This is just a photo of a really pretty cathedral near where we live. That is all.

Micah's Birthday! (aka the day that my camera was on a weird setting and all the pics stink)

So this guy is now 11 years old! We started celebrating the night before, with a trip to Rundle Mall. Here's (almost) 11 year old Micah in front of the Malls Balls (when my camera was still taking good pics).

Fruchocs (a local Australian food company selling candy that has a peach/apricot core covered in chocolate) was having a Customer Appreciation event in Rundle Mall - they were giving out free Krispy Kreme donuts with Frochocs on top. Yes, please!

Verdict: the chocolate donuts were better. The strawberry ones were way too sweet.  Anyway, after that, Micah chose a pancake restaurant for dinner, so he followed up his pre-dinner donut snack with a pancake, covered in whipped cream, regular syrup, chocolate syrup, AND sprinkles. Yep, we're smart parents :)

 Our apartment has a community room with a PS4. Micah was THRILLED when his brother got him Minecraft for his birthday! His parents are thrilled that he has to leave it here when we return to the states, since we don't have a video game system at home!

(cue the average, slightly grainy pictures)

Micah invited a few new friends from school over for his party, and we were excited that two could come. I picked up this Bingo game (brand new) at a secondhand store for $3, so we played several rounds of bingo. Yep, our parties rock!

Micah really wanted to have a 'friend' party here at our apartment, so he could play video games; so that's what they did!

We also made pizza, complete with REAL. AMERICAN. PEPPERONI. thanks to awesome Aunt Melanie, who paid an arm and a leg to ship us some, along with Micah's gift :) Micah's Australian friends liked it very much! But no way did I let them use it all. I'm rationing it until the end of November.

Homemade chocolate cake with ELEVEN candles. How is that even possible.

I'm so mad that all these images are blurry. . . bad camera.

Micah's present from us: a ball moving thingy. I can't really describe it, but these types of toys are right up Micah's alley. Now, to figure out how many extra suitcases we'll need, to bring home all the new stuff we've accumulated here. . .

We finished off the evening with a game night at church, where they sang Happy Birthday to Micah AGAIN and he ate cake AGAIN.  It was a pretty great day!

One Crazy Sport

Australians are known for being pretty intense about their sports here. We got to experience that firsthand tonight, as we attended our first Australian Rules Football (or "Footy") game!

First off, what exactly is Australian Rules Football? I'd describe it as a mix of football, soccer, and Quidditch! It's like football in that the ball is a similar shape to our football; there is tackling and lots of punt-type kicks; and there is sort of an end zone. It's like soccer in that the players dress like soccer players (which is not OK - they should totally have pads and helmets on); the teams cover the field like a soccer team does; and the ball moves around the field very quickly. It's like Quidditch in that it's a quirky, mysterious game with lots of oddball rules, but you're drawn in to it even if you don't totally get it :)

I won't even try to explain all the rules of the game, but you can click here and here for short videos explaining how the sport is played.

Adelaide has its own professional-level team, the Adelaide Crows, and they play at the Adelaide Oval. Oh, did I mention that the Oval is about a 15 minute walk from our front door? This is a huge stadium seating over 50,000, and most of the seats were full. This was the first big stadium that the boys have been in!

Like I said, the game is very fast paced, and you really had to pay attention, as it was easy to lose the ball in all the action. Can you see it here?

The Crows (in navy, yellow, and red above) played the North Melbourne Kangaroos (in white and blue) tonight. I believe this was the last regular season game, as the playoffs start soon. The Crows aren't expected to make the playoffs, but their fans still showed up in full force.

We were in the standing room-only section, and the boys did get a little antsy. We tried to sweeten the pot with some sugary donuts. Yep, they can definitely be bribed with food :)

We attended the game with 5 of the 6 Simpson students - this is a fun crew!

