Hot Potato Hot Patato, Cold Spaghetti Cold Spaghetti...

Okay, I know it's been a rough few weeks and I often wonder what I am doing here. I have to see kangaroos at a zoo just like we did at home. I have to deal with all of this crazy moving stuff and anti-American sentiments, I miss my friends an family. But then again, there are these little gems to look forward to that I can partake of in Australia. No, I am not even talking about doing a Tim Tam Slam, drinking Milo, or eating Meat or Gravy flavored potato chips. I'm talking about SEEING The Wiggles LIVE!

For some of you this would not be a plus, it would no doubt be a major con. You might even rather stick your finger in your eye than go. But for us it was an exilerating family event that we have been looking forward to for weeks. That's right, we have seen the wiggles in person. We danced and sang along to the songs, we even dressed like them. The lighting is no good, but here we are awaiting the start of the show as Jeff, Murray, Anthony, and Sam / Greg. We miss you Greg! You'll always be a Wiggle to us!

Okay, yeah, we are pretty much major nerds. Sometimes I get these ideas that seem great at the time. I think to myself, I am not really a member of society here so I don't care what anybody thinks, yes, I think I'll have us dress up as each member of the Wiggles. Then you get there, and everyone is dressed normal, and you kind of realize you DO actually care. Poor Ben, why did you ever go along with my stupid plan? Some one even asked him if he was a Wiggle! No lie!

The concert was great and the kids had a magical time. It was held at such a small venue. I could literally almost see Anthony's glowing white teeth and the scars from his nose job. It was, I mean, ah, amazing. It really was fun to do something to get your kids all excited about. We were watching a lot of the show on tv in the previous days, you know, trying to practice and get ready so we were sure we knew all of the songs. Two days in a row Laine said, "I just love the Wiggles..." It was hilarious.

Here we are after the show outside the Hornsby RSL club. We were ever changed from this moment, we will never be the same again.

We chased the concert down with an hour of driving around looking for a Hungry Jacks to eat at.

Look familiar? Yeah, it's the same. We got Whopper value meals which tasted just like the one's at home. Yup, they made me just as sick as at home, and I regretted eating it just like at home too.

It was a great day. I had a really fun day visiting a new friend in Double Bay yesterday, which I now realize is the Beverly Hills of Australia. There I was driving myself there, passing and waving to the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bay Bridge on the way. It was amazing. Sometimes it really is so cool to live here. No, I'm not manic as you may be thinking from the complete change in temperature from some previous posts. It is just that there are really high high's and really low low's. 3 cheers for it leveling off poste-haste!

My Dad, the Hero

I have always loved and respected my Father so much. I have always looked up to him in so many ways. He has more integrity than I've ever known any one else to have. The man raised 5 girls {no boys} enough said.

My Dad always worked really hard to make a good life for our family. He was a firefighter. We weren't a rich family, though many around us were. I didn't care though. I was really proud to tell people what my Dad did. We loved visiting him at the firehouse when we were little. It was great as a kid, and so much fun to go bring Sunday dinner to him and hang out at the firehouse, pretty much the coolest place on Earth. And on those days when you get to go visit the firehouse for a school field trip, I could have given the tour myself, which was another reason to be proud.

It has been so great that since 9/11 that more people realize and appreciate the service and sacrifice of these men and women and their families, as well as other branches of law enforcement. This isn't some job they have, they are a brotherhood. They risk their lives together, and I've seen my Dad the day one of his men has fallen. It's like nothing you can describe.

Today I got an email from my Mom, and maybe it is the stress or that I sometimes get homesick. But I was proud again, and I was moved to tears. My Mom said that a member my Dad's crew has a brain tumor. They were hopeful, but the cancer is aggressive. Just yesterday, when the results came in, they discovered that even with more chemo and radiation, this man will die within 6 months to a year.

My Dad has taken it very hard, as well as the rest of their crew. In order to show their support, they have all shaved their heads. This would be touching already, but man, you didn't know what a gorgeous head of thick lustrous hair he had. It was beautiful. Thanks for your service, and thanks for showing us what it means to be a friend and brother.

Thanks for once again being an example to me Dad. I love you.

