January 22, 2012......Pictures - Nature walk on the beach

And the beach beconds...



Looking for treasure...

Finding a little crab...

One of so many mysterious holes surrounded by perfect little balls of sand...



A close-up of the little balls...

Dancing to her song...

I was here...

Overcast but still need shades...

January 22, 2012......Food and other experiments

On New Year’s day we cooked up the croc bbq pack we purchased at the Croc Park. There were meat kabobs, burger and sausage. All were great. The kids also loved it. Croc meat is a delicate white meat that is easily overcooked. It is supposed to be a good source of vitamin B12 and niacin so hopefully will be good for cholesterol too. Given that crocs have out-survived most everything else on the planet that we know of (even dinosaurs) it makes you think their meat can’t be bad for you. We once watched a documentary on some research being done with croc blood and our superbug bacteria. The croc’s blood kills it like it’s nothing.

We haven’t yet tried kangaroo and really want to do that. We also are still figuring out a lot of the seafood here and looking forward to learning how best to prepare it. We have heard there is a market down close to the pier where you can get the fresh stuff. We have to check that out soon. A couple weeks ago Paul got ¾ of a kilogram of a white fish at the store, called Ling. We assume it was ling cod. It was good. The kids cleaned their plates, ate some of ours and were still asking for more. Next on the list to try is barramundi.

We have been eating a lot of stir-fry dishes, with chicken, shrimp (prawns), and beef. The kids and I make our own pizza once in awhile. We just love the wholemeal flour. It’s a larger grain than wholewheat and sweeter. It works great in breads and doughs. You have to watch using it in cookies, though. It adds enough sweetness to affect the resulting taste. I tried it in our first batch of chocolate chip cookies and it didn’t really go. It probably would if I had reduced the amount of sugar.

Last night we tried quail and it was really good. It’s a lot like chicken, as you would expect – just not as much meat on the bones. We have also been enjoying all the fresh fruit. The whole family loves mango, of course. We even put it on top of cooked oatmeal. Star fruit is also a hit. We get a lot of our fruit and veggies at one of the outdoor weekend markets. It’s cheaper and feels good to give money to a local rather than a big corporation. It is also a great outing for the whole family. The kids all get a cold fruit smoothie (with typical and local fruits) and we walk around looking at lots of other vendors – food, clothing, musicians, flowers, jewelry, etc. It’s hot, but fun.

A couple weeks ago we took a drive to see some sights outside Darwin. On the way home we stopped at a town called Humpty Doo. With a name like that, you have to stop, don’t you? We decided to have an early dinner at the “world famous” Humpty Doo Hotel. Here's what the restaurant section looked like...

Paul and I got a buffalo burger “with the lot”. What we got was the most amazing burger I have ever had. Here’s what was between the bread…

-          The usuals - burger meat, tomato, lettuce, cheese

-          Fried egg

-          Slice fried ham

-          Couple slices of beet

-          Couple slices of pineapple

What an amazing combo!

We’ve tried a few experiments since we came over here. One is doing without a microwave. I don’t know if it is healthy to use one or not and I guess that is the point. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my kids so I have more time to prepare food. I started reducing the amount I used the microwave before we left Alaska. I didn’t really use it for much more than heating up coffee by the time we left. It was still there when I needed to reheat something in a pinch, though. Since we landed in AU I have not used a microwave once. And I haven’t missed it a bit. When we moved into our long-term rental house I told Paul I didn’t want to even buy one and we didn’t. Of course I don’t know if our decision will improve our health in the long run. I am pretty confident that it will not decrease the quality of our lives though.

The transition to microwave-free was also aided by our purchase of a Bialetti Moka espresso maker to make coffee. Our good friend, Maja, introduced us to this amazing little piece of cooking equipment on a camping trip in Canada last summer. In the morning we now make a pot of espresso. When we are ready for another cup of coffee we just boil some more plain water to add to the now cold espresso and voila! We have a perfect strength, fresh, perfect temperature cup of coffee.

