nix family walkabout

Saturday 6/8

Fun day!  We took the train to Fremantle, only a few stops down the coast from us.  Avery was excited to ride the train and we got one of those skate board attachments for the stroller so she didn’t have to walk so much. Good buy!! Fremantle is great – its like an old town with a lot of shops, cafes and pubs. Buzzing with lots of people – tourists for sure but there are also a lot of people who live out in Fremantle.  We did some shopping and then headed to the big Fremantle market. It’s a huge indoor market with rows of booths. Food, artwork, clothing, etc. Tons of fresh fruit & veg and lots of yummy lunch & dessert options. We grabbed some food and walked another block to the big park & playground for a picnic.  I’m so impressed at how clean and well-kept everything is.  There are huge parks everywhere and each one is picture perfect.  Less impressive, the seagulls.  They are quite daring and will literally try to take food off your plate if you’re not careful.

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Later, we all walked down to the beach. Looked like rain clouds so Coleson & I didn’t stay for long. Josh & Avery had fun getting their feet wet and looking for shells.

Our sweet, happy Coleson is back!!! I’m so happy!  He ate sweet potatoes for the 1^st time today and he really liked them.  I’m just so happy he is back to his happy self!

There was a red car parked in front of our house today and Avery said, “Is that Moogie? Is Moogie at our house?”  That would be quite a long drive.

Friday 6/7

Today Avery sang, “I feel like I want to go home to Houston.”  She wasn’t singing in a sad voice but it still broke my heart.  She got over it pretty quickly though and has mostly been saying she wants to stay in Australia FOREVER!!

Josh gets home early on Fridays so we decided to drive over to Kings Park. It is massive! We didn’t find the playground but we did find an area with amazing views of the Swan River and the city.  Gorgeous!  We had a long conversation with Avery about how there could be a park with no playground.  She did not get it.  Afterwards, we tried a place called Nando’s for dinner.  It’s a Portuguese chicken place – casual, kid-friendly and tasty!

Thursday 6/6

As Avery was eating breakfast this morning, she spotted a rainbow outside.  We walked out on the porch and it was a full rainbow end-to-end over the ocean! So beautiful!!

After Coleson’s morning nap, we went down to the park at the beach for a picnic lunch.  Beautiful day. We were heading home from the park when a cyclist stopped us to point out dolphins in the ocean!! A full size and baby dolphin swimming through the waves right near the shore!! It was amazing to see them in the wild. It really set in at what an amazing experience this is going to be.

DAY 5, TUESDAY 6/4

Today is my 31^st Birthday! Josh is back at work today. Back to the real world…kinda.  The kids did pretty good last night. Both in bed by 7pm. Coleson woke up around 430/5am for a feeding and then he was wide awake until about 7am. Avery slept until 8am.

Avery and I made birthday brownies.  She was literally licking the brownie mix off of the counter. She kept saying, “I’m the chocolate monster!” Yes you are.

We decided to go exploring and we found a great park nearby.  It’s called Grant-Marine Park and it’s got fabulous beach views! Can’t beat that.  Avery had a great time and met a little girl named Anna.

Sweet Coleson is not back to his usual self yet.  He has happy moments but has been sad in general and especially at meal times. I was planning to start 2 meals a day today but he has just been so upset. He’s also been pooping a lot.  Poor guy.  I hope moving to Australia has not changed his happy & constantly smiling self. He is getting better at sitting up though!

We were planning to go out for dinner for my birthday but I decided that takeaway (aka takeout) was a better plan since we are all still pretty tired.  We got some delicious food from Boatshed Market.  This place is like heaven.  It’s a gourmet grocery market – just the right size with gorgeous displays of fruits & vegetables, butcher counter, fresh seafood, bakery, fancy cheeses and freshly prepared takeaway meals.  It’s where I would shop and eat everyday if I could afford it.  It was a perfect, low-key birthday.  I got lots of sweet birthday wishes from friends and family and just enjoyed an amazing & beautiful day.

DAY 4, MONDAY 6/3

SUCCESS! Both kids slept all night long! Today is a national holiday in Australia so no work for Josh – good timing for us!  After breakfast, Josh and Avery went to a nearby park along the beach and Coleson and I met them around lunch time. We walked across the street and had lunch at Beaches Café. 2 paninis, fries and drinks – $50! Eeek.

