Phone.
Seriously. My kids have now wiped all of the data on my phone 3 times now. They are fascinated with the buttons and numbers on an iPhone, and unfortunately don’t care about punching the correct PIN number in within 5 attempts. Because I have my work email on my phone, after 5 failed attempts it completely resets my phone. Wipes out everything. Thankfully I had last backed up on Tuesday, but I had taken heaps of pictures since then. And, the blog I had spent hours writing was erased. So, we will see if my second attempt comes out as good as the first. Ugh.

Brookie!!!
Aunt Brookie is here!! She made it! And her friend Tansie survived, as well. They were late getting into Sydney on Monday, and they didn’t have a phone that works in Australia to let me know which flight they were going to be on. So I used my mad investigative skills (thank you Google and the Qantas sales guy) to figure it out. Since they arrived in Brisbane on a domestic flight, I actually got to go to the gate to greet them off the plane. You don’t need a boarding pass to go through security at most airports in Australia. No worries. I was thrilled to see both of them smiling! Brooke has a weak stomach, so I wasn’t sure what shape she would be in when she got off the plane. That patch she used worked great!

Loot.
We didn’t have a whole lot of time before we had to go pick up the kids, so the girls took a quick shower and pulled out some of the loot they brought us from the states. As Brooke calls it, lots of processed cheese snacks. Have I ever mentioned how amazing Cheetos are? Seriously. There is no substitute for the perfect crunch and flavor of a Cheeto. Will never take them for granted when we move home. The girls brought me a beautiful pair of Coach earrings, and since they were at the Coach store at LAX I had them bring a new purse for me, too. I was missing my favorite hair conditioner. And Jolly Ranchers. And pink Orbit gum. Good loot, ladies!

Buggy.
I wanted to make sure the girls knew how to get to the marina, so we went for a quick buggy ride to the grocery store to pick up some essentials.

Kids.
We went to pick up the kids, and although they were a little shy, they were excited to see the girls! We took the long way home so I could show them how to get to Sanctuary Cove. I was also hoping to spot a kangaroo but none wanted to make an appearance. We went home and Jay picked up kebabs for dinner. Brooke wasn’t a fan. Poor thing might struggle a bit with the food here…

Girl from Down Under.
Brooke has been talking about this amazing Christmas present she was making for Lily, that she insisted on delivering in person. I had no idea what it could be. When she showed us, I agreed. The most awesome gift ever. She made a book for Lily. Hand sewn, totally creative, so perfect. A puzzle of the Aussie flag and Sydney opera house. Lace up the Harbour Bridge. Unsnap a gum tree leaf to feed a koala. Play peekaboo with a baby roo. Braid a jellyfish. Brush a brumby’s mane and a shark’s teeth. Unzip a croc’s mouth. Count the sea turtles. Dress up the mermaid. A.Maz.Ing.

Tuesday.
I had to go to work on Tuesday so the girls were on their own. They were going to go to Sanctuary Cove, but after playing in the pool for a bit, Brooke got a headache. She took off her patch and almost immediately got sick. She was down for the count for the entire day. Bummer dude.

Wednesday.
Brooke felt much better on Wednesday morning. They walked to Sanctuary Cove and did a little shopping. They got a kick out of the yachts – crazy big. They spent an hour trying to find a few ingredients to make dinner for us. Turns out lamb isn’t a good substitute for Brooke’s ham ball recipe. And sugar water is a terrible substitute for Karo syrup. But the corn casserole was amazing!! That night Jay watched the kids so I could go with them to the wine bar. We had a glass and then went to the tavern for a beer and a bucket of chips. We had a few left over so we threw them into the water. A bunch of big fish came over to eat the fries. They thought they were baby sharks, so I (cough cough wink wink) asked the waiter what kind of fish they were. “Baby sharks. Definitely baby sharks.” Or not. The world may never know.

Thursday.
I had a doctor’s appointment down the coast a ways on Thursday morning so I dropped the girls off at Surfers Paradise. There was a cyclone off the coast, which was causing some high winds and rough seas. So, the plan to lay on the beach was a bad one. They could barely stand to go dip their toes in. But, it was the first time Brooke had seen the ocean, and even during a cyclone that sea is beautiful. They shopped, ate, and drank. I worked from home the rest of the day. Jay and Ty had haircuts that evening, so I picked up Lily and went to get the girls. It sounded like they had a good day. They loved watching all of the wind surfers.

Friday.
I was going to drop the girls at the train station on Friday morning so they could explore the city, but they wanted to chillax a bit. They swam, swam, laundry, swam, napped, swam. Brooke is tan as can be (b). We were all going to go to the tavern Friday night, but Ty fell asleep in the car on the way home from school, and Lily was asleep before 7:00. Jay sent us off by ourselves, so we had a yummy dinner at Red Rock then went to the tavern for a bit to watch a pretty decent band play for a while. We knew we had a long day of traveling ahead of us so we didn’t stay out too late.

Road trip!
Ty woke us up at the crack of dawn by running into our room and saying, “I am all dressed and ready to go to the hotel! Let’s go!” So we got up, got ready, loaded the car, and we’re on the road by 8:30. Girls in one car, boys in the other. We made one pit stop before arriving in Hervey Bay just in time for lunch at a little cafe. I sat at the table while the rest of the crew an across the street to the beach. It was a much calmer day so way more enjoyable for the girls.

After a yummy lunch, we headed to the dock to catch our ferry ride to Fraser (Frayza) Island. Fraser is the world’s largest sand island, known for dingos, 4wd, and camping. No, we weren’t camping. Are you kidding?!?! You will not catch me camping in Australia. Never. We couldn’t drive our car around the island because once you leave the resort area the “roads” are only sand paths. But we thought that since we have so much crap for the six of us, it might be easier to throw it all into one car and ferry it over. Best $30 ever. Plus, Jay got the thrill of driving his wagon on a boat.

Sand Bar.
We got checked in and headed down to the Sand Bar, which is a little tavern by the beach that has a swimming pool. Jay and the kids went for a swim. Lily showed us her cannon ball skills. Such a little dare devil!

Sunset.
Brooke and Tansie took Ty over to the pier to watch the sunset. Glad they got to see a good one.

4WD.
On Sunday we rented a 4WD to explore the island. I have to admit I was kind of a nervous wreck at first. I was channeling my inner Chris, worried about the kids getting whip lash, our truck getting stuck, getting eaten by dingos. We headed off in what Brooke and Jay thought was the way to Central Station – but they weren’t really sure – but there is the end of the pavement and the start of a sand path – so of course we will just go there – holy crap that is steep!!! After 10 minutes of listening to Ty giggle and laugh and say “dad this is awesome – thank you for taking us driving on the sand” I finally was able to sort of relax and enjoy the day. So I never actually relaxed, but I really did enjoy the day. At one point I realized I had been smiling so much my cheeks hurt. Is that really wide enough for us?

