Just when we thought. . .

     The drama with the house was over, the next installment begins!  We got a new airconditioning unit installed the Friday before Christmas!  Hooray!  Fortunately the weather continues to be a bit cooler and drier than typical for here.  Thanks above for that!  So, to continue the drama, the gray water tank behind the house burst a pipe with water gushing and spraying everywhere!  Good thing we were home when it kicked over, between Lyle and the neighbor, they got it shut down and I got to call the emergency number for the unit.  It connected with the lady who has been overseeing the aircon drama and we both got a case of stress giggles out of it.  What do you do?  The plumber is here today to see what he can do and in the meantime, I had switched the laundry over to main lines and he showed us where the toilet tank valve switch was too.  It was a pain flushing by bucket!
     Christmas was a success here all around.  We always get the kids new pj's for Santa.  This was the first time they were NOT flannel!  Summer shorts and tanks for the kids, maybe the warmer stuff for July and "winter" in Queensland.  Mom and Dad sent a small Christmas box and Alex, Lyle, and I have matching Vandal t-shirts with the fight song on them-awesome!  Ian has a dinosaur sun shirt that makes a huge toothy mouth when the arms are held to the shoulders and elbows together.  He LOVES it.  Annika got a button clutch purse that she puts in the handbag Santa brought her.  What a little lady!  Ian also got a large box of regulation size Lego blocks.  Great fun building things around here this week!  Alex is in heaven-Santa brought her a Kindle, so she has been in book heaven and is amazed at the battery life.  Mom had to give her an IOU for a case for it as the store's inventory has been out since the middle of November.  Aunt Megan sent the kids each a movie, which we have all enjoyed.  We had Christmas dinner with a lovely family whose daughter was in the same class as Annika.  They have 4 kids, and with our 3 it was a lively time.  Holiday meals here tend to be pretty light and avoid using the oven whenever possible, which is a nice change.  We enjoyed a breezy evening laughing at the kids play Harry Potter outside.  Every time someone was hit with expelliarmous the "wands" went flying!
     Lyle will be on vacation until Jan 4.  The Aussie basic vacation allotment starts at 4 weeks and goes up from there.  Most places accrue an extra week per year for about 10 years, then you can use the 10 weeks all in a block!  They are not available until all 10 have been accrued though.  Still, rough!
     Notes on my new favorite desserts-Australia has a yummy confection called a Pavlova.  It was apparently named for Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballerina who did a series of performances early last century.  It is a merengue base topped with a light layer of vanilla custard and then topped with fresh fruit.  Soo Yummy!  I mad a lemon custard from a recipe I got from a college friend.  It was also yummy and will be added to my list to make again, and soon.  I have ingredients for another 2 batches in the fridge already . . .  If you want the recipe, email me, I'm happy to share!
     We're taking off for a trip up to Bundaberg and I'll write when we get back, and hope to put up a few pictures as well.  Have a great week, and Happy New Year to everyone!  Lyle turns 42 this week, and claims he is feeling every year now.  Creaky old man!

Crazy!

     Oh my gosh!  I can't believe the week is getting away from me.  So much for the Tuesday blog this week.
     So, last weekend we were busy!  We went to a Christmas lunch hosted by Lyle's boss.  They have an AMAZING Queenslander style home just outside the CBD with a nice yard/garden and pool.  I won't even speculate what it would cost as the home is huge and remodeled, very traditional and stylish, and has actual yard around it.  Priceless in this metro area.  The kids got to use the pool and the food was great.  Everyone had a good time.  Ian was exhausted and fell asleep on my lap, very unusual for him!  I suspect he wasn't feeling very well as he didn't eat much and slept for nearly 2 hours.
     On Sunday we headed down to Movie World.  Their new ride, the Green Lantern, is supposed to open any time, but it wasn't on Sunday.  Believe it or not, we are actually getting bored with this park, so thinking as the weather warms up we will be going to Wet and Wild more.  Hanging out in the pools and doing water slides is tons of fun!  Ian even is enjoying the wave pool and the kiddie section now that he just doesn't like water instead of despising it.  HA!
     Lyle went for a run last weekend in the park, and believe it or not, we met a lady who lives just down the street from us!  She has a daughter Alex's age and a son close to Ian's age.  We've spent the last week trading the girls and getting to know each other.  Very nice family and the girls hit it off right away.  It's nice for Alex to have a neighbor girl to buddy up with.  Ian likes having a boy to play with too.  Annika plays with either set, so is pleased as well.
     I have not even started wrapping Christmas gifts yet.  I hope we get to that tonight, as time is running out too fast!  We decided to buy an inexpensive DVD player that is multi-region so we can rent Aussie region 2 disks to watch.  They also have a streaming video and mail DVD service similar to Netflix, so the family gift is a player and subscription to streaming video!  The only problem is it will not stream through the Wii, so we'll have to hook up the laptop whenever we want to stream the movies.  We'll let you know what Santa brings in the next installment!  Ian has been playing Santa, hauling his pillow and case around filled with assorted toys and blocks.  He fell asleep on it on the couch the other day.  Super cute!  Of course, I did not get a picture. . . but here is a family picture taken a couple of months ago at a wedding reception for one of Lyle's workmates!

     We're going up to Bundaberg after Christmas to do some turtle watching and take an excursion to Lady Musgrave Island to snorkel and look over Great Barrier Reef life.  We are so excited!  And we have tickets home for June 2-15 next year.  The tentative plan is to get to Boise, recover for a few days, go to Oregon for a few days, then back to Boise area for the remainder.  No plans to go to Wenatchee, sorry!

     I'll most likely write on time this next week, seeing as everyone will be home and relaxing, hopefully!  With the weather so warm this time of year, Christmas and Boxing day are for outdoor things like Cricket, Footy, BBQ, and relaxing at a park.  I could get used to this, but miss the snow, at least a bit.

     Love you all-

School's out for Summer!

     Friday was the last day of school for the kiddos until January 23 of next year.  Now, what to do?  I found a great site on Facebook called BrisbaneKids that lets you know pretty much anything around the metro area that is kid friendly, so I will be referring to it a LOT!
     Sunday was the Rio Tinto holiday family picnic in Brisbane.  We took the train into town, the kids love riding the train!  It followed true Queenslander form, complete with a torrential downpour.  The nice thing is, the rain is MUCH warmer here than at home!  The kids enjoyed the activities there.  Alex and Annika loved the climbing wall and Ian bounced in the bouncy castle as many times as he could get into line.  He was tired when we got back!  Santa even showed up, and the kids all loved that.
     Alex swam her last race of this year, doing the 50m backstroke for the first time.  She almost made it for the 50m freestyle, but was just 1 second too slow.  Training resumes 3 weeks before the start of school with the first club night the first Friday back.  Go Alex!
     We had an enjoyable Monday evening last night as well.  Lyle got home from work and wanted to go for a run, so we headed over to the reserve and turned him loose.  I was visiting with a lady who had her 3 year old son there to play as well.  Turns out she lives just down the street from us, and has a girl who is nearly 11 as well!  We've made plans to meet up today at the little park down the street.  We also had a good play with the neighbors niece and nephew in the driveway until quite late last night.  Ian took a short bath and passed out in less than a minute, Annika wasn't far behind!  They both made it past 6 am today, which is a rarity.
     And continuing the mundane fun, I sprayed for ants and spiders today.  What fun!  I keep finding them in the bathroom trash cans eating the used kleenex.  EEEWWWW!!!  So, all the windows, doors, and garage filmed with the barrier spray.  Hope it works more than a month this time. . . I don't like the little visitors we keep getting.
     Have a great week everyone-miss you tons.  Looking at getting tickets home for May or June, hope to get those done this coming weekend.  Cheapest months to go to the USA, but definitely not cheap.  We hope to spend about 2-3 weeks total, with a week in Oregon and a week in Idaho.  We also may leave the kids for a few nights for Camp Grandma and spend a few nights by ourselves, but that will have to await everyone's schedules.  Love you!

Last week of School!

     Well, summer break is just around the corner here!  The girls are super excited (me not so much-we already HAD summer break) and are planning all sorts of local outings, movies, and playdays with friends.  Last day of school is Friday and we won't be going back until the last week of January.
     It was a big week for us last week.  Alex had applied for a scholarship sponsored by the Lions Club International, submitted an essay and had an interview.  We were notified this week she earned 3rd place and a $150 grant to her school account to be used for field trips (parents pay for trips and transportation here) and year 7 camp.  This is nice as the year 7 camp is the big trip-the class flies to Canberra for a few days touring the National Capitol District and stay in hotels in the city.  The big deal for many is that since this camp is in July, shortly after their winter break, they may see SNOW!  Queensland kids don't have a clue what the white fluffy stuff is!  Alex also had a big week in swimming-she finally broke 25 seconds in her 25 meter backstroke and will be doing the 50 meter race from now on.  She looked so strong doing the race!  She is going to go for the under 24 seconds to get her freestyle to 50 meters, hopefully this week!
     We had planned a beach day this weekend, but the weather was just too windy.  So, we went to Movie World instead!  They are getting ready to open the Green Lantern coaster ride in a couple of weeks.  They were doing empty test runs on it-looks like it will be a rockin ride!  Alex and Lyle will love it.  The crowds are still pretty slim since schools are still in session, so the fun is to do ride after rider after ride.  Annika did a kiddie coaster 6 times, 1 of them she was the only passenger.  She loved it!  Ian loves the bumper cars and the electric car driving track.  Loves those cars, doesn't he.
     We got the Christmas tree up this weekend as well.  Nice to see the familiar decorations again!  I've nearly finished the shopping for the kids-but won't put up here what they are getting!  Alex subscribes to the blog update.  So, neener, neener, neener kiddo!

