"New"s

Moves are fun. Even if you don't get to experience a new country or culture, you still get a new house, new yard, new neighborhood, new schools, new friends, new ward, etc. A few of my favorite "news" involve the house we were placed in. It backs up to a picturesque little walkway with weeds and steps and eucalyptus trees galore, meandering up the hill past houses on one side and clumps of rock and various shrubbery on the other. Then past a wooded playground and up through a nature preserve full of dirt paths and wildlife. I mean, come on! It's the perfect end to the day - walking up to visit the roos that invariably hop across the fields before you. (Which is always a thrill except when you're extremely alone, like the other night when I rounded the bend at dusk to a mob of 12 on my left and 6 on my right, less than 10 yards away, staring me down as if deciding whether to charge or not. Back...away...slowly.)

The other is our new arrangement of bedrooms. The three kids' rooms and ours all surround the top of the stairway on the upper level, with a little sitting area beside a window. They've had a grand time owning their own space and lately we've fallen into a pleasant little bedtime routine where mom helps them all get tucked in and reading while dad strums the guitar to mellow the mood. Then once they've all been kissed, prayers said and rooms darkened, mom joins dad by the window and we sing until they're snoring, or beyond. Top three requests: "Pony Man" (Gordon Lightfoot - click to listen), "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen, but Jeff Buckley & Brandi Carlile versions are stunning - Jeff here), and "Dragonfly Races" (Ellis Paul - click to listen). Engaging lyrics and moving musicality. How cool is it to discover music you AND your kids love? It has been years since we've done this regularly and a nostalgic throw back to our late night recording sessions in Maryland. Last weekend we kept the candles lit long after Earth Hour ended, the kids all snug in bed, and sang looking out at the stars. Magic, I tell ya.

Which leads me to another happy discovery. The STARS. (Well, the whole sky actually. The brilliantly vibrant hues of blue in this sky are hard to find words for.) Did you know the constellations are upside down here? We finally figured it out that night, googling some images and comparing against the window to see that Orion was upside down and backwards (see above - his 3 star "dagger" is usually below his "belt"). So fascinating. The stars are bright from here, but as you may have read, D actually stayed up most of the night researching photographic telescopes to take with us on camping trips in the Outback. Definitely the start of some new family traditions.

When Dad walked in from work the first time in this get-up the kids were like "Where are your pants?!"

And in final "new"s, we are officially a one-car-family now. I admit, I was skeptical at first. And we're still working out the kinks. But D has been biking to work and arriving with some fresh morning air in his lungs and a spring in his step. And although it's a longer commute, I'm not complaining about the years he's adding to his life by getting the regular exercise. Sure, we haven't made it through a winter yet, but at least it doesn't snow here, right? (Unfortunately, we can't claim our motivation was the lofty goal of decreasing our carbon footprint, but rather the financial savings... if these "bike gear" purchases ever peter out, that is. But with gas prices like this, that was motivation a-plenty.)

P.S. All those wonderful savings are now labeled "Photographic Telescope Fund." Yay! I'm considering renaming it "Banana Fund" though after looking at my grocery receipt to see what I paid for 10 smallish bananas... ahem... $22.05.

Wonky Talk, Continued

A few more we've enjoyed hearing/using...

post (mail -it's delivered by motorbike too)
pram (stroller)
ring (call on the phone)
fairy floss (cotton candy)
keen on (really want/like/excited about)
ace (excellent)
chemist (pharmacy)
oi (hey - to get someone's attn)
swimming costume/cozzie/bathers/swimmers (swimsuit)
wonky (weird)
dodgey (tricky)
knackered (exhausted/beat)
boomer (large kangaroo)
footie (rugby, football, soccer)
pokies (slot machines - 1% of world's population, 20% of worlds pokies)
whinge (whine)
washing-up liquid (dish soap)
full stop (period)
mozzie bites (mosquito bites)
tasty/extra tasty (cheddar - mild/sharp)
dear (expensive)
handbag (purse)

Astrophotographer

Darren here. So I want to get a telescope and take pictures of galaxies far, far away. I've always wanted to. And maybe contribute to galaxyzoo.org & stuff like that, explore for real what I've only done virtually via Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope. With the kids getting old enough and with lots of camping trips foreseen deep into the dark outback, it might just be time. That line of thinking sat me down in front of the computer at 10pm Saturday, the beginning of a ridiculous no-break, six hour research frenzy. By the end, I had joined a astronomy forum and ordered a book. Despite having downloaded what seemed to me an immense amount of knowledge of telescopes and astrophotography, I had no idea what to do next. This stuff is complicated. And expensive. But you can't believe the quality of these photographs taken by hobbiests. I'll include some below. Hopefully, you'll see some of Darvey's in the future. Ride a wormhole there and tell me if they are any good.

