Another Christmas Passed

The picture was made for Santa by Zed, and the note written by Alex.

It is funny how much time is spent preparing for a single day... time spent in thought, time spent decorating, time spent deciding then finding then purchasing items.... then there is the time spent wrapping at those items. Then of course there is the time spent talking about it; doing baking and decorating of the baking. Time spent writing christmas stories, poems and coloring pictures and decorations. There is the time spent on the tree and then time spent anticipating the time passing by. So much time for one day... that comes and goes just like any other day... except with the added in time spent preparing an exquisite meal and desserts to accompany that meal. Oh, and don't forget the presents! I don't know about you but we don't usually open presents every morning.
I want to be clear that I am NOT complaining at all; simply commenting on the time aspect, as I really hadn't thought a whole lot about it. Not really. This Christmas however, I felt I had too much time. We had no friends to visit with. No snow to go sledding in, or build into a snowman. No place to go ice skating. And worst of all, no family to look forward to seeing. This Christmas we truly understood how important that aspect of Christmas really is.
Yes, it was defiantly strange to be shopping wearing shorts, t-shirts and sandles. And the thought of Christmas being 'just around the corner' and the only thing falling was the beads of sweat down your face just from standing outside seemed just wrong. (Snow and Christmas was intended to be a cohesive unit!) Neither Wade nor myself seemed to have that real enthusiasm for the coming holidays as we usually do. It was just hard to find... we tried! We were one of the first houses to be out with our ladders, decorating the outside of our home with Christmas trimmings, and the inside too! We put up our tree, made heaps of decorations to accessorize with and wrote Christmas stories (complete with pictures!). We wrote poems, learned how to sign "We wish you a merry Christmas" whilst singing it... read christmas stories for weeks. We went over the true meaning of Christmas (daily) and even found an organization the builds orphanages/foster homes to make regular contributions to.  And believe it or not I MADE A PIE!!! For those who know me and the grief I've had with trying to make a pie (from scratch) you know what an accomplishment this was/is. And it even tasted good. Bonus! Nothing seemed to really work (for me at least).

As the days crept by, my sadness crept in. For the first time since moving here I felt very far from home. I missed my sister and mom in a way I couldn't have imagined. I missed going to the farm and eating Carrie's beautiful pies and other yummy desserts. I truly missed the chaos (that I swore I despised) of driving to so many different houses in a short amount of time, to make the visits with various family members around the provinces. I felt the deep sadness of knowing I was missing my little nephews first christmas. I felt pangs of regret that I wouldn't be able to hug Carrie and Jay, and share in the truly exciting and marvellous news of their first Christmas as first time expectant parents. I know this all sounds so selfish, but this Christmas my heart broke as the day passed on, and I was all too aware of everything I was missing back home, and everything home was missing of us.

I don't think the kids were missing as much as I was though; they bounded into the playroom (where the tree was set up) and Wade had a hard time keeping them at bay while they waited for me to finish getting Maileigh out of bed.
 With great enthusiasm they worked their way through the wrapped bundles that lay under the Christmas tree.... all except Maileigh. She was the only one who noticed all the little candy canes that had not been there before. She was quite content with working her way through those rather than the presents that had been piled up in front of her. She would help here and there, but more or less she kept herself well stocked with those little candy canes she was hoarding from off the tree.

After presents it was crepes, eggs and bacon for breakfast. Then we just hung out for a bit while the kids explored their new toys. After a Skype session with my sister and mom, we had a quick lunch and headed out to the dam. The kids had received nets, snorkelling sets (I too, was surprised by a pick set laid beside the boys' inside the blow-up boat the kids had received - Wade broke our promise of not gifting each other; but I of course accepted the (much desired) gift begrudgingly).
    The kids put on their new sun shirts, packed up their flippers and masks, put themselves and the dog in the van and we were off. We stayed at the dam for a few hours, then returned home too late to put on the Christmas ham. We had pork chops and veggies instead - cooked to perfection by Wade of course. Then it was off to bed. The day so eagerly awaited ended just as quickly as it had begun.
The next few days were a bit of a blur as well. The town in which we live is basically closed down for a few days, so there isn't really anything to do here at all. That was fine with us because we just headed to Capella anyway. We spent just about the whole next day at Capella pool, as a family. And we returned again the day following that.
Today we are resting - expect Wade; who has been bound and determined to fit the screening around our back patio. He has done a superb job. Maybe now we can cook without it sounding as though the flies are going to break the door down! Tonight we finally cooked our Christmas dinner and it was fabulous. It was everything a Christmas dinner should be; delicious in sight, smell and taste. We were happy, talking, laughing and afterwards, very full! It was worth the wait!!
I have to admit that it has been enjoyable to listen to Maileigh work on her vocabulary this past week. She now says (with words, not signing with her hands), very well, "Jesus" "Santa" "I want that" "I did it!" "Thank-you".
For those of you who read this... Merry Christmas. I am glad Christmas is over, and even more glad we are going to be resuming school next week. Full days mean busy days, which to me, mean happy days. It is hard to miss so much, when you are so busy teaching and learning with your kids.

Happy Birthday Jesus.

Maileigh enjoying her gift from Santa
(notice yet another candy cane in her mouth and reserves in her hand?)

