Photos to make my dad wish he was here and Happy Halloween

My mom is in town for a couple of weeks. She's about halfway through her trip and it's been wonderful having her here. We've been trying new recipes from my 30 minute meal cookbooks (have yet to make a meal in 30 minutes or less), we took a trip out to Straddie and she's been spending lots of time with her grandkids. :)

So what's missing? Or should I say: Who is missing? My dad. He decided to stay home this trip, but I bet he's wishing he was here. Especially after he sees these photos:

Nana hiked with Roxy in the backpack at the Koala Reserve! Go Nana!!

Nana meeting Murdoch for the first time.

Me and my bubba. His shirt says, "I love my mummy," but his face says, "Get me outta here!"

Roxy wears overalls just like her granddad G. 

Nana does the dishes after every meal ("It's therapeutic!") and she misses her normal-sized sink.

Wish you were here, G-Man.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Skeleton Baby dances with ghosts!

Halloween isn't really a big deal here, but we were invited to a Halloween Party by Nate's Aussie boss and his American wife. It was a party for kids, so there were about a dozen little specters running around. Most of the little girls were dressed as witches (although there was a notable SuperGirl-Who-Flew-Into-A-Building) and the boys were dressed in whatever costume would allow them to carry the biggest toy weapon, i.e. machete, sword, AK-47. It was pretty much like Halloween party in America.

Coven leader Jade making a deal with Skeleton Baby

We had hotdogs and hamburgers and ate cupcakes adorned with imported candy corn and candy pumpkins. Just to remind us that we are in Australia, someone brought over pavlovas adorned with chocolate spiderwebs. Pavlovas are an extremely popular dessert here. I love them; Nate feels just the opposite.

Spooky!

long-awaited photos

Alright, so I promised photos weeks (almost) ago. Some photos from the past few weeks...

Ainsley and Nate

Our beetle-loving friend Ainsley has relocated from Berkeley to Canberra. She was in town for a visit to the Queensland Museum and points north, so we met up with her for a night of Mussels from Brussels and Belgian beer. (She broke her foot earlier that week in a bike accident and was a good sport to hobble around the Brisbane CBD in search of a good place to eat.)

Manly's version of Ecto 1

For Halloween, we took the train out to Manly, a seaside town that was holding a Halloween festival (complete with firebreathers and belly dancers). We ate at a yummy fish and chips place (Nate continued on his mission to rid the world of barramundi) and saw countless pint-sized Spidermans (Spidermen?).

Now they tell us! The magpie isn't quite so comical in real life when it's screeching and diving at your head.

Photos of our apartment!

The front door. Our apartment is 1/3 of a converted Queenslander house, so the entrance is at the back of the property. Up the steps, not through the wooden gate. It's a highset house, so it's supposed to keep cool in summer. We'll just see about that...
The kitchen
The lounge (taken from the kitchen). Yes, the fridge is in the lounge. Not much room in the kitchen for it!
The bathroom (mermaid shower curtain purchased on sale at Target.) just off from the lounge. It has a funny galley door that slides open.
Guest bedroom/office and adjoining sunroom. It's full of packaging material at the moment. Nothing else to put in there until our things arrive!
Our bedroom with the crib sort of set up.Sunroom that adjoins our bedroom with fan and diaper changing area (let's hope this kid doesn't arrive too soon - we're not quite ready).
Our neighborhood
Me, with 4 1/2 weeks to go until the due date. Black is slimming, no? (Sorry for the half-smile. I was half asleep.)
The belly (and chest!) from my point of view. No feet in sight.

We're getting settled in the apartment, still getting used to the neighborhood and the quirks that come with living in a converted house. Nate's got a tough commute until his bike arrives with the rest of our things (about an hour if he times it right with the bus) and the futon we're sleeping on isn't quite as comfortable as our dear mattress.

Things are scheduled to arrive on November 25, with a couple of days or weeks to get through customs. Anyone want to start wagering on which arrives first? Baby or our stuff? Just our luck, they'll show up on the same day.

So we have a permanent address. If you want it, just e-mail me or Nate. We don't have internet set up yet, so I'm still trekking to the State Library to use their free wireless.