2 adults, 8 kids

All these people stayed at our house a few weekends ago!

Well... minus the dads [mostly] because they had a boys weekend... 

...so that makes 2 adults and 8 kids.

And thanks to

- a treehouse

- great weather

- sprinklers

- junk food

- 4 pairs of same-age kids

These 2 adults actually had quality time together! 

Amazing, isn't it. :)

School x3

How fun to have Grandma and Grandpa here for the first week of school.
Not sure why we didn't get a picture with them and the kids to prove they were here!!!

Dad making pancakes on the first day of school. Go Andrew!

Nick looking too grown up, off to his first year of school. 

3 full days a week. Sheesh.

No Nick isn't a midget, just a goofball!

He's taken to carrying backpacks for the others.

Here he has all three.

Such an enthusiastic smile, gotta love him being the big kinder kid.

Nick said to me today, "Now that I"m at school I have to follow all the rules cause it's my school too." Like which ones? "Like no shouting or spitting." Yep, that'd be a good start!

Grandpastreehouseisawesome

Yes it's awesome. Awesome the way Americans say it [aaaahhh-some], not the way Aussies say it [or-some], because Grandpa built it of course!

Before the kids cut their windows.

Inside

Windows being cut

Love the branch coming out

Complete with little mushroom-picnic table out the front

Do you think they love it?!!

Thank you Grandpa for all your hard work and 43 trips to the hardware store to buy things we should've had and communicate with Australians who didn't understand you and tie things to the roof of the van with the cool knots that I really should have learned to do too. :)

And thank you Mom for all your help around the house and taking care of C for me so much and watching the kids while Dad and I made another trip to the hardware store. It was a lovely break and I miss making you more cups of tea than you could drink!

Mom and Dad I loved having you here and wish you could hang out here and do life with us more. But then I'm the one who moved away and you're the ones who have to come all this way, and you do it more often than I would have ever thought you would. So thank you.

Hello!

Hi, long time no see! 

We're just enjoying the end of summer, 

too much sun to come inside and blog... :)

Well, too much laundry and all the rest as well, 

but let's just say it's the summer sun that's responsible!

Grandparents and the last of school holidays

Little C wriggles till she gets on her tummy. Then sleeps really well!

The kids' school holiday games around the house have been fun to watch

How could I have thought that all those stuffed animals didn't have a purpose...

 Dad's been commissioned to build a treehouse. So far the best quote has been Nick's. When some of us were going to town, Nick chose to stay with Grandpa, saying very seriously, "I'm staying because otherwise Grandpa will have to do all the work!" 

Stay tuned for the final pics cause Dad doesn't build stuff halfway!

I'd like to say I've been cooking gourmet for my parents (best of intentions not followed through), but I got out a bunch of everything and Mom made a gourmet Asian crunchy noodle chicken salad. Yum!

 Our bird Bella loves having more people around who like her.

As we drove to Bruny Island yesterday it was pouring, then bright and sunny when we got there, so gotta go for a walk on the beach!

Holidays.Are.Fun.

Australia Day on the Gold Coast

Girls getting toenails painted

Dreamworld theme park fun (fun for kids, grandparents mostly looked after the baby!)

Waiting at the airport, kids perused the books in the bookstore and sat in high chairs! 

Shh, don't tell the bookstore! :)

Opening Christmas presents from cousins and grandparents. 

The anticipation is oozing from Laura!

Yay for orange Lego!

Littlest is very proud of having something very grown up that no one else has!

How can we make the time slow down? 

Small things

Sometimes it's the small things that make our two countries different. 

Like the average car size. 

Or the size of the drinks here. 

It's pretty hard for them to accept that they paid the same amount 

for half the quantity as in America and no free refills here!

Welcome to Australia Mom and Dad! 

Lunch at the beach to welcome them here...

To the 3 weeks ahead, please go oh-so-slowly!!

Merry Warm Christmas

Looks like Santa makes it to the Southern Hemisphere for a warm Christmas morning!

Must be hard to continue on northward tonight to the cold...

Merry Christmas to my family far away. 

Missing you today.

4 kids and foster care

We've started doing foster care. Something we've been working towards for a couple years now, and had put off doing because we were moving house and renovating... But we decided it was time, and wouldn't you know it, the very day we rang the department (at 1pm) to say we had a bedroom ready for a child (we nominated 0-3 years old), they rang us back (at 5pm!) to ask us if we wanted to have a placement of a 2-day old baby. I think my response was "umm... I'll say yes." And then I rang Andrew (who later pointed out that may have been the wrong order for things to happen in!). But I knew he would be onboard. Shocked, but onboard.

So that was over a month ago, and now little Baby C has been in our house for a month. She's lovely and cute, starting to smile a bit, and we are all loving caring for her. Nick is totally soaking up not being the youngest, Laura is loving having a little baby girl, and I think Daniel is taking it all in and enjoying her while also protecting himself. It's unknown how long we will have her, of course. The state has to figure out her family situation, and there's no quick answers to these things. But Daniel articulated very early on that the longer we have her, the harder it will be to say goodbye. Without a doubt. But here we are, trying something we know we have to try, and praying that we do it in a way that is right for our family and for the child(ren) that come into our house. But at the moment, it's all about newborn routine and although I haven't had pregnancy and birth to recover from, I now have not slept through the night for a whole month, which I (not-so-graciously) pointed out to Andrew when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed the other day. But mostly I am happy to be caring for a child that needs a home, amazed that things in our lives have come together to make it possible, and super thankful for the people around us who are helping immensely. Because I need it. 4 kids, geez.

And of course I can't really post pictures of her... :(

Hair...

...it's been a very big deal in our house lately...

Exhibit A

Daniel has lots of it and wants it to stay that way

Exhibit B

Nick had lots of it and wanted it too, that is until a certain Uncle (see Exhibit A) suggested he try going bald, which he then desperately begged for. 

Such is the perogative of a 4 year old. 

But I'm the haircutter in this family and I refused. 

Such is my perogative! :)

But we compromised and cut the longest the clippers would allow.

Everyone thought he looked like a different child and needed a new name, so for about a week straight he was Josh. Now periodically he tells me that when he is allowed, he is going to change his name to Josh. And all that effort we put into choosing Nicholas! Humph. 

I quite like the new look actually.
(but don't ask Aunty Sharon about it cause I'm still in the bad books for not getting permission, ha!!)

Exhibit C

Laura has always wanted long long hair, 

and she loved its status as longest in the family.

Then she decided to go short and I cut it 

about as quickly as I could reach for the scissors. 

Before-school hair management is now quick and easy 

and self-maintained for the most part! And she loves it so that's the great part.

Yay for hair, and less of it! 

Now Andrew wants me to go short...