The Holiday continued . . .

On our third day in Cairns we rode a large boat, The Big Cat, out to Green Island to spend the day snorkeling off the coast and out on the Great Barrier Reef. The boat ride started out with Evan being a celebrity (again!) All the Asians on board (and there were many) wanted a picture with Evan (see Evan's blog to see the paparazzi that seem to follow him everywhere we go.) When we got to Green Island we had to get into our stinger suits and Bryan, Patricia, John, and Evan went snorkeling right off the shore of the island and along the jetty. They reported that there was some great coral and you had to make sure when you stood up you didn't stand on any of it.

Lunch was spent on the boat eating a provided buffet meal. Right after lunch Bryan and I headed back to the mainland to meet our group and boat to ride out to the Great Barrier Reef for an extended snorkeling adventure. It was phenomenal!! Words and pictures can't even describe the ocean life and wonder we saw. We had alot of fun with an underwater digital camera we rented. Now, don't be surprised to see that alot of the coral is gray and looks washed out . . . it really isn't like you see in pictures. When coral is gray it is living so most of what we saw is living coral. Many professional photographers can get the color of the coral to appear when they are taking pictures by using the correct underwater lighting along with the sun hitting the water at correct angles . . . we definitely are not professionals!! But, regardless, the views were spectacular and amazing! Bryan and I are hoping to do this again before leaving Australia.

While Bryan and I snorkeled on the Reef John and Patricia took the boys in the semi-submersible boat (submarine) to view the Reef - and not get wet or have to jump into the ocean. You get to see the Reef from another viewpoint via the submarine which also provides amazing and unforgettable sights. (I later went on the submarine with Kaden while the rest of the gang went snorkeling off the shoreline again, so I was able to see the Reef from multiple angles.)

The day ended with Bryan, Evan, John, and Patricia missing the boat back to the mainland and having to catch a separate ride back. This left Kaden and I on the boat alone with a TON of stuff that we had hauled with us for the day. Although we road alone for the hour and a half trip back it wasn't as bad as it sounds because the rest of the gang rode a faster boat and actually beat us back to the mainland so Bryan was able to help get me and all of our stuff off the boat. Not really sure how I would have managed everything AND a baby on my own though!! You can see a picture in our slide show of The Big Cat heading back to the mainland as "the gang" passes us (and waves to Kaden and I) from their faster alternative boat.

On our final full day in Cairns we rented a minivan and drove up to the Atherton Tablelands. This area is located in the tropical mountains above Cairns so it was much cooler than previous days and we enjoyed the warm weather without the humidity. We visited the well-known Cathedral and Curtain Fig Trees, drove the waterfall circuit, and stopped to view several of the crops that are grown in this area.

Our flight back to Brisbane didn't leave until early evening so we spent the day down on the Esplanade in Cairns on the ocean front. They have some street side markets to shop at along with a very large swimming lagoon. There was also a GREAT park for Evan to play in that had a water play area, which was perfect for another hot and humid day!

Australian Education:
The Curtain Fig Tree was another amazing sight. We would just stare at the tree and wonder how it had transformed in the large "curtain" that we saw. Luckily at the end of the trek around the tree there was some posted educational information that taught us more about how the Curtain Fig Tree evolved.



The Cathedral Fig Tree had some additional interesting facts about it that we thought we could share.

- This fig started out as a seed that was only a couple of millimeters in size - equivalent to the size of a sesame seed.
- The Cathedral Fig Tree has a girth of 44 meters. This means if 24 people linked hands around the tree, they wouldn't quite meet together.
- The tree is estimated to be about 48 meters tall - equivalent to a building 5 storeys tall.
- The crown of the tree extends over 2000 square meters, which is the same area as two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
- It is estimated that the tree hold leaves that are 1000kg in weight (2205 lbs.), equivalent to the weight of a small car.

