More wallabies and kangaroos

The kids were SO sweet with the animals at the Port Douglas Wildlife Refuge! It was another "favorite thing" they keep asking to do again.

Even our big boy loved feeding and petting them!

This pelican gave Gracie a bit of a fright!

Marcie very proud of the flower in her hair

Skyrail pictures from Australia

These are from two-and-a-half months ago, but are still worth posting. (There are so many I'm leaving them low-resolution.) The Skyrail cable cars go from Smithfield up to Kuranda, over the most amazing, high rainforest and really cool fern trees. We kept switching cars at the two stops up and back, hence the many different groupings. It was one of the most memorable things we did, one the kids have requested repeatedly to do again. 

Holding Seth at one of the lookouts on a stop-off on the way up the mountain.

feeding the "koalabies" in Granite Gorge

Up on the Tablelands above Cairns, Queensland, Australia, these little guys - rock wallabies - run around "wild" but are obviously very accustomed to being fed by visitors. Feed is provided; I highly recommend this! Even Isaac loved it. The kids mixed up the words koala and wallaby to get their name for these adorable creatures: koalabees. :)

The girls had requested pink hair, so I sprayed some hairspray-like pink into their hair for the day. It made their hair feel and look disgusting, but they were happy and it washed out easily.

One more late-breaking quote

On David's plan to pacify a hypothetical ravenous wolf, thanks to an episode of Planet Earth and as a new fascination with predators of the world, wondering if they eat humans or not. This morning his question was about cheetahs; this afternoon:

"Mommy, do wolves eat people?"

"They don’t usually want to eat people. They want to eat animals.”

 

"But do wolves ever want to eat people?”

"If a wolf was STARVING, it might eat a person."

"What does starving mean?”

"It means, so hungry it’s about to die."

Without missing a beat, he held out his arms as though holding an offering and earnestly suggested, "If I gave the starving wolf a dead fox to eat, maybe he wouldn’t eat me.”

I tried not to laugh aloud. "Yup, I bet he wouldn’t eat you if you gave him a dead fox to eat instead.”

Brief pause, then: "But Mommy, how could I find a dead fox?"

Quint quotes mid-2017

Will: "Mommy, I’m not lovely and polite, because I’m not a girl. I’m just polite." 

Looking down at the monogram shirt his Grandpadad had made for him: "Mommy, this isn't my shirt! Look, it's Marcie's up letter. It's not my upside down letter!" 

And wanting an airplane Seth had: “They’re only for boys that wear black hair!"

Seth got two hand-me-down trucks from a friend. He named one of them “Tuna Sandwich” and one of them “Rice.” Which happens to be his very favorite thing to eat: Tuna ["sandwich"] on rice.

Seth calls Corn Flakes "acorns"

David: "Mom I want a water balloon with no water.  Just a balloon with string."

Grace: “Mommy!  My owie is all better!"

Mommy: “Really?  That’s great!"

Grace, delighted: “Yeah! Because Marcie didn’t slam the door on my finger again!"

Marcie: “I’m happy that we have a new dog that’s not dead."* 

*[Our original dog died several months ago.]

At our Aviation Department get-together two weeks ago; not great of the two girls but such is life in a family this big!

Watersliding at the birthday party

Thanks to Aunt/Mrs. Debbie (the kids' teacher last year and Friday-morning-hero our first year here) for being our photographer!

The kids wanted a helping hand at the beginning but got progressively more brave. Here Will looks on with some concern. He never actually did the slide; he preferred his water shooters from Grandpadad (below)

Spraying Isaac's friend Matthew

Marcie with friend Dilu (thank God for young legs!)

Gracie and Dilu

A cold Gracie clad in her new birthday dress

Mom and Seth

David and Mom

Will being hauled happily down the hill to home

Marcie goes it alone!

Dad is going a bit too fast for David's taste!

David is still slightly nervous, but at least he has his umbrella along for the ride (I'm not sure why he wanted it to go down the slide with them, but it's his party and he can ride how he wants to!)

Glamorous Grace with the dress and sunglasses she'd just opened as gifts. 

Gavin is a good sport, making his daughters very happy :)

Marcie chose to hold her own umbrella rather than asking Daddy to

Seth was the bravest boy on the waterslide!