ANOTHER MILESTONE HAS BEEN REACHED

My little man has come a really long way. From the really shy and anxious boy of only a few years ago to a boy ready to face the world without his mommy...sniff, sniff.

Just before leaving the house we read our special book and I gave him his kiss to keep with him always.

(Thanks Madz for the pics)

Then we were off. He was disappointed when the bell rang and he didn't get to go line up yet. We had to wait around for half an hour before our appointed time to check him in and have a little meeting. Finally after all the boxes where checked we headed to the classroom where he will spent the next couple of weeks until they are divided up into kindy classes. He put down his bag gave me a quick kiss and off he went without a look back.

Now it is just me and the squirt...

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AND ALREADY A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!

Today was Madi's first day back at school! Yeah for her and for me - that kid needs school and loves it. I don't know how my mom survived the three months in the summer back home. She was excited to go back and see all of her friends. They don't know what classes they are in yet - they always have them go back to their old classes first and then by the end of the week when the know the numbers better they divide them up. Sounds a bit strange to me, but what can you do?

She got a new hat this year as she broke the strings on her last one. This one has no strings hanging down for her to chew on. That is the nice thing about uniforms - you don't have to buy new school clothes every year.


Cooper was very sad when I told him that he didn't start today but got to start tomorrow. Yep, tomorrow is his big day!!!

Also this morning this is what I found in the bread bag. I am always so surprised by how fast things mold around here. Good thing I had some turkish bread for Madi's lunch and more bread in the freezer. I was a little bummed because I always have toast in the morning...the banana tasted just fine!

AUSTRALIA DAY!

Happy Australia Day! We got up early this morning to go to the ward breakfast and were hoping to go to the beach today - but the weather didn't cooperate. Kev is taking the older kids to see the movie Bedtime Stories later today because they finally (three months later) finished their good choices chart. Apparently that chart is going to need to be altered a bit - it takes to long!

I kept telling the kids in Primary that I had to go to the breakfast because they were going to play cricket and I needed to learn how to play. I was just going to watch, but ended up batting. Such an interesting sport when you keep thinking about baseball and trying to apply the same rules. Like when you hit a foul ball and don't run - apparently there are no foul balls in cricket. I also kept wanting to hold the cricket bat more like a baseball bat. Nope you should hold it down and do a sweeping motion with it. I will definitely need more practice.

It is strange to think that this is our second Australia Day. Time really does fly. We have made some amazing friends and have learned and done so much. I know that this time in Australia will be remember forever with fondness!!! I was always told as a youth to surround myself with good people - I think that is true as an adult as well. We are lucky enough to meet some amazing people in Australia and are definitely surrounded by good friends!

This is my friend Lisha and her family! She loves taking pictures as much as I do - Lisha I thought of something to do on your one free day....we can take pictures!!!

This is Tim and Maryanne - Tim gets to deal with me for Primary as he is in the bishopric and does such a good job I might add!!!

This is Madi's friend Antoi. It is the only girl her age in church and they love to spend time together. It is too bad that she doesn't live down the street - but with ward boundaries as big as they are it is a bit farther than that. She went to her house for the afternoon.

So with Madi gone and lunch about to happen I think I may get some good scrapbook time in today - still wish we could have gone to the beach...

JUST BEACHY!

Today was a super hot day at least 40 C (about 104 F) so we had planned on going to the beach. We were going to meet Kev at the Church after Saturday basketball and pick him up and go from there. However, I woke up to the world spinning. I think that my blood sugar had dropped too low and I was suffering the consequences. I called Kev and he came home found me some juice and with a bit of rest I was fine. Since I was feeling okay we decided to head to the beach anyway. Off we headed to Whale Beach - I think we have covered all the beaches close to Sydney now.

It is nice to go to the beach on a really hot day because you can get into the water to cool off. However, the sand is super, burn your feet hot and even though it is cooler at the beach it is still hot. We enjoyed ourselves though. Fun for us that our friend Tim came and brought his kids, Emma and Jack (that's Emma in the picture).