First stop was Lake McKenzie. Um. Wow. By far the most beautiful lake I have ever been to. The water was so perfect. Shades of blue, clear as glass, completely fresh and filled by rain water. Amazing. We realized we forgot to bring our swimsuits down to the water but Jay hiked back to get our things. There was no way we were leaving without going in. Lily and Ty couldn’t wait for their suits so in true Aussie style they stripped down (Ty to his undies and Lily to bare bum) and splashed all around. No worries.

Central Station.
While we all could have stayed at Lake McKenzie all day, we had lots of ground to cover. We wandered around Central Station and saw the clearest stream I have ever seen. The area had been used as a little clearing for the logging community back on the day.

Next up – Eurong, which is on the surf side of the island. We timed it just right to have a quick lunch at a “resort” that looked more like a prison. Jay nearly got the truck stuck pulling up to the toilets. Oops. That would have been a crappy deal. Would have really pissed us off. Would have flushed our day down the toilet. I could go on and on… Thankfully his
mad driving skills got us unstuck before too much drama occurred. Sharing chocolate milk…

Ocean.
So yeah, then we did what everyone gets to do at one point or another in their life, you know, driving on a freaking amazing beach!!!! Like for real. We had to wait until after 12:30 so the tide was out far enough to open up the “highway” which doubles as an airplane runway. Yes, you read that right. We had to be careful to stay out of the way of the planes that were taking off and landing on the beach. ON THE BEACH!!!! So cool. Jay was cruising along (all the time of course at the 60 kph speed posted on the window), occasionally splashing the wheels in the little waves, periodically running over a jellyfish that had washed ashore in the most inopportune location. Did you ever wonder what it sounds lien to drive over a jellyfish? Ka-SPLAT!!

Eli Creek.
There were lots of little streams all along the beach that we hair drive right through, which was no big deal. But when we got to the point where Eli Creek meets the ocean, I thought, um……..how is this going to work. Jay sort of slowed down and then HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME!!! We just drove right through it and everyone (including Lily) was laughing and shouting and waving our hands in the air. What a rush!! We parked the truck for a bit and waded in the creek (again, crystal clear) before heading up toward the next sight.

Maheno.
The Maheno shipwreck was awesome. I haven’t had a chance to read up on the history of it, but it was so cool to see. And we were the only people there.

The furthest north we went was to an area where the sand cliffs (no rocks/dirt/stone) were various shades of color. I think it was called The Pinnacle??

Dingos.
I might just pause here to point out that despite seeing 10,000 signs for dingo safety, I have yet to see a freaking dingo.

Wet.
We headed back south to see a few more things before we had to have the truck home by 6:00. The anticipation of going through Eli Creek again made us all very excited. I rolled my window up most of the way, but Brooke had hers all the way down in front of me. Guess who ended up with half of Eli Creek in her lap… This girl. Oh well, it was worth it!

Red lake.
Brooke remembered seeing pictures of a red lake on Pinterest, so we thought we better go check it out. It took forever to get there, but it was really red!!

Unfortunately we didn’t stay long as 2 minutes after we got down to the lake, some guy came walking down the path alone. We all instantly got the creeps and headed back up to the car. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Jay was convinced he was a spotter so his buddies could pillage through our truck. I was convinced we were going to be adding to the red color of the water. Thankfully none of the above occurred and we got out of there safely, but it ranked high on the list for most uncomfortable situations ever.

So yeah, taking a drive around Frazer Island was one of the coolest experiences ever. The resort itself, Kingfisher Bay, was just OK. The food options were lacking, entertainment limited (aside from the natural beauty of the place), and accommodations were definitely dated. 2 nights were plenty since we don’t own a 4WD to explore the whole island at our own pace. And we never saw a flipping dingo. I think they don’t really exist. They just tell people they do as a bait and switch ploy. But wow. What a fascinating place!!

On Monday morning we all went for a swim at the resort pool before having to load up and check out. We aught the ferry back to the mainland and then we split up. Jay took the kids back down south, and I drove Brooke and Tansie up to Agnes Water. We are staying at The Edge on Beaches resort – it is a really cute unit! We got settled in our room and went to the store to pick up aloe Vera (I somehow managed to forget to put on sunscreen this morning) and some food for dinner and breakfast. We decided to make tacos. Tomorrow is a big day! I am going to attempt scuba diving. The girls are going to snorkel. So excited!!

That’s all for now – of course more to come later!! G’day mates!

Prep.
Well, it’s official. Ty is a preppy at St Stephens College. He woke up ready and rearing to go! He put on his uniform and strutted around like one cool kid. We dropped off Lily first so his old teachers and some friends from Bonny Babes got to see him in his big kid school uniform. He was eating it up. It took forever to fight through the first daily of school traffic, but we made it! Two of Ty’s mates from daycare are at his table and the one next to him – wondering how long it will be before we get a call from the Headmaster about those troublemakers… :).

Dad.
I try not to get too emotional when I think about my dad (he died when I was 8), but by some show of fate, my Facebook has been blowing up with memories of dad. He was a bit of a rock star (booking agent) back in the day and some people are reminiscing about the good old days. I can’t help but think this is his way of letting me know he is watching over us – in particular his grandson on his first day of big kid school.

Celebrate!
I picked up Ty from school and was so happy to see that he had a great day! I thought we needed to celebrate so he and I had a little date. We went to Maccas and got McFlurries. One of his new mates, Xavier (pronounced Zavia in Ty’s Aussie accent) was there with his family. The kids started pouring in from a whole bunch of different schools. It was kind of fun to see all of the kiddos sporting their school uniforms. One of Ty’s classmates from Bonny Babes was there, as well. They all had fun playing on the PlayPlace together.

Uniforms.
So speaking of uniforms, I think I am a fan. When Ty puts on his uniform, it’s like I can visibly see his chest puffing out, his chin held higher – he is proud to be a student at St Stephens. He pays more attention to keeping it clean – usually remembers to use a napkin so that he doesn’t get his uniform dirty. He waits until he finishes his brekky and brushes his teeth (which he doesn’t argue about) before putting it on. As soon as he comes home from school he takes it off and places it nicely in the laundry room (instead of seeing how far he can flick it off with his foot). He has been saying “please” and “thank you” a lot more – to us and random people. He hasn’t been able to express to us what he has been learning at school (“mom, we don’t do letters and numbers at big kid school”) but they seem to be doing something right. I think he is having so much fun that he doesn’t even realize he is learning.

Letter.
Ty received a very special letter in the mail this week. One of his favorite friends from back home, Jana, drew a picture, “laminated” it, and used her excellent writing skills to jot down a little more to him. He was THRILLED! Thank you Jana!!!

