Sisters.
Ok so I knew that I forgot some really important details when I wrote my last blog. My excuse is that I was exhausted and trying to get a blog out before my flight from Melbourne took off since I hadn’t posted one in too long. So…BIG news…

EMILY IS MOVING TO AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe I forgot that huge detail (although it is a good indication of how “flat out” I’ve been over the past couple weeks). For those of you who don’t know, Emily (aka Em, Emmer Demmer, Auntie Em) is one of my younger sisters. She is sub-30, single, no kids, and although she loves her job working at a nursing home, she isn’t handcuffed to her job. We have talked for over a year about how awesome it would be if she could come nanny for us, but for various reasons hadn’t actually made anything happen. As I was thinking about Ty starting school in January, I thought, gosh it would be great if we just had Em take care of Lily, Ty could ride the bus to school, mornings and evenings could be less hectic. Jay and I talked about it, did some research, figured out what visa she needs, and asked he if she would seriously consider it. She was keen, really excited about the thought of it. I spent the next couple months telling her about all of the negatives, the stresses, the homesickness, the missing out on things back in the states, wanting to make sure I didn’t pressure her into something she might regret. And then I spent months trying to get her to apply for her passport, and then her visa (which was literally approved 6 hours after submitting it), and then booking her flight. So it’s official – no turning back now!! Em will be moving here in February. Woohoo!

What is also AWESOME news is that my other sister, Jess, her boyfriend Jason, and my niece Brianna are flying over with Em in February for a couple weeks!!! She is on the adventurous side and wants to look into going crazy things like trapeze training, ropes courses, obstacle courses.

And I am pretty sure I mentioned this already but my baby sister Brooke is coming early February with a friend, and my oldest sister Sundie, hubby Brad, and niece Lucia are coming in March. So February and March will be full-on sister time – I can’t wait!!!!

Daddy Weekend.
I also didn’t mention that while I was in Melbourne, Jay stayed home with the kids. The little ones probably don’t want me to come home because dad is awesome. He takes them to Hungry Jacks (Burger King) for dinner, Macca’s (McDonalds) for dessert, to the park, swimming, to birthday parties…you know, no sweat. Have I ever mentioned how amazing Jay is? Rockstar dad – the kids and I are lucky to have him.

Ears.
We had Lily’s 2 week post-op checkup for her grommets, and she had a clean bill of health. We have to bring her back in a bit for a hearing test, but I know it has made a difference. She is making a lot more noises when she babbles, and has been more confident about trying to say more words, such as koala, milk, boat, Ty, ta (thanks). I am so glad we went ahead with the surgery.

Goodbye.
Ugh. Another goodbye. I really really don’t like them, especially when I know how much time it will be before I get to say hello. Unfortunately in the situation we are in, goodbyes are a fact of life, and the price we pay for the pleasure we get out of getting to say hello down under. Every time someone comes to visit, we are filled with new memories – things we will never forget. Jessi, Mark, Johnny & Alice…here are some things I won’t forget.
Whoa.
TooWOOmba.
The hike to Tipplers surf.
The inflatable flip flop.
Mark on the big blue ball.
Whoa.
Lassoes.
Lily’s grapes.
Octopus.
My chat with Alice at Tipplers.
Beeping boat.

My apologies for the lengthy and delayed blog. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.

Words.
You would think that after living in Australia for a year I would have heard all of the sayings. Learned heaps this week.

Pass the dead horse = pass the tomato sauce
The hugs & kisses = the mrs.
Trouble & strife = wife
Dog & bone = telephone
Pat Malone = on your own
Mutt & Jeff = deaf
I’ll shout = I’m buying
Ginnels = cobblestones alleyways used by night men to collect the pots of poo
Melbourne Laneway = little alleys between buildings, often filled with shops
B&S Balls = country girls & guys that create a crazy party in the middle of a paddock
Terrace House = typical Melbourne house architecture – so cute!

Art.
Ty has been getting ready for the Christmas program at school so he has Santa on his brain. Santa, reindeer, and Ty in the sleigh.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hamiltons!
The Hamiltons arrived on Thursday, 13 November. Jessi, Mark, Johnny and Alice all were willing and able to make the long haul journey down under. Jay and I took the day off to drive drive them to our house from the airport and get them settled. Our 5-star accommodations come complete with towel origami.