Holy SNAKE!!!

Our Pictures I took Dec16. 2011- Actually I had Zed snap the one of Wade & I... what talent!

Just about every night I take our dog, JB out for an evening run. Sometimes I jog, most times I ride my bike, especially with it being 'snake season' and all. I have to say that I did think I would see more of those heart pumping, adrenaline spiking creatures, but I have not. I have seen a couple dead ones; all baby size, but nothing more interesting than that. I have heard stories from my friends and even seen the pictures of them holding 5 foot long dead ones that had found on their and (illegally) killed. One time I had seen one slipping into the bushes as we were driving to Mackay, but nothing else.  So I became a little complaicent thinking that the likelihood of me seeing one was close to none.
Well about a week or so ago I saw, what I thought, was a little dead one on the road. As I had done before I circled around on my bike, lifted my feet up (just in case) and rolled over it... opps THAT one was defiantly alive!  A moment or tow later I saw it turn back towards the bush and quickly blend into the grass and it made its way back there. It was just a baby one, most likely a baby brown - very poisonous still but just a baby. I thought "cool" and didn't think much more about it. Then the other night, I decided to take Zed along with me and we rode our bikes. I usually ride alongside the road so JB can run next to the bush and enjoy all the smells and grassy area instead of her running on the hard sidewalk and stopping to pee on peoples property (pet peeve of mine!). Before I knew it a huge (and I mean HUGE) snake let out a violent hiss and a warning lunge toward JB and she tried to get a better look as she ran past it. The snake must have been making it way back across the road from the houses side (yikes).  Immediatly I yelled for Zed (who was just ahead of me and heading straight toward the waiting snake) to go to the other side of the road. JB is not a stupid dog and she too made a large circle around the snake and followed Zed to the other side. Even now my heart is thumping crazily. Within in seconds I was with Zed and JB directly across the road from the snake... massive snake. This snake was either really dark brown or black on its back and at least six feet long.

This is a pic from online but looks VERY close to the
size we saw that night.

Its body was about the size of my forearm, as far as I could tell in the poorly lit road and being across the road as well. I wanted to stay and watch it but I immediately thought of Wade - he too desperately wanted to see a live, decent sized snake. We bolted back on our bikes, and I told Wade to take my bike and go see it. Unfortunately the snake had already returned to the bush. Bummer. I now have no desire to talk JB on walks in the bush... actually knowing the size of snakes that are living in there.
It is different to be told about them and actually seeing them! Wade and I looked up the snake online and from what I described it was either a inland taipan  or a red-belly black snake.
BOTH snakes are deadly and considered to be two

Red-belly black snake 

are considered to be the most venomous snakes in the world. As I understand it, the inland taipan is tends to be on the shy side and would rather run then fight... the red-belly black snake though... not so much. They tend to be very aggressive and will attack with little to no provocation. I am leaning more the side of the inland taipan from what I can remember about the color and 'mannerisms' of the snake. It could have easily gotten JB the first time around but chose not to....
No one will know for sure and I am kicking myself for not taking the time to get a really good look at it - from a distance of course! But I really wanted to give Wade the opportunity to see it; maybe next time.

Anyway, nothing else interesting has been happening. We've been continuing with school, but completing more christmassy type crafts and activities. The older boys have written christmas stories, with illustrations, and the younger ones have done some crafts. We attended a not so great christmas party for Wade's work, took our family picture and set up the family christmas tree.

We have a couple of house guests.... we are caring for two birds and two mice for our friends who are away until the end of the month. The kids love to watch the birds fly around the house, and truly enjoy holding the mice.

 I am not a fan of either it seems.( Funny how age changes you.) I don't like how the birds poop on everything, and I really and truly don't enjoy the smell that radiates from the mouse cage. Thankfully, we can put the mice out during the day and the birds also have their own outdoor cage they spend the day in. Those two can be VERY noisy!
Today we have a family appointment for skin checks... what a way to end the year. Checking for skin cancer! It is wonderful living in a part of the world where you tan through your sun screen and sun shirt but it comes with it's down sides too... one of those being the greatly increased chance of skin cancer. The other day I was outside for barely two hours mowing the lawn, and I'd gotten the worst sunburn I have had since moving here. It was 9am for heaven's sake!!!
Ah well, it is lunch time, which means it is time for the cook to return to the kitchen. We love and miss you all very much. This Christmas isn't feeling at all like christmas....

6 MONTHS!!! It's been half a year already!

The kids on Halloween

JB went as a dolphin.

