Flying Foxes

So you ahve heard me talk about the 'flying fox' playground equipment that Australia has at some of the parks. Those are like mini zip lines that are really fun.

Well a reall flying fox is an animal, what we would call a 'bat'. And here they are HUGE! Really you can not really capture the size in a photo properly, you would just have to see it in person. But they are prevelant here and so cool to watch at night. It feels like we live in Gotham city and batman should come zooming out of nowhere any minute. Watching the flying foxes are a favorite evening activity.

 well one morning while at a park ( I know you are probably sick of hearing about us being at parks, but its almost an every day activity and its just a part of our life here), we saw them all settling in for their daytime sleep. It was so fun to watch!

 THere was so many of them in these trees that were clumped together and I could help myself snapping a few shots.

Some of these small things are things I wish I could bottle up forever and never have the memories dull as life moves forward and we move elsewhere. So I am trying to make a more concerned effort to record these small but incredible things. I already wish that somehow I could record the bird sounds here, especially a kookaburra which sounds like a crazy monkey.

I never Knew

 So as I have been learning so much about myself and I think we are usually always trying to improve ourselves right? Well I have been trying to figure something that I can do for myself that feels good, I can do easily (as in not have to work too hard to find a sitter or change my everyday routine so much) while Mr. Moon is out of town, and I think I found a new found love of mine. Sewing! I know for practical purposes it is way cheaper these days to buy premade things as opposed to sew them on your own.

 But there is just something about creating things of practical purpose with my hands that gives a huge sense of confidence, a boost of accomplishment, and in all honestness a bit of pride that I am carrying on a long standing traditional hobby of women. I feel like with all the feminist movements a lot of traditional things have been looked down upon and demeaned, but I have a lot of admiration for the hard work and long hours it takes to do these domestic and homemaking skills. I feel like I am paying tribute to the women before me and helping to keep some traditions alive.

And really sewing is something I have always wanted to learn how to do better and have that skill. So recently I decided that I was just going to apply myself and not wait any longer to learn. So I put all I knew to practice and looked up a few things online and voila- I made a super cute lightweight quilt for this summer. The nights here in the summer dont cool off, you just have the sun blaring and so really you dont want any covers, and yet if you are like me-you still want something. So I bought fabric I thought was cute and made a very very simple top, cut up a stained piece of old duvet cover and then used the top sheet from our bed set (we dont use the top sheets) as the back and binding. Its far from perfect but its enough to feel like you have cover and yet still really cool. I love it! And have started using in the last couple weeks as temps have risen. This last week it was 94 F one day.....NOooo, not ready yet, that means high humidity is right behind. BUt that does mean many more beach and swimming days!

 Ej was not thrilled for me to take his picture on this day, but I also attempted and accomplished sewing him some shorts. I let him pick out the fabric and they are meant to be pajama shorts but he has worn them both day and night.

I am excited because this takes very little fabric and he is in need of summer pjs this season and so I can just make him up a few pairs and buy matching plain t-shirts and call it good to go. Even though I am a novice and make lots of mistakes, I feel on top of the world after a successful project. So I am going to continue to work on improving myskills and I cant wait to see where this goes!

phone dump

So major phone dump, I need to do this at the end of every month I think. I find that I take a lot more pictures of every day life things on my phone because it's always on me. They are not great photos but they give a bit more of a peek into our adventure here. Without further ado...

A friend taught me how to make sushi, and I have practiced a few times and am trying to get better. Its a great lunch!

 This is a blue tongue lizard. And the tongue is really really blue, its odd. Its a lizard but the tail slithers like a snake. They are freaky if you are not familiar with them, but they are good to have around because they eat the icky bugs. They just take you off guard. This one Ej and I came across one day on our way home from the park.

 A nice relaxing Mr. Moon sitting under the shade of a tree at south bank.

 A massive bumble bee that we found dead on the sidewalk that same day. Seriously look at that thing, it's ginormous!

