Ellie and Gus helped put on a Christmas show for their drama class. I recorded bits/pieces of it.

Here is an introductory musical segment.




I have a longer (~4 mins) video segment on a "Christmas in Colorado", but it's too large to upload. Here is a closing song:

Metamorphosis

Ellie and Gus caught a caterpillar and fed it lettuce leaves and strawberries. This morning, we found that it had made a little silk pad and is beginning the transformation into a butterfly or moth. The really cool part is that the caterpillar made its little cocoon on saran wrap so hopefully we will be able to watch the chrysalis form. The kids, and the adults, are pretty excited to see what happens next. We'll keep you posted.

Magpie attacks!

You know it’s spring in Brisbane when you see cyclists with zip-tie spikes on their bike helmets, or children wearing upside down milk crates on their heads. No, it’s not a fashion statement. It’s a sign of magpie nesting season, and it is here in force.

Magpies are nasty little beasts and they can do real damage. The eye is the birds’ most common target. It seems as if being the target of a magpie’s ire is an inevitable part of growing up in Australia.

Gus was targeted on a bike ride last weekend. As he was riding along the path, a magpie started dive-bombing him. He got away unscathed, but we decided it was time to take action. We now look like we have echidnas on our heads, but at least our ears won't get pecked off.

Tangalooma Whale Watch Trip

Moreton Island is the world's third largest sand island. It is about an hour away from Brisbane by ferry and is 98% National Park. On Saturday, our family left the house at 5:15 to head out for a day on the beach and a three hour whale watch cruise.

The beach was incredible. We docked around 7:30 and there were hardly any people out and about. Ellie and Gus were the only kids on the beach. Starfish had washed up overnight and were scattered along the beach. The kids, and the adults, were fascinated. These starfish had little orange suction cup looking tube feet poking out along the underside of each of its five arms. They were surprisingly heavy and felt very dense. Along with star fish research, we had a blast sliding down sand hills on our tummies and finding shells.

The whale watch took us north of Moreton Island and out towards the Pacific. From June through September of each year, Humpback and Right whales move north from Antarctica to their winter feeding and birthing territories. They swim right past Moreton Island and it is an amazing place to see them. We saw about 12 whales in 5 different pods. I learned that the little round scars on their backs are from cookie cutter sharks that latch on and make a perfectly round bite. We also saw dolphins, a sea turtle and a nurse shark.

It was a beautiful day and an amazing trip.

Gus's facial hair

Gus started shaving. Sure, he's young — but he's ready.

I sent him to the bathroom to brush his teeth before school on Friday. I heard a huge giggle then he emerged. He said, "Mom, remember my eyebrow that is all swirly? Well I took care of it." And indeed he did. He shaved the middle of his left eyebrow right off. No shaving cream needed.

He used the razor Rich gave him as a gift last week. Rich must have sensed that Gus would be needing it soon. Actually, Rich gave all of us razors last week. Razors, and sleep masks, and tiny little bottles of lotions, and combs, and more! Each of us received a lovely leather dop kit with the Emirates Airline logo beautifully embossed on the front. Coincidentally, he had just flown Emirates First Class to Rome last week. Anyhow, it was very thoughtful to get such personalized gifts. And the razor was timely indeed.

I wear short shorts

As you all know, I am usually not one to notice fashion, but at the Oakleigh School fair last week, I couldn't help but notice what all of the other dads were wearing: "shorts" that went below the knees! Mine of course don't - I'm not afraid to show my knees in public.

After doing a little research, I learned the following:

By 2000, men and boys had begun to wear longer shorts that reached below the knee. These sometimes extend even as far as the calf, as in three quarter pants, making it debatable whether to call them "long shorts" or "short longs". They were popular among young boys and teenagers. A decade later in 2010, many young boys and teens still wear these longer shorts that reach several inches below the knee.^{[citation needed]} However, the long shorts trend has recently started to reverse itself, and most teenage boys now prefer shorts that stop at the knee or just above.
-wikipedia

Before reading this, my hypothesis was that the fellows were wearing their winter shorts. They ought to break out the summer shorts soon. Personally, I'm glad that my shorts will soon be back in style. I like to get 2 or 3 cycles out of my clothes.