Musical Weekend!

     This last weekend our activity revolved around Alex's musical performance of Once Upon a Time, A Rock Fable.  She and the entire cast did an awesome job!  She was a member of the Nursery Town Characters chorus and did fantastic.  I posted a pic to Facebook-trying to figure out how to get the pictures off FB and onto my hard drive so I can put here, but in the meantime, since most of you are FB friends with me, check her out there!  It will be nice to have our Friday afternoons back as rehearsal went from 12:30 to 4:30 and that meant it was a 5 trips to school day between drop offs and swim club night.
     Ahhh, swim club!  Alex swam her very first individual medley on Friday night as well.  She was exhausted!  Age 11 and under only have to do 100m total and the 12 and overs do 200m.  She is very glad she did it, but also glad she is over it too.  She told me this morning that next school term she's thinking about upping her training to 2x per week as she isn't exhausted and sore after every session now.  Good girl!  If we can get Annika swimming a bit better, she'd like to try it out as well.
     We survived our first Thanksgiving in a long time without family.  To be honest, we really didn't do anything.  It's too hot to cook a traditional American meal, and it feels too heavy to eat anyway.  We gave thanks for family and friends, and that we most likely won't be here too many years.  While the climate is amazing most of the year, this time of year is heading into miserable, and since the AC still isn't fixed (parts are now on backorder) I'm thinking we'll be hanging out at the local mall and library where it is much cooler!
     The kids have this week and next week, then we take a 6 week summer break!  Alex thinks it's funny that we will have 2 summer breaks this year, 6 weeks or so each.  So, in the end, we still get an American length break, just split up over the year!  She'll be in year 7, Annika in year 2, and Ian in Prep.  These are roughly equivalent to 6-7th grade, grade 1-2, and Kindergarten.  I'm pleased with how the kids are doing in school and not worried about them being behind when we go back to the US.  I figure if I ever do feel they are getting behind, especially Alex, between Lyle and myself we can fill in the gaps.  I know of some great independent learning sites and curriculums!  Ian is getting so excited to go to big school-only 2 months left!
     Christmas-wow!  It is really hard to wrap our heads around Christmas right now.  It is the wrong weather for it, so it doesn't seem real yet.  We're going to the school Christmas Carol festival tonight at school.  It sounds like a lot of fun-bringing camp chairs, jackets, flashlights, and enjoy singing and listening to Aussie carols!  There will be a BBQ with sausage sizzle-think skinny sausage wrapped in a piece of white bread with ketchup or BBQ sauce, YUM, cold drinks, paddle pops (popsicles), and other treats.  On a family gift note-please don't send stuff as it is crazy expensive to send through the mail.  We'll be back next Juneish and we can celebrate then!  I already know what I'm getting for everyone-very Aussie Centric gifts that will be totally appropriate for everyone that time of year!  Seeing as we'll have fairly long shopping lists we'll be bringing pretty empty suitcases for our stuff, (except for the late Christmas stuff!) ready to fill and return!  I'm bailing on Christmas cards this year as well-I'll get some pictures developed and sent to my folks to pass out, but seeing as postage going back to the US is even worse than sending stuff here, perhaps we'll do summer cards from Costco to mail out for Christmas in July!
     Miss and love you all-I miss the snow right now-believe it or not!

Weather Change

     Here comes summer!  The weather is changing this week-humidity going up, temps going up, and the driest November since 1919.  We should have had about 5cm of rain so far, but nothing yet!  Sounds like we are in for a La Nina pattern this summer, which means wetter and a bit cooler than normal.  Seeing as we have had no experience with either one, we'll just have to see how it goes!  The water reservoir is being drawn down to 75%, but that makes about 2 inches flood difference if they have another summer like last year.  The flood damage has been about 95% repaired from last January and no one wants another year like last year.  In keeping with the never ending list of thinks that Murphy's law keeps hitting us with, the AC unit does not work.  It's been a month since I started asking for someone to look at it and it is approaching time for grumpy to come out to play.  The house has been 90 degrees nearly every afternoon, and I really want my AC!
     Alex is in the school musical this coming weekend!  Yes, I'll take pictures, but most likely put them up on FB since I now have a smartphone and can do so easily.  It's not so easy to get onto the blog.  She is also swimming the individual medley this Friday for swim club.  Go Alex!  Annika is being Annika-cricket is done and she is doing well in school.  So social, it's a good thing she is also a quick learner or she'd be having discussions with us about balancing her talk time with her learning time!  Ian is the little man.  He's great company with me and loves errands most days since they often involve a snack at the local bakery.  Spoiled!
     Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  It is a hard time to be away from family, but so nice to be in contact via Skype and phone.  With the weather so different though, it really doesn't feel like the holiday season has begun.  Something about hanging out in tank tops, going to a water park, and chasing down sunblock and hats every day!  I don't plan to send Christmas cards out - postage is about $2.50 per item to go overseas, so I'll send electronic greetings and pictures to family to redistribute.  They may not show up until after the New Year though!  Miss you all and love you more.

It's getting HOT HOT HOT

     Yup, like the title says, it is starting to get warm here.  The daily highs have "only" been in the mid to upper 80's, but the humidity is going up too.  I don't think I make a good southern lady type, I don't glisten or glow, I SWEAT when I get hot!  Fortunately, the breezes are pretty consistent and they do help.  A bit.  If they blow at night, which they have not been the last few days.  Ugh!  And to make it more fun, I informed our lease agency and body corporate builder that the AC unit wasn't working a month ago, since I knew the heat was coming.  Apparently, I wasn't assertive enough at the time, so the builder dithered, sent over his electrician (who was a no show for 2 days!  Really?) who said he needed the manual to diagnose the error code.  I informed him HE was supposed to have it according to the builder and should have brought it to me 3 weeks prior.  News to him.  So, things are starting to happen now that I called them on Monday and let them know if it isn't either fixed or replaced by Friday, I suspend my rent payments until it is.  Waiting a month is being plenty patient, and I've used up my allotment for the time being.  We'll see how they roll with it now.
     We spent Saturday last weekend at a wonderful place called Kings Beach, on the southern part of the Sunshine Coast.  Great sand, the ocean is warming up a bit, brought a couple of boogie boards and Alex is loving body surfing!  Annika keeps sliding off the board, but she is trying.  Both love the waves.  Even Ian is getting into the water now.  He tries to kickbox the waves and often ends up on his butt.  He and I also explored some tide pools and found lots of hermit crabs, a sea slug, minnows, and even saw a crab under a rock.  We found some pretty sea shells and had a great time.  I'm getting brave enough to go into the waves too-the water is so refreshing on a hot day!  I wish there was some way to keep sand from sticking to sunblocked bodies-it really makes a mess.  I'm thinking I need to buy a full body swimsuit.  I've seen some Muslim women swimming in them-they do cover everything!  I'd love to avoid having to apply all the sunblock. . .
     We've been looking at possible flights home for next Juneish as well.  The prices really get steep in July/August, so it looks like the kids will be having to miss a couple of weeks of school, but when the difference is about $1000 per ticket, school will have to be made up instead.  The schools here aren't so concerned with missing for family vacations-I think that has to do with the kids going just under 200 days each year.  They'll get a 6 week summer break in Dec/Jan, a week in April, 2 weeks in June/July, and 2 weeks off in September.  The breaks seem to come when they are really needed for both kids and teachers, but the prices for vacation spots double and triple on school holidays all over the country and in popular destinations around the Pacific.  So, if you ever plan on visiting, make sure you check the school calendars before you go!
     Alex is in the school musical that will be presented the last weekend of November.  They started before school practices and Sunday afternoons a couple of weeks ago.  She is so excited!  She plays a general nursery town character, the name of the play is Once Upon a Time, a Nursery Rock Fable.  It has zombies in it too-should be interesting to say the least!  Annika just finished up 5 weeks of cricket lessons.  Interesting game-I still haven't really figured out the rules, but she does a good job with bowling (pitching the ball) and her batting is coming along.  She is simply enthusiastic with whatever it is that she does.  Her zest for life is exhausting at times, but invigorating at others.  Ian is getting more patient with letting me read to him.  He prefers books about scary animals, comics, and adventure type picture books.  Good thing I have everything but the comics, and the library has a supply of those.  He is getting so excited to start school!  I'm getting excited for him to start school!
     Have a great week everyone-miss you all and love hearing from you.  Will miss having Thanksgiving with family, but we also figure this isn't going to be a permanent gig, so should be home in a couple of years.  Besides, it's too HOT to cook anything inside this time of year!  I'll make a few favorite dishes, but keep them on the cool side for sure.  Holiday salads anyone, with cold turkey and ham, sounds really good to me!

