Ekka part 2

We went back to the Ekka later in the week with friends Sara and Cooper so Cooper could ride the ferris wheel and pet the animals, too. Here are the boys waiting to see the cakes. FFM likes to push Cooper's stroller and Cooper likes to push FFM's hand away.

Go Team USA (and the Aussies)

We've been watching some of the Olympics here, seeing them on a TV channel with a non-US commentator is really refreshing. The Aussies are very generous to the Americans, following them and showing their competitions so much that we don't feel we are missing out on any team USA action at all.

Our apt came with two TVs but when we hooked up the cable we only paid for the living room TV. When FFM started getting adventurous we packed up the unused bedroom TV and hid it in a closet. The Olympics are on a local channel that's not broadcast over cable so we've pulled out the bedroom TV and plugged it back in to get the one channel coverage is on. It's a bit decadent for me to sit in bed and watch TV! FFM enjoyed a bit of the men's 4x200 relay the other day.

The TV isn't the only thing we have to keep out of reach...

How often do you leave your knife on the kitchen counter while you toss something in a pot? No more at our house. He can pull things off from at least the first 6" in from the edge of the counter. We have to be careful about heavy things, too, like plates, which he tries to pull off onto his noggin.

Yes, that's the front door. This one is too heavy for him to actually pull open, but I'm keeping an eye on things just in case...it's fun to watch how curious he is and how fast his skills change. Each new .5cm gets him a whole new perspective on life.

Antipodes

We're moving to Perth in less than a month, and I'm learning exactly how far away from the rest of the world parts of Australia really are.

Travis finished final job discussions a week ago and yesterday we got the final details worked out on exactly when we're going to leave Brisbane and fly to Perth. It's a bit of a quick change for us but not totally unexpected. There was some other work in Australia that came about, but the timing wasn't great for us and the job offer in Perth finally started to line up with what Travis was looking for, so off we go.

Knowing when/where we are going means I can finally book travel again! The long awaited plane tickets to go to my brother Q's wedding to the lovely Karen this November are done. Nothing like booking tickets that look this this: Perth-Sydney-LA-Phoenix (spend a week doing wedding stuff) -Denver (hang out for a month or so with family)-LA-Sydney (take two weeks off to go to New Zealand on a boat) - Perth. Throw in coordinating travel with mother-in-law Penny who is starting from Durango and joining us starting with the Denver leg, and a series of almost-but-not-quite-the-same tickets for Travis who has to skip the Colorado part to go back to work and I'm glad to pay a travel agent to deal with sorting out airline schedules, connecting flights, and getting all of us on the same plane at the same time.

Booking all this travel was not the best idea right before moving to Perth. It really makes me realize HOW FAR AWAY from EVERYTHING Perth is. It's a 5 hour flight from Brisbane or Sydney to Perth. Penny learned it's a 3 day train ride. It's going to take 26 hours and 52 minutes for us to fly from Perth to Phoenix. That's starting from when our first plane takes off and our last plane lands (for you world travelers that are rolling your eyes at me-that's all coach. I'm not complaining, but do expect to be a total wreck upon arrival in AZ. We start out the trip on a redeye with a one year old...). So I got to thinking, what if I was going to the east coast of the US? Would it be faster to go the other way around the world? Exactly what is on the opposite side of the earth from Perth?

Well, turns out it's pretty much Bermuda. If I look at our family, we're absolutely farthest away from Suzie and James, in York, PA (don't take it personally guys). While googling the antipode of Perth I found this map. If your Australian geography isn't as good as it used to be, I put a little orange circle where Perth is and a green square where Brisbane is. The pink part of the map shows what your antipode would be - or play here (zoom in see Bermuda): http://www.zefrank.com/sandwich/tool.html

I'm so so sad to be leaving the good friends I finally made here after such a short period of time, and honestly we live in the nicest apartment we've ever had in a stellar location that's going to be tough to match. That said, I look forward to seeing a new Australian city and can't wait to explore a whole new part of the country.

It will be a whole new experience for me to move somewhere that's not totally new - Perth will have all the same grocery stores, department stores, and I've already got the post office figured out (these are the important things when you move to a new country!). For the first time ever I'll be moving to a new place where not only do I already know someone, that someone is a good friend. Katie's been living there just over a year now and we can't wait to see them all again. I'm already making plans to meet up with Brissy friends again next June for a mom's trip to Melbourne, which always makes parting a bit easier.

Momentary sense of disconnect

My mobile phone is sick. And it's making me feel a little strange. I don't get that many calls/texts that I can't live without it for a couple of days, but we don't have a landline and I feel a little trepidation at letting it go to the hospital tomorrow. Walking out the door without a cell phone is like walking out without my keys, forgetting to put on wedding rings, or getting in the car and not buckling my seat belt. It's just such habit that it feels, well, like I'm forgetting something. I was halfway tempted to just buy a new one at the shop today, but my rational brain got the better of me and said, no, you can easily survive without a phone for two days. Let's just hope the nice folks next door let you use theirs if there's a life threatening emergency.

2.5

That's the number of steps FFM took the first time he walked on his own. Ten minutes later and he's up to 5. It's bedtime for him now so we'll leave it for the day, but here's a shot of one of the final passes. First pass wasn't to anyone or anything, he and Travis were meandering through the living room and Travis let go. FFM must have been too tired to notice - he just kept going. He's been walking around for two weeks holding on to just one of my fingers, he doesn't need the help but he *likes* it. It just took Dad's magic touch to get him to release.

He turned 13 months old yesterday. Note at the end of the video he still makes a beeline for the camera. Some things never change.