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Concert-ed effort

Wed, 26 May 2010 07:05:44 -0500

It is that time of year again - time for students all over the US to demonstrate their musical proficiency coming from the accumulation of delaying their daily practice throughout the entire year.

Last night was Amanda's Spring Fling concert. It was surprisingly good. I don't remember 6th grade choirs singing anything remotely complicated in my day and the band actually sounded like a band. I was impressed.

Time flies

Sun, 23 May 2010 08:13:23 -0500

It has been over a year since I updated this site. That's just plain unacceptable. But it proves my point. Time flies.

One year ago, we were a one car family renting a 3-bedroom flat on the lower north shore of Sydney, NSW, Australia. Now we're a two car family living in a 5-bedroom house in a golf community in Rogers, Arkansas, USA. Rogers and Sydney are a world apart and that's not just a figure of speech.

Rather than try and catch up on all of the events that have transpired since then, I'll simply start anew. Onwards and upwards. But first let me say hello to the cows across the street.

Back to School

Tue, 3 Feb 2009 18:53:59 -0600

The start of the calendar year brought with it the start of a new year of school for the girls. Amanda entered Year 5 and Allison entered Year 7 - high school in Australia.

Amanda eagerly trotted off to Mosman Public School where she has gone for the last four years to see which of her returning friends would be in her class and which teacher she would get.

Allison, on the other hand, cautiously but very excitedly approached her first day at Queenwood School for Girls where she felt optimistically overwhelmed by the prospect of 7+ teachers in as many subjects, 1+ hour of homework a night, early morning starts, weekend sports, lockers, new faces and friendships, getting to class on time, carrying a backpack equal in weight to her own and a host of other challenges that come with being in high school.

Observing a Day of Birth

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:36:47 -0600

To celebrate my birthday, Kelly surprised me with a night away at Sydney's Observatory Hotel. We had champagne and roses upon arrival, an amazing dinner at Galileo's and topped off the evening with a private viewing of my very own star that Kelly named after me.

Although I'm getting to the point where I don't really want to celebrate getting older anymore, this year was certainly an exception! Thank you, Kelly!

Bellones Down Under

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:50:52 -0600

For two amazing weeks, the Bellone family from New York - John, Michelle, Marissa, Josh and Orange Bear - made the trek from their snow-covered front yard to our beach-lined backyard and went on a wild adventure with the Goldberg clan.

The Bellones' Christmas Day was spent dealing with airline personnel who didn't know how to check in luggage (e.g. 1.65 hours to check in 6 bags) and cleaning up the contents of Josh's stomach from the seats at Auckland's airport while the Goldbergs' was spent sipping egg nog, listening to Johnny Mathis singing our favourite carols and watching our four little ones tear through their newly acquired crap.

Everyone met on the 27th of December in Brisbane to head up to Fraser Island. After a four-hour ordeal with the rental car company, a four+ hour drive north and a 45 minute ferry ride that took 1.2 hours, the 10 of us arrived at the Kingfisher Bay Resort in Fraser Island, Queensland, for a few days of complete relaxation under the sun.

At least that's what we would have done if we didn't have 6 kids with us. So instead, we spent a few days listening to kids complain about the food, the heat, the bugs, the rides in the 4WDs, not enough time spent in the pool, not enough souvenirs purchased, not enough ice cream consumed and how uncool kids club activities are. Actually, those were mostly complaints made by the adults, but it is easier to blame the kids.

We spent our days on Fraser tearing up the sand tracks, soaking in the sun at Lake Mackenzie and making the most of the beautiful Australian summer weather. Fraser is a magical place that we highly recommend for anyone visiting Australia for the first time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't fun in the sun for all of us. Josh was up and down with stomach pains and fever which cut our trip short by a few hours while John and Michelle rushed back to the mainland to take an unscheduled tour of Hervey Bay by ambulance. This would be the first of 3 hospitals they would tour during their visit.

After a few exams, internal probes and a stop at the local pharmacy, we were on our way back to Sydney, arriving the day before New Year's Eve. We spent a quiet night at home on NYE, watching the 9pm fireworks from the house with a few of us walking down to Cremorne Point to watch the midnight fireworks. Sydney put on a spectacular show once again, leaving the Bellones with great memories of the evening.