7th Birthday and Arachnophobia

     We'll get to the arachnophobia part in a few!  Annika turned 7 years old on Saturday, and we had a blowout to celebrate it!  We went ahead and invited her whole class to a park play afternoon several weeks ago, so were anxiously watching the weather forecasts all week.  No way could we fit 20+ kids in our little townhome!  The weather dawned overcast and a bit ominous, but this is Queensland-it can look awful with no rain, or drench you out of a nearly clear day.  The clouds were a great relief-when they cleared up about 1:30 it was flat out HOT!  The kids and many parents met us at the park down the hill from us at noon and they played hard the entire time.  We had some balloon races, set up the croquet (BAD idea with those boys-they wanted to wonk each other rather than the ball), some tag, and lots of just run amok.  I made 4 dozen cupcakes-plenty of parents and younger sibs stayed, which I had expected.  I also learned why frosting isn't a typical topping here-icing is better!  Frosting melts in the humidity-who knew!  Juice boxes and water bottles on ice in the coolers, crackers, chips, dips, and everyone was pretty happy.  The kids went home exhausted, dirty, and saying it was the best party they had EVER been to.  Parents were glad the kids were all good and tired, and I heard from several on Monday they slept very well Saturday night!  Annika and I went shopping Sunday afternoon so she could spend some birthday money, and that girl can SHOP.  She only wanted some new dresses, so that is exactly what she got.  That girl stayed in budget and found several she loved.  What a kid!
     Alex didn't get to swim her events Friday night-the pool was closed for electrical work unexpectedly. She was bummed, but we got word it will be open as of this Tuesday, so she'll give them a go later this week.  This is also our week to volunteer in the BBQ/Canteen for swim night!  Slinging burgers and filling drinks-fun!  She is doing the school musical later this month, so she now has Sunday afternoon practices as well as some mornings before school and during 1st break in the morning.  So glad again that we live so close to school!
     Now, for the arachnophobia bit!  There are 3 spiders you have to watch out for around here.  The Sydney Funnel Web-which is not found around Brisbane-thank goodness!  Hypodermic fangs that punch through leather boots-not my kind of fun wildlife to meet in the bush!  The Redbacks-Australian Black Widows, also not fun, but not lethal either, painful, yes, deadly, no.  We killed a few in the garage a few weeks ago.   The last one is like a Brown Recluse, complete with bacterial necrosis tissue issues with their venom.  These guys like to lurk in clothing left on the floor-since finding this out, the kids have been MUCH better about picking up their rooms. . . but we didn't get to meet any of these spiders this week!  We got to evict a medium specimen of the Huntsman spider variety.  These guys are generally harmless and hunt the other spiders-good for them, but get OUT of my house!  Alex had the joy of first encounter-in the bathroom.  She said she saw something move on the wall when she pulled the towel off the rack after her shower.  A BIG something, but she didn't have her glasses on and didn't want to be naked with a spider around.  She dried off, got dressed, and called (a bit stressfully I may add), "Dad, there's a BIG spider in here and I need some help!"  It was hiding behind the pink Turbie towel, and I agree, it was BIG.  I moved incredibly quickly as well-like brown lightening across the wall.  So big that smashing it would have made a huge mess too!  Lyle trapped it in a large glass, covered it with a fly swatter, and tossed it off the deck where it glided to the garden.  With legs, it would be about the size of Annika's palm.  And this was a mid sized one!  The big ones can cover Lyle's palm.  I get the heebie jeebies still thinking about it.  May have to see if I can download the movie Arachnophobia off iTunes-the kids will have nightmares for weeks, let alone me though!
     Have a great week!

Swim Parents!

     Alex has decided to get into swimming this year.  The school has it's very own pool, as do the majority of schools in Queensland.  I've been told to check the hometowns of Australian swimmers-most come from Queensland because of this!  Who knew!  Since these kids have been in the water since practically birth, Alex is at a bit of a disadvantage with her own technique.  2 weeks a year of Red Cross swimming at the city pool does not make a swimmer like they do here.  So, after a couple of weeks of her struggling with flippers (her feet are so narrow they keep falling off. . .) and strokes, I signed her up for a few Saturday morning lessons with the coach.  She did her first one this last weekend, and LOVED it!  Monday she did squad training, and when I asked her what events to sign her up for on Club Night, she said, "What the heck, I know the dif between the butterfly and breaststroke, why not all 4 this time?"  YES!  She's been only doing freestyle and backstroke since that is what she was comfortable with, so big step!  Last week, Lyle got back from Newcastle exhausted, so he stayed home with Annika and Ian and I took Alex to club night.  I volunteered to help with event timing-lots of fun!  The big kids can really haul through the water and you get pretty wet looking over the edge for the hand to hit the side of the pool.  Had I known I would have done this, I would have worn my thongs!
     Annika has been counting down the days until her 7th Birthday this weekend.  She is so excited!  We invited her classmates to come to a park play afternoon down the hill from us-so about 20 kids for 2 hours!  YIKES!  Planning on outdoor games as the weather looks like it will be great-relay races, ring toss, croquet, spoon water races (maybe), and a bit of cricket batting.  Cupcakes, chips, dips, and assorted candy bags for the favor bags and all should go fine!  It's from 12-2, and thinking that if we do this next year, 10-noon may be better.  The sun is getting INTENSE right now, so we'll take sunblock for anyone who needs it.  Goodness knows they'll all have their own hats on!
     Ian, well Ian is the little bossman.  He is really enjoying his mommy time, but is so ready for school to start!  Frankly, so am I!  He helped me get the school supply order put together this morning.  Love that they are able to order and pay online, AND pick up next month at school!  Huge time saver-trick will be to keep the kids out of them until school in January!  We also went to Bunnings and got a hose and tank connection for the BBQ-next we need to get new grill surfaces-they were all rusted out-yuck!
     I finally got my paperwork assembled and mailed in for evaluation for a Queensland teacher certificate this week.  I am still missing the FBI clearance, but when I talked to them last week, they said it should be in my hands in 2 weeks!  So, the teacher certification reviewer told me to go ahead and mail it in now, and follow with the clearance when I get it.  "No worries!  There's an 8 week backlog anyway, so you'll be fine."  Love the attitude here!
     So, until next week!

Post Camp

     Well, we got Alex back on Friday from camp.  She had a super good time with her classmates!  They did archery, high ropes obstacle courses, and rock climbing.  She said that she was exhausted every single day and slept like a rock.  Good girl!  By dinner time though, it was another story-she was sick!  Fever and chills, upset stomach, bad headache, so cancelled her club swim and parked her into bed, where she stayed for the next 2 days, not even feeling good enough to read.  She was up and going well enough that we went to a BBQ on Saturday.  Sunday night she was sick again and missed Monday and Tuesday at school.  Alex hates to miss school!
     Ok, another topic I think is interesting, but you may not.  Termites!  The friends we had the BBQ at just bought their house in April when they moved here for his job.  They had a full inspection done in February and moved in April.  A few weeks ago they were having termite treatment done (critical around here-not optional for pest control) and found a very aggressive breed boring into the house near the bathroom.  They have some remodeling to do and hoping the bugs just ate the baseboards and didn't get too far into the house framing.  To remediate, they had to cut concrete edging back 30 cm from the house foundation and dig out all plant edging.  They will install piping all around the house with access to fill with termite killing chemicals periodically.  Much easier to maintain, but a pain to get going!  I think I'll take dry rot. . .
     Ian and I spent the morning getting in some fast shopping.  Aldi starts their sales mid week and they had some things we wanted-body boards and snorkel sets!  You have to get in when things go on sale or they are gone so fast!  I learned that with Ian's Batman costume last time.  We then went to Bunnings, a Home Depot type of store, and bought a hose,  propane tank fitting, and a tank so we can use the BBQ here.  Yay!  The attachment is a standard one so it is just a simple switch.  Hope it really is that easy. . .
     Lyle is in Newcastle again this week and next week as well.  October is a busy month for him!  Some interesting news about his job-Rio announced last week that they were going to spin off the division he just started working for and put it up for sale.  Of course it won't be an overnight thing, and there are no buyers just yet, but it is a bit frustrating to take a job with an established international company just to be told you will no longer be a part of it!  In the meantime, paychecks still come in and the job has to be done.  This could take several months to sort out, so we'll see what turn the grand adventure takes.
     I started volunteering in Annika's classroom 1-2 hours a week to help with math groups.  I love it!  Ian comes with me and his job is materials allotment-he loves to hand out papers, pencils, and make sure they all come back.  It keeps me sane, which matters a lot right now.
     Just a few weeks left of the school term-hard to believe it!  Have a great week everyone-we'll see if the weather is good for the beach this weekend!