They came bearing gifts. I don’t thing Ranch dressing had ever been packed more securely. 🙂

Antipasti.
We went to lunch at the marina and Johnny ordered a seafood sampler platter. There were some crazy things on there – sardines and octopus topped the list. Jay and Jessi ate some of the octopus – after Jay snapped a quick photo.

Surfers.
On Friday Jay and I had to go back to work. Mark braved the roads and drove the gang down to Sanctuary Cove and Surfers Paradise. The G20 Summit was in Brisbane and the Saudi Arabian King and his fleet of staff were staying at Sanctuary Cove. The security was intense, understandably so. They did a little shopping before heading down to Surfers. Mark picked up a little souvenir…

Tipplers.
On Saturday we took Ty to swim lessons and then went out for a boat ride. We went to Couran Cove, but upon arrival realized there was something happening. There were security guards and police officers and buff dudes and beautiful girls in skimpy clothes everywhere. Jay checked the boat in and found out that there was a pool party over the weekend. Nobody under 18 was allowed to go to the pool area or restaurant. And they weren’t running the tram over to the surf side of the island. Well crud. So we got back on the boat and went up to Tipplers. We had a good lunch, and then Jessi and I were the only ones up for the walk over to the surf side. The Hamiltons relaxed and Jay took the kids out to the water. Ty made a friend.

When Jessi and I got to the beach, there were only 2 other people there. Jessi was floored. A.maz.ing.

Even though it was Mark’s 50th birthday, we postponed the cake and ice cream because everyone was pretty tuckered when we got home.

Koalas.
Sunday was hot. I mean really stoning hot. 42 degrees Celsius. 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot. But since we only had the one weekend together, we had to power through the heat. Since Currumbin was under so many renovations, we decided to try a new place – Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It was quite small, but it had all of the things the Hamiltons wanted to see. Jessi got to hold a koala!! Check!

And they all got to pet a kangaroo. Check!

Mark and Johnny and Ty would have been happy to hang with the sheep all day.

Trampoline.
Mark and Jessi channeled their inner child and jumped on the trampoline with Ty.

Birthday party.
We were past due to celebrate Marks birthday, and we needed to cool off. So we went home and had cake and ice cream. Yum! Happy birthday Mark!!

On Monday the Hamiltons wanted to drive inland a bit, so they went towards Toowoomba. They came back bearing gifts for Ty. 2 Cowboys practicing their roping skills.

Tambourine.
On Tuesday the Hamiltons took a tour of Tambourine Mountain. They had a great time! An unexpected surprise – feeding the birds!

Swim.
Jessi is trying to convince Mark that they need a pool. I agree. So many laughs – so much fun!

Whoa.
Mark says “whoa” about almost everything. He sees something new and interesting… “Whoa”. He tells a funny story… “Whoa.” He probably even says it in his sleep. Ty now says it, and Lily is working on it. Whoa.

Sharks.
So yeah. Jay’s wedding ring slipped off his finger into the bull shark infested canals when he was throwing a crab back in the water. And there is nothing I can do about it. I tried to find someone crazy enough to jump in, but after hearing from one expert that “it’s just too dangerous mate” I cannot send anyone in the water after it. So yeah. Am I sick over it? Yes. Is it going to drive me crazy to know that it is literally “right there” and I can’t get it? Yes. Is it worth someone’s limb or life? No. So we are on the lookout for a new ring for Jay. Damn.

Hamilton.
The Hamiltons caught a flight to Hamilton Island (because they couldn’t come here and NOT go). Once again…floored. I need to catch up with Jessi about some of the details of their trip. All I know is that she said she could snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef all day every day. And that she didn’t want to leave. Sounds like a recurring theme with that place.

Melbourne.
I had to fly to Melbourne on Friday morning to help work at our display at Equitana. Equitana is a major equine event held at the Melbourne show grounds. I learned so much about our products – which equipment suits which type of customer, which attachments go on different machines. I spoke with heaps of potential and current customers, and although exhausting, it was such a great experience. We had some dealers assisting us throughout the show, so it was nice to have a chance to get to know them, as well. So much fun!

