The Fool(s) on the Hill

Andy's written today's blog, hooray. Alexi's comments are in italics.
   The girls are on winter break for the next two weeks.  I know that must sound strange to you northerners who are enjoying a nice warm summer. We're quite envious of you and your sunshine, but there’s no sense hoping that you get stuck with a summer of June gloom.  Instead, we broke out the winter gear and decided to celebrate with a trip to the snow for a bit of sledding and snowman building.

   The planning began last week as I rearranged my schedule to free up one day this week. We pulled out the winter clothes to see what made it to Australia and what still fit.  Thankfully, Alexi was smart enough to get some nice winter jackets for the girls before we left, but their new winter boots were nowhere to be seen (probably in storage in California).  And Alanna has reached 5 feet tall, which means that her snow pants were now perfect for wading in a shallow creek.  So Monday was a shopping day. (Because nothing says 4th of July like shopping for winter gear! For good measure, we threw in a trip to Costco where we enjoyed pizza slices and smoothies, and bought 400 digital prints and organic salsa. Now that's American! But I digress...) And Alexi came through again, with a good deal on boots and ski pants.  (Good deals being extremely relative here. Snow pants under $90 that actually fit Alanna? That aren't pink? Score! And try not to sob thinking that my mom could have gotten me a pair for $5 at Goodwill. Still, we got some good advice on a used gear sale for next year, as well as information about the local resorts and snow conditions. The friendly saleslady even pointed out our best option, a place less than two hours away that had snow. Perfect!)

Martian? Or goggle-wearing Alanna?

   The gear was all set out and ready to go on Monday night. All we'd have to do the next morning is stuff it in a few duffel bags and hit the road, by 9 am was the plan.  The final packing was slowed down as we kept thinking of things to bring (iPods, more books, pillows, extra extra clothes, snacks, etc).  Classic Sherpa parenting for a drive of less than 2 hours.  In the end, we were on the road by 10:30 am.  For me, not too bad, although nothing but stress for Alexi--who as you know hates to be late for ANYTHING, even snow that is not going anywhere :-).  Nonetheless, we were all kitted up and ready for snow.  Chains in the boot (trunk), kids fed and pit stopped, mom caffeinated, and dad on the phone with clients who desperately needed his expertise. Don't worry, I (Alexi) was driving. Or wait, maybe you should worry, if you live in Victoria...Anyway, I should mention that part of the delay involved a last-minute search for chains. While double-checking the resort website for snow conditions, I saw that for today, chains were required to get to the resort. Yikes! Andy called around and located a set for purcha$e, but we decided to go back to the shop I bought the snow pants to hire (aka rent) a set of chains. So that added to the delay. Still, better than getting all the way there and not being able to get up the mountain, right? 'Cause that would be awful to go all that way and not be able to play in the snow! Right? 

   The drive out of the city was uneventful, unless you count my inattention to navigating while using my Crackberry to great effect, texting/emailing/GoogleMapping continuously for the first hour.  Which means that I had to tell Alexi to pull off the road at one point so the GPS could find us again, and we could verify our route.

   But once back on track, the roads became magnificent twisties through a beautiful rainforest akin to Kauai: 

as we ascended the mountains in rain and watched the thermometer drop from over 10C (50F) to 3C (37F), at which point the car’s digital thermometer started blinking to let us know that it was, you know, cold outside.

   Passing through Lillydale and Healesville, we finally reached Marysville, where we saw this:

   Not believing the sign, I insisted we drive the specified 22 km (14 miles) to the resort to confirm this:

   Yep, the resort was closed because the rain was not turning to snow.  And the girls broke into tears, which quickly turned to sobs about how unfair it all was, and how we’d driven so far for nothing, yada yada yada.

   So we shifted to salvage mode.  At least we’d seen a bit of snow on the side of the road a kilometer back, and decided to make lemonade out of lemons.       We built our (itty-bitty) snowmen, had a snowball fight, got cold and wet, and were smiling throughout. (Never fails to amaze me how well Andy can turn tears into smiles, crying into laughter. Reminds me yet again that parenting is mostly marketing and distraction.)