Save me from myself

Okay, this is not going to be the most "upbeat" post ever. I've really had it today. First of all, I really hate complaining, and I hate complainers. I hope you can tell the difference between complaining, and being honest. I probably should just delete all of this and forget it ever happened rather than actually posting it, but I'm not gonna.

I had a friend that I had been keeping in contact with over the years. I love her so much, and I miss living close to her. She was such an example to me, and taught me many things. We fell out of contact over the last few months, and I often wondered why. I felt it was a little one-sided, as I really would have loved to hear from her. I finally broke down and wrote to her. She wrote me back such a heart-wrenching email about what her life has been like lately. I really, really felt for her. She indicated that she wasn't able to write me because she just wasn't in a place where she could be happy for me. My life seemed to be perfect and I seemed to be having new adventures and great experiences.

So let me just lay it all down on the line so no one is confused. This move has been unreal. It has been so incredibly challenging for both Ben and I personally. So many times lately I have wanted to give up, and Ben and I both agree that if there were and easy way out and we could move home with our tails between our legs, we might just do it. We are 90% there. But there is that last 10% of us that thinks and hopes that maybe the adjustment period is almost over.

Ben has had to put in incredible hours since we moved here. He is exhausted and hasn't had a moment to relax since we arrived. Most days he comes home, has a quick bite, and sits and works while I watch tv at night. Most days are boring and mundane since I don't have many friends, everybody works! Everyone who is around is very tight-knit with their family. It is not like it was before, when we moved overseas. Surround by good friends who were in our exact situation and you had so much in common {then again, there are no men hocking loogies constantly and I can speak the language and of course the food situation goes without saying...}

Being an American overseas SUCKS! Everybody hates us and I'm sorry my Aussie friends, I really am, but some people here take it to a new level I have never experienced before.

I AM NOT AMERICA!

I AM A PERSON!

I am not the US Foreign Policy! I am not the cause of your Economic problems! I am not loud, or annoying! I am not rude! I am not an idiot, and I, like most Americans DO know where Sydney is and DIDN'T think it is in England or "wherever"...

For all of the ignorance you claim that we, as Americans posses, you really would be embarrassed at the things I have been both asked and told since I arrived here {as well as before, I am sad to say I have had this experience with Aussies before I moved here}. I seriously in my wildest dreams would not EVER dare to say the things to some one's face that have been told to me. But yeah, I would say them behind your back...

but that is beside the point!

There are many people here that I love, that help get me through the day. But man I wish people here felt about Americans the we we feel about them! Americans LOVE Aussies. We love their accents, we think they must be the funniest, most down to Earth people. In fact, besides terrorists, we as Americans love all, okay most, cultures. We think to ourselves that their quirks are "charming". Even the French. I just wish that favor were returned to some degree, and that so many negative assumptions weren't made about me because of where I come from.

I really do want to thank my friends who I do have here. I love my friends at the butcher shop, they are so great to me and put a smile on my face. I love my neighbors. I have made some good friends at church as well. I have met some great people, so I regret to take away from them. But I have to get it off my chest! It has also been so theraputic to have my hobby, Hot Garlic, thanks to everyone who participates. It really helps to have something you enjoy to look forward to.

Notwithstanding everything I just ranted about above, it has been difficult in many other ways as well. It is hard to be away from family and friends. I won't get to experience spring, the best time of year {besides summer} for a whole year and a half! It has just plain been stressful and a lot of work to move and unpack and attempt to get settled into a new life. We have so many loose ends flying everywhere all of the time. We are constantly so busy chasing down minute details that we don't get anything done! There are so many reasons I can't describe, or even put my finger on, it's just been hard!

But don't cry for me Argentina. I'll be fine and the dust will settle, I hope.

Okay, I'm done now. I feel better. Thanks.

PS : My sis Kate had this on her blog a while ago. I thought it was so hilarious, and always wanted a reason to post it on my blog. I think the time has come, it doesn't get any more appropriate than today. I do, however, think this is less of the world according to Americans, and more the what others in the world think Americans are thinking.

Ben + Monkeys = Disaster

Sorry, this video has come at the high cost of my sanity, as well as the life of my computer. I think uploading this video and the events that ensued, have aged my computer by 12 years. This video was supposed to accompany the text below, as well as the other video. This is more what I am talking about when I reference Ben's "love" for animals. It is quite a bit longer than it needs to be, just get to the middle of it for the good part.