Sports.
Saturday is sport day in our house. We started the day off with swim lessons. The term ended at Gullivers and we decided that Ty needed a change of scenery. One of the Ty’s friend’s mom told me about a lady in our neighborhood that does lessons at her house. She had taken her son there a few times and had seen heaps of progress. We wanted to try it out and if it went well, we are going to share a lesson with her son. After a little rough start (coach had overslept), things greatly improved. She worked on Ty’s kicking and arms, focusing on technique instead of just doing laps with bad form. Huge improvement! Jay had taken Lily out for a buggy ride during the lesson, but Saturday afternoon they went for a swim and he could see the difference. We won’t be able to go there in the winter as her pool isn’t heated, but it will at least get him back on track.

After swimming, we headed off to rugby lessons. I think that playing sports with the big kids at vacation care has made him a bit more athletic. He was doing really well. Such a proud mama. He got his uniform this week. We gave him the option of number 10 or 11 like mama, or 52 like dad. No surprise which number he chose.

Bikes!
I have been keeping my eyes out for a bike for me and a trailer for Lily for a while now. Jay found an awesome deal on Gumtree – a women’s bike, men’s bike, and dual kiddo trailer for $150!!! Jay already had a bike, but we figure Auntie Em can use the new men’s bike. He had to stop and pick up a bike rack (also a bargain on gumtree) on his way to pick up the bikes. He came home with sand on his feet…turns out he made a pit stop at the beach. :). When he got home we ran to the sporting goods store and got bike helmets for Lily and I. She loves it. So much, so, that she wouldn’t take it off. Even when we went to the boat store next door, she insisted on leaving it on. Such a goofball. I loved going on a bike ride! Haven’t done that for years. I might not be able to sit for a week though..,

Date!
Jay and I were overdue for a date night so we decided to go out Saturday night. It was a beautiful night (after the rain cleared), perfect for dinner and a walk in the beach. We tried a Hibachi Japanese steakhouse called Zushi. Yum!

After dinner we walked off some of our calories by doing a little random shopping. I saw this and had to buy it…

We sat down at an Irish pub that had a guy singing and playing guitar and had a drink. There were bills from all over the world stuck against the bar. I said “too bad we don’t have any USD” and Jay opens his wallet and pulls out a $2 bill that he has been carrying around for 6 or 7 years. I grabbed a Sharpie, wrote Shearer across it in big black letters and they stuck it front and center behind the bar. Look for it next time you are on the Gold Coast. 🙂

Brooke!!
Brooke and Tansie have had a long day. They flew from Des Moines to Dallas (small plane, rough flight, no Bueno), then Dallas to LA, then an hour and a half delay, then FINALLY they took off at 1:45 AM in LA. Since they had a delay, they did some shopping. Brooke picked up a new purse for me. :). I don’t think they will make their connecting flight in Sydney in the morning, so this should be interesting. Not sure how I am going to track her down as she can’t use her phone when she lands in Australia. I am hoping she can either find free wifi or someone is nice enough to let her borrow their phone. It will all work out. :). So excited for them to get here!!!!

Looking forward to the week ahead. Month end for Jay, new employee for me, sight seeing for Brooke and Tansie, and packing for a fun next weekend. G’day mates!!

Project.
What a week. I had been working on a project for almost the whole time I have been in Australia. When I started in my new position I handed off the implementation phase to my replacement, but I was still heavily involved in it. We completed the implementation on Friday. It was a long day, but we managed to get most of the work done before going to bed Friday night. Fingers crossed everything goes well this week and there aren’t any major surprises. Feels good to have that crossed off the list!

Um….
So Jay sends me a message asking me if I have a minute to come to his office. I figured he had some news about our upcoming relocation, or some other important info. Or maybe a valid work question. This is the last thing I expected to see when I walked up to his office.

. Yes, that is a giant carpet Python skin. Thankfully it wasn’t discovered in the office. One of the guys at work found it in his yard. Um. That means that there is an EVEN BIGGER carpet Python roaming around his neighborhood. All of the Aussies got a kick out of my reaction. They are all like “oh it’s just a python, they are harmless” and I was like “OH MY GOD I WOULD BE MOVING RIGHT NOW IF I WERE YOU!!!!!!!!!”

Coozies.
We have been picking up a coozie everywhere we go – they make a great souvenir. Jay pulled out our growing coozie collection this week. I guess we have been a few places this year!

Cute kids.
No real reason for these pictures aside from me thinking my kids are stinking cute.

Science.
Science is awesome. And the Queensland Museum of Science is too. You know how most museums have all sorts of fun buttons that you can push that look like they will do something cool but they end up being broken? Jay and I have a song that we sing whenever we go to museums – “everything is BROKEN! Broken-broken-broken-BROKEN!” Hats off to the Queensland Museum. We only came across one thing that was broken. They had some really cool displays. Lily was fascinated by the stages of pregnancy display. It would only work if I held the ultrasound device on the creepy mannequin’s belly…the things I do for my children. They had a bed of nails display – Ty was too scared to try it. He loved the electric ball, and the spinning planet display (like those spiral coin donation things at SAMs Club). The taxidermy area was cool – I was surprised at how “normal” the size of the über poisonous redback spider is. I was imagining it to be huge. Now I am even more terrified of the spiders here. My most favorite part of the museum was the underwater display. I could have sat in that room for hours looking at everything. Not to be confused with the Underwear display. 350 years of underwear fashion that if you wanted to be creepy enough to see you had to pay extra for. I can’t imagine that is a big money maker for the museum… Fun day!

Lunch.
We ate lunch at James Squires. Jay was sold when he walked by and saw the whole hog roasting in the kitchen, and then when he saw that they brewed their own beer there was no chance of going anywhere else. I can’t really say of the food was any good (long story – my pulled pork was cold by the time I got to sit down to eat it) but Jay seemed to think it was tasty. The beer was good. Apparently the morning at the museum wore Ty out…

Chill.
The Links Hope Island golf course had an Australia Day event planned and open to everyone. We met up with the Coen’s and had a great time. It was so hot in the sun, but bearable in the shade. They had a live band, an inflatable water slide, sausage vendors (of course), pick-up cricket and soccer games. There was a great turnout – heaps of buggies overtook the putting green. At one point Jay asked me if I had seen Ty recently. I said, “yeah, he’s over there playing cricket.” Jay said, “ok.” Then he looked at me with a look on his face like “what the heck kind of conversation was that?!? Our son is off playing cricket with some new mates.” We both just laughed. Oh Australia. The atmosphere felt like a wedding – brought back fun memories of Courtney and Jeremy’s wedding. Good times.

Night ride.
We took the long way home (the scenic route) and I took this picture of one of my favorite neighborhood trees.

BbQ.
Ty was really missing the Coen kids so we invited them over for an Australia Day BBQ on Monday. The boys grilled, we attempted to boil a crab from their crab pot (fail), and we had tons of yummy sides. Way too much food, but it was all really tasty. The kids all put on their Aussie tattoos, ate lunch at their own little kids table, and went for a quick swim.