The following day, we made our own fireworks in the form of stomach acid spraying across several rooms in the house as an apparently unrelated ailment to Josh infected several members of the house in a swift and violent fashion. This brought us to hospital #2 and #3 for more exams and internal probes along with a few IVs thrown in for good measure. Although you had to be there to fully appreciate it, the scene taking place outside of the emergency ward at Royal North Shore Hospital on New Year's Day was like the Goldbergs and Bellones re-enacting the blueberry pie eating contest scene from Stand By Me. The video below speaks for itself.

The eventual diagnosis was a strong stomach virus that managed to infect everyone but John. We therefore concluded that he was original host to the nasty parasite and fully responsible for making the rest of us near-death ill. Certainly not the best way to start 2009, but then again, it could only get better!

Once everyone was on the road to recovery, we spent our days exploring Manly Beach, the Sydney central business district, Darling Harbour - including the Sydney Aquarium, Featherdale Wildlife Park, Taronga Zoo, Bondi Beach, jetboating on Sydney Harbour and Luna Park among other Sydney sights. All of these experiences involved the kids which meant never pleasing everyone but constantly trying to.

Therefore, when night fell, the babysitters arrived. That sent us on our way to some of Sydney's top restaurants and night spots including: Guillaume at Bennelong, Rockpool, Icebergs, Doyles, Lotus Pond, Star City Casino and The Lord Nelson. Here's a quick summary of the notable events from our evening escapades:

Icebergs - the food was good but we weren't part of the "in" crowd resulting in several reminders that we had to vacate our table for more important people at the end of our meal but that the waitstaff would reserve a table in the bar area for us to enjoy coffees and desserts. Our "reserved" area was a total of two seats crammed between other not-so-important people that we were supposed to fit four bottoms on. After five minutes of sharing laps and not being waited on, we departed.

The Lord Nelson - a Sydney icon, this place was not to be missed, renowned for its micro-brews. Too bad we picked a Sunday night to visit where their normal closing time of 11pm became 10:22pm and they would only serve us one beer and even then, only half a pint. So after emptying our thimbles of beer, we were off yet again.

Guillaume at Bennelong - for those unfamiliar, Guillaume specialises in Australian modern cuisine with a French twist. It is the restaurant situated in the southernmost "shell" at the Sydney Opera House. Overall, this was probably the best meal we had during the Bellones' stay for the quality and presentation of the food as well as the atmosphere. A truly memorable dining experience as we savoured the unique dishes while gazing at the incredible Opera House architecture and not being asked to vacate our individual seats for lap-sharing space in the economy section of the restaurant.

Rockpool - a creation of Neil Perry, a well-known chef and restauranteur in Australia, Rockpool serves up innovative and fresh seafood cuisine that didn't disappoint. This was a special choice to celebrate Michelle's 40th birthday which took place on that day. Happy birthday, Michelle! We had a truly wonderful meal and even mixed a bit with the locals (well, with people who have beards, wear really big bow-ties and have supermodels following them around for some reason).

Star City Casino - as the name implies, this is the place that either makes or breaks dreams. In our case, it made them as Star City likely topped John's list of favourite spots after he cleaned them out of cash (relatively speaking, of course) on three separate occasions. Let's hope John figured out that this was just part of Australia's ploy to keep the tourists coming back and that his "system" won't work in Vegas or Atlantic City.

Although it is impossible to describe everything we experienced (and you wouldn't read it if we did), here are just a few other notable highlights from the entire visit:
• Seeing Le Grand Cirque in the main concert hall at the Opera House
• Bodyboarding in the surf at Bondi Beach
• Petting the koalas at Featherdale Wildlife Park
• Watching the colony of bats (flying foxes) flying overhead at Hervey Bay
• Briefly joining the Aboriginal band of didgeridoo players at Circular Quay
• Sliding down the outside walls of the Opera House
• Watching a winter wonderland themed show in the foyer of the casino (note: it is summer in Australia)
• Orange Bear leaving the US for the first time
• Catching flying food with our clothing in Chinatown
• Hiking hundreds of steep steps in the Blue Mountains to get a closer look at some rocks
• Winning the big jackpot which requires the attendant to pay out at the pub in Watson's Bay (note: the total cashout was $17)
• Buying a new stuffed animal for every child every 20 feet or 20 minutes, whichever came first

The end came too quickly as they wrapped up their two weeks with us and departed for home. But we can all say that we had a truly fantastic time and we did a great job creating memories that will last a lifetime.

