The 4th,food,and new friends.

Last week Jayden's teacher asked us to help celebrate the 4th of July in the classroom. So we put together and small slide show so that Jayden could tell her friends what the 4th means and why we celebrate it. Jayden did great! The kids started asking a bunch of questions about America and Jayden answered all of the questions without getting to overwhelmed. I made red,white,and blue tie-dye cupcakes for the whole class to celebrate and they also made American flag hands and parade hats. It was so fun to tell all of our new Aussie friends about the 4th and why it is special to us.

That same day I went to my new Rheumatologist. He said that he is very pleased with my RA. All of my swelling is gone and I feel great. I do need to go and gets a few more test done just to make sure my RA isn't progressing anymore and he also suggested that I lose about 30lbs so he gave me a referral to a dietitian to help me with a new diet. I go back in August for a check up.

On the 5th,I went into the city to have lunch with my new friend Susie and fellow Kiewit wife. I met Susie though my friend Allison when we had lunch last week. Susie came to Australia a few weeks after we did. In fact her husband,Tom, and Jason work in the same office. Anyway, she had a small get together at her home with some other Kiewit wife's and some of her new friends.It was a fun time. 

On Friday I had another very busy day. I had breekie (breakfast) with my new friend Lisa. I met Lisa at school the first day of school in the courtyard. Lisa has two girls the same age as our girls. Lisa has been a great friend and my "go to" girl when I have a question about anything. Lisa brought a few friends to breekie and I got to meet some more mums from school. After I got done with breekie with Lisa, I went shopping for our first official dinner party since we have been to Australia. After getting everything I needed and then some it was time to head back home to clean the house and start making more preparations for the party. On Friday night I went to a Mum's night out with the Year 3 (3rd grade) mums.It was a Christmas in July party. Yep, a lot of people celebrate Christmas on the 25th of July here because this is Australia's coldest month of the year. I had turkey, potatoes, veggies, and cranberry sauce. For dessert I had my first Australian Pavlova. Pavlova is a dessert that I have been hearing a lot about..it's a very traditional dessert here in Australia. It's basically egg whites, sugar,and raspberry sauce drizzled over top. It was to die for! 

On Saturday Jason invited some people work over for our first official dinner party since we moved here. We tried out the outdoor pizza oven. We had about 30 or so people here at our home.We had a pretty good system going. I made homemade dough ahead of time, so all you do is roll your own dough to the thickness that you want your pizza.Put some cornmeal on the cookie sheet. Place your dough on the cookie sheet and then put the sauce and cheese on. Then put on whatever topping you wanted on your pizza. (Everyone brought a topping). It was great fun. I stood inside and guided and socialised with the guest while they made their pizza. Then everyone brought their pizza to Jason and he put it in the pizza oven. Wait 2-5 minutes and ta da! Yummy wood fired pizza!! We started the pizzas at 4:30 and we didn't get done until 6:30. That's a lot of pizza! After the dinner, we had sparklers for the kids. It was a great way to end a very busy but fun week.

The next two weeks the girls have school holidays. That means they are off from school  in between terms (semesters) We have all sorts of fun things planned. But today (Monday) Hailley got a orthodontic expander in her mouth. Not and very fun way to start the holidays but at least if she feels bad she doesn't have to miss school. 

Whew. I think I have told you our whole life story. Have a great week everyone! 

Milestones

Since we have been to Australia, the girls have hit some big milestones.
We have started orthodontic treatment on Hailey to correct her underbite. First, she gets a upper expander, then reverse headgear, and lastly a snap in upper retainer. NO BRACES! For now anyway.
Jayden has also lost her bottom front teeth. One right after another. She is in such a hurry to grow up it makes me sad.

Hailey with her new bike

Another huge milestone since we have been here is the girls both know how to ride their bikes without training wheels. This a HUGE deal. Since we have been working with Hailey for years on how to ride her bike. I think she just needed a nudge, like her sister learning how to do it before she could. To figure out that she CAN do it. We have been going on lots of bike rides ever since.

The girls are still doing very well in school. Hailey is keeping up with all of the 3rd graders even though she is the smallest and the youngest in her class. Hailey is slowly getting over her shyness. She has been saying her stories in front of the class, saying prayers of the faithful in her class mass, and has been in a play. All within two months! We are so proud for her.

Jayden with her bike

Jayden is making friends very quickly and isn't afraid to say "Hi,my name is Jayden and I'm from the USA!" We never know what is going to come out of Jayden's mouth. She is our outgoing and I will do anything once kid.

This weekend we went to a American 4th of July fair. Yes, a 4th of July fair in Australia! It was a fun time. They had American food, American beer,and American games! We even bought a dozen for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, for $25! They are worth every penny that we spent on them. They also had American cake mixes,$6 and can pumpkin,$9 and all sorts of other foods and bake sale items .They also had a bouncy house,petting zoo,and you could even      
play baseball with the local pro softball team. The girls had so much fun! Here are some pictures from the American Fair.

Jayden feeding the goats at the American Fair

This one is really hungry, mom!

Hailey playing baseball at the American Fair

Hey,Batter,Batter

Jayden doing her I got on base dance!

Hailey on first base.

Jayden in front of the Hello Kitty ice cream van!

