve. But, I found a place about a 15-minute Uber ride away that was pretty good. So we all feasted on pizza, salads, pasta and gelato. 

The next morning, we took a bus to the Ballarat Wildlife Park where we fed kangaroos and saw koalas as well as a Tasmanian Devil and some other animals. From there we went to Sovereign Hill where the kids could mine for gold and we went down into one of the old mines for a tour. We made candy and candles in the makeshift mining town which was super fun for the kids. Saw a magic show, learned how to make gold and did some shopping too. We hit dinner on the way back into the city of Melbourne and then got back to our rooms to pack up to leave the next day for our trip to Sydney. 

The Amazing Graffiti in Melbourne

Melbourne Sky Deck

Me Paddling! 

Tom and Hailey

The Cat "Robot Server"

Bluey's Xmas Window

Making Candy

Rolling out the Hard Candy

We Made Gold!

And Candles!

Austen Tries to Find Gold

Loving on the Kangaroos

Cairns, Australia - Dec. 29-30 Including Peyton's 14th Birthday!!

We woke up on Dec. 29th a little bit groggy from a bit of jet lag and early call time that morning for our excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. We had a full breakfast buffet before meeting our group of 37 in the hotel to walk to the boat that would take us out to the Great Barrier Reef. We were thankful for great weather that day as it was less windy than usual which they assured us would make a much better 2-hour boat ride out to the reef. We were grateful for that as Hailey gets a bit seasick on the open water so we medicated her a bit that morning. 

The Great Barrier Reef

It was another hot and humid day in Cairns and the sun was shining. We ventured out to the boat where our Disney Tour Guides (Melissa and Kim) had roped off a section for us to sit away from the masses. We also had private tours once we got out to the reef on the glass bottom boat and then another for just our family with a snorkel guide. The hardest part of the whole snorkel bit was getting ready. Since it was jellyfish season we had to be outfitted head to toe in wet suits even covering our hands. I wasn't sure how Hailey was going to do snorkeling but she did great (she has snorkeled before but could never quite get down the breathing) although she kept taking out her mouthpiece and getting water in the tube and then putting it back in her mouth! Much to our surprise, Papa was even up for the snorkeling and got himself all ready although he was having a bit of a tough time breathing in the snorkel mask so decided to call it quits early.  

The Great Barrier Reef was huge and there was so much coral and cool fish - we saw lots of Nemos and Dories but the best thing was when our snorkel guide swam down and waved her hand over a giant clam shell that closed up immediately. I went back to check on Papa and then the older kids saw a turtle swim by too (we've snorkeled/swam with turtles before in Barbados so I didn't feel like I missed much). 

Probably the highlight of the day though was when Peyton dropped her phone in the Great Barrier Reef. I wasn't there but she said it fell out of her bag and went straight between the two inch gap in the floor of the pontoon boat. Luckily, Melissa (our tour guide) was with her and immediately summoned one of our scuba guides to swim down there and retrieve it (they left a selfie on her phone too). It was probably down there for 10 minutes but just in case, we kept it off for a good 24 hours and our tour guide gave us some rice to suck out the moisture. We had lunch on the boat and then we embarked on the two hour journey back to Cairns where we showered and were on our own for dinner. After a long day, it was nice to regroup but we were tired from the sun and the swimming so we went some place close that was nice (but also quick). We had to be up again the next day for our day in the Rainforest. 

The 30th was Peyton's 14th Birthday and we were up early for our breakfast buffet and then she got to open some presents that I brought for her from home. I set up a little display for her and after breakfast the family came up to our big room so she could open them. Then we met with the group and there was more celebrating - everyone sang Happy Bday to Peyton as we embarked on our journey to the Rainforestation Nature Park. There we learned how to throw boomerangs (I was awful and almost killed the guy while Hailey wanted to throw hers after everyone had left - the tour guides were so great and made this happen) and then we got to paint our own Boomerangs. We watched an Aborginal dance and then headed to Kuranda Village for lunch. We were supposed to sign up for some pictures with the Koalas but it was sold out. Bummer. After lunch, we boarded a sky rail that took us over the rainforest from Kuranda to Cavornica and by some breathtaking waterfalls (cyclone = lots of water). It was beautiful but very, very hot and humid. That night, the Junior/Young Teen (Peyton and Hailey) adventurers got their own dinner/party with our tour guides while the adults dined together and the older teens (Austen) got their own table too. The girls had a good time playing games and made some new friends. Our tour guides made sure she got a candle in a cake for dessert too so she could make a wish. Austen really enjoyed getting to know the other older teens too ranging in age from juniors in high school to sophomores in college (he said that was definitely a fun part of the trip). And, we got to know some families better too and were definitely deciding who we wanted to hang out with more on the trip (and eat meals next to). 

