Plunge.
JR nominated me to take the polar plunge for Landon, an infant from Missouri that was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. I cannot even imagine what that family is going though, so I happily accepted the challenge. So it might not have been quite as cold as what some of my Midwestern friends have had to plunge into, but I have been climatized, so 21 degrees Celsius felt about like 21 degrees Fahrenheit. Ty wasn’t about to let me jump in the pool without him, so we both went for a little night swim on Tuesday evening. Thanks to JR for helping spread the awareness and raise money for Landon. Jess, Katie, and Ashley – don’t let me down!

Brisbane.
Jeff and Rachel spent 2 nights in Brisbane this week. The house felt really empty without them. They had some yummy food, saw some neat things, and I’m sure enjoyed a little peace and quiet. They certainly don’t get that last bit at our house! “Hey Jeff!” “Hey Rachel!” “Jeffrey!” “Hey Rachel!” Dinner at our house also was a disappointment…while Jay makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich, it is no steak & shrimp taco…

For any future visitors that want to spend a couple of days in the city, Jeff and Rach are going to send me their itinerary and suggestions on where to stay, what to do, and what to skip (if anything). Maritime Museum, botanical gardens, Southbank Parklands were some good stops.

The Silent Game.
Rachel introduced Ty to the Silent Game on Sunday. He loved it – thought it was great fun. He liked it so much that he wanted to play it in the car on the way to school on Tuesday. “Mom, let’s play Rachel’s game,”. Absolutely! :). Thanks Rach!

Cyclones.
While a tropical Cyclone was brewing in northern Queensland, some great friends wanted to remind us of our awesome Cyclones back home. Brian and Jaclyn sent us an ISU international care package – 2 Iowa State Big 12 champion t-shirts and a package of ISU stickers for the kids. I loved the handwritten note and picture of the pups. Thank you!!!!!

Skateboard.
We took a half day of vacation to spend a little more time with the Bach’s on Thursday. Jay and I met them at Sanctuary Cove for a yummy hot stone steak lunch. Then we picked up the kids and drove 2 cars down to Coolangatta to our favorite beach. After sitting in traffic for probably an hour, we were nearly there when I ran over something. Seriously? What the heck. A teenage kid was riding his skateboard while carrying a surf board down a hill. He lost his balance, the skateboard escaped, and ran right into the road…right as I was driving past. The car is fine, the skateboard is not, and nobody got hurt. I am so over driving….

But we finally made it to the beach, got to splash around a bit, watched the sun set over the Surfers Paradise skyline, and had a nice dinner at the surf club. No worries.

Toys.
Friday morning we got up, got things ready to go on a boat ride, and Rach and I went to the grocery store…only to find out that the store is closed on Good Friday. It is open on Easter Sunday, though. Go figure. So Rach and I drove the car to the 7-11 to get milk for Ty. Turned out ok because we picked up some Tim-Tams for Treasury. :). We got the boat loaded up and headed down river. We thought it would be fun to see if we could cruise down to Surfers Paradise, but apparently everyone with a boat had the exact same idea. The Broadwater was so rough…wasn’t much fun, so we whipped El Bandito around and headed up to Tipplers. But when we got there, there were no spots left to beach the boat. So we turned around and headed to Couran Cove. But when we got there, all of the docks were already reserved. :(. So we just bought some sandwiches to go, and ice cream, and headed back up River. We had a nice little lunch on the boat, and Jeff drove the whole way home. Jay got to play passenger, which meant he got to hold Lily, which isn’t an easy task these days. Rach and I held down the bow and soaked up some rays. We may have cranked up the music real loud and danced on the seats. Maybe…

We all jumped in the pool when we got home. And then Jeff and Rachel jumped again. And again. And again. And again. I haven’t seen such a display of cannon balls, can openers, toe touches, front flips, and back dives in years. Oh yeah, and belly flops. Can’t forget the belly flops. And the attempts to jump on top of the giant Australia beach ball. So much fun

After the pool, we went for a super long buggy ride. We thought we would check to see if the liquor store was open. Nope. So we drove to the Golf Course Clubhouse (which is super fancy) and learned that they cannot sell alcohol without food on Good Friday in Australia. What the heck? I am willing to bet they don’t have the same rule on Easter Sunday…so random. Probably for the best.

When we got home, Ty watched Tangled, Jeff poured me a yummy drink, and Rachel and Jay made pizzas. After Tangled finished, next up was Mary Poppins. I don’t think Ty is going to stay awake until 8:00… Such a fun, busy day.