See the dark blue people at the top of this next pic? In a genius moneymaking strategy, the Adelaide Oval was designed with a walkway/lookout space on TOP of the stadium. For only $100 (and actually $235 on a game day), you can put on a suit with attached harnesses, and do the Oval Roofclimb, which takes you along the top of the stadium roof. All throughout the game, we saw groups about this size taking the tour.

A halftime selfie. . .

So we didn't quite make it through the whole game; the boys got anxious so we headed home after the 3rd quarter. The Crows had a big lead at that point and they did win the game. We can check this off our "Authentic Australian Experiences" list - it was a fun game to watch!

The new Kohls in my life

For anyone who knows me well, you know I spend a lot of money at Kohls. I am a sucker for their 30% off coupons. More days than not, I'm wearing at least one piece of clothing that was purchased at Kohls (including today, as I type this!).

Anyway, here in Australia, there is a new Kohls in my life:  Coles!!

OK - so Coles is a grocery store, but I spend a lot of time either in this store, or shopping online. Coles offers really cheap (or even free) grocery delivery, AND since there is no tipping in Australia, you don't even have to tip the delivery person! Think about how many groceries you buy each week. . . and then imagine trying to get them all home without a car :)  This is why I love Coles!

Coles is now doing a weird little promotion that the boys and I have (unfortunately) become obsessed with. For every $30 you spend, you get a little plastic mystery bag:

(This is not my hand - I had to google an image since we've thrown all our bags away)

Inside the bags are miniature versions of 30 different products that you can buy at Coles. For instance, how about a tiny yogurt? How cute!

Tiny hand soap? We've got it!

Need some mini dog food? We have two. 

Eli's fave: Tim Tams!!

( Have I blogged about Tim Tams yet? I will. They are the best thing in Australia.)

Even diapers and Vicks Vapo Rub look cute when they're tiny:

Micah's favorite: mini toilet gel!

(Maybe next he'll become interested in learning to clean a toilet?!!?)

So, people are CRAZY for these little things. Coles sells a collection case for people to store their minis in; and there are additional accessories you can buy (like a mini shopping cart). Facebook is flooded with people trying to swap their doubles for the ones they don't have yet (since they come in a mystery bag, you can't pick out the one you want). There are even "Coles Little Shop Swap Groups" you can join on FB. They are selling on ebay. Coles had a swap day in their stores - we didn't go, but apparently it was a zoo! It is ridiculous, and we kind of love it.

Here is our whole collection so far. We have 16 of the 30 collectibles, and 23 overall:

We have yet to decide whether we'll go to the work of swapping to get a complete set of 30, or just selling what we have before we leave to come home. What's your vote? Sell, or bring home?

Day Date

Today, Kedron and I had a much-deserved Day Date! Our apartment doesn't have a landline, and the boys don't have phones, so we haven't felt comfortable leaving them alone in the evening since they can't call us. So our solution has been to do small things together while they are in school. Yay for us!

Today's destination: Hallett Cove Beach. 

This was different than other beaches we've visited; there was very little sand and mostly rocks/boulders at the water's edge. We had to hop from rock to rock to explore the areas down by the water. It was a nice workout!

This photo doesn't totally capture the amazing water and wind erosion on these rocks. 

We found a staircase leading up to a nice walking trail. Here was our view from a little bit higher:

What exactly is this monstrosity in the next pic? They call it the Sugarloaf!

Millions of years ago, this area was covered by glaciers. As the glaciers melted, a lake formed here, and the red/brown layers at the bottom are the sediment that deposited in the bottom of that lake from the melting glacier. The white layer is sand, which blew over the sediment after the lake drained. The brown layer on top is clay from rivers that ran over the top of the sand.

(I took a pic of a sign - that's how I sound so smart here :) 

There was only one restaurant close by; but fortunately, it was delicious! We enjoyed a nice meal after our hike before heading back into the city.  Unfortunately, we didn't take any pics together on our date - it was VERY windy. Maybe next time!

Podcast!

