Moms World

Hey there everyone! It's almost 10:00 pm here on the other side of the world and I figured instead of possibly waking someone up to call and talk, I could just talk to you all right here! I'm a bit stressed tonight. Tomorrow is the big day...school is starting. To all you parents with grown kids - hats off! How crazy is it that I'm more stressed than they are? I worry that they won't make any friends or that they'll get lost. I stress that they'll come home crying and hating life in Australia. I even called my neighbors tonight to find out what other kids pack for snacks. I guess that's so their snack will fit in with the others - insane! It's quite nerve racking though. I'm sure all will go well. After all, who doesn't love my kids - haha!

We had our first swim lesson today. Gracie's class was great, although she was a bit more advanced than the others (the cross they bear). Cole and Brady were in a class with about 12 other kids and it was total chaos. But you would all be proud of me, I voiced my concerns about the class size (any one of you who knows me well knows I'm not always the best about voicing my concerns). Anyhoo, the lady who coordinates it trampled right back over me and persuaded me to give it a couple of more weeks for everyone to get in the swing of things(I said OK because we all know I'm weak). So we'll give it a couple of more weeks and see where it goes.

Thursday starts baseball and I think Cole is the youngest on the team. (Yet another thing for me to stress about). Everyone keep your fingers crossed that he will do well! Games are on Saturday morning at 8:00 am and the girls will be in gymnastics every Sat. at 9:00 am. Aren't we the busy family?

Speaking of busy, I've been quite the socialite. I went out with the girls Saturday night and danced until I almost blew out my bad knee! That would have been bad since Lindy's not close by to come to my rescue (just saying what you're thinking Mom :-))! Then Sunday I played Tripoli (very fun game by the way) with another group of ladies - and I think I'm in for the monthly. I've also already been invited to a couple of other parties. Am I just the lady to be around or what!!?? Hahaha! Jason may soon regret this move.

On that note, my busy weekend has made for a really tired Momma. Everyone say a short prayer for the kids tomorrow!
Love to all!
A

How much can 8 kids eat?

Kids

1 Lg Pizza - 1/2 Pepp 1/2 Cheese
6 Jumbo Hotdogs
8 Cheese Sticks
1 Lg Bag of Chips
6 Jelly Sandwiches
2 Butter Sandwiches

And that's just for lunch. This is one of the many reasons I stopped at three. Check out the other pics of the kids at play.

The Kids' "College" and Tuck Shop

This is a picture of OLSH (the kids' new school) taken from the top of Anzac Hill. I thought everyone might want to see how different the campus is. It's cool actually. Access to the classrooms, computer lab, library, etc. is all outside (the teal doors opening onto the breezeway). Under the long center awning there is a rolling window to the canteen (aka the Tuck Shop). It looks the same as the rolling window of the concession stand at your little league ball parks. In fact, the Tuck Shop is pretty much our concession stand, except in Australia, the menu changes on a daily basis and the kids purchase their lunch there. They eat lunch and snack outside in the courtyard. If they bring their lunch and snack, they must be in two separate bags and they are kept in the cooler of the canteen. All classes eat lunch at the same time. This campus is known as the "Bath Street Campus" and houses grades Transition (Kindergarten) through Year 4.

The Girls

The Girls

Check out these photos of the girls being girls! A couple of our wonderful grown-up neighbors at the end.

The Reptile Center

Sunday we finally made it to the Reptile Center. It's was great and the kids loved it. The funny thing was that the lizards, and such, seemed to be eying us as much as we were eying them. Look closely at the photos (hard to see on some because of the glare from the glass enclosures) - they're posing with the kids!

Reptile Center

Mary of the Heavens

Mary of the Heavens

OK, when Brady walked in with this get-up declaring that she was "Mary of the Heavens" we thought it was about time we headed on to church. So Sunday, we just barely made it to the 11:00 mass, sitting in the back to avoid causing too much commotion (we knew the kids would get antsy). It wasn't, however, far enough away to keep people from hearing Grace ask "Is that God?" when the priest walked in. Now, some of you may recall that this is the EXACT thing that happened when my friend Teresa took Brady to mass with her over the summer in Columbus. It's a sure sign that we need to have our rears in a pew a little more often!!!! (Oh, Grace tried to anoint herself with holy water when we were leaving - classic!)

Check out the above album for a few pics of the Cavanagh kids just fooling around. They love to take pictures with Mom's camera.

Who's Checking In?

Make sure to comment every once in a while when you visit so that we can know who's checking in. Also, always check out how many posts are new since I tend to post 3-4 at one time. Thanks!