Images of Deep Rosette by Boren, M42 by Penfold & M31 by Luke:

Canberra Day

Here is some video taken at the Canberra Day Celebration held March 14th. Will and McKenna try to imitate the break dancers on stage. Each kid got to choose one carnival ride: Will the test of strength and dexterity, Kenna the high-bounce tramp, and Annie the spinner.

Later in the week, we went back to the Civic Center just after sunrise to watch the hot air balloons.

Finally, the weekend fireworks extravaganza spent with some new friends.

Tech Talk

So there's obviously a whole lot of adjustments involved when switching countries. Some are just funny - like dollar bills getting replaced by little gold coins. Some are dangerous - like driving on the other side of the road and perpetually hitting your windshield wipers rather than your blinkers. Others are inconvenient - like having to buy all new small appliances for the different outlets. And others are just frustrating - like the internet being strangely different.

You'd think the internet's universal, right? Not exactly. We can't use a bunch of favorite sites that we'd really enjoyed, like hulu, pandora, and netflix streaming. Boo. Also, phones. We couldn't unlock my iphone here and had to purchase new, darn it. (However, I am loving the upgrade to front/back cameras to use Skype anywhere or instantly track each other, or find a lost phone, with the iphone find app.) Amid all this though, I've just gotta give a shout out to Ooma phone systems. On a whim, we took our old Ooma set up we were using in Salt Lake just to see if it would work here (since it connects via the internet.) Lo and behold, we plugged it in and VOILA, crystal-clear, free, international calling using our same Salt Lake telephone number. Yes, we've had a few 3am random playdate requests from old friends that had been out of the loop, but man, I can't even call internationally with my cell phone but I've got my mom calling me clear as day on my Ooma phone. So, feel free to call (19 hours ahead, remember!) Or if you've got a computer camera, skype is a fantastic way to keep in touch, especially for little ones who benefit from face-to-face communication.

Also, the technological advances at school are impressive. Every school we visited had Smart Screens in each classroom, media/computer literacy instruction and our school is even raising money for ipads for student use. Our kids are already addicted to their math homework, which they do through an internet program called Mathletics. They can even race/test against students across the world, which opens up a whole new realm of motivation for our most competetive child.

One thing I'm not so pleased with however, is the tv ratings system here or lack thereof. We've never had cable, but I'm pretty sure this is beyond that. Once it hits 9pm, just watch out is all I'm sayin. I've seen way more than I'd deem appropriate for any age simply flipping through the channels in the evening, not to mention the language they let fly on the air. But I've also happened upon some great old episodes of the Love Boat, Touched By An Angel and Seventh Heaven during the day so... lesson learned.

Greenies

Australians are really earth-friendly and energy-conscious. Very GREEN so to speak. I'd imagine it has much to do with the fact that they are in drought for years on end (2011 ended an 8 year streak when they weren't allowed to even wash their cars, let alone water their yards.) 

Some of the ways they keep it real:

clothes lines - it's kinda frowned upon to use the dryer when the good old sun can do it without any energy drain (in fact most homes don't even have a dryer)

grocery sacs - don't leave home without 'em

bike lanes criss-cross this city through some gorgeous terrain (ask Darren, he's trying out the old bike-to-work routine and his first sunrise commute was quote "glorious")

recycling: it's BIG here

even to include food - at school they promote "waste-free lunches" with containers instead of bags/wrappers, as well as collecting food waste for "chook scraps"

half-flushers - you can even "go green" when you "gotta go"

Earth Hour: you may have heard of it, an exercise started by Australia a few years ago to stimulate some worldwide eco-consience and comraderie. The drill is that everyone turns the lights out, electronics off and basically unplugs for an hour. Join us! Save the planet this Saturday 8:30-9:30 pm. (Utah folk, I'm sure you're eager to set your alarms for 3:30 am Saturday morning to participate by NOT turning on the lights or tv...)