Races.
After lunch we went down to the tavern to watch the mud crab races. It was quite an event. We watched 2 heats – 6 crabs per race. They auctioned off the crabs, winner taking 50% of the pot. I couldn’t talk Jay into forking out the $75-$125 bet. It took the guys a while to get the crabs lined up in the center – even with tied up pinchers the guys were extra careful. when they had them all out of the bin and in the center start circle, they put a garbage can on top to hold them in place until the announcer said go. With much to-do, they lifted the can and they were off! Well…technically they were free to run, but apparently cabs don’t do a good job of following the rules. Most of them just stood there and looked crabby. One would go for a few steps, then needed a break, and then another one would make a run at it. The first one to make it out of the circle won. Riveting stuff. As you can tell by the photo, Lily was really into it…. I am glad we got to see it. 🙂

Prep.
Can you believe my little man is starting Prep (kindergarten) tomorrow? I got his name ironed on his uniforms and written on everything in his bag. I am anxious to see how he gets along, how much he learns, what new friends he will make. I used to worry about whether or not he is ready for school, but I am confident now that he will do well. To be continued…

Monday afternoon we had quiet time. The boys took a nap, Lily and I read books and snuggled on the couch. Lily fell asleep and they all didn’t wake up until 7:30!! Hopefully they sleep tonight…

Guests.
Brooke and Tansie will be here in one week!! Woohoo!! We have a 3 day weekend to Frasier Island planned, and then I was going to send the 2 of them up to Agnes Water by themselves so they could do a Great Barrier Reef tour to Lady Musgrave Island. But…ran into some car insurance snags so (twist my arm) I have to go with them. Jay is going to be a single dad for 2 nights while I go with the girls. I figure this may be my one and only chance to scuba dive (not fair to do that to Jay when we have the kids along as he wouldn’t have time to snorkel), so I have booked myself a spot in the beginner scuba dive group. Once in a lifetime!!!

Relo.
No updates on our upcoming relocation. We are still waiting to hear from our rep about how this process works. I have been keeping an eye on properties online, but there are not many options at the moment. Trying not to stress yet…something suitable will come up. No need to panic yet. There is plenty of time for that later. :). We started to drip on Ty that we are going to have to move. “But I love this house.” *sigh*. So do we, mate, so do we…

That’s all for now… G’day mates!

Vacate.
I had a bad feeling this was going to happen, and sure enough, it did. We received a notice to vacate our rental home when our 18 month contract is up in April. Apparently the owner wants to move back in (but he did offer to let us stay until December if we were willing to sacrifice our first-born son). So, we are now in the process of figuring out the process to relocate in Australia. It is going to be tough to find a place that will be willing to take a short lease, as we are thinking we will be moving home in December. But, as these things usually do, I am sure it will all work out just fine. I actually like the idea of a house hunt (I think I will be a realtor in another life – after I am a sea turtle marine biologist), but I am so not looking forward to packing and moving our things. Ugh.

2nd week.
The first day of the second week of big kid school proved to be quite eventful. Apparently Ty has been spending way too much time with the bigger boys and has taken his rough play a little too far. He got in trouble for punching & kicking a classmate. And then he completely ignored our rule about having to be 18 and he kissed some girl. 1 week in and he’s maccin’ on chics. Lord help me. I guess if I were to think about this scientifically I would say that he is trying to claim his place in the pecking order. The A dog is the toughest and attracts the best mates. Unfortunately I am trying to teach my son to be a gentleman, a respectable young man. We aren’t exactly making a great first impression at his new school. :(.

Fast forward.
Ty made it through the rest of the week without getting into trouble. Hooray!!!

Talent Show.
Every day has a different theme at vacation care. On Friday they had a talent show. Ty said that most of the kids danced. Ty has been practicing his talent – magic. Well, he practiced most of it. We haven’t had a chance to watch the entire video, so he brought a magic pen in without really knowing how to show the trick. He was prepared for a magic Oreo and magic rings. Oh, how I wish I had been a fly on the wall. We forgot to remind him that morning to not tell anyone the secret, so we wondered all day if he would cave. In the car on the way home from school, we asked him how it went. He said everyone was like, “wow! How did he do that!?!?” We asked him if he told them and he said, “NO!! It’s a secret!” Good boy, Ty!

Hulk.
Wednesday was crazy hair and face painting day. We had some green hairspray, so Ty wore his Hulk Smash shirt, and of course had his face painted green. He had a fun day, but he went straight to the shower when he got home. I shampooed his hair twice and his scalp was still green 2 days later. 🙂

Back.
Just as my back is feeling fairly strong, Jay’s gives him trouble. He has been trying to ignore the pain for a long time, but it finally got to the point where he decided he better go to the doctor. She figured he has a pinched nerve and made an appointment for him to get a CT scan the next day. He got some anti-inflammatories which seemed to be helping with the pain. He won’t find out results until this coming week.

Chain.
Have I mentioned how excited we are for our next round of visitors? So excited. Brooke comes first, then Jess, then Sundie. Ty keeps asking when everyone is coming, so we decided to make a paper chain. We made one to get us to Jess’s visit and will make one for Sundie in a couple weeks. SO excited!!

Hot.
I know, I know. Nobody back home wants to hear this next bit, but holy heck it was hot this weekend. What do Australians do on hot days? Find water. And swim. So that’s what we did. Saturday morning Ty swam at lessons (his last one at Gullivers), then we loaded up the car and went down to Snapper Rocks beach. It is such a great beach. It was low tide, so there was basically a natural swimming hole that was about mid-thigh deep, and then there was a huge area that had a foot or less of water that kept gently rolling in with the waves. It was perfect for the kids to splash around. Lily LOVED it. She looked like a drunken sailor as the little waves came and went. Ty brought his skipping ball and we all had good fun playing with that. It brought back memories of playing pickle in the crick. So fun. Lily wanted to go out near the bigger waves, so Jay held her hands and when the waves came in and splashed her chest, she just laughed and laughed. Ty got a kick out of jumping over the waves.
After a while I felt like I was getting sunburned. It was lunchtime, so we dusted off as much sand as we could and went to the surf club for lunch. The kids fell asleep in the car on the way home, giving them the energy they needed to spend the afternoon in the pool. The water was perfect.
Ty’s tummy was a little upset so we decided to come inside to the air conditioning and watch a movie. Apparently the sun sucked all of my energy, too, because I fell asleep on the couch.

Fish.
Ty wanted to go sit on the boat and fish with dad, so after dinner Saturday night, they thawed out some squid worms (stinky) and fished for about an hour. The only thing they caught were a few mozzies. Lily was exhausted, and it didn’t take her long to fall asleep snuggled up with me on the couch.

