First Kangaroo Sighting!

The Boy saw his first Kanagaroo... Check out the picture below!!!!

Boy Bonding

I've been living in my own home for 11 years. Married for 8 1/2 years. I have NEVER really had sports on a TV in my house. Sometimes D. would come over and the boys would watch part of a hockey game. If I wasn't paying attention, Hubby might watch some golf here and there. But we just don't watch sports.

And then we moved to OZ. Did you know that there is rugby on TV EVERY NIGHT? Even more crazy is the fact that my boys are absolutely GLUED to it. If given a choice, the Boy will actually choose watching rugby over watching one of his usual shows.

Hubby did play rugby in University, but I assumed he played in order to get in on the really good drinking parties. But it seems it's genetic, because the boy is genuinely excited to watch it. Maybe because it's something he can do with his dad - something they have in common and can really connect over.

Or maybe it's something to fall asleep to! :)

For the non-believers

I cooked my first "Australian" meal today. Actually, it's the first time I've cooked in about two weeks! We had BBQ Kangaroo (ok, marinated in BBQ sauce, then fried), Herbed Mint Baby Potatoes and Caprese Salad. The pictures below speak for themselves, I think!

The table is set! We've been eating all our meals on the balcony. The fresh air is nice while we eat... Such decadence! 8D

YUMMYLICIOUS!

Caleb tries kangaroo for the first time. And the verdict is...

TWO THUMBS UP!

Caleb and Daddy enjoy a Tim Tam cheers for dessert.

New Neighbourhood?

We toured Milton/Auchenflower/Paddington this weekend in order to determine if the neighbourhood would be a good fit... Well, we absolutely love it! (Hubby done good in pre-screening the place!)

There were families walking through the Rosalie shops and cafes, playing in the playground, roaming the streets on bikes and scooters. And the playground! The pics don't do it justice. Multiple climbing structures, swings, a maze, covered picnic areas, WASHROOMS (!), a huge soccer field - all in the school's backyard. The school also has its own pool for swimming classes. Yeah, I'd say this would be a pretty cool place to call home.

This is the covered picnic area... on the right are the washrooms...

This is the back of Milton State School. It's even bigger than it looks. I'll miss the small community of ECPS, but it'll be interesting to see how this big population is managed.

Going to see some properties in the neighbourhood tomorrow morning... Wish us luck!

For Wookie...

These were waiting in our fridge upon check-in. Gotta love that Aussie hospitality! :)

Our new home (for now!)

Here are some pics of our new home. It's a great serviced apartment hotel (apartments with cleaning ladies - woohoo!). Hubby can get to work in the downtown core, and there is tonnes for us to do while he's toiling away.

Like most hotel rooms - the first thing you see when you walk in is the bathroom. The boy demonstrates one of its uses for us:

The kids' room is next. They are very excited to share a room! I told them that this would be their test to see if they could share a room and not kill each other or drive us crazy. So far, it hasn't been too bad.

Through the sliding doors is the main living area. We spend most of our time in there (the little time that we are in the apt).

Up the stairs is our master suite. There is a separate bathroom/shower for us as well as a closet. It's nice to be set apart from the kids, but without closed doors so we can hear their shenanigans.

The view from above!

Our mini dishwasher:



So, it's small, but it's home (for now!). We're hoping to get in to see some places in the next few days. As fun as it is around here, we seem to be in the middle of party central. Awesome when you're in your twenties and childless, not so good when the monsters get up before 6am!

The long, long flight...

Well, we all survived being on a plane for 15 1/2 hours, then transferring to another plane for another 2 1/2 hours. The girl waited until the last hour of the first flight to launch a temper tantrum, so we would consider the trip a success. Our luggage didn't work out so well - only half made it with us. The half with hubby's clothes (thank goodness) but we were missing most of my clothes, all of my "make me pretty" supplies and most of the kids' books. The good news is that they arrived two days later.

Oh - and I must point out that Qantas has an increased bag allowance for people who are moving - we could have brought SIXTEEN suitcases. So hubby totally got off easy. So there.

A Long Layover in LA - Part 2

Spent the afternoon yesterday on the beach. First stop was Jody Maroni's for a Chicken Apple Sausage and Chili Cheese Fries, then we walked along the ocean till we found a spot on the beach. Then the burials began:

Who is that buried sand monster?

I see a vadamonster!

Where's the rest of him?

It was a nice way to spend the afternoon after the busyness of the morning. The men frolicked with the kids in the surf while the girlz lounged on the beach. My mother seemed amused by my phone call from the beach to let her know we had arrived ok.

I think the kids wore out the men.

A Long Layover in LA

So, as most know, we decided to spent two days relaxing in LA to help break up the big trip. Damn - are we smart! We had a GREAT first day - and already have some fun stories and pictures to share.

First up - leaving the airport. We had a heck of a time arranging for our rental vehicle - and Auntie M had trouble picking it up. So she showed up at the airport with her Honda FIT. Just to put it into perspective, her FIT makes our IMPREZA look big. *lol* So, we loaded up the kids into the FIT, left Hubby at the airport with the luggage and went off in search of the vehicle needed to hold all our bags for a couple of days.

