Lizard.
I have been dreading the moment that an Australian critter makes its way into our house. Thankfully our first visitor wasn’t of the “I am nearly invisible but can kill you with one small bite” family. Instead he was of the “I am lightning fast and can change color to match my surroundings” family. The lizards that we love to watch play on the patio ceiling at dinner time thought that Lily’s room was way more fun. It was hard to see him because he was nearly white on the walls, and turned to the gray/taupe color of the carpet. So fast!! Jay never ceases to amaze me and won the “Hero of the Year” award because he caught the lizard in a towel and then threw it off the balcony onto the patio roof. When he landed, he literally ditched his tail and took off, leaving the tail wiggling around. There are so many great sayings that can come from this – would love to hear your versions… “I was so scared I crapped my tail.” “That scared the tail right off of me!” “Son, let me tell you a TAIL about the time I nearly died.” I could go on for hours… (Jay didn’t think my comments were funny, so I won’t be disappointed if you don’t laugh. I, however, was cracking myself up writing it.)
I am going to tell myself that he snuck in last night when we had the door open to catch the nice warm breeze. This is way better than thinking that he snuck in some other way…and has a family in our walls or something.
This picture is not a stick… Ewwwww!!

Kayak.
Every so often I see people kayaking down our canal. I think it looks so peaceful and would be a great form of exercise and “me” time. Jay was OK with letting me look for one. He even started to do some searching, until he found out that the bull sharks can and have attacked people in kayaks. What?!?!? Apparently in a kayak you are too close to the water… These bull sharks are not very big in comparison to other sharks, but they are mean, aggressive, and some of the “man eaters” (longer than 2 meters) just like the taste of humans. Short man syndrome? They estimate that there are over 600 man eaters in the canals along the Gold Coast. This is the last you will hear about my search for a kayak…

Pizza and puke.
Friday night we realized we didn’t have any sausage to make pizza with (unheard of in Australia to not have sausage – hopefully I won’t get us arrested for that), so we called the marina and ordered a pizza to go. Never mind that it didn’t have sausage on it – ground sausage or any type of sausage on pizza is unheard of here, completely ironic, I know, since Aussies can’t seem to have a meal without some form of sausage. We all rode over in the buggy to pick it up. It was delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I ate my entire pizza (probably a medium back home).

Ty wasn’t eating at all, and after waiting forever I decided to go get comfy on the couch. He came over and snuggled up with me. Wasn’t too long before my motherly instinct kicked in and I had a feeling he was going to puke. I told jay to carry him to the bathroom and he barely made it to the toilet. :(. He ended up throwing up 3 times before falling asleep. Poor little guy.

Random American.
Saturday morning Ty seemed to be back to normal, so we went ahead and took home to swim lessons. Again, more major progress. He floated on his tummy with his face in the water and kicked. He went under water to pick up things off the pool floor. 6 weeks at the Y in Moline and he was still clinging to dad in the pool. 3 lessons in Australia and he is nearly ready to start Olympic training. Amazing.

After Ty’s lesson I was waiting in line at the canteen to get him a gummy python and Gatorade. A dad and son were in line ahead of me. I thought they were done but then the dad said something that made me think they weren’t. I said, “Oh, are you done?” He said, “Are you a Yankee?” Well, not technically, but yep. An Aussie would have said, “Are you finished mate?” I then got his life story in 5 minutes. Ex military, Texan, been in Australia for about 5 years, has at least one son a little older than Ty, works in sales (evident by his desire to strike up a conversation). Jay and Ty came out of the locker room and Jay talked to the dude for a while. He wants to take Jay golfing (has a couple extra sets of clubs), lives in a neighborhood not far from us. Said he could hear the “corn in my voice” and figured I was a Midwesterner. Super nice guy.

We got home and Jay realized he forgot Ty’s swim trunks and rashy at the pool. He called the front desk and somehow the random dude had found Ty’s stuff (his name was on the tag) and was taking it to the front desk when Jay called. He said he would drop it off on his way home. We are thinking he will be a fun guy to hang out with.

Currumbin.
Jack from Kansas was visiting the branch, so we invited him to tag along with us on Saturday as we made a 2nd attempt to make it through Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We caught the train in the park and rode it back to that far end of the park, to Kangaroo Crossing. Mind blown. There were kangaroos everywhere. Big ones. Little ones. Babies INSIDE the mama’s pouches. There were emus, as well. People were mingling with the kangaroos, petting, hugging, feeding. It was one of the coolest experiences ever.

We walked over to the crocodile area just in time for their feeding. Check out Jays Facebook page for a video of the smaller female croc, Lily, eating some chicken. Pretty cool.

