Snapshots

Captured moments I don't want to forget:

anything to get them to practice, right? sorry neighbors...

Will's immediately massive hematoma mid-wrestling match. The tears were more from a fear of "surgery" and "emergency rooms" than from the pain. Amazing to watch. And magically gone in the morning. (D was in disbelief that I would stop to capture the sunset during such a traumatic moment, but this was happening outside simultaneously...)

zucchini transformed into all kinds of glory thanks to Our Best Bites

our ward distributes day-old bakery bread after church, nuff said

"Hooligans" I'm sure that's what our neighbors think of us some days.

summer's not a fan of ogre feet: thanks to fresh cut lawn after a rainstorm

painful afternoon hailstorm

Multicultural Festival brings the Canberrans OUT!

First, only and favorite babysitter, Sydney who:

played with "our mice,"

cooked them dinner,
bathed them,

 did their hair, 

drew them pictures, 

told them all about her soccer star boyfriend 

and made them feel entirely special all night.

Closest substitute for an older-cousin sitter they can get :)

 Lazy Sunday mornings in the ever-adaptable living room. This day it was reading on thrones while Sum Sums danced to the piano demo reel.

GramB's extra large marshmallows expanded in the microwave.

Summer's sick day when she kept randomly falling asleep

animal fun at Kathryn's house

Those creative and dangerous games that only kids can come up with, especially when left alone.

 Impromptu biking jaunts to the park when Dad gets home.

Star Wars marathon movie nights (note the Storm Trooper pic)

Australianisms Update

 A few more I've caught lately:

slippery dip (slide - cutest 3 yr old was yelling "let's go down the slippery dip!" at the park)
windcheater (windbreaker)
lippie (lipstick)
rivulet (stream)
stubbies (short shorts)
kitchen bench (kitchen counter - this one throws me every time)
feral (wild/dirty)
dressing gown (nightgown)
lie low (pool float/air mattress)
wee (pee)
lost property (lost & found)
He tucked himself (committed suicide)
I didn't pick it (didn't predict that, didn't see that coming)
I didn't twig that (didn't catch/notice/figure that out)
Can I scab a ride? (snag/catch a ride)

And my cute friend Holly of Delightful Domestic Science forwarded this clever quiz to me. Give it a try - I'm embarrassed to admit I only got 11 right. What kind of Aussie am I??

(I'll put the answers below in the comment section tomorrow for those of you who must know - and let me know how you go!)

Back to School (Re-Do)

Apparently my bulky fingers on the tiny iphone screen deleted the contents of this post rather than published the updated original, so here's a second draft substitute of what I think I wrote (lame!) 

Despite being one of our shortest summers yet, the kids were thrilled to be back in school (albeit appropriately jittery the first day.) Love their school, love their teachers, love their friends, and while I'm not sure how well they're keeping up with their U.S. counterparts with all these Australian history/geography/animal lessons, at least they're loving it.

Which leaves me and Summer home solo again, where things like this happen:

"it's so boring around here without all those big kids around..."

Park play in pjs after morning drop-off

 And the two of us hit Questacon when she finally gets to be the one deciding when/where we go:

total melt down when the parachute went bye-bye

 Ahhhhh, welcome back, morning baths - we've missed you!

And literally as those photos were uploading, I turned around to a mysterious rustling sound to find this:

While I jest about keeping up with the kids, I don't miss the stress, strain and schedule of part/full time work. I do love staying home with them, but I recognize that it's not an opportunity that all women can afford or even desire. I respect those who so valiantly split their time, attention and energies between work/school/home. It's difficult it different ways. More scheduling, rushing, planning, and stress as opposed to so much picking up, calming down, tedium and insanity. Being a mom in both scenarios is difficult and crazy and should be respected and celebrated.

That being said, I'm definitely trying to soak in these last few months with our delightfully sweet Sum-Sums before baby bro enters the scene and shakes things up again. :)

One Year Anniversary

Our one year Australian Anniversary lands right on Valentine's Day. That's the day we boarded the plane and technically we spent the 15th up in the air, landing in Oz Feb. 16, but we celebrated anyway with a fancy, candlelit dinner. The kids had been missing the whole school tradition of decorating big boxes and handing out cards (V-Day is another holiday Aussies don't celebrate, although one of their teachers did mention it.) And generally I'm not a big fan of the outrageously commercialized season, but I heart-attacked their bedrooms and laid out lots of treats anyway to cheer them up.

Darren and I had just been out to a concert the weekend before (Men At Work lead singer Colin Hay: I Come From a Land Down Under... honestly, the guy was such an entertainer, it was awesome) so the family dinner was just right.








And you know how kids love to bust out the china and bubbly. We had fun reminiscing about our arrival and things we've grown to love.

We really are so happy right here, right now and counted our many blessings. Life is good.

(Had to laugh at this awesomeness. Never mind that we have a real, wood burning stove downstairs, how could it beat this romantic evening snuggling up with our books in bed??  Ha. Technology is a riot.)

It's A.... (drumroll, please)

Apparently you have to be either Australian or pregnant to enjoy the taste of Vegemite. Because I honestly crave the stuff now. I have a version of this snack at least once a day and the vegemite content keeps creeping higher each time.

But on to the news you really care about... yes, it's a:  BOY!!!



Darren has called them all correctly and this pregnancy was so much easier, so we were hardly surprised, but it's still such great news this morning. Will is certainly beside himself to finally have a brother... "I've waited 9 years, Mum!"

Still due July 18th, baby is active, healthy and all looks good. I'm about 20 weeks (halfway) and feel real good now despite friendly strangers assuming I am to deliver next month :)

We brought blue treats to school to tell the kids and they were pretty giddy.