Dreamworld.

Big day.  Huge.  Ty went on his first field trip.  To an amusement park.  With friends at After School Care.  Without Jay or I.  

Let that one soak in.  The kid isn’t even 5 yet.  What was I thinking?!?!?!  Apparently I didn’t have anything to worry about as he seems to have had a great day.  It was all he could talk about that night.  And the teachers didn’t report back any negative feedback.  And he survived.  

The next day Ty went to “school” with spiked hair, deodorant, and cologne.  Lord help me…

Nanny cam.

Not many pictures from the nanny cam this week.. I better have a chat with the help…



We went into the weekend with no plans.  I thought I wouldn’t have anything to blog about this week.  I thought wrong…

Chocolate.

I told Em that I would go with her to the marina on Friday night.  We ate pizza at home while Ty and Lily watched Night at the Museum 3, then Em and I hopped on the buggy for a girls night out.  We were both thinking we needed some dessert – preferably chocolate cake.  We checked out the menu at all of the restaurants at the marina – no chocolate cake.  So we decided to have wine for dessert.

We were sitting at the wine bar, having fun, talking about how we should probably open up a chocolate bar in one of the empty shops at the marina, when an older gentleman asked if he could sit on the couch across from us. We chatted with him through a second (maybe third for Em) glass of wine.  We talked about Australia, the outback, the spiders and snakes, Nashville, New York, our chocolate bar idea (he promised he would buy chocolate from there if we opened it), his grandkids, and his life on his boat.  The wine bar was winding down so we walked over to the tavern.   On the way there, we realized we didn’t even know his name – Wayne.  

Tavern.

There was a little band playing at the tavern, so we found a seat on a couch and made ourselves comfortable.  We didn’t know any of the songs that the band was playing, so when they did play something we knew, we jumped up and danced.  Wayne was our dancing buddy for the evening.  :). There were some characters out which made people watching fantastic.  We watched one poor hideously drunk girl get kicked out of the bar.  Em drooled over a married bouncer.  So many different types of people and styles – so fun!  I was getting tired so we went home a bit before 12:30.  

Movie World.

Saturday morning Jay cooked brekky and we lounged around for a while.  Ty thought it would be fun to go to Movie World.  It is 10 minutes from the house, we have season passes, we didn’t have anything in mind for the day, so sure!  The kids were great.  Lily walked her way through most of the park.  She LOVED the carousel – didn’t want to get off!  Ty and Jay drove the little “driving school” cars.  We watched the stunt show and a Rio 4D  movie.  Em decided that Ty probably needs a super hero for an uncle (after seeing Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern).  The parade was a Carnivale theme.  It was awesome!  Apparently Movie World was having a Carnivale party that night – the last of 7.  The kids were tired, but Em and I thought maybe we should go back that night.  Even though Em and I had left Jay home with the kids on Friday night and I felt really guilty, it sounded like a cool experience. Tickets were only $20 since we were pass holders.  Ok, we better go.



Carnivale.

We went home, ate dinner, freshened up a bit.  Jay worked on Brumby a little, Ty slept (exhausted), and played with a sticker book with Lily.  



Em and I headed back to Movie World.  We took a wrong turn, which ended up working out great because as we were about to pay for 2 tickets, some lady gave us a spare free ticket.  $20 later and we were in!  Whoa.  As soon as we walked in the gate, we were in awe.  Jazz bands in the street, showgirls on stilts, people dancing with fire, extinguishing fire with their mouths, breathing fire, millions of bubbles falling from the ceiling, salsa dancers, unicycle riders, girls dancing on silks hanging from the ceiling, food vendors, a bar, amazing caramelized bacon….whoa.  Em and I just had to buy masks for the occasion.  Best purchase ever.  It was so fun to walk around with our masks on.  She and I kept looking at each other and laughing – where the heck were we?!?!  

At 9:00, the parade started.  Whoa. If I thought I was having sensory overload earlier in the evening….  The floats were AMAZING.  More stilts!  More dancers!  More bands!  More bubbles!  More drummers!  More amazing costumes!  More fire breathers!  More showgirls!  More! More! More!  Beads and tinsel! Dancing in the street!  

Seriously. Seriously. Seriously cool.  Seriously.

If someone wasn’t completely and utterly entertained at Movie World Carnivale, they had to have been dead (or nearly dead).  For 3.5 hours, I was transported from Australia to either New Orleans or Rio de Jeneiro (seemed to be a mash up of the two places).  Wherever it was, it was awesome.  





The weekend isn’t over yet – it is only Sunday morning – but I couldn’t wait to share the fun we have had so far!  G’day mates!

I have forgotten to write about a few things.  Catching up…

HVAC.

I cannot believe I haven’t blogged about this – shows just how busy we have been lately!  When Jess and Jason were here, our air conditioner in Australia was broken.  At the same time, our furnace in Iowa broke.  Unfortunately our renters had moved out a few weeks before and nobody noticed that the cold had caused one of the water lines to the dishwasher to freeze and break.  Our fantastic next door neighbor, Mr. Paul, checks on the house every few days and discovered water flowing into the garage from the kitchen.  He kicked into action and got the inmediate things taken care of.  We had a clean up crew come in and rip out the ruined bits of the house – carpet upstairs, carpet padding downstairs, basement ceiling.  Bubba is planning on going to the house soon to start putting it back together again.  Was a sickening feeling to know that was happening at home and we couldn’t do anything about it.  One of the (many) challenges of living abroad. Thank you to everyone back home who is helping get things sorted!

Rubbers.

Last weekend we went to the mall.  While Em, Lily and I were shopping, Jay and Ty went to the bowling alley.  When we met up with them later that afternoon, Ty came running up, all excited, and said “Mom!  I won a bouncy ball and 2 rubbers!!”  I nearly peed my pants from laughter.  Similar to how Australians call flip flops “thongs”, they call erasers “rubbers”.  Poor kid is going to go back to kindergarten in the US and ask his teacher for a rubber…

Special Friend.

I stayed home on the last day of Term 1 so that Em could go with Ty to Grandparents/Special Friend Day at school.  It sounds like they had a great day – Em was really amazed at how talented the students were at the ceremony.  



World Travellers.

Jay met Deanne and Dave for lunch on Thursday.  They bought an airplane ticket that allows them to literally go around the world, stopping in as many places they would like to within a year, as long as they continue going in the same direction and end where they started.  What an amazing adventure!  They were in Brisbane for a few days.  Unfortunately it didn’t work out for the kids and I to meet them – hopefully sometime when we are all back in the US!



Ok, I think that is all I had forgotten to write about.  Caught up now!

Royal Easter Show.

It was a rainy day on Saturday, so we couldn’t go to the Blue Mountains.  We decided to go to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, which is sort of like the State Fair.  We took a double-decker train, which worked out pretty slick, to Sydney Olympic Park.  It was the location of the 2000 Summer Olympics.  We wandered through the barns, ate some yummy donuts, watched the “World Woodchopping” competition, saw a crazy American get blown out of a box of dynamite, and tried to stay dry.  Em and I bought some new hats (we kept shouting “JESSICA!!!!” because mine looks like the hat Jessica wore in the Man from Snowy River).  We ate a plate of sourkraut and a gross chili baked potato.  We had a lemonade that didn’t taste like the sheep barn, but was the closest thing to real lemonade that I have had since we moved here.  Lily loved the pigs.  Both kids loved the goats milk.  Em loved being in the barns.  I think she would have been content staying there all weekend.  Some cool observations…  

Trains really are a slick way to travel.  Easy peasy and you’re there!  



The horse grooming is very different than back home.  Google checkerboard horse rump.  Looks awesome!  Subtle but classy.  

They have the living quarters in the barns figured out.  Instead of using space for livestock for livestock owners to camp out for the show, they have these two story “motels”.  Genius.  I would maybe even stay in one for a night.  Well, maybe.  Probably not, but at least it isn’t at cow poop level!



Lily loves pigs.  Big pigs, 3 little pigs, she isn’t picky. 



Em found a new passion in life – Woodchopping groupie.  In particular for the New Zealander world champion wood chopper.  Poor American bloke flew all this way to get his tail kicked by all of the Aussie and New Zealanders…  We were sitting in the front row like a couple Woodchopping groupies.  

  We went to the Woodchop bar to celebrate victory, and Em chickened out about getting her photo taken with the winner.  Would have made a great addition to the blog.  All we got was this picture of the sign of the bar instead.  