Freckles.
Whenever we FaceTime with my mom (Nana), she always has Ty come real close to the camera so she can count the freckles on his nose. He loves this little tradition. If she doesn’t ask right away, he will whisper to me, “ask her to count my freckles.” He has been stuck at “20” freckles for a while now, but since we were in the sun a bit, it looked to me like he grew a few more. We needed the professional freckle counter to confirm our suspicions, so we took a picture and sent it to Nana. “22” freckles!!

18 months.
Lily has been a part of our lives for 18 months now. I can barely remember what life was like before her. She is such a little pistol – full of spunk and vinegar. Her vocabulary is growing – she shouts “Ty” and “dad” quite often. She can make most animal sounds, can point to the major body parts (belly is her favorite), and her hair is long enough to put up in a little waterfall ponytail. She loves the water – ocean, pool, bath, shower. She also loves dogs. One cannot sneak by without her spying it and saying “woof woof”. She will do anything for a laugh, and she thinks her brother is hilarious.

Shopping.
I was reminded today why I hate shopping for swimsuits. Lily and I were due for a new suit or two, so we headed down the coast to see what we could find. The first place we went to had a huge selection – but you had to be a USA size 6 or smaller to squeeze into them. Ugh. I don’t think I am fat on a normal day – although I could stand to lose a few pounds – but Lordy. I felt like a beached whale trying to squeeze into some of that spandex. So we drove to another shop and had great luck. I got 4 new suits – yippee!! Lily got 2 new suits, and we couldn’t wait to jump in the pool when we got home. Because again it was smokin’ hot.

Medcall.
When we got home and were going to jump in the pool, we put Lily in her life jacket on and she was fussing. We were in the pool for a while and she was not loving it, whining a lot. Jay laid with her in the lounge chair for a while and noticed that she wasn’t using her left arm at all. We called a nurse’s hotline and she suggested that we have a doctor check her out. We called MedCall and a doctor was here in about 15 minutes (such an awesome service – Obama should implement that). She doesn’t have anything out of socket, but he figured she has a sprain. We will just give her Tylenol for the pain. He thought it could be painful for about 2-3 days. 😞. Poor baby.

Rest.
So the rest of Sunday was a lazy one – doctor’s orders. The heat sucks the energy, so I don’t think anyone was upset about having an excuse to lay in the air con and watch movies. Hope everyone has a great week! G’day mates!!

Shutdown’s over.
The last night of shutdown I asked Ty what his favorite part of the holidays was. By this time, apparently Christmas and Santa Claus was a distant memory, replaced with the recent trip to Bundaberg. He said he had 3 favorite things:
1: (instantly without hesitation) watching the fireworks in Lily’s flower shorts
2: playing dress up with dad (dad is the world’s best ninja-pirate-superhero)
3: watching the turtles poop out their eggs

School.
So the holidays are over for Jay and I but school doesn’t start until the end of January, and Auntie Em doesn’t arrive until February. We were fortunate enough to have Bonny Babes extend Lily’s stay until Em gets here. She is in 2 different rooms, depending on the day, but she is familiar with the center and the teachers, so getting back into the routine was a breeze for her. Too easy, mate.
Ty started vacation care at St Stephens. We thought it would be a good transition for him – allow him to get familiar with the school grounds, some students, and teachers. He is by far the youngest kid there, but seems to be hanging in with the big kids. Vacation care is awesome, according to Ty. Movies, video games, Cricket games, obstacle courses, and slip-n-slides. I keep telling him that this isn’t what big kid school is going to be like, not sure if that is registering. He is likely going to be in shock once he has to turn his brain back on. I can tell he hasn’t thought much for a while – the other day he had a hard time saying his ABC’s… But he is growing up on me. The 2nd day of vacation care he wasn’t sure if he wanted to give me a hug. And the 3rd day he wore his hat sideways. When we go to drop off or pick up Lily at Bonny Babes, he struts in like he is so cool and reminds people that he is in big kid school now (you know, just in case they forgot).
We did have a little drama that I am noticing is a trend for him. Any time he has a big life event, he seems to revert back and has a string of accidents. :(. He gets so involved in whatever new and exciting thing that he is thinking about, that he completely loses focus on his bodily needs. So we had a couple days in his first week that we had to remind him of things and get his brain re-triggered. Hopefully that first week was the last of the problems.

Work.
Jay and I both had a busy week. It was his month end, so he worked late a few nights, but thankfully was home in time to help get the kids bathed and in bed. My work is back in full swing – almost like we never had a break in there. Makes the days go by fast – almost too fast! I was thinking about how different this job is than other jobs I have had. I have had stressful jobs before, but most of the time in prior jobs the stress was manageable and sort of predictable. I knew when I was going to have a super busy day/week and could mentally prepare for it. In this job, it is constant and relentless. You never know what kind of issue is going to crop up, what new challenge you will be faced with. A coworker said that is the way supply chain is in any company. Kudos to all of you out there that have spent most of their career in supply chain. It’s exciting, but at the same time exhausting. Hard for a control freak planner perfectionist to adapt to. Hard, but not impossible.

Mentor.
I heard some big news this week that one of my most favorite ladies at Deere is leaving the company. When I first met her, I was very much intimidated by her – as she is one of the smartest people I have ever met. I had the pleasure of working in her department for a couple years, and I learned a lot from her, more than she probably realizes. She has a unique way of being able to motivate people to do their best without being bitchy or bossy. She always conducts herself in a way that others want to mimic. I wish everyone would have a chance to learn from her, simple things such as always being prepared for a meeting, never arriving late, speak up with a valid opinion, do your research, consider all options, read books, and have fun. I wish her the best of luck in the next chapter of her life.

Mail!!
We hit the jackpot with Christmas cards this week!! So many arrived, and we loved reading all of them. I have never appreciated those quite as much as I have these past 2 Christmases. It means so much to us for friends and family to take the time (and pay the extra postage) to send us real mail. We miss you all so much!!!

Lazy.
Ty was not doing well during his swim lesson. There were 6 kids on Saturday, which is about 3 too many. He was being lazy, touching bottom, not trying at all. So I decided that it was time to drive out the laziness – have seen far too much of it lately. I told him that since he wasted our money for the last half hour, we were going to do another swim lesson as soon as we got home. No playing. No whining. Just prove to me that he an swim. He was not impressed, but he also knew that a trip to the water park was at risk if he didn’t do it. He managed to cause quite a scene – I’m sure all of the neighbors wondered what the heck was happening at our house. But about a half hour later he had swam the length of our pool and back using all of the different techniques they teach at lessons. I hated seeing him upset, but I hated even more the thought of having a child of mine be lazy. There is a time to rest and a time to have fun, but practice and game time are times to give it your all. By the end of it, he got a big high five, a big hug, and a nice chat about practice practice practice.

Waterpark.
So he earned his way back to the water park!! Good thing because Saturday was hot – 29 degrees. Lily went down a water slide twice. The first time was great, smiling and laughing the whole way. The second time she got stuck on her back halfway down and jay had to grab her foot to pull her the rest of the way down. She would have done it again but dad said no. So we splashed around the kids pool while Ty did the slides over and over and over again. We were there for about 3 hours – just enough to wear the kids out, and went home to rest. Fun day!