By Popular Demand

Ben's retecence for animals is well documented, and only matched by my undying love for them. Funny story. I loved our family dog, Cujo, with all my heart before Ben and I married. We used to sleep together and she used to pee with excitement whenever I came home from college. The first night we stayed at my parents house overnight after we got married was a little rough for both Cujo and I. Ben and I went down to my old bedroom in the basement, and Cujo followed right behind, thinking this would be cozy with Ben added to the mix. Ben said no and Cujo sat outside the door and scratched and whined for what seemed like hours. It was heart wrenching! I started crying, but I knew I had to choose my marriage over this dog I loved so much. I know, break out the Kleenex...

Anyway, I hope that story makes the above video of Ben all the more funny. He was good enough to oblige my secret wish of having a day of frolicking and laughing with monkeys. Little did I know they would be so stinky and greedy. It was still pretty fun, and the trip gave us some priceless footage. We have told some of you about this, and others have had the privileged opportunity to preview it. Here it is, back by popular demand. Please keep in mind that I was a nursing mother with a bad bra and a bad haircut to match, and bad clothes. I was on vacation! This is us on our Bali Trip in '05. Enjoy.

Clifford 101

In case any of you are wondering what the Clifford face is, I hope this answers your questions. And if this movie so happens to pop up on Showtime or TBS, go ahead and DVR it and save it for a rainy day. It will be worth your time.

Haircuts much? Spiders Much? Forts Much?

I love it, I love it... and I don't care who knows! Yes, I do love getting my hair cut at the local Beauty School. Some would call me cheap, others maybe frugal. Yet others would say ridiculous. But I love it just the same. I have been going to the beauty school since I was young, though I did take a break in high school and went to the most expensive salon in Orem. I started going again in college and have never looked back. When I was first married I went to a school in Bountiful and got my hair cut next to Olene Walker. We even chatted since I knew her, Ben was working for the Governor at that time. Anyway, things run a little differently here. It took me months to figure out the system, but I finally found a government run Tafe school and booked an appointment.

I got there and I was in luck, free haircuts that day! You can't beat it. I splurged on lunch since I was saving the $10 a haircut costs. I made an appointment for next month where I am going to add highlights to the mix for $15!

It was a very, very interesting experience. There was this gay European guy in skinny jeans, I was really, really hoping to get him. Instead I got this husky English woman in her 40's. I was disappointed at first, but she really came through for me! She did a great job. Above is the picture, I got Laine to take it. I couldn't get a decent shot out of the 30 I had her take. She was dancing and wiggling all over the place. In the end, I decided that I preferred a decent face shot to a good hair shot, since I couldn't have both. I know the pic doesn't really flatter the hair much {please, I am not trolling for compliments here, I know it really doesn't}.

I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. "So would you like some fringe or just keep it the same?" "Would you like to keep the {some word I don't remember, started with a c} or would you like me to even it out?" "Now, you need to use this purple shampoo weekly so your blonde doesn't look daggy, come round to the basin and let's give it a wash". I felt really lost in the whole process, I am looking forward to next time and I am bringing a friend who can translate for me.

Getting your haircut in foreign countries is a very cultural experience. I cut my own hair in Taiwan, but in Korea I used to walk to this little shop near my house. They would just slap the he!! out of my head! They would pop my ears and do all sort of crazy stuff. Even just the way they mix your hair around while they wash it was so different. It was different here as well, but no slapping or popping.

Since that wasn't raw enough for you Stace, here is one of the pics in my photo shoot with Laine. It looks like my best "Clifford" impersonation, {love that movie} "Natalie, please, make a face like a real human girl!", But alas was just one of the better shots when you are having your 3 year old take the picture and you've got this blasted overhead lighting going on. I'm in love with that double chin action.

And here's this little guy that moved into our boxes whilst they were being stored in the garage. He had also come and planted himself on our front window one night. He is HUGE and quite scary looking, but thanks to our handy-dandy chart of which nasty spiders are lethal and which ones aren't, we learned that he is a Huntsman or Wolfsman or something, and harmless.

We finally moved out all of the boxes and had them picked up. Ben made a little fort out of them for Laine to enjoy before the garbage man came round to pick them up, she quite enjoyed it.