The kids were beat, so Jay stayed in with them and ordered room service.  Em and I went down to the Meat & Wine restaurant in the hotel.  A bottle of wine, 2 burnt fingers, a couple yummy meals, and lots of laughter.  We walked down to the Opera House so she could see it lit up at night.  She had to get her picture taken with a water taxi.  

Easter.

Sunday morning we had an Easter egg hunt in our hotel room.  The kids had fun “MORE!!”  Ty was super excited about his boxing kangaroo.  Lily loves the choc-o-lot.. 



So the whole point of coming to Sydney was to go see the Blue Mountains.  However, it seemed as though it was not in the cards for us to go to the mountains.  The tour was not running due to concerns about the weather – overcast days are not good days to go to the mountains.  However, when we woke on Sunday morning, it was clear.  We walked around the Rocks markets and then thought we should try one more time to see if a rental car was available just for the day.  No luck.  Damn.  



Ferry.

So we rode the ferry over to Manly Beach instead.  Let’s talk about the ferry.  It deserves its own little section in this blog.  A ticket was only $2.50, and it was good all day for any of Sydney’s public transportation – buses, trains, ferries.  We got in line to get herded into the waiting area, and then we got herded into the ferry.  With 1,100 other people.  I don’t like feeling like cattle.  Nor do I enjoy public transportation.  But the boat itself was surprisingly nice and clean, and you can’t beat the views…for $2.50!!!!  This time Em used Ty as an excuse to get a picture taken with the ferry workers.





We ate some ice cream and walked around the Harbour a bit.  Wasn’t long before Ty fell asleep in the pram, so we picked up Happy Meals for the kids and went back to the hotel.  Em and I ordered some salads from the hotel restaurant.  Em waited at the bar until the food was ready and struck up a conversation with a guy from Kentucky that raises race horses.  He has a horse in some big auction today.  He gave her the name of a guy near Brisbane that is in the racehorse business.  Might be fun to check it out.

Journal.

I had picked up a photo album from the Rocks markets for Ty to keep a journal.  There just happened to be a photo shop in Manly next to the playground, so I printed off about 50 pictures and got some notecards for Ty to write a description.  That night he was super excited to work on his journal.  I love seeing him write words.  

Slumber party.

Ty and Em had a slumber party.  Wine and chocolates for Auntie, milk and chocolates for Ty.  





Bridge.

On Monday we decided to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge – not the $300 walk, the free one. It really is huge.  And has amazing views.  



Luna.

On the walk over the bridge, Ty was singing “tell me tell me tell me where the freaks are.”  We found them.  We went to Luna Park, which is a mini amusement park on the Harbour.  I suppose it is kind of like Coney Island.  I think the word Luna translates to “crazy scary freaky clowns.”  We were able to walk through without paying admission, and Jay, Lily and Ty went into one playground area.  Em and I sat outside and enjoyed the nice weather and the views.



We walked back to the hotel, grabbed a quick (and oh not so peaceful) lunch, then caught our ride to the airport.  There were some delays – not terrible – but the kids (and adults) were all pretty tired.  Em had the Fitbit on and tracked 8.5 miles for the day.  We finally got on the plane, and the kids instantly fell asleep.  Thank goodness.  We were entertained by a couple happy drunk guys that showed us all of the safety requirements on the plane by mimicking the flight attendants.  Just as quickly as we were up in the air, we started the descent and had a smooth landing.  When we got home, we were amazed to see that the goldfish, Nochee and Doodee, were in a state of hibernation, but they were alive!  Amazing since they hadn’t had food since Thursday.  

Baths, books, bed.  And with that, another Shearer family vacation was in the books.  G’day mates!

4:00 AM.  Good Friday.

As my Papa used to say….  HIT THE DECK!!  Rush rush rush.  Throw stuff in the suitcase.  Rack brain for what we might forget.  Good lord don’t forget the diapers.  Get in the car.  Ty – get buckled.  GO! GO! GO!!

No traffic.  Parking easy.  No line at Jetstar.  No line at security.  (Figures). 2 hours until flight time.  You know that if we would have not left the house so early we would have been running to catch our flight…  2 hours of listening to Lily shout AIRPLANE!!  BYE AIRPLANE!!!  Big shout out to Katie Coen for giving me the idea to buy Smiggles gel pens and a notebook.  Both kids were thoroughly entertained at the table. Ty has drawn several pictures and written a description of each.  



The flight was too easy.  Lily fell asleep shortly after take-off.  Ty watched a movie and fell asleep just before landing.  Before we knew it, we were in Sydney.  A little rain won’t slow us down.  Em saw her first ever real live cruise ship.  And then…an Aboriginal playing a didgeridoo.  She was utterly fascinated, thrilled, entertained, amazed.  Never mind the engineering marvels (Harbour Bridge and Opera House).  She wanted to open up a bag chair, crack open a cold one, and listen to the didgeridoo all day.





Yummy lunch.  cool bottle wall.



 



We walked around the Opera House, she climbed the steps, and then she was drawn back to the Aboriginals.  They had some canvas artwork for sale for dirt cheap – $100 – so Em had to have one.  The artist wrote the story in the back of it – so neat.  Something about 2 people coming together for their anniversary…





I had my eye on one of the paintings, but Jay had given Em the last of his cash.  He went to the ATM to get more money – crap.  Our US debit card expired March 2015.  Sherry has mailed our new cards but since it takes a million years for mail to arrive, we haven’t gotten them yet.  And neither of us thought about it.  And it is now April.  And we are in Sydney with no cash.  And our Westpac account isn’t dispersing our cash either.  Don’t stress – no worries.  Jay worked his magic and like he always does, he fixed it.  He was able to get cash from the Westpac account.  Phew!

We walked around the Rocks (still raining), bought some rain coats and umbrellas, dried off and got our sugar high at the Guylian Chocolate Cafe (amazing).  Poor Lily slept through the chocolate – she will be pissed when she reads this.  Here are some pictures of Ty on chocolate.





Walked by the Australian Stock Exchange.  I miss Treasury….



On our way back to the hotel, the Aboriginals were starting to tear down for the night.  I had to check to see if they still had the print I was eyeing – and they did!  This one is a story about how the bunda (kangaroo) only moves forward – kangaroos cannot move backwards.  Life’s journey moves ahead.  Galmorriii.  I am sure it sounds lame, but I think that painting was made for me.  



Rod Stewart.

So we are waiting for an elevator at our hotel, and noticed that one of the elevators is blocked off.  The door opened and out walks a man that looked familiar, an 8′ tall woman, and a couple security guards.  They exited through a door straight out to a car that was waiting for them.  When we got upstairs Jay said he thought it looked like Rod Stewart.  Yes!  It did.  A quick google search showed that he had a concert in Sydney a couple days ago and will play in Brisbane in a few days.  Rod Stewart is staying at our hotel.  I am sure he will ask us to join him for breakfast or maybe a swim in the pool.  I’m sure.



We ordered a pizza delivery, and I was struggling as I came down from my sugar high (and early morning).  Em, Jay and Ty went for a swim.  Lily and I snuggled up and watched American Idol.  

We are planning on going to the Easter Show (sounds like a fair) tomorrow, as long as the forecast is calling for rain in the Blue Mountains.  Rain, rain, go away!!

More to come later this weekend (hopefully).  G’day mates!

Footy.

 The day that I took the Ruppert’s to the airport I woke up at 3:00, got to work at 6:00 (only to find the office in a bit of a technical nightmare with no badge access or wiFi), planned to leave early and rest a bit but got stuck on a call with a dealer that kept me at work until 6:00, rushed home, changed my clothes, grabbed Em, Ty and Jay, said a quick hello to Miss Steph and Kyson, and ran out the door.  I made it!

We met the Coen’s at the train station to go to the Gold Coast Suns vs Brisbane Lions footy game. It is quite confusing, but Australia has 3 (at least) different kinds of “footy” – rugby, Aussie Rules Football, and soccer.  The game we went to was Aussie Rules Football.  The field was HUGE (and the stadium was nearly empty).  I really tried to figure out the rules, but I honestly can’t say that I was able to work it out.  I am not sure if the players even knew the rules.  No pads.  Lots of running.  Throwing the ball backwards.  Dribbling a football.  Kicking the ball for a teammate to catch.  3 different ways to score (all 3 are tracked).  Referees that wear pink and throw the ball back into play like a bride throwing her bouquet into a crowd of single ladies.  And a game that ended in a tie.  And everyone just stood up and left.  In true Aussie fashion, nobody cared that nobody won.  No worries.  Despite being quite confused the whole game, it was really fun!  It was the first time since Lily was born that Jay and I took Ty out and about alone – special night.





