Woodland Antics

I found this in Fiona's school bag... Proof that we're trying to keep the American in them alive. We encourage and the kids love cranking up American patriotic songs in the car. It makes Ryan and I giggle a little when the windows are rolled down and we're blasting "God Bless America" because it does seem a bit off color, no? Speaking of off- it's been an off week over here.  It's Thursday and the first day the kids have had  school all week!  Hopefully things will fall back into place tomorrow and you can expect some more pictures coming soon. Good Night~ XO

The fourth of July just isn't the same here.   Obviously, we're in Australia.  They don't care about America's independence.  It floats by like a normal day. It's always peculiar when people ask the date and there's no spark when they hear, "the fourth of July." Beyond that it's winter. The 4th in winter?.............. That's like Christmas in summer. Tax season in July.......... Halloween in Spring! SNAP! Hold Up That has been our world for the past couple of years. Oh well  It's fun to scramble things up a bit. Having my fall birthday in spring is enteraining I have to admit. (although I prefer an autumn birthday)    The picture above is from last year when they were in prep/kindergarten.   I've kept it because when it was first brought home I looked at it and thought,  Wow, they are going to be so confused when we move back to the states.   The picture below is the back of our calend...

 The last day of term ,Friday, was Footy Day at school. Australians take their Aussie Rules Football pretty seriously. As you can only imagine we're lost in this arena. Nonetheless, my kids were going to participate in the fun day. I brought them shopping for their team's colors. Actually their teams became their teams because of their colors. Fiona liked the blue and white scarf so she's now a Geelong fan. Reed liked the brown and yellow so he roots for Hawthorn.  {I too have adopted the Hawthorn Hawks as "my team"} It was great to see all the kids schoolmates decked out head to toe in their colors. It's in such moments I remember we are far from Packer and Patriot country. We're in a land of footy, cricket & netball.  I realize my babies are becoming Aussie. Beyond their word choices or arguments as to how a word or name is pronounced. The subtle cultural differences that are apparent to me are normal to them...

We're still on the prowl for a home. The process here is a little different.  There are 15minute inspection slots where anyone interested can view the property and put in an application.  Another interesting difference is the rent is listed by the week although the lease is for a year. Today we're putting in an application for a house that is a little too big for us but is in a very nice neighborhood with an excellent primary school.  It's also conveniently along a bike path that Ryan can take to the University. So what's wrong with it?  I'm not a fan of the kitchen or bathroom.  I much prefer a modern kitchen and bath like the house we'll be inspecting later today.  A house that will require Ry to commute via the bus or train.  I long for a house to put our bags and begin the process of making a home.  Wish us luck and I'll be sure to update you when we find our home. Until then we'll continue to make lemonade from the lemons we've been picki...

WE MADE IT! The past 5 days have been a bit of a blur. Between flying for 23 hours with a stop-over in San Francisco and  another in New Zealand, losing a day after crossing the International Date Line, going from Summer to Winter as a result of passing over the Equator and the 14 hour time difference our first few days in Australia we were on survival mode. After a full nights rest last night. Today we finally felt normal.  Given it was Sunday and house hunting was not an option we were able to explore our area a bit.  We began with the beach of course.   Fiona releasing starfish back into Port Philip Bay My favorite picture of my handsome boys Reed's first OZ sign picture for his Sign Photo Album They love climbing the massive palm trees The only way to finish such a wonderful trip...EXPENSIVE ICE CREAM! Fiona took this last picture.  I envy Ryan none. He has been driving on th...

In 2 weeks we will say farewell to Quebec.   We've been making the most of our summer. Unfortunately all the spare time I have has been dedicated to preparations for our big move to Australia rather than posting updates on here.  I'm hoping to jump on a few times in the next couple of weeks to post some pictures. I've been digging through old memory boxes.  It's been fun scanning old pictures and reading journals from the past, remembering a life much different than our current. Reminding me how wonderful life is right now as well as the importance of keeping up with this blog.  How quickly the little (and sometimes big) things in our lives are washed from our memories. That said. Back in 2007 the kids made Ryan a book for Fathers Day.  It's taken a beating, that's why I scanned the pages and threw them together in this video for Ryan.  Forever preserved. Untitled from Trudy Woodland on Vimeo .

W ith our backyard looking like this, it's no wonder our basement is flooded. We have some big news about our future. We're moving to Australia in a few short months. I'm flooded with emotion. It's a dream come true for us. But boy am I going to miss this side of the hemisphere and the people whom we hold so dear. Fiona worked diligently to make our picnic perfect by tying each treat bag with her bows We still have so many picnics to enjoy during our first and last summer here in Quebec. At least I get to take my most cherished possessions and their Eskimo kisses with me....

When we moved I anticipated there would be obstacles like learning French and adjusting to the metric system.  Of course there have been unforeseeable obstacles too.  The mall and all stores closing at 5:00.  Faire la bise (kissing everyone on both cheeks) which apparently I'm not really good at because I've almost made out with all sorts of folks. Understanding the health care system. (a whole other story). The most stressful of all has been banking. We're unable to make student loan or car payments via a Canadian check.  Fair enough.  So we started writing checks from our Canadian account to be deposited into our USAA account in the states.  It takes at least a month to clear and as it turns out USAA doesn't really embrace this and 80% of the time after waiting over 30days our check would be returned to us even though we had plenty of money in the account.  So we came up with plan C.  We've opened another account with a bank in New England....