It was a fun night and a memorable birthday for Peyton capped off by a night swim with Hailey and her new friends from Oklahoma (another 8th grader, Maddie and her 12 year old sister, Annabelle). Then it was off to bed as we were flying to Melbourne the next day. 

Presents for P!

Papa Snorkeling with Hailey

Getting Ready to Snorkel

Amazing Views and Waterfall!

Boomerangs!

Austen throwing a Boomerang!

Hailey Throwing a Boomerang!

The Younger Teen/Junior Adventurer Dinner

The Older Teen Dinner

Heading to Australia - Dec. 26-28

The day after Xmas at about 1:30pm, we get picked up to go to the airport to head to Australia for almost two weeks. Never mind that we got home the night before, that my house has presents strewn all over it and I have to get the dog to the boarding facility before 10am. Plus, of course I needed to get a workout in before I sat on the plane for almost an entire day. Oh, and I needed to get a manicure to get me ready for some sunshine down under!

Somehow we got it all in and I was even able to shower with minutes to spare. We get to the aiport in a comfortable amount of time. Papa is already there (he joined us on this trip). We chat. I go to the bathroom and miss Papa getting called over the loud speaker (Frank Gianfrancesco - no idea why they called him by his brother's name) to come to the desk. Turns out when he was checking in, he left his credit card in the check in machine. This would be the first of many stories for this trip. But luckily it was one that ended well with someone turning it in and him getting it back. 

Cairns Aquarium

We board the plane, settle in for a 4-hour flight to San Francisco. Austen and Papa had backwards seats (strange but they said it was okay). We had a bit of turbulence and the pilot asked the flight attendants to sit down more than a few times. Once when the flight attendant was on her hands and knees searching for an AirPod that Austen had dropped under the seat. (Now they don't you look at anything under the seat. A flight attendant must help you.) Finally, she found it and was able to return to her jump seat. But Papa thought it was a good time to get out of his seat and tell me what happened. "Papa, get back in your seat! The seat belt signs are on and even the flight attendants were asked to take their seats!" 

We arrive in San Francisco, hit their fancy lounge for 45 minutes and then boarded our long haul flight for Sydney. They page us to the desk. Hailey's tray table is broken (I swear this happens every time we fly with them and from the same exact gate. Last time it was Hailey's TV screen and Peyton's headphone jack.) We make do and off we go for our 14 plus hour flight.

All goes smoothly. We get some sleep (except Papa who claims he can't sleep on these flights. If you can't sleep in a lie flat seat, you're not going to be able to sleep at all!) We get our bags (Papa bought a new one that was black and looked just like everyone else's bag with not even a colored luggage tag on it to make it stand out), clear customs and recheck our bags to Cairns and then have to board a bus to take us on a 15 minute ride to the other side of the airport to catch our flight (not impressed with the Sydney airport layout but perhaps that's why they are building another one out west). We catch our flight (this the one that's been changed multiple times and we have to downgrade from First Class to Economy to get this earlier flight). We arrive in Sydney and wait to gather our luggage. And we keep waiting. Hailey's bag does not arrive but all of our other bags do. I tell her the bad news is they lost your bag but the good news is you get to go shopping! We arrive at the Crystalbrook Flynn Hotel in Cairns and are greeted by your Tour Guides. They are great and go over a few things before we head to our rooms. We have two rooms (Papa has another room). Our room (the girls' room) is amazing. It's huge with a spacious balcony and a view.  

