Australia Day (January 26th) is a national holiday, similar to the 4th of July in the states, with the major (tragic) difference being that we can’t buy explosive devices at the shop just around the corner. We tend to go to the beach, eat a lot of barbequed food, and in most towns and cities there are big fireworks displays.
RJ getting his snack on, just before we head out the door.
It’s summer, so we spend lots of time at or around the water. Having a pool makes a big difference, and so does having summer holidays.
RJ is a cool character while swimming.
Here’s a few water related moments from the past month.
Have a great Australia day everyone!
Happy Australia Day!!!!
We’ll throw an extra snag on the barbie and sink a few tinnies for ya.
Ozzy ozzy ozzy!
I’d been meaning to get a picture of this for a while, but hadn’t gotten to it yet. This is a sign that LR put up on her door about six months ago, letting everyone know that they’re welcome to come in.
A robot welcomes everyone who comes to LR's bedroom door. Proud father? Oh yes, indeed.
That’s a robot that’s she’s drawn (from scratch) on there… It’s because of things like this that I can look past the all the other fluffy pink stuff around the place.
Fairies? Magic ponies? Ridiculous nonsense! Humanoid robot servitors? Now that’s much more respectable.
(After finishing the last scene of Romeo and Juliet during bedtime reading…)
LR: So she just stabbed herself?!
Mum: Yeah.
LR: Well, that was stupid!
Mum: Mmmm?
LR: He’s just a boy! Let him drink poison. Who cares?!
Mum: Well, she really loved him.
LR: There are lots of boys.
Mum: True. Pretty stupid.
Maybe we’ll skip the romantic tragedies for a little while…
(RJ tells us all about another one of those creatures that only he seems to know about)
Feelay spiders are really good. They’re the friendly ones. They are bigger than your head and dig burrows and tunnels. They can jump a long way.
Some things eat them, but they have a secret weapon on their side… A hunter’s lair. Lizards eat them, but only after they have been cooked in a fire so they are safe to eat.
One day, a big forest fire came and burned everything until it was black and grey, then the fire went out…
THEN the lizard ate all the spiders.
RJ: I like my big kid swimming lessons.
Dad: Really? What do you like the best?
RJ: I like the diving board.
Dad: Why’s that?
RJ: It’s just like walking the plank.
LR: Look at the picture on the dog shampoo bottle. The dog is washing itself like it’s a human. It even has human hands!
Mum: That’s called anthropomorphising. When you make an animal seem like a human… Like by making it talk or making it look like it’s having a bubble bath.
RJ: Yeah… Because it has a robot inside it to make it move.
(LR and mum look at him in puzzlement)
RJ: Like at the museum. The dinosaurs in the exhibition move because they’re anthropomorphitronic.
(mum and LR still confused)
Mum: (has a sudden thought) Do you mean the animatronic dinosaurs?
RJ: Yeah… Animatronic. They move like people.
For those of you that haven’t visited Australia, RJ would like to introduce you to one of the spiders that are commonly found in the area. This is a Huntsman spider, and they often get larger than this (last week we spotted one trying to wander off with the dog).
We kept him in the kitchen with us for a few hours, but relocated him to the veggie patch, where he can do a great job hunting down pests. Despite what RJ says, they do not actually eat fruit.
We took a bit of a break last week and head off to the Southwest. It was very relaxing and the weather was just fantastic. The days were filled with horse riding, beach trips, exploring and even a couple of fishing trips.
Grammy and Poppa were there with the Melbourne cousins for the first couple of days, but couldn’t stay the whole time.
Grammy, LR, RJ and Daddy checked out Ngilgi cave. This huge room is called the amphitheatre and has great accoustics (especially for people who appreciate yelling children).
