Crocs.
We went to the Australia Zoo today, which was created by Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter. The place was HUGE! Almost too huge. It was a really nice zoo, very clean and well cared for. But, in my opinion, not as good as the Omaha zoo. I think that because of its size, it needed more animals. Still really cool, and we would (and probably will because we bought an annual pass) go back again. As expected, there were tons of crocs. They had an awesome crocodile show in a huge crocoseum. Steve’s wife, daughter, and son all participated in the show, which was unexpected but pretty cool. Steve’s son is 10 and he was feeding the crocs. Yikes!

Koalas.
We saw more koalas, and although we didn’t hold one, we did get to pet one. They are as soft as they look.

Roos.
So one of my worst fears happened today. Because we had such an awesome experience at Currumbin, and Ty LOVES all animals, even though jay and I tell him over and over again to be careful, go slow, yadda yadda, Ty came across an angry kangaroo today. The Australia Zoo has a huge park like setting that has a few kangaroos. Some people were petting them. Ty went up to one that was laying down, and even though he went up to it pretty slow, it didn’t feel like getting touched. Without any warning, it reached out its paws that unfortunately have some long nails and scratched his chin and chest. He cried and cried. It definitely hurt, scared him, and probably broke his heart a little that the kangaroo didn’t want to be his best friend. :(. Like a trooper, though, he didn’t want to leave. We washed off his battle scars as best we could and kept making our way through the zoo. He learned a valuable lesson today about animals. Hopefully he will remember this the next time he comes across animals. I just hate that he go hurt, especially by an animal that we get so excited about seeing. We thought that we better pick up a kangaroo toy when we left. On the bright side, there aren’t that many dudes out there that can say they got attacked by a kangaroo. It will be a great ice breaker for him throughout his life…”hi, my name is Ty. I got attacked by a kangaroo once. What’s your name? Do you want to play with me?”

So this fun mini vacation is coming to an end. Back to work and school tomorrow. G’day mates!

Hide and Seek.
After swim lessons on Saturday we drove a couple hours up to the Sunshine Coast. As we were driving along we saw a store with cowhides hanging on the fences, so we whipped the car around and went to check it out. We walked out of there with a brindle cowhide for our living room and a kangaroo hide for Ty’s room.

Saddlery.
Just down the road was a western store, so we had to stop there, as well. We got a kick out of their sign.

Palmer Coolum Resort.
We checked into our room at the Palmer Coolum Resort. We chose this hotel because it has a dinosaur park. The resort has received a lot of negative press, ranging from poor service, to run down rooms, to incorrect statistics about the dinos, to complaints about dinos roaring all night. But, we knew Ty would think it was pretty cool so we decided to give it a go. I pictured a handful of animatronic dinosaurs, but apparently the richest man in Australia follows the “go big or go home” approach to Dino parks. If I had to guess, there were probably 100 dinosaurs. I know there are a lot of haters out there, but I thought it was pretty wicked (Ty’s new word). There were SO many of them, most of them moved and made noises, some were babies hatching out of eggs. Lily loved the pterodactyls flapping their wings overhead. And Ty skipped through the park. “Whoa look at that one!!” His reaction to everything was priceless.

Wild Roos!
I have been looking for wild kangaroos since the day we landed in Oz, and have not seen one. Until today. Right outside our hotel room balcony. And on our buggy ride to the beach (this hotel is ginormous) we saw Roos on the golf course. I love kangaroos!

Beach.
After a good nap (and the first time that I have sat on a couch for more than 10 minutes since we moved down under), we went to check out the beach. The Sunshine Coast is a bit unique in that they don’t allow development in most areas directly on the beach. So we walked along a beautiful sandy tree-filled path (and tried not to think about all of the poisonous critters watching us). We did see a bunch of little white crabs – Ty thought that was cool. We ended up at a beautiful beach. There was hardly anyone there, it kind of felt like we had the beach to ourselves. We dipped Lily’s toes in the ocean – she wasn’t sure what to think, but she didn’t freak out. There are a couple videos on my Facebook page if you are interested. Here are some still shots.

Pool.
After the beach, Ty wanted to swim in the pools. We had the first one all to ourselves!