Easter Hat.

We received a letter from Ty’s school about his upcoming Easter hat parade.  I am not too sure what an Easter hat is – I don’t recall having an Easter hat when I was a kid – but I was up for the challenge.  We converted one of our 50 Australian Outback Spectacular hats into a Spectacular Australian Easter Hat.  I might have had more fun than Ty putting it together.

  

Date.

Em had a date Saturday night with one of the blokes she met at the Tavern a couple weeks ago.  I will respect her privacy and not share the details, but don’t worry, she won’t be marrying this guy and staying in Australia forever.  We had a fun family night in while she was out on the town.  We played Sorry – Ty is ruthless.  Lily played dress up (or down by the end of the night) and after exhausting herself completing her Picasso, she fell asleep in dad’s lap.



Cookies!

We were craving some chocolate chip cookies.  No Nestle Tollhouse here, but we used Cadbury chocolates.  They didn’t taste like what I was expecting but were ok.  It was fun to make them!  



Sanctuary Cove.

Em wanted to find some new sandals, so she and I took Lily over to Sanctuary Cove on our bikes.  It was a nice ride – definitely felt it in my legs and bum.  We replaced the calories we burned by eating yummy pizza and ice cream.





Netball.

I got to play a shooting position at netball!  So fun!  Em played Wing Defense for her team and liked that much better.  Oh yeah.  We’re netballers.





Nanny pics.

The rough life of a nanny and a toddler…





License.

It’s official!  Em is a licensed driver in Australia.  Look out!



Conferences.

Whoa.  I am a parent of a student.  I guess that makes me an adult. I know this sounds crazy, but I was nervous (like really nervous) about going to chat with Ty’s teacher for our first ever parent-teacher conference.  We don’t do drop-off or pick-up in his classroom because he has to go to before and after school care (enter guilt for being full time working parents), so we rarely get a chance to talk to his teacher.  He hasn’t received any “best in class” awards, nor have we received any notes in his boomerang book (brilliant concept for any teachers out there) about how he is a “joy to have in class”.  All I know is that he is learning a ton – he can actually read books!!!!! – and he is sometimes a handful for Jay and I.  So the first thing Mrs. Hanrahan says is “Do you have any questions for me?”  Well, yeah, is he behaving himself?  I can hear Steven’s voice ringing in my head “BEHAVE!!”  She was real sweet and cautious with her response.  She said that she has to remind herself that he is only 4 and then she remembers that he is behaving as a normal 4 year old behaves.  He is sometimes rude to the teachers (yikes – better nip that in the bud), and has a hard time staying focused long enough to complete activities.  And he has a hard time sitting still and being quiet on the mat.  But he’s only 4, and he surprises her by what he retains, so she isn’t too concerned.  Wah-wah.  No glowing reviews about how sweet and funny and awesome he is.  But she did go on to say that he is smart.  He is reading really well – going to move up to the next level of difficulty.  His maths skills are good.  Jay was able to walk away focusing on the positives, I hung onto the not-so-greats.  Meh.  In any case, Jay and I took a self to remember our first parent-teacher conference.  Stressful.



Neighbors.

One good thing about the conference is that we met one of the other dads.   We chatted with him a bit, and then found out that his wife volunteers as the class parent and she organized the prep Easter egg hunt at the park.  Great fun – a good chance to meet some of the other parents.  She also organized gathering homemade cards and a gift for Mrs. Hanrahan’s birthday.  Since we don’t get to the classroom, Ty and I dropped it off at their house.  Turns out they live 5 doors down.  Their daughter came over to play for a bit – really nice family.  

Breakdown.

I will start this next bit by saying that I am fine now.  But last weekend I wasnt.  Here’s the deal with me.  Sometimes I think I am going psycho and losing my mind.  I don’t realize that things are bothering me, until Jay says those magic words – “are you Ok babe?  You don’t seem like yourself.”  And before I know myself what is happening, I erupt into a string of nonsense for approximately one hour, intermittent with sobs and nose blowing and panic attacks.  Yes, dear readers, I am going crazy.  I have always been a tad bit on the dramatic side, but this experience occasionally pushes me over the stage.  I won’t bore you with all of the (hundred) things that came out of my mouth that night.  But what I did conclude is that having my 4 sisters all arrive within a month and a half, and having to say goodbye 3 times in the same timeframe, really really really sucked.  I didn’t realize it at the time.  I was all proud of myself for going to the airport and saying goodbye without bawling (or jumping in their suitcases), not realizing that I was just bottling it up and waiting for that wise question from Jay.  I am sure the other travelers would appreciate this reality-diverting technique.  But man, it sucked for Jay and I on Saturday night.  This past month and a half has been bothe the very best and the very worst time I have had in a year and a half. In the past I have been able to cushion the blow of goodbye knowing that someone was coming next and would be here soon.  This time I said goodbye, and I feel like that’s it until we move back home.  In December.  (Better be December).  I can hear the groans from halfway around the world.  “You are living in paradise.” “Just be happy.” “You have had heaps of visitors.”  Doesn’t matter – I can’t stop my crazy mind.  I might need to see a shrink.  Or I just need a good cry (panic attack, Kleenex devouring, wake the neighbors sob-fest) to get over it.  What I am wondering is how many dippers do I have to go through before I have completed my emotional journey and can just relax and enjoy things.  This was the biggest dipper yet, by far.  Maybe I will buy some ruby slippers and click my heels together.

But then I remind myself how lucky we are, how we are living in paradise, how I have two beautiful, healthy, and smart children, how we are traveling to amazing places, making a difference at work, and I have a husband that doesn’t bail when I go crazy.  No worries.

Country club.

The day after my meltdown, I felt like crap.  I looked like 100 bees stung me on my eye lids, but I had to power through the day.  We went shopping and then went to the golf club for a few drinks, putting competition (I didn’t win), live band, cute bartender (Em never got his number), bouncy house, and friendly chats.  We met a few more parents from school – I swear Ty knows people everywhere we go.  It really helped pull me out of my funk.



Week.

This week was challenging.  We had a price increase mid-week which kept me up until midnight, Jay’s month end, Ty and Emily’s Grandparents & Special Friends day, and oh, did I mention we are going to Sydney on Friday?  I am glad the week is over.

So yeah, I am a tad bit on the exhausted side, but the bags are (pretty much) packed, the alarm is set for 4:00 AM, the ride from the airport to the hotel is booked (no rental cars in Sydney in short notice over Easter), and I had to get a blog out.  Looking forward to a nice 4-day weekend and sharing it with you all.  G’day mates!!

Nanny.

Ranking in at one of the top 10 best decisions of my life…  Auntie Em’s first week as a nanny has been awesome.  She does it all, folks.  She cooks, she cleans, she does laundry, and she keeps Lily entertained all day long.  Lily has shown us a bunch of new tricks that she has learned this week – ballerina twirls with a grand finish, twirling a pencil, saying “blue” and “red”, putting on lotion and Chapstick, and clicking herself into her high chair.  You know, all of the things that every respectable young lady needs to know to survive in this world.  ;). The girls are having so much fun (Lily assures me with a very dramatic head nod whenever I ask her if she had a fun day with Auntie Em).  And dinner is ready when I get home.  And my clothes are clean and put away.  

How will I ever go back to reality?

Here are a few pictures of the girls’ first week together.





Netball.

Despite me going out and buying a netball this week, unfortunately our team got our tails kicked by the Sweaty Bettie’s.  I tried playing a new position – WD – Wing Defense.  It is similar to Wing Attack, only opposite.  I didn’t like it much – still restricted on the court, and you can’t really play defense once your opponent has the ball.  So the goal as a WD is to try to prevent your girl from getting the ball.  Not my fave.  So far Goal Attack has been my favorite position but we have a few other girls that usually play that position.  We lost 36-12.  Ouch. I hate losing.  It was quite painful to be a part of.  I hate losing.  I do, however, wish that we had a netball league in the Quad Cities.  It is a fun game, and it is something that an old lady like me can play.  I couldn’t handle a game of 5-on-5 basketball anymore.



Tree.