I can not believe it has been 6 months already. Time flies by, even when if feels like it is dragging; which for me, is rare.  I know many of you have been checking to see if I have updated, and honestly I have been trying to get to this. I keep thinking, as soon as I get those pictures ready to load.... as soon as I do this or that, I'll pop on there and write a little something. Well, I am going to try to make a thing of it to write something every Sunday (your Saturday), whether or not pictures have been touched up... You've missed a lot! So here goes!
October we celebrated Alexander's 6th
and

         Jonathan's 3rd birthday anniversaries. We had a joint party, invited some other HS (homeschooling) families and threw a "body party". We played don't get slapped (bouncing water-filled medical gloves on the tramp), whack-a-molar (throwing water balloons at cardboard molars- some were good clean teeth and some were naughty dirty teeth), give me back my belly-button ( drew a life-size cartoon kid on cardboard who was missing his belly-button, and the kids colored then had to place his belly-button back on him whilst being blind-folded) and then we had a skeleton scavenger hunt. The very last activity was making boogers to take home (homemade slime). It was heaps of fun.  Alex had a happy skull cake and Jonathan had a mini Jonboy jumping on the tramp cake. We ate brain jello and had tangy-blood juice for drinks; along with hamburgers and hotdogs, chips and what-not.
As usual we asked for donations instead of gifts for the kids. The boys decided on a small animal rescue that was trying to save dogs from being euthenized. The rule here, in Queensland, is 3 days. You have three to collect your dog, at which time the dog will be euthanized. This organization tries to rescue as many dogs as they can, find foster homes for them until a proper permanent home can be found. It is basically a mom and pop organization. We brought them large bags of dog food and the money that had been given. From us, the two boys received much desired scooters. They were, and still are, thrilled. They love their scooters, and Zed is waiting, rather patiently now, for his birthday as he knows what is waiting for him - his very own scooter. For now he keeps himself entertained with his skateboard, bike and turns on Alex's scooters.
Just last night I said to myself, "one day I will take them out and NO body will get hurt." Within a millisecond of making this comment I chuckled to myself and knew this was a far fetched dream! It seems that every time I take the kids on an outing including wheels someone is hurt. Last night is was Alex who skidded out on some water whilst riding his bike. Just 6 days ago I had Zed laying on my kitchen table as I removed his stitches from across his chin... that one was a doozy! We spent a week at home waiting for him to recover from his massive crash at the skatepark.
I bet I have your interest peaked now don't I? :) Short story: we were at the skatepark; J.B (our dog), Zed, Alex and myself, and the boys were practicing their jumps on their bikes. Zed took a jump that he had already completed a dozen times that day, getting excellent air... but he landed with his wheel turned thus abruptly stopping when his wheel touched the pavement (bitumen as they call it here). His neck slammed into the handlebars then he met the pavement chin first instantly splitting it and spilling blood all over. I was only a couple feet from him and immediately got behind him and clamped it shut again. Within a few minutes he started going in to shock; shaking, arms going limp and not able to respond to questions. Due to the help of some teenagers who went to Damien's (the paramedic) home and got him to come with his ambulance we only had to wait for about 30 minutes before help came... of course I'd left my cell phone (mobile as they call it here) at home and every body else who was there either had a phone with no minutes or they too had left their mobile at home. Ugh. After he's arrived and quickly assessed Zed and his injuries, Damien called his wife, beautiful Jane,  to come pick up Alex and our dog to take them home and tell Wade what was happening.
Together, he and I, got Zed up on a gurney and we took him to the ambulance. Zed was given a special whistle that contained painkillers in vapour form which he would suck in... needless to say Zed doesn't remember most of the 50 minute ambulance ride we had to take to get to the closest town that had a hospital - Dysart. Believe it or not they are very careful (stin-jee) about stitches here... 3! Three stitches is all Zed got for a wound about an inch deep and almost a inch and a half across. They added about 7 steri-strips for the rest of it. When they let the chin open to check it it looked like Zed had a mini mouth with a giant, wide smile on his chin... like a sharks mouth opened up, such a strange sight! When they 'closed' it it looked like a frowny mouth instead. For the ext while Zed hurt... a lot. He drank milkshakes and at scrambled eggs for days. His jaw ached so bad he couldn't open nor close his mouth, and talked with only his lips moving. We went to the doctor to have the stitches checked and possibly removed about 5 days later, but due to the depth of it the doctor was reluctant. He gave me a razor blade to take home and said in a couple days cut them loose, and pull them out, but be sure to pull them knot first. I'll tell you , taking stitches out is not as easy as you'd think. With a little bit of blood and wiggling of toes to deal with the pain we finally got the little suckers out! The skin had begun to grow over the stitches making it difficult for me to cut the tough plastic line without also cutting skin. But, we did it and it's over... sort of. Zed is still having pain in his jaw and can't move it the way he used to be able to. We will be having that checked very soon.

What else have we been up too?

 We attended a small rodeo - that was fun!

A little bit back Zed and Alex participated in the rodeo type event. They demonstrated their abilities on the horses,
enjoyed chasing and trying to catch a sheep and then a greased pig.

They had fun and did well.

I can't think of anything else so how about a quick look at our schedule? We are full on with HS again. It has been just a little over four months since we restarted and now things are settled and moving along very nicely. Zed just finished reading his 11th (whooo-hooo) chapter book. If you know Zed you know how I struggled to get him to read even the simplest of books. Soon after he's learned to read he lost interest and fought it tooth and nail. Now though... it is a beautiful sight. Alex was also having trouble and not liking the thought of having to read, but he too has caught the reading bug and is reading wonderfully.