Dinner “with” a billionaire.
We ate dinner at the Village Square, where all of the restaurants have an indoor/outdoor feel. We sat outside, at a table directly in front of the man behind the dinosaurs – Clive Palmer. He is the guy in the white shirt in the middle of the table.

Ty was playing in the game room (finding change, of course), Lily was sleeping in her stroller, and Jay and I were enjoying a glass of wine, waiting for our meal to arrive, when a furry critter scurried up the pole behind Jay. I jumped up and ran from the table. Apparently my maternal instincts are lacking because I left Lily and the stroller at the table. A group of teenagers at a table nearby were laughing and said, “we saw it go under your table!” Thanks guys. Upon further inspection, it was a possum. They are not like the possums in the US, though (thank goodness). I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are cute, but they are better looking than their US relative. And I probably shouldn’t have been quite so nervous because at least there are no known cases of rabies in Australia. That being said, they do still have teeth. And it did nibble on Jay’s toes at one point (ewwww!!!). I ate most of my meal with my feet up on the bench. At least it gave is something to entertain us during our meal.

More Roos.
Sunday morning we got up and ate breakfast (again with Clive) and as we were walking back to our hotel room, we came upon a mama Roo and her Joey. We must have scared the Joey because we watched him actually climb into his mama’s pouch. Might have been the coolest thing ever. After a couple minutes he peeked his head out of her pouch, checked us out, then went on eating grass with his mama. I decided to take a video and filmed them eating, then walking across the path in front of us, then hopping up the hill. It’s on my Facebook page. Wicked awesome.

Zoo.
We are on our way to the zoo now. More to come!

Diaper.
Or nappy, as they say here. The other night I got the task of dinner clean up while Jay got the kids bathed, pj’s on, and ready for bed. When I finished up, I came upstairs and found my three favorite people all laying in Ty’s bed, pj’s on, ready to read books. We went through our normal bedtime routine of reading 3 books, goodnight moon, and prayers. Lily seemed extra interested in the process, didn’t make a peep. Jay usually lays in Ty’s bed for a few minutes after we are done, so he picked up Lily, and laid her on his tummy for me to take her to bed. And then he said the most funny thing of the week. “Um, you might want to put her in a diaper.” What?!?! Playing with fire, Mr Shearer. How does one snap all of those buttons on pajamas and NOT realize that the baby does not have a diaper on? He is SO lucky she didn’t relieve herself…. Hilarious!

More visitors!!
Jeff and Rachel are coming to visit!!!!! They will be here for a couple weeks in April. And I think Riley and Miranda are coming in June/July. Add that to Sherry’s trip in a few weeks, and time is bound to fly by. I am so looking forward to everyone’s visits.

Spiked Bikers.
I have noticed some bikers riding their bicycles around with these homemade spikes coming out of their helmets. This piqued my curiosity, so I googled it.

Magpie

+ Biker without said helmet

= yet another thing to worry about in Australia

I can’t make this stuff up…

Lunch.
Jay has BoatSafe class today so he can get his marine drivers license. It is supposed to be approximately 6-noon. This morning while I was feeding Lily at 6:00 AM, Ty came into Lily’s room. He said, “Mom, I just ate my lunch!” I said, “Do you mean breakfast?” “Nope, lunch. Will dad be home now?” Ahhhhhh, such a thinker. Then I asked him what he had for lunch. “Cheeseballs!” Of course. If only he could survive on cheeseballs…

Crumpets.
We decided we better have a proper brekky. The last time we went to the grocery store Ty threw a package of crumpets in the cart. Sure, why not?! I have asked him a couple of times if he wants to eat them and he has said no. Today, though, was the day he wanted to try them. I am not sure what the recommended topping is for crumpets. Ty ate his plain. I put strawberry jam on mine. It wasn’t too bad. It kind of tasted like a mix between an English muffin and a waffle. Ty loved it. Ate every last crumb.