Our first Aussie "Holiday" . . .

and by "holiday" we aren't talking about Christmas - we went on our first major vacation (or "holiday" as the Australian's would say.) The first week Bryan's parents were here we all boarded a plane (with a TON of luggage - mainly for the boys) and headed to Cains (pronounced "Canz") in nothern Queensland. This area is referred to as the Great Tropical North. It was dreadfully hot and humid while we were there but we enjoyed or time and the adventures we had. This post will cover the first two days of our five day trip. Also, I just had to add the snowflakes to our pictures. It has been difficult getting into the Christmas spirit when trying to celebrate Christmas in the SUMMER here (not WINTER) and when it's 90+ degrees outside!!

On the first day of the trip we rented a minivan and drove up the coast (literally right next to the Coral Sea) to see the Port Douglas area, including Mossman Gorge and the Daintree Rainforest. We ate lunch at the Daintree Inn. Many good restaurants in AUS have "Inn" or "Hotel" in their name but aren't actually a lodging facility at all.

It was very hot and humid on this day so everyone put on their swimming suits before heading down the rainforest path to Mossman Gorge. Mossman Gorge is a valley located in the rainforest with crystal clear water cascades amongst large granite boulders which have been washed down from the hills during times of heavy flood. Everyone was quickly refreshed after taking a dip in the waters of the Mossman Gorge. On our return home we stopped in the Port Douglas and Palm Cove areas so that John and Patricia could get their first ever "hands-on" view and feel of an ocean from the shoreline. It is currently stinger season in Cairns so you are only allowed to swim in ocean areas blocked with stinger nets or if you wear a stinger suit. Bryan and Evan ventured out into the ocean (within the appropriate area) while the rest of us observed from the shore.

On the second (hot and humid) day of our trip we rode the Kuranda Scenic Railway Train through the rainforest up to the small mountain village of Kuranda. We spent several hours in Kuranda and also visited the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. This sanctuary is one of the largest butterfly farms in the world in terms of enclosed flight space. There were beautiful butterflies everywhere! If you stood very still they would even land on you for a short time. To get back down the mountain we road the SkyRail Rainforest Cableway and the views were phenomenal! The Skyrail cableway consists of 114 gondolas that carry you along a 4.7 mile route above the Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforest. (We learned that all of the towers used to hold the cableway were lifted into place by helicopters to avoid disturbance of the rainforest.) We were then all exhausted from our day long adventure and spent the evening at the resort pool relaxing.

Stay tuned for more pictures and information about the rest of our trip to the tropical north, including pictures of The Great Barrier Reef!

Australian Education: DID YOU KNOW?

The Koala is not really a bear (even though most of us call it a "koala bear"), but is related to the wombat family.
- When fully grown the koala is 60cm long.
- The koala lives in gum(eucalyptus) trees, dozing by day and foraging for the oily leaves by night. It rarely drinks.
- Koalas breed every other year. The offspring is born in an immature state and is harbored and suckled in the mother pouch.
- After the baby is six months old it learns to leave the pouch and is carried on the mothers back until about a year old.

We have visitors!!!

I started this post last week but never got it up so it may be a little dated . . . sorry! We have so many pictures and new things to share since we braved and completed our first "holiday (vacation)" with the boys (along with TONS of help from the grandparents) so there will be lots more pictures to come as I find the time to update.

Bryan's parents arrived last Friday (Nov. 30th) to visit for a couple of weeks and we had a busy weekend around the city from the moment they stepped off the plane on Friday morning. We rode the Oxley train into the city on Friday night to view the first lighting of the Brisbane Christmas tree. The tree is located at the top of the hill at Queen Street Mall so we browsed the shops and watched an Aerial Angels show (see picture) before we watched the official lighting of the tree.

On Saturday we rode the City Cat (the water taxi in Brisbane that takes you to various city points along the Brisbane River.) We got off at Southbank and walked through the Saturday markets and watched the swimmers in the man-made beach and pool along the river. We then continued to ride the City Cat along the northern route and saw the Story Bridge (one of the only bridges in the world that you can walk across . . . not on level ground but harnessed and walking the peaks.) We stopped at New Farm park and strolled through the grounds and let Evan play in the awesome park that they have there.

On Sunday the grandparents, Bryan, and Evan went to the Botanical Gardens and Mount Coot-tha to see the flowers and plants and the magnificent view of the city.