Dans.
John Deere has a relationship with Double Dans Horsemanship. Before the show I didn’t know what that was all about, but I’ve learned a bit over the past few days. Two mates, both named Dan, are excellent horsemen. They were on Australia’s Got Talent and Mustang Millionaire. They have built up a great business, one Dan based out of the US and one based out of Australia. They brought one of their miniature horses, Please, who had been a wild Brumby and now does tricks, over to the JD booth every day for an hour. It was my job to hand out postcards of the boys with Please in a Gator to the hundreds of star-struck ladies so they could get autographs and photos. They were super nice guys – had a good time with that side job.

Wow.
As tuckered as we were on Friday night, it was our only chance to see a bit of Melbourne. I think we walked 20 miles (in the same cowboy boots I had on since 5:00 AM). I was over-stimulated and overwhelmed by all of the hubbub in the CBD. All sorts of people, architecture, sights, sounds, smells. Heaps of great shopping (that I didn’t have time to do) and restaurants. We are at a little Italian restaurant that is owned by a celebrity chef – Guy Rossi. Finally!! A proper (and amazing) italian meal. We had an adorable little Italian waiter that we joked would be Hannah’s future husband (“very nice!”), some tasty wine, and great laughs. Pretty sure this was Guy’s Ferrari. And we found one that Ty and Lily should probably have, as well.

But don’t worry – we followed the rules.

Meyer.
Probably the coolest thing we saw was the Christmas display in the Meyer shopping center’s windows. They had an automated story of Santa and the Three Bears across several windows. The sets changed, the Bears were animatronics, lights, storyteller, and music. Fascinating!

Random Melbourne.

Holiday Party.
Since the 4 of us from the Brisbane office had to miss our work holiday party, we were invited to attended the party for our Melbourne employees. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant in The Docks area. I got to meet several of the employees, which was really great. The best part about the evening, however, was the retirement presentation and subsequent unprepared speech by Wayne. I have never met Wayne, but after hearing about his 41 year career, I am inspired. Wayne was the janitor for the warehouse for 41 years. He took so much pride in his work. He put in long hours to make sure the facility was in tip top shape. He observed things that others did not and passed his observations onto the appropriate people. He cared. He nearly cried during his heartfelt speech, thanking everyone there for always making him feel like part of the John Deere family. I nearly cried, as well. And, the best part was that he received a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Inspired.

Plane.
After a long and exhausting few days, I am happy to be heading home to my hubby and kids, and to spend just one more night hanging with my cousin. I am certain I forgot heaps of details, but this is a good start (and I’m tired). I will catch up next time if I think of anything else. G’day mates.

Puppets.
Ty and Papa stayed home on Wednesday so that Sherry and I could take Lily to have her ear surgery. The boys had a fun day watching movies and swimming. Ty wanted to have broccoli for lunch. A little random, but Finally!!!!

Before Lily’s surgery, they wanted to assess her hearing levels. I was reminded of my psychology classes, Pavlov’s theory, ringing bells, drooling dogs. The doctor played a sound, we all pointed at a little window on the side of the room where a puppet appeared, Lily laughed, then the dr distracted her with some blocks. Next up, a sound, and Lily immediately looked to the window. She did this several times – I was quite impressed. And then she stopped looking at the window. I wasn’t sure if it was lack of hearing or lack of interest. After a few times, we called Sherry in to help out. She stood behind the curtain and when the dr played the sound, Sherry’s face appeared in the window. Lily thought that was pretty cool.
The doctor thought she had enough to go on to say that while Lily likely has some hearing loss from the fluid in her ears, it shouldn’t be overly traumatic for her to hear sounds after the surgery. Some kids have sensory overload, but she didn’t think Lily would.

Surgery.
We thought we had a good parking spot so we asked across the street to the hospital. We arrived a little early so we went to the toy room until they were ready for us. It was a great little toy room. Lily went straight to the toy kitchen, cooked up chalk, put ketchup on sausages, poured herself some tea. She was having a great time.