There were 2 other train stops that we didn’t make it to this trip. Good thing we bought season passes. 🙂

Rainbow Bay.
After Currumbin we drove a few minutes south (nearly to the New South Wales border) to Rainbow Bay beach. Absolutely beautiful. You could see the beautiful ocean, the Surfers Paradise skyline, and mountains. It was really shallow water forEVER, and had a rocky area that Ty had fun playing in. Lily just chilled in her tent. Jack ventured out into the deeper water and played in the waves.
There was a surf club right across the street. Lifeguards are paid. Lifesavers are volunteers that earn their living by selling good and drinks in a building by the beach, but you have to be a member of the club to use it. We loved that beach so we bought a club membership for $10. Totally worth it!

Fireworks.
When we got home, Jay and Ty took a dip in the hot tub. Later in the evening, somebody lit off a pretty impressive fireworks display – so cool to watch fireworks from our couch. Thai take-out, glass of wine, tired kiddos. Great day!

It was so nice to have Jack join us for the day. It was fun to show him around the coast. Hopefully the kids didn’t drive him too crazy. :).

Swim lesson.
Wow. I am shocked at Ty’s progress in the pool this week! His first day in level L1 was Saturday morning. He was in the pool without Jay or I, only the teacher and 4 other kids. He used a kick board to tool his way around the pool, put his face under water, and “swam” out to get toys without a life jacket, noodle, or kick board. Amazing.

Christmas tree.
We stopped at Kmart on our way home after swim lessons (remember Kmart is better than Target here) and picked up a Christmas tree, some balls, and lights. Notice that there is no tinsel…wasn’t because there was a lack of options… It isn’t as extravagant of a tree as what we have back home, but it will do. And thanks to Memaw and Papa we even have presents under it already!

Christmas Party.
I was so looking forward to the office Christmas party at the waterpark. The weather here has been perfect waterpark weather pretty much every day, with an occasional afternoon rain shower that comes and goes pretty quickly. Imagine my disappointment when I woke up Saturday morning to gray skies, rain, and “freezing” cold weather. It was around 63 when we woke up. But, hey, what the heck. It’s a waterpark, going to get wet anyway, so off we went. Ty and I went straight to the lazy river and thankfully the water was warm, but after 2 laps his lips stated turning blue, so we sat in the “hot” tub for a bit to warm up. After warming up and eating a lunch of…any guesses…sausage…jay and Ty went out to try the wave pool and kids pool area, complete with a giant pirate ship. Then Santa arrived (in flip flops) and gave all of the kids awesome presents. Lily got a little stuffed toy that plays music. Ty got a Batman airplane deal that he is super excited about. Really nice things. Pictures to come later. Jay did some of the extreme rides. Lily fell asleep so one of the ladies from work kept an eye on her while Ty, Jay and I went for one more pass through. We had a great time, despite the chilly weather!

Turkey.
We cooked a turkey (breast) and mashed potatoes Saturday night. We decided that although the turkey was good, it didn’t taste like home. Not sure if that is because they feed the turkeys something different, or if it was because we weren’t eating it with our families. Jay made a delicious batch of mashed potatoes (mashed by hand) and even though we didn’t have all of the good stuff, grandma grandma would have been impressed. I made a pasta salad (was just OK) and guacamole, just because I love my fresh guacamole. :). I said I was thankful for a beautiful family that was willing to go on this great adventure with me. Jay basically copied me. Ty was thankful for candy and trees (not really sure, was speaking jibberish…)

Iceman.
Ty’s elf, Iceman, made his grand re-appearance Sunday morning! He put our tree up and decided to hang out on top for the day – best view of the kids’ behavior. Look closely at the picture.

New Roo.
As co-owner of Roo’s Barefoot Cantina, I believe it is crucial to have a proper mascot. Since our inflatable friend, Roo, died a tragic death in the hail storm a while back, we searched high and low for a suitable replacement. Not really…jay just happened to drive by a concrete sculpture store on his way into the city, saw a giant concrete kangaroo and thought, “I must own that.” He stopped on his way back and felt the pain of the price tag, so he pushed back the normal Shearer instinct of “go big or go home” and went with a smaller version. Meet the new Roo.