Australian Education:
Australia just elected a new Prime Minister a few weeks ago. We found the entire political election process very interesting here. Here are some of the fine points:

1. They do not have elections every 4 years like they do in the US. The Prime Minister in office has a 4 year window and can call an election at any point that he/she wishes during his term. Once the election is held the 4 year window starts over again. So if his ratings are high at the current time he might choose to have an election so that he can extend his time in office from that point on.

2. Once he calls the election he also states when the election or voting will occur. In the most recent case it occurred exactly 6 weeks after he called the election. So we only had to endure 6 weeks of political campaigning (versus the 2+ years you endure in the US!)

3. Everyone in the country is REQUIRED to vote. If they do not show up to vote on the required date they are fined $50 or more.

4. Instead of just voting by checking the box of the individual that they wish to vote for they have to number the individuals running in order of their preference with #1 being the person they want to get the office the most. If there are 50 people running they have to number each one from 1 to 50. If they don't choose to vote this way they can just choose the party (LABOR or LIBERAL) that they wish to vote for and that is where their votes are placed.

It was interesting that John Howard, the Prime Minister that was in office when we arrived in AUS and had been the PM for over 11 years, had announced at some point that he would be retiring in the near future but he went ahead and ran for office during this election. So everyone basically knew that if they voted for him he might choose to retire within days of the election. BUT, he didn't get re-elected and Kevin Rudd is now Australia's new Prime Minister.

Preparing for Christmas

Since there is no Thanksgiving in AUS (of course) we are already busy preparing for Christmas. I have to admit it seems a little odd to be celebrating Christmas in the summer but Evan is excited for Santa and Christmas trees so we are doing our best! Anyways, we wish you a "Happy Thanksgiving" 2007 - I'm sure there will be enough food consumed to make up for our absence! This picture shows the closest we will get to Thanksgiving while in AUS . . . we have many wild turkeys that roam in our neighborhood park, as well as in most zoo and wildlife areas.


On Friday Angie, Paige, and Christian Leibfried and Evan, Kaden, and I traveled to downtown Brisbane via the Oxley train (above ground subway) to see the annual city kickoff Christmas parade. It was located at the Queen Street Pier shopping center. I think the parade lasted about 10 minutes total but was quite the sight. Children were in different groups singing Christmas carols and each group was dressed in bright and unique costumes. Santa Claus brought up the rear, riding in his black Mercedes. The parade lead up to the Myer shopping center in the Queen Street Mall where there was an interactive Christmas window revealed. We didn't get to see it because of the time and the number of people but we will get back downtown before the holiday is over to take a peek (and get a picture.) Angie and I enjoyed the challenge of navigating to the city via the train (something we hadn't done before) and trying to manage 4 kids in the rush hour city traffic.

Family Hiking

We took a trip this weekend north of the Sunshine Coast for our first family outdoor adventure. We drove near the Glass House Mountains and Evan and Dad enjoyed the Mary Cairncross Rainforest Reserve. They easily discovered why you should wear socks and shoes when walking through a rainforest . . . leeches!! Bryan also received an education on how to properly remove a leech (at least it was only on his shoe!) We then headed toward Montville, a quaint little town that had nice shops and small cafes, where we had lunch. The afternoon was spent hiking at the Kondalilla National Park, through a rainforest, to go see the waterfalls. There was a rock pool at the bottom of some of the falls that many people were swimming in (you can see them on the rocks in the background of our pictures.) Mom and Dad soon discovered how much added weight both boys are when having to carry them when hiking . . . Evan on Dad's shoulders and Kaden in the Bjorn with Mom. Needless to say we were all exhausted by the time we got home!

Australian Education: Do you see anything interesting about this picture?

Yes, SPOILT is a word in Australia . . . very difficult for an American Speech Pathologist to digest!

Adjustment Period

For those of you diligent readers we are sorry for the long break but we have been going through a period of adjustment for the past month trying to get used to being a family of four (and mom just hasn't found a moment to update the blog!) Being away from family and friends and the support that is usually available with the birth of a new baby has been difficult for us but we are happy to have survived the first month! Kaden is growing like a weed and Evan is enjoying being a big brother. Dad is working alot and Mom is trying to figure out how to juggle two at home during the day (grocery shopping with two hasn't been attempted yet!)