When they were ready for us, we were moved to another area. Sherry waited while Lily and I went back to the prep area for the operating room (“theater”). She was doing so well, despite having missed lunch. I put on some scrubs and we headed to the theater. That is when it hit me. My poor little baby girl was about to be put under for a surgery. Granted it was a minor surgery, but for a split second I thought, “what if she doesn’t wake up.” Thanks to the nurse who was patting my back and keeping me from panicking, passing out, and bawling. Lily got a little scared and cried for just a bit until the gases kicked in. I kissed her cheek and then was escorted out.
Sherry and I ran down to the cafe to grab a quick bite to eat, and we no sooner went back to the waiting room, scarfed down the sandwich, and the doctor came out to get me. Everything went really well. The fluid was removed, Lily do great. A nurse was holding her in the recovery room. She wasn’t crying but looked a little out of sorts. She was happy to see me. I sat down on the hospital bed, and she snuggles up in my arms. They monitored her for about a half hour and then wheeled us to the pediatric unit to eat, drink, and make sure she didn’t have any adverse reactions.

A couple observations… There was carpet in the hospital. Just like the doctors offices. While I appreciate the homey feel, it cannot be sanitary.

There were a lot of older men that looked like welders/bikies working in the recovery room. They primarily had the job of wheeling people to and from the “theater” and back to their rooms. They were quite pleasant, but not what I was expecting to see at a hospital.

I had to put on scrubs, but Lily had her surgery in her dress.

We stayed in the pediatric unit for about an hour and a half. Lily ate some yogurt and custard and drank some water. We watched some kid shows on TV and cuddled. Such a trooper.

Ticket.
Unfortunately when we got back to the car, I had an unwanted note on my windshield. Apparently I had parked in a no parking area. There was a yellow line on the street – not on the curb – that I didn’t realize meant no parking. I had looked all over for a sign or meter, and there were none. That was a tough $120 lesson. For a PARKING violation. Not a drug bust. Not a crime against others. I parked in the wrong spot and had to pay $120. Ugh.

Tennis.
Ty had been taking tennis lessons at school once a week throughout the school year. He earned a medal for his successes over the year.

Percolator.
Torrey’s have a for real American style drip coffee maker. The look of shock on both my and Kirk’s faces were incredible. I have adjusted to my lattes, but poor Kirk has been drinking disgusting instant coffee for 6 weeks. We searched all weekend for a coffee maker like Torreys but didn’t have any luck. A couple stores said they used to carry them but “they didn’t sell.” One of the ladies at the office heard about our coffee drama and came to our rescue. She sent us home with a percolator – like what is used at churches back home. After having to ask for help at the grocery store and taking a little bit of teasing, Kirk and Sherry found coffee grounds. No coffee filters, though, so we had to use a paper towel. All of that was worth it, though. FINALLY a cup of coffee that tastes like home. *sigh*. Thank you Donna!!!!

Year End.
The work week was a tough one for us. Jay was putting in long hours at the office and at home to meet year-end deadlines. I am still getting adapted to my new job. Every time I get a new job I go through the exact same process. I hate not knowing what I’m doing, especially when I know that other people are relying on me to get up to speed quickly. I usually have way too many ideas right away and not enough time during a halfway normal day to act on them. And then I get frustrated with myself for not being able to see progress quick enough. Add on to that a team of employees who are all great people, but some are relatively new at their jobs – all are learning new things, and all have very different personalities. At this point I am learning most things from them – thank goodness they are all pretty patient with me. I hope they don’t get sick of me and request an early departure from Australia. I can be a bit much – I guess I just get excited about ideas and have a hard time understanding why everyone else isn’t excited about the same things. I am excited about the year ahead, I just really stress myself out in the first couple months of every new job I take on.

Thank goodness Memaw and Papa were here to help out these past few weeks.

TGIF.
Friday rolled around (thank goodness) and we finally had tickets to go see the show Australian Outback Spectacular. It is like a Medieval Times, but all about life in Australia and the outback. The show we saw was called The Spirit of the Horse. We got there a little early so that we could get some pictures with the horses and dogs used in the show. They had a fun bar with a country singer to keep us entertained until they opened the doors to the arena. I realized that I need to spend some time teaching Ty some country dancing. He has been doing a little too much Gangman Style hipster dancing…about time he learns how to 2 step.

We found our seats and for the next couple hours we ate good food, listened to good music, and watched a great show – complete with horses, helicopters, cattle, sheep, Utes, 4-wheelers, and sheep dogs. It had a lot of music from The Man from Snowy River, so I was hooked immediately. Ty and Lily were fascinated by it and it kept their interest until the need for sleep took over completely, lily slept in my arms and Ty sprawled out over 2 seats. I would recommend the show to others, for sure. A tad bit cheesy, but thoroughly entertaining.