 When I am on top of things, I have found a great solution to get through the grocery shopping quicker and without less whining and requests. Made a small list with simple drawings of things Ej was in charge on finding, then gave him stickers to mark off what he had gotten. Major success!

 For a while (we need to get back into it) we got into the groove of going on family runs about once a week. Ej wanted to get in on the action. We discovered he really loves to run! This was one morning, him and I were on our way to the shops on foot. All of sudden I look behind me because I no longer see him in my peripheral vision and see him stretching to get 'ready' for his walk to the shop. It totally cracked me up and I had to snap him stretching.

 Beautiful right? This is a two minute drive from our church has Stake Conference. Amazing!

 While on our road tripping holiday we stopped at a park and upon entering just out on the lawn was this peacock fanning all his feathers for the lady peacock in front of him, which had no interest and ended up leaving him about 10 minutes later. It was interesting to watch this mating ritual. The male would rattle his feathers kind of at the same time as fanning them out and following her.

 This was the view from our hotel room in Sydney. The Harbor bridge and part of the opera house.

 Bondi Beach!

 Ready for whatever water. We found a sweet deal on this wetsuit and while it's actually quite large and probably inefficient at this point (it was the smallest size they carried), it will be great coming up in the next couple of years! And it was a pretty chillly spring morning that day.

 This photo and the one below are actually life savers (or life guards) from the show 'Bondi Rescue' which I am guessing doesnt air in America. But its a show that airs here about the life guards at this beach and shows their rescues (kind along the same lines as COPS, but just at the beach). It was quite cool to see them, but I was too shy to go ask them for proper photos, even though we saw plenty of people do it.

 Our family in front of the Sydney Opera House in the Harbor

 This was an interesting thing I saw at a grocery store. I have seen xantham gum listed as an ingredient on a label but never for sale, until here. It was at one of the big name grocers here - Coles....totally crazy!

 We returned hom from our holiday on the big River Fire celebration that happens along major points of the Brisbane River. We really wanted to go but by the time we arrived home from our road trip that day we were too tired and didnt feel like braving the crowds. It is an awesome part of the Brisbane festival that runs for a month. We watched what we could from our balcony. It was a bit sad to miss the music that goes along with the fireworks and lasers but it was still a good show and lovely to watch as family from the balcony and then just walk inside to resume bedtime routine.

 THis was a pair of magpies we saw at what we call the 'lookout' park. The magpies this time of year get a little protective of their mates and nests and start attacking people. I never understood phobias of birds until I saw this crazy behavior. Last year Lindsay was pecked in the eye, you will often see bikers have zip ties spiking out of their helmets to fend them off and people often leave bloody from their encounters. Just this last week one got so close to me its feathers brushed through my hair and ears, freaked me out...especially because it came from behind. But this day they seemed like a cute little couple and we were high above them on the equipment and so they had their heads turned to see us.

 This shows a little of the Jacaranda trees that are in bloom now. They are beautiful bright purple blossoms that are up for around a month and then they fall off and the tree is green until winter again. In the background fo this picture is the blue building. THis tower has a blue strip that lights up around it at night and when we first moved here we used it basically as a beacon to direct us while driving. When we were close enough we could navigate using this building. It also happens to be the building that Ej and I have walked to often.

 I got new specs. And I am not good at picking out my own glasses. Mr. Moon picked these out and it took me a couple of days to get used to them, but I love them. This picture is not good, but at least you can get the idea.

 At a recent beach visit, we saw this blue jellyfish washed up from the tide going out. They are giant and when there is one there is usually a lot. I wasnt in the water that day but Mr. Moon said that he saw a bunch and they kind of have that effervescent (sp?) blue to them. He was boogie boarding and surfing and he said every time he saw one he would arch his back and lift his limbs to avoid being stung.

THis I just took a couple days ago and its such a good picture of spring here, absolutely beautiful! The purple Jacaranda and another 'popcorn' tree as we call them.

So there is a brief update from random phone photos. Hope you liked it!

