Things that make you go "Hmmmmmm"

Skink 

This is a new one for us.  Apparently the snakes living under our porch have legs and are not snakes at all but skinks.  Ewww just the same.  I, however, am going to let them hang around because they eat spiders and ants, both of which we have an abundance of.

Killer Birds

Magpies are not a nice bird. At least 4 people each year lose an eye from a magpie during nesting season.  It is now nesting season and we are getting "swooped" left and right. Not cool.  Though you are only casually strolling down the street, riding your bike, etc., the bird actually believes you are about to climb the tree and take it's precious eggs.  Therefor, it swoops you.  Last year a little boy ran into the street while being swooped and was hit by a car and killed.  A four-year-old boy this week is loosing his eye because of one.

There is even a "Magpie Map" on the internet where you can warn others where a particually vicious bird is nesting.  The comments from these are hilarious. Check it out...Magpie Map

Oops, I forgot my pants

This is actually an epic fail on Brandon's part.  He has been riding his bike into work.  There are trails all over and even a program called "Backyard to Bay".  They want you to be able to get around the city easily on these trails. It is way faster for Brandon to ride his bike then drive or take the bus.  There is a shower in his office building so he has to pack toiletries, clothes, etc. for once he's there.  I got the call early in the mornng.  "Ang, can you bring me some pants?"  When I got to his office, he was waiting outside for me in his dress shirt, socks and dress shoes, hair done, but his running shorts on.  Haha....HAHAHAHAHA!!

Oh Crap!



We made the startling discovery that little boy Zach plays with everyday after school is actually a girl.  Not a bad thing, unless you've spent weeks calling her dude, buddy, the boys. 

She is a lovely girl - quite a tomboy - and we love having her at our home.

How do you Rugby?

There are 3 ways to celebrate rugby in Oz.

You have the Australia Wallabies. They are in the Rugby Union.

Got that? Union.

Union is what Americans usually think of when we hear rugby. The film "Invictus" (with Matt Damon) followed Union Rugby. They have very physical scrums. That is where they interlock their arms and heads and try to force the ball to the outside of the circle. This is a very important part of the game to see who will get possession of the ball. They will also lift a player into the air when the ball is tossed in from the sidelines. The higher you get means you usually get the ball. Their colors are green and yellow.

There is the Rugby League. Here we follow the Brisbane Broncos. The Bronco's have scrums, but they really don't do anything. They just have pretend scrums. You get to carry the ball toward your goal and can run it until there have been 5 tackles. Once your team has been tackled 5 times, you must kick. You only get 5 substitutions for the whole game, so you pretty much play the whole time unless you are seriously hurt. Broncos are Maroon and yellow. Brandon and Angielee were actually in the airport sitting next to the whole Bronco team in the Sydney airport and on the same plane in April of 2011, but didn't know that we needed to get a picture for cool-factor.

The Brisbane Lions play AFL or Aussie Rules. Aussie rules is CrAzY! There is a lot of kicking going on. The players mostly kick the ball instead of pass it to each other. They have amazing accuracy with their kicks being that the ball is odd shaped. If you catch a ball that has been kicked, then no one can tackle you for 15 or so seconds. You also don't have to pass the ball only backwards (like the other two). The ball can really go anywhere it wants, but not out of bounds. The ball also has to touch the ground every 15 meters. They can bounce it, but if it's raining, it is better to just bend down and touch it to the grass so it doesn't bounce off in different direction. Brandon and Angielee went to a Lions game with friends who had season tickets and it was a blast, even if the ref's were idiots! Lions colors are blue, maroon, and yellow.



So there you have it. 3 ways to Rugby.

Learning the Australian alphabet

Zach told us a funny story that happened to him at school. He didn't think it was that funny, actually. Aussie's say a couple of letters different: H is said Haaach - like hate, but with a "ch" on the end. Also Z is pronounced zed - like Ned.

Zach's teacher was asking the kids to write something (spelling words or something) and told them to write Z. So Zach did. Z E D. "No no" she said, "Z". So Zach did. Z E D. "No" she said again. "Why do you keep doing that?" Zach explained that he told her to write Zed - like Ned. Ohhhhhh. Light comes on and she remembers that we call it a Zeeeee. He was embarrassed.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

We bought an annual family pass to this sanctuary so we can go whenever we want. It makes for a fun afternoon and the kids love it. This is the largest and oldest koala sanctuary in the world, so of course it's way more awesome then others...maybe. But it is definitely cool.

