The Pitfalls of History

Despite a broken arm from playing tag in World History class, Mara remains upbeatedly nonchalant.

Micah's Morning Ritual

Like all civilized gentlemen Micah prefers to take the morning paper with his breakfast.

Micah Makes Two

The call to arms (or at least cutlery).

This past weekend we celebrated, with a couple of friends, Micah's achievement on making it to the two year mark. Despite the fairly hot weather, a barbeque was in order with Gaynor once again directing the menu and doing most of the food preparation. Needless to say, the food was excellent. We also supplemented Gaynor's food with a 3 foot long burrito we picked up from a local restaurant. We were wondering how best to eat such a thing but it soon became obvious (disappointingly, we merely cut it up).

Micah -- despite cutting his back molars at the moment -- had a great time. Many of the children stayed to play a bit longer, helping to make up for his two big brothers who were unable to make it. I know he's missing them but they both seem to be having a great time where they are at the moment.

Leaving the Country ... a Bit

Though the length of our stay here in the US is as yet unknown we don't want the children to lose touch with the other cultures they have been growing up in. So to that end, we are sending Elijah back to Canberra for his summer holidays and Joshua back to Germany for most of his. Elijah is specifically going back to play rugby with his old club since the coaching and opportunities here are lower and fewer[1]. Joshua is largely going because we are awesome parents.

Of course, for us it isn't as simple as ponying up a pile of cash for the airline tickets. Our entry visas to the US have expired and -- though our immigration status is perfectly legal -- must be renewed before the boys will be allowed to re-enter the US after departure. Somewhat inconveniently, one must leave the country and re-apply for the visas at a US Consulate. Even though Mexico is only a couple of hours away, we've decided to head the opposite direction and will visit the consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia. The decision is primarily for processing time -- Tijuana typically takes nine days and Vancouver two -- since one must stay out of the country until the visa is processed. Though we certainly would like to visit Mexico at some time in the future, it just doesn't work at this stage.

So we are treating the 4400km (2700 miles) round-trip -- roughly Port Macquarie to Cairns and back again[2] -- as this year's family summer holiday. If all goes to plan, we should have a few days in Vancouver with little to do but enjoy it. In addition, we'll also get to stop in and see a few friends on the way up and back.

Now all I have to do it make sure the van is up to the task ...


[1] I should know, having just finished as Head Coach of the boys' club.
[2] Or for our European friends, Amsterdam to Lisbon and back again.

Isn't It Ironic?

We were recently asked to help a local club, in which the girls participate, with gaining sponsorship. While I certainly applaud Pepsi's philanthropy, the irony of a soft drink company sponsoring health initiatives -- like the 100 Mile Club Ariana and Bryna both run in -- seems to be ignoring the elephant in the room. Better to give than not I suppose.

By the way, Ari and Bryna have both managed to run well over 100 miles this academic year. Both were the first girls in their grades to reach that level and Bryna is the current overall leader in her year level. She does it by keeping up with Ariana.