New Zealand, September 2009

Okay, naughty parents that we are, we snuck (?) away from the children for the first time since India was born. So this isn't really a family blog...

A bit of context if you will....part of our pre-nuptial agreement was that I had to learn to snowboard. And of course, David took me to learn on a live volcano, and then left me, a newbie boarder in the middle of a blizzard, on the slopes.

Of course, I passed the test and we go back to the volcano every few years. Mt Rupheau is in the middle of the north island of New Zealand. The place is called Whakapapa, and it is an excellent ski field full of bowls and gullies created by lava flows.

We stay at a place called the Chateau Tongarao, named after another nearby volcano. It is a grand old place in the middle of nowhere and perfect for relaxing, especially after having thrown your body down the hill all day.

From there we went to a conference, and then home to the children who has been in the care of grandparents.

Bintan, Indonesia, July 2009

School holidays are still new to us, so it was slightly surprising that we actually aligned our travels with one. David was working in Singapore and had time between training days, so we met him in Club Med Bintan, an hours ferry ride from Singapore. Some people that had met David in Tokyo would be there too.

I have never been to a Club Med and was not keen on the concept. I am happy to say expectations were surpassed by a long way. Both the girls went to kids club the first few days, keen to get into the activities - from archery, to kite making, fish feeding, water slides and so on.

David and I relaxed and enjoyed time off. And then we threw ourselves into the Club Med experience.

Swimming, yoga, massages, sailing, windsurfing, though David was unhappy with the wind's performance over the week. The photo on the left is of David on the one relatively windy day on a sailing boat - in the background you might be able to see a girl who jumped overboard.

Each night after dinner there was circus skills practice, a show and then line dancing and of course the free drinks. We learnt how to juggle, diablo, hula hoop, and indeed salsa dance too. The major shows each night were quite amazing, cirque du soleil types, to comedy, and rock and roll.

The high point, literally, for us was the trapeze. I took to it like a duck to water, getting to do tricks and catches. Trinity took a little longer to warm to it, ending up doing many flamingos and a final knee hang and back flip off which turned into ten somersaults in a row. She made firm friends with the crew. Monkeys even came to watch.

The big story was watching David trust himself and his body to fly through the air. After a couple of days of simple swinging he decided he was ready for a back flip and then the next day went the whole way to do a knee hang and then back flip off the trazpeze (see the video below). I will load videos of Trinity and me flying too and will send out the links separately.

Totally satisfying as holidays go. Then to the ferry, airport hotel for the night and an early flight home.

New York June 2009, part 2

As always, I leave this town with my head spinning. It takes time to adjust, and get into the rhythm and just as I do, it is time to leave.

This trip has been a good one. We found, thanks to Jaimie and Joe, a great venue for David's book launch on October 13th (see the view to the right). Our friend Ara helped us come up with a fabulous idea for the launch, which we will keep under our hats until the event.

Trinity tried out Tai Kwan Doe, which she loved. We watched eight year old's spa, and were impressed by their energy and focus. She loved chasing around the instructor trying to land a blow with both fist and foot.

Summer camp run by blue school allowed Trinity a week of hanging out with other kids and doing great creative projects.

One of the big events of the trip was going out to Coney Island to see the Mermaid parade which happens around the summer solstice each year. Sadly it was raining this year, so the parade ended early.

We walked along the board walk past lots of amazing creatures and costumes. Our favourite was the sea creature, which India was entranced by, as he ate his fish and chips under cover during the rain. We all dressed up, with Trinity as a mermaid (including a blond wigand a shell shaped bra top). Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos but it was great fun for her.

Coney Island is an interesting place. The fun fair has lots of great rides for little kids, though operating intermittently due to the rain on the day. I was tempted by the 'Shoot the freak' game (!). We were deeply sad to miss the hot dog eating competition that was due to take place in 12 days.

Trinity and I also had the pleasure of going to the Broadway show 'The little Mermaid'. Last time she saw the 'Lion King' with her father, so this time we got to sing along with Ariel. We then walked around Times Square which is now a more pedestrian place, as they have fenced off many of the roads to allow for the vast amounts of tourists that walk around there each year.

The trip ended on a high note. We got to JFK burdened with the normal extra luggage collected in NYC and found that we had been upgraded to business class the whole way home. Ahhhh, such happy events.

New York, June 09

I love New York. It is such a great town. We arrived Wednesday night, way too late, and on Thursday afternoon went to the last hour of the last day (before summer break) of Blue School with Trinity. The kids and teachers greeted her with joy and excitement.

