Big brothers wedding in Canberra

Sorry for the long hiatus between blogs, the time has been flying and I haven't been very diligent at all. I aim to do a few catch ups tonight to get us all back on track. Well over a month ago Jason and I headed off to Canberra for my big brother's wedding to be held at Duntroon (Aussie Royal Military College).

Canberra was much colder than Perth and it was a decent 5 hour flight for us to get there, but it was worth it, as I hadn't seen my family since Christmas 2007!!! Far too long. There was also a very important member of the Hayek family that I hadn't met either (more on the family stuff in the next blog- this one is devoted to the wedding weekend).

We arrived in Canberra on the Wednesday evening around 10.30 at night. Quentin and Jane (his bride to be) met us at the airport. We headed off to Jane's parents where we were staying with Mum and Dad.

Jane's whole family were great... so welcoming and they definitely made our stay seem just like home. Jane's mum makes the most divine garlic dip and stunning fruit bread!!!!

After a great reunion with the family it was off to sleep as I was heading to the pool at 6am for some training with Jane's mum- who is also a triathlete!!! The pool was beautiful- it was a novelty swimming in an indoor pool again and to be honest it was much faster than either of my training pools in Perth.

Thursday was a busy training day for me and a busy day of fun for Jason- as it was the bucks night. The bucks party started at midday with go kart racing (and beer), then the driving range (and beer), then a few beers at the Kingston (all NZ triathletes who competed in Canberra should remember this pub for the post race hijinks)... then dinner (and beer) at the Kingston. Around 9pm Jane and I picked up the Hayeks from the airport and I got to see my beloved nephews- Harri is so grown up now (6), and Hudson who I hadn't met before. We then dropped Mark off at the Kingston and let the boys go on the meery way.

Around 2.30 am I got a call from my little brother looking for Jason... the next call came at 3am and then finally at 3.30 am I got the taxi request. Luckily we had taken our GPS with us so I managed to get to the city centre ok... well when I got there I was treated to a very drunk brother in law... I had prepared for this by taking some old towels and a bucket in case as I didn't want the hire car to be spoilt.

Well the bucket was well used on the way home, and I swear it was pure alcohol coming out. It always seems to be this way- the latecomer getting in the worst shape as they try to catch up.

So I had my little brother, Jason and my brother in law but no sign of the groom... I was getting a little worried as the boys had confiscated his phone as well and had it with us. We managed to get Mark home and then I made Jason locate Quentin. Mission complete... nearly. Jason then decided he was hungry so we headed back into town for McDonalds.

Finally 4.55am and we were back in bed. Unfortunately this put my 6am training session in jeopardy. I woke up on Friday and felt like a bus had hit me... holdon- I wasn't meant to have a hangover.

I got my own back on Jason though, Harri was sent in to wake him up at around 10am hehehe.

Jason, Dad and I were in charge of looking after Harri while Mum, Tiff and cousin Rosie made the flowers. I had another trip to the airport to pick up the Tickelpenny branch of the family and then it was dinner for 40 at the local club.

Saturday morning and I managed to get another training session in and then we were off to the local hairdresser for some fancy up-dos. Money well spent as I don't really have hairstyling skills.

Sheesh- it sounds jam packed (and it was)... the next part of my day was about to begin. I met the boys (who had spent the morning playing golf) at the Hyatt to take the photos of their buildup. Well there was a lot of fun and they looked great in their kilts. Below (l - r) is Tyson (little brother), Mark (brother in law), Jason, Quentin (big brother), and Harri (nephew).

Here they are again, lloking awesome and behaving themselves.

Hmmm and then it went a little downhill. I didn't think that I would get away from boys in kilts not having some fun!!! It was hilarious and so much fun being involved with this side of the wedding. Definitely different to the hair, nails and make up with some discrete sparkling wine that usually happens on the girls side!!!
My big brother... it was so awesome to see him so happy!
The boys playing around... keep in mind that Quentin is about 100kg!!! (I think)
The boys, just hanging out.
This is one of my favourite photos of the day... pity about the cars in the background.
Again- great to see Quentin looking so happy and excited.
Looking out over Canberra (much better memories of this trip than what I experienced in 2006)
I have it on good knowledge that the canon was VERY cold!
Well, after an hour of fun it was time to head down to the chapel.