The old shade tree at the farm that we always used to park under on a hot summer day has exceeded its useful life and unfortunately is getting cut down today.  It was hollow, dead, and too close to the main power line. I have no idea why I got a little teary-eyed when mom posted this picture.  The farm won’t be the same without it.  Brooke and mom took a few other pictures around the farm that were pretty neat, as well.  There’s no place like home.







Ruppert’s!!

My oldest sister, Sundie, her husband Brad, and their daughter Lucia are here!!  They spent a day in Texas exploring before catching the long flight to Australia.

They’re here!!



And so is the latest delivery of loot!  Despite having imported heaps of ranch dressing into Australia, there were some concerns that this batch would cause some drama.  Thankfully, all was good – no worries!!



Beach.

After stopping by the house to drop off luggage and take a quick shower, we headed to the beach.  We wanted to go have lunch at Snapper Rocks and watch a bit of the surf competition, but we couldn’t find a single parking spot(let alone 2), so we headed up the coast a bit to the Coolangatta Surf Club.  We ate lunch and then dipped our toes in the water…and then a little more than our toes a few times when the big waves rolled in.  Lucia is a little gatherer – she was head down looking for awesome things most of the time.  She has a collection of heart-shaped rocks and was thrilled to find one.





Currumbin.

Keeping with the tradition, we visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary so that the Ruppert’s could hold a koala, pet Kangaroos, and feed wild lorikeets.  Even though we have been there several times, there is always something new to see.  They have done a lot of renovations to the park in the past few months and it looks great!  We lucked out and happened to be in the Treehouse area when they fed the Python a rabbit.  They only feed it every 2-3 weeks, so we were lucky to get to see it.  It was fascinating –  but took a lot longer than I thought it would for him to consume it.  Fascinating.  Ty was our tour guide for the day.  He kept us on schedule by saying “Moving on!” after everything.





That white thing in the snake’s jaws is a rabbit.

Edit





Snake.

When we got home, we all eventually ended up in the pool and hot tub.  We were having a carefree good time when the neighbor, Mic, popped his head over the wall and said that he just saw a snake go from his yard into ours.  He didn’t get a good look at it, but it was a tan color…and since there are Eastern Brown Snakes (you know, the world’s 2nd most venemous snake), he wanted to let us know.  If he had seen it soon enough he would have grabbed a shovel and killed it.  I told him he could still grab a shovel and come into our yard to kill it.  And then I got really uncomfortable and we all got out of the pool.  Jay grabbed a ho, and he and Mic went on a snake hunt.  The good news is that nobody got bit by the snake.  The bad news is that they didn’t find it and kill it, so it is lurking around our neighborhood somewhere.  I am on heightened snake alert now.  



CMC Rocks.

While everyone was at Currumbin playing with the Kangaroos, I was busy making plans for the evening.  For those of you that don’t know my brother, Rickey, he is the type of person that knows everyone.  Pretty much my whole life I have introduced myself as “I’m Nicole, Rickey’s sister.”  He sent me a message on Saturday morning to tell me that one of his friends, Sam, is playing in a band that is on tour in Australia and is in Brisbane.  So I sent Sam a note and found out that he was playing at CMC Rocks Music Festival (about an hour from our house) that night.  If there is one thing the Geisler Girls do well, it is country music, so despite Sundie having jet lag, we couldn’t resist the temptation to check it out.  I couldn’t get a babysitter on such short notice, and both Lucia and Brad were exhausted, so Em, Sundie, and I headed out on the town.  I had told Sundie that there was no need for her to bring cowboy boots with her because in a year and a half I have probably worn mine 3 times.  She will now never go anywhere without her boots ever again…  So we didn’t have tickets to the 3-day event, but Sam had arranged for us to get our tickets at the main gate.  The band was playing at 11:00 on the camper’s stage, so we got there pretty late.  They were just closing up the ticket office when we arrived.  A guy was walking out and we said that we needed to pick up our tickets.  “It’s a little late.”  I said that the band we were coming to see doesn’t start until 11:00.  An unfriendly girl in the office asked for our names, so I rattled them off and the guy turned around and said, “Did you say you were Nicole?  Oh yeah, come with me.”  Rock star treatment.  We got our wristbands and were in.  We met Sam and the band, who were setting up for their gig.  We decided to go watch Chris Young on the main stage to stay out of their way.  We met a crazy Australian girl who had never met an American in the flesh and was absolutely amazed by our “r” sounds.  When Chris was finished we went over to Sam’s stage.  He plays for a band called Wylie and the Wild West.  A Google search told us that Wylie is a famous yodeler whose biggest hit was the voice for the Ya-HOO-ooo yahoo commercials.  The band played a bunch of old time country music.  It was awesome.  We had a great time dancing and people watching.  Most of the people had been partying all day at the festival, so you an imagine the kind of shape they were in at 11:00 at night.  Great fun!!  Huge thanks to Sam and the band!!



We’re in!!



We were not thrilled to see this sign…

Wylie and the Wild West band

Chris Young

Sam and the Geisler Girls

Yahoo!



End of a big day!

Boat Ride.

On Sunday we went out for a boat ride to Tipplers on South Stradbroke island.  It was a perfectly beautiful day, very little wind, hardly any boat traffic on the Broadwater, smooth sailing.  We ate lunch and then hiked over to the surf side of the island.  There was only one other couple there, and they wandered off, so we had the beach to ourselves.  Lucia went into gathering mode and found heaps of shells and coral.  Ty and I made a sand castle.  We played on the beach for a while before Jay and I and the kids headed back to check in the boat, as the tide had come in a fair bit.  Ty and I ate ice cream while we waited for the others to come back.  On the way back, I said, “the only thing that could make this day more perfect would be to see a dolphin.”  Sure enough, about a half hour later a dolphin popped out of the water.  Perfect.





“She’s a rental.”

Netball.

Em made her netball debut on Monday night with a different team in a different league.  This league actually plays inside nets.  The ball never goes out of bounds, and you can bounce the ball off of the nets to get it to a teammate.  It was more fast-paced than the Wednesday night league, but the nets kind of drove me crazy.  More boundaries….  Em struggled a bit in the first half because her aggressiveness is not OK in this game. She had a hard time keeping her 3 foot distance.  The umpire explained a few things to her at halftime and she did much better the second half.  She is going to play full time on Monday nights and I will sub if needed.



Random nanny pics from the week.



first real ponytail!

















One day she put on her hat and sunnies, grabbed a nappy (diaper), and Em saw her like this:

Agnes Water.

The Ruppert’s drove up to Agnes Water on Monday.  They had a great day at the southern Great Barrier Reef on Tuesday.  Thankfully none of them got sick!  They snorkeled with sea turtles, explored Lady Musgrave island, and swam in water that Sundie said was the color she has only ever seen in pictures and never thought she would ever see in person.  They had a surf lesson with Grom on Wednesday.  Lucia is a natural surfer.  Sundie and Brad had a bit tougher time getting the hang of it but still had a great time.  They also got a chance to get away from our crazy house for a few days – peace and quiet and sleeping in. 





Goodbye.

After an attempted fun last dinner at the marina turned nightmare with tired kids, we had takeaway pizza for dinner.  Ty and Lucia showed us their sweet dance moves to Walk Like an Egyptian.  Unfortunately Friday morning rolled around way too quick.  We left for the airport at 4:30 AM so that the Ruppert’s could catch their flight to Sydney.  They had a couple days in Sydney to explore before heading back to the US.  I love having people come visit, but I hate saying goodbye. :(. I know how difficult it is for Sundie and Brad to get away – an artist’s work is never done – but am so thankful that they were able to make the trip.  *plug – check out their website for awesome and unique artwork http://vintagesculpture.com/SNEAK_PEAK.html

Highlights:

Moving on.  Plastic chairs.  She’s a rental.  Oh, you’re Nicole – come with me.  Sea turtles.  Seashells.  Dance party.  Private beach.  Dolphin.  Heart rocks.  Ibis.  Whoa baby.  Agh geez.

News telling.

Ty had a homework assignment to prepare a presentation for News Telling at school.  He chose to do a “Make and Explain” report.  We printed pictures of the construction of his treehouse back home in the US.  He helped stick them onto colored paper and then he wrote the step number and description underneath the picture.  I was so impressed with his writing skills!  It was fun to look back at those pictures – he was so little!





AFL.