After lunch, Avery and I walked down to the beach. It’s absolutely gorgeous! Water is crystal clear and the sand is beautiful.  I don’t know how it is possible, but Avery has never been to the beach! She is definitely going to be spoiled with Australia as her first beach experience.  She loved it! We got our feet in the water, chased the waves, built sandcastles and collected seashells.

It was the perfect afternoon until Avery had to go poo RIGHT NOW!! She was literally bent at the waist with her hand over her bum.  We run up the dunes, and before we can even rinse our feet, I have to pick her up and run back over to Beaches Café. We made it. All is right with the world again.

Today was my first time to drive!!  I knew that Australians drove on the left side of the road, but I did not realize that the driver sits on the right side of the car.  This is so strange!! It just feels so different to have the rear view mirror and gear shift on the left.  I did pretty good for my first time.  We drove to a nearby grocery store.  The grocery stores here are all in shopping complexes – like a mini mall. It can be wonderful at times and annoying at others.  We found most of what we were looking for but it’s definitely different.  We were surprised to see that the eggs are not refrigerated.  They were all just stacked on a regular grocery aisle – a little concerning.

DAY 1, FRIDAY 5/31

We’re feeling very at home already.  When we arrived, our fridge was stocked and all the baby gear was here and assembled. The home owners have a little boy so they left us their crib, changing table, high chair and stroller.  Perfect!  The rest of the stuff we rented for 6 months from a local company.  Jo is our relocation consultant and she met us here when we arrived, showed us around and left us with info on what’s nearby.

After arriving from the airport, Avery slept from 2pm until midnight and then woke up, had a pb&j and played with Josh for about an hour before going back to sleep until 4am. Coleson was tired but all smiles.  He slept from 4pm to 330am and then was wide awake for a feeding and playtime.

DAY 2, SATURDAY 6/1

The kids are a little under the weather but seem very happy and excited to be here. Since we were all awake at 4am, we had lots of time to check out all the new toys for the kids.  Arts & crafts desk, tent, jumparoo, boxes of toys and on & on.

We played and unpacked for several hours and then decided to get out for a bit. It’s cold today! Colder than average they say.  It’s in the 40s/50s but we bundled the kids up and took the double BOB for a walk along the beach and to the park!  The beach in Cottesloe is gorgeous! It’s so fun to be watching your kids swing and slide with a view of the gorgeous Indian Ocean!

Avery, Coleson and I took long afternoon naps and Josh woke us all up at 4pm. We were all exhausted and little zombies for a bit.  A & C enjoyed their baths in the giant Jacuzzi tub and then Josh made tacos just like at home (minus good salsa). The kids were both exhausted and in bed asleep by 7pm. It’s just after 8pm now and I’m heading to bed too! I think we are all adjusting to the time change easier than I expected. Coleson is 6 months old today – can’t believe it!

Josh and I keep commenting on how peaceful and quiet it is here. I never realized how loud the city was until now. It’s completely quiet except for bird noises every once in a while. So wonderful. I feel really lucky to be here.

DAY 3, SUNDAY 6/2

Rough night. Avery woke up at 2am. I went down to lay with her for an hour and then Josh came and took her upstairs around 3am. They had a snack and played till 4am and then I went back down to lay with her until 5am when we just decided to get up for the day.  By 9am she had been awake 7 hours and was exhausted. She took a nap until 11ish and then was ready to go. I think the morning nap really helped her to get on track. Coleson did really good!! He slept all through the night with just one feeding.

We headed down to the CBD (Central Business District) for lunch, Target and to just look around.  Drove by the Swan River on our way – it’s so pretty. We had lunch at Mad Mex which is a decent (but much more expensive) attempt at Chipotle. After lunch, we headed to Target! Yay! Target in Australia! It’s not quite the same but it had some of what we were looking for.  Lots of shopping and people in the cbd.  A couple familiar stores and many that are new to me.  Reminds me of a European city with every street lined with shops, restaurants and pubs.

The home owners came by the house to meet us and answer any questions. Doug & Emily – they are very sweet. They are heading to Italy on holiday for 6 months. Nice.  Australians know how to vacation!!

