School starts!

The new school year started this week. Lydia and Isaac had their first day on Tuesday, wearing their formal uniforms for Opening Chapel. Looking spiffy!

Lydia is now in Year 5!

And Isaac is now in Year 2!

First day of school dinner.  Spring rolls and stir fry.

On Wednesday Evelyn had her first day of Kindergarten!!! Here it's called Prep. The kids are even called "preppies." (I can't help but think of Slater and Zack from Saved By the Bell.) I love having all three of the kids together at school!

Evelyn's first week was half days. Next week she'll start going all day like the big kids. Here she is sorting beads with "scissors" (tweezers).

Evelyn and her teacher Mrs Davis at pick up time.

I did get a little teary eyed in the classroom that morning, but didn't cry til I got in the car and drove away. Sigh, they grow up so fast. Sniff. But it'll be fun to have more time with Bridget and to see how Evelyn grows this year. Evelyn is already reading! She's wowed us time and time again as we read scriptures together. She gets most of the little words: and, that, we, he, you, see, unto, for, say. Our youngest reader yet!

Some random pictures of a day of riding bakes in the yard.  I love the big concrete slab in our backyard!

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

Today was Australia Day! It's like the 4th of July for Aussies, except they're not independent. Whatever. It's still a holiday.
At 7 this morning we did a 2k Fun Run as a family. Mike ran with the older two and I walked with Evelyn while pushing Bridget in the stroller. It was quite a big deal for the kids. Their first real "run." 

 
Good thing it was early cuz it was already hot! We were happy to eat lots of free watermelon afterwards! Bridget loved gnawing the watermelon all the way down to the rinds.

In fact she couldn't get enough of the stuff! Here she is at the branch picnic later that afternoon. Good thing we were in swimsuits so we could hose her down!

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! (Pronounced oy) (And no, that's not a funny way to write "oil" even though it sure looks like it. Ironically we ARE here with an oil company.)  Bats in trees and a goanna.  I love Australia!

Lillies Beach

On Saturday we took a jaunt with the Williams over to a remote shore not far from us and only accessible by 4 wheel drive.  Lillies Beach.  It was glorious to have miles of beach all to ourselves! The low tide gave us a grand expanse of shallow water and the overcast morning made it all the more pleasant.

But what made the beach truly memorable were the crabs! Hundreds, maybe thousands, of tiny soldier crabs! They moved across the sand enmasse like a river of spiders. It was remarkable!  I guess to some that would be a horrific idea, but we thought it was so incredibly cool! They are funny little crabs, blue and grey and dome shaped, not flat at all! 

And these crabs crawl forward, contrary to most crabs which walk sideways, hence the spider comparison. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the "river" of them.  It was incredible.  I tried to get them to crawl across my feet, but they burrowed down in the sand upon approach.

These weren't the only crabs we saw, though they were by far the most plentiful. There were also tiny hermit crabs.

And a neat yellow-ish almost paddle legged crab that swam through the water, about the size of my fist.
And ... some sort of other little crab. With Bridget's finger going straight for it. I love that little girl, no fear!

What a magical time we had! Crabs are cool!