Some fun facts about Australia

Here are some fun facts about Australia:

• Even though you drive on the right side of the car in Australia the pedals are the same.
• You can't make a right on red when driving
• Cars have kph not mph here
• Bacon here is really ham. Not cured or smoked, like American bacon
• They don't sell Crystal Light or Kool-Aid here. We make our own lemonade.
• Australians love Lamb and Meat Pies
• Australia doesn't sell shortening (Crisco) 
• Dog food is in the refrigated section in the grocery store
• The yolks of eggs aren't yellow they are orange
• Baking and cooking take some tweaking. Different measurements and oven temperature
• No cable! We have a Apple TV and we order season passes of our favourite American shows off of iTunes.
• Most of the stores here close at 5pm and are closed on Sundays
• Burger King is called hungry jacks
• Mcdonalds is called Maccers 
• In grocery store everything is sold by kilogram not by pounds
• They charge you for a plastic bag at Target
• You have to get use to using your spare change. They have one and two dollar coins here.

They have different names for things here. 

Rockmelon= Cantaloupe

Capisum=bell peppers

Rashers=Bacon

Thongs=flip flops

Jumper= sweater

Surname=last name

Give Way= yield

Arvo= afternoon

How are you going?= How are you doing?

Loo or toliet= restroom

Boot =trunk of a car

Bonnet=hood of a car

Tick=checkmark

Pram=Stroller

Prawns=shrimp

Cushions=throw pillows

Trolley=cart

Beef Mince=ground beef

Now you know a little bit more about Australia. 

Cheers! (Have a good day) 

Starting to feel more like home

What a busy two weeks it has been. Last week we had two cyclones (hurricanes) within two days. Of course they made a big deal about saying their will be major damage to homes, no water,no power and winds up to 125kph (80 mph). Hailey even brought home a note from school that said "To use your judgement" when sending your kids to school the day after the storm. Of course not knowing what to expect during a cyclone I went to the store and got our bread,eggs,and milk just in case we were unable to get to the stores in the next couple of days.That night of the second storm we didn't sleep much at all. It was raining buckets! The wind was blowing so hard there were waves in our pool. The next morning there were a few down tree limbs but nothing major got damaged,Jason still went to work, and the girls still had school.

Two days later our sea container came! It was like Christmas in June! The first thing we set up was our beds. We went two months sleeping on air mattresses, so we needed a good nights rest.We all went to bed early that night and enjoyed our first night in our bed in our new home. The girls are loving all their toys again and their newly decorated rooms. We have pictures on the walls,toys and game pieces everywhere, and dried up toothpaste on the sink. But things are FINALLY starting to feel more like home.

A Day at the Beach

Jason went out golfing today with some friends from work. So while he was gone golfing, I toke the girls to the beach for a few hours. They had so much fun. We made sandcastles, collected seashells, and explored the beach.It was so fun watching and listening to the girls discover all the ocean life on the beach. Remember it's winter here, so we couldn't go swimming in the ocean. But I managed to get some pretty neat pictures. 

Sometimes I really have to pinch myself. I can't believe we live here! 

Winter in Australia

It is now winter in Australia. I know that might seem strange for all our family and friends back in the states. Winter in Australia is very different then the winters that we come to know back in Idaho. There is no snow, it's not cold, and there is no ice. Winter here just means rain and LOTS of it. The temperature here has been as low as 40 degrees F in the morning and that was the coldest day in May in 95 years. During the days that it rains it averages between 60 and 70 degrees F. When I say rain, it isn't a thunderstorm or a drizzle it is a full on downpour. It rains so much in a short amount of time that there are actual puddles of water everywhere and the grass is so wet it slides from underneath your foot as you step on it.
This morning the girls and I had to take the public transit bus to school today (our car is in the shop) when we left the house it wasn't raining. But when we were waiting for the bus at the bus stop it started down pouring. I brought along a umbrella but that only goes so far when there is horizontal rain coming right toward your face. So our girls went to school soaking wet. Everything from their hair to their backpack was drenched. I felt bad but there was nothing I could do. This morning was the only morning we didn't have a ride to school and of course it had to rain cats and dogs! After I dropped the girls off at school, I walked over to the shops (shopping mall) and ran some errands and got some more umbrellas. I figured we will need them in the next couple of months.
When I finally got home after all that, I changed out of my wet clothes and got on my iPad and noticed that my cousin, Marsha Mattson (Harty) was online. So I gave her a ring. I got to chat with her, my Aunt Rainey,and got to see Marsha's newest little bundle of joy, Isabella. She is so cute and has dark hair just like Uncle Jack. It was so great to hear their voice and see them even though they are thousand of miles away. After I got off of Skype with Marsha, I Skyped with my sister,Carla. It's so funny how your day turns around after you talk to family. We miss all our friends and family back in the states. So if you ever want to Skype or FaceTime, msg me on Facebook and we can work out a time to get online and chat.

Have a great day!

Fun in Fremantle

Yesterday we when to the old seaside town of Fremantle.We decided when people come and visit us this is a must see and do place. It was so much fun!We ate fresh fish and chips off of a boat dock, rode a HUGE ferris wheel, had fun in the park, shopped around at the markets and saw a old prison. We spent the whole afternoon there,until we got tired and decided to take the long and crowded trip back home on the train. That is another thing that we had to get used to is public transit,which Jason takes everyday to work and we take if we have to go into the city for something. Otherwise you have to worry about parking and paying for parking. We have what they call a smart pass. It's a card we use to tag on and off of buses and trains. We can wire money directly onto the card though the internet. That way you don't have to worry about carrying cash on you every time you want to get on a bus or train.

All experiences have been been great but, we miss our small town, simple life in Idaho.

Old Church in Fremantle

Eating Fresh fish and chips on the boat dock

Picture of the Ferris Wheel

Jayden 

Jayden 

Jayden on the Ferris Wheel

View from the top of the Ferris Wheel

Hailey on the Ferris Wheel

Beach of Fremantle

Boat harbor