Night Out at the Bowling Club

Jaimie, Ruby, Tess (and Mojmir)

Maya, Emily, Lonnie and Marli

On Friday we gathered after school with friends and family from both the girls' classes. We went to the Gladstone Bowling Club right behind the school. We started right after drop off and a hearty group stayed for dinner. The parents drank and caught up. 

The kids got their energy out by running around.

I found Tess and her friends arranged in this adorable star. I thought they might be telling secrets but on closer inspection I found them playing with iPhones. Ha.

We enjoyed our night out. The girls have their last day of school on Monday. Still, we did say the first of our goodbyes to some of the parents that we won't see on Monday. We will really miss this wonderful group of friends. I look forward to lots of letter writing, art mailing and Facebook updates from all of them. Plus Maya explained to Emily all about Skypers so I guess we'll have to try that out. 

Book Week Parade

I love Balmain Public School. I love the community we have here. I admit I was reluctant when I heard we had Book Week this week including a parade where kids dress up as a favorite character. With the packing and the preparations for our move home I didn't relish the thought of adding one more item to my to do list. But then Tess decided to be Angelina Ballerina. Easy enough. She has a new pink dress that her friend Ruby gave her. Sorted. Emily chose to be a cowgirl so she could wear an outfit borrowed from her friend Maya. Maya even loaned her a book to go with it. Done and done. Brian took the whole thing a step further by creating a wonderful stick horse to complete Emily's ensemble. With costumes behind us I actually got quite excited to see the girls parade around the park with all their friends.

Here's Emily waiting with her friend Maya (Heidi) and Tess with Samantha (Pippi).

Even the teachers got into the spirit. I particularly enjoyed seeing Tess's Ms. Read as a princess.

Neither girl saw me taking photos so you'll have to make do with profile pictures.

But I did get this good one of my dear friend Anna and her darling Pickles - erm, Patrick.

Visit with Liz and Toots

After our whirlwind anniversary weekend we chose to lay low this past weekend. We went to a 40th birthday party / pig roast. We had lunch and a play date with friends in town. Mostly we relaxed at home. We tried to keep it all normal. And then Monday rolled around and I started to pack. At this point I really appreciate how little we brought here. As I started clearing our apartment out and setting aside items for the movers I felt like our place got nicer and less cluttered for a while before it started feeling oddly empty.

We have one last full week of school and then Monday the 26th will be the girls last day. The movers will come while they go to school. We get two days to play and then we leave on Thursday, August 29th. I hoped that school would provide a sense of normalcy for the kids. I suppose it has but Tess still begs not to go each morning. 

Last week we had play dates with two of Emily's good friends. This week I know Tess will want to spend a lot of time at the swings and a lot of time with her friend Ruby.

Ruby's sweet babysitter Liz has been just wonderful to me and the girls. Today she brought us back to her house so the three girls could visit with her dog Toots. They could not wait!

Liz clearly dotes on her pup.

The three kids loved exploring a new space and playing with a dog. I enjoyed adult conversation and getting out of the house after a day of packing up.

Liz served a lovely afternoon tea and we all went home happy. Except Tess who cried when we said goodbye. She sobs after every play date now. It's going to be a long nine days. And also really short.

Brave

This weekend we headed over to Manly beach where Brian tried his hand at surfing for the first time. For better or worse the waves were quite small - actually probably a good thing for learning. He even managed to stand up on a few runs - and I got it on record. We're both quite proud of ourselves.

The girls ran right out to give him high fives.

Here Emily and Tess show off their version of surfer poses.

We talk a lot about bravery these days. Brian tried surfing and I rode on a sea plane. Brian came across this fun song and video (Sara Bareilles's Brave) to inspire the girls and spark some conversation. We asked them if they could think of times they had been brave lately. Tess mentioned going in the cave in New Zealand. Emily said she was brave going to school on Monday. I forget sometimes that at six even just entering first grade after a weekend away can feel like a big move.

Our girls did a brave thing coming to Australia with us. They didn't have a choice but along the way they put up with a lot of new situations and a lot of change and lack of familiarity. As excited as we will be to get home leaving is going to be hard on all of us. Tess is our little canary in the coal mine. She feels things so strongly that she's the first one to show the signs of stress. She woke up crying in the night probably ten different times on Sunday night. I thought she was getting sick so I kept her home from school but in the end I think it was anxiety. When we left the US she had to leave school ten minutes early on her last day because she just couldn't face another goodbye. She had me carry her out while she buried her head in my chest. I think she's starting to feel that way now. Sometimes she'll cry and say, "I just want to be with Monty, in the snow, in America." It's not that she doesn't like it here. Quite the opposite. We love it here so much that it hurts to say good bye and sometimes you wish you could fast forward through the good byes and just be back.