Well. . . we've realized that, even on the other side of the world, we can't quite get away from Donald Trump :) Kedron recently did a podcast for Aussie Talk Radio with a new colleague in the history department here at the University of Adelaide (an American who recently became an Australian citizen), about Trump and American politics.

Click here to go to the podcast. It's about 40 minutes long and very enjoyable (though I guess I'm biased :) Enjoy!

Lovin' Me Some Rundle Mall

Now that the boys are in school, I've developed a little weekly tradition of spending a morning in Rundle Mall. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Adelaide. Rundle Mall is a pedestrian mall with fun restaurants, vendors, street entertatiners, and more shopping than I will ever be able to get to in the 4 months we have left here!

Yes, it's still 'winter' here, but flowers are for sale all year round.

Haigh's Chocolates are famous here - though pricey! They have a factory tour (in another location) that we plan to do before we leave.

Australia is famous for their opals - and Rundle Mall has several opal jewelry shops. This one boasts an opal mine you can visit just below the store! OK, it's a little bit staged and not really authentic, but still cool.

The Malls Balls. This is Adelaide's version of the Chicago Bean. You HAVE to get your pic taken in front of Malls Balls when you visit Rundle Mall.

Actual name: The Spheres. 

The other big artwork is: The Pigs! OK - the technical name is "A Day Out." I was lucky to capture them without little kids climbing all over them, which is a common occurence. Yes, the garbage can (or 'rubbish bin' as Aussies call it) is part of the art.

Apparently, each of these pigs has a name! Here are Truffles (left) and Horatio (right).

And. . . the street performers. Usually it's a twentysomething girl or guy with a guitar, or drum set, or violin. Well, today this gentleman was dancing. With pink fans. To Celine Dion. You go old man.

You never know what you'll see here :)

Wild Wednesday

To summarize our day:

Micah went on a field trip and saw a pirate ship.
The boys tried a parkour class at a circus gym.
A drunk man gave the boys $2.50 at the bus stop.

Just another Wednesday in Australia.

One Month Mark : Things We Miss

Just like that, our time in Adelaide is 1/5 done. It's hard to believe that we've passed the one month mark of life Down Under. Overall we are having a really great time, but here is a list of some things that we miss:

1. Our minivan!!

Man, life is different without a car. And while overall I'm surprised by how much I like living in a city, things are just more complicated without your own set of wheels. Relying on the schedule of the bus is hard. Not having a car to stash all your heavy bags of groceries in is hard. When the 2 mile trek to school takes 25 minutes by walking and city bus, that's hard. I just miss the freedom and convenience I took for granted with a car. With that said, we acknowledge that it's good we aren't trying to drive here. I'm quite certain we'd probably injure someone, forgetting what side of the road we're supposed to be on.

2. Loco! 

He would be #1 on everyone else's list (Except mine. I really miss that car.). We know he's in good hands with our renters, but the boys talk about Loco every day. It will be interesting to see if he even remembers us when we return - how good is a cat's memory?

3. Pepperoni pizza

Pizza here is just not the same. And the "pepperoni" here has more of a salami taste. Which is fine, but not preferred on pizza. Even the cheese is different. There isn't a pizza place on every corner, and pizza delivery doesn't seem to be a thing here. The last meal we ate before leaving was at Pizza Ranch. . . we must have known :)

4. A yard

Our apartment is very adequate, but it has no yard to speak of. In general, houses don't seem to have big back yards. This is hard when the boys are bouncing off the walls, and I can't tell them to go run around outside in the backyard, like I would at home. With that said, I'm pretty sure Kedron doesn't miss all that mowing!

5. The letter R

Yes, yes, the Australian accent is charming. Up to a point. But sometimes I don't want to shop at Tahhh-get and K-mahh-t, I want to shop at TaRget and K-MaRRt (K-Mart is way better in Australia, by the way). Seriously, no one here could ever tell a pirate joke.  

But don't get me wrong - we really are having a good time. I know we'll have a longer list of things we're sad to leave behind, in 4 months' time!