Itty-bitty snowbaby

   It was all good until Aliya demonstrated her amazing throwing arm by launching a snowball right into the (barely) open window from which Alexi was taking pictures and videos of us from the comfortable warmth of the car. Gotta love the zoom lens! Notice the excellent foreshadowing at the beginning of the video:

Not wanting our day to end quite yet, we headed back down the mountain to find this:

 Healesvilleum, yeah, of course it was uncrowded, it was a freezing-cold rainy day!) with plenty of fun things to see, including a barn owl that flew RIGHT OVER our heads during the bird show: 

a duckbill platypus (did you know they’re only about a foot long? I’d assumed they were about the size of a manatee), an inland taipan (the deadliest snake in the world, found right here in Australia, which Aliya refused to hold for some reason), plus emus, koalas and kangaroos.  But no Huntsman spiders which I wanted to see but which probably would have caused Alexi to faint if they’d actually had any (I’d include a picture here, but I think Alexi might refuse to post it, so you’ll just have to Google it yourself to see how big these babies can get). I know for a fact Andy seriously considered this since he left up the Google page full of images of Huntsman spiders. Thanks Andy!

   As we departed, we grabbed a few hot chocolates, purchased our smashed penny souvenirs, and hit the road back to Melbourne. Oh, we also stopped at the toilets where I was greeted with this sign on the stall door:

In case you're wondering, they want you to buy recycled TP

   So not a complete success, but not a complete failure either. Before the girls fell asleep on the drive home, they were begging me to take another “snow day” to make up for today, and Alexi was checking the weather to see when the rain would finally end.  I’m thinking Thursday, but we’ll see.

PS One final note from Alexi. I changed the comment settings, so you should be able to leave one even if you aren't registered. I think that was causing problems for some of you if you didn't have a gmail address. Anyway, give it a go. 

A Taste of Honey (or Port Wine, or maybe even Soap)

A few observations about life in Australia:

1. TV times are a bit random. For example, tonight "Big Bang" is on from 7:34 to 8:04. "How Clean is Your House" is 11:37 to 11:39.  The DVR seems to handle it okay, but it's bizarre that they don't start on the hour or half hour. In my opinion.

2. Lots of flavors. I would say that in general there seem to be less types of food in the grocery store. But when Aussies find something they like, they make it in as many flavors as possible. Take potato chips for example.  There must be at least two dozen flavors. A dozen chicken flavors alone. Haven't tried those, but I'm all over the Balsamic Vinegar and Salt, as well as the Lime and Black Pepper ones. Yum! On the other hand, there's jelly, known in the States as Jello.

What demographic buys this, do ya think?

3. Rinse, schminse. I'd heard rumors about this on a forum for Americans in Australia. And I've now witnessed it twice at dinners with Aussie friends. They have no problems just putting the soapy dishes in the dish rack. I didn't want to risk offending our lovely hosts, so I didn't ask why they don't rinse, but feel free to speak out if you know. All I can think of is it's a habit from days of tight water restrictions? 


Today is the last day of Term 2. Seems like a good time to do a post on my thoughts on the school system here, so hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance.

Dancing Queen

On Sunday, June 12th, Aliya had a her first bday party in Australia.

Birthday girl, ready to party

We figured the large empty living area would be perfect for a Dancing Disco Diva party, and it was. 

Dancing girls

Knowing that I can barely control my two kids, I hired a professional. 

Disco Jazzy, who effortlessly kept a dozen little girls totally entertained

She did glittery facepaint on all the girls:

Facepaint!

Alanna asked for a peace sign...she got a Mercedes Benz logo

She led them in a variety of dancing games, such as a Freeze Dance, a version of musical chairs, Limbo, the Macarena, and taught them a dance to Katy Perry's California Girls. Unless you're one of Aliya's grandparents you probably won't be interested in the video but I've included it for their sakes and posterity.  :-)

Final pose

Obligatory group shot

"What should I wish for?"

After snacks and cake, the kids went home. For the goody bags, we included a CD of some of Aliya's favorite dancing songs that I made, plus a fancy bracelet and the disco earrings that the girls wore during the party. Here the goody bags are usually called lolly bags and generally contain unwrapped candy. One child asked me why it was called a goody bag if there were no goodies in it. Guess she wanted candy instead! Oops. All-in-all, it was a great party. I feel quite grateful that Aliya has made some wonderful friends here. She missed her friends from home (first time ever that Amanda and Katie weren't at her bday party), and it was different for me not having any other parents stay for the party, but she had a great time and that's all that matters!

Fun-Fun-Fun

He-llo-earth-ling. I-am-Al-a-nna-from-Aus-tra-li-a, half-way-ar-ound-the-world. To-day-my-al-i-ens-and I-tra-veled-in-our-space-ship-for-an-ho-ur-and-15-min-utes-to-a-pla-net-where-there-is-a-big-maze-and we-had-to-find-clues-to-un-ve-il-a-sec-ret mes-sage. My-al-i-en-sis-ter-and-I-took-turns-choo-sing ways-to-go. We-had-lots-of-fun-and-the-mes-sage-was-Gr8 2 Grow Ur Own! Af-ter-wards-we-played mi-ni-golf-and-I-won-and-me-and-fath-er-al-i-en-played-check-ers-and-I-won. The-place-we-tra-veled-to-was-called-Hedgend Maze. When-we-played-golf-on-one-of-them-I-got-a-hole-in-one.