Australia has 3 different sports called football:  soccer, rugby, and Aussie rules football. We figured it was about time we checked out an Aussie rules football game (AFL).  The Coen’s had bought tickets to a Gold Coast Suns vs Brisbane Lions game, so we decided to go, as well.  Lily got to stay home and play with Miss Steph and Mr. Kyson, so she was excited!  Like every new thing we experience here, it was different…  The field was a HUGE oval.  There were about 10 referees, 17 or 18 players on each team, and they ran.  And ran. And ran.  If the ball goes out of bounds, the ref throws it in using a unique technique that rinds me of a combination of a bride throwing a bouquet of flowers and kids playing “500”.  There are 3 ways to score, so the score is read 1-8-4, and then the total points, like 57.  I sort of think that I had figured out the different points but can’t explain it.  The players can run for a bit (I think 10 meters??) before they either have to dribble (yes, they dribble a football), kick the ball for a teammate to catch, or pass it to a teammate using an underhanded volleyball serve technique.  I wasn’t able to tell what type of tackling was ok, and what was not.  The one thing that I could definitely figure out was that those boys are in serious shape.  They have to be to survive that game.  The game ended in a tie.  And everyone just got up and left.  We were sitting there thinking “um, so that’s it?  It’s over?  Don’t they need a winner?????”  Crazy.

Ty’s first train ride



Easter hat.

Ty has an Easter hat parade soon, so we repurposed one of the 50 Australian Outback Spectactular hats and made it into an Easter hat.  Turned out kind of cute!





Sorry!

On Saturday we went to Harbour Town to try to fine Em so new shoes (no luck) and Liky some new clotges.  She is now in size 3 – where did my baby go?!?!  Em went out on the town Saturday night with a friend she met the night that she and Jay went to the tavern.  We had a quiet night with the kids.  Ty had been wanting to play Sorry, so we got that out.  Jay won, Ty got second, and I lost.  Lily was over it – and eventually even the coloring wasn’t enough to keep her attention.  



It is Sunday morning  here, and we don’t have much planned for the day.  Em and I might go do a little shopping, and we are going to the tavern later to watch bathtub boat races.  Em and I have massages scheduled this evening. 

 We officially have no visitors scheduled to come see us – who wants to be next?!?!  G’day mates!





Crossfit.

Jay and I had to go back to work on Monday, so the gang was on their own.  After watching us drive all weekend, Jason felt like he was ready to give it a go.  Jess and Jason are into Crossfit, and they were ready to work off some of the calories they had been consuming.  They found a gym nearby and survived a pretty tough workout.  





Crabs.

They went to BCF (Boat Camp Fish) to buy a crab pot.  We had success catching a crab and an eel, but unfortunately out pot had a hole in the bottom so they both escaped.  It’s not every day Jason gets to go shopping for a crab pot….  They found one that doesn’t have an extra hole in it and we dropped it in the canal.  We used some old chickens that the grocery store was going to pitch (thanks to our new best friend, Nick the fish guy at the local grocery store).  Didn’t take long for another crab and eel to take the bait.  We got them both into the live well, but the eel found a little gap in the well and escaped. Eelvil Knieval.  REELy sneaky. 

So far we have caught 4 crabs – now we have to be brave enough to cook them.





GBR.

I learned something new about Jason.  He loves fish tanks.  In fact, he loves them so much that he didn’t think that Ty should be living without one.  So he bought one for Ty.  We got the tank set up but have to wait until we get back from our trip to the Reef to get a fish.  Ty calls it the Great BarrierReef.  So cute!

{Nochee and Doodie were hand selected after our vacation and are thriving in their new home}



Buggy.

They drove around on the buggy to familiarize themselves with the area.  And it is fun.  



Currumbin.

On Tuesday they decided to venture out a little further and go to Currumbin.  They had a great day!  You know, just a normal day of petting kangaroos and holding koalas.  Even had time to play at the beach for a bit.





Sick.

We got a call from daycare saying that Lily had a low grade fever, so the gang went and picked her up.  Auntie Em got some good snuggles in.



Lily still had some signs of not feeling great on Wednesday, so Auntie Em had her first real day of work.  The rest of the gang braved the roads on Mt Tambourine.  They had another great day, the highlight being a swim at the bottom of the waterfalls.





Dr.

Emily and I took Lily to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon to get some antibiotics before leaving town on Thursday.  Nothing serious, just some gunk in her sinuses.  We picked up Ty and then rushed to my netball game.  I am officially a player on Mark’s Angels.  I still have a hard time figuring out the steps, and preventing myself from playing actual defense, but I enjoy playing it.  And we won!  I think everyone enjoyed watching it and trying to figure out the rules. 



Treehouse.

Thursday morning we drove (and drove and drove) to Agnes Waters.  We stopped at the hide shop at Aussie World on the way so that Brianna could get a kangaroo hide rug.  Jess also picked up a pair of sheepskin mittens. We arrived at our holiday home just before 5:00.  The Treehouse looked really nice online, but WOW!  It is amazing.  I don’t think I have ever been inside anywhere so nice before.  It has a beautiful view of the ocean, set up on the hill, surrounded by trees.  Pretty much all of the walls are gigantic sliding doors that open (and there are actually screens so we can open them up).  The breeze is great.  The sound of the waves rolling in is therapeutic.  Jay and I get to sleep in the bedroom on the lower level facing the water. Even the shower and toilet have amazing views.  I love this place.  Someday I might have to build something like it.  Ty wants to stay here forever.  So do I.



I







 GBR.

If you recall, I have had enough of boats in the ocean, so I stayed home with the kids on Friday while the rest of the gang went out to the Reef.  They have beautiful weather, fairly calm seas in the forecast, so they should have a great day.  The kids and I went into town for coffee and chocolate milkshakes (not a thickshake, just chocolate milk), then went back to the treehouse to play for the day.  We went to the amazing park in the neighborhood, watched a movie when it got hot, swam in the amazing neighborhood pool, played cricket (well, not really, but I threw a ball to Ty and he hit it with his cricket bat), and cooked dinner.  Well, started to cook dinner but the oven started smoking as soon as I turned it on (yikes!!!) so I put the pork loin on the grill.  The Bach’s and Merrill’s may remember that I do not have a great history of cooking pork loins on the grill.  That day may have gone down as the best day ever for Roscoe and Bandit.  Thankfully the gang returned from their GBR tour and Jason took over the meat grilling responsibilities.  

And….drum roll…their reef tour was WAY better than the one Brooke, Tansie and I went on a few weeks ago. Yay!!!!!  They were on the nicer boat (was getting repaired when we went – nor would it have been able to go out in our deadliest catch seas), and it was one of the nicest weather days they have had in a long time.  Unfortunately even though it was a pretty calm day, it is still a fairly small boat in the open seas, and Jason didn’t take any seasickness medicine.  He was the only one that got sick, but he recovered pretty quickly.  Note to anyone that goes out to sea – take your Meds!!!!!!!!!  They all couldn’t imagine how bad it was on the day I went out, because it was still pretty rough.  Matty, the crew member that was helping us all on our trip, remembered us well.  He said he has never seen anyone so sick (poor Brooke).  

Once they got to Lady Musgrave, they had the best time.  Brianna, who had only snorkeled in our swimming pool, jumped right in and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef like an old pro.  Jess had one wish for her entire trip to Australia – to snorkel with a sea turtle.  Her wish came true!! I am so happy that they had a great experience!  







Guys…let’s surf.

I have been thinking for a while that I need to take surf lessons, but have been wanting to make sure my back is OK before giving it a go.  Jess and Jason really wanted to do it, and there just so happened to be a surf shop in Agnes Water with surf lessons for a whopping $17 – Reef 2 Beach surf school is the best deal in Australia.  Emily was a little nervous but when Grom, our surfer dude, told us we wouldn’t be in the water above our waist, she decided to give it a whirl.  We walked down to the beach and grabbed our boards from a garage.  We got about a 15 minute surfing basics lesson on the beach, listened to Grom say “guys” 1,001 times (and tried not to laugh when we all realized at the exact same time that “guys” was his favorite word)  and then we headed into the water.  There was a surf competition going on that day, so we had to stay in a single file line and go surfing in pairs.  What a rush!  Even when you don’t get up and just ride the wave for a while, it is a cool feeling.  All of us got up on our feet at least once.  Em was happy staying on her knees, but the rest of us kept trying to stand.  My last one was the best – not quite good enough to enter the competition, but a pretty decent ride in.  I asked Jay if I could buy a surfboard.  We don’t have a roof rack so I couldn’t buy one that day, but I am now officially in the market for a board.  Dude.  