Camp Week!

     Alex goes to camp this week!  I dropped her off this morning at school a half hour early so they could check in her meds and get everyone loaded on time.  She'll be back Friday afternoon.  This is the first time we haven't had her this long-excepting time at Grandma and Baba's house!  She was ready to pack last week, but I managed to convince her that she will have to wear most of what she was wanting to pack before departure.  She has managed to convince Annika that her stuffed animals have cameras in them to keep her out of her bedroom this week.  That may last until Wednesday or so.
     Since we had to be on campus early, I took Ian to the uniform shop and have him outfitted for Prep!  He is pretty excited to have his official school clothes.  Just like the girls-2 formal sets and 1 set for Sport day.  And a big, blue hat!  He thinks this is going to be "so cool!"  He also knows he is 2 shots away from starting school-both he and Annika will be getting 1 more Hep B booster and a menengitis vaccine in the next couple of months.  Alex will catch up when she goes to grade 8 when the country pays for the next round of immunizations.
     Any other exciting news-not really.  We did go to Movie World this weekend-Ian is DYING to be Batman for Halloween and do you think I could find a costume anywhere?  NO.  He has the masks from the kids meals in the theme park and we bought him a cape.  He is excited!  Now to find out just how serious this part of Australia is about Halloween!  I'm hoping not much. . .
     Alex did a super job at her club swim meet on Friday!  It looks like she will advance to the 50m for her backstroke and possibly the freestyle-I have an email into the nominations organizer to make sure.  She was sure plowing through the water and I think she is starting to enjoy it a bit more.  I took some video of her first meet, and will try to get some photos this week.  We are so proud of her!
     Annika's birthday is coming up fast!  We got invitations out to her class last week, and getting ready to have lots of kids around.  Her party will be on her birthday at the park just down the hill from us.  Figured keep it close in case anyone has to go to the bathroom!  She will have mini chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting, cookies, and assorted chips, dips, and spreads, drinks and lots of games to play outside.  Please, please, please don't let it rain as it is an outside party!
     Lyle spent a week in Tasmania for a conference last week.  He said it is absolutely beautiful there and the weather was perfect spring weather.  It's on our list of places to visit, for sure!  He'll be in Newcastle for a few days this week, more next week, and most of the following week as well.  October is a busy month!
     I have started volunteering in Annika's class at least 1 hour a week for math groups on Friday.  I really miss teaching and can hardly wait for my paperwork to all get here so I can forward it to the authorities to get started here.  Ian comes with me, and has done pretty well with it so far.  I also signed up for an American History class through Independent Study at the University of Idaho.  Love that program-this is my 3rd course with them-can do all online and submit the credits for my teacher certificate renewals in the various states.  I'm just 1 credit short for the next round!
     Miss you all and love you more.  Glad you enjoy our adventures!

Ramblings about Aussie Food, and other things!

     Ok, so I know I have been very good these last several months and now there is a bit less of me to love. I like having a trim waist again, but Aussie food is going to be my temptation for sure!
     Here are some of my favorites so far:  Meat Pies, Sausage Rolls, Tim Tams, Mint Cookies.  And I haven't even gotten started into my food adventures yet!  Australia really is a food crossroads.  They have been strongly influenced by their British roots-the meat pies and sausage rolls are great examples of these.  Read any good British novel, and somewhere there are mentioned a good, hot, bubbly meat pie!  If you are interested in a good recipe, here's a link- Meat pie and you will love them!  Think of it as a puff pastry topped, no veggie allowed, pot pie, and you pretty well have it.  Sausage rolls are nearly as good.  They are sausage and herbs wrapped in puff pastry.  You can cut into 1.5 inch pieces for appetizers, or keep 6-7 inches for a main.  I have found long link sausage varieties as well as finely ground meat and herbs with no casings-my personal favorites.
     Another culinary area that has a strong place in Aussie food is India.  There is a large minority of Australians of Indian descent-several families I have met have been here 2-4 generations.  Of course, as part of the British Commonwealth, India and Australia have a long history prior to India's independence. So, from India-the curries!  My favorite so far is Red Curry, which I have made several times.  It really is easy and ingredients are easily available here, and in the US as well.  I use a prepared red curry paste (mild for the kids palates), 1 can reduced fat coconut milk, fish sauce, ground Thai herbs, chicken breast or thighs (shrimp works well too!), and frozen veggies of your favorite variety.  I prefer the kinds with broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, but anything really will work.  Here's how super easy it is to make-heat up a large frying pan and add 2 tbs of red curry paste.  Move around for a minute or so until it smells wonderful.  Add in your cut up meat if using chicken or beef and cook until browned.  Add the coconut milk and stir.  Let simmer until the meat is cooked.  If using seafood, add after the mix simmers for 5 minutes or so to let the flavor develop in the curry and simmer for a couple of minutes until cooked.  Add the veggies and simmer until they are heated.  Serve over hot cooked rice.  Omit the meat if you prefer vegetarian.  I have only just begun to explore the Indian food!
     Japanese, other Asian, and Pacific Islands have also influenced the local eats.  You can order Sushi just about anywhere-there are 2 or 3 sushi stands in the local mall food court alone!  The strip mall where I get our Dominos pizza has an Indian, Sushi, and ice cream store as well as a bank and 2 offices for local political representatives.
     I do have to comment here on ready to eat foods, such as frozen entrees and such that are popular in the states for a quick lunch.  I recall prices being about $2-$3 per box, less of course if you can find on sale to stock up or at Dollar Tree!  1 simple and small Lean Cuisine runs about $5, on sale about $4.50.  I found a line of shelf stable Sun Luck rice and currys that are $4.99.  A family sized lasagna is $15 to $19 and is about 2/3 the size of the typical American comparable item.  Australia really seems to discourage the consumption of these types of foods-they are taxed at checkout at the going 10% GST whereas "real" food items are not.  Lyle goes out to eat nearly every day working in the downtown area-food there is hot, reliable, and about as cost effective as packing a lunch and trying to get it to work without leaking in his bag.  He gets 4 sushi rolls and a coffee for about $7, or teriaki chicken and rice for $8.  Sandwiches are between $5 and $9 depending on fillings and locations.  The kids have hot food available Wednesday-Friday at school.  Items go for $3 to $6 and are really good!  No chicken nuggets here-spinach and feta triangles, Greek pasta salad, grilled sandwiches, chicken wraps, etc.  We are proud that the school received a Gold medal from the state school nutrition review.  It's only the 2nd school in all of Queensland to earn it, and the 1st in Brisbane.  Way to go Camp Hill!
     I also have to mention the sausage sizzle.  Sausage sizzle is very simple-a long sausage grilled and served diagonally on a slice of white bread.  Top with grilled onions and a bit of tomato sauce (ketchup) and it's a keeper!  Very popular for fundraiser food.  You can get for about $2 or so, and they are tasty!  The swim club canteen serves at the Friday night club meets, and it's a fast dinner at home too.
     Seafood is very popular too.  Fish, shellfish, octopus, shrimp, you name it, they serve it.  Deliciously too!
     So, have to make sure I don't eat all the meat pies and sausage rolls.  Just remember, portion control and exercise is everything!
     Annika is signing up for Cricket this week for a 5 week run.  Link for the rules-if you can come up with a simpler way to describe them, let me know!  Cricket rules   Alex also did her first swim meet last Friday-she got 26 seconds in the freestyle and 30 for the backstroke.  Saturday we went to a wedding at the Botanical Gardens on Mt. Coot-tha and Alex to a school Disco.  She has since been fighting a virus and is home today from school.  When that kid sleeps 11 hours, you know she is not feeling well!  Ian is now caught up on his vaccinations for school-in the US!  He and Annika will need to get 1 more Hepatitis B (they require 4 doses here, 3 in the US) and they do a Meningitis vaccine before age 8 that is optional in the US prior to leaving for college.  The country pays for all required vaccinations if you are a citizen or here on a work visa, so in they go to be jabbed.  Alex will have another round of shots prior to grade 8 when she goes to secondary school.  She is sooo excited!  HA!

Pictures, Finally

  A sleepy Koala at the Koala Sanctuary

  Kids petting an emu at the sanctuary

  First Day of school, dig those uniforms!

  View from our 12th floor apartment on Kangaroo Point

  Another view!

  Kangaroo petting!

  Splash!  This was wet and cold-Ian stayed with me, smart guy!

  Movie night on the air mattresses the weekend before we got our stuff.

  The truck full of our stuff-it took a 20 foot truck and a van stuffed full to bring our things.

  Gold Coast beach-oh yeah!

House is sold!