Singing in the rain

All right, so these posts are probably seeming very random. You would be correct. I need to get my phone pics sorted and whilst that is waiting we have been busy doing our normal day to day things. Althought this weekend Ej and I came down with a cold. I have it more mildly while Ej had it fairly bad the first few days so we didnt do much outside of the house. But remember when I said we are trying to go outside everyday? Well we dont always make that goal, but we get there 5-6 days a week which works for me! One day earlier this week it was raining and it has been warming up so I thought it would be a warm down pour. I was oh so wrong!

 It was actually quite cold so we didnt stay out a real long time, but long enough to have a fun time in the rain and then go back up to our flat to warm up and feel like we got out.

 He is pointing up because he wanted me to show him our balcony.

 I didnt bring a jumper down for myself initially because I didnt think it would be that cold, so we took a quick break and each put another layer on....thus little man's rain slicker.

 then we found a little slug and took some time to look and explore

 Little man touched it...

 and was so proud of himself!

 then he decided the slug needed shelter form the rain too, and shelter him with a palm leaf

And then he took a couple minutes to listen and feel the rain fall on his slicker and then we came in.

Phone dump next I promise!

Family Vacation Baby!

So we were so excited for our family Holiday. The plan was to make our way down the East coast of Australia from Brisbane down to Sydney and stopping along the way.

We got off to a bit of a rough start. I gave myself food poisoning the night before leaving when I was supposed to be finishing up packing and cleaning for a rental inspection that was going to take place in our flat while we were gone. So I spent most of the night on the bathroom floor and relinquishing my body of every ounce of anything in my digestive tract. NOT FUN! The next morning I didnt want anything to go too far amiss and so I pushed through the ickiness. I was already feeling a bit better but not great, so we left a bit later than planned but we had our eyes set on getting to this place....

 Caves Beach, New South Wales! This was not our first nights desitination though. The first day we drove to Nambucca Heads....the gps got us lost about 3 times on the way (Sat. Navs. here are notorious for not being great).....and upon our arrival at our campsite-Erik had a major asthma attack. We had fun plans to camp for a night and it all came crashing down when within five minutes of being there Ej was wheezing and gasping for breath. I took him in the car to get him away from whatever the allergen was and regroup. He did well at trying to not cry and overwork himself to make his asthma even worse than it was. It's nice that he is old enough to understand our explanations of things now.

We ended up moving into a cabin at the campground and laying low instead of spending a ton of time outside. Halfway through the night, although improved Ej was still struggling....so Mr. Moon took him to a hospital in the next town over and got him a breathing treatment and fortunately for us they gave us an inhaler and no charges for the visit or meds/equipment. We were very looked after.

Next day we made our way to friends in Caves Beach who live literally meters from the beach. Oh and did I mention we had already figured out that we didnt have battery charge in our camera and thus a huge lack of pictures. Luckily our friends had a camera and we used our memory card in it for a morning and then switched ( I need to get her pics). But I will do a phone dump soon and get some pics I took with my phone.

 Anyhow we went to the beach and nearby caves. From the first beach picture you can see the rocks and that is where we walked to and had some fun!

 We looked in all sorts of tide pools, and played in the sand and even did a treasure hunt!

 Looking close at the little tide pools left in the rocks. We knew this family back when we were stationed in Washington. The husband was an exchange pilot up there (almost the same program as us) and so it was fun to catch up and meet up. Last time we saw them they were pregnant with their first and we didnt have little man in our lives yet.

 The dads and kids went around this corner and explored but you had to get pretty wet to do it and I am wuss when it comes to even slightly cold water, plus I didnt have my swim suit on so us Moms and the baby stayed behind.

 K and her little guy.

 Everyone ejoying playing in the sand

 Little Ej found his treasure!

My handsome Mr. Moon

Hanging out by the caves in front of the ocean. Really we are so lucky to experience such awesomeness on a regular basis. It will be so hard to leave the beaches, but I must admit I am excited to go back and do boating on lakes and camping in mountains and forest. I can wait ever so patiently though and soak up all the sun I can!