A very merry un-birthday to me!

Jenny, I know you are totally going to be jealous about this and I'm sorry. But Ben threw me a surprise half-birthday party this weekend. It was so random. Seriously, Ben is great, and I'm not going to complain. But there have been birthdays and anniversaries where he has literally been so busy beforehand that I don't even get a present or a card {don't worry, he makes up for it with random $200 gift certificates to the spa for Valentines and surprise half-birthdays}. Needless to say I was totally floored when he came home from "golfing" Saturday morning with half of a birthday cake, hats, masks, streamers, noisemakers, and half of a birthday card.

It was hilarious, and so creative, which also was surprising. Sorry Ben. He got the kids all into it and they all sang and everything. This was a completely different day than the below pictures, so as you can tell I am no liar about the chicken suit. It is also obvious that I was very surprised, as the house is wreck, I am in my exercise clothes sans hair and make-up getting ready to do Turbo Jam, Gabe is not dressed... I am very vain, enjoy this pic, you will hopefully never see me, my house, or my kids this raw ever again. I only allowed this pic to be taken because Ben was so excited at his clever wit. I also figured there would be a before and after, or at least a fake shot where we all looked perfect and pretended the surprise was happening right then at that very second! The moment passed, however, with no second photo-op.

Anyway, we got a sitter that night and went out to Chinese food and sipped hot cocoa at our coffee shop and we chased it down with some grocery shopping. I know that may sound boring, but I LOVE the grocery store and few things excite me more than perusing through the aisles dreaming of things I can create. Ben got a bad case of "shopping legs" but tried his best to humor me. Anyway, thanks Ben, it was the best half-birthday I've ever had!

Funny kids and "Double" Prams

So somewhere along the line Laine has been educated in the wonderful art of the knock-knock joke. She seriously just came home saying them one random day. I have no idea where she learned them or who "taught" her. She thinks she is hilarious. They go a little something like this:

Laine: Knock Knock

Me: Who's there?

Laine: Dinosaur

Me: Dinosaur who?

Laine: Dinosaurus Rex

This is promptly followed by an uproar of laughter coming from Laine, per usual when she tells any kind of "joke"

L: Knock Knock

M: Who's there?

L: Dora

M: Dora Who

L: TV Dora

...More Laughter...

L: Knock Knock

M: Who's there?

L: Flying in the air

M: Flying in the air who?

L: Me

As promised {though I am pretty sure no one really was waiting by the computer}, here is a pic of our double stroller. We actually have a Joovy, which is a sit and stand type of stroller that I LOVED when Gabe was a newborn and Laine was 2. But it is pretty heavy for these hills and all of the walking you have to do when you are a one car family. It just got to be too much and I resorted to this because I am a weakling.

When we went to Fiji, we seriously only took this umbrella stroller. And this is what we looked like everywhere we went. I also was seriously taking Gabey on the 10-15 minute walk to Laine's school to pick her up, and then bringing them all the way home like this. None of us really minded at the time, but are really glad we have our bike trailer / jogging stroller now! And oh yeah, since it is winter we are back to dressing the kids in their warm Halloween costumes as jammies. Laine is living in this chicken suit, she never wants to get out of it. She has even cast off her beloved "space" suit {aka track suit}. But not the space ships unfortunately...

And as of tomorrow we will finally have a second car! It has been a LONG four months sharing. And by sharing I mean me not having a car but once every fortnight. And by fortnight I mean once for every time we built a fort, which has not been that often lately. We bought a Nissan X-Trail. They are really cute, it is a smaller SUV, pewter color since I know you are wondering.

Park Fun

So I got back on that horse and took the kids to the park. We've actually gone a few times now, no incidents to report. Today there was no one there so I got to do the monkey bars and slides and swings, the whole bit. Thrilling. I decided as long as I had dragged myself out of the house I should get in some physical exercise. Wow, I am not as fit as I tell myself I am. While there I got to wondering where all my gymnastical talents went.

As a kid I was like 1/2 monkey -which genetically explains why Gabe is 1/4 albino monkey. Somewhere in the mix of junior high, crushes on boys, high school {okay, those 3 are all synonymous} college {still synonymous} marriage {nope, not anymore. Just kidding!} and kids I lost my gymnastical talents! I didn't even really notice until now. I am a complete chordo up there! And I almost really injured myself trying to prove otherwise.