Brekky Burrito

I had to make this large so that you could see the sign - Brekky 7am. Breakfast is known here as "brekky". Been here for four weeks and I still can't say it with a straight face! The Hungry Jacks restaurant is, of course, a Burger King. The Whoppers taste exactly the same!!!! They're bigger though. Huge! Guess you could say they're whopping Whoppers!

Anzac Hill

Last Saturday the family ventured out to Anzac Hill. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zeland Army Corp. Anzac Hill is a local memorial with a beautiful view of the city and the McDonnell Ranges. Visit the page below for more information and check out our pics.

http://www.wilmap.com.au/atts/119.html

Anzac Hill

Note a few on the end are misc. snapshots around town.

E, F, G, Haych, I, J, K....

How the Aussies say "H". It's so cute.

Grace's Better Half

All of you will be pleased to know that our move here did not break up Grace's happy marriage to her "husband". Her husband must be quite besotted to follow us all the way to Alice Springs, but that's just what he did (along with the remainder of her imaginary family). We know this because Grace has told us that he lives down the street. She has asked that I drive her and Brady to his house for a sleepover. She has been on his boat and, not surprisingly, they moved the green bouncy ball with them! This is one happy marriage folks and he is one smart man (or woman, we aren't quite sure). Every argument with Mom begins with "but my husband says"! Anyway, we wish them all the luck in the world and hope their marriage is long and happy (and we hope that the know-it-all starts supporting her soon).

New Photos

Alice Springs 1

I've found a better way for everyone to view new photos. Snapfish is great but I have to email an invite to view. Also, a lot of pics that people might want to see but don't want to order have to end up in the mix. This makes it a bit easier - each person can choose to look at our photos and no one will receive an annoying email! For those of you who may want copies of pics, I will still be uploading a select few to Snapfish for ordering. Hence, you will still be receiving the annoying emails! If one doesn't make it to Snapfish that you like, just let me know and I'll take care of it.

Let me know if you have any questions about the content of some. You'll see a bit of the city during the Alice Springs Desert Festival, some of the kids' friends in the neighborhood, the outside of our very bland little duplex (we need plants) and Mom's new bush-mobile!!

The Cavanagh Kids

The kids in the front yard. Great view!

Cole starts school in 2 weeks!

We've decided on a school for the kids and registered them all! Hooray, they've been out since May and everyone is looking forward to their return!! The school is a Catholic private school. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College (a school is a "college" here and a "college" is a "university"). If you would like to see what it's like:

http://www.olshalice.nt.edu.au/info.php

We purchased his uniforms yesterday, along with an OLSH hat (no hat no play school policy) and an OLSH backpack (Mom splurged). He's going to look so great! We'll take pictures on the first day of school.

Cole will spend the remainder of the school year (their Term 4) in a Year 1 class and begin Year 2 next year (in January). Brady will begin Transition (our Kindergarten) next year. They go for half days the first two months then to whole days. Grace will be in a five day a week, half day pre-K class. (Her preschool seems so exciting - they have chickens and other animals there that they are responsible for taking care of - way cool)

What's that you say?

Sprite is "Lemonade", carbonated lemonade is "Lemontang", and I still can't find plain old lemonade. A trunk is a "boot", napkins are "serviettes", pharmacists are "chemists" and liquor stores are "bottle shops". Vacations are "holiday", a grocery cart is a "trolly" and a sucker is a "lolly". Brush up if you plan to bush-it!!!

Streaky Bacon!!!

A lot of people ask about the little differences between the US and Australia. Well this is a biggie! "Bacon" is really ham. That's right. If you order a Bacon, Egg and Cheese McMuffin it will actually be a Ham, Egg and Cheese McMuffin (or what we in the US have termed The Egg McMuffin). Don't get me wrong, a pork product is a pork product. They all taste good. As most of you know, the Cavanagh's (at least the adult ones) aren't picky eaters. But it was nice to run across what they call here "Streaky Bacon". (Probably because of the streaks of fat in the meat, or more accurately, the streaks of meat in the fat). As with all things here, it's different, but it's the same. Tastes great but you only get a few slices in a pack because they're huge!

Road Rules and the Lessons We've Learned

Number 1 Challenge Thus Far: Driving

The Northern Territory MVR gave us a Driver's License with no testing requirements! Think about it, we just hopped in a car and drove! All new laws, signs, cars and lanes! Very scary and dangerous. The first time I drove, my neighbor Veronica, knocked on our door and said "I'm going to the store and you're driving me". Thus was born an Australian motorist. Ah, the freedom...if only we had a car.

Thankfully, we received a loaner after our first week here - taxis were getting expensive. Funny thing is, the owners weren't in town at the time and had no idea it was being loaned. Their neighbor loaned it to us (and gave us lots of grapefruit and oranges from their fruit trees). That's just the way it works here and lucky for us! This is truly representative of the support given to all the newcomers. So we ended up with wheels and a fruit of the month club membership! When I saw it was a manual, I thought "oh great, as if driving here isn't scary enough". Cole said it was like being on a roller coaster, only not as fast! I was a bit jerky - hopefully I didn't do any damage to the clutch!