The rental place was locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Spike belts, security guards, checkpoints. It was crazy. And we had to pay cash, up-front. And they wanted Social Security Numbers and credit checks. Clearly, they've had some trouble in the past. After an hour, we returned to the airport and thankfully, Hubby and luggage were still there. Then the fun really began.

So, we have no cell phones - we left those with our former employers. We have no GPS - well, we have a GPS, but Hubby deleted the US maps to make room for the Australian maps. We didn't even have one of those old fashioned paper maps on us. And I've only been to LA once. So we relied solely on following Auntie M from LAX to her home near Venice Beach. No problem - she drives a bright blue car. It can't be that hard to keep up with her. HA. We didn't even get off the airport property and she was GONE. Vanished. Taken an exit that was clearly VERY hidden!

So we found ourselves driving down Century Blvd with NO idea where we were or where we needed to go. And no cell phone to let Auntie M know where we were and what we were doing. We pulled over into the nearest gas station, bought a map, got change, called Uncle I to update Auntie M and found our way home. Thank goodness I paid attention in grade 10 geography!

PHOTOS ARE COMING!

Photos of our adventure so far are coming... just need my own computer to upload them. That said, if anyone sees a photo that they do NOT want posted, please just email or message me and I will remove it immediately.

Thanks!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

As many of my friends know, I was truly DREADING the flights. The Girl does not have a reputation for being particularly cooperative while traveling. On our last trip to LA, she was THAT child on the plane. Yup - she screamed for the entire last hour of the flight - all the way into the terminal even - and she was four years old. Sweet.

That said, we loaded up our 8 suitcases (we ended up purchasing 3 large duffle bags at Wal~Mart late Saturday evening), 4 carry-ons and various personal items into my friends van on Saturday night. She deserves a PLATINUM star for getting up at 4am to drive me and the bags to the airport. I love her and miss her already :( We also had a surprise visitor at the airport on a motorbike to see us off. I really think we might be missed a little while we're gone. ;)

The monsters were practically ANGELIC on the flights to TO and LA! I know - I can't believe it either, and I was THERE! Not a single temper tantrum on the plane, they carried their own carry-ons, and stayed close and in line during the very short time we had to get through customs. THANK GAWD. They did totally spontaneously combust once they decompressed in LA, but I can't blame them. It was a long day. I can only hope that they are as well behaved on the longest flight Tuesday night... Cross your fingers, toes, ankles etc....

Transporting all the luggage through the airport really wasn't THAT bad. I think even Hubby has to admit that. We just loaded them onto two carts and had the kids walk beside us with theirs. Another big relief.

So the moral of the story - the flight was great, the kids were good, and I'm sure we're crazy for doing this, but it's been fun so far!

The last few weeks..,

Well, I really wanted to update this before we left the country, but it just wasn't meant to be. The last two weeks have been a flurry of goodbye lunches, dinner parties, packing, arguing with hubby and beating the children (ok, so that last part was an exaggeration btw).

The kids finished school - and I finished my responsibilities with the Breakfast Program at school. Despite his difficulties with conforming to the rules at school, The Boy performed very well academically, even earning the Mathematics Award! The Girl has been a model student all year and received rave reviews from her teacher. We do have some items to work on in order to ensure she finished her "prep" year in Aus with a bang. For me, leaving the Breakfast Program was bittersweet. It was A LOT of work and a big commitment of time, but I made some dear friends whom I will miss. I will also miss the kids. Seeing their faces and the excitement when serving them makes it so worth all the effort it took to launch the program.

As for the dinner parties and lunches - WOW! If you ever want to find out if you're loved, just move out of country! ;) We were so lucky to have a dinner hosted by my Dad and his wife and had the opportunity to visit with many family members whom we don't get to see often. I also got to have a few "girlfriend" lunches, and a crazy Girlz Night Out (I'll let you try to figure out who has the new "Catwoman" nickname!). This leaves me with a query though: who am I going to get into trouble with in Brisbane? :( For the last party, we hosted as many friends as we could squeeze into our house for an Open House/BBQ. The turn out was phenomenal and I think it helped ease the sadness of leaving to be able to spend a great day with so many friends and family. A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who took the time to visit, write messages and post Facebook Status Updates. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would have the opportunity to call all of these people my friends, I would have NEVER believed you.

In the end, after a long, drawn out "discussion", we did end up bringing eight bags of luggage with us. Please believe me when I say this is not bragging, or me saying "I told you so". It's a pretty hollow victory. That said, Hubby and I both had to leave some "things" behind that we'd rather have with us, but we worked together to find a solution to fit what we needed. A SUGGESTION TO EVERYONE: Take some time to scale down your stuff NOW. Have a garage sale, donate to the Diabetes Clothesline (or other charity of your choice), pass items down to friends. It's way easier to simplify your life now, when you don't have to, as compared to having to do it at an emotional time (moving, death in the family etc). That said, it's time to go SHOPPING! :)