We are so excited about our new home for the next 6 months! The house is beautiful and we LOVE the location!  We are literally 1 block from the Indian Ocean.  There are also several wonderful parks, restaurants and coffee shops all within walking distance. Here are some pictures:

May 31, 2013

30 hours travel time. 12 suitcases. 4 carry-ons. 1 double stroller. 1 car seat. 2 kids.  Not ideal but it all went better than expected.  We had to hire a car service just to get our luggage to the airport.  This was Avery’s and Coleson’s first flight ever and Avery was very excited.  We got to the airport around 5ish and I realized for the first time that the car seat adapter to the BOB double stroller did not fit his car seat.  Bummer but we made it work.  It took the guy at the American Airlines counter about 15 minutes to find our reservation but he finally did.  Then he proceeded to tell me that I could not take my stroller to the gate.  I think he could tell that I was not going to lose this battle so he finally gave up and said I could check it at the gate.  We grabbed some food and waited to board.  The flight to LAX didn’t take off until 7:45 and the kids’ bedtime is 7pm.  I wasn’t sure how they were going to handle it but they did better than expected.  I packed some surprise goody bags in our carry-on for Avery and that along with the Ipad kept her happy and awake for the whole flight to LA.  Coleson was a dream. He slept the whole way to LA.  Once we got to LA, we had to take a bus to the other terminal for our Qantas flight.  The kids were awake but both exhausted – so glad I had the stroller!  It was about 1am central time at this point.

We boarded the plane for Melbourne!  We flew in the Airbus a380 and it was amazing! Thank God we had business class seats.  Avery and Josh’s seats were right behind me and Coleson.  We also had a bassinet reserved for Coleson that was right in front of our seats in the bulk head.  It folded out and was perfect for him.  Avery fell asleep right away and slept straight for about 7 hours.  She woke up and stayed awake for the remainder of the flight – 9 hours. She watched Disney Junior, played in her chair and had a huge breakfast.  Coleson and I slept a long stretch at first and then Coleson continued to sleep off and on throughout the flight.  It was a long flight but they both did great.

Once we got to Melbourne we had to go get all of our 12 suitcases and go through customs because it was our first entry point into Australia.  Not fun.  We had arranged for a porter to help us with our luggage but nobody showed.  Two very nice Qantas employees took pity on us and offered to help.  There was a LONG line to go through customs and we did not have the stroller.  This was definitely the low point of our travels to Australia.  Avery was really tired at this point and not in a good mood.  She was whiney and making mean faces at other people in line. Lovely. Welcome to Australia!

We finally boarded our plane to Perth.  The flight attendants were amazing on our long flight but very snotty on this flight, and we were in first class!  They all just stood there and watched when Josh dropped one of his bags and then they told me that Coleson’s car seat was not approved for flying.  Really, because I just used it on a 16 hour flight to Melbourne AND I called in advance to make sure it was FAA approved! After showing them that it did in fact work with the seatbelts they left us alone.  Neither Avery nor Coleson could sleep on this flight.  We were all just over it and ready to be there.  The first class seats were big but not like the fold out beds on the long flight.  Plus, it was day time in Australia so it was bright and loud and they were serving lunch, etc.   Avery fell asleep about 30 minutes before we landed.  When it was time to get off, I had to wake her up and she was so sad. In the saddest voice you’ve ever heard she said, “I want to go home.”  Broke my heart.  We made it to the baggage carousel where Karen from Apache HR and our car service was there to greet us.  We got loaded into the car and the kids fell asleep instantly.  It was an exhausting flight but we made it to PERTH!

Hello Family & Mates!

This is my blog to journal our 6 month adventure in Australia. The name, Nix Family Walkabout, was Josh’s idea.  At first I wasn’t sure, but the more I looked into it I realized it was perfect!!  The dictionary definition of walkabout is a walking trip and refers to a periodic nomadic excursion into the Australian bush made by a native Australian.  As I continued searching the term I found an article at www.media.australia.com that really inspired me:

Today we can learn from the Aboriginal concept of ‘walkabout’ and leave the pressures of everyday life behind to re-discover what is important to us. For the majority of us, going ‘walkabout’ means taking time to escape the pressures of daily life and to get back in touch with ourselves.  Going ‘walkabout’ restores a sense of magic and wonder to our lives.  It enriches our spirit.

To go ‘walkabout’ in the 21st century is to escape from the pressures of everyday life and to reconnect with yourself, with loved ones, and with the natural world.

So here are my goals: To enjoy life without all of the “stuff” that weighs me down. To live in the moment with my husband and my kids.  To take advantage of every opportunity to experience something new.  To make new friends and unforgettable memories.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!