Here is my beautiful little sister Tiffinee with Mark and Harri.
And my totally awesome parents, Mary and Ken.
Beautiful neice Summer Grace (Camille's daughter), and flower girl.
And... here's Jane, the glowing bride!!
The bridesmaids.
Here are the girls heaidng into the church...
During the wedding ceremony...
Quentin and Jane during the ceremony. There were a few chuckles when the second reading started with "Where ever I am there's always poo(h)"... it took guests a while to realise it was a reading from Winnie the Pooh :-)
The Bride and Groom lighting their candle.
And signing the register.
The bagpiper, who piped Quentin and Jane out of the church.
The entire wedding party in front of the church.
My gorgeous sister Camille, Summer and Harri.
Jane looking stunning in between the kumquats.
The Bride and Groom...

Jane and her boys...
Quentin just hanging out in between the kumquats.
Yay! Happy couple!

Ohhhh check out the neice and nephew!!!

The whole wedding party.
Quentin and the girls.
Quentin and Jane having a quiet moment (taken with the 300mm zoom lens)...
After the photos it was off the the Royal Perth Golf Course for the reception and time for me to have a few hours off... Taking the photos was exhausting!!!

The dinner was great and then...Yummo... the cake. I think I had 5 pieces of the chocolate mud!!!!
Here we are... all the siblings, together for the first time in ages....
And finally, the cake cutting ceremony! With a massive sword!
Well at about midnight we were being kicked out (sheesh a late night for me on 2 diet cokes... hmmm I must have been the cheapest wedding guest- mind you I am sure Jason made up for it on his side, hehehe).

The next morning I headed off to the local gym for a spin class and a 60 min run off the bike and then it was BBQ time. 9kg of bacon, dozens of sausages, eggs and bread later everyone was feeling lots better.

Sunday evening was a treat of fish and chips (never as good as NZ "fush" and "chups" but still a good post wedding meal) and photo perusing.

Most the family left Sunday evening/Monday morning and Jason and I flew back on Monday night (over 6 hours due to bad weather).

All in all an awesome weekend!!!!

A week in the life of the Papps...

We haven't done anything special this week so I thought that I would give you an idea of a normal week in the life of us here in Perth.

MONDAY: The week starts early every monday with a 4.30am wake up call, we drag ourselves out of bed, make lunches and leave the house at 5.10am to head to Bold Park swimming pool in Floreat. Its also known as "cold" or "mold" park... The pool is an outdoor 50m pool set in the middle of bush. For the months before the half ironman the pool had an infestation of argentian millipedes... euwwww they are gross, but apparantly every year at that time the pool is overrun with them. It is due to be 5 degrees tomorrow morning so there will be lots of steam rising from the pool. Generally it is pretty hard getting in but once we are moving it is fine and the showers are awesome.

Swim squad lasts 90 minutes and is anywhere between 4 - 5.5km of swimming. Monday's swim session is always strength related with lits of pull buoy, paddles and band work. From swimming we shower at the pool and head to work. I am usually at work by 7.30am and Jason 7.45 am.

Monday's for me are always very busy days at work with a team meeting and a full staff meeting as well as a lunchtime and an after work training session, so I usually head home pretty tired. Jason splits his time between Yambay in Subiaco and the East Perth Control Centre (Western Power).

Monday night is a real girls night on TV so I am usually on my own while Jason hangs out and plays on his computer. He usually has a clan match on a Monday night (clan matches are playing PC games online with his buddies).

TUESDAY: The second day of the week is a sleep in for us, we get up at 6.30- 6.45 ish, with the aim to leave home by 7.15am at the latest (otherwise the traffic is pretty horrendous through Claremont). I have a weights session at lunch time and a bike ride after work. Unfortnately I don't have any storage options for my bike at work so Jason has to drop my bike off to me at work. Once I am on my bike Jason heads home and cooks dinner while I do my training.

