THE FIRST PICTURE...

KAI ROBERT BRATTON

(Kaibob)

Born to Jason and Susan on Friday, July 21.

Blue Mountain Bush Walk

Julie, Zack, Pepi, and I went on a bush walk in the Blue Mountains yesterday. There was a light drizzle and the mountains were shrouded in mist. It was about 48 degrees, but we were active enough to stay warm. The total trek was about 6 miles, but there was a lot of elevation change. We started at the top of the cliffs, and wound our way to the valley past several waterfalls. We went along the valley floor through a narrow grotto, down along another waterfall, then started our climb out. The climb out was the most strenuous part, but it was well worth it.

I made it all by myself!

Smoked salmon over a bed of lettuce and fresh basil with tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese drizzled with balsalmic vinegarette!

Centennial Park

I went biking yesterday in Centennial Park. They have a dedicated bike lane that is wider than the car lane! They also have a dedicated jogger's path and an equestrian path as well. I took a few laps around Grand Drive which is about 2.25 miles per lap (see map). All and all, not a bad day for the middle of winter here...

Lunch in Oz

We had lunch at Doyle's. It's right on the water next to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The tuna steak was yummy...

Hello from the other side of the planet...

We made it to Sydney! My bag was lost for 36 hours, but it did manage to show up.

I bought a bicycle to keep here and managed to fall on my ass the first time I stopped. I forgot to adjust the pedal release tension and fell over HARD when my feet wouldn't come off the pedals. It still hurts to sit down and that was 3 days ago! I took my bike out again yesterday and ended up on a six lane freeway that had NO shoulders. Just a big cement wall at the edge of the road and no where to go. I was trapped! Hard to explain, but it REALLY SUCKED!!!

It's winter here, so the days are short and cool. Highs in the upper 50s and the sun sets at 5:30. Still nice and sunny though. More later, I just wanted to get this initial post up and some pictures. Stay tuned...

Heading for OZ again...

Just a quick update. Zack and I are heading to Sydney today. I'll be there for 3 weeks and Zack will be there for 8 weeks. I'll post photos and news after we've been there for a couple of days.

It's winter there, so the days will be shorter and cooler than here. Highs will be around 60 and the lows will be around 40. Not too bad for winter. The bad thing is it will be dark by 5:30!

Zack Barkelew - Class of 2006!!

Zack graduated from Rock Bridge High School last night. I video taped everything for those that couldn't make it. WAY TO GO ZACK!!! (Star wanted to go, but she was stuck on a raft in the middle of the pool...) CLICK HERE for the article from the Columbia Tribune.

Art in the Park

This weekend was "Art in the Park". This was the first year that it was held at the new Stephen's Park near the house. There were some great artisans displaying their works. Check out earthimages.net to see one photographer's work. He prints his photographs on canvas with the images wrapping around the edge of the canvas. Very nice work!

What the ????

Identify this family member and win a prize! (Those who were present are not allowed to participate.)