     It is official-the house in Wenatchee is SOLD!  It closed on Friday, only a day later than expected.  The buyer was also doing this long distance and needed an extra day for the papers to get there.  Our papers FINALLY cleared customs in LA after 4 days and made it to Wenatchee on Thursday, so it would have been delayed anyway since documents are needed the day BEFORE closing actually can take place.  WHEW all around.  It is bittersweet though.  That house-we lived in it longer than any other since we moved out of our parents' homes to go to college!  Annika learned to walk there, ate a lot of dirt in the backyard, Alex learned to ride her bike in the street out front, Ian was brought home there!  Our neighbors were/are the absolute best ever-family in many ways for our little family who wasn't from the area.  Guess if we really feel the draw, we can move back there in about 20 years when we (hopefully!!) can retire!
     On a less melancholy note, do you know that lazying at the beach can be exhausting!  We headed up to Bribie Island Saturday and just hung out for 6 hours or so.  Very nice!  It's about 40 minutes north of us off of the M1.  We went to the beach on the far side of the island as they have a patrolled surf area and turned the kids loose in the sand and surf.  Alex is really getting into body surfing and a short board will be in her future.  Annika loves nothing more than clinging to Daddy's hand and jumping through the waves as they roll in, then get rolled into the sand when she is cold.  Ian, now Ian is something else!  His idea of beach heaven is to ROLL around in the sand, dig holes, and run around.  Doesn't usually get into the water, but may get his feet wet on a brave day!  Now me, with my sensitive skin, I stay under the umbrella as much as possible, supervise sunblock application and snack swindling, and laze the day away.  I don't allow the Kindle on the beach due to high probability the sand will ruin it, so a paperback of some kind does get stuffed into the beach bags, but that does not mean it actually gets read!  Shout out to Karri B as well-we use the Lands' End bags you got for us when Annika was born-they are amazing and still used, now more than ever.  1 for towels and swimming stuff, 1 for everything else you can imagine needs to go to the beach.
     As for it being the best beach day ever, not so much.  The wind was blowing hard enough to get sand drifted into everything!  I'm still washing it out of my hair 2 days later!  Cream sunblock also acts as sand glue as well-the spray on stuff is much better!  But, the not so good day at the beach beats just about anything else we could think of at any rate!  The wind kept blowing and just got better too.  The deck furniture will need tied down for sure as the summer storms pick up, otherwise something will be coming through the sliding glass doors!
     I figured out how to download pictures from the camera into a computer-without the transfer USB cord!  Can't find that still, but remembered that Lyle's computer has a media drive!  I never use the darn thing, neither does he, but we must have ordered it installed when we bought it for a reason, and this must be it!  I'll put some pics up in a couple of days, and go back to add pics to some of the posts that are relevant.
     The kids go back to school tomorrow as well!  Hooray!  Maybe sometime this week I can finally get a haircut!

Gold Coast holiday

     Ahhhh, a beach weekend that we all loved!  We left on Thursday (more about that later) for some fun in the sun and sand, and totally enjoyed ourselves.  The sand on the E. Coast of Australia is totally amazing-soft, white, powdery, and full of beautiful seashells at the waveline.  Could not ask for a better place to relax.  We took the beach towels, some sand toys, couple of beach umbrellas and camped out for the day.  We also took in some rides at Movie World and an afternoon at Wet and Wild, spent a day at Seaworld and Movie World, and did I mention hanging at the beach?  The water temp was a bit cool, but with the rising heat refreshing.  Alex is figuring out how to body surf and I bet a body board will be in her future!  With the incoming tide the waves got pretty good sized, almost a meter in height, and were knocking people around pretty well.  We watched a lifeguard grab his board and go in after a couple of kids whose inflatable board got caught in a riptide-panicked their mom, but they were fine.  Nice to know they are on the guard and ready to help out.  I don't think he even hardly got wet!
   Now, before our holiday, that was exciting.  We finally received the closing papers via email, got them printed out, and had to find a Notary to do the seals and signatures.  There are 2 kinds of signature witnesses here, a Justice of the Peace, and a Notary Public.  Apparently the JP is only good for Australian papers and verifying copies of original documents-I will need a JP to sign my diploma copies, transcripts, etc. when I get my fingerprint report back from the FBI and submit my application for teacher certification.  So, where to find a Notary in a foreign country?  We got lucky, Murphy finally did not raise his weary head and toss something our way!  The JP in the local elected officials office explained the difference and gave us contact info for a Notary in Carina.  Turns out the guy just happened to be working from home Thursday and agreed to see us without an appointment.  WHEW in a big way.  Finally got the papers signed, stamped, embossed, and in priority mail back to the states in time for closing on the house this coming week!  I just checked the shipping status-they are in customs clearance in LA and moving north tomorrow.  YAY!
     The kids have 1 more week of holiday before the start of 4th term next week.  Busy day today-found a bike rack that holds 4 bikes, we'll have to get a roof rack once all the kids are riding their bikes to fit the last one on top!  It's a better design than the one we left for Dad-this has a lever to release to drop down for access to the back of the Nissan-Annika can do it all by herself!  Love Swedish engineering.  One of the car tyres has been needing air regularly-took it in, and yep, a nail in the sidewall.  Had to order a new tyre (notice the Aussie spelling being used now too?) that will be in tomorrow.  These are aftermarket rims and tyres-and I'm not impressed with them at all.  I also found a family doctor that is not only recommended by several families at school, but is also taking new patients.  Hooray!  Those papers go in tomorrow and hopefully I can stop in and get a haircut as well.  Getting shaggy here!
     Hard to believe that fall is starting back home just as we are getting into the summer groove.  If you think you need a break from the cold, you know where to go!

Summer is coming!

     Summer IS coming on strong here now.  The temps are rising to the mid 70's and the sun is intense!  Bring on the sunblock. . .
     We spent the weekend trying out the beaches now that is is finally warmer.  Saturday was spent organizing the garage so we can put stuff we don't need behind the stuff we think we might need.  I still have not unpacked those last few boxes marked "Toy room" and think I will continue to avoid them if possible.  The kids don't miss their toys right now anyway!  We figured we had worked enough and pulled out about 12:30 to go to Redcliffe, up north of us.  All I can say is WOW!  It was perfect-parking on the road by the beach, lifeguards (not the cute ones either-these guys had serious guts.  Maybe next time!), cool water and plenty of sun.  We loafed all afternoon-and loved it.  Aussie national footwear-thongs.  And they are practical for the beach, and anywhere else you care to go!  Thinking our footwear will come to have several for each person before too long.
     Since Saturday was so successful, we decided to go to the Gold Coast and check out the beaches in Surfers Paradise-along with most of Brisbane and those on school holiday.  We were stuck in a multi kilometer traffic back up-moved all of 1/2k in 20 minutes and still had 10k to go!  We took the next left turn and headed back out-time for backup plan!  We ended up at Movie World for a few rides, decided we were already packed to enjoy the water, so dashed next door to Wet and Wild water park.  Think we found our new favorite summer place.  The kids had a ball with the slides, huge wave pool, and of course, ice cream.  They didn't even do 1/4 of what was there, so looks like we will be back often.
     The kids have a 2 week school holiday for between terms!  We are going for 3 nights back to the Gold Coast (hopefully miss the Brisbane traffic exodus this time) and explore that region a bit more.  There are also museums and matinee performances available, so much to do, so we'll have to see about doing some of it!
     Annika lost a tooth at school this week.  She was so excited the tooth fairy found her here!  Ian also got his summer haircut-number 2 clipper attachment.  He looks so darn cute with his summer buzz cut!  Time to go get some dinner into everyone-Aussie meat pies, steamed green beans, and salad.  Eating on the deck if the mossies don't devour us first!  Time to stock up on bug spray too.