It might not be of any help that I bought the only pair of "exercises" shoes that I own 6 years ago when we first got married, and they still look basically brand new. Now don't go all jumping to conclusions on me like it's so unfair that I'm not overweight. The reasons for this are many fold:

First and foremost, I get plenty of physical exercise getting myself in and then out of trouble, which can be done wearing any kind of shoe. This has been evidenced many a time on the blog. I also get lot's of exercise laughing at myself. Second, when I do formally exercise, I have a very bad habit of not wearing shoes. I guess this happens quite a bit with informal exercise as well. Sometimes my feet are bare or depending on what I am doing, I may also be wearing flip flops. Other times I am borrowing shoes {and socks, thanks for lending both to me many a time through the years Chris!} because I have forgotten to bring them along or out of possible laziness. But I digress..

Anyway, I am going to take every chance I can get when there is once again no body around at the park, and I am going to get all gymnastical again. If anyone is looking for a great way to keep in shape, I highly recommend investing in a bike trailer. Though as I am typing this I am realizing this will be of no benefit to my single or childless friends. You will look pretty crazy riding around with one of those on the back with no kids in it. Though it could be great for groceries or any other gear you want to haul around. Anyway, we bought one before we left and thank goodness because no one has heard of them here! Ours is so great, it converts into a jogging stroller, which I have never had. I took it to the Castle Towers, where I do my grocery and clothes shopping. My butcher litterally asked "what the heck is that, is that a tent?" He'd never seen one before. My kids LOVE it and I love it too, it is really fun exercise that I will actually do. Pictures and more information on our specific model to come, as well as before and after pics of our previous "double" stroller.

For now, here is that little albino monkey himself. We enjoyed the park over the long ANZAC weekend. Happy belated ANZAC day everyone!

Mission Accomplished

I know many of you have just been on pins and needles, wondering when the day will come that you hear more about the Kangaroo Mince. How was it? Was it weird? Was it gross? How did you eat it? Well, that day is today. We did it.

A few nights ago, I pulled it out to thaw in the fridge, forcing myself to face it. I kind of forgot about it and then rediscovered it 2 or 3 days later and realized that I better just do it or it would be spoiled by the next night. I decided on making a Kangaroo Shepherd's Pie {I know, it makes it sound like I made it out of the Kangaroo Shepherd}. My plan was two-fold: 1. It would be a dish that would do it's best cover up some of the taste. 2. Another added bonus was that it had so much other stuff in it, which could make it seem like I ate a lot if indeed I just ate the potatoes and green beans and moved the meat around with my fork.

The best part was when I said to Laine, "Guess what we're having for dinner tonight... Kangaroo!" She just laughed her head off and said, "Mom, you're funny!" "No, I'm serious, we really are ha...oh nevermind"

I was totally prepared for it to be really gross and even more prepared for it to be gamey. It actually really wasn't! It tasted so much more like beef than I was expecting. In fact, though my gag reflex was in hyper-drive, I know in my mind that it tasted really good. If you could get past the fact that you aren't eating something "normal" then it actually would taste excellent. I however really couldn't. I ate my helping that night {helping, what am I, on a ranch?} and then had another for lunch the next day and called it good.

Would I do it again? I guess I have to at least once more. I freakin' bought a 1 kg package and I didn't make that size of Shepherd's Pie. I just browned the rest and froze it. But would I buy it again after that? I think it would be a funny joke to play on visitors actually, so probably yes, yes I will! I've said too much...

So I posted the recipe up on Hot Garlic. The bio is pretty much the same as here, but the recipe turned out really pretty good. Let me know what you think!

What we've been up to

Well the terrible 2's came early this year. Gabe went to bed one night and woke up being a completely different little boy. Old Gabe we want you back, we need you back!

I think part of the problem, if not the entirety, is that the shipping company lost the screws to both Gabe and Laine's beds {Thanks once again A-1 Pioneer!} . For this reason, Gabe has still been sleeping in his pack and play and learned out how to climb out of it this week. Yay, a 1 1/2 year old who won't nap anymore! We just can't thank you enough A1P!