Pool.
Ok, so this next bit is going to consist of me lecturing a bit.

If you have young children, PUT THEM IN SWIM LESSONS. I don’t care how busy your schedule is, or any other excuse you have, PUT THEM IN SWIM LESSONS. And don’t quit until your child is a champion swimmer. Please. For the love of God, please.

So Ty got invited to a friend’s 5th birthday party at a neighborhood pool. There were only 4 boys there, which should be a manageable number. I wore a long dress and sandals, didn’t figure I would get in the water with the kids. I was chatting with the other parents but was unable to relax at all. Ty was doing great – swimming strong, knowing his limits, swimming to the edge or shallow part when he was tired. The other kids…well…it was apparent to me that they hadn’t been in swim lessons every Saturday for the past year. They dog paddled their way around, bobbing their heads up for breaths, constantly going out to the deep end, not aware of how weak they were. I was counting 4 heads nonstop for an hour before the boys came out for a snack. They ate heaps of lollies (as kids do at parties – not a huge deal) and then went back out for a swim. At this point most of them probably should have taken a longer break. But they insisted on going back in. So Ty is in the deep end, just off the shallow ledge, and a friend was right next to him. My version of the story might be different than that kid’s parent, but what I saw was the friend panicking and grabbing on to Ty. Ty is a strong swimmer, but not strong enough to hold up another person, so he started to panic. It only took me about 5 seconds to realize what was happening and I grabbed a noodle and ran into the pool, long dress, sandals, and all. The boys were just out of my reach, and thankfully just before I had to dive in all the way, another mom with a swimsuit on came running into the pool and grabbed the boys. Oh. My. God. Ty was crying, saying he couldn’t breathe because his friend kept pushing him down. His friend was crying for the same reasons. The boys talked it out, we told them that they have to not touch each other in the water, always swim to the side or shallow part of they get tired. They apologized to each other, and then we saw the other mom’s keys at the bottom of the deep end. Ty threw on his goggles and dove down to grab them. Champion.

They boys wanted to stay in the pool (I wanted to go off and cry), so we let them play for another 10 minutes or so before it was time for ice cream cake. Which was delicious. But the boys wanted to swim again. This was now 2.5 hours in, I could tell Ty was tired, so I called it a day. I couldn’t handle another minute of watching kids nearly drowning in the pool.

So PLEASE PUT YOUR KIDS IN SWIM LESSONS!!!! I am not saying Ty is an Olympic athlete, but it was rewarding to me to see that all of those Saturday mornings were paying off. I just wish the other boy had been doing the same so that my son wouldn’t have almost died.

So I got home, told Jay I couldn’t watch a kid for 20 minutes, cracked open a beer and say on the patio to blog. There is a nice breeze, light rain, high tide. And my kids are alive.

Holidays.
I started making some plans for my sisters’ trips to Australia. I made some reservations for Jess’s trip, proposed a plan to Brooke that I will get booked today, and next will outline some ideas for Sundie’s trip. I am so excited to spend time with all of them!!!!

It sounds like Lily is not pleased with something, and I have blown past my “I need 20 minutes to calm down” so I better sign off for now. Stay warm, American friends, and stay cool, Aussie friends. G’day mates!!

Hideaway.
First stop, The Hideaway Station Hotel in Tiaro, Queensland. It was a hot day for an outdoor lunch, but a quick summer rain sort of helped to cool things off. Lily and Ty got to burn off some energy after being cooped up in the car for 3 hours. If you recall – hotels are actually bars/restaurants. Many have rooms to rent for the night if you have had a few too many stubbies. Not exactly 5 star facilities, but would do the trick to keep you from getting behind the wheel.

Bargara.
We got checked into our hotel and wanted to take a walk down the esplanade to check out the shopping and dining options in Bargara. And then the skies opened up and it down poured. We stood under the entry shade cloth for about a half hour waiting for the storm to pass. Ty was acting like Mr. Tough Guy and went out to play in the rain. He lasted longer than I thought he would before he complained that he was wet.

When the rain let up, we walked into town for dinner. Pretty sleepy… There is a nice restaurant, a tavern, a couple fish and chips joints. Hmmmm. Turns out if you don’t have a booking you have no chance to get a table at the nice restaurant. Lots of accommodations, not nearly enough restaurants… But at least the town has a great park.

And bugs. Really flipping big bugs.

Bundy.
Bundaberg is known for its rum and soft drinks. We didn’t feel like doing the rum tour with the kiddos in tow, so we just went to the gift shop. Had to buy a coozie. We also went to a little woodworkers shop that makes little kegs. Ty got a kick out of watching the guy work.

Bowl.
And then we decided we were too stinking hot and we changed our plans. We were going to go bowling the evening of New Years Eve but decided we needed a break from the heat and went over lunch. We bowled one game (who knew my husband had such mad skills on the bowling alley). I, on the other hand, really sucked. It’s pretty bad when I don’t break 100 with bumpers… They had a gated off area for Lily to play in – she loved sliding down into the ball pit. Jay and Ty did some Wild West Shootout game, and then we ate lunch. Shortly after, Ty and I went to play glow in the dark Jurassic Park mini golf…but Ty wasn’t feeling well so we only made it through 2 holes. We went back to the hotel and rested up to give his tummy a break.

Fireworks.
Bargara had a pretty decent fireworks display on New Years Eve. The kids played in the park while we waited for the show.

I went to get fish and chips, and while I was waiting for our food, poor Ty’s tummy decided it was really not OK. After some drama (I won’t go into details to spare him some embarrassment), he insisted on staying for the fireworks. I’m not sure if it was the heat or the cheeseburger, but I felt so bad for my little man. He was in good hands with the best dad in the planet. Ty got to ride in the stroller as we walked along the beach watching the fireworks. It was really pretty.

Craters.
The Boffins are Baffled. No idea who the Boffins are, but they have a good reason to be baffled. Several craters were discovered on some property near Bundaberg, and nobody knows how they were created. For $19 (plus a 1.25% surcharge for using a credit card) we got to see them for ourselves. Well, first we walked through the fairy garden (wow) and then we walked around the craters. And then we walked through the machine shed of rusty old machinery (random), and then Lily said “whoa” when she saw the dinosaur, and then Ty got excited about a swing set that was probably as old as the craters. We ate some ice cream and all discussed our theories about how the craters were created. I think meteors. Jay thinks fairies made them (of course! That would explain the fairy garden). Ty thought it was dinosaurs. The world may never know.

Boffins.
I had to look it up.

