Thursday

We decided to have a pretty mellow day in anticipation for the trots that evening, so Stephen and I did a tiny bit of shopping and had Devonshire tea while the grandparents took the kids...off somewhere. It was a nice, relaxing day, and then we headed back to Kalamunda to get ready for our exciting evening.

When Stephen and I were here in 1998, my aunt and uncle took us to the trots, and it was one of our favorite nights of the trip, so it was on the must-do list for this trip.

Felix isn't in this photo, because he was running around with a little boy who swears his last name is Batman, who wanted to breakdance for me but claims that he broke his leg doing so last week, who enjoys doing backflips while riding his bike with training wheels, and who carries a real gun but doesn't need a license. That kid was AWESOME.




Stephen ordered a coffee, and it came with a koala in it. Holy crap, that's adorable.




The track.




And one of the (many) races that our horse didn't win.




Not too many photos from the night, but it was a great one. Uncle Ken won the big bucks (I think around $11).

Wednesday (it's actually Sunday, so I have some catching up to do)

Perth Zoo day! I'll do my best to remember which animal is which, but you may need to fill in with your own knowledge as you go. We were amazingly lucky in that my Auntie Judy's sister and brother-in-law are both docents at the zoo, and gave us a private tour through the entire place. Definitely a great way to see it - we learned so much more than we would have otherwise.

Thankfully we all know what these are.




But this? This is something new. It's called a sausage tree.




This is one of the little fellas whose name I can't remember. Anyone?




I was not a fan of the hyenas. They just look like bad news.






But we were all fans of these beautiful turtles.




A whole crew of wild beasts.




And then I couldn't believe our luck. We were just cruising along a path, and someone warned us to watch out from behind. So we scooted over, and a FREAKING ELEPHANT came moseying by. I believe her name is Trisha, and she gets to take a walk every day. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.








Did you know that there are such things as tree kangaroos? Neither did I until this photo was taken.




Beautiful flowers and ground covering.






An echidna!




Koalas for Rasmus!








Tasmanian Devil. He's not the most handsome guy in the place.











Pretty puffball flowers. That's not their scientific name.






Most of the zoo looks like a tropical rainforest. It's really nice to walk through, as it's well-shaded and keeps the heat out.




Um. I think that these guys are lemurs (the furry animals, not the things wearing hats). I should know this, but I don't. Anyway, they were awesome. They kept playing with the kids at the window, then they'd drop down and pop back up.






Baby orangutan!




Uh, a um, stripey-tailed lemur-like thing.




Sophie Jemima. I was beginning to doubt my identification skills.




The Perth Zoo has an awesome wetlands area you can walk through. My favorites were the black and white birds called stilts. Their little legs bend backwards, and they're a blast to watch.






And all of the human beasties back at the entrance after a long and fun day.

Tuesday!

I feel a little redundant saying, "today was awesome", so from here on out, let's just assume that each day was, okay?

On Tuesday we were invited over to our friend, Steve's, parents' house for a pizza and pool party. We've never met Steve's parents before, so we were all sort of nervous and trying to be on our best behavior, but there was no need, because they were super kind and friendly. We had a great time exchanging Christmas gifts, making pizzas in their outdoor wood fire stove, and swimming in their gorgeous pool. I wish that I had taken more photos of their backyard, because it was amazing.

Felix got a present!




And then Stephen gave Steve the guitar that he used for the three Descendents shows. That was pretty fun.






Felix helpfully pointed out the robot that he drew for Steve.




Felix gives the pizza one solid rock fist up.




Sophie and Felix harass Steve's dad in the pool. Or it may have gone the other way 'round. They loved each other.




Saying goodbye. We can't wait to see them again.




Stephen and I ran home for fast showers, then back into Perth to meet up with Steve and his girlfriend, Kerri, and their friends who are in a band called Grim Fandango. Stephen had to have a few minutes to rock.








This pretty guy was hanging out (dead) in their practice room.




And the whole crew.






Then we went to Northbridge to have Chinese food with Steve's best friend, Jimmy, but I didn't take any photos because I was too busy stuffing mah face.
And now we're off to the trots!

Monday evening

After the seriously awesome day spent at the beach, we decided to wrap the day up with a trip to what must be one of the most beautiful parks in the world - Kings Park in downtown Perth. It has incredible views of downtown and the Swan River, though I think that I forgot to upload any of those photos, so you can either take my word for it, or check out the website, http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park.

Almost all of these photos are of the incredibly beautiful yet often strange plants that are indigenous to Australia. I can't identify many of them, so use your imagination!












I believe that this is a form of kangaroo paw. It's most commonly red.








Check out the little bird, having a snack.


















A bee, doin' its thing.




And then it was joined by its friend, the ant.




I had wandered off to take photos, and my mom came across these folks, taking photos of each other. She kindly offered to take a photo of the three of them together, and then they insisted that they take a photo with her. Before I knew it, the whole family was in there, hanging with the folks from Bangladesh.








I believe that this is a form of bottle brush, but I could be entirely wrong.






I love kookaburras.








Sophie felt that this looked like a Whomping Willow, from Harry Potter.








Time go home after one of the best days I've ever had.








* I forgot to say that while we were at Whiteman Park yesterday, Mean Tim helped tourists whose car was stuck in the sand. I agreed that it was probably time to drop the Mean from in front of his name. But then earlier at the beach, he found a massive wad of seaweed, and dumped it on my back while I was blissfully paddling around, so the name sticks.

** My brother sent me an email saying, "haha, nice jorts", so to clear up any confusion I'd like to state that yes, I know that jean shorts are sort of tacky and not very fashionable, but when it's an hour before you leave for a country having 110 degree temps and you realize that you only have ONE pair of shorts that fit but that you could sacrifice one of your pairs of jeans in the name of comfort, you do what needs to be done.
So shut it, Kenny.