We haven't had any major outings over the past month and have just stayed close to home so we don't have alot of pictures to share . . . except pictures of the boys. Now that we have hit the one month mark though we have more trips planned over the next couple of months (summer here) and will be sharing those each week.

Australian Education:
Even though we are in a country that speaks English we still find it hard to decipher their language and communicate at times. Australians are known for abbreviating words, here are a few that we have encountered . . . and Evan has even started using:
- Breakfast: brekky
- Biscuit (cookie/cracker): bikky
- Thanks: ta
- Registration (as in car license plate or car registration): rego
- McDonald's: Macca's (Evan thinks this one is really funny)

Brotherly Love

Evan came to the hospital today to meet his new baby brother. He seemed amazed (just as we all are) with how tiny Kaden's toes, nose, and feet are. He likes to touch his hair and say "soft, soft, soft" over and over again. We have also been reading a book about being gentle so he tries really hard to be gentle with Kaden.

Kaden Patrick Perry arrives...

Kaden arrived at 6:32 p.m. EST in Brisbane (3:32 a.m. CST in the US) on October 15th, 2007.
8 lb 1 oz, 21 in. long, 14 in. head circumference (Perry gene)
Kaden Patrick is named after his two grandmothers and joins Evan Thomas who's named after his two grandfathers.

And the waiting continues . . .

as Baby Perry #2 has decided to be somewhat more stubborn than Evan was and still hasn't decided to make his appearance into the world. Our "official" due date is October 12th (this Friday) so we will visit the doctor on Thursday afternoon and decide where to go from here.

So, seeing that we can't venture too far from home we haven't done much over the past few weekends (check out Evan's website and you'll see more of what Evan and I spent the past two weeks doing.)

So the pictures this week will relate to some Australian Education:

1) This picture is of a "travelator" found in most malls around the area. This is like an escalator but without the stairs. You can sometimes find both travelators and escalators in the same mall as well. When leaving the mall and needing to go down the travelator to the car park with your TROLLEY (shopping cart) there are notches in the travelator that catch the wheels of the trolley so that it doesn't roll down the travelator at high speed. . . without you. The notches keep the trolley in place until you have reached the bottom.


2) Many of you have heard me complain about how expensive things are here. Here is an example of how expensive Coke is . . . $2.85 for a 2 Liter of Coke and $21.98 for a 30-pack of canned Coke. Outrageous!



3) The final picture may just look like another meat section in the grocery store but here in AUS you will find a cold area in the meat section devoted just to dog and cat food. Sometimes it has it's own case (like shown here) . . . sometimes it doesn't. But all of the food you see pictured here is specifically labeled for dogs or cats.

Walking, walking, and more walking

that is basically what we spent our weekend doing . . . can you imagine why?? No baby yet so we spent time close to home doing things that required alot of walking. On Saturday we went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Zoo) with Evan so we could go feed the kangaroos. Now that we have a family pass for the year we get free kangaroo food and can feed them as much as we want. Well, Evan all of sudden has a "no fear" attitude and will just walk up to the kangaroos and shove a hand full of food straight at them . . . it's quite the site.




On Sunday we went to the Brisbane Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot-tha near our house. Evan actually enjoyed walking amongst the flowers, plants, and trees. He even fed the ducks at the lagoon. We spent a couple hours just walking and taking pictures so it was a nice leisurely afternoon. Unfortunately the walking hasn't induced the baby to come so I'm sure there will be more walking in our future for the next few weeks.


Also, here are some pictures of Bryan's recent trip to New Zealand. Alot of beautiful scenery that he wants to go back and explore further . . .

Australian Education: This may not be considered "education" for you but it is definitely something I need to learn to deal with while living here. Australia is known for lizards of all kinds . . . and these lizards are NOT contained. We have Eastern Australia water dragons that are near the lake in the park by our house, as well as running around the zoo and gardens where water can be found. Large, kinda scary looking, but very interesting creatures. We have also discovered small, opaque gecko's . . . on our front and back porch, in the garage, etc. I have asked around and these creatures actually get in your house and climb on the floors and walls. We currently have towels shoved under the door leading from our garage to the house because I have found that I dislike the idea of these creatures coming in our house about as much as I dislike mice in the US. I have included recent pictures of a few that we have found in/around our house.