Beach.

When the lesson was over, we headed back to the treehouse so we could go down to the private beach that only residents of the neighborhood could use.  Flipping sweet.  There were a few other people there, a couple guys surfing, but we pretty much had it to ourselves.  The treehouse had boogie boards that we all tried to use.  The big boys went way out into the waves.  There was one wave that swallowed up both Jay and Jason and we could see their bodies inside the wave.  It was awesome.  I was super impressed with Ty.  He used to be afraid of the waves, didn’t want to have them get his head wet.  But he was out there on his boogie board, waves coming over top of him (don’t panic,he was only in water that was about his waste deep), and he was having a blast!  We might have forgotten to bring the swim diapers with us.  Never fear.  We had sunscreen and a life jacket.  And a private beach.







We had to drive home on Sunday (and drive and drive and drive).  Nobody wanted to leave.  Best weekend.  

Monday.

Jay and I went to work on Monday (ugh) while everyone else kept up their  fun filled activities.  Jess and Jason had to do some Crossfit competition thingy, so they decided to stay close to home.  They had lunch at Sanctuary Cove, went for a buggy ride, and picked up the kids.  They had a little pool time.  Jess had to stock up on a year supply of Tim-Tams.







Surfer Chics.

Jason had a terrible day on Tuesday.  He was forced to go down to Snapper Rocks to watch the women surfing in the Roxy pro surf competition.  He hated every second.  Lots of ugly unfit girls in bikinis.  Brianna, on the other hand, loved it.  She got to meet some of the surfers and is now following a bunch of them on Instagram.  She may have been spotted flicking her wet hair over her shoulder a time or two.  

Edit



Uncle Jason.

Pretty sure the kids are not looking forward to Uncle Jason leaving.  Ty loved checking the crab pot 15 times a night.  Lily loved everything about Jason.  This is what I walked into on Tuesday night.



Wednesday.

Wednesday sucked.  I had to take Jess, Jason, and Bri to the airport.  Not a good time.  Poor Jason caught whatever germs Lily had and had a sinus infection – not fun to have before a 24 hour plane trip.  He probably should have just changed their flights. But he didn’t.  And so they left.  Something about work and school and responsibilities at home.  Major depression.  They didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want them to go.  Ugh.  As much as it sucked to say goodbye, it was totally worth it to have spent the 2 weeks together.  I wasn’t really on vacation for most of the time they were here, but it felt like it.  So much fun.  So sad they are gone.  Missing them a lot.  :(. 

Life goes on.

So as much as I would like to wallow in my depression, life must go on.  On the bright side – Auntie Em is here to stay!  We have spent the rest of the week getting into the groove of reality.  Em and I went to netball on Wednesday night.  I got to shoot for a quarter – super fun!  I scored 2 or 3 baskets.  So strange to not have defense on me for a 2 foot shot.  Em had the rest of the week off to get herself situated and mentally prepared for work to begin.  She took the car out a few times to get comfortable behind the wheel.  She is doing great!  



Bonny Babes.

Friday was Lily’s last day at Bonny Babes.  Finding a good daycare was a major concern of mine when we accepted the expat assignment.  I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to find a place that I was comfortable leaving my kids at during the work day.  Jay did a fantastic job when he found Bonny Babes.  The staff there have been amazing to both of our children.  They genuinely care for the kids and are excited about coming to work every day.  They are such positive people, great attitudes, wonderful teachers.  While I am super excited to have Auntie Em look after Lily, I was sad to say goodbye to the daycare.

Movie.

Friday night we had pizza and a movie night.  We watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Lily found a comfy spot to fall asleep.



Tavern.

Friday night I wasn’t feeling great and the kids were tuckered, but Em was anxious to get out of the house.  Twist Jay’s arm…he took Em to the tavern.  They made friends pretty quickly.  Em broke the dance floor ice with this young chap, and ended up dancing the night away with a number of blokes.  A good time was had by all.  It has been quite a while since Jay shut down a bar.  



Costco.

On Saturday we drove up to Costco.  One cart and $800 later…  Friends in the US – never complain about high prices.  You have it made.

Spectacular.

We made a last minute decision to get tickets to the Australian Outback Spectacular.  We had a coupon for discounted tickets, and they had a new show on.  I thought Em might get a kick out of it.  She loved it!  I looked over at her and Ty at one point and they were both on the edge of their seats, chin in their hands, taking it all in.  Ty stayed awake the whole time!  The highlight of the night was when Ty got to be a part of the show!  His little akubra is a good luck charm – he always gets to do cool things when he had that on.  He went into the arena, talked into the microphone and said he was from America.  And then he got down in the starting position, and he ran super fast to chase the calves across the finish line. He and his mate one the race!!  He was so excited!

Sunday Funday.

Sunday we took things easy.  We had to run to th shops to get a few things for Em, and Ty wanted to spend his gold coins on a new Lego set.  We came home and Ty put the entire police helicopter set together without any help from Jay or I.  Then everyone jumped in the pool while I wrote the blog.  Lily insisted on wearing a swim cap and goggles.  She is getting so brave about jumping in.  



Work.

Just a quick update about working (not to bore you with details).  One of my favorite things about working in Australia has been having the chance to work with some great people.  My team is small – only 4 – and in the past 2 weeks I have had to say goodbye to half of my team.  Aldo has decided to see what new adventure life has in store for him, and Belinda is taking off 6 months to have and care for her first child.  I will miss both of them and wish them the best of luck.  We have some busy weeks ahead of us, but I am happy with the new team members and am excited to get to know them all better.

Memories.

Even though it has taken me hours to write this blog (so sorry for the delay!), I feel like I rushed through everything. Bottom line – the past 2 weeks were awesome.  I know it was a big deal for Jess, Jason and Bri to make the big trip down under, but I am so glad they didn’t.  Memories to last a lifetime!!  I wanted to write down all of the great quotes but of course now that I am sitting down to write I cannot remember any of them.  I guess the most important thing to remember is the laughs we had.

Guests.

This week my oldest sister, Sundie, her husband Brad, and my niece Lucia are flying in!  We are all excited to to see them and show them the highlights of our little life down under!

G’day mates!

That one word “wet” pretty much sums up our week and weekend. I would say “moist” but Jess hates that word.

Flu.
We got a call from the school nurse on Monday afternoon saying that Ty was sick. He must have caught a flu bug because he was throwing up all evening and a couple times at night. Jay was able to stay home with him on Tuesday to allow him to rest up and get better. He spent the night on his cot in our room, so we could keep an eye on him. He thought that was pretty special and talked us into sleeping on it again the next night. Lily liked climbing up and cuddling with him in the morning.

House.
We don’t have to move!!!!! Jay and I were planning on looking for a new home in Wednesday, but on Tuesday afternoon the homeowner agreed to let us stay for a slight increase in our rent. So relieved!!!!!

Wing Attack.
I found a good stress reliever. Netball. Kind of like basketball, but totally different. I arrived at the sporting complex pretty early so that I could watch an earlier game. I figured I better have some idea of the rules before getting thrown on the court. I sat down on the bleachers and was so confused. I bet the people around me were watching and wondering what I was thinking. I will share with you what I was thinking…

They really do wear dresses to play ball.
Wait, why is nobody dribbling?
How come nobody is playing defense?
Why are there 3 people on the other side of the court?
What do all of those abbreviations on their uniforms mean? WA, GA, GK, C, WD, and I can’t remember the rest…
The shooter is sooooo slooooow and methodical. Why doesn’t she just turn and shoot? Why is she carefully pivoting, taking a step closer, fixing her hair, checking her makeup, and then shooting the ball?
Ok, there is a foul. But they just keep playing at the same spot? Why don’t they take it out of bounds and throw it in?
No free throws? No 3-pointers?!?!?!
I knew there is no backboard in netball, but seeing it in person is weird.
These girls are half my age. And this is pretty fast-paced. I’m probably going to keep over.
Ok, so my skills are 3-pointers, dribbling, fast-breaks, and aggressive defense. Not sure how good I am going to be at this game…
I’m so confused.