Pretty cool ad campaign. These guys are serious about going green and I'm talking fines for run off and excessive watering. Happy to report though, I'm changing some bad habits.

A New Chapter

Can't say I've ever been able to do this at 1:30 in the afternoon before!

Australianisms

Still often having to ask people to repeat or explain stuff, but catching on...

Here are a few more oft-used sayings:

How ya going? (How are you?)

Good on ya! (Well done!)

See yous lata. (See you guys later.)
Give it the flick. (Get rid of it.)

Ta. (Thank you.) 

She'll be apples. She'll be right. (It'll be alright.)

No worries. No drama. (No problem.)
Too right. (Definitely.)

You lucked in. (Lucky you.)
Give 'im a fair go. (Give him a chance.)

Fair Dinkum. (For real. It's true.)

The guy we bought our car from spoke with such a thick accent I honestly couldn't understand most of what he was saying. I did hear "mate" at the end of every sentence though so I kept smiling and nodding...

Pink

In my small circle, I've only personally known 3 women who've died from breast cancer - all young mothers, leaving 2-3 kids behind. I'm learning that it's a tragedy repeated every day, around the world. Why is it coming younger and younger?! The devastation it leaves in its wake never ceases to bring with it heart-crushing emotion. The monster.

I met the sweetest new friend the other day. We set up a playdate at the park with my daughter's new best friend at school and halfway through our afternoon, she apologized for the wig and disclosed that she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She'd already had surgery and chemo and was just finishing radiation. She'd lost her eyebrows the day before and was feeling out of sorts with each new turn. To me, she was a full on war hero. She was so open and beautiful and genuine. I love her already. I am so angry at the whole situation. The repeated scenario - the fear, the hope, the pain, the questions, the children, the struggle, the ever-present threat that you'll never be free of again. It's so awful and ugly. I detest it so.

It seems every day I'm finding one more thing to pray for. Find a cure. Find a cure.

Big Wheels

Car's been in and out of the shop all week getting windows, locks, brakes and audio re-done. What a pain. Sure makes you appreciate a car. And good friends who are willing to be your valet. Awesome thing was, once we finally got the car back it died twice in one day. Nothing like getting a jump in the middle of the drop-off line at school. The second time I just threw in the towel and hung out in the back seat with the baby for a couple hours, surfing online to kill time (and wishing I'd actually included socks and a bra in that morning's haste.) Then I hitched a ride to a nearby service station where they sent me to go "get a cup 'o coffee" while they towed it in and checked it out. Turned out the battery connectors just needed to be tightened up and she now runs fine. I'm gonna take them a big chocolate cake for sending me off with a "no worries, she'll be right" when I asked what I could pay them. (Darren said they would've charged him, but damsel-in-distress-with-baby-on-the-hip scenario probably helped.)

On another note, how do so many people drive around in these giant beasts? My four wheel drive isn't even that big and in the last week I've hit a freeway curb, bent a fence post and run over my garbage can. Obviously, a learning curve...

The nice thing is, grass isn't sacred here so going over curbs and parking anywhere you please is kinda the norm. Which is ultra convenient in many situations (ie: being a bad driver, picking up your kids from school, when parking lots are full, etc.)

That's when I really like having a big ole car. Outta my way!

Crikey!

When people said, "You're so brave!" as we set out to move our family over here -- I never felt it was anything but exciting and fairly easy... until I started seeing some of this stuff in person. All the admonitions to "check your shoes" are starting to ring true after our discovery last weekend. Good thing we're one street over from the hospital for any emergency anti-venom needs. Sheesh.

Let me expound...

Australia is home to 7 of the world's 10 most poisonous snakes. These ones live in our area: King Brown and Tiger Snake. Advice: Wear good shoes, make lots of noise and carry a stick while "bush-wacking" (walking) in tall grass. My neighbor said on any given night 10 snakes go through your backyard. Saweeeet.

We also host a majority of the world's most poisonous spiders. The smaller, the more dangerous. We are learning to always check anything left outside for a while. The Redbacks we have on our patio haven't killed anyone since the anti-venom came out in the 80s and most people don't react with more than a painful itch. Still gives me the creepy-crawlies though. Not to mention those hairy monsters I photographed in our living room HERE... In fact, they estimate 80% of the spider species here aren't even known to science. It's a fascinating figure too that 80% of all plant and animal life that lives in Australia exists no where else.