Unpacking, and more unpacking

     All I can say is W.O.W.  We have too much stuff!  As I have been unpacking the boxes, I have been repacking about 1/2 of everything.  Skimmed the kitchen gadgets and dishes, books, toys are next (dreading that one-thinking Annika and Ian can do that one with me this weekend), and just plain junk.  Since we lived in Wenatchee longer than anyplace we have lived since we lived with our parents, not to mention adding a couple of kids, the stuff started to grow.  And grow.  You get the picture.  At least I now have a much better idea of what exactly it is we have since I labeled the boxes better than the movers-a running inventory as I re-wrapped and taped back up.  Boxes are now stacked around the perimeter of about 1/2 the garage with furniture filling in the bay where another car could theoretically be parked.  Not in this garage!  It also reinforced the need to get into a bigger place when our lease is up in 10.5 months.  On the plus side, I am down to the dreaded toy room boxes, my dresser, and that is really it.  At least packing for the next move will be much easier-the house is already half packed!
     We had a great weekend.  Lyle got home Friday night, only an hour or so later than planned, so about typical we are noticing for the flights from Newcastle to Brisbane.  He was a bit overwhelmed with the stuff all over the house, and the progress we had made as well.  We tackled the garage together on Saturday going through boxes, sorting, shifting, taking things upstairs and other boxes back down for storage.  We got the main computer hooked up-that was fun!  We toasted the good surge protector when we forgot to put the step down voltage transformer between the wall and the surge unit.  Whoops!  We found another one in Alex's computer box and ran a 3 plug extension cord for the TV stuff.  Then we called mom and dad to beg a care package consisting of surge protectors and a couple of movies for the kids.  Needless to say, her computer won't be hooked up for awhile so she gets to use my Mac laptop-spoiled!  On a technical note though, our computer are dual voltage, but the house has so few plugs we have to run everything through the stuff we do have.  Would you believe I have a total of 4 plugs in the entire living dining room area?  They really think that will work?
     On Sunday we went to a BBQ with some other American Rio employees we had met at the Fireworks last weekend.  They just moved into a larger house as well, and also closer to the school they wanted their girls to get into.  They have been here for just over 4 years and are applying for permanent residency.  They totally love it here!  Their new neighbors came from South Dakota and have been here for a month.  Between us we have 8 kids ages 2-12, and they all get along great.  There was also an Aussie family who have been friends with the Americans since they all lived outside of Melbourne.  They were super entertained listening to the Americans as were we to them!  Fun time for everyone.  By the way, Aussies don't use hotdog buns for their sausages or hotdogs, they simply wrap in a slice of bread!  Much cheaper at any rate-a package of generic buns runs about $4 for 6!
     This is the last week of school for the girls before the end of term break.  They have off the last 2 weeks of September and start back for the last term of the year the first week of October.  We are looking at planning for a beach day this weekend as the temps are getting up into the low 80's this weekend with plenty of sun.  Not to mention that we also found the towels, coolers (chilly bins here!), buckets, towels, beach chairs, etc.  Now to decide where to go-spoiled that we have some of the best beaches in the whole world only 30 min to 2 hours from here!

Rainstorm-YIKES!

     Ok, so Brisbane looks like it is going to be queen of storm city!  I just got done tossing everything I could that was on the deck into the house-a stack of cardboard boxes over a foot tall, 2 huge boxes filled with packing paper, the laundry rack.  W.O.W. is all I have to say.  I was drenched just from the side blow!  The grey water tank will be nicely topped off again-bring on the laundry and toilet flushing.  I understand that these storms are not unusual, this is just typical spring into summer weather.  Then we get into cyclone season-oh the joy!
     Unpacking is going ok, so far.  We figure the house is only about 1200 square feet, so just over half of what we are used to.  I went to a builder supply store and bought a hand truck.  Great story there-suffice it to say I have to find the bike tire pump to fill the tires.  In one of the boxes down in the garage, most likely buried in the far back corner. . . I managed to get one tire inflated at the gas station, but the valve is wonky on the other one.  So, I manhandled some boxes down to get some room in the living area-good thing too or I would not have had room for the stuff from the deck!
     Lyle gets back from a week in Newcastle tonight!  He's been gone since Monday, so has missed out of much of the box drama.  I think he feels bad.  He'd better feel bad!  At any rate, there are still 4 wardrobe boxes in the upper hallway so we have to go sideways, and stuff all over the bedrooms.  We'll continue to unpack, repack and sort and in the meantime, start keeping our eyes out for a bigger place next year!  It's nice to know my clothes are here, but can't get to them as the dresser is in the middle of the boxes in the garage.  Sigh.  Tell me again why we didn't just store the winter coats with my parents?  2-3 wardrobe boxes will just be taped back up as they won't be used here!
     Sunday will be a busy day for us.  Lyle is running a 10k Bridge to Brisbane race that starts at 6:00 am.  That's right, 6 AM!  The start is about 8 miles from here, and I think I can get him within about 1k of the starting line.  We are figuring a 4:30 departure to get him there as they are expecting 30,000 racers for this part!  He'll have to take his cell phone and call when the bus gets him back to the starting point for a pickup!  We are also going to a BBQ with a family we met at the fireworks last weekend.  Their 2 older girls are 1 year older and 1 year younger than Alex and their youngest is just a bit older than Annika.  They all get along great and all the girls were bugging the moms to get together so they could visit again!  They are also inviting their neighbors who have a boy Ian's age so he has someone to play with too.  Super nice people!
     Saturday is go through the garage day and sign Alex up for school swim team day.  She's excited!  She also signed up for softball for her term 4 sport day.  Aussie schools take about 1/2 day each school week and devote it to sports-Cricket, Netball (think basketball without a backboard), soccer, Aussie Football, rugby, etc.  She wasn't able to participate since we moved here as the signups are for the term.  We pay $5 per week for transportation-so it works out about the same as an after school league.  But better as our weekends are ours!  They play against other schools, have tournaments, and parents can go watch as well.  School swim team practices after school, time depending on the squad she goes with, inter school meets are Friday evening.
     Confirmed that the USA TV's do not work in Australia.  Oh, well.  All we used it for at home was DVD and Netflix anyway.  I managed to get the telly and DVD player hooked up, the kids are bugging me to get the Wii up and running too.  Before we left we bought 3 voltage transformers to step down from 220 to 110 so our electronics don't fry.  I have to run the TV stuff through the transformer-working like a charm!  I had to swipe a power strip from the computer box until I find the one that goes with the TV stuff, but for now I am thankful to watch something besides the 10 movies we brought with us 2 months ago.  If I have to watch Megamind one more time I think I will LOSE my MIND!
     More later family and friends-I am glad to keep you up to date!  Feel free to comment on the site as well.  Let's me know I'm not just writing to cyberspace!

Brisbane Festival

     Looks like I am settling into a 2 blog a week to keep everyone updated-the post weekend and getting ready for the weekend type!  I hope you have all enjoyed this run down of our lives-it's therapeutic for me to write about what we are experiencing-especially the stressful things.  I can look back and laugh about how we did the first few weeks now.  Strained laughter, but laughter nonetheless!
     So, this weekend was the kick off to the Brisbane Festive.  Take a look at www.brisbanefestival.com.au and you will see this is not a little event.  Think Boise River Festival going on for 3 weeks, that is how big this has gotten.  We took the bus into downtown about 2 pm and wandered around Queen Street mall for a bit.  Then we headed down to the river to stake out our viewing sites.  Rio Tinto's office building is right on the river and they have a great patio overlooking it as well.  Their social club puts out requests for sign ups and block out space for over 300 people.  This is nice as space is at a premium and it means you can come into town, (if you rate a parking spot in their garage you can park there as well!) drop your stuff, and wander about.  We chose not to wander, but to park and socialize.  The main hang out was across the river and around the bend at South Bank (one of our favorite spots in the city) but with about 1/2 million people expected to be there, we decided to go for 300+.  Glad we did, and one of the guys Lyle works with reported it was shoulder to shoulder.  Not good with short kids!
     The fireworks were something to see.  We have never been to a show this elaborate, long, and loud!  It was coordinated to music, but no one remembered to bring a radio!  We decided our favorite fireworks were the spiraling ones that went in all directions, the rapid fire fanning and multicolored ones, and the best of all was the firework waterfall coming down from the Storey Bridge.  In addition to the bridge based pyrotechnics, there were several barges anchored all along the river firing like mad too.  The show stretched along the river for nearly a mile, everything coordinated beautifully!  There were 3 bridges, something like 6 barges, and over 1 million people along the river to view it all.  Amazing!  If you want to see the stretch of river involved, go to Google Maps and look up Brisbane.  Look for the Storey Bridge, then go upstream around the bend to North Quay.  You should see 3 bridges on the map there-pedestrian, dedicated busroute, and general traffic.  The best part, since it is just heading into spring, the show was at 7:00, so we were able to make it home about 9:30.
     Once the show was over, we packed up and headed back to Queen Street Mall for the underground bus pickup.  Ian was exhausted by this time-he doesn't take a nap anymore (I miss those naps more than he does!) and he fell asleep as I piggy backed him half a mile or so.  Lyle had Annika's hand and 3 camp chairs-trust me, I got the best deal!  We made it through the maze that is the bus depot and even found seats on the bus-a big deal when you have that many people running for home.  Thanks to Translink for making them free until 10 pm too!  Annika was asleep on my lap in the first mile, and had to start waking her up 3 stops from home.  She was wiped out!  Then we had a 300m walk back to the "flat" and bedtime.
     Sunday was a bit mellower as we had a late night on Saturday.  We had decided to go to the beach at the Gold Coast, but Annika and Ian's behavior pretty much nuked that idea.  I won't take them someplace if they act like spoiled monsters.  So, when Lyle was ready for his afternoon run, we went to Minnippi Parklands, took the camp chairs and hung out there for a few hours.  Glad we did too-much less stressful than hauling stuff to the beach on an iffy weather day!  Kids played until they were worn out, Lyle had a nice run and Alex rode her scooter with him.  Lyle tore some muscle fibers in his calf a couple of weeks ago and has a 10k run to do as part of the festival this coming weekend, so has been babying it.  Looks like he will be ready to go!  However, (always a however, or a but, isn't there) he's traveling all this week and cannot pick up his racepack, or get another run in before the race.  Solution-Gayle and Ian get to take the bus into town on Wednesday or Thursday, get to the office, hope the reception desk HAS the packs still, and get back home with it.  Ian loves the busses, and frankly, I like them too.  Lyle's not so enamored with them-he's too tall and doesn't fit in the seats well at all.  Thinking that we will look for a house next year to rent near a train stop.  That's a future entry though.
     On the "where's the stuff" front, good news all around!  We get our container tomorrow!  It was originally scheduled for Friday last week, but a pine cone Christmas craft was confiscated.  We were given the choice of incineration (free) or heat fumigation ($550).  Guess what we picked?  None of the kids really recognized it from the picture in the email, no sentimental value, bye bye pine cone!  At least we don't have the 2-3 week delay and every box opened and scrutinized in detail story for this one.  I have heard stories from others that make me very glad for our little pine cone.  So, our luxury campout on air mattresses and picnicing on the living room floor will come to an end.  To be replaced with tons of boxes and not much space to put it all.  I plan to unpack, sort, and repack most of what we own over the next week, storing it in the garage below.  Less space = less stuff!  But, I won't get rid of much as when we do move into a house, we will want it back!
     So, what's going on this week that you will hear about later?  Lyle is off for his first full week of traveling fun!  He left in the cab at the same time as we left to walk to school.  He'll be back sometime Friday.  Tuesday, get our stuff day.  Wednesday, go to town for race stuff day AND the Arts Show at school in the evening.  Thursday-full on unpacking day, Friday too.  After school Friday is Annika's parent teacher conference for 3rd term, Alex's will most likely be sometime towards the end of the week as well.
     A happy 91st birthday to Grandpa Gene!  The family had a wonderful surprise brunch Sunday morning for him.  I had to content myself with a phone call, but so nice to be able to call so easily.  I also visited with cousin Kim on the phone this week and Skype has been great as well.  We got to see the new puppy!  She's all sorts of cute.  Dad gave us the backyard tour of the new concrete and storage shed spot as well.  I gave them the laptop tour of the flat.  Tiny, but functional.