And then thankfully Sandi showed up early and explained what was happening to me. It started to make some sense, but I was quite overwhelmed. Every position has different rules, so Sandi ran through the basics for the positions I was likely to play – Wing Attack (WA) or Wing Defense (WD). My head was spinning but it was time to play ball. Wait. First I had to get changed. Into my dress. Oh boy… I was literally cracking up in the bathroom when I was changing. No time to dwell, time to play ball.

So despite not being totally sure what I was supposed to be doing, I just tried to get the ball on offense, stop my WD from getting the ball, not cross the lines (didn’t do so well with that), and not take too many steps when I had the ball (I still don’t fully understand what is OK and what is not). I was full steam the first half, 3rd quarter was a little rough, and I thought I might actually die in the 4th quarter. Great workout!! Looking forward to more games!

Auskick.
Ty got to play Aussie Rules football on Thursday after school. One of the other prep moms, Jo, has offered to take Ty from the classroom to Auskick, and the drop him off at After School Care. He LOVED it! Jo sent me pictures and videos of the boys learning the basic skills of the game. They had a blast!

Sisters!
Friday morning we dropped the kids off at school and headed up to the airport to pick up our next group of guests. We had to take 2 cars to pick up them and their luggage. My older sister, Jess, her longtime boyfriend Jason, Jess’s 12 year old daughter Brianna, and my younger sister Emily. They will be here for 2 weeks – except for Emily who is staying with us until we move back to the states! They took this picture in front of an Iowa State Cyclones advertisement that said “Now boarding for adventure.” Seems as though they brought a cyclone to Australia.

Marcia.
So yeah, about that cyclone…a category 5 cyclone hit the coast of Australia up north, near where Brooke and I were at for our boat ride from hell (just a little farther north). We didn’t experience the high winds down on the Gold Coast, but we got heaps of rain. It rained and rained and rained. There was some flooding, some schools were cancelled, but it didn’t stop Qantas from flying into Brisbane Friday morning (the gang can say that they flew into a cyclone), or us from going exploring. They arrived on time at 8:30 am (barely made their connection in Sydney) so we had all day to play. They got themselves settled and showered at the house, then we headed down to Surfers Paradise for lunch. We thought it was appropriate to eat lunch at Hurricanes during a cyclone. We had a yummy meal, then the boys went to the Irish pub (our $2 bill was GONE!!!!!!) while the girls ran from shop to shop. We had a drink with the boys and decided to brave the cyclone and go down to the beach. We marched past the “Beach Closed” sign and Em literally ran to the water, screaming like a girl. It was so cute. She has never seen the ocean, so she was so excited!! She ran out and we snapped this photo. The rain, at this point, decided to unload on us, so I turned around and ran back up for cover. I didn’t see Jess and Bri’s reactions. Jason was the smart one in the group – he decided to stay under cover.

Kids.
I was getting anxious about the roads potentially flooding and not being able to pick up my babies (we live in an island surrounded by canals), so we headed back north to pick up the kiddos. We went to Ty’s school first. He was excited but a little shy and hesitant. Then we picked up Lily bean and headed home. They were excited to see the goodies that were brought from the US. Jolly Ranchers, pez dispensers, Cheetos, heaps of candy, and costumes. Ty loves his new superhero costumes. Lily wasn’t sure about her new Elsa dress. She thought it was pretty but hadn’t warmed up to the crowd of people who wanted her to put it on. We eventually got it in her – a little big but so cute!!

Saturday.
Jason and Ty went fishing while Jay cooked brekky on Saturday morning.

We went to Ty’s last rugby practice and then decided to brave the weather and head down to our favorite beach, Snapper Rocks. Yes, it was still raining. Both of the girls from the Snowy Mountains were working, and they all got flustered when we told them we were Rickey’s sisters. It is so funny. Rick has this affect on people. He was at the surf club for 2 meals, made small talk with the ladies for just a few minutes, but they haven’t forgotten him. And I am pretty sure they won’t. We wanted to get a picture with the girls, and decided to FaceTime Rickey as well. That made their day. :). So funny.

Next weekend there is a surf competition at Snapper Rocks, so they were busy building a bunch of temporary buildings – stages/bleachers/etc. I hope the swells stick around until next weekend. They were amazing. I haven’t seen waves like that (except for on the boat ride from hell that doesn’t count), and the surfers were having a blast. They didn’t care that it was pouring down rain. I think Em and Jess could have sat there all day and watched the surfers.

On our way back to the car, we had to walk up this really steep hill along the coast. The views are incredible from there. Jay was in the lead and he looked out at the water and spotted 2 dolphins popping up out of the massive waves. So happy the gang got to see them!

Shop.
I needed to pick up a few things from the shops, and since we were limited to our outdoor activities, nobody minded going to the mall for a bit. They were all surprised to see the grocery store in the mall. That still feels strange to me, as well, even after a year. :). Brianna bought a chocolate koala. Aunt Jekka bought both kids some sweet new hats.

Magic.
We went home and made pizzas for dinner. Lily and Brianna are joined at the hip.

Jason put a chicken in the crab pot and checked it about an hour later. There was a small crab and a fish in the pot. He dropped it back in the water, figured he needed Jay’s help getting it out. After dinner Ty wanted to show everyone his magic tricks. He put on his cape and got his equipment ready, then we all went upstairs to watch. He did great! When he finished, Lily wanted to have a turn wearing the cape. 🙂

When everyone went to check out the crab pot again, the crab and fish had both disappeared! Like magic! And so did all of the bones and pieces of chicken. Clever little crab!

Boat.
On Sunday morning, the forecast said “A shower or two” and showed only a 10% chance for rain every hour. So we decided to go for a boat ride. Well, the forecast was wrong….it rained off and on all day long. All. Day. Long. So lovely being on the boat in the rain. But we powered through it. When we arrived at Couran cove, there was nobody there. Normally the marina is full of boats. Not today. They must have been scared off by the storm. We went for a quick swim, ate lunch, and hiked over to the surf side of the island.
The island got hammered with rain, and we realized why the developers had put a raised path through the rainforest. There was water everywhere. It felt like we were walking on top of a swamp. So cool!!
When we got to the surf side, it was stinking windy, and the waves were pissed, but it was still a fun time. The jellyfish were having a bad day, as several of them had gotten washed ashore and were stuck in the sand. The sea foam was flying across the beach. Interesting day on the surf side, for sure.

We made it home just before the next round of rainfall came, but it didn’t stop everyone from jumping in the pool. Quick swim, then showers. Jess and the boys ram to the store and we were going to go to the marina for dinner but I wasn’t feeling great.

Air con.
We still don’t have our air conditioner working. The humidity is full on. I think it will take 2 weeks to get the humidity out once we get the air con working again. Ugh.

Random.
Here are some random pics that others took of our weekend.

Tomorrow is back to reality for us. Work and school. I am looking forward to hearing what they end up doing during the week! G’day mates!

Miserable.
The drive home from Agnes Water on Wednesday was miserable. Tansie and I were feeling OK, but Brooke was not. We were all needing some food in our bellies so we stopped at a cafe for brekky. We sat down at a table under a covered sidewalk and our food arrived at the table – just in time for it to downpour. Sideways. We tried scooting our table back but eventually had to move to a different table a little more protected from the storm. When we were finished eating, Brooke wasn’t ready to get in a moving vehicle, so I filled the car up with fuel to buy her some time. Unfortunately with a solid 7-8 hour drive ahead of us, we had to get going. Poor Brooke spent the entire trip sitting with one leg tucked up under the other, head forward (inches from the dash and air con vents), puke bag in hand. She was miserable. She made me pull over a couple times to get some air and ease her stomach, but aside from that and a lunch stop, we had to keep going. I think the only thing that saved her is that she realized we were not in that boat from hell and she knew it could be worse… She will kill me when she realizes I took this picture, but I had to capture what those 7 hours of her life were like.

Lunch.
We stopped for a late lunch at the restaurant at Aussie World. I wanted the girls to try the damper, which is an Australian bread, typically cooked over fire. Brooke was able to eat a few bites, and the break was good for her. We all got a kick out of this sign.

Shop.
We did a little shopping there, ran through the shops and then drove to the Opal store and the hide store. None of us wanted to fork over the cash required for an opal, but the girls couldn’t resist the temptation to bring home a kangaroo hide rug.

