Melbourne's Half-Marathon

Thanks to you marathon runners who inspired me-- J, Steve, Kristin, Linda McKesson, Lisa (Arnold) Fox, and Paul (Sal).  I just finished my first half marathon!!!  It felt great.  Luckily, my vision of the American who all Australians beat did not come true.  I have no idea what my time was.  Even though I ran with Tadd's orange watch (Elle's barrett & J's polypro shirt), I was too busy kissing my kids and husband at the starting gate to notice my start time.  But it was really fun running with so many people!  Thanks to all of you-- your stories, pictures, and live performances-- for inspiring me to accomplish such a physical and, as it turns out, meditative goal.

I had the most supportive team through training and on the day.

J woke up with me at 4:00am, and by 4:45am, we had the kids bundled up in blankets (and sleeping) in the car.  An hour later, after parking the car in a downtown garage and getting good-luck kisses from all my cuties, I walked outside toward the meeting spot and simply gasped at the full moon shining behind the city skyscrapers and the Yarra River.  For the last couple of weeks, it had been mainly cold and rainy, and this morning was relatively warm and clear, with this amazing moon staring down at us all.

I joined the masses for a fun, music-filled, group warm-up and then walked down to the starting line.  As it turns out, even though there were thousands of people, my support group found me. 

Mom's running the first lap as the sun comes up....

The first of two laps around the city center.

And then....the last lap.....!!!!

Mom:  "Elle, do you want to run a race with me some day?"  Elle:  "Yes, I do."  :)

The man behind the camera and the support

The Custom Kings, who just got back from touring the U.S., played as the big screen projected runners crossing the finish line

Whooooo hooooooo!!!

Parks: The Extended Front Yard

Butterfly Reserve

Australians have their priorities straight for a number of things, but definitely when it comes to family.  Men can take paternity leave.  Restaurants and cafes often provide play areas or, at least, baskets full of children activities (i.e. puzzles, games, toys, books).  Schools allow younger siblings to "volunteer" with parents and provide toy bins for the youngsters...to encourage family involvement in older siblings education.  Family bathrooms are easy to find, where small toilets for toddlers are provided and chairs for nursing moms!  (How many bizarre places did I have to nurse my kids while out and about...just to find a place to sit down?)

As an extension of their homes, the Australians also love their parks, and on weekends, take their families to play, bar-b-que (using public gas BBQs, the gas of which is provided by the Park Department), and enjoy each others company.  The Parks Department have a poster campaign slogan, "Happy parks make happy people."  And it's simply true.  They have a lot a beautiful and fun parks.... and happy people using these family spaces.  As a result, we're often there.......


Adventure Playground:  One of our favorites (has a climbing wall)

Following the river trail on scooter......

Gallah

Linear Park & Butterfly Reserve:  Walking distance from our house

     Butterfly Reserve:  Home to the threatened Eltham Cooper Butterfly, which
     was believed to have become extinct in the 1950s.  Populations were found
     in Eltham in 1986, and this reserve helps sustain these populations.

http://bird.net.au/bird/index.php?title=File:Eltham_Copper341ACanzano1.jpg

Butterfly Reserve

     Linear Park:

Finding rainbow lorikeet feathers

A pit-stop on our way to-and-from school

Allistair Park:  Our playground next to the Eltham library

Wombat Bend:  A new favorite with zip-lines, carousel swings, sand pits, and wondering paths through the bushy garden.

Along with Adventure Playground and Alistair Park, this playground is situated in the greenbelt of the Yarra river.  If we wanted, we could bike 35 km from Eltham to the mouth of the river in the city center by following this greenbelt trail, or the Main Yarra River Trail.

At Wombat Bend, a wooden foot bridge crosses the river, allowing you to get from the Main Yarra River Trail to the playground.  One day while jogging, I ran across the bridge, looked down, and saw a platypus swimming in the water!!!!  So lucky since they are nocturnal animals.  It gave me a good boost of energy to run home and tell the kids.  We then all jumped in the car to return to the site.  Unfortunately, the platypus was gone, but we had a wonderful day playing in the playground and enjoying each other's company.

J in the wondering garden

Tadd on Zip-line, or "Flying Fox"

Elle won't be out-done....

Kangaroos: Fact or Legend?

From the start, we've been on a mission to locate a kangaroo.  Signs forewarned us to slow down on certain stretches of road.  We drove to Alpine National Park (for J's research), about a five hour drive.....  Both ways-- no kangaroos.  The elusive kangaroo was not to be seen for over a month.  Until.....we asked a local for directions.  "Hmmm?  So if we drive a few miles from our house...??????"

Yup.

We were so excited that we drove back the next day.  Literally a five minute drive from our house, we saw tons of kangaroos.  They're like deer, foraging on grass. 

We wore our protective gear and brought our get-away mobiles....just in case.....

We got distracted from our mission, by spotting and mimicking Tawny Frogmouths.

Tawny Frogmouths (even more elusive....we were onto something...)

After all our hard work, we had to take a little break.

And then, after "morning tea" (snack time....they don't really drink tea), could it be??????

Yup.

Pretty bird

With the evidence in hand, we were able to have a play.

Since these first sightings, we've seen kangaroos even closer to our house.  In fact, J and I run by them when we go jogging in the neighborhood.  (Sam, you were right.  All of a sudden, they're everywhere.  ;)

Verdict:  Fact