It was a lovely morning.

Not sure how many more pictures I will get from this trip so I will give you some great highlights. We spent time with our friends around their house and had an absolute blast. If you ask EJ what his favorite part of his holiday was.....it was riding bikes with his friends around their house. Their house is really the perfect set up, a beach in the back yard, a huge front yard with a security/private fence all the way around with a paved path perfect for riding bikes. K has set up the landscape to be a 'sensory' experience for littles. So every plant except one -which has its own little fence- is either edible or smells wonderful or has a safe but nice texture to feel. They built a see-saw, have a veggie patch, a little fire pit, a balance beam, all sorts of fun things. EJ was in hog heaven the whole time with having constant playmates and being in such a rich learning and fun environment. I came home really inspired to think about our environment at home and what more can I do to enrich little man's life. Siblings I know would really help, but we can't control that part. He really didnt want to leave their house. We also rode their jetski, fed ducks in a pond that had eels in it as well and it was funny to watch the eels bite the ducks in the bum to try and get the bread.

Honestly it was like we were in a bit of family paradise! We then went and made our way to Sydney from Caves Beach. We spent a lot less time there but packed in a lot of fun. We spent the first night walking around the suburbs in the CBD (Central Business District-which basically translates to downtown-each big city has a CBD area) where we were staying. We ate at a greek restaurant and patroned a local book shop where Ej picked out his choice souvenier (warmed his mama's heart!-albeit it was a batman lego dictionary with pictures of every batman lego set ever manufactured....it has kept his interest for hours). The next morming we went to famous Bondi beach and I even stealthily snapped a few pics of some of the lifeguards from the show "Bondi Rescue" that we see on TV here. Those will be in my phone dump! After the beach which turned out to be quite a chilly morning, granted it is still Spring and Sydney is farther south-thus colder, we went and walked around where the Opera House is and enjoyed time around the Harbour. Oh it was wonderful!

On the way home we stayed in a quaint little self proclaimed 'Celtic Town' of Glen Innes. We stayed in a heritage listed home (town house really-heritage listed means its really old and you have to get lots of permits to do anything) and it was so fun. That is where little man started having bad luck again, that night in the bath tub he tried some crazy antics and stood up on the side of the tub, slipped and hit his hip of the faucet knob (it was an ugly bruise even instantly, it only got worse). Then the next morning before the last leg of the road trip I took Ej across the street to a local park and in an excited haste trying to get another little kid to follow him down the slide he somehow tripped and instead of going down on his bum he went face forward and hit his face on the edge of the slide giving himself a shiner and bruise on his brow bone. The poor kid looked abused.

That concluded our family holiday and it was so awesome. It was nice that the simplest things were little man's favorite and it was great to have a week of good quality family time with no distractions or extra responsibilities. Ahhhh, it was bliss-kist thinkng about it makes me happy!

catch up and start with a wedding

So we are back from Holiday but had some pictures from a wedding we attended not long before our holiday that I thought I would post.

 the handsome couple

 they released some butterflies right after the ceremony..It was a fun little addition. Butterflies were the main theme of the wedding but fairies and dragons played roles as well at the reception.

And while Ej did not attend the wedding ceremony with us, he did come to the reception and this is us trying to help him get some energy out before sitting at the assigned tables. Full of personality!

That night we met the Bride's step-brother who is a personal trainer and ended up meeting with him a week or so later. We did a kettle bell workout with him and I have NEVER been that sore in my entire life. Of course the second day is usually the worst but it was the worst for about w days and still after 4 days Lindsay and I both were dieing. A night or two after the work out Lindsay couldnt even stand up that night to go to the kitchen.........it was sad but I laughed until tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched him attempt to stand and then ultimatetly crawl across the floor. It was crazy! So needless to say in our workouts after that we havent gone as hard! We just did the one with the trainer and now just do a program at home.