What a crazy cool country.

But let's continue...

Big Bugs: they're just plain bigger/hairier/creepier here. The bull ants (below) have a red mid section and are almost an inch long - they're everywhere and give a very painful bite. Not sure what got me, but I had 26 bites on one foot the first week we got here and the itch is JUST now fading away as the spots shrink. That's one way to slowly go insane, I tell you what.

Kenna found these crazies and about jumped out of her skin when they disappeared from their cocoons after this pic.

And as cute as those boxing kangaroos looked, we learned from our neighbors to give them space, and keep dogs chained up or inside. They will kill your dog by holding it against a tree with their arms and clawing its guts out with their powerful feet. Nice. Apparently, they come down to our yard at night - so that's what those large deer droppings we've seen are. Neighbors have hit them on our street in their cars, causing $3000 worth of repairs on average. Duly noted.

Saw these babies on a walk last night - no idea.
The worms & crawlies around are endless.

Speaking of dangers and money - there's a serious speeding racket here. I swear it's more for the money than the safety. They have speed cameras all over, but particularly in the places where it's tricky to adhere to: bottoms of hills and sections where the speed limit drops for a blip before going back up. Oh, and they get you - everyone warns me. I'm nervous every time I get the mail now because it's just inevitable. Reason I'm nervous? Speeding fines start at $150 and go up from there.

Of course there are the crocs, sharks, jellyfish and the Outback itself to be concerned about too, but we feel a bit removed from those threats.

The SUN however, is not to be taken lightly. The UV rays get up to 15 (never seen anything more than 10 on North America) so even on cloudy days you can get terribly burned. Sunscreen, hats, and long, loose fitting clothing to absorb the heat will actually keep you cooler than tank tops and shorts. Not exactly intuitive, but good to know.

Lastly, well, I'm sure it's not lastly and this will end up being a shallow overview. But, I keep hearing about the magpies that attack you at certain seasons when you're walking along unwittingly too close to their nest. My neighbor warned, "oh yeah, they'll take a chunk outa ya" and Darren's coworker got swooped twice, head bloodied and all. I guess the advice is to carry umbrellas and glue funky antennae on your bike helmet and such. We'll be looking forward to THAT season. (I'm picturing that old Hitchcock film The Birds...)

So Welcome and Come Visit - but don't say I didn't warn you.

Aid

There's a special place in my heart reserved for Japan. 

I spent just six weeks there with a performing group fresh out of high school and fell. in. love. The culture, the customs, the FOOD, the respect, the people, the breathtaking beauty of the countryside. I drank it in and have always wanted to go back. I keep trying to convince D to apply for a tour there, but he hasn't had opportunity to catch the vision of Asia just yet...

My heart truly goes out to the devastation and suffering the people of Japan are experiencing right now. Between the news coverage, the buttons on blogs, and a group of sweet Aussie Japanese collecting donations at the Canberra Festival celebrations last night - the Japanese people remain on my mind. 

I'm going to copy nie nie in this link for trustworthy international aid. Please consider donating here... and as always the power of prayer also will help miracles happen for our brothers and sisters miles away. 

We're praying for you!!

U.S.A.

As you probably know Darren is on assignment here with the U.S. government. We have lived in MD and UT with his job, but this is our first overseas position. And being so, it was my first opportunity to be party to all the necessary "briefings" at the U.S. Embassy upon our arrival. I must say, it has been pretty fun. The US/Australian relationship is quite developed and our embassy here reflects that in its size and beauty. Gorgeous grounds and buildings. It was a treat to walk through and get my badge and mailbox keys and make the rounds to all the appropriate meetings for a few days. Having the kids already in school was a huge help as well as all the prep work and research we'd done on our own prior. I felt like it was sort of a two day date with my husband (which is MONEY when you usually don't get to reconnect 'til all the kids are snoring and you're both hammered.)

This is also my first time experiencing the "expat" culture that accompanies such a posting. Granted, I'm not struggling with any language barriers or many challenging cultural differences, but it's still enjoyable to have a nice, familiar, community feel every time I visit the embassy or attend one of its functions. They have trivia nights, movie nights, massive garage sales, moms groups, parties, etc. I went to the embassy book club the other night and I was shocked by how much it felt like a Relief Society function. All these ladies being gathered with one commonality (citizenship rather than religion) to eat, socialize and share ideas late into the night. The conversations were fascinating. Such rich and diverse perspectives from a myriad of backgrounds and experiences - different cultures, family structures, professional grades. It was so uplifting. I genuinely appreciated the stimulating and political topics that repeatedly came up through our discussions. And of course it was fun to hear the familiar sharing of where to find this or that or who found what at such a low price, etc. It's also fun to see all the different government-owned housing (and that familiar furniture) as we visit others' homes.