Mirage.
Saturday morning we had swim lessons, and then we went out for a boat ride. We headed up the river first to see some new scenery, and then we headed to the Broadwater. It was a bit choppy, but not as bad as the last time we were out with Sherry & Kirk. We docked the boat at Marina Mirage and had a yummy lunch at the tavern on the water. We did a little shopping before heading back home. It was a nice way to spend Kirk & Sherry’s last day in paradise.

Blubber.
As were cruising down the Coomera River, Jay noticed a bunch of blue things in the water. At first he thought it was buoys or trash and was worried that there were so many he couldn’t avoid them. And then we realized that they were giant blue jellyfish. Hundreds of thousands of them. Everywhere. It was awesome to see. We googled it later and found out they are Blue Blubber Jellyfish – common to Queensland. It was a full moon and the tide was super high – must have pushed a bunch up the river.

Goodbye.
Sunday morning arrived WAY too soon. As much as we have tried to convince Kirk and Sherry to stay another 7 weeks, for some reason they really wanted to get back to the cold weather in Iowa. I think they were both looking forward to some of the comforts of home – food, shops, driving, Keurig coffee. Probably also looking forward to some peace and quiet – we don’t have much of that to offer at our house. 7 weeks may sound like a long time, and a lot of people can’t believe that I am OK with having my in-laws (or anyone else, for that matter) living with us for so long. But I can honestly say that it was so great to have them here, and to give them an opportunity to get out of their comfort zone, see an amazing part of the world, get a taste of retirement, and relax. The kids loved every second (especially the cookies for breakfast, chocolate milk 12 times a day, and cuddles). I loved not having to worry about housework or cooking for 2 months (I was really spoiled). I also loved the car chats with Sherry – we had to take 2 cars everywhere so we had a lot of alone time to talk about everything under the sun. We are really going to miss them. Thankfully Memaw did a classic leave behind – her empty pill case is still at our house. They are probably going to have to come back to pick it up.

Hamiltons.
The only way to not wallow in my depression when Jay took his parents to the airport was to do some cleaning & laundry in preparation for our next visitors. My cousin Jessi, her fiancé Mark, and his parents Johnny and Alice, will be arriving on Thursday morning. We are super excited to see them!

Shop.
When Jay got home we ran out to pick up some random stuff for the house, got birthday presents for some of Ty’s friends, and went grocery shopping. Guess what I found….oh yes. A coffee pot. FINALLY!!!! Kirk – so sorry it took me this long to find one!

Party.
Addie Coen is turning 5 this week, so we went to her house to celebrate on Sunday evening. What a fun time!! The Coen’s have made heaps of great friends – everyone had a couple kids. The house was full of kids and grownups all having a great time. The theme was Catwoman. They had a little photo booth area set up. Katie took pics of everyone with little masks on. The birthday cake was awesome – and it tasted as good as it looked. Although I am not sure if I was supposed to eat a piece. One of the dads was sneaking a piece of cake in and he told Jay “don’t tell anyone in eating it”. As I thought about it afterward, I don’t think any other adults ate any… I will need to investigate whether or not I did something socially unacceptable…

We are now all snuggled in the big bed, reading books, waiting for the sugar high from all of the cake to wear off. The week was a rough one, and saying goodbye to Jay’s parents could have sent me into a tailspin. But excitement for the week ahead and a fun party were just what I needed to choke back my tears and move on ahead. Hoping for a great week ahead! G’day mates!

Hooligans.
Kirk and Sherry are having too much fun. Either that or they are getting really bored. They caused quite a stir on Facebook when they posted this series of pictures of “something” in the pool.

Don’t worry. Jim’s croc removal was all over it.

Don’t worry. It was just a fake floating crocodile. Crazy kids.

Harry.
This week we had Ty’s class mascot – Harry the Echidna – stay with us for a few days. Our week nights are a tad bit crazy, so we didn’t do too many super fun things. And Jay took all but one of the pictures so I don’t have many to share. Ty read the book about Harry’s adventures with other classmates, did puzzles, read books, normal stuff. The second night, I thought we better do something a little more fun. I was stressed and tired from a long day at work, but I put on my swimsuit and threw Ty his board shorts. Into the pool we went with Harry “watching”. Ty wasn’t feeling well so the pool party was cut a little short. The next morning we snapped a picture of Ty, Harry, and our buggy decorated for one of our favorite holidays.

