Last Blog Update.
I forgot to attach some pictures to the last blog from Currumbin.
Tuesday.
Jay and I had to go to work on Tuesday, so Rick was on his own. He went to the marina in the morning, talked to a guy about fishing. He didn’t stay long because a guy was coming to fix the snaps on the buggy rain cover. Rick chatted with him and learned that if you don’t have any bait (which we didn’t) you can use a piece f a plastic bag on your hook. Well, nothing else to do, so he gave it a shot off the dock. Don’t get too excited – it didn’t work. Not saying it would never work, just didn’t that time. He had lunch at the marina, tried to fix the speedometer on the boat, did laundry, picked up the house, fiddled around.
Georgia.
Tuesday night we went to the marina for dinner. Ty quickly made a friend named Georgia. They were playing and having a great time. Then Ty comes over to our table, all goo-goo-eyed and said, “she is totally awesome. And hilarious.” And then when she was leaving, he got all panicky and blurted out, “TOYS! Do you have toys? Like what kind of toys?” For those of you that don’t know the language, that is toddler for “what’s your number?” As she was leaving, he saw the Dalmatian stuffed dog he won in the claw machine (he ALWAYS wins) and said, “can I give that to her?” Jay and Ty told him he better hurry. So he sprinted over and caught her just as she was leaving. Phew. That was a close one. I think he was really smitten…
Wednesday.
Jay stayed home with Rick on Wednesday. Of course they went out on the boat, and once again I had to see pictures of them on the boat while I was sitting at my desk. They cruised over to Tipplers and beached the boat. The plan was to have lunch but the restaurant was closed. They walked over to the surf side of the island and walked the beach, looking for sea shells. There was only one other person on the beach for miles. They were getting hungry so they tried to go down towards Surfers Paradise. We haven’t had much luck getting down there in the past, as the big boats cruise that way and make the water too rough. Since it was the middle of the week, there weren’t many people out, so the water was fine. They docked and ate at Marina Mirage. Jay took Rick into the Versace Palazzio hotel. Pretty fancy.
Jay had picked up some fishing tackle, so they attempted to catch some fish, but did more casting than fishing. Got skunked. As soon as I got home with the kids, Ty wanted to go down to the dock and try to catch some fish. He lasted about 5 minutes, but it was cute to see him try.
Thursday.
Rick had to entertain himself again on Thursday while Jay and I went to work. He trimmed our hedges, went grocery shopping, and chatted with the owner of one of the marina restaurants. The guy, John, told him to come back that night for the live music (guy and a guitar) and Rick could sing a few songs. So, when we got home we got the kids bathed and went to Red Rock for a later than normal dinner. Ty must have used up all of his energy at school that day because he wanted to lay down on the buggy ride to the marina. And he sat in his chair at the restaurant with a 10 mile stare. It wasn’t long before he was about to crash, so we pushed 2 chairs together and covered him with a blanky. He was out by 7:00 – before dinner arrived. Lily drank her bottle and fell asleep. So for the first time ever, both kids were asleep at dinner and we had a normal, uninterrupted dinner. Ty is in here somewhere…
Copenhagen.
John wasn’t at the restaurant so Rick didn’t get to play, but he made friends with one of the waiters. He is a German/American and asked Rick if he had a “skoals ring” in his pocket. Apparently chewing tobacco is hard to come by here – so Rick offered him a dip. His eyes got big, he looked around and said, “Really? I can’t do it right here.” So he took the can back to the kitchen and came back happy as. So then, of course, Rick’s wheels start spinning and the rest of the meal was spent figuring out how we can become millionaires by importing tobacco. Just need to figure out what is legal and what isn’t. :).
Rick had been struggling to find ways to keep himself entertained, until he saw Ty’s big box of Legos. He built a ship for Ty, so when we got home we had to test it out. After a bit of re-engineering, it floats!
Cattle.
One of the benefits of working for an agricultural company – we had an opportunity to visit a cattle operation. They own over a million acres throughout Queensland. We had the pleasure of seeing the feedlot, where they run 10,000 head through 4 times a year. They also do some crop farming on the land surrounding the feedlot. We watched a cotton picker harvesting the crop. I didn’t get a chance to take many pictures – was too busy taking it all in to think about grabbing the camera. We also got a quick tour of one of our largest dealerships in Toowoomba. It was a really pretty drive. A lot of it reminded me of different parts of the US: Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota. One of the better days of “work” I have had, and Rick got to enjoy it, as well.
Expats.
We recently found out that another family is moving to Australia in a couple months. I have worked with Brian in the past during my Treasury days. They were here doing a house hunting trip, so we invited them over for dinner. They have narrowed their search down to a couple places – all within buggy distance away. They have 3 kids, the youngest is Ty’s age. We are excited for them to come!
Beaches.
Saturday morning we had swim lessons and gymnastics. At swimming, the instructor unhooked the rope separating 2 smaller areas in the pool and had the kids try to swim the whole way. Ty couldn’t quite do it. She told us later that she did that to see if Ty is ready to move to the next level, and he just wasn’t quite there. So close!
We then headed down the coast to a place called Kingscliffe Beach. We thought we might be able to snorkel, but it was too cold and didn’t look like it would be great for seeing many fish. So after letting Ty play in the playground equipment, we decided to go up to our favorite beach – Rainbow Bay. Rick wanted to stop and see the Girls from Snowy River one more time, and he also wanted to go walk out on the big rocks that break the surf. We walked into the Surf Club and the mom from Snowy River got all excited and flustered. Wasn’t long before she came over to him with 2 Snapper Rocks t-shirts. She asked him if he wanted black or white, then just gave him both. Such a charmer. Two for the price of none.
The boys went out pretty far into the ocean this time. Far enough that the waves were picking them up. They found a rock pool and Ty, who earlier in the day said he didn’t want to get wet and therefore didn’t put on board shorts, wanted to join them. He didn’t want to go in in his mesh shorts, so he kicked them off and jumped in wearing just his undies. Who brought the bogan to the beach??? He had fun, though. Lily spent most of the day crawling on the beach, only trying to sneak in a handful of sand a few times. :). Fun day!
Leftys.
Saturday night we asked Miss Steph to come watch the kids so the big kids could go play. We took the train into the city and went to Lefty’s Old a Time Music Hall. The place was awesome. Kind of had an old speak-easy feel about it. Not real big, but a long bar, a balcony area, and a live band. It was rhythm & blues, so I wasn’t familiar with most of the songs, but we still had a good time. I kept the dancing to a minimum to spare my back any trouble, but I did dance with a couple blokes that Rick had quickly befriended. Twenty minutes after we arrived, some chic came up and said, “so I hear you are from Wyoming.” And then later another chic came up and asked “who the mate in the Stetson is.” He doesn’t even try, people just swarm around him. Fun to watch. :). These pictures were taken early on. By the time we left it was packed.
Now it is about 12:30 in the morning and we are on the train back down to the Gold Coast. Rick’s asleep, and I am about to crash. Apologies for the delay in getting this out, but we have been a little busy… 🙂
Shearer Adventure 