Today I took MBD and her friend Niamh (pronounced “Neeve”) on the Manly Ferry for an adventure around Sydney Harbour. What a sparkling, wonderful spring day in Oz!

This is MBD and her friend Bella at the Peddlers’ Parade yesterday. With all those freckles she reminds us of MBD’s dear friend Malone that we left behind in Knoxville, Tennessee. Funny how life sometimes takes turns like these!

MBD and friends were baking cookies last weekend to prepare for this event held at school. Kind of like a fun bake sale / flea market to raise money so the 6th grade class can purchase a gift for their school. Four girls, all sleeping over on a Saturday night! Wild times in the Smith household!

LBT stands for “Little Blonde Traveller” as she describes herself on her blog. This young lady was one of MBD’s swim coaches when we were back in Whittington Creek. She is on a global trek to discover the world, and the Smiths invited her to hang out with us for as long as she likes to explore New South Wales and the Sydney area. She already has spent quite a bit of time in Oz, but not in the Sydney area. To MBD, it feels like she’s got a big sister. “Can I keep her, Mom? Pleeeze?” she texted us last week. Welcome LBT! We’ve got the extra space, so feel free to hang with us!

For the past week, MBW and MWH have been up in Thailand, doing a mind-and-body detox and cleansing. We ate nothing but green smoothies (greens and fruit in a blender) and fruit. Took MWH 3 days to shake his caffeine headaches from withdrawal. We also focused on perceptions and thoughts that we’ve held onto over the years and allowed them to dictate our attitudes and responses. So both the physical and mental dimensions were addressed. The retreat sponsored a one-day getaway to allow us to see something of Thailand. Saw monasteries, a giant Buddha statue, and of course a few fruit markets because that was how we were getting nutrition during the week. The fruit was fantastic, but some things were definitely not found in the USA! Open your mind, eat the fruit….

I even made a friend with a true native Thai!

As part of a school project, MBD (alias Sandy Sho-Sha Piggins”) interviewed classmates in a staged debate about plans to build a new underground parking garage in Manly. Maybe a future in Television?

This explains why my paperwork has cat hair in it!

Thought I was kidding about the aggressive Magpie post earlier? Well, one afternoon while staring into my iPhone I felt a soft fluffy something brush my hair. Realised I had been “swooped” as MBD called it. A day or so later, the school closed the entrance completely and put up barriers outside MBD’s classroom to keep folks away from the nesting area.

So then it was time for a face-to-face, man-to-bird confrontation! In the courtyard, waiting to pick up MBD, this vicious fowl approached me with murder on its mind. Slowly it advanced, but I held my ground. The music to “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” rang in my ears. Ahhh-EE-Ahh-EE-Ahh! Mwah MWAH Mwah….

But it didn’t end quite like I thought it would!

Year 6 performed to The Muppet Show theme song at a recent all-grades extravaganza held last week at Manly West. All grades performed–even the kindergartners, or “Kindies”! That’s Victoria, MBD’s archery buddy on the right side–she’s been in previous posts to date!

Spring in Australia is magpie season, when a small minority of breeding magpies (almost always males) around the country become aggressive and swoop and attack those who approach their nests, especially bike riders. Well, in true Hitchcock fashion from “The Birds,” today a magpie dive-bombed a Manly West teacher that was in the yard outside. Nailed her right in the forehead and sent her home for the rest of the day. Those ‘pies are serious about wanting you to stay away from their nest! Everyone is required to stay out of the garden area where the nest(s) are, and animal control has been contacted to see if anything can be done about this. They can get up to 17 inches long so you can imagine they pack a punch if they dive bomb you.

MBD and I left by an alternate exit today from school!