There is actually a lot more to see then just koalas. These dogs LOVED herding these sheep. And the trainer actually said: "That'll do"

The lorikeets are wild but are fed at the same time everyday. They all know when to fly in.

Madison's turn

Lucy feeding a Roo (that is actually a wallaby)

We don't need to come to a park to see kookaburra's. Just sit on our patio.

Zach's new pal.

Mum and baby. Koala's are literally everywhere. There are different sections for the bachelors, teenagers, mum's and babies, retired, etc.

Lucy fed this mum, but were told to not try to feed the babies. Mum gets mad.

Monkey-Chickens

This bird has been affectionately named "The Damn Monkey-Chicken" at our home. It has an incredibly crazy "laugh" that we thought were demented chickens welcoming the morning at 5:00. We thought they were chickens because they are like clockwork every morning. Much like a rooster is. However, this chicken screeches and cackles like a monkey on a sugar high.

We had some neighbors over and asked them who owned the chickens. They thought really hard and couldn't come up with anyone. We insisted that there must be some because we hear them every morning and they sound like monkeys. That was when we were politely educated about the kookaburra bird. I'm politely waiting for Zach's air soft pistols to arrive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ZbykXlg6Q


Happy 7th Birthday Lucy

This Saturday was also Lucy's 7th birthday. It was a pretty uneventful day for her. We must admit that the ball was dropped when it comes to being prepared for her day. It snuck up on us. Alas, Lucy was able to go to Toy's R Us and pick anything she wanted. She choose a collection of Squinkies (don't ask) and then got to go grocery shopping. FUN!

She was a good sport for her big day so we made her a cake. When we needed to go ask the neighbors (whom we haven't meet yet) to borrow a screwdriver, we asked them to come over for birthday cake later in the evening. They agreed and even brought a wrapped chocolate bar with a card. Her only present she actually unwrapped all day. I do have a picture of the two neighbor boys and my kids playing outside for her "birthday party", but it won't download now.

Speaking of the neighbors...now we have met them. To our left is Ken and Caroline. Ken is Irish and Caroline is English. They have three boys; Daniel (17) who goes to Uni, Patrick (12) and Robert (9). Our kids are very loud jumping on the trampoline every night and occasionally we see little eyes peeking out the window next door. While jumping on the tramp at Lucy's party, Robert exclaimed "You look different from my window" :)

Graham is our neighbor to the right. He is a delightful widower who has even offered to sit in the car while Angielee practices driving on the left hand side of the road.

First Week of School

The kids enjoyed their first week of school. Madison rode the city bus to "Garden City" Friday after school with some friends. That is a mall in Mt. Gravatt that had a lot of fun at. She said they tried on a lot of clothes. Madison is the one who told us there was a Toy's R Us there, so she saved the day Saturday.

Zach went on excursion (a field trip) to a Synagogue and a Buddhist Temple on Thursday. He said the Synagogue wasn't that fun because you had to just sit there and be really quiet. But the Buddhist Temple was like being in China. They even practiced meditation.

Lucy went to the railway museum Friday, but didn't really have anything to report. She is, however, very excited that she was put in the "Challenging Reading" group at school. She has turned into a great little reader.

Brandon is enjoying his job, but will be happy when the moved to a new office building is finished. Then he will be able to concentrate more on clients and projects.

Angielee spends her day doing laundry and reading. She's very happy to finally have a car, but still hasn't driven yet.

and.....They go to school

No pics now because the laptop is acting up again.

Everyone is in school now! Madison is actually in High School. Holland Park High School to be exact. It is a small school, only about 540 students (8th - 12th grade). She really liked her first day of school and made a lot of friends being the new "American Girl". They actually made lists of words for her to say; pickle, water, etc.

Madison takes the city bus to school. This is my first time to walk a child to a bus stop that I think, but are not certain, is the right place to be. Leave them to get on a bus that I can't check for creepers. Hope they get on the correct bus and actually make it to school. Then do it again to make it home. As a mother, my spidey-scenes were in overdrive!

