HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Canada Day to everyone at home!!!

Think of us when you drink that cold Keith's or Olands! I'm sure everyone will enjoy their holiday so let us know what you did!! Send pictures!

Wish we were there to celebrate but we've been keeping pretty busy ourselves. A hectic week but a great week. We just got back tonight....went camping and then went to Caloundra for the night. Our first night away on our own. Very nice.

I'll post some pics soon but tired and need some sleep!

HAPPY CANADA!! MISS EVERYONE LOTS AND LOTS!!!!!!!!

Our Weekend....

We had a nice weekend...a good combination of relaxation and socializing. Saturday was spent at NewFarm Park with the kids. Shamus is realllllllly getting into soccer and we even have to watch the young kids practice sometimes! I think it's from playing soccer in Uncle Duane's basement with his cousins!! He wants to be on a team so badly. We looked into it but he has to be 5 before he can play on a team. So, we did the playground thing and the soccer thing. And then treated ourselves to lunch at a little fish and chips spot by the park. It's pretty good and cheap so fine with us. But, they didn't serve the food on plates. They just put all our orders in one big paper, wrapped it up, and served it like that....

Calamari, fish, and chips. 3 orders. Kind of a weird way to serve a meal we thought!

Sunday we went to NewFarm Park again...a going away BBQ for one of Darryl's coworkers. Hunter is heading back to the US so we all met up for one last BBQ in the park.

The new bikes. Took a while to get to the park on them but the kids liked it! It's pretty cute to see them pedaling along. Especially with the little helmets on. :)

Darryl's coworker has the biggest dog ever!! An English Mastiff. He'll be over 200pounds by the time he's full grown! Huge!!! But very friendly. Lots of drool. Makes Jagger look like a little lap dog!

A couple of Darryl's coworkers brought some cricket stuff. So, Shamus enjoyed that. He enjoyed anything and everything that the guys were doing. He was in the middle of all the action. He loved being with "the boys".

Kids gearing up.

Gathering around the BBQ. Like I mentioned in previous posts...there are BBQ's in all the parks. Quite a few of them in the NewFarm Park which is nice because it's close to our place and has the best playground in the city. And it's on the water. So, a perfect spot to spend an afternoon.

Breagha with her new telly. (telephone but she calls it telly)

Breagha and Cari relaxing by the water.

Oh yeah...this is Hunter. The reason for the BBQ!!

And some football action. Which Shamus was in the middle of...of course.

Then the guys decided to have Hunter put a beer bottle on his head and throw the footballs at it. Lucky Hunter but he didn't seem too worried. From what I've been told....he was your typically "All American Football Star" back in the U.S. of A.

And then you have Circus Boy Jeff. Amazing gift for climbing trees. Circus school did pay off!

And near the end of the day. Some soccer action. Which Shamus was in the middle of again!

So, Monday again and back to work for everyone!

We have another camping trip planned for this weekend so I hope it will be as fun as the last one. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

And Now for the Eye Update...

So, the surgery went well this time. I had it done by PRK...for those that are up with eye surgery options...so it is more painful than Lasik. And it takes longer to heal and the results take longer to see. It can take up to 4 weeks before I see the full results. And up to 4 weeks to heal. But, I don't really care about that...as long as it worked. And it seems to have worked!! :)

I have to wear a contact lenses (with no prescription) in my left eye for 5 days. I really don't like that as I was always really picky but neeeeever sleeping with my contacts in. And now I have to go 5 days with one in my eye!! The doctor said that it acts as a bandaid for the eye. It's been 2 days and I feel like there is a haze over my left eye. You know, a very dirty contact. So, that's a bit uncomfortable. I'm hoping that when they take the contact lense out that I'll see more.

It's not as painful as I thought it would be. Everyone says that PRK is quite painful. And the doctor warned me that it would be worse for me as the left eye was already cut. But, it's not too bad. It's just uncomfortable mostly with some short spurts of pain. But, nothing I can't handle!!

So, that's the scoop!!! And thanks for wishing me luck! I was very worried on Thursday but all is good. Can't wait to see the full results!! Anyone need some contacts? heheeeeee

The EYE

Soooo, I'm finally getting my left eye done. I hope. Gotta say that I'm worried that something will go wrong...again. I have my surgery tomorrow. It's been about 5 months since I had the right eye done so it's time to have both eyes done. I've gone to a specialist a couple of times since we've been here. And I've done more research about my options. So, I hope all goes well!! Everyone cross your fingers!

I haven't been able to wear a contact in my left eye for over 2 weeks now so that's been quite annoying. My vision is all messed up. Normally the people who have the surgery done will have both eyes done at the same time. So, you can't wear your contacts prior to surgery...which is fine if you can wear glasses. But, I can't as I have one eye done already. I did try popping the lense out of my right eye but that didn't help. So, I've been going around with one good eye and one bad one. Lots of fun. :) It will be nice to just have it over with.

So, hopefully I'll be doing a new post over the weekend with 2 good eyes!! Right now I'm typing with my left eye closed!! Lookin' pretty silly! But, I have to as my left eye starts to strain too much...trying to see the computer screen. So, I have to keep the eye closed. Wish I had a pirate's eye patch!

Will let everyone know how things turn out. Keep the fingers crossed.

A little bit of Everything...

Last week had a few things going on. There was a kids festival in South Bank - "Out of the Box". It was for 8year olds and under and it was super. Really great. We bought tickets to one of the performances but there was also workshops and tons of free entertainment. The kids had a wonderful time and a perfect way to spend the day!!

Before the show started the kids were able to hang out in the "Chill Out" room. A room with tons of volunteers and lots for the kids to do...

Breagha getting her pencil crayons ready.

Shamus enjoying the play-dough.