The other experiment caused more stress for me. Before we left Alaska I happened up on a book called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. The book changed our lives. I started talking about it here…

http://barry-family-adventures.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-27-2011housing-slowing-down.html

In short, as parents we are the gate-keepers to our children’s lives. The theme of the book is our children get stressed when there is too much – too many choices, too many toys, too many books, too much stuff, too much stimulation of any sort. Their brains are maxed out, trying to process all the input. If you reduce the amount of “stuff” you reduce their stress and they are simply happier and healthier. I was floored. All this time kept bringing in more “stuff”, thinking I was doing good as long as it was educational and good quality. But too much is too much. We weeded and weeded. We still have more to do. We are also going to cycle our toys – keep at least ½ boxed up at a time.

So for Christmas this year we needed a different plan. Every year until now we went after the “Wow” factor. We wanted the kids to be thrilled when they walked down the stairs to the magic of the big pile of toys that were surrounding the tree. How to change that?!?! Santa had to bring something.

We decided the kids would each get one mid-sized toy. In their stockings would be a treat of chocolate, one little toy or two and some tickets to fun places we could go as a family. We are thinking maybe that would involve airplane travel another year. This year, having not yet unpacked from our move and having so much yet to explore here, we could not bring ourselves to think about jumping on an airplane.

As a mother, it would simply crush me if the kids walked downstairs Christmas morning and had a look of disappointment on their faces. So I told the kids…I do not want Santa to bring a bunch of toys anymore. We have too much…we have given away a lot and still have too much. We can pick somewhere you want to go and ask Santa to bring us tickets. Then we will ask for only one toy each. The kids seemed ok with it.

When Christmas Eve came I was nervous. I had bought a couple simple, little toys for the grandparents to give them, as I had promised. They were little digging shovels, and the like. They were the only wrapped presents under the tree. Santa then brought tickets, a chocolate treat and a couple little toys in their stocking. They each got a scooter.

Before we went to bed I looked at the little “pile” and really wondered what they kids were going to think when they came downstairs in the morning. I wasn’t sure. This was going to be their first Christmas without extended family, without snow, without a home, without our pets. I wasn’t sure if we were doing the right thing by changing the Santa thing too.

I shouldn’t have worried at all. Their response after opening and playing with their new things…”Mom, Santa still brought a lot of stuff!” They happily played with their new things. They didn’t get the typical Christmas morning “burn out” from opening too many presents. And neither did we. I am so happy we gave it a try. It just felt healthier. And we were all happier.

December, 2011....Christmas, lists, vehicles, crocs and other wild animals

Before the official start of Christmas, I slipped back to my pre-Australia life. When we arrived in Darwin, I vowed to live life at a pace that my brain could handle. The months leading up to the international move were chaotic to say the least. It was time to slow down.

Just before Christmas the amount of tasks at hand finally got to me and once again I took pen to paper to do up a “To Do” list. I was trying so hard to avoid what ended up being the inevitable. One list was created and like a chocoholic after one little taste, I couldn’t help myself. Other lists followed, some with priority codes – asterisks, circles, numbers. There was banking – domestic wires, international wires; Christmas shopping; grocery shopping; finding a vehicle; buying a vehicle; finding and buying a second vehicle; figuring out how to get the pets from quarantine (in Sydney) to Darwin; looking at more houses, neighborhoods; emails to schools; finding out how to prepare for a cyclone; finding out where to get emergency supplies;…. You all know how it goes. My poor little brain couldn’t hold it all in there, especially in the right order of priority. So I digressed. And my brain hurt, even with all the lists and caffeine. We were not meant to live our lives at this pace.

After Christmas life calmed back down, thankfully. By the end of the year we had bought two vehicles – a Toyota Landcruiser Prado (SUV) for our family and a Honda Civic sedan for Paul to commute to work. Both have manual transmissions and get good gas mileage.  Surprisingly, the pattern for manual shifting is not different over here! You have to do it with your left hand, of course. And our Prado is a 6 speed so the reverse is actually to the left of first gear (which actually makes more sense – you usually go to first gear after you back up). Other than that, it’s the same. Driving a big diesel standard SUV around the city with three little kids by myself is a little more challenging. The almost constant shifting makes it difficult to help them or do interference. It will just keep getting easier, though, as the kids get older and as I (hopefully!) progress beyond struggling driver status.