Zach is the new ladies man in the 6th grade. All the girls like him and the boy's want to know if he has a girlfriend yet. His answer: "No, because I'm eleven". He said everyone was really nice but crazy.

Lucy has a new very bestest friend for the week (as this changes all the time). There is another Lucy in her class, so the students call her Lucy Bleu. She is most excited to start playing soccer and we know she will tear it up on the field.

Zach and Lucy were put in the Koala house for sport. (They say sport, not sports) Zach was excited because the color they wear is green; his favorite.

Oh! How I wish I could post pictures right now! I've got some dooseies to share!

Two down....One to go

http://wellhillss.eq.edu.au/wcmss/

Zach and Lucy are super excited about their new school.
Actually.... not so much.

They are really not excited about the uniforms. My kids have been lucky so far in the sense of not having a school with uniforms. Zach is appalled by the shorts. Lucy is crazy upset that the shorts she wears are the same as Zach's - meaning they are "boy shorts".

This school prides it's self in the Music Program they provide. The kids can start playing in an orchastra in the 3rd grade. They also have house teams much like Harry Potter. You will either be an Emu, Kangaroo, Platypus, or Koala.

There is a swimming pool on site and is part of the Phys Ed program. Every kid participates and learns different strokes, dives, etc according to their age.

Getting to Australia

Waiting to check in

Lucy let us know when a plane was coming
Brandon had to sit behind Zach

Put your Gizmo's away. They are not allowed on the plane.

Madison said this was like Harry Potter looking for platform 9 3/4

Random Pics

To cross the river, it's faster to use the ferry

Brisban's "City Beach"
Wait for the "Green Man" people!
view from our apartment balcony

Museum of Modern Art :)

And the winner is.....NOT a Queenslander...hmmm

Day 2 was the day. This is the 6th house we looked at.

In Australia, the house hunting process is a lot different. Each house has it's own agent (same as us), however, they don't work together as a real estate unit. The hunter (us) must call each agent and set up an appointment to see a home. That isn't as easy as it sounds. Most homes are only open for inspection once a week for a 10 minute time frame. You and everybody else looking at that home walk through at one time.

We were lucky and found a great agent at our first home we inspected who will meet you at the home's she manages for a private looky-lew. She showed us our 1st and 6th house.

This home will be 100% furnished. We actually will have to ask them to put some of their stuff away; wine glasses, cooking pans, utensils, etc. We also have beds coming over from the States, so we will decide then if we will keep using their beds and sell ours, or have them store theirs.

There is not pool, but the kids say that is okay. Apparently, the neighbor kids are the same age as them and they have one. :) The owners of the home also had the great insight to buy two building lots so they have a wonderful yard for the kids to play in. This is VERY VERY rare in Oz. There is also a huge park right across the street.

Google Earth 55 Laura Street, Tarragindi, QLD Australia

House hunting....Day 1

Can I first say....it shouldn't be legal to give an American a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side, blinkers on the wrong side, windshield wipers on the wrong side to drive all over Australia on the wrong side of the street. NOT a good thing! Brandon and I lost several years of our lives today. We get to do it again tomorrow :) Thank goodness for GPS (or Nav Man as Aussie's call it)

We looked at 4 different homes and our favorite are the renovated "Queenslander" style. These homes are the original homes in Queensland, Australia. They are raised up off the ground with picket fencing (for lack of better word) under them to allow for a breeze to blow and circulate under the home. This is supposed to keep the homes cooler in the summer. They have a lot of beautiful wood work throughout. They have huge wrap around porches that double as living space.

The kids seem to have a huge opinion in a home. They want a pool.

What the kids think

I can't get pictures to download onto my laptop. We're working on it but I can't wait to record some of the things my kids said during the plane ride over to Oz.

Before takeoff - SLC airport

Zach: "This is like a cartoon, but for real"

Madison: "This is like in the movies"

Just after takeoff - SLC

Lucy: "Wow! Is that earth" (looking out the window)

Somewhere over Mesquite

Zach: "This isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be"

Landing in at LAX

Lucy: "Whoa - I've never been in a could before!"

Zach: "Yeah - and it's freaky!"

Before takeoff at LAX airport

Zach: "You mean I can wake up and play video games with out even leaving my chair?!" (He was amazed by the huge plane with his own TV on the seat in front of him.)

