JUST ANOTHER DAY ON PARENTAL LEAVE 6:30 The alarm clock rings, Bryan and the boys get up and get ready for school. An important part of the morning routine is to cover arms, legs and face in the 30 SPF sunscreen that come in liters here. Outside, the clouds are leaving to make room for another hot and sunny day, 27 degrees. In the meantime Jonathan wakes up after a good night's sleep. Him and I enjoy a nice breakfast in the shade to the sound of parrot...

SETTLED IN This morning, Thomas said to me: Are you starting to feel at home here too, Mom? I am amazed at how quickly the kids have adapted. They have taken their new school very well, they even seem to like it. On the weekends they only are hanging out with us and eachother which they are taking quite well too. I do think they miss their friends at home, so make sure to send them a 'hello' on our blog. Bryan and I feel quite 'busy' looking after Jonathan,...

THE SUN IS BACK After 5 days of seemingly endless rain, the sun came back on Sunday with full blast. The kids celebrated by spending 2,5 hours in the swimming pool. This thing they say about the ozone layer being very thin down here, well, we can all testify to that now, especially Thomas that almost glows in the dark. Very efficient for drying laundry though, which was much needed after a week of rain and 99% humidity! We have checked out our beach, Noosa ...

MR WET T-SHIRT Bryan got caught in a "small" rain shower yesterday. It does not take more than 30 seconds to get completely soaked, so we have learned to bring umbrellas with us at any time (and I have put the white t-shirts away for a more sunny day ). They are forecasting rain for the next couple of days - good thing we still have 85 days left for the sun to come back out.

DISCOVERING THE HINTERLAND Within 30-60 minutes drive of 'our' house, there is a beautiful 'Hinterland' offering moutain views and waterfalls. We went on a hike to see the Kondalilla Falls. We missed the sign to the actual falls, maybe because I was a little stressed by the fact that it was about to get dark, and in my imagination we would get stuck in a pitch black forest full of snakes and spiders. So we had to settle for the sound of water and the view of...