my parents in AUSTRALIA!!!

so, my parents came to visit us in australia a little over 2 weeks ago.  it was so great having them here.  i hardly missed home at all while they were here since they are such a big part of my idea of home.  we did some of the same things we did while a&t {adam and tara} were here so i won't go into great details on the repeats, but i will definitely share some pics.  

when my parents got here we took them around mackay to a popular look out and to show them the marina.   Unfortunately, after 3 weeks of FABULOUS weather before they arrived, the weather was not so great.  But my dad still snapped some great photos. 

on their first full day, we went to eungella and finch hatton gorge.  i am really getting my fair share of this place, but i don't care because i love it!  and i feel super lucky because, now, 2 out of 3 times i have seen platypus.  apparently my parents have the same luck that a&t had!  not to mention, every trip is unique.  like this time, we got see the platypus really close up and there were other unique happenings that i will explain in the pictures. 

{we saw A LOT of this blue bird, which was really cool since it's on the sign of "what to look for" and it's a really beautiful bird!  you can read more about it's origin below...}

{dad caught a photo of the platypus plunging down into the water.}

{this picture shows exactly how small these platypus are... that's one next to a bridge pillar.  they are no longer than probably 1.5 feet.}

{talk about unique happenings, this is a photo of two platypus "connected"... i'll leave that to your own interpretation.}

(these two loons were so playful.  they were playing with the platypus and here they are airing out their wings.  they looked like stuffed birds, standing still like that.}

{and, in case you wanted to see some real life platypus action, here are some videos... }

after platypus viewing, we headed to the chalet to enjoy a drink and an appetizer.

{the tree coming out of pam's head is totally my fault... woops!}

{engagement photo!  for those of you who don't know... my parents have always been publicly affectionate.  it's actually really sweet.}

then we went to finch hatton gorge.  and, right away, we were greeted by at least 6 kookaburras!  i LOVE these birds.  they are so cute and fluffy.

then we took the hike to the water fall, and dad had his fancy shmancy lens on his camera to take pictures of the water fall.

we ended the day with a pie from pinnacle pub {famous for their pies}.  it was delicious and we even got a visit from rosie, the dog next door.  she was so cute and reminded us of bella.  what a great way to end the day.