We really enjoyed slowing down over the holidays. Paul took almost the whole week off and we took a couple days to just go see the sights with the kids. Santa brought us tickets to Crocodile Cove, Crocodile Park and Zoo and the Wave Lagoon. We haven’t yet been to the last one, but the other two were a hoot. Because we are locals now, we got to upgrade to annual passes at both places, which is just awesome. We can learn a little more about all the creatures each time we go. With this intense heat, it is definitely easier to make shorter, more frequent visits.

Crocodile Cove is downtown Darwin and has a mix of crocs and reptiles. We fed the smaller crocs (1 and 2 meters long) with a fishing pole. Boy can they get out of the water! They initially look cute, but when you see how hungry and strong they are, you quickly realize that they have already become predators and we are food. We were warned before we entered the area to keep whatever appendages we wanted to stay attached away from the fence. When Johanna took her fishing pole to feed the “little” guys, the string was not taught so the food wasn’t going low enough for the crocs to jump to it. I reached up to help fix the string on the pole, barely putting my hand beyond the fence and they went crazy jumping after me. Yikes! Those guides meant what they said!

As a side note, I had previously read that Australians are famous for understating things. For example, if something is 200+ miles away, it is quite in their character to say something to the effect… “Yeah, no worries. Just get on this highway and you’ll see it on your right, just down the road.” So…if an Australian emphasizes that I should NOT do something, I need to listen up like I have never listened before.

Back to the Croc Park…We then saw the bigger crocs (5 meters long) being fed by the experts. Now they are scary. You would have to pay me a lot to do that job. The feeder goes into the croc’s tank area and stands on the dry, concrete section with a long pole. He puts the food down by the croc’s mouth until he comes out of the water a little to get it. There is another person in there, presumably to help the poor bloke out should he/she get in trouble. I wouldn’t be convinced. Maybe if my kids were starving and that was the only job left on the planet, maybe I would consider it. I know, never say never, but I think it might be safe to in this case.

Croc Cove has a bunch of crocs of all ages. They even has the famous movie star croc there - the one that was in Crocodile Dundee. He’s big. They also have a dunk tank you can get in and get lowered down in the water, close to a couple of the big crocs. We haven't done that yet. The kids did get to hold a baby croc. He was probably 2 feet long and had his mouth secured so he couldn’t bite. He just lay in their arms. It was cool to feel his very soft skin.

Next it was on to the turtles, lizards, snakes and the like. It seemed that all the snakes were very poisonous and all lived around Darwin. I took pictures and took note. No tall grass for us, thank you.

Crocodile Park and Zoo was also impressive. It was great that they have a variety of wildlife, including kangaroos, wallabies, monkeys, lions, etc.  And of course lots of crocodiles. There is a museum there as well so lots of learning to do. They breed crocodiles and sell the meat there. Of course we had to take some home to try. We got a bbq assortment pack. More on that later…

December 17, 2011......The Power of Nature

They know how to do a few things right, here. Like have a thunder and lightning storm. Two days ago the kids and I were out running a couple errands. We soon started to drive through some serious rain. We could hear a little thunder and see some lightning in the distance. But what continues to catch me off guard here is, where there is one storm there are often several others in the area or about to be. The first clap of thunder close to us made us all jump out of our seats. It took my brain a few long seconds to determine that the loud noise and cause of the car shaking was indeed thunder and we were not just hit by something. The storm was so bad by the time we got to the grocery store that the kids all had their hands over their ears. They were afraid to get out of the car. They were afraid to stay in the car. Ryland thought for sure the lightning was going to hit us. And his fears were not completely unfounded. Lightning hit the ground here just a couple weeks ago.

I looked around the parking lot and did an internal debate. We were out of a few critical items and needed to make a stop. Right or wrong, I took a cue from the locals who were still going and coming from the store, albeit quickly. I reassured the kids that we were going to be ok – it wouldn’t be as loud in the store. We made a run for it.