We are starving so we venture on down the street (boardwalk) to eat and then grab Hailey some clothes while Papa is resting. Unfortunately, Cairns had a cyclone hit it the week before and there was major flooding and roads are out so we can't do our Hartley's Crocodile Adventure because the roads are impassable. Instead our first official event with the tour is the Cairns Aquarium which is cool but a bit long for everyone coming off travel. We hit dinner after and are assessing who we will like on this trip with a group of about 37 people. Lots of families with Hailey being the youngest. But about half were kids  ages 12-20. A set of grandparents too who took their 12 year old grandson (who Hailey had a crush on). We sit next to a nice couple with two daughters ages 14 and 12 at dinner that first night. I like them right away. They seem normal and are from Oklahoma. We go home tired but feeling excited about our trip the next day to the Great Barrier Reef. Stay tuned...

Peyton & Hailey Underwater

Cairns

We finally made it!

So happy to get off that plane!

The view from our balcony in Cairns

Austen Turns 17!

It's gone so fast but our oldest turned 17 on Thursday. Now that he's been driving for a year we don't get those car rides to and from soccer practice and those detailed talks. But he still likes to sit at the island after school (when he's not at an afterschool practice) and tell me about his day - sometimes even class by class. And, when he gets home exhausted from his 8:30-10pm practices at 10:45pm, (and I'm half asleep on the couch), he wants to tell me all about how his practice went that evening. 

We're lucky that he still wants to go out to dinner with us, take vacations, play games and watch movies. There's some things that he won't do like our annual Gingerbread House brunch at the club or making Xmas cookies, but for the most part we're lucky to have him home more than I was at this age. 

He's still my neatest child and his room has always been the neatest (the girls are slobs). He's probably my hardest working and most driven. He wants to be the best in everything - even with things that don't come easily for him. He will continue to work at it rather than give up. He's very chill and rarely gets in trouble (I can't remember the last time I was mad at him - oh maybe when he lost my glove I let him borrow for a soccer game). When he's free, he's more than willing to help out - shovel the driveway, walk Sadie or ask if there's anything that he can do to help. He's a great leader on the soccer field too - calm and respectful as well as encouraging of his teammates. 

As he enters his 17th year, I'm wishing him his best year yet - and he'll need it - ACT, soccer recruiting, college applications, finishing out Junior Year strong and deciding on where to go to college. Seventeen is going to be a big year for him and above anything else, I hope he's just happy. So Happy 17th Austen! We love you!

Even after Xmas, he still gets lots of presents!

Catching Up W/ Xmas 2023

I'm back and playing catch up!

Christmas 2023 was a whirlwind with finishing shopping, wrapping and getting ready for our big after Xmas trip to Australia the day after. Thankfully, we weren't hosting this year so we didn't need to prep the house/food. Just needed to get food/drink for us for Xmas Eve and then make our usual French Toast Casserole for Xmas Brunch and then desserts for Xmas Dinner.

Szurgot Family Xmas

There was family in town so we spent some time before Xmas with them - drinks/dinner and lots of catching up. Xmas Eve we spent mostly packing for our trip. We hit our favorite breakfast spot for brunch and then headed to the 4:45pm mass at church. Dinner was spent with appetizers watching a Xmas movie - just us. We had a busy day ahead of us the next day which would be 12 hours of non-stop activity. 

It started at 8am with the baking of the French Toast casserole followed by presents (Austen got a Mac Book; Peyton a lot of clothes, make up an T. Swift; Hailey got a desk for her room with accessories) and then getting ready to head to my family's festivities. (Each year, we alternate with my family doing Xmas or Xmas Eve.) Arrived about 11am and ate brunch, lots of presents and catching up before leaving at 2pm to race back home (40 minute drive), unload, reload, let out and feed Sadie and then drive another 45 minutes to Tom's family for Xmas dinner. We arrive a little after 4pm. Ate some appetizers, caught up, had dinner, more presents and finally left about 10pm. Home a little before 11pm. Gave Sadie some love and then dropped into bed exhausted to get some sleep before our afternoon flight the next day to Australia. It's hard to leave the day after Xmas for vacation and we don't do it often but it was worth it. More on that later but it was a fun and very full holiday season - phew, I'm getting tired just thinking about it again!

Gianfrancesco Cousins' Xmas

Xmas Morning!

The Szurgot Boys and Lauren's Fiancé!