We recently bought a '94 Toyota 4Runner. A great bush-mobile! It has a RooBar - so when you hit kangaroos you don't do any real damage. We don't have a snorkel or a roof rack - although I'm voting for the roof rack! The kids miss the "electric windows". I miss my automatic transmission. You adjust.

Rule #1 - when you are driving a stick for the first time in 15 yrs, on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car (shifting with your left hand), in a new town where you don't know where you are going...all children riding in the vehicle MUST be silent!

Wikipedia states:

About 34% of the world by population drive on the left, and 66% on the right.

It also states the following: (Note, I've added the lessons)

• Oncoming traffic is seen coming on the right side.

Lesson: Don't veer too far to the left while subconsciously attempting to line your body up with the left hand side of your lane.

• Right-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.

Lesson: There is no "right on red". There is, however, a "left on red" - we think. Maybe we should look that up.

• Most traffic signs facing motorists are on the left side of the road.

Lesson: If you watch for signs on the right, you'll get a ticket and/or hit something.

• Traffic on roundabouts (traffic circles or rotaries) goes clockwise.

Lesson: Just wait until no other vehicle is on the roundabout....way easier all around. Of course you tick the people driving behind you off but who cares, you haven't even learned to use your rear view mirror yet because you have to turn your head left instead of right. Oblivion.

• Pedestrians crossing a two-way road should first look for traffic from their right.

Lesson: Whether walking or driving, forgetting this biggie will get you squished.

• Most vehicles have a right-hand driver's position.

Lesson: Don't pay any attention to those that don't (the left-hand driver's positions in foreign lands). Seeing them will only screw you up and make you question your position on the road!

Back Online and Feelin' Fine

It's about time! I don't know about y'all but Jason and I don't quite know what to do with ourselves without our laptops. We sure have a lot to catch up on don't we? Also, since we've been out of touch we haven't been able to keep up with you guys. Please email us with your updates!

To start, see if you can play this. It's a video of Brady's actual birthday on Sept. 5th. She turned 5 and was so proud of herself.



Our party went well even if Mom slightly overbaked the cupcakes. New oven! No one attended other than family. However, the Johnsons, our neighbors and newest friends, decided to surprise her with presents! They are also the family who took us to feed the Rock Wallabies (in our Snapfish photos).

The wallabies live in the McDonnell Ranges. These are the series of mountains that our town is positioned beside (the ones that you will see in the background when our Alice pics are uploaded). At night (they are nocturnal) you can go to a local lodge to sit at the base of a mountain and hand feed the wallabies. We even fed a momma with a Joey in her pouch!

If you would like to see the pictures, email me for a Snapfish invite.

Hello Australia

We arrived in Sydney this morning at 6:00 am. I'm really unsure what time that is everywhere else in the world. Between Georgia, California and now Australia, my clock's a little off. The trip from L.A. to Sydney was 14 1/2 hours and went as well as can be expected. We were luckily able to keep the kids awake until we got on the plane at 10:30 L.A. time. They zonked as soon as their little heads hit the pillows and slept for a large part of the flight. Didn't even wake up for take off (or blast off as the girls insist on calling it)!

It also helped that we had in-flight entertainment. Little TVs were in the back of every chair. We had on demand movies and TV including kid's shows. They even had some video games to play. Surprisingly, the girl's favorite pastime was to cover one complete page of their notebook with stickers. Then they would give it to the flight attendants to post on the plane. One day the two of them are going to lose that ability to wrap people around their little fingers - then where will they be?!

They wowed one lady sitting near us on our flight to L.A. Jason recognized her as one of the NBC football announcers from last year. That's about the only "somebody" we saw. Although we saw a lot of people who thought they were someone! You really see some crazy folks in airports.

We'll keep you posted as we're able. Unsure when we'll be back on.

Down to the wire.

Well, here we are on the day of shipping for our household goods. Those will be the ones that will arrive 3-4 months after we do. This move has been quite a pain. I'm so indecisive that making the decision for what goes in luggage, what's mailed, what's shipped (as of today) and what's stored, is horribly difficult. I'll be glad when it's all done!

For the next two weeks we're living off of bare necessities. Paper and plastic for the kitchen! Guess we'll eat out a lot (that's not much of a change for us). In the meantime I have to do all of the ordinary moving stuff, change of address, etc.

Mom and Betty Sue are taking the kids for a few days. Woo-hoo! Too bad I'll be too busy to enjoy it!