It's also really awesome when you run the dishwasher, open it and start unloading, then then look, and what do you see? What the? The remote control?

I also really love it when, at church, you discover that your baby's diaper was only covering half his butt. I won't elaborate on the horrific events of the discovery or the clean-up, but it was bad and we ended up having to leave.

To top the day off yesterday, I completely racked my whole body on the tub. I was washing Laine's hair when I simultaneously lost both my focus and my footing. My head ended up in the water, the upper half of my body slamming against the inside of the tub, my midsection and pelvis hitting the top of the tub {an immediate bruise forming} and my legs and feet hitting the outside of the tub with brute force. I would have been laughing and crying at the same time, but I had just gotten the wind knocked out of me like I have never experience before. It kind of reminded me of the time I just fell out of the tub shower for no reason. I was washing my own hair that time and just completely fell through the plastic shower curtain right smack on to the floor. I still to this day have no explanation for how a grown woman falls out of a bathtub. As for yesterday's fall, I blame Gabe and his splashing.

As far as Laine goes, I am just trying to get a word in edgewise between her constant stories of Spaceships / Outer Space and now superheros {and asking for treats}. She is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo into talking right now. We've had to add in a talking segment into her bedtime routine. We now read two books then sing Twinkle Twinkle. Then we turn off the lights and say prayer and then have our talking segment. I really needed a break from "Mom can you talk to me about school and the spaceship?" so I decided to tell her about our days together when she was a little baby. I guess I made it sound really great, what with all of the walks together and the snuggling and kissing and falling asleep together. Now she will not stop asking to be changed back to a baby. The fact that it is not possible is not any kind of answer to her request. Today she asked me to find my magic wand and make it happen.

We're laughing {and limping} about it all today. Ahh...kids!

Painting the town Red

Just a few quick pics of our night out on the town. Ben had to go down to the city this afternoon to check out some hotels for a work conference. We decided to get a sitter and make a night of it. The main hotel was in Chinatown, so we walked the streets and took in the sites of "home" {one of them, well two actually}. It was so fun seeing all of the Peking ducks hanging in the windows and the red lanterns and lights everywhere. All of the herbal medicines and dried sea animal fillets...

Then we strolled over to Circular Quay and perused the pier for the perfect restaurant. Here we are goofing off and having a great time. We got our waiter to take a pic, but the quality is so poor that it looks like I photoshopped us in. We only had Ben's phone so we were embarrassed to ask some one other than our waiter to take a pic so we had to take the rest ourselves. Unfortunately Ben's high quality phone can not capture the beauty nor the ambiance of our surroundings! Big cities are the best, it was so fun. It only takes about 25-30 minutes to get to the city, would it be weird to get a hotel and stay for a week?!

Don't forget to notice the jackets and scarf. It truly is Autumn here, Boooooo! Enjoy your spring you lucky SOB's.

The girl is a natural!

Since making this video she we have been practicing every song she knows and Twinkle Twinkle is kind of old news. We'll get working on the next installment ASAP! Once again, the bags and the lighting we are going to have to do something about...

At the risk of completely embarrassing myself, I am going to post this video. Ever since Laine was little she has LOVED singing. She sang well before she talked. She would just sing the melody of her favorite songs over and over and over again all day. So far it never gets old to hear my children singing, I really love to hear their music!

Laine seems to be really talented with it and has now begun harmonizing! It's really amazing, so far I haven't taught or encouraged her at all, she does it all by herself. I don't know where she gets this talent from, it obviously isn't me {as you will all see in a minute}. I am a terrible singer, and it's gonna be a little pitchy for you doggs, sorry! Also pardon the diaper and dirty clothes of Gabe's and the SERIOUS bags under my eyes! We had been gone all day and were getting the kids ready for bed when Laine started her concert.

My sis Katie

All I can say is THANK-GOODNESS my sister Katie now has a blog to document this and other antics she gets into. We are so alike, and as you will see, both still live our lives like it is our freshman year in college. Ashleigh you are no stranger to this concept. Anyway, I saw this on her blog this afternoon and wrote to her that I thought it was HILARIOUS in a way that I have never meant before. Here is "The Gorge" in her own words. And if you ever want to check out what other crazy stuff she is up to, her blog is "Katie" under my Family tab.