Sooo big. Approximately 1.2 kilometers.

A tricky rainbow maze, start to finish.

Giant checkers with golf clubs. I won.

Alien-me vs Alien-daddy

Hole in one. Score! The hole was called "the platypus."

Birthday

Starting her day the Melbourne way: with a cappuccino

Breakfast in bed = Heart-shaped pancakes

Opening presents wearing their new footy scarves.

Aliya is so exited about the Uno Jenga game Alanna gave her

Birthday Girl with birthday curls

Does anybody have scissors?

Requested bday dinner, yes meatloaf. And Andy's famous choc chip cookies for dessert.

A Day in the Life, Pt 2

   Saturday was yet another busy day. It started off early, as we had booked a spot at a local swap meet. After living without most of our stuff for three months, we realized we really didn't need it all once it finally arrived. So we've been downsizing as much as we can. We accumulated a lot of boxes of books and clothes the girls have outgrown, extra vases and wine glasses we'll never use, and just random junk we no longer want. Hoping to clear out some boxes from our garage and make some extra cash, we decided to sell what we could. Hence the swap meet.

   The day was mostly a success. We were extremely fortunate it didn't rain, as my attempts to find an EZ Up to borrow failed miserably. Our location wasn't the best, as it was at the very back of the market. We didn't even get that far back when we scouted out the place a month ago, so we knew the foot traffic would be lighter than the rest of the market. On the plus side, at the stall next to us was the lovely Alex Hallatt. She's a syndicated cartoonist and her strip, Arctic Circle, is about three penguins and features environmental themes. She really helped us pass the long morning, and only made fun of me a little when I asked her what that paddle was that she was selling. Yes, it was a cricket bat, duh! Not only did she bestow it upon us as a present, she also began educating us on "French Cricket", which we look forward to playing in the local park if it ever warms up and stops raining! She even entrusted the girls to walk her pooch Billy, and she introduced us to her boyfriend who is from, get this, Sewickley, PA, which is near Pittsburgh, Alexi's hometown. Small world.

   We packed up about 1:00, a few bucks richer and several boxes of stuff lighter. Good deal! We headed home so the girls could get ready for the school disco that night.

Aliya and two friends before the disco

   The girls really enjoyed the dance. They came home with tired feet, blinking mouthpieces and necklaces, and smiles on their faces. 

   For Sunday, we gave Aliya the choice of what family activity she would like to do. Alanna pushed hard for Luna Park, but after rave reviews from her friend Liana, Aliya voted for ScienceWorks. It was an excellent choice. Similar to Discovery Science Center, there were a lot more exhibits as well as a planetarium. We were so impressed we bought the family membership, as well as tickets to see two shows. The first was a 3-D movie about an animated dog going to the moon. The movie included a planetarium show where we learned a lot about the constellations in the southern hemisphere. Afterwards the girls wanted to ask the presenter about Orion. Aliya began by proclaiming that her birthday was on Tuesday, so he gave us a "Planisphere" which will enable us to locate the major constellations and stars visible from Victoria at any time of the year. He also gave each of the girls a poster about the galaxy, much to their delight.

   Here are some snapshots from our day:

Aliya helping with a demonstration of making a cloud

Alanna was fascinated with a set of optical illusion paintings. They could be spun around. The first set included a list of words that could also be read when flipped around. Not sure if that makes any sense but take a close look at the pics below.

Bowl of fruit

Funny man

    Too many exhibits to mention, but another highlight was the Lightning Room which featured a Tesla Coil. Since Alanna did a school research project on lightning, she really enjoyed the demonstration of what to do during a lightning strike. 
   We still had one last activity of the day. The girls helped me make the pretzel candies to hand out in Aliya's class on her bday.

How many can we eat, mom?