Aussie cuisine

Several people tried to tell me that Australia doesn't have fine cuisine. Well I beg to differ. It's evident they care greatly about their food. In fact, the grocery stores carry two kinds of cheese. Tasty and Extra Tasty. I recommend Extra Tasty.

Oakleigh Fair

The kids' school had its annual fair on Saturday. It was HUGE. Much bigger than I had expected. They had about 10 different food booths, crafts, sweets, trash and treasure, fairy floss (cotton candy), a barber, silent auction and great rides. Each year, the fair raises about $50,000 for Oakleigh, so it is a very big deal.

As you can see, the kids had an absolute blast. They spent 8 hours just running around with their friends, eating junk and riding really dangerous looking and probably unsafe rides. Heaven.

Molly

Molly is the very sweet, but very stinky dog that came with the house. She is a lumpy sausage. You can put her in just about any pose and she'll stay there. She's totally unflappable and just an all around sweetheart.

Music and lyrics

Ellie has been singing a Katy Perry song lately. She sings it loud and she sings it often. It goes like this,

"Someone, call the doctor, got a case of over-ripe peas"

Unfortunately those are different from the song she thinks she's singing. The lyrics to Hot N Cold go, "Someone, call the doctor, got a case of love bi-polar"

Those lyrics make even less sense than Ellie's version. So I'm sticking with her lyrics.


"Someone, call the doctor, got a case of over-ripe peas!"

I love it.

Lone Pine

Lone Pine is the world's first Koala Sanctuary. We've been a couple times and the kids love it. We can cuddle with kangaroos, emus and wallabys. For $25 we could cuddle with a koala, but we haven't done that yet.

Here are some pictures of Beth and the kids at Lone Pine while Rich was in Africa.

School holiday at Australia Zoo

Today was a school holiday for the Ekka. All schools in Queensland got the day off. The intention was that all those kids and their parents would head over to Ekka. Since we already had our Ekka fun, we decided to go see Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo.

It's a huge memorial to Steve Irwin; but it's also a really great zoo. They have an incredible animal show where they feed the crocs Steve-style, and lots of opportunities to interact with the animals, including an Elephant feeding time.

Ekka

Today we went to Ekka. Ekka is the equivalent of a huge state fair. Lots of animals, ride, junk food and carnies. We loved it. Gus and Beth rode roller coasters, Gus and Rich rode sky swings, and Ellie and Gus went into the fun house about 10 times.

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries, but here's a link to the Ekka site if you want to see more.

http://www.ekka.com.au/

Birthdays!

This weekend we celebrated Rich and Ellie's birthdays. Ellie turned 8. Rich is a tad bit older.

Ellie took three friends to see "Fame: the Musical" at the Queensland Performing Arts Center. Twins Kyla and Holly and Ellie's friend Georgia came with us. The performance was very good. The Australian cast was incredibly talented and all the naughty bits went right over the girls' heads. Thankfully.

After the show, we walked around in the central business district (CBD), grabbed some dinner and took the City Cat back to Toowong. It was a great birthday, and Ellie had a blast. I'm so glad she has made friends so quickly and easily.

The Brisbane Roar

We got two season tickets to the roar. Today we attended a members only event. Gus quickly became a big fan. Ellie fell in love with a chicken. Both kids got posters signed by all of the players.

Queensland museum

Queensland is a huge state, covering all of the Northeastern part of the continent. There is a really interesting state museum at south bank. We spent the afternoon there today. They have some nice natural history and local history exhibits.

Apartment living

We really enjoy the Inn on the Park in Toowong. It's close to necessities and easy for Rich to get to work. It has great views! But there are some drawbacks - see Gus' main outdoor activity that doesn't require supervision in the video link below. The kids are also allowed to ride the elevator and ride their bicycles in the parking garage.