If you are thinking that this post has anything to do with Dave Matthews Band please don't read on. I don't really know exactly how to explain what took place on Sunday, but I will do my best to describe the events. Two years ago, I made Lisa a "Skor" cake for her birthday, and she told me that she thought if I left her unattended she could eat the whole thing. So, we have always joked that someday I was going to make her one and have her eat the whole thing. Naturally we told our other room mate MJ about it and she said that she thought she could eat an entire carton of ice cream. I started thinking about it and I don't really have a high tolerance for sweets so I said that I had to pick a food item. Anyone that knows me knows that my favorite food is meat. I am embarrassed by this fact, but it's true. My name is Kate Gildea and I am part carnivore. Anyways, so I said that I thought I could eat an entire chicken, or "the bird" as I refer to it. The three of us have laughed about it all year long and it has come up at various events like work party's and my birthday party and before we knew it we had all sorts of people on board. We had 9 people that participated in the event, only 4 completed the challenge. Note, it was called a challenge not competition. This was about personal best. So, here's everyone's challenge.

Abbey's: An entire gallon of milk and a dozen Krispy Kreams.
Challenge: NOT COMPLETE, 2/3 gallon of milk and 10 doughnuts. Just shy of her goal.

Casey: 2 entire Large Pizza's.
Challenge: COMPLETE, he was the first finished!

Tim: 2 entire Marie Calander's Pie's, one cream based, one fruit based
Challenge: NOT COMPLETE, finished the fruit based but only made it a couple bites into the cream based. No where near his goal.

MJ: One carton of "Loaded" Ice Cream and an entire package of fudge striped cookies.
Challenge: COMPLETE! Jenn: An entire loaf of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.
Challenge: NOT COMPLETE, she did have a great tactic though smashing the bread down to make each sandwich include at least 6 slices of bread.

Carrie: And entire box of Mac & Cheese and a loaf of French Bread
Challenge: COMPLETE! It was carb overload but well worth it to complete the challenge!

Katie Jo: 8 Burger King Rodeo Burgers
Challenge: NOT COMPLETE, but SO close. Made it to 7 but could not physically go on.

Lisa: An entire Skor Cake
Challenge: sadly enough, NOT COMPLETE. She made it almost half way.

Kate: An entire rotisserie chicken (Colossal, serves 5-7)
Challenge: COMPLETE!

To be honest, this was probably the funniest thing I have ever done in my life. Everyone, well not everyone, but most people were pretty sick afterwards. Others knew their limits. We only had 2 hours to complete, so yes it was a timed event. Here's some pictures during the event.

Here's everyone in the beginning, we were so happy then!

Success! Look how excited she is, she had polished off the cookies. Thank you Abbey for making sure you were in the picture with your doughnut.

Here's the 3 originators of the Challenge at the half-way mark. Still going pretty strong....

For any of you who have watched FRIENDS, you know what happened next. I got the "meat sweats."

So then we decided to take it outside, Casey was helping Lisa make some room

Helping me "stretch out" for the remainder

It's hard to say if this picture took place before or after the milk curdled in her stomach. Her stomach is usually flat.
These 3 needed to take a break.....

After the event of course I was pretty sick, like to the point I threw up. But, the more I think about it the funnier it becomes, especially when I see the pictures. And I learned a lot about myself during the challenge. For example, I learned that I have more willpower than most, I won't stop until I get the job done. And I learned a lot about limits, I mean now I know exactly how much chicken I can consume, I mean if someone was to ask me to eat a checken that serves 7-9 I will have to say no. I know my max, it's a bird for 5-7 people, no more.

Bula Fiji!

Sorry Laine's video is clearly not working, I've tried everything and have been trying to upload it for over a week. Hopefully Ben can help me tonight when he gets home, stay tuned! Since shooting that video, I have sung every song with her that she knows. Her voice kind of wavers while she tries to find the harmony, and then she finds it and it is magic!

We just got back from an AWESOME trip to Fiji! We absolutely loved it there and hope to go back as soon as we can. We went with some great people that Ben works with down here, which made the trip all the more fun. It was one of the most beautiful places we've been. Even though all of the weather reports indicated we would most likely be rained out everyday, the gorgeous Fijian sun graced us with her presence all but 1/2 of one day which we were of course overjoyed about.