For the rest of their learning it has been difficult to keep up with them! They are always eager to learn something new and interesting. We are learning sign language - True ASL, and French on top of their regular studies. I had a pop quiz for them the other day to see who remember what for signing and I am very pleased to say that Alex and Zed now know a little over a hundred signs on top of being able to sign out the alphabet, and "read" words that I sign using finger spelling. Even Jonathan can sign simple sentences such as "I can say my name. My name is Jonathan. I have a black dog. Her name is J.B.) No joke... he can't do it by sheer memory alone, but if I do it with him he can do it quite easily. Maileigh signs words too. It is very exciting when she signs something new. A few weeks ago I put her to bed and she signed "mom" to me, without any prompting. It was like hearing her say mom for the first time all over again.
Jonathan often counts things out in french and spends a lot  of him time asking how to say this or that in french. Last week he began his first lessons on the computer using the Rosetta Stone program. He is thrilled to be doing it and asks constantly to do his 'french school' on the computer. It is so rewarding to see the results of my effort. I can ask several questions in french and every one of my kids can respond to it, fully understanding what it is that I am asking. Okay... moving on.

Jonboy on an underwater adventure

We do a lot of swimming! Back up - here it is: Monday is skatepark day, Tuesday is dam day (we go to a dam which is basically a giant lake), Wednesday is a home day but it is also computer day so the kids do all their lessons on the computer via educational programs we have loaded on the computers, Thursday is Capella day (we travel an hour to Capella where we spend the day swimming then attending horse riding lessons) and Friday is another home day. Saturday is Mackay (pronounce Mc-Ki) day and we drive 3 hours to the big city. We listen to a story on CD the whole way, arrive to have lunch at Hungary Jack's (comparison to Burger King) and continue on to the Bluewater Lagoon; a totally free and very beautiful outdoor water park. We swim and play there for hours.

Zed giving Maileigh a 'motor boat' ride

Wade will leave early to complete the grocery shopping while I stay with the kids. Usually within the next hour after Wade has left the kids are ready to get out, we dress and walk to the big park that is just out side the water park grounds. We'll take a walk on the walking trail that is parallel to a river, then return to the park where I usually end up playing a game of tiggy (tag) with the boys and the other kids at the park.

Alex and Jonathan swimming together

Wade will arrive with the pizza from Pizza hut; we eat then head home, again listening to our story on CD. This day is by far my favourite day of the week!! Without question!



Sunday is another home day, usually filled with household chores and what not.

Jonathan is his 'boat' (no longer use this at all!)

So like I said, we do a lot of swimming. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are days often spent in the water. On the days at home our kid pool is filled up and Jonathan and Maileigh spend their time 'practicing' their swimming in that. It is because of this that both Maileigh and Jonathan have become excellent in the water. Maileigh can now use a kick board or just her swimmer that helps her float totally on her own. She kicks around and floats all on her own. Jonathan straps on a pair of googles and heads under the water to swim like a little fish. This too is very rewarding as only a few short months ago Maileigh wanted to stay as close as she could to me while we were in the deep water and Jonathan remained fixed, floating in his blow up boat.  Alex and Zed often go out on their own and I see them when they are hungry or need a break to relax in the sun. I love our water days! We no longer go to the sea as it is stinger (jellyfish) season and we have yet to order stinger suits. I do want to go and see if we can see the sea turtles that nest there every year, but I think that may have to wait.

For those of you who are wondering when in the world we do our schooling... we have two ways we do those days; one is to do our work early in the morning straight after breakfast and we leave after it has been completed OR we do some before we leave then bring the remaining work with us. I work out a plan of completion with the kids and we stick to it. For those who don't complete their work then they have that much more to do the next day or during activity week which is the last week of every month. That week we don't have much of a set schedule as we catch up on anything that I feel we really should have completed and indulge in activities and experiments that the kids have been interested in.  This is a week that I find a lot of our art supplies get used up! We have set days for certain subjects like monday is science day,tuesday is socials ( we are looking at Greece and their myths right now - so fun!) wednesday is computer day; but every day is french and ASL, math and reading day. On top of that the kids rotate in chores... can you believe that Jonathan LOVES picking up the dog poop?! Ewww! The kids rotate between dog duty, mail duty, dishes, and vacuuming. If there is a lot of fighting then garden duty (weed pulling) is added on along, with the raking of the leaves if needs be. Ohhhh you should have seen the transformation that took place over my garden last weekend. My garden is weed free! Thank you boys. ;)
So there you have it! Our schedule and more or less all that we have been up to for the past few months.

Jonboy did our mailbox
 Good Work Buddy!

The grass is green and the garden is growing. The sun is shining and so are the christmas lights in the front lawns.

Jonathan and Alex fixing up the gate, while Zed works on
last big palm tree

 Oh right Christmas is just 2 weeks away! We've already decorated our palm trees out front but haven't really gone too far inside yet. I think today will be a good day to set up the tree and put out the nativity sets. The shopping is done but not yet wrapped... uh-oh I can see my list of "to be done before..." is rapidly growing in length.

We are NOT from the outback! .... ?

Yesterday a group of us were laughing because people in the cities consider where we live the "outback" and in reality we just live in a small town. It is always interesting, and often funny how other people's perception is so incredibly different than our own; even within a single household, views can vary dramatically. Anywho...