Aussie Birds-It's Spring, bombs away!

     Just a teaser in the title today, we'll get to the birds in a few!
     Alex did a spectacular job at the music performance last night!  She sang a solo with a group of 4 girls who did a pretty good job with Ain't no Mountain High Enough.  It was a bit of a zoo-one of the girls didn't show for the concert so they drafted 2 year 7 girls to fill in last minute.  For that matter, the entire evening was a bit thrown together, but the effort on the part of the kids was nice and it was good to see so many kids enjoying the music.  Thank you to Coorparoo Primary for letting us use their Auditorium-beautiful facility!  And thank you to Wenatchee music teachers-your standards are high and Alex was missing your organization and encouragement last night!
     Now, back to the birds.  Australia has several similar bird species to North America.  A couple you would find very familiar also have the same names-the Crow and the Magpie.  1st, the Magpie.  Here's a link to Wikipedia describing the bird and a nice picture too.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Magpie
As for the bird itself, it is a bit larger than our Magpie, but just as noisy.  I was at the park last week with Ian and one hopped up next to me, eyeballing me like I was going to steal his lunch.  Turns out I may have just done that, in his mind.  He proceeded to ram his beak all the way up to his eyes several times into the mulch, and on the 4th or 5th try, came out with a lovely and very large grub.  It was black and white and about the size of a large person's thumb!  Yum, I think.  As spring is just getting into swing here, nesting season is also starting.  These guys are very territorial and will attack anything walking or riding under their tree.  Lyle was dive bombed a few days ago, and there is a tree stand at school with warning signs on the fence.  It is suggested to bring an umbrella or wear a large hat to protect yourself!
     My personal favorite is the Australian Raven.  These guys are huge and loud!  They don't say Caw, more of a groaning cry that really freaked us out until we figured out what the heck it was.  If I can figure out how to post sounds, I'll record one and get up here sometime.  We just call it the Crow Aussie accent.  These guys are smart and like to hang out with human inhabited areas.  They have figured out that schools are the best!  There are no real cafeterias in schools here and the kids eat sack lunches outside, usually under the elevated buildings or under canopy shades.  They store their packs and lunches outside on shelves or hooks, typically unzipped so they can grab snacks and books on their way out and about.  The birds know this and will go for any food that is not in a solid container.  Alex was warned by several girls to keep her bag closed until she got a hard sided lunchbox and watched a Raven fly off with a kid's sandwich still in the baggie yesterday.  Here's some info on our Ravens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Raven if you are interested.
     As for other birds, there are so many!  The lorikeets are adorable and so fast!  They are most active and noisy at sunrise and sunset.  Understand they are the favorite food for Perigrine Falcons, so they fly in large coordinated flocks-and can they fly fast!  They look like a feathered school of fish flying together!  There is another bird I call a sentry bird-if one sees something it does't like it starts screeching and the rest take up the cry.  Nothing like about 200 of them going off at sunrise to wake you up in the morning!  Add in the kookaburra laughing at dawn, and it's a noisy way to get your day going.

Busy week this week!

     So, several things are happening this week!  Alex was asked to sing at the all school music festival this Wednesday as part of a trio.  Have to get her to the Corparoo Auditorium at 5 and the performances start at 6.  Lyle will leave work a bit early so he can make it!
     The rental furniture will be picked up on Thursday, and cross your fingers that our container clears and can be delivered on Friday!  We get updates from the shipping company as each step is happening.  Today is the 1st inspection, tomorrow customs gets to have a go at it.  We have a short list of things to get to tide us over.  Think basic camping gear-air mattresses, paper plates, plastic cutlery, cups, etc.  At least we have food and a fridge!  Roughing it, luxury style!  I will not think about the customs nightmare stories we keep hearing-taking 3 weeks to clear instead of 2 days!  Once our things get here, it will take several days to set things to rights.  So very glad we found a place with a 2 car garage-1 space for the car, the other for the boxes of stuff and furniture we can't fit in here!  It will be very tight.   Also, not enough electrical plugs, so running the computer and TV will be interesting.
     We went to Movie World on Sunday.  The weather finally gave us a break from the rain, so we took off.  Nice place-enough to do in 1 day and not be totally exhausted.  Love the off season-the kids did ride after ride after ride!  Do have to put in a plug here though-these are NOT Disney caliber.  But, once you've been to Disney, nothing is ever going to be as good!
     It has been so nice having our local phone number for family to call.  My sister Meg calls when her middle of the night lunch break allows.  It's early evening for us, so we can have a real conversation!  Skype has been great too-the kids love seeing their grandparents and telling them everything they are doing.  I figured out how to call Australia numbers from it as well as they are part of the phone package. You have do dial 011 (tells the system overseas)  61 (Australia code) 07 (Brisbane exchange) then the local number.  Works like a charm!  Alex can now call her friends' local landlines and can borrow my cell to call a local cell to avoid overseas charges for them.  Phone numbers here are different numbers based on the type of business or phone.  Government and most business landlines are 6 digit, or for a free call start with 1800 then 6 digits.  Brisbane numbers start with an 07 then 7 digits, cell or mobile numbers in this area start with 0404 or 0405 and then 8 digits.  Lots of numbers, for sure!
     Lyle will be traveling Sunday to Wednesday next week.  The school is having their Art exhibit that night and the cab may be dropping him off at school with us so he can make it!  The campus has added 2 life sized painted cows that the students entered at the Ekka festival a couple of weeks ago.  They took home awards, and the cows.  Interesting, yes?!  I'll get some pics once they are installed-they are very colorful!
     My Grandpa Gene is celebrating his 91st birthday next week!  Happy Birthday Grandpa!  I'll give you a call sometime over the weekend!

Reality check

Seems like we are right on schedule for a reality check. I've been blue and teary all week. Been greeting Lyle after work with tears, snot, the whole package. Definitely not the usual me! Reflecting on this all though, it's going swimmingly. It's been about 6 weeks, and that's about when vacation feelings end and the desire for old routines surfaces. We're not talking about a gentle rise for a puff of fresh air either, a full scale Blue Whale out of the water breach that rocks everything. So, yesterday was the end of it. I'm done with the blues, at least until the next scheduled happening!
With the return of our Internet connection we can visit with family once more. We Skyped mom and dad and I've used the Vonage to call as well. Had a nice long talk with Gene and Louise this morning and it was so nice to hear their voices. We also called grandma Claudia before going to school-heaven! Meg called during her 3am lunch break last night so at least we can talk to her on a normal evening. I know we are going to use the phone a lot!
Some good news on the house selling front as well. I sent back the offer signed and accepted, so hope that progresses to closing. There were 2 families interested, so they each gave us good offers and we took the best one. I think that is what really made the blues hit so hard-the house was the last physical tie to Wenatchee, and we loved the house, neighbors, kids schools. You know how hard it is to leave something you really love. . .
Annika will be going to a birthday party this Saturday and Lyle will be trying a run too. He did "something" to his calf last week-pulled his run up short and walked it back. He seems to be much better-he'd better heal fast as he has a 10 k Bridge to Brisbane in the next couple of weeks! So, we have not decided on an adventure for the weekend. The weather is going to be rainy and windy most of the weekend, so we'll see what we end up doing.
Several big breaths, chocolate, and a nice glass of wine tonight. All better! Also on the all better bit, I have continued to shed some extra weight. Not really sure how much as the scale is in the container, but none of the pants I brought fit anymore! Stress and anxiety are at least good for something.

