Sunday

On Boxing Day we were off to Whiteman Park. First the kids had a swim (no photos because I was paddling with them), and then they played on the playground for a few minutes before we headed into the wildlife park.






Here are all of the cousins, plus an Auntie Judy, being introduced to a wombat whose name I have already forgotten.




And petting a lizard of some sort. Yeah, totally forgotten what kind. My memory ain't what it used to be, folks.




A big group of us with a wombat who could care less. Makes me feel a little better about forgetting his name.






A pretty sweet possum who was having his afternoon tea.




But the overwhelming family favorite was this guy, Sweep. He's called a lesser sooty owl (because the original sooty owl is all black), but we thought that it was really disrespectful for him to be called lesser. He was gorgeous - these photos don't do him justice. The little white pattern down his sides are made up of tiny hearts.








He did get a little fresh by winking at me, but we all loved him so much that I didn't take offense.




And then on to pet koalas! Where my camera ran out of battery before I could get all of the cousins! But you know what? We weren't anywhere near as excited about them as we were about the lesser sooty owl.






After the koalas, we went to visit some farm animals, and got to feed donkeys, rabbits, etc. The guy working in that area was really kind and helped facilitate us getting our tourist on.
Then it was time for a brief stop to buy ice creams, and then off to pet and feed the kangaroos. It was all fun and games until a kangaroo decided to attack, and unfortunately that attack was aimed at Sophie.

She and Declan were off by themselves, and a kangaroo stood up on his back feet, and scratched her down both sides of her face, her neck, and shoulders. It scared her more than anything (though I'm sure that it hurt terribly too - their nails are really sharp and long), and she came running for us, crying. The sweet thing is that Declan was bolting after her with a look of absolute horror on his face, and he looked miserable until he could be convinced that she really was okay.

Being us, we did document the scratches and the offending kangaroo (who had the gaul to come over and try to get a pat or some food), but you'll have to wait for those exciting photos, because they're on my mom's camera.

It was a long, exhausting day in really hot weather, so we were pretty much pooped once we got home.

By the way, the gorgeous dress that Sophie is wearing was a Christmas present from the cousins and she LOVES it, so expect to see it almost daily until we head home.