Questions???

I have been receiving a ton of questions from everyone. I would like to answer them all for you. In order to get them answered, leave your questions in the comments (even if you have already asked them) and I will post the answers when I get around to it promptly.

VikiViki said...
My first question is: How do you get those crossed out words in your blog? It's awesome!
Go to settings, basic, scroll down to select post editor and choose updated editor.

My second question is: How long are you gonna be living down under?
Our work visa is for 4 years. After that, who knows.
Here's a plain old comment: I love those uniforms - seriously - it reminds me of when I moved to Argentina and I had to wear one to school! =)

*Lissa* said...
I can't remember everything I asked!!

Private school?
No it is public school, but ran very much like a private school.

Do the kids like school?
The kids have really liked it so far. They are the popular ones. Everyone wants to know about America.
Have you driven?
I have driven. Everywhere! Ok, the town is a smidge smaller than Jerome, so it is not like I have had to go far. It was scary at first, but now that I am used to it the only time that I have trouble is when I pull into a parking lot. I have to really think about which side I should be on.

Hunted any crocodiles?
No crocs, but some wicked cool lizzard things. Not really hunted. More like almost ran him over.


How's the shopping?
The shopping sucks! Everything is soooo expensive. I find myself putting things back because I know that I can get them cheaper in the US.

Does James have an Australian accent yet?
He doesn't have an accent, but he does use a lot of their slang.


What are the seasons like?
We are headed into summer right now. It is hot and only going to get hotter. Lucky us!

That's all for now. ;)

First Day of School...in Australia!

They only have 3 weeks left in the school year here, but we figured it at least gives them something to do until our air shipment gets here. The school year here runs with the calendar year. The kids are super excited about that because it means that they get to skip half of a year and go into the next grade level. I was surprised that they go more by age for grade placement than anything else, so this means that I have one kid in high school and another one there in January. Yikes! I don't know if I am ready for that. Guess it gets them out of the house sooner...LOL! I am liking the idea of them going year-round with the heat here. It will be good for them. I hope that they made some new friends and are enjoying their classes. Now it is time for me to find a job. Do you think that they will find it funny if I walk in and just say, "I am job?"

Pictures as promised...finally!

Here are the pictures that I promised of our adventure. Amazing how much we accomplished in just one week. We miss all of you, but are enjoying Australia.

This is of the kids at my mom's Taco Time in Jerome with their cousin Morgan.

These were taken at LAX while waiting for our next flight. Can you tell that we were all really tired? I couldn't even manage to get the pictures in focus. I am pretty sure that I thought they were when I took them.

This was downtown Brisbane. Don't know who the guy is, but those birds are everywhere.

This is our new puppy, Cooper.

He has already made himself at home.

These are the crazy birds that attack everyone when they ride their bikes.

Fun in the HOT sun at the local pool.

James after swimming laps.

We thought this was strange...just a random door in the middle of nowhere.

We almost ran this guy over. He was just hanging out in the middle of the road.

My kids were so excited. Kayla wanted to catch it and bring it home as a pet.

These Roos were just hanging out on the golf course.

The Beginning of a Great New Adventure...Down Under!

It all began on Friday, November 13, 2009. We hauled 10 large suitcases and 10 carry-on bags to the airport in Boise, ID. It is great when you are traveling internationally with kids and a ton of luggage; they give you your very own line to check in. Made us feel real special. You get a lot of funny looks from men and smiles from women. You know the men are thinking, "I hope they are not on my flight" and the women are thinking, "bless your hearts trying to travel with kids, glad it's not me." Thank goodness my dad, stepmom, and in-laws were there to help us get it all hauled in. I was a wreck; there is no way that I could have done it by myself.

Our first flight was BOI to LAX at 7pm. The kids did great. Brooklyn and Sierra grinned from ear to ear the entire flight. We had a slight layover at LAX. It was hard for us all to not fall asleep waiting. Our flight left at 11:30pm. About 20 minutes into the flight they began serving dinner. Brooklyn was so excited because she got spaghetti and meatballs. She ate about 3 bites and then started feeling sick. Of course, there were no bags in the seats in front of us. We had to ask for some and just as I was trying to open the bag Brooklyn started throwing up all over the front of herself. I felt so bad for her; she started crying because she didn't mean to throw up on her clothes. I was just glad that it was just a little stomach acid at first, so it didn't make a huge mess. After that, she fell asleep and was fine the rest of the flight. The other kids did great. They all slept at least 8 hours. James and I even slept really well considering we were in the cheap seats at the back of the plane. 13 hours and 20 minutes later we landed in Brisbane, Australia on Sunday, November 15 at 7:30 am. Once we go through all of the lines, we were only held up in customs for about a half an hour. I was expecting to be there much longer. We only had 3 items that were confiscated. Not too bad!

We then went downtown Brisbane to the Holiday Inn for a shower. Best money ever spent on a hotel room. We met up with the new guy and his wife, that James hired from Canada, for lunch. Then went shopping for a bit before our last flight to Roma. When we arrived in Roma one of the ladies from the office was there with our new puppy, Cooper Roley. I got my first experience driving on the other side of the road. Can't say "wrong" side or they will correct you and tell you that Americans drive on the wrong side, it is the "other" side. It is a trip driving on the left side of the road. I have not had to concentrate this hard on driving since Driver's ED. I still try to get in on the wrong side of the car and I always reach to my right for my seat belt. The kids just laugh at me. Don't get me started on the dang round-abouts!

The people here are very friendly. They always ask, "How you going?", which means, "How are you doing?" Everything is "thanks mate" and "no worries" here. I love it. The groceries are crazy expensive though. For example, a 12 pack of Diet Coke in the can it is $12.98. It is $3.60 to go into the petrol (gas) station and buy a 20oz Diet Coke in the bottle. A bottle of plain old of rubbing alcohol is $10.50. We spent $280 and left the market with one trolley (cart) of groceries. It was so hard shopping because I know that I could get things for half the price at WalMart. Needless to say, I am going to give up my Diet Coke. I just can't bring myself to spend that much. I found us a 4 bedroom house with a really nice yard. The only drawback is that it only has one bathroom. Which is the case for most of the houses here. The bathrooms are seperate from the toilets too and you don't ask for the restroom, you ask for the toilet. The kids are going to start school on Monday. Hopefully it will help them get better accuainted with the customs here and then they won't be so nervous to start the new year in January.

It is so strange seeing everything decorated for Christmas with as hot as it has been. It has been so hot that as soon as I get all of the laundry hung on the line, it is already dry. It has been over 110'F here every day and only supposed to get hotter. Between the 6 of us we have drank almost 30L of water. The kids and I are going to go swimming tomorrow, then I am going to take Kayla to see New Moon on Friday. (will post pics of the trip tomorrow)

In true Australian fashion, Good Day Mate!

Randomness!

Not my best work, but not bad considering we were driving 75 mph down the interstate. Can you tell that I was completely bored out of my mind? James does not talk when we travel. He puts in his iPod and listens to books and I get to stare out the windows and take random pictures. Maybe that is why the 9 hours to Jerome from Casper seems like an eternity? At least I only had to drive for an hour...(he he he)!

Moving Day!

It was a sad, sad day...We will miss Casper and the friends that we made there. As you can see, we worked really hard packing and loading. All of our belongings were packed snug in the 40 foot sea container, trucked to Denver, put on a train to L.A., then loaded on a ship headed for Brisbane, AU. We won't see it again until February. Thank you to all who helped while James was gone.

HaPpY hAlLoOwEeN!