The kids really had a great time. Laine especially loved the Bula Bus that took us around to all of the resorts and into the Port Denaru Marina and markets. Laine still can't stop talking about it! We got the kids a babysitter one day and she told me all Laine wanted to do was ride the Bula Bus, so they rode the loop around and around for hours! The Fijian people were so warm and loving, and Laine really got into the Island spirit shouting "Bula!" to everyone she saw. I got into the spririt in my own way as well, I said "Menaka" to everyone, which I thought was "thank-you", only to find out on the way to the airport our last day that it is acutally "Vinaka". I'm retarded.

We chartered this little skiff to go Island hopping. It was so beautiful. The main island that we were located on, near Nadi, was surrounded by sevaral smaller islands. Gorgeous! Here we are dipping our feet in as we headed to Musket Cove. On the way we saw flying fish and sea turtles!

Please look at the beautiful sandbar behind me and not me in my suit!

Heading to the reef. We saw so many gorgeous fish and they were very friendly! One of them owes me a steak dinner if you know what I mean.

The island furthest to the left is where "Castaway" was filmed! We got closer to it but this was the only picture we took. We were wishing we had brought along a lighter and a volleyball for some awesome photo ops, but alas we ran out of time anyway.

Of course the kids loved the pool and all of the attention that our group gave them. We loved it too! Laine jumping to Mel over and over and over again.

One of the tables at dinner, this is only half of our group. Unfortunatley Ben was in charge of everything and was also the designated camera man. I hope you enjoy the one photo of him from above as it is one of the only shots we got of him the whole trip.

Gabe with his girlfriends Mel and Tanya

Our last day in Paradise, Boo! Gabe and Laine and I swam until we had 15 minutes to get onto the bus to go to the airport. See, I like to live life on the edge and show up with a healthy 45 minutes before take-off. No one seemed to like this idea. We ended up with 2 hours which seemed like forever! I got to see more of the Fiji airport than I had seen of any airport in a long time.

Goodbye beautiful relaxing Fiji, we'll miss you!

Thanks

Thanks for all of the sympathy and words of encouragement. I should have stressed that yes, Gabe is okay. He got a little cut on his forehead and another on his cheek -though it really is going to be the emotional scars on this one. We'll have to give the swing a try this week to see how bad the damage is. And it is so funny that everyone commented about no one helping me. I was so glad! I was so mortified that I didn't want to face anyone and was just hoping they would leave me alone while I collected myself and got all of the wood chips and leaves out of my hair and off my clothes.

Anyway, Grams and Gramps Riley sent some hats to the kids, the ones they are wearing in the pictures. It was really great because they are so, so into wearing hats here. Laine has to wear one to preschool everyday so she won't get skin cancer. This is all despite the fact that there are more trees here than I have ever seen in my life, so her school is almost completely shaded. Anyway, I know I should have sent a real thank-you letter rather than an email, but I knew it would never happen because I only know where 2 post offices are and one has no parking and the other is 2 towns over. Anyway, I really loved the letter she wrote and wanted to post it:

Dear Grams,

Thank you for Gabey's hat and my hat and mommy's hat and daddy's hat. Thanks you for pants and shoes and shirts and socks. Thanks for the hats today. I love my hat and I don't have a hat at school so I need 'em. I am going to wear piggy buns to school today. I will wear piggy tails under my hat. I have to go to school. I like pink. I love bananas and you. Grams I love to get bananas and eat bananas. Bananas. Bananas. Bananas. Bananas. Tree house.

Love,Laine

She is so funny. She is always talking about spaceships and space suits and going to outer space. She talks about it constantly and her teachers and Ben and I get a real kick out of it. Ben bought her a track suit in New Zealand when he went there a few months ago and it is now her offical "Space Suit". She talks about her space ship like it is a real thing and is always asking where it is or where I moved it, since she needs it to go to outerspace. Sometimes she even counts me down to blast-off for things.

She is really growing fast and has finally discovered that Gabe is a pretty cool brother. She talks to him in this baby voice that he really loves, "Gabey, are you a munchkin?" or "Gabey, you're a good boy!". Two days ago, after the incident, she told Ben "Mommy is my best friend". That really made my day!