Turtles!!!
So after much anticipation, we finally were able to go to Mon Repos Turtle Rookery to (hopefully) see some turtles. We are here right near the end of nesting season and the early front end of the hatching season, so we went with low expectations- no guarantee with wild animals. We arrived at 6:45 PM and were prepared to wait. They opened up the gates early as a turtle was already in the beach. Unfortunately only group 1 got to go to the beach. And as I predicted, we were in group 5 (should have booked earlier). While we waited, we read books about turtles, did a craft to “make” a turtle out of drift wood and pumice stones, and watched a presentation about turtles. And we watched groups 2, 3 and 4 head off to the beach. The kids were hanging in there but were getting antsy and tired. We kept telling ourselves that this is a once in a lifetime experience and we have to be patient – with the turtles and the kids… Finally at 9:30 they announced that turtle #5 had arrived!! Ty was so excited. He put on his flips, grabbed the water bottles, and we were off. We walked along a dark path through the bush – jay chuckled and said, “did you ever think we would walk through the bush in pitch darkness?” I tried not to think about that – or the giant huntsman spider and possum that was hanging out near the toilets…

We were herded like cattle down onto the beach, and holy crap!! There was a mama Loggerhead digging her nest. And right next to her was another one finishing up! And there was another one making her way up the beach! Oh! My! Gosh!!!!!! Ty got to go right up front with the other kids – front row seats to one of the coolest shows Mother Nature has to offer. Our turtle had a satellite tracking device on her. She had been monitored for 37 years, so the scientists were super excited to see her come ashore. The scientists were all over the turtles, taking measurements, touching the turtles, and they don’t mind a bit. Unfortunately something caused her to spook and before she laid her eggs, she decided she wasn’t ready. The scientists quickly attached a compute to her tracking device and started downloading information.

We were moved over to the other 2 mamas. As “ours” was digging, the other mama finished up and a team of scientists helped get her headed back down to the water so she wouldn’t disturb our mama. 100 kilograms – not an easy task to move her, and one of the researchers went tumbling down onto the sand. Off she went, back down to the sea. The scientists were not happy with the location of the eggs she had laid, as they were not high enough on the dunes. If the late January King tides or storms came through, they could drown the eggs. So the scientists dug them up and moved them to a new nest uphill a bit.

Meanwhile, our mama was finishing up her digging and she started to lay her eggs. 141 ping pong balls. Wow. Wow. Wow. Ty was once again front and center, taking it all in, asking questions. Not acting in the least bit tired even though it was way past his bedtime. Amazing.

A couple other mamas started their way up the beach, directly towards us. That was probably the most fascinating part of the whole experience. There was a group of probably 30 human beings standing right where these turtles wanted to lay their eggs, and they came right at us. Their eyesight is great, so they could see us. But they were generally not afraid. We had to stand very still and not turn on any lights. Up they scooted. One lady was sitting on the beach and a mama with some sort of a growth in the back of her neck was coming up. It literally touched the woman’s leg. She got right up to her spot and something caused her to spook and rush back to the sea.

Our mama finished “pooping her eggs” as Ty calls it, and covered them up. She turned around and we followed her back down to sea.

Some fun turtle facts. Loggerheads are on the verge of extinction, but 95% of the turtles that nest on Mon Repos are Loggerheads. When they hatch, they circle around a bit in the ocean to get their bearings and build up a mental compass to come back to the same spot when they are ready to give birth. They then catch the ocean currents and travel around the world for the next 16 years. They go to a feeding area, stuff their bellies, then go to a courtship area where they basically shack up with all sorts of other turtles. The mamas store the daddy juice in their bellies and make their way to the nesting area. They mix up their little turtle concoction inside their bellies, come to shore, lay ~130 eggs, go back to the ocean, swim up and down the shoreline for a couple weeks, mix up another baby turtle concoction with their stored up daddy juice, repeat. They can lay 3-4 clutches in a season, and then they take a break for 3-4 years before doing it all over again. Each clutch can consist of a number of different daddies. Mama doesn’t eat for 2 months while she is making her babies because she has to save the room for her baby turtle mixtures. Can you imagine the exhaustion?!?! Tough as turtles.

Meanwhile, the males just go to the courtship area, do their thing with heaps of chics, and then go eat. Typical.

On our way back to the car at around 11:30, Ty said, “when we come back to watch the turtles hatch in a few weeks…” So I think we might be coming back. :). Or, we could come back in 2040 to watch the babies that we saw being born come back to nest. That was seriously the coolest thing I have ever experienced.

So yeah, Bundaboring was not worth the trip, but I would do it all over again to see those amazing creatures do what they do. Is it too late to change my career path? Do you think my mad Excel skills would translate into the turtle research industry?

I was covered in sand when we got home and brushed off in the dark on our deck. I thought this was kind of neat when I looked out the next morning. Footprints in the sand.

G’day mates!!

400 Horse Open Sleigh.
I think I forgot to write about this in my last whirlwind catch-up blog. The Saturday night before Christmas, we took the boat out for our first night cruise. The Coen’s came along for the ride. We blasted Christmas carols and cruised the canals to check out the Christmas lights. Our canal was full of festive cheer. The other canals were not so much. We rode around for about an hour before we decided that there were too many Scrooges around. But we still had a good time. It was a beautiful night, just chilly enough to sit under a blanky and feel “cold” – just like back home…sort of…

Boxing Day.
What the heck is Boxing Day? It’s a national holiday in Australia. The day after Christmas. So I had to go to work the day before Christmas – Christmas Eve. But don’t worry, the day AFTER is a holiday. Not sure why? To break down all of the toy boxes to put them in the recycle bin? To park 10 km (a long flipping way) from the shops to buy more boxes (I sure hope those deals were worth it)? Or to celebrate boxing kangaroos? Or to go to the bottle shop and buy a box of stubbies (beer)? Or an excuse to spend the day in the pool (that’s what we did). Whatever the reason, I was happy to not be at work.

Step Up 5.
So yes, maybe I should do a better job of preventing my 4 year old son from watching certain movies. But he LOvES dance movies. See?

“Mom, my favorite is the girl in the pink shirt.” (Bra). “Why Ty? Why is she your favorite?” “Because she has sweet moves.”

“Mom, how old do you have to be to kiss a girl?” “18, Ty, 18.” “Can you be 4?” “No, 18.” *counting under his breath* “4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18. Are you SURE I can’t be 4?”

Nothing more awesome than eating mac-n-cheese on the couch.

“Mom, can I try the move where I jump off the wall?”

“Mom, I can only kiss you. And dad. And Lily. But that’s it.”

PS – there is a Step Up dance movie workout video that will be arriving at our house as soon as the Australian Post can deliver it.

PPS – you should all be jealous of the super sweet dance party that Ty and I have during the closing credits. Oh yeah.

Big Hero 6.
On the day after Boxing Day (not sure what that day is called) we went to swim lessons and then surprised Ty by going to the movies. We saw Big Hero 6 – cute movie! Lily does surprisingly well during movies. I had no idea how much she loved popcorn. Do NOT take the popcorn box away from the baby.