They even had little booths where the kids could do some drawing while listening to music. I thought this was pretty cool.

Here was one of the stages with free entertainment. They were great at getting the kids involved. Lots of cultural stuff. Lots of local talent, local authors doing story time with the kids. It was really amazing. And that was only some of the stuff that we made it to.

There was a bunch of food areas and they all had toys for the kids. Great way for Mom to eat while the kids are entertained! This is Shamus with his Aussie buddy Tyco (in the stripe T). We met them a couple of weeks after we arrived. They get along quite well.

And I had to add this. Tons of school uniforms at the festival. All the schools have uniforms...which I think is great. And I love the big hats they have to wear. The uniforms are really cute on the little kids but not so cute on the 16 year olds. I'd be bitter if I had to wear it when I was 16! The blouses and skirts are big and totally not flattering. Reminds me of the tacky Co-op uniform I had to wear when I was a cashier in high school!! The skirts go half way between the knee and ankle...not cool. Hmmmm, I'm sure Shamus and Breagha will look super cute in them when they start school though!! And at least all the kids look the same.

Heading back to the City Cat...to get home. Thought the kiddies looked cute.

And this was me trying to actually get in a picture. The kids thought it was pretty funny that I was in the picture and taking the picture. Nice face on Shamus, eh? You can totally hear him saying, "Cheese!!"

So, then on Saturday we all went out to dinner....Mr Steve Dickinson is another year older.
Happy Birthday Ya Ol'Raisin.

Steve (too cool for school) Dickinson


And then on Sunday....new bikes for the kiddies!!! Darryl and Steve left in the morning to pick up a trike for B and a bike for Shamus. Took a while to get them put together but the kids were pumped. And Shamus got a super cool SpiderMan helmet and B got a Dora helmet.

Shamus getting some pointers from Dad. He didn't have the whole pedaling thing figured out at first. But we went out again today and he was starting to get the hang of it. Should be a pro by the end of the week!

Eat your heart out Lance Armstrong!

See ya Mom. We're goin' Cruuuuisin'!

The kids wanted to get out on the bikes as soon as they woke up today. So, we did more practicing. I really like our big driveway...it's perfect for the kids. And our street is a dead end so we don't get much traffic. Ideal for the kiddies on their new wheels!!

Dragons and Sea Serpents...

I know that Australia is known for their odd animals ... but dragons. Grab your swords and dawn your shields for there is a dragon in our midst! We took the kids out for a walk this weekend. They fell asleep so with it being a beautiful fall day, Sas and I decided to treat ourselves to a coffee and hot chocolate. After a ridiculous search for an open coffee shop (which we never did find, even though it was 2:30pm on a Sunday afternoon ... WHAT IS WITH THAT?!!) we found ourselves at the botanical gardens.

When we visit the gardens we usually like to go to the lily pond because there is usually something to see and this time was no exception. As soon as we got there... standing by the water was a Water Dragon. For those of you that are unfamiliar with them, they are similar to an iguana but much cooler to look at. They are pretty common around the botanical gardens but I never get sick of seeing them. The kids really enjoyed seeing him as well. Check out the video below... (that's right!!! our first video on the blog!)

Bumpy!

Breagha and Mom enjoying the scenery

But it didn't stop there. As we recovered our strength from our epic encounter with the dragon, deep from the dark depths of the lily pond rose a creature of unimaginable wonder. Well ... you probably can imagine it quite easily. It was an eel.

"Where's Mr. Eel?..."

"... There he is!"

A nice gentleman gave Shamus and Breagha some bread to feed the ducks with. When you feed the ducks, though, it draws a crowd. The eels come up and want a piece of the action. It is pretty cool to see them. Stace was a little grossed out (repressed memories from Murray's bridge ... I think) but the kids loved it.

On our way home.

MacPurdys 1 ... Credit Line 0

It was a beautiful morning to visit The Bank. The MacPurdys were still basking in the afterglow of a wonderful trip to Barbados. Was it the, still fresh, smell of the sea air? The morsels of fine Caribbean sand that still clung to them from a week in paradise. Or maybe a lingering intoxication from the rum punch they had so lovingly enjoyed on their island utopia. Whatever it was it was about to make The Bank very happy for the next EIGHT years.

"Yes, Mr. and Ms. MacPurdy we have just the thing for you..." said a generic bank employee " We call it a credit line."

"A credit line you say?" replied the MacPurdys "Well that doesn't sound half bad. Not like a credit card. A credit line mmmmm? Lines are good. Take for granted telephone lines. They are very convenient. Or tow lines for instance. They are handy as well. Oh! and lifelines. I mean who can say anything bad about lifelines? We will take your credit line, good sir!"

Unbeknownst to the MacPurdys a faceless executive, high up in a royal bank tower laughed greedily and wholeheartedly at the young naive couple. While he rolled around in a giant pile of loonies and toonies.

Over the years and little by little the MacPurdy's tried, in vain, to quell the credit beast. It was like the Hydra. An ancient beast from tales of long ago. Lop off one head and two more grow back in it's place. Long did they battle this animal credit line until finally they gained the upper hand. After long travels through the mountains of La Belle Province and across vast oceans they came upon the land of Oz. On the planes of Brisbane they dealt the credit line it's final blow and with it went the dreaded credit card. An evil mirror of the credit line, yet far more dark and sinister.

Now the MacPurdys could sing a song of joy to celebrate their freedom from these two formidable foes. Yet they keep a sharp eye. For they know that, both, the credit line and credit card were just servents of a much greater threat. The Bank. Even now there are whispers of a new financial foe growing in the distance. Automobile. Just the mention of it's name brings chills to the MacPurdys. For no one can stay clear of The Bank for long.


A short story by

Robert MacPurdy