Ears.
Lily had an appointment scheduled with the ear specialist in December, but we had asked to get put on the priority list in case there was a cancellation. Thankfully we got in last week. Lily has a lot of fluid behind her ears and has about a 30% hearing loss. She definitely needs tubes (or grommets as they call them here). We are hoping that after her surgery her speech will pick up. currently all she says is “Ty”, “woof woof”, and “cracker”. I can tell she is starting to get frustrated with us for not understanding what she wants. Hopefully this surgery will help her progress. The doctor said she was the best patient – sat very still, didn’t cry. She was doing her homework in the waiting room since she was missing a day of “school”. She really is my daughter.

Halloween!
Friday finally arrived! Of course I had to show my holiday spirit and dress up for work. No, I didn’t put much thought into it. I came up with the plan laying in bed on Halloween morning, but it turned out pretty good!

When we got home, true to expectations, the doorbell started ringing and didn’t stop for a couple hours. Ty inhaled some Mac and cheese, and then Jay took him out on the buggy. Lily ate and ate and ate. Kirk kept giving her more food and monitored the door “take whichever one you want – just one!” approximately 250 times. I had to bust into my backup candy supply, which consisted of the hard candy that the Chinese restaurant throws in the bag every time we go. One kid said, “mint?! Why is there a mint in there?!?” Geez kid. It’s free candy. Take it or leave it. Call me selfish, but I refused to put the peanut butter cups in the giveaway bowl. That is like gold to me… There were lots of super spooky buggies out and about! Ty only made it to 8 houses. They were a bit too scary for his liking.

I was rushing around like a crazy woman trying to pull together the finishing touches on our costumes. Thankfully Kirk and Sherry’s clowning around gave me a great idea for our costumes this year. Jims Mowing, Jims Pool Cleaners, Jims Croc Removal. Never fear! Jims is here!! Sherry wasn’t feeling well or she would have joined the fun as Jims Tattoos. Don’t worry – the tats didn’t go to waste. I was able to easily incorporate them into my mowing costume.

Party.
After trick or treating we went down to Torrey’s for a bit. Good food, good friends, good times. They are planning on moving back to the states in December, and it won’t be the same without them. :(. The kids had a blast. The parents did too. :).

Saturday.
Saturday morning after a really short sleep, we woke for swim lessons. After that, Kirk and Sherry watched the kids while Jay and I took some co-workers out on the boat for a project team celebration. It was a beautiful day – we had a really nice time. It was strange being on the boat without the kiddos though.

Hippies.
We thought we would try something new on Sunday. Byron Bay is about an hour and a half south of us, and is supposed to be a pretty neat town. The sign on the way into town sums up the town…I should really try to incorporate more of this in my life.

There were hippies everywhere. I thought it was a trip. Jay said the place needed a fire hose, a couple dozen bars of soap, and about 1200 bras. There was a fairly large market, and for the first time in my life there was absolutely nothing that I wanted to buy. But the people watching was priceless. Sherry saw Jesus. I saw Mary. I also saw some Mary Janes (at 10:00 in the morning!!!). We saw 2 old hippies dancing like they didn’t know what to do – should they hang on to the old or grab on to the new? Or grab onto the tripped out band members. I have never seen so many VW vans in one place ever before. What a place…

Lighthouse.
Byron Bay is the eastern-most part of Australia, and they have a beautiful lighthouse up on a cliff. We first went to the beach at the bottom – Lily loved it.

. We played at the park a bit and admired the view of the lighthouse.

. Then we drive up to the lighthouse, but couldn’t find a place to park. So we just looked around from the car and headed on home.

Movember.
The office (and my house) is officially full of creepy dudes with creepy mustaches to raise awareness for cancer. Ty wanted to be like dad so he drank some milk. December can’t come quick enough.

Races.
Forget about the race, I just love the hats. The Melbourne Cup was this week. I remember going to this for the first time last year and being shocked. I must be an Aussie now – I rolled to work in a fancy hat, placed my bet, and cheered on the horses. Unfortunately Unchain My Heart was not a winner. Better luck next year. Lily wanted to be just like mama.

That’s all for now. G’day mates!