T's New Calling

Well the big topic around here is 'When are leaving Perth and where are we going next?' I am completely unable to answer either of those questions. But, I do know that if T decides that his current gig isn't working out- he's got experience in something else!

We spent Saturday morning in Fremantle, a fun area with interesting shopping, dining, and sights. We all stopped to watch a very entertaining street performer. It's usually my bad luck to be called up as an "assistant," but it was T's turn this time!

When the performer learned that T couldn't juggle, he found other tasks for him.

Like helping the man balance on a board, on a rolly cylinder, on a chest on legs.The kids thought daddy's chance to perform was great!

Had to snap a photo of C and I for fun. He just looks way too grown up in this shot though!

Set Ups

It's become an official term in my family. Kids play with Legos, army men, zoo animals, farm animals, whatever. It's their "Set Up." They set it up down to the littlest detail, and then are devastated at the idea of breaking it up and putting it away. So, we snap a photo. And then, the zoo, farm, house, battle scene, whatever, lives on in eternity.
I am certain that my aunts and my mom have countless "set up" photos of Batman and Robin, zoos, and Army battles. I think we'll end up with a fine collection from our kids' imaginative work.
At playgroup on Wednesday, D built the finest Duplo house she's ever done. And she wasn't smiling when we told her it was time to pack away her creation. But bringing out the digital camera made it all better. And now she can share her awesome Duplo house with you!

Plenty Corrupt

C has just gotten over a yucky cough and cold, both kids actually. It was a rough couple of weeks around here. C wasn't really doing any talking or signing, just yelling and whining! And it was wearing on all of us.
This week, however, is a complete turn-around! Mr. Personality is back and we are laughing our heads off.
Family, if you have concerns that the distance between us is preventing you from corrupting my children, you'll have to admit that C is pretty weird all on is own.
Below is C, with D's underpants on his head. He did it all on his own. He found them on the floor, figured out how to pull them onto his head, and then yelled for my attention with a big laugh. D and I laughed and laughed. And I ran for the camera.

Even when C is ill, it's rare that his appetite goes anywhere. And he's eaten very happily over these last few weeks. With cough, runny nose, congestion, you'd expect a little dip in the appetite. But it's seemed more like a feeding frenzy. He's been cleaning up his plate and demanding items off mine!

C has also turned into a dipper. Ketchup, butter, ranch dressing, tzaziki dip, Boursin, exotic Thai, guacamole. Bring it on! He'll eat anything with a dip or spread on it. And tonight, to both kids happy cheering, was BBQ ribs and sweet corn night.

A plate of ribs, diced small, kid-sized corn on the cob, steamed broccoli and cauliflower. As C would say, "MMMMMMMM!" In the middle of his plate is a spoonful of homemade bbq sauce. C happily dipped his bits of rib meat (gone in 30 seconds) and then moved on to the rest. He believes strongly that corn on the cob can never have too much butter so I keep hearing, "Buh! Buh! Buh!"

But buh wasn't enough! Corn wasn't enough! Soon C was dipping his cornless-cob in the bbq sauce and enjoying the sweet and spicy sauce, then going back for another dip. I should have just gotten him a spoon!

New Forms of Entertainment

I don't know if it just my son (I don't think it is) but he seems to enjoy playing with anything that takes me extra long to clean up. And, it's especially fun if the items are mine and not his. For quite some time, C's favorite thing to do was to unload a basket of travel brochures I kept in the living room. It occurred to me to put the basket up, but I've run out of tall shelves and the activity did keep him busy for awhile. He didn't like to clean it up, but usually agreed to helping me without too much fuss.

Now, C loves to play with all of my measuring cups and spoons. I gave him his own set of measuring spoons but I've never seen him play with them. He opens the kitchen cupboard, holds the box containing the spoons and cups up to me, and motions to the living room, babbling something and nodding his head. He then proceeds to pull 2 empty baskets from the living room shelf and fill them with cups and spoons. He moves them from one basket to the other and back again until finally dumping all of them on the floor. As you can imagine- I LOVE THIS! Especially when I'm about to cook dinner and would like to measure something.