WEDNESDAY: Arghhh the alarm goes off at 4.30 am again today. The only difference to Monday's swim session is that this one is usually faster and slightly shorter sets. Wednesdays are probably my busiest day of any week with Board and Advisory group papers always being due on a Wednesday. I try to do my run at lunchtime, but if not successful I run after work. If I get it in during the day I can have an evening off training. If I do my session after work I try to talk Jason into joining me for these sessions.

THURSDAY: A similar day to Tuesday, sleep in, weights and a bike ride. Thursday nights are late shopping nights in the suburbs so we sometimes head to Garden City (shopping mall) or just into Claremont. Last week was the Myer sale- Jason got a winter jacket (because it is down to 20 degrees during the day now) and I got a new skirt for my brother's wedding in two weeks time. I try to be home by 8.30pm for Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice- my favourite TV watching night... which means Jason's on the computer again.

FRIDAY: Yip, thats right, its a 4.30am wake up call again. Fridays are my favourite swim squad days, and Jason's least favourite. Its always lots of kick and medley which I love. Its also something I am good at. That's it for Friday's training wise. We sometime try and have a quick healthy meal at Wagamama in Subiaco as well and more often than not pick up the 3 DVDs for $14 at our local video shop on the way home.

SATURDAY: The first weekend day is ALWAYS busy in Perth. I generally sleep in until I wake up and then do my training rather than set an alarm early. That way my body tells me when I am ready to get up. I have a morning and an afternoon training session but we always try and head to a cafe in between sessions for a coffee and pot of tea. This week we tried a new cafe in Nedlands and spent a good hour there reading the weekend paper in the sun. I was even in a singlet (in JUNE!!!!). While I am training Jason gets a head start on the housecleaning which I appreciate. Saturday afternoons are usually devoted to watching the DVDs that we didn't watch on the Friday night.

SUNDAY: Again I generally sleep in till I wake up and then head out on my training. Sundays can be anything from visits to the beach, visits to the markets, shopping in the city and more often that not supermarket shopping (in Fremantle as not many grocery stores are open). This week I only thought about shopping at 4.13pm so missed the chance. Shops are closed at 5 in Fremantle.

So that's a pretty normal week in the life of us in Perth.

Work function at Perth Zoo

Last Sunday we had a trip to the Zoo for a work family day BBQ, this involved tickets to the zoo and a fenced off area on the main lawn for lunch (11.30 - 2.30). We arrived at the zoo around 9am to do some sightseeing before the crowds arrived and I am really pleased that we did as nearer the middle of the day it got really busy.

Perth Zoo is based in the middle of South Perth, just 5 minutes from the CBD and it is really close to the Swan River. The zoo is really easy to get too and at times it is amusing to be looking at the orangutans, for example, and then seeing an apartment building overlooking the enclosure.

Perth Zoo is arranged in the following sections:

• Australian Walkabout;
• Australian wetlands;
• Reptile enclosure;
• Asian Rainforest;
  
• African Savannah
  
• South American Birds; and
  
• Nocturnal house.

They had so many different animals to check out!!! Here I am at the start of the day just hanging with the kanga...

And here's Jason hanging with his brother... check out his face. He is really excited to be having this photo... not. Slightly reminiscent of the bear shots in Canada.We started in the Australian Wetlands and the penguins. They are pretty noisy and smelly actually, but they looked like they were having lots of fun playing around in the water.
Can't recall what this bird was called...but they were good for photos.
So were these birds.

