The children got crazy when they came home and saw their beds and many boxes with toys. Jorick asked after two packages: “can I unpack another present ?” It certainly looked like Christmas or “Sinterklaas”.

Of course we are happy to have our stuff now. On the other hand we also recognize that we could live very well with just a few bags. However, the house is now getting transformed into our new home and we also appreciate all the luxury of having all our stuff.  With unpacking all our clothes we realized that we could keep a lot of it in the boxes because we will not use it here. After arrival we didn’t wear any coat anymore and only in the evening we get on some warm clothes.

By accident some booklets of the children with addresses, birthday dates, etc. were packed in boxes and got in the container. We are happy these will show up soon. Sorry for the birthdays that have passed already since we left.

For a while Nicole was already looking for the chance to carry a snake around her neck. In the Wild Live Parks her dad was not ready yet for it, but when she was invited for a birthday party the opportunity was there. Someone from a Wild Life Park showed up with several animals with a snake being one of them. The picture tells the story. It’s amazing how Nicole is adapting. She knows already a lot of children here and when we go somewhere she often meets familiar children and being a girl she needs to have a short talk and a Australian hug of course

Last week Jorick started to go 5 days a week to pre-school. He was looking forward to it for long. Last Friday Jan picked him up early at half past three. Than he started crying because Jan was to early, he wanted to stay longer.

  Since we are in Australia we have had very good weather, but the most recent days we had heavy rainfalls. With these sub-tropical rainfalls an incredible amount of water is coming down in a few hours/days. Our water tanks are completely filled again, in the garden the frog pools were overflowing to the dams, now containing a lot of water, and the creek came to life again (see picture). With this weather the frogs became very active and produce an incredible noise. There are a lot of different species here around all making there own sounds ranging from the familiar cracking noise to a plop so now and then. Jan also killed his first Cane Toad , a large frog carrying poison. They look very ugly and can become very large, so they are not difficult to recognize. Jan forgot to make a picture, so follow this link for a picture and more info.

Ooh ja, the snake skin seemed to be from a Brown Snake. Although these snakes are dangerous, they try to avoid humans since humans are only a threat for them. That’s why not very often accidents happen, but sometimes if they feel threatened they can bite you and you need to get some serum then soon. Only if you have a strong stomach, follow this link.

Anita enjoys her work and gets more and more used to many new procedures and other medical habits. The medicine used are often different than she is used to, but it is getting familiar. Jan started to approach some recruiters. The overall message is that Sydney and Melbourne are the places to go to, while finding a job in Brisbane will be a real challenge. This is not new to us, but for several reasons we decided to give it a try here. Below you’ll find some additional pictures of Lake Samsonvale which is a water reservoir for Brisbane close to our home.

Also some pictures from Petrie Old Town, within a 15 km distance from our home. Here, when a building is 150 years old it is referred to as an historical building and often road signs will lead you there as a tourist attraction.

Wish you all the best.

Kind regards, Jan, Anita, Nicole and Jorick