The Big 1-0

     The blog has taken a bit of a back seat lately, as we continue to get settled.  It seems a never-ending process but we know we're making progress. 
      The big event for us this week was Mia's 10th birthday.  It hardly seems possible!  She started the day by getting lots of phone calls from friends and family in the US as she was getting ready for school (and later too).  Thanks for calling her!  It really made her feel special and remembered at a time when she is missing home a lot.  Since school starts so much later here, we took her out to breakfast before school.  Both kids order pancakes whenever they can here because they have learned that they put ice cream, not butter, on the pancakes.  And syrup!  As I left her at school, she was getting a group hug from squealing 10 year-olds shouting "Happy Birthday!"  A great way to start her day.

     Mia's school was nice enough to schedule a tall ship harbor cruise for her on her birthday so she spent the day on the water with her class.  The Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth cruise ships had been in port for two days and Mia got to see the Queen Elizabeth as it left the harbor.  There are cruise ships there all the time but apparently when the QE2 was here last time, so many people came to see it that it caused huge traffic jams.  This time, there have been signs up warning of traffic congestion for weeks.  I caught a glimpse of the Queen Elizabeth, the smaller of the two, as it headed out to sea.



    Mia ended her day playing with a new friend, having quiche for dinner (her favorite) and cake for dessert.  She and Chris will climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge this weekend as a treat for her 10th birthday.  The age minimum is 10 so Sam and I will find other things to do for a few hours.  She had a great day and is excited about the weekend.

     Jackson is going to be released Monday morning!  We are all very excited to be getting him back shortly.  He will be bathed and ready to go as soon as we can get there.  We've gotten dog food and treats and are just waiting out a few more days.  I'm sure I'll have to remind the kids not to smother him too much.

    We continue to adjust to the birds and traffic noise that wakes us up early every day.  We've decided that the reason the beach is so full of early morning exercisers is that no one else can sleep either.  So, we figure we might as well embrace it and do as the locals do. I got to see this gorgeous sunrise at 6:15 this morning.  Thanks birds ... I think.