A Sea of Speedos, or Should We Say Budgie Smugglers?

     Because getting up at 5 AM to watch ACC basketball wasn't enough, Chris swam a 1500 meter ocean swim on Sunday morning.  His aim was not to win, but rather survive.  I guess survival is always questionable in Australia, where the "risk management" briefing before the event indemnifies them against shark attacks and "marine stingers" (ie jellies)!  The event was held at Dee Why Beach, an ocean beach a few kilometres north of here.  Thankfully, there were no tsunami waves here.

    The kids, dog and I enjoyed the dry version of the event while Chris battled swells and swimmers and finished in a quite respectable time. 



Aussies frequently call these small suits "budgie smugglers" because it appears as if a budgie (short, of course, for budgerigar, a parakeet), has been stuffed down the front.  It's not uncommon to see hot pink budgie smugglers.  "Cheeky" lot!



 The only slang we've heard for women's suits is "cossie" which is a shortened (of course, we're in Australia) version of costume.

Chris finishing.  So glad he survived!

Cute stuff on the beach.  The puppy is a 4month-old Cavalier-poodle mix.

 "I wagged my tail, looked cute and they gave me a medal.  I have them well trained."

       After searching for a month or so, we found a good deal on the surfboard the kids were promised when this move was finalized.  We headed to Curl Curl (usually pronounced Cool Cool) for its inaugural run. 

Balancing on a new board was tricky, but they started to get the hang of it.





    A few more weekend photos -

The Boy Scouts were camping at Balmoral this weekend for a sailing event.  Tons of boats in the water!

Soccer-tennis, Sam's new favorite game.

     Mia left this morning for a 3 day camping trip in the Blue Mountains with all of the Year 5 classes.  She was only somewhat excited, feeling unusually anxious about leaving us, I'm sure due to recent life upheaval.  But, I'm betting she has a great time.  I think she and Sam are both excited about having a break from each other for a few days.  They have spent far too much time together in the last two months, resulting in lots of friction.  Chris and I are glad for a reprieve from sibling bickering!

    I got to see another stunning sunrise after I dropped Mia at school for her early departure.

     Almost forgot, Mia did great at the Zone swimming carnival (14 primary schools competing).  She only got to swim 50 meter breaststroke due to a timing glitch with freestyle.  Anyhow, she placed 3rd, getting barely out-touched at the end.  She was a bit disappointed since the top two get to go to the Regional meet.  However, she wouldn't have been able to attend the Regional meet due to this camping trip.  We had to point out that her result was great, especially considering she hadn't been swimming much since early January and never before in a 50 m pool. 

    I thought this post was finished until I returned home from picking up Sam.  This kookaburra was waiting for us on our balcony.  They are about 10-12" from head to tail, a fairly large and really loud bird.  Sam and I enjoyed getting to see one close up!