Feels like I'm 21 Again...Sorta

My nephew Justin and his gal Chelsea have left the frozen hallowed grounds of Alberta and moved to the fair frozen grounds of Melbourne (it is winter after all) for six months.  They will base with us and are looking for jobs to fund travel when the weather warms by Spring (that's Fall to most of you).

It's been a while since I've been in my early 20s and while C2 and I like to think we're hip and plugged into urban trends and rhthyms, I mean we like Jay-Z, and SuperDry t-shirts, and UGG boots, and Netflix and on-demand TV, but it's become clear we're really not...hip I mean.

Hang out for a week with a couple of 20-somethings and it could be depressing.  All that consumption, entitlement, lack of drive blah blah.  Not these two.  They are effervescent, engaging, curious, driven, and devoted to J.  The devotion is completely mutual.  They also rock personal style, and I'm trying my best not to hold it against Chelsea that she looks like a cross between a young Elle McPherson and a young Jennifer Aniston.

Last weekend, we took them to Phillip Island with its' magnificent wild beaches and inland wildlife reserves housing many of Australia's indigenous creatures.

They received the beaches and the creatures with open mouths, open minds and open hearts.  We chased up the wide stretches of golden sand marvelling at the pounding surf.  Once again, we were its' only inhabitants.

At the Wildlife park, they were charmed by the naughty Grey Kangaroos, got chased in mock terror by Emus, and stroked the gentle fur of the sweet Red Kangaroos.  It is late winter in Melbourne, and there were many babies about: Kangaroos, Geese, Wallabies, Swans.

This is the same fellow as above who proved naughty when he swiped the food bag right out of J's hand.  Joke is on him since he got a piece stuck to his forehead!

How to make a Kangaroo purr like a cat!

See all the joeys?  Some are so big, their legs are sticking out!

This is a Red Kangaroo, see how different their faces are from the above Greys?

Bless those Tasmanian Devils; they're always in SUCH a good mood

Wombat, best description I ever heard was he looks like a beaver who ate a bear

Darn Emus are so prehistoric looking

 It seemed an appropriate introduction to Australia.  Differences between Grey and Red Kangaroos? Check!  What the heck's a Wombat? Check!  Why are Emus so freaky? Check!

Next up, a weekend in Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula, land of vineyards and beaches.

Gone into Hiding?

Helloooo to any of you still occasionally checking in on Australian Family Hendricks.  Where have I been?  What have I been doing?  Why so silent for so long? 

No big mystery really...I just needed a break from blogging.  It wasn't planned, it was unexpected and I think it might have been necessary to get the old creative juices flowing again.  I had found that I was waiting for the big events before blogging, the great pictures, the monumental moments.  You know what though?  Even as an expat, life isn't a series of big events, great pictures, monumental moments.  It's the grind, and the school run,  the day-to-day dramas, and the extra couple of kilos around my middle.

But you know what else, it's life and it's full and good and mine, and I am now re-inspired to direct this blog as a testimony to our daily life abroad, to it's joys and it's challenges, and to living in the moment rootless and stateless but embracing every minute of it.

So stay tuned and thanks for staying with me.