Hooray, Hooray! It's off to School Today!

Developing...

Mother Mary meets Mother Goose

Brady saw a painting of Mary at Mass one Sunday. This is the conversation that followed.

Brady: "I saw Mary at church."
Cole: "Mary is Jesus' mother."
Grace: "Yeah, and she lost her sheep."

Happy Australia Day!

"On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation."

January 26th is an official national holiday for Australia, celebrated much like our July 4th. It commemorates the establishment of the first European settlement (a penal colony) on the continent of Australia. In January 1788, the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay and, deciding it was not a suitable location, moved further up to Port Jackson's Sydney Cove and raised the flag in the name of King George III. Sydney Harbour is where you will now find the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Admittedly, I'm no expert on the subject but I did run across one thing that I thought was interesting. Wikipedia stated that the British saw establishment of Australian settlements as "necessitated by the loss of colonies in North America". Of course there was a lot more to it than that but it's interesting nonetheless.

Unfortunately, many Aboriginals don't see Australia Day as warranting celebration. It has been dubbed "Invasion Day" and was recently declared Aboriginal Sovereignty Day - considered the day of British invasion.

We spent part of the day at a reception for a new Australian head honcho taking over where Jason works. It was a nice little event, although I was unable to concentrate on grown-up things. I remember meeting a few people, shaking a few hands and making a bit of small talk - but mostly I just chased the children around and tried to keep the girls pacified and quiet. Later, when I drove through the streets of town, I ran across (not over:)) lots of people draped in Australian flag clothing and, in some cases, the flag itself. They were a lively crew. It made me smile and wish for our July 4th celebrations!

Career Aspirations of the Middle Child

Cole knows he wants to be a scientist and Gracie doesn't quite grasp the concept enough to answer the age old question "What do you want to be when you grow up?". But Brady, now there's one with some real goals in life. In the order they were given to me:

1. Taxi driver.
2. The girl who hands out the donuts at Brumby's. (Our bakery)
3. Astro Girl

I think she just wants to fly around without her shirt.

Also...

A few of you made comments regarding the dancing prowess shown by the girls in the earlier posted videos. I believe "They need a pole" was heard more than once. You should all be ashamed! I think it's quite obvious that a platformed corner cage would be more appropriate. Poles wouldn't showcase their talent.

And just in case you were wondering - the girls watch nothing but kid's TV, no late night shows or videos. In fact the music was from a Bratz cd - all about fashion and friends. So I really have no idea how they honed or perfected their dances (unless you count the innate ability inherited from their mother.)

Oven Updates (as in It's an Oven Here)

Never thought I would picture a 102 degree day as a reprieve from the heat! I suppose it's all how you look at it! We've obviously been spending a lot of our time indoors!

The kids had a playdate scheduled for Tuesday but I called it off at the last minute for bad behavior. We rescheduled for yesterday, and since the neighbors arrived from New Zealand at the start, we had a house full of kids (as usual). Nash left us and is sorely missed. What a good dog! He slept in the girls' room and I kept finding Gracie curled next to him on the floor in the middle of the night. Made us long for Dixie-dog although I know she's in good hands.

School starts next week - WooHoo! Grace and I are terribly excited - Cole and Brady are enjoying the leisure time a bit much I'm afraid. No matter what our feelings, getting to school by 8:30 will be an adjustment for all of our lazy rears!

I keep trying to pin Jason down to schedule our two R&R's (short trips in or around Australia) and our big trip home (probably early '09). As soon as the calendar is planned, I'll post the basics to let everyone know what to expect. I'm excited about the R&R. I'm going a bit stir-crazy. To be expected, I guess, with school out and the heat. I can't wait until the weather cools and we can start exploring more and camping.

The social life if still going strong. Our neighbors came over a few nights ago and Veronica (whose Mexican) taught me how to make a red chili pork dish with mexican rice! My mouth waters just thinking about it! Our friend Lance came into town with his boss and we had them over for dinner along with a few others. As usual, I cooked too much food but it all went well. We have a celebration to attend on Saturday for the new Australian head of something-or-other. Then the kids will go swimming at the hotel (where the reception is being held) and then Tripoly with the ladies hosted at our house Saturday night. Don't hate me because I'm popular and beautiful!

Hope this finds you all well!

Argument Topics #836 and #837 in Girl-land

Regarding the television show "The Fairies": Who gets to be the blue fairy that lives on the beach.

Regarding the television show "Hi-5": Who gets to be Charlie (a girl).

I try to explain that in make-believe land there can be more than one character but for some reason they don't buy it and add insult by saying (in all seriousness) that I get to be Nathan on "Hi-5". Nathan's a boy. At least it's a distraction.

Dancing Divas

and The Shootout

Dance Videos

The girls decided to put on a show - well, they decided to dance. Not too much planning went into the "show" as you can see. But boy did they groove!

The boys put on their own show (after relentlessly trying to ruin the girls'). I think we have the making of stars on our hands. One day you'll see these videos on a show called "We Knew Them When".

The New Look

Mom, Kids & Nash

Got the hair done and decided to go for a new look on the blog. Hope it's not offensive to the eyes. If it bothers anyone, just let me know. I'll probably end up playing with it myself anyway..

Some pics of me and the kids as well as Nash the dog (often mistaken for a horse). We are Nash sitting while his family is on vacation in New Zealand for a few weeks. He's a great dog if you can get past the slobber!

A Day of Skating

Hello to all! Sorry I haven't posted sooner. Love to say I've been busy but, more likely, just lazy. It's crazy hot here. We spend most of our day indoors but yesterday we did go to the town pool for a few hours. The kids are swimming well now so they had a blast. Since you can bring a cooler, we picnicked in the grass beside the pool.

Here are some pics from the other day when we went to the skate park with about 15 other kids. Also, there are two videos - Cole and Brady going down the ramp. Grace scootered around for a few minutes but then decided it was more fun sliding down the big rock slopes and generally getting herself filthy. We had a few wipe-outs but everyone dusted off and kept on going. Must have been all the other kids around that did it - at home, a simple stubbed toe brings out the tears, pleas for a doctor and a band-aid. At the skate park, a face first sprawl across the cement brought out "Hey - how cool was that?". Go figure.

Christmas and Skate

Skate Videos

One note. Notice in Brady's video at the end, there is a young guy on a bike bent over in the background. The poor teenager had just busted his forehead and nose on the edge of one of the ramps. As if it wasn't embarrassing enough for him (his girlfriend was their watching) as soon as it happened, all 4 mothers (me included) swarmed him in an effort to "fix his boo-boos". By the time he walked off with his girlfriend and wobbly bike, he had a band-aid the size of Texas smack in the middle of his forehead. Mad Mothers to the rescue again! If we can't humiliate our own kids, we won't hesitate to humiliate someone elses!

I get my "do" done tomorrow and cash in my gift certificate for a "Hot Rock Massage". Wish me luck! I'm going shorter and chunkier on my highlights. I want something different! Hopefully it won't be a bad decision!

High of:

Today - 107
Tomorrow - 105
Tuesday - 104
Wednesday - 104

Aack! One of the kids self-combusted. Gotta get the extinguisher.