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!