Aaron has been called as the 2nd counselor in YM's… It is keeping him busy on Tuesday evenings and they have had a youth fireside and carol singing the past two sundays. While Aaron was out Sunday afternoon I made little pom pom animals with the kids.
Our neighborhood had a carnival going on that same day put on by a local mortgage company, in the evening they had a large firework display that Aaron and I watched briefly from our front porch.
Monday was the hottest day we've experienced so far, it got up to 35 C. For all our friends and family in the states thats roughly 95 F. That may not seem too bad but the heat over here is so much different. It can feel cold when it's cloudy but as soon as the sun peers through it burns the skin and feels so hot. No joke, it has a more powerful burning sensation like there is no protection between you and it. It's also humid but not humid like what I remember mexico, again, it feels different.
Everyone is very cautious about the sun over here and does a really good job about wearing sunscreen and more particularly hats. Hats are required at school and if a child is seen without one in terms 1 and 4 they are sent to the principals office. Kids are always wearing hats at parks, the beach, anywhere i've seen them outside when it's sunny, they have hats on.
Well Monday evening we decided to take the kids to the beach to cool down, it gets really hot in our house and we do not have air conditioner throughout, most people don't even have air conditioners at all. We are lucky enough to have two split systems in the house which we can put on to cool down certain areas.
Aaron rode the train from work to Edithvale station (which is just under 10 minutes from our house) and we met him at the beach just across the street from the station. There were quite a few people on the beach but there was still plenty of space. It had not even been 5 minutes since arriving that the kids were already in the ocean.
The water is freezing but it didn't seem to bother them at all. This beach has a gradual decline so the kids have a lot of room to play where it's shallow enough for them to jump around.
I watched with Rebecca while the others went back and forth from the beach into the water over and over again. It was beautiful.
Today (Wednesday 4th December) was a typical day. I get a lot of comments saying that our move looks more like a vacation. Well in all reality, it's only felt like that a handful of times. Things are still tough and we still have a daily routine just like before.
It's a new thing getting used to taking Josh to and from school every morning, can't say I love putting 4 kids in and out of a car every day to take him to school but it beats an hour walk in blistering heat or torrential rain fall. Today it was much much cooler (around 16c/61f) and rained all day long. At times it was raining so hard it looked like a waterfall coming off the house.
After I prepared lunch I went into another room to feed Rebecca. Not long later Rachael followed me into the other room, I was a little worried as Joseph had gone quiet in the kitchen (this only means one of two things: he is either asleep, or doing something bad). I go into the kitchen and this is what I find. He crashed before he could even get off the chair properly. This potty training business is wearing us both out. I could crash just like that if I got a chance to.
Aaron went to our ward temple night this evening and before I put all the kids to bed they were having fun together, one of the few moments in the day where I can breathe it all in and actually enjoy all the craziness. Right as Aaron was leaving our oven went crazy, (we have had many appliance malfunctions since being here) an alarm went off on it, it shut down and would not come back on but the high pitched siren noise would not stop. We tried unplugging it and turning it off but nothing would work. At the same time Rebecca is crying because of the sound, Josh and Rachael are wrestling in the other room and Joseph pees his pants. I take Rebecca into another room, clean Joseph up and put him into the shower while I try to get Josh and Rachael under control, siren still going in background.
Joseph decides to get out of the shower and slips on the tile floor slamming his head onto the ground, screams of bloody murder come from the bathroom. I am now trying to help him, while Rebecca still screams in the other room and desperately asking Rachael and Josh to help me. I am ready to break down, I am exhausted, so exhausted I can't even find tears or strength to cry no matter how badly I want to. This is just a glimpse into reality here in the Presbury home. Never, never a dull moment yet we always find a way to proceed through it.
So before bedtime I was able to snap some happy pictures of the kids playing together. I enjoy even just a few minutes of hearing them laugh and play together.
Its so great to be able to see what you guys are up to, the weather there sounds crazy (but I think I would take it over our super cold and snowy). You are amazing with all you manage to get done with your four little ones.
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