It was quieter in the store and electricity managed to stay on, despite several threats to cut out while we were there. The storm was still going pretty strong by the time we got back out, though it had moved out of our immediate area. Several traffic lights weren’t as lucky as those in the grocery store, but we got home safe and sound.

The tropical environment makes you pause in awe of nature between storms as well, even when you live here year round. Last Sunday evening Paul and I put the girls in the double chariot, Ryland on his bike and went for a run along the nearby coastal trail. At each picnic table there were locals (not many tourists in the wet season) eating with family and/or friends. There were kids playing on the grass and sand, adults sitting in camp chairs having a chilled glass of wine, and others just sitting on the grass with book in hand and camera at the ready. All were waiting for the approaching sunset.

As we ran along, taking in our surroundings, Paul and I looked at each other with understanding. These are a few of the reasons why we are here. To learn to stop and pause more often; to breathe the ocean air deep in our lungs and allow it to replenish our souls; to make more time to just have a picnic; to pause long enough to let the powerfulness of nature reach our conscious brains and to teach our kids to make this a way of life.

December 16, 2011.......Running Bare (with clothes on)

I finally brought my barefoot running to a whole new level. It wasn’t preplanned or intentional. But I guess it was meant to happen.

It’s been about 2 years since I have run with typical running shoes and I have come to love the freedom of running with non-supportive shoes. It all started with my coach, Lisa Keller announcing that I just HAD to read the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. about two days after I started the book I was hooked. I now have a mix of shoes that I adorn when heading out for a trot, from Vibram Five Fingers to Zoot triathlon shoes (like pull-on slippers). I have also run without anything on my feet for short periods on the treadmill or around a track.

Lately I haven’t been running much at all and I was jonesing for one when I woke up this morning. Paul had to be at work early again so I decided that the kids and I would go on a little adventure of sorts. We figured out how to get the double chariot and Ryland’s bike in the car. We planned to drive up to this area we are interested in living, park, put the girls in the double chariot, Ryland on his bike and I would get in a little run as I pushed the chariot. Our objective was to run through part of the neighborhood to check it out and to end up on the coastal trail.

I made sure I had drinks and snacks for our 15 min car ride, cool water to pour over the our heads during the run, even colder water to drink, more snacks for the kids on our little adventure, sports drink for me, sunscreen, bike helmet, camera, sunglasses. Check. Check. Check.

We got to location, got everything out and put back together. Water over everyone’s head; water down everyone’s throat; sunscreen on all exposed parts; helmet on Ryland. Loaded up the chariot – kids, water, camera, snacks, sunscreen, phone. Ok! Lets to do this. Final check before locking the car…I look down at my feet. Flip flops. Uh Oh. Hmmmm. This might be a show stopper.

Well, let’s try it. We've invested too much to just put everthing and everyone back in the car and go home. First few steps…not too bad. Would actually be better if the flip flops were more mickey mouse. They are the moldable kind – you put them in the oven and then wear them to mold them to your feet. But I hadn’t done that yet. So they had more arch support than I wanted and were overall too cushy. No big deal unless you are running. And my stride was already messed up, trying to push a double chariot. I didn’t want an injury. Hmmmm. The trail looks pretty clean. Maybe I can just do it barefoot. The trail is concrete so maybe not too too hot yet. Let’s try it.

It worked out great for most of the way. The last little bit I had to put the flip flops back on because the trail along the coast is asphalt, which was way too hot without some sort of protection for my wimpy feet. All in all, it was a complete success! I might get a couple blisters, but we got the run in and had fun doing it. We got to the beach, had a little break, potty break, another little “shower” to cool down, warm drink (cold doesn’t last long here) and made it back without incident. Woohoo!! Celebrate the little victories!! Then, quickly back to A/C to cool down and rehydrate!

December 10, 2011....Bike riding in Darwin!!!!

Here are some photos of the kid's enjoying their bikes...so happy we were able to put them on the air shipment!

December 10, 2011.......Paul's posts on Facebook