We are thrilled with our home here. We are the first American family to move in so it recently had all sorts of required updates and installments like alarm systems, special locks, slash-proof security screens, & high fences. It's just beautiful inside with many lovely extras we didn't expect (kids are taking real advantage of the intercom, central vac and laundry chute.) Security cars drive by at all times of day and night to check the place (one guard even knocked to say our garage door was open - talk about feeling safe. Um, minus the spiders I guess.) It's plenty big for our potentially growing family (5 bedrooms/3 garages) too. So I guess my point is - there's room for visitors!!

Canberra is very "western," and many things feel entirely familiar. There aren't many products I haven't been able to find (admittedly at a higher price) but most can be purchased online anyway. And while there aren't any familiar brands of food, the Australian versions are great. Milk, cheese and chocolate are much tastier due to the high cream content and I'm having a ball trying out lots of randoms that look interesting.

I've been impressed to find how child and family-friendly this city is with all sorts of activities that are kid-centered. Free city-sponsored playgroups and preschools with activities and snacks provided. Many "mums" with small children or pregnant. I even had a hard time finding a seat in the family lounge at the mall - a space provided to nurse and change diapers privately with a little play area for the older sibs too. So many friendly and talkative mums. It's a nice surprise and makes it feel a lot like home.

Un-Settling In

We're still waiting for our household shipment to arrive, but otherwise feel like life is settling in. That will be a whole new whirlwind to handle... moving IN. But we've been enjoying walks around the neighborhood, new friendships and playdates, Darren, Will and Kenna have all given talks at church, the kids have each won an award at school, and we're getting to know our way around these parts. Mama's happy to have our Saturday chores in full swing. The kiddos seem to stay on task longer when we pump up the music and work side by side, so we had some vacuuming races then enjoyed the sunshine together detailing the car, mowing the lawn and spraying the house (after finding friends pictured below.)

Exhibit A & B (Huntsman) is admittedly awful looking but we keep them around because they eat Exhibit C (Red-back) whose bite can be fatal. Found 5 of those on the back patio. Not exactly a happy discovery when you've got a little one starting to crawl and eat anything she can grab. The variety of dangerous specimens that call Australia home is a post of its own...

Followed chores up with a dip in the pool and a fun work party that evening. With Canberra Day being tomorrow, we might hit some festivities to finish off the long weekend. Feeling good.

Brindabella

Some video from our drive through Brindabella National Park last Saturday.


Started off with an unfortunate 30 minute wrong turn detour of windy vomit-inducing roads, did some off roading to take in the view, drove through a stream, discovered Will inherited his mother's love of skinny-dipping, chatted with local man and his braided beard, pumped some good tunes, got kicked off some private property, enjoyed the countryside, talked mom into getting wet this time, ran over a 3 foot snake, made some memories.

When Dad's Left in Charge

In my defense, I didn't know McKenna had put the humus next to Summer in the Dining room. Summer has a thing for humus. Plus, her playing quietly for 15 minutes was so convenient as I was glued to the news about the Tsunami in Japan. Another disaster was lurking. As the pictures illustrate, Summer had her way with the humus. As an added bonus, I found a gigantic blow-out hiding as I removed her onesie ahead of the bath. Unfortunately, humus is not what is displayed in the last photo. A proud moment for father.

Wonky Talk

I've had to smile with embarrassment and ask, "What does that mean?" quite a few times here. Thick accents and special pronunciation make even common words literally unrecognizable to the untrained ear at times. Add that to the variety of great vocab we're getting used to and daily conversations can be an excellent brain exercise. Beyond the expected "G'day mate" (which truly is the normal greeting here - no lie):

jumper (sweater)
boot (trunk of car)
bonnet (hood of car)
nappies (diapers)
chooks (chickens)
canteen (cafeteria)
lollies (candies)
biscuits/bikkies (cookies/crackers)
brekkie (breakfast)
people mover (minivan)
crook (ill)
fortnight (two weeks)
ute (truck)
rubbish bin (garbage can)
trolley (shopping cart)
heaps (lots)
cross (angry)
capsicum (sweet peppers)
sultanas (raisins)
lemonade (sprite)
squash (flavored soda)
rubber (eraser)
cordial (punch concentrate)
spare (extra)
"haytch" (h)
surgery (doctor's clinic)
theatre (surgery)
tea (snack)
have a go (try)
mum (mom)
barbie (grill)