As usual, I have been meaning to stay "on top" of this blogging business, however I am finding time limited even though I have been starting my days at 5:30am just to cover the daily basics of household chores, homeschooling, dog walking and baking needs for our family scheduling. I will admit that I am turning in a wee bit earlier than I used to but I am liking not feeling so rushed through out our day. (How is it though that it still seems as though I am not getting enough done?)
This week has been our "activity week" for school, so we have been spending our week completing activities we had started but had not totally finished yet. We had fun completing our brain caps and lap booking pages for science, painting and setting up our caveman diorama and drawing our cavemen comic strips. For fun we made some homemade kites and took them out and flew them. Yesterday was an ALL day horse day in Capella, so we packed up heaps of food and toys, and spent the day washing, brushing and then saddling and riding the horses. We actually left the arena yesterday and took the horses for group rides around the grounds. We arrived at 9am and left at 6pm. Most everybody brought loads of food to share with everyone, and the kids that weren't riding were running around playing together. It was a great day. Pastor Allan and his crew are so fantastic! The kids (and myself) just LOVE Thursdays!!!
So that is the current news... let's do a rewind and recap some of the pictures that are on here. The kids attending a homeschooling "conference" in Clermont some time ago; and while there they participated in group activities where they made and shot off water rockets, hot air balloons, classified and organized different groups such as animals, plants, rocks etc. They played games and listened to stories and just had a good time with other homeschooling children. On the way home we saw and held a wild echidna, saw large flocks of giant wild turkeys (my mother in-law was so right and I was so wrong) that looked just like baby emu's... accept for the fact that these birds can fly - that was a shocker to see a baby emu fly - FACT: Emu's can NOT fly at age. It was a fun, interesting day all around.
Before Judy and Paul (Nana and Papa) went back home to Sask. Canada, we took them to the best beach we knew, Emu Park Beach 4 hours away, and spent the day there. We collected shells and had a small birthday party for Judy and the two boys got their 'new' bikes early. Alex can finally say the Spiderman bike is HIS and Jonathan received his very own big boy bike with training wheels. Despite the high winds it was a beautiful day. There was para-sailing lessons going on that day so it was fun to watch that, and there were birds hovering in the wind, so that was neat to watch too. I got some great shots of a bald eagle above some rocks and the water. We also found a neat (dead) fish too... of course we had to 'examine' such an interesting specimen! (wish I had taken a picture) :(
What else....? we finally gave in and purchased new cloth diapers. They are sure fancy looking but I am not so sure they compare to the oldie version. I am still undecided, however our other ones we've been using for the last 8 years are definitely done; considering the elasticity around the legs had completely given out and wrapping a tea towel instead would have produced the same results... at least these new ones look cute. No, they do work, just not as well as I had expected. Due to all they hype and how popular they are, I'd expected them to work better than they are. These nappies were a very big item in Canada before we left, and are becoming very popular in Australia as well. After purchasing our first bundle from a local distributor we smartened up and found a wholesaler online with the same nappies for a quarter of the cost. Yippee!
Another new item is our trampoline. Wade has been wanting a tramp since HE moved out here. He watched the prices and his waiting paid off. The trampoline he wanted went on for more than 50% on sale AND it was delivered to our door. It is set up and used everyday.  Another yippee.
I had mentioned before about planting our first garden and I am very pleased to announce that EVERYTHING in the main garden is growing in their perfectly in their perfect little rows. It has been doing very well and the boys love helping with it. Alex and Zed water it regularly and Jonathan will sit and help me pull all the little weeds. He'll go on and on about the bad plants trying to take away all the food and space for the good plants. Last week he and I discussed photosynthesis - what he refers to as a "daddy word" because it is 'such a big word', but he can say it and boy does it sure sound so cute; a big daddy word coming out of a little Jonboy mouth! I am sad to report that our strawberry patch has been under constant attack by Maileigh & our dog; put that together with spiking temperatures and I am afraid that we have lost the battle. Next time we go to the city we will be picking up little strawberry plants and some proper fencing to keep those two pests ;) from wreaking havoc
Well, the children are calling....
again.

Lovin' Thee Adventures!

Well, after arriving just two and a half short weeks ago, Paul and Judy (Nana and Papa - Wade's Folks) left yesterday to make their way back to their Saskatchewan home. I hope they enjoyed their visit because we certainly enjoyed having them visit. With their awesome help, we certainly did manage to finish off a bit of that "to do" list too! (Thanks so much!!)

Look at that grass fly!! Go Zed Go!

