Sol 42: We are in our last week in OZ! I didn’t know was the nick name for this wonderful country as every time I hear that I think of a prison drama on HBO but, never you mind.
Last week, we went a different direction by splurging on passes to the 
amusement park of Dream World and White Water World . 
This is out of the ordinary for us but, one turning 10 is a pretty big deal too.
We have never been to Disneyland but, this may count as a good alternative. Kelvin and I have not been to any Disney park since the 1980s so, we don’t have a lot to compare it to.
It was fun, some crazy rides and loads of old school favorites. Also, not so crowded so all introverts in the family adjusted well. We packed our lunches and easily headed to the car to eat or carried what we needed with us.
For an eight year old and newly minted ten-year old it was the ‘bees knees’. My words, not theirs. Theirs included ‘This is sick!’ and ‘What the ‘bleep’ (yes, they say actual word bleep).
These sound bites don’t sound so good in print. It felt good to be in a place with a bunch of other kids too.
There are few amusement parks where you can see Kangaroos, Dingoes, Bilbys, and lizards that are all over the place. They might even visit your picnic lunch (the lizards, not the Dingoes!).
Oakley’s favorite place was the Lego Store as you walked in. This sounds like the ‘liquor store’ when spoken by a native Aussie so, my confusion was apparent. And disappointed to having no wine with the Legos. But, alas.
Canyon starting his Chauffeur career.
Canyon, our ever-present water hound, was pleased with all the water slides and joyous drops from up high. He even learned to drive a little.
Kelvin took a lot of photos (you should check out his blog at Degrees of Kelvin to see some of his perspective on this trip.
He always shows us sides of the trip we hadn’t seen and close-ups with all the birds and animals. All of us had a great time, we had a couple of day pass that we felt was very affordable.
Which was good as Oakley had a fever the first day and he and I hung out at the house with the dogs for the day while Kelvin and Canyon adventured.
Canyon bringing Mossimo back as Oakley looks down from the bedroom.
The dog and chicken sit is going well. There are three dogs with varying personalities and one is blind so, we carry him down the stairs to wee/poo. The house is called a Queenslander so, it basically built on stilts.
It is a single level for living but, the bottom is like an open spaced garage/washroom/storage room. Fresh eggs every morning is a plus as well.
We also have been getting in our last swims in the Australian seas as well as trips to the pharmacies, book stores and other supply places we might not so easily access on our next leg.
We have been finding our way with the world-schooling. It is a rhythm that we are all trying to balance. Kelvin and I take turns ‘teaching’ or ‘guiding’ as in the Montessori way. 
We did Skype with the classroom and that was helpful for the boys to see some of their friends and realize that they are far behind or missing big events.
Yes, there are doing cool things in school but, it’s not like the boys are left out. As they check in with their reporting of their adventures. This helps with the home/friend-sickness that comes up from time to time.
Did I mention that volcano? The last couple weeks there is has been a lot in the news about Mt.Agung’s volcano activity.
List to report to the class.
We have talked with ex-pats that are there and contacted several places and we are getting the go ahead to proceed.
Even the Balinese Tourism Chief asked folks to not change their plans and to still come to Bali. We are not planning on being in place near the Mt.Agung so we are going.
We don’t currently have flight plans to leave which is for the best as we can pick and choose when and where we go next.
We have accommodations for nearly three weeks and will keep a keen eye on what is happening.
The last couple days are connections with long time friends. Staying in their wonderfully comfy, clean house warm with lively conversation, tasty meals and, as Oakley ferreted out, more Legos.
We did tip our hat to OZ at Sky Point , one of the tallest buildings in the 
Southern Hemisphere. It was a great way to get some perspective when getting ready to leave an area.
The views were unsurprising and there were many, many pods of Humpback Whales breaching, slapping and altogether frolicking out in the ocean. Oz is truly friendly, beautiful and ginormous. We will have to come back.
I think this just might be Kelvin and I in Lego form.
Kody helping Kelvin even though he is blind and deaf he knows good food when he smells it. So do the Geckos that climbed in the window to peek at the activity.
On the job, walking the dogs.
Canyon is trying three new things in each country and it was Sushi for his birthday. A new love for him (and a delight for me!).
Dinner with Deb, our first Trusted Housesitter host and a friend for life now. She has also offered Canyon an opportunity to come back when older to sit again.
Any lover of indie rock from the 90s might know what I am taking about.
It makes you feel that you are really on the long haul. Then there are the serious but, somehow seemly cute signs warning
you of Kangaroos and Koala bear crossings.
magic of 
discussions of favorite candy bars and breakfast foods while swimming and diving for Australian coins. We were kindly and generously served Australian wines and given some great insights of places to go and very kind inquiries of our travels. Thanks Fiona and Tony!!
at times. It is hard to see him sad and we work to help.
are not profit putting their earnings back into research which they were conducting while we where onboard. We saw an amazing array of whales, mommas, escorts and babies, who seemed to be just flirting with our boat all afternoon doing all the activity described on the phamplet. Even our guides seemed to be impressed with the activity.
We have seen people laying out high teas complete with champagne and several tiered cake trays, hot plates with kettles and a ‘civilized’ spread that would challenge most high-end dinners out. These folks know how to enjoy the out-of-doors!
work with ended up at 
time one the beach and riding bikes along the water front for a couple of miles enjoying the giant Pelicans seeking snakes and brown snakes waking up after a long winter and sunning themselves on the beach.
Yesterday, we found the giant bouncy pillow and it rocked! Also, made quick friends with a local lad on the zip-line. These are playground toys that would likely be inaccessible in the US due to our litigious culture. It was fun to watch the boys bouncing all over the place.
