Australia Zoo

Last Tuesday, we left Murphy's Creek at 6.30 am for a two-day trip to the Sunshine Coast, where we met up with Alan's American friends Glenn and Janet. The thermometer in the car indicated it was going to be a cold day: zero degrees Celsius and we were all rugged up. Once at the Coast, however, it was a warm 24 degrees...
We spent Tuesday at Australia Zoo, where we saw otters, elephants, crocodiles, eagles, kangaroos, snakes, wombats, tigers and many more.(see photos) A great day was had by all. The entry to the zoo is not the cheapest (52 dollars per person) but it has to be said that the animals live there in wonderful conditions and have a lot of space and a "natural" environment.
On Wednesday, after saying goodbye to Glenn and Janet, who were heading up north, we took to the beach. On one of the shortest and coldest days of the year, Alan and Tom went in the ocean...
We got home on Wednesday night very tired...and Alan had to hit the exams straight away...after a last great effort last night ( until 2 am), the holidays are finally near.

It's winter in Murphy's Creek

Winter is here! The thermometer in our lounge room read 8 Degrees Celsius on Sunday morning. The days are still nice and sunny though, with a comfortable 22 degrees at lunch time. Although this probably seems like Summer for people in the Northern Hemisphere, it gets quite cold inside without central heating.
We have enjoyed the cooler weather and have spent quite a bit of time in the garden, putting in a vegetable garden. Tom planted radishes, lettuce, snow peas, cabbage, spinach, leek and lots more. He has also enjoyed "playing" with his new chickens. They are very tame and love being picked up bu my son, who twirls them around in the air while singing 'Spiderchook" (see The Simpsons-movie: Spiderpig)

A lot of words from movies are creeping in to Tom's daily vocabulary. Here are some examples: D'Oh (simpsons), "Oh Man" (dora), "sugarbumbs" (the Joker in Batman), "Pink-eyed-freak" (Flushed Away), mostly directed at his dad when wrestling together."I've still got the moves" (Spiderman), "My-brother-from-another-mother" (Sharktale), "I'm melting" (Wizard of Oz) and many more.
This does not mean that he spends all his time in front of the TV; he actually prefers playing oustside riding his bicycle, playing on the swings, hanging upside down on the trapeze or playing with his two dogs Gomez and Charlie.

Furthermore our lives have been busy as usual: Alan is swamped with schoolwork (the time of the year for it), Tom still goes to kindergarten on Wednesdays and Fridays and playgroup on Mondays. I have been doing some private tutoring in French. Looking forward to the school holidays in two weeks time when we will finally get started on our deck. No rest for the wicked...