During their stay we managed to get Wade's tool shed unpacked and on the road to being organized on shelves, we bought a lawn mower that Zed helped Papa assemble then use on both the front and back paddocks.  Even the neighbour kids enjoyed having a go with this mower; who knew a simple machine could rally together the neighbourhood children to doing their chores?
Anyway, we also got the garden plots dug up, weeded and YES, Judy retaught me how to plant a garden.We planted corn, onions, carrots, spinach, lettuce, cucumber, rockmelon (cantaloupe), peas and strawberries; potatoes and tomatoes will be added but at a later date as we don't have all that we need to do them just yet. I am very excited to announce that our family garden is seeded and we are eagerly expecting to see those first signs of success on it's way... I will surely keep you posted on how that is going as well.It was certainly a joint, or rather family, effort to prepare the garden as well all worked very hard. Besides Paul's and Wade's strong-arm tactics to overturn the rock hard garden, the kids, Paul and myself had to use strong back tactics to haul back several loads of garden bricks I had discovered a ways up in the bush. Someone and just dumped a fair lot way up yonder and being a... resourceful sort, I gathered up the troops, provided them carrying sacks (backpacks) and led them into the bush. We ventured across sections of sticky mud, through hip thigh high grass, over ponds, up hills and the pounding sun and back again. I admit that it may seem over the top just to have some bricks that were purely for esthetics reasons, but I'll tell you - my garden sure looks nice! And hey, we got to see some kangaroos hop across our path along the way....
In truth the whole lot of us have been seeing those animals, and several others on a more regular basis. I was beginning to get worried that Judy wouldn't have her chance to see them before she left because it seemed that every time we went out without her, the group of us would seem them up close and personal. It became my mission to have her at least see one closer than across a farmers field, even if she didn't capture it on camera. So one morning, a couple days before she was to be leaving, I drove her to the spot we'd seen the kangaroos just about every morning that I take the kids and the dog on their bike ride. We arrived and... you guessed it, no kangaroos sitting around. So we headed off in the direction we usually see them head off in, and wouldn't you know it, not only did we see a kangaroo but she sat their with her joey in her pouch as though she were posing for the cameras! YES!!! 

After a time she finally hopped off into the nearby brush and we turned around and headed in the other direction. Since we hadn't been out all that long we made our way down toward the other end of the path and there we saw three more kangaroos just through the trees.

 On the way back to the van, down another path we saw yet another group of three kangaroos lounging around under some trees.
It didn't stop their though, the next morning while we were having breakfast, Judy looked up and across the street there were two more kangaroos sitting in the horse fields eating their breakfast too. *smiles*
What a great way to end a trip! (I guess prayer really does work.)

He's sitting just under the log - pic by Judy

 
Besides kangaroos we also saw platypus when we ventured to the rainforest one weekend. We went on an short road trip and ventured into the Enguella rainforest where we saw platypus, turtles, water snakes,  different sorts of birds and some amazing trees.

We followed a path and enjoyed a walk through the trees after we had shared a picnic lunch we'd brought along.

It was a beautiful day because it wasn't overly hot and it was very foggy outside so there was a feeling of reverence and peacefulness there.


We did go other places and saw other animals over the last couple weeks, but that will have to be a later entry as the children are all awake now and breakfast needs to be served. Until next time...

Who Knew?!

Who knew time could pass so quick even when it feels so slow sometimes?! It has been several weeks now since our belongings have arrived and yet we still have piles of things and boxes yet to have been sorted. Ugh. I did get out the thumb tacks though and hang pictures yesterday... and who knew you could feel so much more settled just because some things are hanging on a wall?
Who knew I would be the one who suggests we return our unused, brand new dishwasher in favour of washing dishes by hand. Go figure! And who knew you could miss Canadian Pampers Pull-ups so much? We have tried SO many different kinds, even the Pampers pull-ups here and nothing seems to be able to contain our Jon-boy's stream! Speaking of this, meaning laundry now, who knew the familiar tune from a washer, like the one we had back in Canada, would be so comforting.  Of course speaking of comfort brings up the notion of food...What about nibs??? Oh, how I miss my giant packs of nibs, and Swedish berries, OLD DUTCH KETCHUP CHIPS!! Oh, Oh and what about children's cough medicine that works AND can just be bought off the shelf rather than having the chemist (pharmacist) write a prescription for you to have it?
Who knew having 3 out of 4 sick kids could be so annoying... I think every one can imagine that one though! Still...

Jonathan wearing his cowboy boots

Who knew Jonathan would love cowboy boots so very much?  He'll wear those things till he has blisters... and sometimes the only thing he has on are those things. Haha. We are still taking horse lessons every Thursday and loving it.
On our last lesson Maileigh had made her way from the side of my hip to sitting in front of me and holding the reins. She also made a great effort to pat the horse and stroke it whilst we were slowly riding the horse around the arena. I don't have any pictures of the kids riding yet, but I will... soon. :)
Who knew that a raven was so creepy? And not just in how it looks but with it's raptor gurgles and dying cat screeches it makes... and who knew that cockatoos were so HUGE - with such a god-awful sound! You would think that a bird that big and beautiful would make a sound that could be considered musical, but alas, it is loud and obnoxious and just plain dreadful sounding! Who knew that magpies really do dive bomb people?! I am rethinking the getting our own bird thing.... however....
Who knew Wade would be open to getting a puppy so soon? And actually have nice things to say about her?
Yes, you read that right! We now have a 18 month old black lab. She is very well mannered and is training well. The kids have kept to their word and have been taking their day of "dog duty" with great diligence.

J.B (for Just Beautiful) is a very affectionate pup and is learning to trust all over again since it seems the family that decided to discard her at the vet surgery (veterinary's) didn't train her with love... but we are not making that same mistake. It is lovely to watch her explore her new world with such enthusiasm, even when it can be a bit painful; last night she met a echida on our walk down a back dirt road.