We were still in the Australian wetlands, here are some Spoonbills:
We left the wetlands and moved into the Australian Bushwalk and walkabout. Hmmm the Aussies didn't appreciate the "Dingo stole my baby" calls. This fellow didn't even bat an eyelid though. P.s. there was also a thick layer of glass between us and him... lucky for a good camera, but Ken and Rona's polarising lens may have come in handy at times as well.An Emu in the walkabout area...
We were the only ones in the bird area, so I managed to get lots of photos of all the birds. We were in the cages with them as well so we could get some good photos without glass, perspex and wires. Here is a Kingfisher:
An amazingly pretty blue bird...I have hundreds of shots of these.
This little fellow is a thick knee wren, but actually the ankles are
Out of the bird cage and back into the Aussie Bush... and here were the Kangaroos... very docile
And happy to be approached.
Just some random monkeys up a tree in the middle of the pond... very playful.
What would a trip to the zoo be without some shots of pretty flowers...
Its been a while since I have been inspired to take shots of flowers so I was so pleased to see some pretty things while at the Zoo. I generally find Aussie pretty stark and hard to photograph so far so I was in my element until Jason told me people thought I looked like a dork taking photos of plants...
We visited the nocturnal house next, but no photos there as it was dark. It was fun trying to spot all the animals though. There were spiders, bats, snakes, frogs and many more...

Then we got to check out the lemurs.

Is it a monkey... is it a bird??? Not sure, but he sure is weird.
Another closer shot of the lemur.
Ohhhhh Mummy and Baby monkey hanging out. This was so cute to watch. Look at the baby monkeys hands... so cute.
And then on to my favourite part of the Zoo... the Orangutan enclosure. This was AMAZING!!! They had heaps of things for them to play on and it was an awesome place to hang out.


Ohhhhhh a little baby going up the climbing ropes...
Nearly there...
Hmmm do you think that the leaf helps him balance along the rope walk...
After the orangutans we really noticed how busy the Zoo was... so many people and it was pram city... families with kids everywhere. We figured that it was probably near the middle of the day so we headed off to the main lawn area for our work picnic.

We had an area fenced off just for the IMO which was great. A few comments about being animals in a Zoo as everyone was checking us out. The bbq was great, there was an entertainer for the kids, a great meal and good company. Our drinks cart held a great array of beer, wine and soft drinks, all on ice (which was good as it was still about 25 degrees... in the middle of May!!). Lucnh was beautiful fresh bread, steak, gourmet sausages, chicken, fish, potato wedges and some awesome salads. We topped lunch off with a great simple icecream.

The best thing was we were having lunch over the busy time of the day and by the time we had finished the zoo's visitor's population had diminished somewhat which was good.

After lunch we were off again.

Hehehe another flower shot.
I had to do it to Jason... he hates these shots, but I did manage to catch him smiling in this one.
It was hard to get good photos of the tigers... sorry for the reflection off the glass.
The elephant came out to play for us... our timing was great...
He's making short work of the piece of wood.
After the elephant we were onto the baboons... here they were picking lice from each other.
And then something so awesome... we managed to see the rhinocerous's squaring off against each other... running around at full speed (about 40kmh). I wouldn't want to be in the way, thats for sure.

The zebras.
The giraffe, just as it was heading back into a closed off part of the zoo.
and the galapogas turtle.... huge!!! Slow moving and check out the green goo around his mouth...
I had nearly 300 photos from the zoo so I couldn't put them all up here. Some of the other animals that I haven't put photos up were:

• Cassowaries
• Cheetahs
• Cockatoos
• Crocodiles ( a massive 8m crocodile!!!)
• Echidnas
• Frogs
• Hyaenas
• Koalas (pretty boring really.... just lazy balls of fluff)
• Lions (apparantly out playing and really photogenic just before lunch but we missed our opportunity)
  
• Meerkats (too many kids checking out the meerkats to get any good photos)
• Numbats
• Otters
• Painted Dogs (similar looking to hyaenas)
  
• Red Pandas
• Reptiles (the reptile enclosure wasn't open when we went past early in the morning and we forgot to go back at the end of the day)
• Sun Bears (again too busy to get any good photos)
• Tasmanian Devils
• Tree Kangaroo
• Wallabies

So all in all a pretty amazing zoo really. I am not usually a fan of Zoos but this one is pretty awesome, lots of space for the animals and the enclosures are made to be very similar to their natural habitat so they all look at home, no really awful concrete enclosures here.

A great day and an awesome idea for a work function.