Dollop.
We had our department meeting today (about 10 people) and of course there was enough food for “tea” to feed the Australian army. It was sitting in front of all of us and nobody was digging in (even though we were given the green light to start eating). I was intrigued by a plate of rolls with what looked like a yogurt container in the middle. I could barely concentrate on the meeting as my brain was wondering if they really put yogurt on bread… So I decided to break the ice and grabbed a roll. The container said “dollop” cream, so I figured it was just a spread of some sort. I put some on my bread and spread it around. Meeting continues. I take a bite, seems ok but kind of bland (as is everything I have eaten here). And then I hear laughter from a few people. My face instantly got red. One guy said “you need to put jam on first and then just a dollop of the cream.” Well thanks guys…that tasted much better. After the meeting I asked that people please fill me in ahead of time if I am doing something wrong…

Meat pies.
At almost every tea or gathering, a staple on the menu are sausage rolls (kind of like a mini hot dog in a biscuit) and mini meat pies. I have not yet mustered up the courage to try the sausage rolls, but today I thought I would give the meat pie a go. I took a small bite. It is a pastry like outer crust filled with “mince” which is some sort of ground meat and a sauce. Might have been ok but it was only sort of warm. I nearly gagged…I don’t do cold meat… I might try again sometime, but let’s just say I won’t be craving it. I should point out that I was eating all of this while everyone back home was eating one of the best meals of the year. *sigh*.

Boats.
Friday night we got home and were shocked to see the ginormous yacht docked a few houses down the canal. GI.Nor.Mous. We had heard the scoop on the dude that owns it from the cable guy (he know everything – more gossip than the local hairdresser). Apparently the male extension/implant business is booming, because the guy who owns the boat is a doctor in that field. He spends most of his time in the US (jay and I figure Cali), but comes to his vacation mansion in Australia once a year. He wants to be able to take his boat out when he comes, so he has a crew float the boat across the Pacific (must take months) and get the house ready for his arrival. He flies in. Am curious to see how long he stays. So ridiculous…

Swim.
Ty had his first swim lesson here at Gullivers. We didn’t know what class to put him in, so they started him at B1. That class teaches water safety and lets kids get used to the water. Ty did great – so good that the teacher thought he should skip the next 2 B classes and get to the L level (learn to swim). They get more into the techniques of swimming.

Something must have triggered in his brain because Sunday afternoon while jay and Ty were in the pool, Ty grabbed a noodle and went off on his own (life jacket on). He kicked his way across the pool. Jay and I were both shocked!

Hair.
I was due for a hair cut, so I booked an appointment at the marina salon. I was nervous because Brian has been doing my hair for a while and I never had to tell him what I wanted done. He just did it. The gal that did my hair here did a pretty good job. She’s no Brian, but will be fine for a couple years. One plus – the chair for washing hair has a back massager in it. Yes please!

Tiger.
Since Jay is unable to do much tinkering on our leased cars, he turns his attention to Tiger. Starting with some small touches…

Lights.
We have had several lights that haven’t worked since we moved in and an irrigation system that seemed to be broken. Since we don’t have a ladder here and have no intention of buying one, we had to have the property manager send someone out. We finally were able to get on the handyman’s calendar for Saturday, “sometime around lunch.” So we stuck around the house Saturday and he showed up on Australia time…3:00… We have lights now!! Yay!

Sitter.
We have been blessed in the US to have found the best babysitter – Miss Lindsay. Since we couldn’t pack her up and take her with us to Australia, we were crossing our fingers to find someone even halfway as good as her to watch the kids when Jay and I need a date night. We had a work social club gathering in downtown Brisbane that we wanted to go to, so we asked one of Ty’s teachers at school to babysit. She is great! So thankful to Miss Mollie for giving us a chance to go out on the town.

Unfortunately I must have caught a bug of some sort because as I was getting ready to go out (maintenance guy was still here) I ended up losing my lunch…tossed my cookies…prayed to the porcelain gods… Ugh.
Miss Mollie was already on her way so we decided to still go out and see how I felt. Didn’t last long, unfortunately. We were home by 9:00. Date night = fail. Better luck next time.

Massage.
I booked an appointment on Sunday morning with a masseuse to try to work out some of the stress that I have been carrying in my muscles. I found a little place on Google that was only $50 for a 60 minute massage (so cheap!) and not too far from home. It was a strange location, just a little room across from a canal. I had to wait for my time slot on a bench outside the building. The lady has been practicing massage for 15 years, mainly at some larger clinics, but decided to open up her own little place. Very little overhead so she could charge so much less. She did a great job. Different than Janey, but good. I will be going back, for sure!

Funny Money.
I am still trying to figure out the Australian currency – have to look at the amounts printed on the coins, feel so silly sometimes. The paper money is quite interesting. The bills are all different sized and feel like they are coated in plastic. Jay thinks it is waterproof, which makes sense in a country where the majority of the population is on the coast.

Rain.
The summer months here apparently bring quite a lot of rain & storms. Almost every afternoon a storm rolls in. I was hoping to get my delicate clothes washed and hung out to dry on Sunday. Unfortunately as they were nearly dry out on the line, rain came. Nuts. I ran outside with my laundry basket as soon as I heard the rain and scrambled to get all of the clothes off the clothes line. Will try to dry the clothes after the rain passes. Since most people here do not have electric or gas dryers, and it rains every day, how do they do laundry?