Who knew that venturing out into "the long grass" would be so uneventful? I certainly expected to have to fight off an old man (remember that is what the head of a kangaroo mob is called) or rescue the children from a fierce snake attacking us, but no the most we saw was a blind toad? It did seem as though it was blind since it didn't seem to have any eyes.

Notice the lack of eye(s).. could be a Cane Toad but not sure...

Speaking of toads... who knew that Cane Toads were so clumsy? We saw our first Cane toad last week and it was as though it was moving in slow motion. It would hop but land as though it were balancing on a thin log or something, wobbling and teetering; sometimes side to side or as though it had landed with too much on it's front legs and have to regain its balance. It was good for a laugh but since they are highly poisonous I was more than happy to find a stick I could use to help it 'hop' greater distances from where we were.
I have been asked many times how I like Australia, and I have always answered the same..."It feels like home." I say that because it really just feels natural living here. There are so many things I have always wished growing up and in so many ways they have come true. For example I always wanted to go back to the days when hanging your laundry was just how it was, and spending days at a beautiful beach was a regular thing.

Giving a wink

I always wished that we lived in a time when the stores were closed on Sundays and that was the day the whole family went for walks and spent time at the park. Having time to bake with the kids every week, and have picnics with friends in a beautiful field is a normal part of life. Being able to stand side by side with your husband doing the dishes together and  loving it. It sounds like something out of an old story book right? To me, this is a fairy tale come true. As the tears prick my eyes my heart swells with gratitude and pure happiness. I am so blessed to be where I am now and living the life I thought I could only experience by watching it on a video or reading it in some old story. This is my story, and while I sometimes struggle to see the best part of a not so great situation, when I do stand back  I can easily say "this is where I want to be. I am home."

August 23, 2011 - Can you tell she's sick?

Maileigh smiles as she tries to escape a good ticklin!

(Soon after this pic she threw a fit and ended up with having to take an early nap.)

Balls,Dolls and Beds

It's all here! It is finally all here!

Last week our things arrived and were unloaded by three good-humoured blokes. They worked hard and had unloaded the trucks within a couple hours; unpacking them was another story! So far we have the rooms completed, more or less, and the kitchen, the linens and most of the toys organized and put away. We still have several more boxes that require investigating but until we can figure out shelves and such, many items will remain as they are or piled in a corner. 

We have a small storage room attached on the backside of the house, that opens and closes with a key only. We have gone crazy with those adhesive hooks and put a couple shelves in there to create a fantastic toy room for the kids. Because I am the one with the key, they can only access it once it has been opened in the morning; then it also ensures that everything as been picked up and put away before we go in for the evening. It is proving to be a good system for every one, and it also helps remove places where creepy crawly's can find a place to hide and then be frightened if discovered accidentally whilst someone is turning over a truck or something.

The first week we were here I had to 'really encourage' a large hairy spider out of the yard with a stick. It wasn't frightened nor could be frightened by me what so ever. I had to keep pushing it in the direction that I wanted it to go; later I learned it was a trap-door spider. On our fridge we have a classification sheet depicting the dangerous spiders in real size, and categorizing them from highly dangerous to mildly dangerous. It has quick descriptions of where they like to live and what their bite is like. We have it at kids level and I remind them regularly to study and memorize these spiders. Also, my neighbour was so kind as to lend us a very large book containing pictures and vivid stories regarding Ausralia's most dangerous animals (Thanks Ross!) He did warn me it may cause me to loose some sleep at night. 

Here are a few questions for you;

1.How long can a snake still bite after he has been beheaded?  1 min.  1hr 1 day or 3 days?

2.What is a large group of Kangaroos called?

3.What is the leader of the group of Kangaroos called?

4.What is more dangerous, a wild dog or a dingo? 

5. What is a common find in a loo at the park? (it isn't a snake)

Anwsers:

1.It depends on whether or not the snake was cut above or below it's heart. If it was cut below the heart then the snake can continue living (and biting) for up to or around 36 hours. If it was severed above the heart, even directly behind the head, it can still bite and inject venom for up to an entire hour afterwards. (Yikes!)

2.A mob - that's comforting!

3. The old man... I always picture a grumpy man with a cane and a scowly face.. ready for a fight.

4. The dingo is clever and stealthy, but usually only attacks for food. The wild dog likes to be a menace and will attack just to inflict pain. Both animals have their issues, it is actually when they interbreed that you have a real problem because then you have the stealthiness of the dingo and the lack of fear and desire to mangle everything all in one. (Certainly hope we don't have these close to where we live.)

A tree frog we 'rescued' from a loo at a park by our house

5.Yes a large tree frog is a common find in the toilet at parks and outdoor facilities. We often find them in our back yard as well. That is one of the boys favourite thing right now. After supper they will head out with flashlights and try to collect as many as they can.

