July!!

Among all the craziness that was arriving back in Australia, my birthday, the kids being on school holidays, me dealing with some personal stuff, preparing Father's Day gifts for my church, etc... Any event that took place in July or early August got completely skipped on my blog, so I'm going to do a quick run through of the important events that took place during that hectic time.

Open House Melbourne
This is when Melbourne opens up buildings to the public that are otherwise closed to the public. There was a whole list of buildings I wanted to go into, but I just wasn't in the mood to get up and get going that day. Luckily, Louise was kind of interested in going to a building or 2, so we went together. Driving into the city we got the cool surprise of seeing several police on horseback. We arrived at this substation to find a crazy long line and a wait of over 2 hours. While that seemed ridiculous, we had driven all the way into the city, paid for parking, and walked here already, and all the other buildings would probably be similar wait times, so we just decided to wait it out. Luckily, there were some personable people in front of us so we talked with them pretty much the whole time. When it was finally our turn we got to put on some oh so very awesome coats (flame retardant), hair nets, and hats. It was kind of crazy honestly to be walking around in the substation seeing all the MASSIVE transformers and other things I can't remember the name of. Electricity is one of those things that we take for granted and that the majority of us can't wrap our brains around. You flick a switch, turn a nob, or press a button and stuff happens and it's all because of the stuff found in places like this substation.

School Holidays
The kids didn't have school for a couple weeks because they run on a year round schedule, so to break up some of the time at home we all went on a couple different outings. The first we did was a place called Healsville, which is like a conservation center with only Australian wildlife. We saw all kinds of animals, most of which I had already seen before in some form or fashion, but there were a few new ones! Wombats are nocturnal so when you go to zoos and things you hardly ever see them or if you do it's hard because it is very dark, but this place had part of the wombat burrow in a glass section. I have seen koalas before but this was the first time I saw a koala do something more than sit, sleep, or eat. This koala was actually jumping from tree to tree and climbing up and down the trees. This was the closest I'd ever gotten to a wombat and the most I've ever seen of one and the closest I'll probably ever get to cuddling one. I also saw my first Dingo and while it wasn't my first platypus, like the wombat they are nocturnal so if and when you do see them it is often dark and hard to see. I also saw my first echidna. They aren't the most cuddly animal in the world, but they have their own cute quality about them and watching them walk is hilarious because they waddle and tip back and forth.

Emu

Wallaby

Tasmanian Devil

Wombat cuddles

Dingo

Platypus

Koala

Echidna

The second place we went was Scienceworks, which is a kids museum. There were all kinds of interactive exhibits there - electricity, around the house, circus, and more. Part of science is a place called the Pumping Station. It was built in the 1890s and was the heart of Melbourne's Sewage Scheme.

Melbourne Cricket Ground
A family from my church, Compass, invited me out for a night of Footy at the MCG - Collingwood against Adelaide. The dad of the family is a member of the MCG so we had access to a fancy cafe for dinner and hot drinks, really nice restrooms, cushioned seats, and pretty close seats. My favorite part though, was the hot jam donuts!!! The dad is a die hard Collingwood fan so I was really hoping they'd win because that would make for a better train ride home. It was a really good came with some close spots, but luckily Collingwood came out on top!

Bridgit Mendler

Part of living in one of the biggest cities in Australia is having the opportunity to do some really cool stuff and see some really cool things and people. I randomly discovered that Bridgit Mendler was going to be in the city and was going to be doing a meet and greet for free. Call me lame, but I love Good Luck Charlie (her show on the Disney Channel). We'll go with the excuse that when you hang out with younger kids though, you kind of have to be in the know about this stuff if you want them to think you're cool. Her music is pretty legit as well. Well I got there and there was already a good amount of people there. Apparently some people had already been waiting for HOURS and had driven from several hours away to see her. The line for the meet and greet was moving slower than molasses. It became clear very quickly that only a few lucky ones would actually get to meet her. The issues? 1 - Even after being told several times not to reach for hugs and to have the picture taken while she's signing people still couldn't seem to follow directions and Bridgit doesn't have the heart to tell them no or to move on. 2 - Parents were lifting their kids over the barricades making the line to put their kids further towards the front. 3 - Each person was trying to get a hug, autograph, and photo. I personally think the staff should have been a bit more strict, but not for me, for all the little girls in line waiting so patiently and anxiously for this opportunity. I of course didn't get in line because I knew I wouldn't make it up there, but also because I knew these younger girls wanted to see her so much more than I did. I thought it was cool simply being that close to her in person. She seems like she has a really good heart and personality and I'm hoping she finds a way to stay that way in all the fame, because she has girls all over the world (literally) looking up to her. SN: I found it kind of ironic that I had to be half way around the world to see a celebrity from my home country.

 Random Events

My 1 Year Anniversary of being in Australia

Urban Praise came to Compass