Safe Boater.
Jay passed his BoatSafe course with flying colors! After a couple hours of classroom learning and a couple hours of hands on jet ski and boat training, Jay aced his 80 question exam. In the words of the instructor, “that never happens, mate.” So, he has the book smarts down, now we just need lots of practice. We are hoping to get the mechanical inspection done on the boat this week. In typical Aussie fashion, this is the most drawn out boat-buying process ever…

Christmas Tree.
I figured I better put the Christmas tree away before I go back to work tomorrow. Jay had a great idea to put the tree in a closet, fully assembled, so next year it will be super easy to put it back up. I very carefully carried the tree across the house to the guest bedroom (yay! It didn’t fall apart!) only to find out that the tree is too wide for the closet. I then pulled the tree out of the closet to take the ornaments and 600 lights off of it (not so yay! Started to fall apart). As I was struggling to keep the tree together, Ty came to my rescue to help take off the ornaments. I continued to struggle with the lights. I kind of wish someone had video taped it, as it was not my most graceful de-treeing I have done… 5 hours later (probably) the tree and all Christmas decorations (4 stockings) are put away. Until next Christmas…

Back to Reality.
Mild depression is setting in as it starts to sink in that I have to go back to work tomorrow. And not only that, it is Jay’s month end so I am flying solo in the evenings. Ugh. We have a rental home inspection tomorrow, so I have been trying to get the house in shape for it (although I can’t hide the spot where the bike and the drywall got in a fight and the bike lost).

The kids start in their new classrooms tomorrow at daycare, so this should be interesting. Hoping the change won’t be too much for Ty. Just as the poor kid was getting used to things, he has to start the new year in a new room. It is interesting here that they try to get kids on a school year schedule way before they are in school.

The school years start in January. This is the last year that Ty can be at his daycare. If we are here beyond next December, he will start kindergarten here. I have filled out an application to get on a waiting list at a nearby school that some other expats’ kids go to. Not sure if he will get in. Crazy to think I have to think about this a year in advance.

Which leads me to thoughts about school for Ty when we move back to the states. We live in the Davenport West school district. I think he will go to Buffalo elementary, Walcott Middle, and West High (assuming we stay in the Quad Cities). I am debating looking into private schools in the QC. If anyone has any thoughts or opinions about this, feel free to send me a message. If I go the private school route, do I need to be submitting applications now, or is it not as back-logged at home?

Quiet Evening.
When Ty wakes we will go to the grocery store, cook dinner, and relax before the busy week ahead. G’day mates!

Arangalay.
No, that isn’t a typo. It isn’t really an actual word. Ty made it up.
Arangalay (ah-RANG-ah-lay): noun the rough buggy path between our neighborhood and the grocery store.
Ty ran the entire arangalay when he and Jay went to pick up dinner Sunday night. It is pretty far, so I am impressed that he ran the whole way.

Bike.
When they got home, after getting a workout from the run, ty must have been on an adrenaline high, because he wanted to go for a quick bike ride. He is doing much better on his bike. He was moving along at a good pace, steering, and didn’t look terrified. Yay! Back on track.

Triathlon.
So if you think about Ty’s Sunday, he swam, ran, and biked. You know, his favorite song is, “I’m sexy and I know it – I workout!” He is an inspiration to us all…
I know, I have an idea! I will be his triathlon coach and will “run” along side him in the buggy. Just in case he gets tired and needs a ride home.

Super Bowl.
Jay rode the train into the CBD to meet some people from work at a pub to watch the Super Bowl. He had a good time, and it was nice for him to test out the train situation before we venture out on it with the kids. It took a good hour and cost him $30 round trip, so we won’t make a habit out of taking the train. But, it might be fun once or twice.

He said that they didn’t air the commercials, so I am glad that I didn’t take the day off. The commercials are my favorite part! And they had “wings” but they were a pretty sad attempt at American style chicken wings. Mmmmmmm….Hooters crack wings………

Speed Racer.
Ty had a great day at school, and Lily wasn’t due to eat immediately when we got home, so we got Ty’s bike out and went for a ride. This time he went all the way to the end of the road (at least twice as far as yesterday) and he went at a pretty good clip. He was pretty far ahead of us most of the way home. He just needed to gain a little confidence. Good job Ty!

Doctor.
Jay went back to the doctor to have a follow up appointment for the ear infection he has been fighting all weekend. He seems to be doing much better. Yay!

That’s all the updates for now. Sorry I don’t have any new pictures for this post. G’day mates!