Christmas 2009 with Family

We had a unique Christmas 2009 with the family coming all the way to Australia. It was (probably) a once in a lifetime holiday experience and we crammed a LOT into 10 days and had a great time!

Upon arrival we went to The Rocks for breakfast at Pancakes on the Rocks

We walked through a street market and played a little dress up

We met up with some friends for a Christmas concert in the Botanical Gardens called Christmas at the Domain. The gardens were PACKED and we got to listen to Christmas carols all night

The next morning we did a mini tour of the city.

We saw the Opera House

The Customs House



In Australian spirit, I cooked up some Kangaroo steaks for dinner that night. Everyone wanted to help but our kitchen isn't really made for 5 people. More like one. As we ate dinner on the roof, Rob presented everyone with his Christmas present to all of us: front row tickets to the opera at the OPERA HOUSE!

The next morning Rob and Cami went to the Taronga Zoo while Mom, Hannah and I took a trip out to Manly Beach. It rained on us a little so we spent most of the day shopping.

That evening, we got dressed up and made our way to the opera to see the "Christmas at the House"

Opera

Cami actually got called up on stage to sing and dance! The kids sang "Six White Boomers" which is an Australian Christmas carol. Cami was the cutest of them all!

Some post-opera photos. After we were photoed-out we grabbed some (late) dinner in Circular Quay and went home to get some rest. We planned to open presents and have our Christmas on Christmas eve morning which was the following day.

We had Christmas Eve brunch on the rooftop of our apartment building.

We opened our presents and our Christmas crackers (an Australian tradition) which contained these crowns

Mom, Hannah and Cami got Australian jackets

Rob and I got each other wetsuits

Christmas eve we went to church

And then grabbed some dinner in Darling Harbour at Jordans.

Christmas morning Mom, Hannah and I woke up bright and early and flew out to Auckland, NZ. Upon arrival we did a self-tour of the city and stumbled onto the University of Auckland, the wharf, a rose garden, and lot of other buildings that I can't remember.

The Old Government House

The next day we rented a car and drove 3 hours south to Rotorua which is right on the lake and we spent a few hours in an outdoor spa soaking in hot mineral pools and got massages.

We returned to Auckland that evening and did some more city walking. Here is the "pride of Auckland" the skytower

The next day and our final day in New Zealand we ferried over to Waiheke Island to enjoy some beach time and tour the old island villages

Back to Auckland from Waiheke and out to an Italian dinner on the wharf

On our way back to the hotel we saw a sheep in the city! On a leash! Welcome to New Zealand! We made our way back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. The next morning we flew back to Sydney to meet back up with Rob and Cami

Back in Sydney we spent the evening out at Watson's Bay. Cami and I made this sand couch.

We climbed up to a high point so we could watch the sunset behind the city

Sunset at Watson's Bay

Back home Rob whipped us up a fabulous chicken dinner

The next day we boarded the train and headed out to Featherdale Wildlife Park to see some Kangaroos and Koalas!

Koala picture

We left the Wildlife Park and did a quick tour of Olympic Park and then ended up at Coogee Beach where we watched the sun go down and ate some kebabs for dinner

Our picnic spot and the best picture of the trip. Check out gay Rob. The next morning we had to say our goodbyes and the family headed back to the good ol' USA

I've had to summarize here. We fit much more in the 10 days than I could capture in one blog posting. Everyone had a great time and made it back home safely....exhausted, I'm sure!