Bundles of happiness...

"He's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!"

-Agnes, "Despicable Me"

Yesterday I was able to take a day trip to Rottnest Island.  This island isn't very big but is famous for its adorable residence the quokka!  Quokka is a marsupial animal only found in Australia.  They are super curious animals and look like they are smiling!

The island was first explored by the Dutch who had never seen marsupials (animals whose young develop in a pouch).  They thought the quokkas looked like overgrown rats so they named the island rat's nest or in Dutch, Rottnest. 

Here you can see the baby hanging out of the pocket and then on the right if you look at the mother's stomach you can see the pocket open. 

They are just sooooo cute! 

I could have spent my whole time on the island just taking pictures of the quokkas but I did go for a hike around the island.  The island isn't very large at 7.3 sq. mi. and cars aren't allowed on the island so bikes have become the chosen mode of transportation.  I hate biking so instead I chose to go on a hike around the islands salt lakes. 

I got excited when I saw their was a pink lake on the island.  That is what this is supposed to be.  I guess the vividness of the pink depends on the weather and algae blooms. 

 It was such a beautiful day, that I even waded in the water for a bit! Pictures cannot do the color of the water justice!

 I'm not really sure what this is but obviously some sort of art display.  But the yellow was perfectly matched up across the buildings.

I also visited penguin island. 

I was excited to see an island teeming with penguins.  Turns out penguins are gone almost the whole day swimming around for fish, so we had to be happy to see the 9 little orphaned penguins in the enclosure.  These guys are called little, fairy, or blue penguins and are the smallest type of penguin.

This weekend we are celebrating my birthday and Christmas with the father's side of the family.  I came across these beautiful Christmas decorations while out shopping.  What do you think can I ship this home to decorate for Christmas next year in Wisconsin?