We spent most of the day at the beach playing in the sand, visiting the rock pools, and climbing on the rocks. The beach is still, in my book at least, the best way to spend an afternoon!! Hopefully we will get to go on Monday again to celebrate Australia Day!

Madi also had a memorable experience at the beach - she almost got saved by a lifesaver, almost. Her, Cooper, and I were playing in the water and they were pretending to swim away from me so I had to save them. We were right on the edge of the flags area and within seconds Madi was being swept out to sea. I told her to come back over to me and she tried, but soon realized that she was in trouble and started crying. I, who can't swim well remember, told Cooper to stay where he was and went over to get Madi (luckily I could still reach the bottom). There was a man by us who asked if we were okay, to which I replied that I thought so, but luckily for us he stuck around. I was having a hard time fighting against the waves to get us both to shore. As the lifesaver came in to give us a hand, the nice bloke who had asked if we were okay came and grabbed Madi and carried her towards the shore. Not that it was life threatening - we would have been okay - but it was really nice to get the help. I was really tired after that and so was Madi - plus I realized that my heart had been racing. Since I don't swim well this is one of my fears about going to the beach that one of my kid will get into trouble and I won't be able to do anything about it. Luckily for us this incident wasn't too major and everything was okay. Madi now realizes why we always tell her to stay close to us and to swim within the flags.

Another Cooperism!

I have to get this in now or I am going to forget it. It may not come across as that funny in words though so you have to try and imagine this taking place as I tell you the story.

Last Saturday we stopped at the shops to do some quick shopping on our way home from the fun events (See last Saturday's blog). We were walking through the store and Stace, Madz, and Rylez were all ahead of Cooper and I. Cooper was busy being himself and was trying to hold on to both of my hands while he continued to walk right in front of me. I kept trying to get him to one side or the other, as I kept tripping over him, but he just kept moving right back in front of me. After a couple of trips (literally -- by me) we had this conversation. I said,

"Can't you walk straight? You keep tripping me!"

At this point I let go of his hands and told him I wasn't going to hold his hands anymore.

For a brief moment he was out of my sight as I pushed on trying to catch up to the "GRILLS"!

Then all of a sudden Cooper came walking past me on the side of me (rather quickly might I add), but he wasn't walking normally. He was facing sideways, sidestepping, with his arms stretched out to either side, and he was opening and closing his fingers as he was walking.

So I said, "What are you doing?" to which I got this reply.

"No dad, I can't walk straight! BECAUSE I AM A CRAB!"

I lost it! I just couldn't hold back. It was so out of the blue that it just made me laugh. Thanks for making me laugh Coop!

RAIN!!!

It has been really hot here and finally relief looked like it was in sight yesterday afternoon when the dark clouds rolled in. Pretty soon rumbles could be heard and got closer and closer. The sky opened up - luckily after I had time to get the wash down from the line - and the kids headed out to cool down. When it has been sticky and hot for days a rain storm is just the thing!

Rylee made me laugh as she pretty much stayed in one place turning circles and trying not to look up and get water in her face. Cooper went crazy and was running around the house - I was lucky to get a picture of the elusive boy. Madi played with Rylee and danced around. I of course stayed dry inside taking pictures!!! About 30 minutes later the lightening started and we decided that we better come inside.

When Kev got home he was soaked from riding his scooter in the rain from the train station - the storm was a big one. We had planned a BBQ for dinner and he had even bought shrimp for the barbie. I told him he could just cook it in the kitchen, but a little rain wasn't going to stop him!

HISTORIC DAY

It doesn't matter what party you belong to or who you voted for - today (January 20th in the US) is definitely a historic day. The first African American is now the president of the United States of America. He has moved into a house that slaves built, the day after the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. was celebrated - how ironic.