Blanky.
Speaking of things I didn’t know about my daughter… She has been using the same little pink blanky at daycare for a year. Every Friday it comes home with us and we wash it, put it in her bag, and back it goes to daycare on Monday. Um. Whoa. Sister LOvES her blanky. I feel like an awful mother for not knowing this. She literally carries her blanky around wherever she goes. It is kind of cute. Where have I been all her life?

Ladder.
And speaking of Lily. Crap. She has figured out how to get around our makeshift baby gate, which was a ladder with a piece or two of cardboard stuck in it. Yes. We are redneck. If you couldn’t tell by our Christmas tree, we like cardboard. So we might be a little redneck, but it really is (was) effective. Not anymore. So now our daughter has a nasty bruise on her cheek (I think she did it on the steps) and her favorite game is climbing the steps. And I will have a heart attack. But she has to grow up sometime. Where did my baby go?

PS – she also loves rocking out to Step Up movies. She has sweet moves.

Undeck the Halls.
Saturday evening we took down all of our Christmas decorations. It was a good opportunity for me to do some major cleaning underneath furniture that we normally clean around. And sometimes you just need to rearrange your living room. So we did. Not sure I love the new layout, but we will try it for a few days.

Decluttering.
Sunday morning we decided to be productive. Lily has had a growth spurt and is now officially too big for 12 month clothing. I went through all of her clothes and pulled down her last bag of clothes from the US – sizes 18 months to 2 years. She is getting so big!! Once I finished that, I was on a roll. I posted a bunch of things on gumtree (like craigslist) and am hoping to get some of our things sold. Jay and Ty went through all of the toys and pitched a bunch of broken toys. They also set aside a bunch of toys to donate to daycare. I was very proud of his ability to do this task without freaking out. But we had to make room for some of the new toys they got for Christmas.

Toys.
Speaking of toys. I think that I have picked up toys on a constant basis for the past 4 days. And done dishes. And picked up toys. And changed diapers. And picked up toys. And moved Legos off the table. And picked up toys. If there ever was any doubt, no I cannot be a stay at home mom. I sure hope Em knows what she is in for! It’s a good thing my kids are cute.

Random.
We spent a couple days of shutdown not doing anything newsworthy. Ran some errands, picked up more toys, did more dishes, got hair cuts, sold some baby stuff (gumtree is fun!), watched some movies at home, learned new magic tricks, talked about not kissing girls until you’re 18 about 100 times (really need to be more selective about what I allow Ty to watch on TV), did some work to try to clean up my inbox, took naps. It was just what we needed to unwind a bit.

Bundy.
We are now on the road head for a little mini vacation to the Bundaberg area. We are staying in Bargara for 3 nights and are going to hopefully watch some sea turtles hatch Thursday night. I can remember watching documentaries on this awesome natural event when I was a kid – can’t wait to see it live! We don’t have plans other than that, so we have no idea where we will end up the next few days. Should be an adventure!

G’day mates!

Golly! ‘Tis the season to not have a moment to write my blog. I don’t know what the deal is, but I have been “flat out” as they like to say down under. Christmas shopping, Christmas teas, Christmas lunches, Christmas presents, Christmas programs, broken systems, and kindy graduation. That just about sums up the last month. I probably don’t need to bore you with all of the details, so how about if I just attach some pictures and if it is worth commenting on, I will. I have been feeling like I have been lagging behind on everything – including my blog – so this is a quick catch-up…

Ty had been rubbing his eyes constantly for a few weeks. Every so often he develops a new nervous twitch, and at first I thought this was one of those. But it went on longer than the others, so I took him to the doctor. He needed some eye drops. And I needed alcohol. Who knew putting eye drops in a 4 year old’s eyes could be so stressful.

We got a package from Aunt Staci! Full of all sorts of goodies. Thank you!!

Jay and I went to see the Hunger Games movie in style. We sat in the Gold Club Lounge. Whoa. Fully reclining seats, only about 20 seats in the theater, appetizers and beer served during the movie. Awesome.

Christmas decorating!

Have I ever mentioned how much Ty loves Legos?

Starting to get hot – love having a pool to cool off in!

Jay joined in the office Movember fundraiser. I was so glad to see December 1 arrive. Lily was sad – she liked petting dad’s face. It was all worth it – jay raised a lot of money for charity and he won an award for the Best Mo.

What says “Christmas” more than a blow up Santa in a ute? Nothing. The answer is nothing.

Let the baking begin. Gingerbread houses, Tim-Tam balls, sugar cookies…yum!

Lily is obsessed with this hat.

Love the mud flaps on this truck…and this camper is about the only one Jay would approve the AFE for.

Santa sightings!!

Now THAT is a proper reusable shopping bag. We are thinking we will take it to the grocery store.

The school year ended. Lily has grown heaps in the past year. She has had lovely teachers at daycare in the Infants room – Miss Steph and Miss Tia. We are all going to miss them!

And then Ty finished his time at Bonny Babes. I went to his graduation ceremony thinking I would not be one of those moms that cries at my son’s preschool graduation ceremony – but when Ty started crying I couldn’t hold back the tears. My baby is growing up. He is so excited to go to big kid school, but was sad about leaving his friends and teachers behind. He is such a sensitive little man.

Ugh. Our good mates, the Torrey’s, had to move back to the USA. :(. While I am happy for them to be able to be home for the holidays, it isn’t going to be the same here without them. They were our primary local support family for our first year here. I am certain that our transition would have been much more challenging without their assistance. They were always cracking us up with their stories about things going wrong. Ty loved the kids – and they were always so patient with him. We miss you guys!!

Sanctuary Cove had a Christmas celebration. They had all sorts of fun things to do – petting zoo, pony rides, best face painter ever.

Entirely too many presents. What do you do when you have a cheeky toddler that likes to reach through the redneck fence around the Christmas tree and tear the presents? You add a redneck cardboard barricade. And then you fill it to the top. Spoiled kiddos.

Jay and I had to work Monday thru Wednesday (actually I didn’t stop working through the weekend – long story – I basically broke the system and it took forever to fix it), but daycare was closed. We were lucky enough to have some awesome people watch the kids for us. They brought their dog over, went out for a picnic and a play in a park, made cards, swam, played Legos, read books. Pretty sure the kids would have rather gone home with them than be stuck with Jay and I. 🙂

Yep, too many presents.

Ty was sooooo excited for Christmas. He spread reindeer food in the front yard, left milk, cookies and a carrot out, and couldn’t wait to go to bed. He woke up super early – wide awake and ready to party!

We spent Christmas day assembling Leogs, playing with dolls (trying to overcome my fear of dolls), playing kitchen, cooking a ham and cheesy taters, and building the extreme marble track – like Mousetrap on steroids. Fun times!! Merry Christmas mates!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And they all got to pet a kangaroo. Check!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But don’t worry – we followed the rules.

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

Random Melbourne.

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

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