Ella Kate and John David Jr.: Australia Day 1

Australia - Elliott's Go Down Under
We took the trip of a lifetime a few weeks ago over an extended Thanksgiving Break. It was an amazing vacation that exceeded all of our expectations. Dave researched all the details and planned the perfect trip. Our flight left Atlanta around 4pm on Monday, 11/14/2016, which worked out perfectly so the kids could go to school for half a day. The timing of the vacation worked out great and Ella Kate and John only had to miss 4 1/2 days of school. However 4 1/2 days in 3rd grade at MCAA is kind of a big deal and sweet Ella Kate worked and studied her tail off preparing in advance. The day we left for Australia I took her to school early so that she could take 3 tests. I could not believe it when her teachers emailed me on the trip saying she got a 100 on all three tests :) So proud of that little girl.

We took 3 flights to get to Sydney, Australia and the kids loved getting wings on each flight. Ella Kate and John loved keeping tally of all the flights and talking about how many planes they have been on. They were shocked when I told them I was 23 the first time I flew in an airplane :) HaHa We flew from Atlanta to Denver, Denver to San Francisco, and then San Francisco to Sydney, Australia. The kids did fantastic on the flights. They both knew this trip was a big deal and a huge privilege and Dave and I were proud that they acted the part. They are both excellent travelers and we hope to repeat this vacation when Charlotte is older and can come with us. We will never be able to thank Papa and LeLe enough for watching Charlotte so that we could take this trip. They are amazing!

So proud of these two and how good they were on the airplanes! They rocked over 20+ hours of flying each way :) They loved sitting by each other and looking out the windows. We had numerous people on each flight compliment their behavior.

First set of wings for the trip. We made it to Denver, Colorado just in time for dinner.

The kids enjoyed a nice Chick-fil-A dinner in Denver which we knew would be their last American meal for a while ;)

Plane #2 Denver to San Francisco! We were thankful that all of our layovers were less than an hour so we moved quickly when visiting Denver and San Fran.

Now on to the International Terminal. The kids quickly saw the difference in the "extras" the international long haul flights have to offer :) They were so excited about all the details and it was fun to watch them. These chairs were a big hit.

More fun chairs while waiting to board the big airplane from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia.

Almost time to Board.

One last picture before dozing off to sleep........ These two probably slept 10-11 hours of the 14 1/2 hour flight from San Francisco to Sydney. They were amazing. They did better than most adults did on that flight!

We made it to Sydney. As soon as we arrived in Sydney we got our luggage, grabbed a cab and set off for our hotel located right on Darling Harbor. We stayed at Metro Apartments on Darling Harbor. I snagged the below pics of the hotel room from the company website but they are exactly what our hotel room looked like and I want to document it so I will always remember ;) The kids loved the loft bed and the huge windows looked out over Darling Harbor and gave us amazing views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. The hotel staff was incredibly nice and helpful and gave us lots of good tips.
We arrived at our hotel in Sydney around 9am. Our room was not yet ready so we left our luggage with the hotel staff, changed our clothes and freshened up in the lobby restroom and set out to see the sights of Sydney.

Ella Kate and John thought this loft bed was the coolest!

Downstairs.

Perfect view of Darling Harbor.

There it is! It truly is a sight to see! So beautiful!

Walking over the Harbor Bridge.

This little girl sure does love her Daddy.

We climbed the stairs to the top of Harbor Bridge for some breathtaking views.

We love them so :)

Family Photo from the Top of the Harbor Bridge Observation Deck with the Sydney Opera House in the background.

It was such a fun day!

The massive time difference did not seem to bother them a bit.

Silly faces.

Ella Kate and John loved helping us taking pictures on this trip.

Senior and Junior.

The kids were so excited to be in Australia - they were constantly asking for us to take their picture :) HaHa

We loved Darling Harbor and the city of Sydney. The people were incredibly nice and the city was so clean and beautiful and not crowded. Just perfect.

We stopped for a nice lunch and enjoyed our first taste of local Australian food.

So happy to be here :)

Harbor Bridge

Ready for our Tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was so cool. We learned so much.

We could not take pictures inside the Opera House so you will just have to trust me that it is amazing. We got to sit in the seats in several of the theaters inside. Our tour guide was amazing and so interesting. She kept the kids attention the entire time. At the end she complimented them on how good they were and said they could join her tour group anytime :)

Directly outside of the Sydney Opera House.

Running up the stairs pretending to be Rocky :)

Sydney Botanical Gardens.

So many enormous trees to climb - so little time :)

John loved chasing this bird. The fact that the bird did not kill John is a true miracle :)

We went to the Sydney Tower Buffet for our first dinner in Sydney. We all ate (well some ate more than others) kangaroo, wallaby, emu, etc. :)

Another picture I stole from a website but the gold structure is the Sydney Tower where we had dinner. It is the tallest structure in Sydney and the 2nd tallest in the Southern Hemisphere.