We're Back!!

We’re back! The blog has been silent for almost a year-and-a-half and I apologize for that. I think that after a while life felt normal. We were not in an exotic location like Oman or the Caymans and life seemed routine. I will try to keep up the blog this year. Most of you who read this probably know what we have been up to so I will keep it short. We are in the midst of the last lazy days of a warm summer here in Brisbane.  The kids finished their first year of school here called Prep in December. (The equivalent of kindergarten.) In December I also finished up my first year of teaching here in Oz. I am teaching maths at St Peter’s Lutheran College. Last year I had two classes in year 9, two in year 10 and a year 11 Maths B class. I go back to school on Monday the 21^st of January. I am scheduled to have a year 8, year 9, two year 11 Maths B classes and I will continue with my year 11 class from last year as they go into year 12.  The kids start in year 1 on Jan 29. They are in the same year at school since the cut-off date for school here in Queensland is June 30, and on that date they are the same age. They are in separate classes at the local primary school which is a lovely school. 

The kids and I went to Carlsbad, California for two weeks at the start of December to see my parents who are there for the winter staying at my brother’s house.  We also got to see my brother and his wife Songul, my cousin Barbara who came down from Portland to visit, and my sister Tamara who surprised us all by coming out from Minneapolis for a long weekend. The kids really enjoyed seeing the USS Midway, Legoland, SeaWorld and the Safari Park. They also enjoyed playing on the beach and in the surf even though it was winter. Emma is enjoying banker’s hours as she is on a secondment from her law firm to ANZ Bank to cover a maternity leave in on one of their legal teams.  I will try to be more regular with my updates of life in Oz this year. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and your new year is off to a good start.