C has been suffering from a cold for the past week and it has left him very grumpy and clingy. He hasn't really wanted to play or be silly or dance or sing. Not much fun at all for anyone in the family. But today, he pulled out a big bag of plastic balls and smiled as he carried it to the living room. He unzipped the bag and one by one, threw all of the balls all over the floor. I didn't mind one bit as he was laughing his head off and allowing me to continue with cleaning the kitchen. When all of the balls were gone, I asked him to pick them back up again and put them in the bag. He did as he was told but after a couple of balls, his interest in the task was beginning to wane. I kept cheering him on, tossing balls to him that had rolled far away. Then, much to my surprise, he went and got the broom from the kitchen and began sweeping all the balls over to the bag! I was so impressed! He loved this game and once all the balls were swept up and placed in the bag, he dumped the whole thing so he could do it again!

We used his tiny kid-sized broom the second time. Less damage done to his surroundings without the long broom stick.

Face Painters for Hire

We've noticed that, here in Australia, face painting is VERY popular at children's parties and other family events. And there are some talented face painters! They are fast and can do amazing designs on the kids faces. A face painter at a birthday party a couple of weeks ago did full faces as monsters, cats, angels, fairies, pretty much anything the kids wanted.
We've seen the market for this skill, and well, flights back to the US cost a lot of money so...
we've got the kids in training.

Call for bookings! Maybe we'll let them use something more than water.

Super Fairy to the Rescue!

I've been enjoying a new imagination creation of D's for the past couple of months. She doesn't have a lot of experience with super heroes but when she and her friend Ryan get together, they are the bravest of the brave. She, as Super Fairy, and Ryan as Super Dragon, save anyone from anything. They do it all.
D also takes on the Super Fairy persona at the swimming pool. (Sometimes she's Super Mermaid.) Yesterday was swimming day and Super Fairy made an appearance. She approached me in a very fluttery way and said, "Mom, if you need help, just call me. I'm Super Fairy. Like, if your toddler sinks. You know, like drowns."
Fortunately, my toddler didn't sink or drown. But Super Fairy looked very bored after awhile so I asked her if she was having fun. She said yes but wasn't very convincing. So, my dependable friend Kelly suddenly forgot how to swim. She flailed her arms and yelled for someone to help her. Super Fairy did not let her down. Later, I had the bad luck of suffering a shark attack. Thank goodness Super Fairy was also available at that time. She flutters with such speed and determination!
Will snap photos next time!

The Loveliest Beach and Cruising

We had excellent weather on our trip east. Wind and light showers on Wednesday caused us to move our excursion to Whitehaven Beach to Thursday. Very glad we did because we were able to enjoy this amazing place to the fullest. From the brochure:

'Stretching like a pure-white ribbon beside a sea of crystal-turquoise water, Whitehaven Beach is stunning as a photograph...and unforgettable in real life.'

And it was! Pure white silica sand that makes this funny little crunch under your feet. And the sand is so fine, it feels more like powder.

The beach is located on an island near Hamo, a short boat-ride away. The boat taking us out, provided a tasty Aussie BBQ lunch and a snack on the way home. It was all nice but what was even better was how they provided anything you might need on the beach; sun shelters, sand toys, drinks, even frisbees! It was such a great day! C literally played until he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. He was sitting straight up in our sun shelter and was struggling to keep his eyes open as he continued to poke his shovel into the sand.

D found 2 little friends and the 3 girls ran around the beach and played in the waves until we had to drag them back to the catamaran.

Way too much fun.

Our last full day was Friday. We walked along Catseye Beach and collected some seashells in the morning, went for a swim after naps, and then T and I had a booking for a dinner cruise around the island. Our lovely babysitter came and cared for the kids and T and I left for the marina. We met really nice people and had such wonderful evening.

Our flight was leaving Saturday afternoon at 2:45 so we still had the morning to spend doing something fun. The evening before, we met a chef from nearby Arlie Beach and he let us know about a cooking demonstration he would be doing at the resort the next morning. So, once we had our bags packed we drove the golf buggy down to the resort. It was more than just a cooking demonstration. There was a good-sized food and wine show! A large area was filled with booths offering tasty things. Pastries, salmon, oysters, beer, wine, Alaskan king crab, fruit, milk, sausages, chicken. It was all so yummy! Our new chef friend was handing out the crab and it was excellent! Couldn't think of a better way to end the trip. But that also made it even harder to leave. The show was going on all weekend!