One of the children, Charles was having his birthday party that afternoon so we gate crashed the party, which happened to be one of the most amazing birthday parties I have ever been too.

Held in a photographic studio on the waters edge, there was soccer, t-shirt painting, floating balloons, dress-ups, plays, dancing and great food. What an entry to New York. I connected with the mothers, arranged some play dates, drank some champagne. Such hard work.

I feel very blessed to be part of the blue school community, the parents are open hearted and welcoming to us, the kids are bold and creative and it feels like coming home in many ways. Trinity fits right in. David is on the board of the school and contributes the latest neuroscience to the curriculum. See the Time magazine video here.

We are also blessed to stay with the Cloud Levine household in NYC. They open their space to us, and allow us to be as chaotic as we are! We have common ground in growing businesses, and similar values in improving our world. Jaime runs sustainability training for K-12 teachers across the US, and David is a sustainable chemical composition guy, who lobbies the government about recycling materials, makes jars out of corn and other fantastical things.

Other big news is that Trinity has two new teeth coming up in front at the bottom. Unfortunately the two teeth already there need to make way, so we are waiting with baited breath for the tooth fairy to arrive for the first time.

Prague, Czech Republic June 09

David left for London to teach his class at Oxford and pitch some business, while the girls and I flew from Singapore to Frankfurt and then on to Prague. I had heard a great deal about the beauty of Prague, so was a little disappointed in the first few days walking around. High expectations can do that.

I found that Prague grows on you. Walking through the old town is beautiful at every turn. The squares are surrounded by amazing old clock towers and churches. Every building has an ornate front, sculptures and friendly gargoyle types. And the river winds its way through the city. Our first day we took random tram trips all over the city to get the lay of the land. The next day we went to Prague Museum which was filled with thousands of stuffed dead animals.

Summer in Europe is never to be trusted, especially with global warming. It was almost arctic so I spent time searching for warmer clothes for the girls. Luckily our rented apartment was wonderfully warm.

David arrived, and he and I focused on business. The reason for our visit to Prague was a Leadership Retreat for our businesses licensees from around the globe. Sadly a couple of them couldn't make it, so with three of our team from Australia we met as a group of 12 and had two days of solid talking and thinking about where we want to take our business, and what is next for us as a business. Really worth while, and a precursor to our next meeting in late July in Sydney with our regional managers from around the world, from markets we manage.

After the retreat was over we got to enjoy Prague again with the girls, by visiting Prague Castle and most importantly a toy museum with a '50 years of Barbie' exhibition. It just doesn't get better then traveling half way around the world to walk through rooms full of barbies.

The Czech people seem to be an outdoor loving group (that and fatty foods), with a decided lack of politeness for tourists. Overall a lovely city, and glad we had the opportunity to experience it (with the help of locals - thanks Vladi and Kristin).

Singapore May 09

The female Rocks left Sydney on May 27th 2009, with the au pair Emily in tow. We left a few days late due to a mumps scare. David went to Tokyo first to speak at the first TED conference there. Unfortunately he was laid low in bed for some of his short time there so didn't get to enjoy it fully. We met him in Singapore, where we slowly got to recover from the cold/sinus infection we had. Having Emily was a blessing which allowed for much needed rest.

Time by the pool and a trip out to the Sentosa Shangri La, with it's three water slides was relaxing and a nice way to start this trip.

Sydney May 09

The first Sunday in May is opening of the Icebergs season. We head down to the pool, where, after much ado, ice blocks are thrown into the water and then the members all jump in. We then swim 5o meters, have a sausage sizzle and beer, and head slowly home to a relaxed Sunday afternoon. See Guy and Siani doing their duty with ice in hand.

It was also Trinity's sixth birthday party with lots of chaos, family and friends to celebrate. She was thrilled that everyone came and more importantly gave her lots of good presents.

We also had the good news of a new niece, Natasha Hain, with a happy, though tired Danielle, Barry, Mikayla and Rhys. Congratulations to the Hain family.

Trinity and I got some quality time to go to the Kusama exhibition at the MCA, walk around Circular Quay and eat ice cream. We loved the magical fairly light room, and the fluro polka dot lounge room.

Also just before we left Trinity had a trial at Montessori East and decided she wants to go there despite the kids calling her Trinity Infinity. She will start back third term as she needs a week of quarantine, which segways into school holidays nicely.

The other big news is that David submitted his final manuscript for his new book to the publisher, promising not to write another book for another five years. I don't quite believe it myself. India didn't really help with the speed of the process either.