Still before takeoff at LAX - delayed flight

Zach: "It's uncomfortable just sitting here like this" (poor kid still has the long flight ahead)

Good thing Lucy's knows what to do! Once we made it through customs (FOR. EV. ER.) we needed to get a taxi for a ride to our apartment. Lucy's looks around, very serious like, then raises her hand in the air and yells "TAXI! TAXI!"

The taxi's were lined up with a nice, quiet line waiting patiently to board when suddently, there's an American girl screaming and waving one down like they do on TV.

We are very excited. We always have been, but even more now since we have
actual airplane tickets and an itinerary.

We will fly Quantas Airlines (notice the kangaroo on the wing) from
Salt Lake City to Los Angeles to Brisbane

Once there, a car will be waiting for us to take us to our apartment that we will stay in for the next 32 days. We love that it is on Kangaroo Point, right in the city.
It's a beautiful area and where the LDS temple is located.

Lucy is excited for the plane ride because "it's going to be fun watching movies and playing games that people have given us." I'm sure she will think this for the first 3 hours. The flight lasts about 14 hours. We leave Salt Lake on Wednesday, July 20, at 8:20 PM. Because of time changes we wont actually reach Brisbane until Friday morning. Yikes!!!

It's Official.....

Our Visas are approved and we're moving to Australia!!

It has been a long wait. In fact, it seems like forever. One month later than we originally planned, we are boarding the plane for our new adventure. We have been very blessed to be able to stay with Char and Ron White (Brandon's Mom) for 5 weeks. Our home was packed up and put on in a cargo container. From our house to a port in CA, then slow boat to Australia.

To fill our time while waiting, we have been busy. Here are just a few activities.

July 13, 2011 - Mirror Lake

Lucy in front of the raging Provo Falls

Conquering boulders

Geocashing

We've also been to The Hut. We LOVE it in the mountains at the Adair's property.

July 12, 2011 - Wetland Ponds in Draper

Mama and babies

trying to catch us a bullfrog

Pile 'O Ducks

June 25, 2011 - Zion's National Park

McNuggets

Beautiful Weeping Wall

Risking life and limb with the wildlife

We are having a great time making memories, however, it IS time to get this show on the road. To get out of Dodge. To ride this pony. And any other cheesy saying that means leave.

Miss Madison turns 12

Madison's 12th birthday was January 23. She spent the night with her grandma Char and then the next day with Grandma and Mom at the mall. There was only one problem. She didn't want anything. Nothing. Nada. There is something wrong with a twelve year year old girl has the run of the entire mall and doesn't want to buy anything.

She finally found a bonsai tree in the Asian Gifts store.

We ate at David's Kitchen. Num num num. They have the best pot stickers - hands down! It's rare if I can get a smile out of her that shows her teeth. That's why she is making a funny face in this pic.

Book Club - Woot Woot!

Book Club was January 12th for the book

"Remembering Isaac"

by Ben Behunin.

Christian was a saint (hehe) and invited the author to join in our fun. Having him there was a great treat. We were able to hear how he came up with the idea for this book and the following books in the series.

Did you know that there really isn't a Neiderbipp, PA? The website (see below) was actually set up by Ben. I'm not sure how this guy finds time to eat and breath. Not only does he make his living by playing in the mud, but he has written and published 2 books and is in the process of writing his 3rd. He also maintains a number of websites and blogs. As if this isn't enough to fit in during the week, he is also the bishop.

Ben brought copies of the second book to buy and sign and some of his pottery.

I'm risking A LOT by posting this picture of some of our group. I'm being a bit vain because I believe I look a little chunky monkey in this photo. I think the camera added an extra 20 pounds or so. I hate how that happens every time.

If it looks like were a commercial for his pottery, we are. We are all holding one of his mugs.

Michele and Aimee flipping though the book, enjoying the moving picture show.

Our local "stalker." Sorry Tami, I couldn't help it. :)

Ben's websites

www.potteryboy.com www.rememberingisaac.blogspot.com www.neiderbipp.com

Pics from the new camera

Brandon and Zach working on their engineering feat.

Grandma Adair better hurry and pick up her cat. Lucy seems to think it's a toy.

Lucy in her new tutu with Freebee, Grandma's cat.

Clean Kitty