A Day in the Life

   Well, it's winter here. That's right, Australia doesn't wait until the summer/winter solstice. Winter is officially defined as June, July, and August here. Of course, if you were to base it on temperature, I would say winter started about the second week of May. It's been many many years since I've felt this cold, this often. Factor in cold days, lack of insulation in the house, and me being too cheap to heat the house just for me, and well, I'm COLD. I might have to stop checking Facebook for the next three months as I see all my American friends enjoying their summer! 
   Slowly but surely, we're moving towards a "normal" life here in Oz. For example, one weekend was in many ways similar to one we might have had back home. Friday night we went to a production of Cinderella at a nearby theatre. A friend and classmate of Alanna was in the show, as one of the young girls. Saturday we  met Andy's coworkers downtown for dinner, and then walked to a footy game, Richmond (Andy's team) vs. Essendon (Alexi's team). This time we were in a different arena, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and much higher up in the stands. Nose-bleed section, to be sure. On the plus side, it seemed more family-friendly up there, possibly because the kids tix were only $6, and there were no loud, drunk, swearing moms behind us this time. It was a great game, with the lead flipping back and forth numerous times in the first half. Once again we left early, as the kids were suffering a bit from two very late nights out in a row.
   On Sunday, Aliya went to a birthday part for two twin girls. They had a wood-working party in their garage for, get this, 24 kids! I can only imagine what the mom did with the 48 presents. Aliya had a great time crafting and painting a little windmill. I arrived just as they were settling down for some snacks. Sorry about the poor quality pic from my phone. I thought some of you might find it interesting to see the typical kiddy party fare:

Mini meat pies, sausage rolls, and "fairy bread" aka white bread with butter and sprinkles

  Sunday evening we had Andy's coworkers over for dinner. The girls loved seeing baby Sydney, and they got along well with Justin, who had just flown in from the New York office. They persisted in calling him Justin Bieber, but they liked him a lot, possibly because he brought several large boxes of z-bars with him.
   Another weekend, Andy took the girls ice skating. They loved it:

   That same day there was an auction across the street. Yes, that's how they sell houses here. There are a few preview days, where you have a very short window of time to view the house. Then, on the prescribed day and time, the auctioneer stands in the middle of the street and starts the auction. 

   He gives some background preliminaries, including highlights of the house and basic rules of the auction. Interestingly enough, the auctioneer can submit bids for the vendor (seller) and essentially ratchet up the price. This particular auction was rather disappointing though. The first bidder proposed $800,000. The auctioneer almost made fun of him. The bidder responded that the ad said bids between $800,000 and something else would be accepted. The bidder demanded, "Do you accept my bid?" The auctioneer responded that he did, but that he was submitting a bid for the vendor for $850,000. The first (and only) bidder responded with $851,000. Despite several groups of interested people, along with neighboring looky-loos like myself, there were no other bids. Gee, can't imagine why people wouldn't want to pay more for narrow 3 bedroom, 2 bath (both of which are upstairs) house that's actually half of a duplex. The bidding ended there. According to the auctioneer, the high bidder then had the opportunity to enter a negotiation with the seller (wha??). Apparently the negotiations fell through because the sign now says: For Sale or Lease. 
   Speaking of the signs, I think the For Sale signs here are rather interesting. First of all, they're HUGE. Second, they have color pictures, and descriptions. Third, they have lights shining on them at night. The street lights here are far and few between, so this one actually helps light up our street  :-)
   Aliya's turned into the socialite of the family. She's been to five birthday parties since school started. I felt fortunate to be invited to a girls night out with some other Year 1 moms. Another crappy cell phone pic, and unfortunately I didn't take it when we arrived so I could show the six bottles of wine on the table! It was BYO, so we all did.

A happy and outspoken group of ladies!

    Dinner was at the acclaimed Bombay By Night. Indian food wouldn't have been my first choice, but I have to say it was really good. Thankfully we ordered a bunch of dishes to share. The other huge advantage of the restaurant was it was walking distance, so no one had to worry about driving. It was a fun group, and I'm pretty sure I can recruit a few of them to play Bunco!
   Last Tuesday Aliya stayed home from school. She'd been up most of the night coughing, and was really tired. Trying to make it semi-educational, we played a few games, including Money Bags, which requires you to use American money to generate certain amounts. For example, you might give yourself $0.44 without using nickels. I like this game particularly since the Aussie coins are so different. (20 cent pieces not quarters, and no pennies) She also let me video her sharing her recently-acquired knowledge of sea turtles:

   The highlight for the A-team last week was definitely this:

Andy's brother John, his wife (not "partner") Carrie and baby Fletcher

   The girls are SO excited about their new cousin Fletcher who was born on June 1st. Mom and baby are doing great, we're happy to report. We're hoping to see them in California over the holidays.
   This past weekend was more of the same with playdates, a swap meet, the school disco, and a trip to ScienceWorks, but I'll have to save that for another post!