I am very interested to see if Barack Obama can fulfill his political promises. He is an eloquent speaker and he seems to be able to pull people together - but how will that equate to policies that will affect future generations?

The one thing that I do know for sure is that Barack Obama is good for America at this time. People outside of the US love this man. This is what we need, a man to help the way the world views us as a nation.

He will makes needed changes, I just hope that he goes about it in a way that will not affect my children too much. They should not pay for the mistakes of previous generations. Today that doesn't really matter, today is a happy day in politics and day of unity, a historic day to remember!

BRADLEY'S HEAD

Today we had planned to go to the beach, but the weather didn't cooperate with us. It was windy and not as warm as we would have liked. So I turned to our trusty Sydney for kids book. We were given this book upon our arrival here by the transition team that took care of us - seriously the best thing we were given. In it I looked at the historic section and found something we could do for free - that is always good right!!! We packed up a lunch and drove out to find Bradley's Head.

It happens to be located right next to the zoo - so the kids were a bit disappointed when we told them that the zoo was not in the near future for them - although we promised when grandma and grandpa come (John and Susan that is the excitement we have planned for you when you come in a few months!!). After squeezing into a parking spot - literally squeezing (really should have taken a picture of that) between a tree and a car with a bit of our tail end sticking out. We found a picnic spot with views of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.

After lunch we headed down the trail with views of the harbor, opera house, and bridge all along. It was so pretty!!! At the end we found an old barracks where Sydney was once defended with the use of cannons. The kids had a blast running through the old barracks mazes and climbing all over everything.

Before we found our way to the barracks we found a little beach and the light house - although crazy me never got a picture of the full lighthouse. I loved hearing the waves crash against the rocks and seeing all the sailboats on the water. It truly was a historic place with so much for the kids to do - this is a must see in my opinion.

MOVIE UNDER THE STARS

Last night we braved the cool weather and headed to Olympic Park in THE OVERFLOW and watched a movie under the stars. The movie for the night was The Spiderwick Chronicles. The kids were a bit scared throughout the movie, which was pretty intense for a kids movie, but there were some really funny parts (like when the bird gets eaten at the end!). We brought a picnic for dinner and enjoyed being in a place where the spirit of the Olympics was not even a decade ago. In the overflow is located the Olympic cauldron which help the flame during the Olympic games in 2000. I took a picture of it thinking that must be what it was - although to be honest it looks like a satellite dish from the angle I was at. I googled it today and sure enough it was the cauldron which has now been turned into a water fountain.

While waiting for the show to start Rylee enjoyed dancing to the music that was playing much to the enjoyment of all those around us. She really has some good moves and loves to dance! I think dance classes are definitely in our future...

OH, WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE SUMMERTIME?

Go to the park!

Create petshop and train world and use your imagination everyday.

Listen to music (thanks Grandma Cooper for the MP3 players)

Eat popsicles everyday at least once

Get wet!!!

Pretend you are a pirate looking for lost treasure in the backyard!

Feed the ducks

Climb trees

Oh the adventures of being a kid!!!

One lucky, and happy, little girl!

Madi had a wonderful day yesterday. Her friend Sarafina invited her to go to see HSM the stage production yesterday. Sarafina's mom had given her the option of doing a big birthday party or going somewhere special - she chose the special option and invited Madi to come along. Madi was so thrilled to be going. She got all dressed up since it was at the Capitol Theater in the city. They went to lunch, the show, and then got ice cream. Madi said it was "awesome!" She came home singing all the songs and therefore we were all singing them also! What a lucky girl!!!

Babysitter turned model!

We have the best babysitter in the world! The kids adore her and she is so nice and kind. We love her and are happy that she is part of our lives. Well yesterday, after a little begging and pleading, she let me take her picture and her mom got in the act as well. It was so much fun!! Here are some of my favorites!

She says that she isn't very photogenic....what she is a beauty!!! Thanks Charlotte!!!

Any constructive criticism would be wonderful - I am so trying to get better at using my camera!