The first part of our Australia trip was spent with our friend Terry in the Great Barrier Reef. We landed in Cairns where we found an awesome park for the kids, then braved it and drove a minivan on the wrong side of the road up to Port Douglas. There we took boat trips out to the reef for snorkeling and scuba diving (it's about 30 miles out), visited the rain forest, and saw lots of wild life(including crocodiles, kangaroos, cassawaries and koalas).

Hanging out in Sydney with Hannah, Sam, Annie and Silas was a blast! The kids got along great (Henry and Silas were practically brothers, and Sam and Anabelle became fast friends again... and Sophie was happy just trying to keep up!) We had a busy week - we checked out the zoo, the aquarium, the Powerhouse Museum, Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Chinatown, the Fish Market, the Opera House, walked the Harbor Bridge... whew! Very fun!

One of the highlights of our trip was snorkeling and scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. We went to two different reefs - both near the edge of the Continental Shelf - the Agincort Reef and the Opal Reef. The kids were not nearly as psyched as we were to be in the water! After a 10 year hiatus, it was fun to scuba dive again!

Before heading off to Australia, we made a quick stop in LA for Chanukah with Jill and Brian. We got to see all the awesome progress they've made on their house, and the kids got some gifts that kept them occupied on those long plane rides to and from Australia! Sophie is so cute... she yells "baaaaby" every time she sees her new doll!

Every year our annual Halloween Party gets bigger and better - this year we were over 100 people! The kids had a great time with our haunted maze, witch's brew, cookie decorating, trick-or-treating, outside movie viewing and our new addition this year - a professional storyteller came to tell spooky stories! The kids looked great in their costume... Sam was a skeleton, Henry was dark spiderman (apparently called Venom he says) and the cutest of all was Sophie as a LadyBug. She totally "got" trick or treating and was running up to doors demanding candy!

No excuses... just cute pictures. Sorry for the wait!

We had a blast in Brazil! It was perfect beach weather all week - a lucky break given it's the middle of winter there! Our kids have become absolute beach bums... they could have spent the all their time playing in the sand and running/jumping/crawling through the surf!

Wow... we can't believe Sam is seven... and a second-grader! We threw a great scooby doo party that the kids loved. Sam actually got four celebrations... ice cream on his birthday, his party a few days later, a welcome birthday bash in Brazil and cake in New York! He's gotten really good at blowing out candles!

Sophie turned 1 on May 2nd... we can hardly believe it! She marked her birthday by taking her first steps the day before! She's so excited about it!!! All of her grandparents (and Uncle David) came in for the party!

Coming home from Cleveland's single-degree weather, we renewed our appreciation for Tucson's super mild winters. So we've taken advantage with hikes and lots of playing outside. We've also started to experiment with Sophie's hair - so check out the pictures of her "twists"!