We're here... Part 2

A large salt water croc we saw on one of our Saturday adventures

The first few days here were tricky for us to try to get ourselves, and the kids, onto a new time schedule... 10 hours difference. It wasn't as difficult for the kids as it was for myself or Wade. There were many very early mornings, and early evenings for everyone.
Our days were not as we expected... they were quite cold! Yes I said COLD... not hot and all tropical, like I and my mother had been dreaming. Repeatedly my annoyed husband reminded me that this was their winter time, and so I had to take that into account... I did not and would not simply because Australia is suppose to be HOT... ALL the time! (isn't it?) Well, no my dear friends it is not. The mornings were so chilly that the first thing I did when I awoke was walk around to each heater and turn them on in each room, and when I say turn them on I mean on and up.(Each room has it's own air conditioner/heater.) Then around 10am I would turn them off again, making sure I turned the thermostat down so if Wade turned it on it wasn't crazy high set that would then make him crazy with annoyance that I was turning them up so high - he knows now so there is no sense in trying to hide this lil' tidbit of information. Later on, around bedtime, I would again turn on the heaters, especially in the bedrooms to prepare us for the night. I don't think Wade really gets it but at least he gets me enough to be sure to turn on the one in the main living room so I can get up to a warm living room and kitchen. Thanks Honey!
Anyway, I spent the first week going through a flood of emotions that included concern, annoyance, regret, sadness, apprehensiveness, frustration and an immediate sense of home sickness. I could go on for a very long time explaining why I think I felt all these negative feelings instead of the expected happiness, anticipation and sheer excitement from knowing that I was actually going to live out my life long dream of living in Australia but I am not. Just know that relocating yourself is difficult in most circumstances, and the emotional effects are always there but just may not seem as intense in some moves as in others; however, relocating an entire family is all that and more. Not only did I have my fears, apprehension and homesickness to work through I had my children's.... and the guilt that comes with trying to answer a 2 years teary plea to go back to his 'big house' doesn't get easier with time. ( wait a moment while I blot my tears) Anyway, over time those feelings have more or less settled now; and I suspect that the rest of us will settle even more once our belongings have arrived.
Our stuff... that is something else of annoyance, trying to find things to do when you have nothing to do anything with. This town is a very quiet, sleepy sort of town. There isn't a whole lot to do and really not a lot of places to go. That isn't to say that there aren't some fantastic parks, just that going to them for hours at a time day in and day out can become, well boring; especially since it seems we are the only people who use them. Those first few weeks that my mother was here, and we had no vehicle to use, we went for walks. Walks to this park, that park, the shops (grocery store), library, oh and the other park as well. Doing the same thing day after day became more of a nuisance than an adventure. We did, however, need to go to the shops just about every day because the fridges that were provided for us were just two little bar fridges. There were no other ones available and with a family this size, those small fridges just do not hold enough to hold the troops for more than 24 hours... if that. So as cumbersome as those walks were, they were indeed required if the bubs (babies) were to have enough milk to last them the night and the next morning.

So what helped or helps us make it through the long days of the long weeks you ask? SATURDAYS! Saturdays have become beach days. We pack up the van after breakfast then head off to Mackay (pronounced Mc- I) which is about 2 hours away. Mackay has several beaches that are easily accessible and beautiful. We usually arrive in Mackay around lunch so we eat at Hungry Jacks, ( just like Burger King but better food at a better price) then we are off to the beach for the afternoon. We always make a stop at the grocery store before heading home, as the prices in the city are always much cheaper than in our little town.

These Saturday trips all began after we took a Saturday to take my mom to a nice day out before she had to head back home to Canada. First we went through Rockhampton (about 3 hours away) to get to the outskirts where we visited Koorana Crocodile Farm (and restaurant).
Very cool stuff happening there. We will diffeniatly be returning during the hatching season to see the baby crocs and maybe even watch one hatch. I was able to buy a hollowed out croc egg for our school display.

You can check out the farm too if you want; check out this website http://www.koorana.com.au/ and you can get a glimpse of what we saw. Since the tour finished around lunch , we ate a small and pricey lunch there then headed off to the closest town with a beach - Emu park (actually is a town). This was the first beach we had been to since moving here so it was very exciting. We were not disappointed! The beach looked as though it belonged on a big postcard. The beach was surrounded with palm trees, sand with beautiful shells littered through out and the beautiful Coral Sea glittering in the sun. (sigh) I felt so peaceful looking out at my children running, screaming, down the beach toward the water and seeing the beauty around me. All I could think was "this is it... I could stay right here forever." It was a wonderful way to end my mothers visit. It took a lot to not just stand there balling like a baby that she was leaving in the next 24 or so hours and to not beg her to stay just a little longer - even though I did mention it was an option.

Grandma C reading a bedtime story in our new house

To be honest I wasn't convinced that having my mother stay for that long was going to be easy. We never did live together well so I expected that we would get on each others nerves easily. I thought the kids would play up more and we would be pitted against each other by them. I knew she would be helpful and I would enjoy the adult company but I certainly had my doubts. My mother was a wonderful help from the time we readied to board the first plane to the moment she had to walk out our new front door to head back to catch her first plane home. She was more than a help. She was an understanding soul who didn't judge my children, or me or my marriage. She witnessed so many emotions and so much... stuff but never once did she condemn, ridicule or insult any one for anything they said or did. In her short few weeks she lived with us, she taught me some valuable lessons about patience, gratitude and tolerance. I am so pleased that she was able to be here with us, with me. I would never want it any other way.
With that I will have to end because it is quarter after five and I need to get supper on the go. I will finish this up and try to get things up to current later on. Thanks for reading!