Naptime

Zach was sleeping so peacefully during his afternoon nap today. Curled up in a ball and cute as a bug. We just had to take a picture.

Don't you think he bears a striking resemblence to this wombat?

Unfortunately the flash woke him up.

He was NOT a happy bub. You can almost hear him crying. So sad!

(Notice Dad's new facial hair style. Ugh.)

Zach and the Zoo

While on the Sunshine Coast we spent a morning at the Australia Zoo, a zoo with Australian fauna made famous by the Crocodile Hunter. The animals were incredible.

We got up close to the reclusive Tasmanian devil

and the elusive cassowary.

At least the dingo didn't steal our baby! (No, that's not the neighborhood dog).

The crocs were hungry and HUGE!

Yikes!!

The little lizards roaming all over the zoo were more to Zach (and Mom's) liking.

Woohoo! Zacharoo got to pet a kangaroo, too.

Sunshining Weekend

We spent four sunny days on Australia's Sunshine Coast this past weekend. For those of you with a large map of the country, the Sunshine Coast is half way up the east coast of Australia, just north of Brisbane. As the name suggests, it's known for sunny days. Also, turquoise waters, soft white sands, and surfers in search of big waves. Because Zach decided to wake up at 5AM every morning, we learned to enjoy our early morning walks along the coastline. He seemed to know that early mornings were the best time of day on the beach. One morning we were lucky enough to watch humpback whales splashing their tails and jumping out of the water off in the distance. Thrilling! Zach also took his first dip in the ocean. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Sunshine Coast with Glass House Mountains in the distance.

Riding high with Dad in the Glass House Mountains.

Beach time with Dad.

Taking a dip in the Coral Sea with Mom.

Before you know it he'll be riding those waves!

Golden rays of the Sunshine Coast.

Poolside

Zach started swimming lessons this month. It's more like a "get to know the water" class than an actual swimming class. Despite his enthusiasm for the bath tub, he has been a little indifferent about the whole swimming lesson idea. Mom and Dad are definitely more excited about it than he is. He has been so mesmerized by seeing other babies that he hasn't had much time to figure out if he likes the water. He does, however, enjoy the part of the lesson where he has to retrieve a bath toy and carry it back to the edge of the pool. With Dad's help, of course. We're looking forward to see how he does this weekend as we head up north to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland for a few days on the beach. We've packed lots of sunscreen!

Really, I'm much more excited about this swimming thing than I look!

Okay, maybe this isn't so bad...

Bath toys!

Blowing bubbles

Kick, kick, kick!

Fine vines and wines

Last weekend we spent an afternoon at our favorite local vineyard, Tahbilk Winery. It's the oldest winery in Victoria and has the knurly old vines and musty dank cellar to prove it.

One of those barrels holds a Shiraz made out of grapes harvested from vines planted in 1860!

Grandma and Grandpa Maki had their first wine tasting and especially enjoyed the sparkling Shiraz. Dad tasted the mid-1990s vintages of the '1860 Vines' Shiraz while Mum sipped on a sparkling Marsanne. Yum.

And Zach just enjoyed being in his backpack. Clearly!

Do we have a future vintner in the family?

Daytripping

We put a lot of "kms" on the car while Grandma and Grandpa Maki were visiting us. We took day trips to nearby (and not so nearby) towns like Bright, Beechworth, Swan Hill, Bendigo, and Echuca. Here are a few pics from our day trips.



Bendigo boasts the longest Chinese dragon in the southern hemisphere but Zach didn't seem impressed.



He did enjoy Bendigo's botanical gardens on a beautiful spring day.

Lunch menu in Bright. Looks tasty! We didn't indulge ourselves but Brett later made his parents yummy "roo" fajitas for dinner.

Enjoying a little altitude....

....and attitude in the Victorian Alps.

Taking a break from sight-seeing in Swan Hill.

Watching the steamboats on the Murray River

While Grandma and Grandpa take in the sights and sounds of Old Timers' Days in Echuca.

Sad Goodbye

After three wonderful weeks packed with amazing adventures and several good games of pinochle, Zach had to say g'bye to his Grandma and Grandpa Maki today. As they boarded their plane back to Montana this morning, we all wished they could have stayed a little bit longer.

Zach, with the help of his dad, did a great job in his debut as an Aussie tour guide. We'll fill you in on our adventures from the past few weeks in the coming days. But first we have to sort through the hundreds of pictures we took during Grandma and Grandpa's visit.

As for tonight, we're getting used to a quieter house with just the three of us. Zach got so much love and attention from his grandparents over the last three weeks that he hardly knows what to do now that he only has his parents to adore him again!