Of course, many of those have a British background, and spelling is often different too (this actually works to Will's advantage, but not Kenna's) ie: colour, reflexion, learnt, aeroplane, tyre, mould, pyjamas, kerb, licence, maths, chequer, aluminium, centre

The kids are even starting to correct me like when I ask if they want some "cookies." Kenna in particular is really picking up the accent especially when I catch her chatting with her friends at school. It's pretty sweet.

Happy Ash Wednesday

We're learning all sorts of interesting things about Catholicism and the accompanying beliefs and sacraments. While we don't have the kids do the sign of the cross or recited prayers at home like they do at school, we do encourage them to appreciate all the different ways both religions worship and to recognize the symbolic value in each.

I attended the kids' Ash Wednesday liturgy where Will did an excellent reading from the Bible about how we're not to show off our good deeds. Then all the students received ash crosses on their foreheads. Definitely a new one for us. But I appreciated the introduction to Lent and that the ash cross was to remind them that nobody's perfect and encourage each child to use this opportunity to abandon a bad habit or find new resolve to improve oneself in some way.

Being at this school has led to some great dinner discussions already and I'd say that's a good thing.

A Cup of Sugar

You ever had to run over to the neighbors for a missing ingredient (or in my case, tin foil to keep your roo from burning)? Well, I think kind neighbors are priceless. And we got pretty lucky with ours. We were assigned housing on a cul-de-sac in a nice part of town surrounded by lots of embassies. I was worried there wouldn't be much social interaction, but after introducing ourselves one couple invited us over for "afternoon tea and drinks" with the three other families in our circle, all of which have been here since they bought the lots 20+ years ago. Extremely nice gesture.

The neighbors on one side have a couple kids just older than ours (who incidentally don't use the trampoline much anymore and invited us to come and go as we please.) They also have guinea pigs who roam the backyard which has helped ease the pain of leaving our pet rats at home.

Neighbors on the other side were very hospitable empty-nesters who opened their pool to our crazy kids with an invitation to use it when they wanted. (Wow.) Our kids ran their dog ragged, playing fetch with him in the pool while we sat and visited. They've had a kangaroo fall in the pool and blue tongued lizards sitting at their back door. We learned of the other international families that had stayed in our house - and many other juicy neighborhood tidbits. We were introduced to turnip cake and candied licorice and warned to be careful at night because the kangaroos come down to our yards in the dark. And despite being asked if we were from some new cult in Utah (you know, the whole "we don't drink tea, coffee, OR alcohol" bit) it was a lovely, lovely time and we were grateful for such a warm welcome.

We've found the people, children included, to be super friendly. Kenna had no less than three girls volunteer to "look after her" within 5 minutes on her first day of school. And complete strangers almost jump to help this struggling mama daily. (I've had people load my groceries, jump my car, push my cart, & hold my baby, entirely unsolicited.) Good on ya, Australians!

Did You Know?

that over here on the opposite side of the world...

autumn just began.
we use the metric system. (I'm getting good at liters and grams.)
we use Celsius rather than Fahrenheit.
water flushes down the toilet counterclockwise.
our paper size is different. (8.3 x 11.7 in)
the outlets and voltage are different.

We also drive on the left side of the road. 

 (!!!)

I never remember which side of the road to check first. I have yet to crash, knock on wood, but still have to really concentrate. It's exciting! Being in a giant SUV is a switch too. Sometimes, especially in parking lots, I miss my good old minivan...

Gave Me A Vegemite Sandwich

It's no cliche.

When an Australian child forgets their lunch or lacks the funds, he'll be provided with a vegemite sandwich. Man, that stuff. Main ingredient: concentrated yeast extract. What is that even? Mmmm.

Each class gets a "fruit break" every morning and they encourage vegetables for snack at "afternoon tea." 

Great system to keep little minds on track.

Wrap it up at home with Mom's fresh kangaroo roast and these kids are getting a well balanced diet!