Weekend!

     Seeing as we already have season tickets we decided to put them to good use!  The crowd ventured down to the Gold Coast just north of a little town called Surfer's Paradise for a day at Sea World Australia! We can now claim to have seen 4 Sea World parks-San Diego, San Antonio, Orlando, and now Gold Coast!  It is very much the off season here, so very few people and some attractions closed for repair, but a good day.  Few people = no lines for rides, and boy did we take advantage.  Annika is now just tall enough to ride some of the  more thrilling rides-they have a Jet Sea Rescue ride that is a blast-55 mph on a roller coaster jet ski.  Yikes!  Lyle was too tall for it, and Annika was at the height where she had to have an adult next to her, so yep, the Non Adrenaline junkie had to go with her.  Next time Lyle will wear his 5 fingers since his shoes put him over the 200 cm mark and he gets to ride with her!  Maybe.  Ian is still thrilled with carousels and putt putt rides, much more my style!  Alex L-O-V-E-S the big coasters along with her dad.  I'll hang with Ian, thank you very much!
     It rained a bit in the afternoon-a soft rain, more like a heavy falling mist.  No big drops, little breeze, not much.  The kids were doing the log flume ride over and over and over and apparently not getting wet enough.  So, brilliant idea, to head over to the Castaway Cay area for the pirate ship water battle.  Great idea guys!  Alex and Annika happily boarded with Ian leading the way, (Lyle not so happily, but an adult had to go with Ian!  I called NOT IT first ;-) )  Then the fire hose hand cranked water cannon fight was on.  Spectators from the side shot Lyle all up-he was soaked in minutes, Ian huddled next to Daddy and stayed fairly dry.  Alex had brought an REI jacket that the water at least mostly ran off of and loved the fight.  Annika, well, this was more than she bargained for.  By the end, she was as tear soaked as water soaked, and that is saying something.  We got everyone back into the car (free parking by the way!), turned on the heat and they were out within minutes.  It's about a 45 minute drive back home for us, so expect we'll be getting our use out of these passes this year.  Movie World (think Universal Studios Warner Brothers) is on our agenda for another weekend, but most likely not this one upcoming.  The weather forecast for the next 10 days is rain, rain, and more rain.  Rained for 1/2 the day today, with intermittent sunshine and has been raining most of the evening.  Love the sound of my rainwater tank filling up-free water to flush the toilets and wash the clothes!
     Other notes this week-our internet will hopefully be up and running sometime Tuesday (Monday for those of you at home)!  One more little wire to tie into our phone board and finally we can Skype and talk!  I think all of the bouts of homesickness this week have been because of the continually dashed hopes for the last 2 weeks getting this all up and running.  I had a fantastic temper tantrum Friday when I finally got put through to the technical scheduler to get this connected, only to be told via auto voice that the guy was unavailable and that his voicemail box was full, "thanks for calling, goodbye".  Ian was impressed.  In retrospect, I was too.  Haven't had one like that in about 11 years.  Felt pretty good.
     Also, our cargo container will be making port in the next couple of days!  According to the preliminary schedule, it should be delivered 1 September.  Which is good, as that is the day our rental furniture is scheduled to be picked up!  Let's see if something will schedule as planned for this move!  Nothing else has, but hope springs eternal.
     Thanks for the email and FB notes about my homesick mess this week.  We're getting through it-big breath and take 1 day at a time.  Hoping that in a few months we'll look back on this and giggle, and everyone says that we will.  In the meantime, I have a huge rack of laundry hang drying in my living room, 2 exhausted kids passed out upstairs, Alex getting ready for bed, and the grownups relaxing and gearing up for another week.  Ian gets to visit a Prep classroom tomorrow-he starts school in January and can hardly wait to get his uniform!  Miss everyone-

Our Ekka Holiday

     Seeing as we went to Ekka already this week, we took our day and went exploring.  We decided on going to the Daisy Hills Preserve area, about 20 minutes from here.  It is a great area of native bushland, and about the only area that is still native in the Brisbane area.  No houses for about 1000 hectares (about 3500 acres), but bordered by koala friendly housing developments.  This is one of the few areas koalas can still live in their natural setting.  Every other koala we have seen has been in a zoo type setting.  We didn't see any wild ones today, but plan to go back to see!  We did see a wild kangaroo though!  The area is riddled with walking, biking, and horse trails and we can hardly wait for the bikes to get here now.  It appears to be mostly dirt roads, some terrain, and nothing technical to ride.  It rained a bit and was quite cool, so we only stayed for a few hours.  Annika and Ian both fell asleep on the ride home!  Nice for them to have a midweek nap.
     The kids are home again on Thursday for a teacher comp day.  The plumber is coming to do the water conservation certification for the unit and the electrician will be back to see why the front porch light is not working AND to connect the phone line to the phone company box.  Then maybe, just maybe, we can have our internet connection working!  Skype, here we come!  To be able to call home on the Vonage and TALK to someone again-glorious!
     We decided to splurge and buy passes for everyone to some of the theme parks down on the Gold Coast.  Wet and Wild water park, Sea World Australia, and Movie World (Warner Brothers) are included.  You can visit as many times as you want until June 30 of next year.  Sweet!  We're hoping to go to Sea World next weekend and break these things in.  Seeing as we are 45 minutes away, we figure we will get plenty of use out of them over the next year.  And the beaches down there-apparently some of the best in the world, so planning on relaxing there whenever possible as well.  Bring it on!

Ekka

     What the heck is Ekka?  Or Ekker as the locals say.  Think State Fair times 40 and you have Ekka.  It is a local celebration of Queensland agriculture-complete with animal barn where the kids can pet all sorts of farm critters (we got to hold baby chicks!), learn about different breeds of horses, sheep, and dairy cows, and don't forget it is election season so lots of politicians strolling about too.  They have a great food pavilion with tons of gourmet goodies and simple things like grilled cheese sandwiches.  The midway was very cool-lots of huge rides (we passed these up this year) and a section called the Showbag Pavilion.  This was perhaps the most unique part of the whole day.  Imagine if you will, a huge expo hall filled with booths that sells themed bags filled with all sorts of stuff.  Candy, toys, games, you name it, they most likely have it!  Check out the stuff at www.showbags.com.au and you'll see what I mean.  Annika got a Barbie bag with backpack, slippers, stickers galore, drawstring bag and a 3-D dress up paperish Barbie.  Ian got a Spiderman bad with lunchbox, comic book, mask, catch toy, and I think a coloring book.  Hard to tell as the pieces are scattered all over the living/dining room right now.  Alex got a shoulderbag with a necklace, bracelet, pencil or makeup bag (I'm delusional-it's a pencil bag please!) and I think a small vial of perfume.  Lyle and I got fudge-oh, yum!
     Now, I have not been to the Western Idaho Fair in years.  This is so much bigger.  They also have a metro area of 3 million to draw attendance from, and I think nearly all of them tried to get in to the Showbag pavilion today.  I kid you not, shoulder to shoulder and barely moving at all.  I had a death grip on poor Ian and people would try to get between us-they just don't look down!  We were all glad to get out of there and enjoy a cup of cookies and cream ice cream sitting on the curb of a closed off street.  Whew!
     We took the train into town today-drove the car out to Murarrie station and took about 35 minutes to get into town.  The way back was even free as it was included in the price of admission.  There is a station right in the middle of the expo grounds and we had to transfer at the Roma street station downtown.  Discovered the train line stops in South Bank where we can catch a cheap movie and play in the pools and the performing arts center is there as well, and it also stops a few blocks from the Gabba where Aussie rules football is played, as well as Cricket.  Parking the car at the station is the way to go!
     As we are nearly a full day ahead of everyone here, I have to wish my cousin Jennifer and her new husband congratulations on their wedding today!  Dad emailed a beautiful picture of Jen and her Dad to me.  Wish we could be there beautiful!
     The kids have Wednesday off of school for the Ekka holiday and Thursday is a teacher work day.  Yes, that is how strongly they feel about it in this region!  The outer suburbs and towns are taking Monday as their Ekka holiday and I understand that both days will be even more crowded than today was.  Lyle is going on his first travel trip Monday and Tuesday.  The cab is scheduled to pick him up at 4:30 am and he should be back about 6 pm on Tuesday.  He will also be gone for 3 weeks in October to visit 2 sites, but is pretty sure he will be home on the weekends.  Glad for that!