Surprise!!

One night after dark I had to go out to the car and get something and as soon as I stepped outside I saw this:



The biggest spider I have ever seen in my whole life (outside of a pet store). It was seriously as big as Jonas hand although it doesn't look it here. I can't believe I was able to calmly take a picture of it before Nate smashed it. I just wish I was calm enough to put something next to it so you could really tell how big it was and maybe turn off the flash! (are you still with me Carol?)

Our House

After living in a tiny, temporary town house for 8 weeks we finally found the perfect house. It is in a nice quite neighborhood with lots of trees. The second we walked in we knew we wanted to live here but were a little worried that being foreign students with no jobs nobody in their right mind would rent to us. Luckily for us the owners said they go more on feelings than what you write down on the application.

I have tried to explain the house to a few people and it always comes out sounding really strange. It is has brick floors, brick walls with a sandy type stuff brushed over them, wood accents around the windows and doors and a straw type roof. (Strange right?) It is actually really cool though! I think the only way to show its coolness is in pictures.



View from the street. This house is Australia to me with the big gum trees out front, the low maintenance plants and the unique materials and design. Love it!!

Our mailbox. Notice the "No advertising materials accepted". This is also very Australian. Most ads are not delivered by the post man (with his orange vest and motor bike), they have people who walk around and stuff your mailbox. The problem we have is that advertising materials are the only mail we get and we kind of like it. We don't want to take their nice little plaque down though.


This is the inside of the front door. Do you see how low the door knobs are? This isn't a normal thing. Everyone who comes over comments on them.


The view as you walk in the front door, a little coat closet.



The "Lounge". Don't be jealous of our orange chairs and southwestern style couch!! Do you see the straw roof? I wasn't kidding!


The lounge again. The door on the far wall is to the office.



View from the lounge to the backyard. This is by far my favorite part of the whole house. The backyard is fenced off into two sections so I can always see them from the windows when they are outside playing!



Our kitchen with a lovely view of drying laundry. I feel spoiled to have a dishwasher. If the fridge seems abnormally small that's because it is. It comes up to my chin (and I'm a short girl!!) It does the job though.


The laundry room complete with a $20 washing machine!


The hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom.


The hallway where the bedrooms and bathroom are. The far door where Jonas is standing is our room. The door on the left is the toilet room and where Liam is standing is the boys room.


The side yard where the clothes lines are.

Thats all there is. I would have taken pictures of the bedrooms but then I would have had to clean them. Maybe if you want to see the bedrooms you will have to come and see them in person! (I promise I will clean them for you then)

My Boys

I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of Liam and Jonas at the same age or in the same clothing.

Here they are on their birthdays:
Liam - July 24, 2004; Jonas - August 26, 2006.

Taking a bath

First Birthday

Halloween in the Oompa Loompa costume!

First haircut
(we made sure to take them to a real barber with the pole and everything!)

Yellow Pajamas.

First snow!!

Wouldn't be Blank men without a plaid shirt!!

Design on a Dime

The town house we lived in had hooks all over the walls from previous tenants. I guess Liam thought the room could use a little spiffing up and his shirts were just the thing to do it!

Trouble Maker

One night when I went to check on Liam and Jonas before I went to bed I found my almost new tube of mascara ALL OVER Jonas! I didn't clean him up because he was asleep so the next morning when he woke up this is what he looked like. He is obviously pretty upset that somebody put black stuff all over him.

Going Green...

but not by choice! I was very unimpressed to learn that our town house did not have a clothes dryer and we could pretty much bet that any place we live here will not have one either. But I have to say that even though it takes much longer to do laundry and our clothes are always stiff and wrinkled once they dry, the idea is growing on me. We just might have to install a Hills Hoist when we get back to the states!

Our First Home

This is the temporary furnished town house we moved into right away. Ours is the unit on the far left. With a maximum 6 month residency it was the perfect first place for us. It was walking distance to campus and the local shops and it had almost everything we needed to feel at home.

















When the weather was warm enough (remember we moved to Australia in the middle of winter) we would go play outside. The boys loved climbing in the trees (really this only happened once!), playing with sticks, rocks or anything else they could find on the ground and playing with toys that other kids left outside.








Because gas is $1.50 per liter at the moment (thats $5.68 per gallon) we try to walk as much as we can. Here we are on a walk down to the local shops. We always have to allow plenty of time for gathering up sticks, playing in the leaves, chasing birds and taking sitting breaks on other people's property.

It was a great place to start out in but we are all very grateful to be out of there! When I get caught up on posts I'll show you our new house.