All of the photos from their visit can be found here.

Tassie Adventure

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 04:16:33 -0500

This past week, the Goldberg clan along with Grandma from the USA hopped on down to Tasmania for the Australian National Irish Dancing Championships taking place in Hobart. We decided to make a holiday out of it and toured the island state, taking in amazing scenery in places like Stanley, Launceston, Queenstown, Cradle Mountain, Coles Bay, Port Arthur and Wineglass Bay among others.

It was an amazing week and we are very proud of our girls who went up against very fierce competition, holding their heads up high throughout the heat of battle. Although they didn't walk away with any trophies, they walked away with a great experience and the pride of having competed at the national level. Well done to the Goldberg girls!

Now we are back in Sydney and enjoying a few more days with Grandma before she makes the 24 hour return trip home.

Amanda at the Opera House

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:31:06 -0500

As part of the New South Wales Combined Choral Festival, Amanda performed in the main concert hall of the Sydney Opera House. We proudly watched and listened as Amanda, along with over 500 other students, belted out tunes from The Beatles, Dr. Seuss favourites and lots more. The evening of entertainment also included performances by a variety of wind and string ensembles featuring classic and contemporary pieces. The talent exhibited by the students of NSW was truly exquisite. And there's no better place in the world to feature it than the Opera House. Oh what a night!

The Boys Turn 2

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 18:21:47 -0500

Two years has come and gone in a flash. The twins are now 730+ days old and each of those days has been challenging, fun, rewarding, tiring and every other emotional description you can think of. They continue to learn new and dangerous things each day and we continue to learn new ways to keep children from critically injuring themselves.

We had a small party for them on Saturday and were fortunate enough to be joined by Uncle Ian who was in town for work. After devouring the professional looking and tasting cake that Kelly made, we spent time watching them enjoy their new toys while having a BBQ.

12 Years and Counting

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:24:58 -0500

Today marks our 12th year together in wedded bliss. Well, maybe 5th year (non-consecutive) of bliss and 7th year of "other". Whatever the number, the point is that we are still going strong. And we celebrated in style.

The day started with a water taxi to Rose Bay followed by a seaplane to Cottage Point on the Hawkesbury River. Great food, perfect weather and amazing scenery around Sydney made for a fantastic day out.

Happy 12th anniversary to us.

Run Girls, Run

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:17:51 -0500

On Sunday, 15 June, Rob, Allison and Amanda all participated in the mini-mosmarathon - a local foot race consisting of a 2k, 5k and 10k run. The girls entered the 2k and Rob entered the 10k. For more on how Rob went, see Rob's Blog.

The week leading up to the race, the girls decided it was time to begin training so they went on a couple of runs with dad around the neighbourhood. The first night of intense training, Amanda, Allison and Rob braved the rain and the cold wind for 2k before Allison decided she was ready for the big race and peeled off to return home. Amanda and Rob continued for another 2k, coming in at about 31 minutes.

On the Friday before the race, Allison was confident she had done enough preparation so she stayed with mum and Georgia next to the heater inside the house while Amanda and Rob took another 2k jog around Mosman.

Sunday arrived and the girls were nervous but ready. The starting gun sent them shooting past Mosman Public school in a 2k loop towards Military Road and back around the backside of the school. As 9 minutes 30 seconds approached, Amanda became visible amidst the crowd as she barrelled towards the finish. She crossed the line at 10:01, setting a personal record.

Moments later, Allison rounded the bend onto the home stretch and gave it all she had to cross the line at 13:27, also setting a personal record.

Needless to say, we were beaming with pride. They may not have come in first place, but they were certainly winners in our eyes.