We got a hold of Tess's class list for the fall. She is thrilled to be in class with her friend Ashley from preschool. She was distraught, however, not to get the same teacher that Emily had last year. Brian saved the day by finding Ms. Hiltz's blog and discovering that she actually spent a semester in Sydney when she was in college. Tess now thinks Ms. Hiltz will be the perfect teacher for her. "I can talk to her about capsicums!" In her blog, Ms. Hiltz explained that getting on a plane alone to Australia was one of the bravest things she ever did. So she and Tess have that in common.

And my brave activity of the day? I had lunch with my friend Sarah and her daughter Cate. We met each other in our first weeks in Sydney. We both moved here from another country (she's from Canada) with our two little girls (hers are two and four). We met because a college friend of mine had lunch with her sister-in-law in Toronto and managed to realize they both knew someone who had just moved to Australia. We met up in January before the girls started school and hit it off right away. We have enjoyed lunch together almost every Wednesday since April. We have shared the good and bad aspects of living abroad. I'm going to miss her a ton when we leave. Knowing we are leaving makes all these little day to day activities feel like acts of bravery. It's hard. It's all worth it but it's hard.

Sydney by Seaplane

This year we have taken to heart the idea of investing in experiences instead of things. So in honor of our tenth wedding anniversary we celebrated with a seaplane ride and a gourmet lunch. The plane took off from Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour. 

We traveled up past Manly and the other northern beaches and then turned inland to the river's edge in the Kunringai Chase national park. There, tucked away in the bush, we enjoyed a leisurely three hour, three course meal at Cottage Point Inn. 

We had a gorgeous cloudless day with 73 degree temperatures. We even got the nicest table at the restaurant.

As if on cue a kookaburra - the first we've seen in the wild - settled outside.

We thoroughly enjoyed the food, the setting, and the chance to enjoy a quiet Saturday together.

We boarded the plane again for our twenty minute ride home. We flew past Palm Beach.

We passed Manly beach and the mouth of the harbor.

Our pilot did a figure eight in front of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. 

We made our way back to Rose Bay with huge grins on our faces. 

It made for a wonderful celebration of ten years of marriage and eight amazing months in this beautiful, wonderful country. 

Uluru Day Three - Sunrise

On our third day at Uluru we got up early once again and drove out to see the sunrise. This time we chose a closer vantage point and we came prepared with more snacks, layers and blankets. Brian backed our rental car up to the view and put the seats down so the girls could make a cozy nest. They loved it! They each brought a notebook for drawing.

Brian and I enjoyed getting a new vantage point. Uluru looks different from each side. 

The morning light on Uluru really shows off the sedimentary layers in the sandstone.

We also got good views back over toward Kata Tjuta.

At 8am we joined a guided walk along the base of the rock.

Our guide showed us a cave with rock art. He explained how the traditional land owners of the Anangu tribe came to this space to make paintings and retell the traditional stories. I enjoyed hearing more about the significance of Uluru for Aboriginal people. 

While Brian and I enjoyed hearing about native land use, fauna and flora the girls made quick friends with a pair of british sisters and happily walked hand in hand. 

Our guide told us a little about the geology of the area. Uluru formed from sedimentary layers that then got turned on end through the movement of plate tectonics. The red color comes from the oxidation of the iron in the stone. In plain terms the rock is rusting. 

The Kata Tjutas (pictured below) formed as a conglomerate. They also formed through sedimentation but with rocks, mud and other materials in the mix. 

Sunrise and sunset enhance these reds because the sun comes in at an angle and the atmosphere filters more of the blue from the light.

Either way, it makes for a lot of red dust on shoes, clothes and everything else!

I enjoyed seeing Uluru up close and appreciating all the hidden nooks and crannies.

Our guide showed us a pool of water that acts as a year round water source - quite a scarcity in the Outback.

For fifty years or so tourists were encouraged to climb Uluru. They even put in a rope line for people to hold onto. These days the rangers discourage climbing out of respect for the holy nature of the site for Aboriginal people. 

Brian explored part way up the mountain and confirmed that the view looking out pales in comparison to the view of Uluru. 

I'm thrilled we made this trip. It really helped round out our Australian experience. While I know we have only scratched the surface of this dear country we have already seen more of it than many Australians. We even finally got a chance to get a picture with a famous kangaroo crossing sign.

I'll leave you with this parting shot of Uluru from above.