Literacy.
We got home just in time for me to freshen up (or as crazy old man skipper says….get my sparkle on) and rush out with Jay to a meeting at Ty’s school. All of the prep teachers shared with us the methods they are using to teach the children how to read, write, and do math (or maths as they say here). Fascinating stuff. It was very informative, and helped connect the dots to some things that Ty has been talking about in the evenings. I am looking forward to watching him learn these skills in the coming months.

Library.
In one of the first days of school, Ty came home with a library book. There wasn’t a note about how long he could keep it, so we read the book, then put it back in his backpack. This week Mrs. Hanrahan wrote a note in Ty’s boomerang book asking if we could send back the Diggers book. Um. We thought we did. We asked the teachers at before school care and after school care if they had seen it. Mrs. H looked through all of the bags at school. Nobody has turned it into the library. :(. So we have to call the library next week to find out what we need to do to make things right. Ty has been earning gold coins for various things, and we have told him that he will have to use the coins to pay for a new library book if we have to buy one. Hopefully this will be a good lesson and he will take better care of things in the future. But I keep telling myself…. He is only 4 years old. A library book is a big responsibility. Now he knows.

Anniversary.
One of my employees has been working for Deere for 25 years. I organized a celebration to thank him for all of his great work over the years. I was stressing over putting together a morning tea that would be enough food for basically the whole branch, but decided to go against the grain and do what is done in the US. I ordered a huge sheet cake instead of a traditional tea. Ordering that was interesting…. I went to Woolies, the grocery store, and they said they could bake a sheet cake. I asked if they could put a John Deere tractor on it (the HyVee bakery could do this, no problem), but the lady looked at me like I was crazy. She said I needed to go to a specialty cake shop for anything other than words. Um, ok. So I guess we will just write “congratulations Wayne” and the number 25 on it in green and yellow icing. “No, ma’am, we can’t do yellow icing.” What?!?! You just put yellow food coloring in with the white icing and mix it up….what do you mean you can’t do yellow?!? Ok fine. Just do green… So I went to Big W (like Wal Mart) and bought some JD toys. The end result turned out pretty good! Everyone seemed to like it.

Cortisone.
Jay is still having problems with his back, so he finally was able to get a cortisone shot on Thursday. He felt some immediate relief but is hoping that the pain will be completely gone by the end of the weekend. Fingers crossed!

Currumbin.
The weather was decent on Thursday afternoon, so Jay and the girls picked up Ty once school was finished and ran down to Currumbin so the girls could see the Roos and koalas. They have opened up most of the park again, and they turned the treehouse into a kids zone. They ran through the park in about an hour, pet a kangaroo, held a koala, and bought some Uggs.

They stopped at Burleigh on their way back to eat tacos (yum) and see the beach one more time.

Chinese.
Friday night was their last evening in Australia, so I took them to the Chinese restaurant in Sanctuary Cove. I hadn’t eaten there before, but it was delicious! We were finally all feeling 100% back to normal after our boat ride from hell, and we were finally able to laugh about it. And we did. A lot.

We walked around and did some window shopping. There wasn’t really anything happening – no bands (except for one guy that I don’t think was singing karaoke but am not positive), so we went home. I was exhausted so the girls went to the tavern by themselves. The band was playing “older people” music, so they didn’t stay out too long. They came home and packed. 😦

Swim.
We had Ty’s second solo swim lesson on Saturday morning. A combination of cooler water and weather, the subconscious knowledge that Aunt Brookie was leaving that day, and exhaustion from a busy week, all made Ty’s swim lesson a disaster. We have decided to give him a swim lesson break until all of our company comes and goes, and then we will put him and Lily back into lessons at Gullivers. The heated and covered pool is nice, and hopefully by then they will have some new coaches. :(.

Safe travels.
Jay took the kids to rugby while I drive the girls to the airport. I am writing this 26 hours later, and the girls are stuck in Dallas. They missed their connection from Dallas to Des Moines and are on standby for the last flight of the day. If they miss it, they won’t have another chance until tomorrow morning. :(. Brooke did pretty well on the flight, until the landing which was a little bouncy. Poor thing lost 8 pounds while she was here…

Air con.
Oh the joys of living in a rental. See, if I was home and my air conditioner was acting up, I would hire an actual air conditioner repair guy that knows how to repair the type of air conditioner that we have in our house. But we are in a rental, at the mercy of the property manager and his “mate” that knows a little about air conditioners and does some service work on the side. So this guy has been out 3 or 4 times, all at odd evening hours (which now makes sense since I found out he isn’t really an air con repairman full time). Every time he complains about Carrier air conditioners, says the squeaking is just what Carriers do, and says he can’t do much until it throws a code. Well, when I was dropping the girls off at the airport, the air conditioner burned up. Literally burned up. There were no flames, but the smell was terrible. Jay opened all of the windows and when I got home an hour later it still smelled bad. The air con guy came back to the house and pulled the fan out of the attic. He said something about how it might take a while to get parts, and he is going out of town for his real job, so it will not be any earlier than Friday before he can fix it. IT IS SATURDAY!!!!! Oh hell no. This chic doesn’t go without air con for an entire week in an Aussie summer. So that will be a fun battle to fight with the property manager. Ugh. Thankfully it hasn’t been too hot, a nice breeze, so during the day we can open all the doors and windows. But at night we have to close things up. We don’t have any screens and I don’t need any critters or mozzies coming in. We turned on all of our fans and slept sort of OK. Fingers crossed it doesn’t get too hot.

Valentine.
We spent our Valentines Day doing yard work. Ty went next door to play with Taj and Logan. Jay mowed. I trimmed all of the hedges (by hand). Then Jay went to the store and brought home flowers. So sweet. And then he made me my favorite meal – fettuccine Alfredo. All the single ladies out there…marry a man that can cook, change diapers and oil like a pro, and watch the kids while you sneak away for a girls’ weekend without complaining a bit. I love you, Jay. Thanks for putting up with me and my drama. :). We almost had a guest for our Valentines dinner, as I wasn’t sure if the air con guy was going to leave or not. He finally left, leaving me to enjoy my dinner with the 3 loves of my life.

Pool.
Sunday morning we hung out in the pool. Lily is getting so brave. She wears a little floaty vest and can kick her way around everywhere. Hot tub to big pool and back again. When she got tired I cuddled with her on the patio furniture and she took a little nap on my tummy, wrapped up in her towel. Sweet moments.

Workout.
We went for a bike ride to the marina for lunch, then we stopped at the store to pick up a few groceries. When we got home we decided to go for a buggy ride to see if we could find any of the rental homes on the market. I ran (a bit) and walked (mostly) alongside the buggy – first attempt at exercise in a long time. I am out of shape. For real. It was a beautiful day, though, and it felt good to try to do something healthy. We found the only house in Hope Island that is available. The pool looked nice, but it looked pretty small. With Em moving in, we can’t really downsize. The realtor sent over a list of about 10 homes on the market – 9 in Sanctuary Cove. We are going to look at some homes on Wednesday. Fingers crossed. We asked our realtor if the owner of our home would take a little more rent to let us stay until December. Would be awesome if he says yes. I’m not stressing too much – I’m sure it will all work out fine.

Girls.
The girls made it home! They got to Des Moines around 11:00 PM. Long trip, I’m sure they are both looking forward to sleeping in their own beds and eating real food. But I am sure they will miss being in a place “that reminds me of Hawaii. Not that I have ever been there but I have watched a lot of Dog the Bounty Hunter.” And where “No, this is Sanctuary Cove. We buggy to Sanctuary Cove. We have to walk to Surfers Paradise.” Or where you can go on an adventure where “I was afraid I was going to lose control of all bodily functions and was stressing because I didn’t have a spare set of swim bottoms.” Or where “dingos” supposedly exist. The memories will last a lifetime!!

More sisters.
The paper chain for the next round of sisters is getting super short! Jess and Em and Jason and Brianna are arriving on Friday!! So so so excited!! It’s about to get crazy down under… The next time you hear from me (unless something amazingly unexpected happens this week), they will have arrived! Yippee!!!!!!!!

Rest.
Sunday evening I couldn’t wait to dig into the leftover fettuccine. Yes, I had just “worked out”, and no, it didn’t make me want to eat healthy. Quite the opposite. I was starving. Jay and Lily went back to the marina to rent a couple movies. He brought home Gone Girls, which is fitting for today since the girls are gone. Lazy rest of the day planned. One side of my brain is telling me to log onto my computer and do some work. The other side is saying “um, no.” I think I will listen to the other side.

Until next time…g’day mates!