We are desperate . . .

we spent our Sunday watching the USC/Nebraska game . . . live . . . using our Slingbox connected to a friend's TV in the US. Now, you may not think that sounds desperate, you're probably thinking that it's pretty cool that we can actually watch US TV in Australia. Well, I classify it as desperate because the picture quality was very grainy and fuzzy and you could barely make out the blobs running across the screen. But hey, it's Nebraska football!! As Bryan said, "it's like radio with color." So, Evan and dad were dressed in their Husker garb, and Evan was cheering "Go Big Red" and "touchdown" (even when not appropriate) throughout the game.



Bryan spent half of the previous week in New Zealand finishing his dealer training. He forgot to take the camera but a co-worker of his took several pictures so hopefully we have some to share with you next week. Bryan has already decided that we need to make a family trip back to New Zealand soon.

Australian Education: As I have explained to many of you, the Australian medical system is VERY DIFFERENT than the US. In Australia there is free medical care/insurance through Medicare so all Australian citizens have public insurance. On top of public insurance some choose to also pay for private insurance. Although I have "private" insurance, it is US based and therefore doesn't qualify for the same benefits as Australian private insurance. Which is unfortunate for me because when having a baby in Australia with some private insurance companies you get: 4-6 nights in the hospital following the delivery, a nurse that comes to your house weekly for several weeks following the delivery to check on things, and either a bulk supply of NAPPIES (diapers) or a cleaning lady for 2-4 hours. Several mothers in our playgroup told me this and were amazed when I told them I could only stay in the hospital 48 hours following the birth of the baby and that in the US you usually only get a phone call following the delivery to check on things.

5 Cities in 5 Days

Although Bryan didn't get to do much sight-seeing on his whirlwind trip covering the entire continent of Australia he was able to get a few interesting pictures. I'll let him tell you about his trip and what he saw:

These pictures all come from a 3 hour commute to go 209 km (120 miles) west of Sydney to our training site in Bathurst. It turns out Bathurst is a famous place in itself...it's home to the "super bowl" of V-8 racing (AUS version of NASCAR). Mount Panorama is more like a road race than the usual oval racing we know of Nascar as it's about 3.7 miles in length. The bigger difference is that it climbs pretty steep and has sharp corners to get to the top of the "peak" before again descending to the flats. Regular pedestrian vehicles are also allowed to drive on the track, as you can see we did during this excursion.







About halfway back to Sydney we stopped at Echo Point in the town of Katoomba. It's an awesome view of a very abrupt canyon wall. Unfortunately clouds impaired our view that afternoon, but you'll notice the picture I snapped of the "Aboriginal" man playing an instrument. It was interesting to watch as he was using circular breathing to continue a solid note between percussive strikes with a wooden stick. I say Aboriginal in quote's because the folks I travelled with say he must have been modernized as most Aboriginal's have similar beliefs of the American Indian that if a picture is taken of them, it will rob them of their soul.


We spent the weekend at the park with Evan on Saturday and visiting the Queen Street Markets and Mall in downtown Brisbane on Sunday. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed walking around (and shopping!) Here are a few pictures from our weekend.




Australian Education: In downtown Brisbane I quickly snapped this picture of individuals freely jaywalking in the middle of a busy street. On many of the downtown streets all four pedestrian traffic signals will turn green at the same time, stopping all vehicular traffic coming in every direction. The intersection then becomes a free-for-all and people walk to whichever corner or street they need to get to. It is actually a more efficient way to get people from one spot to another so they don't have to cross from light to light and wait in between.

FINALLY . . .

the Perry's have internet access!! We have been using dial-up and wireless through John Deere but now have our own home wireless internet! There is some good news and bad news with this . . . we were hoping for highspeed internet so that we could hook-up our Vonage phone and watch US TV through our Slingbox. Since we couldn't get highspeed we had to go with wireless which only will allow us to have our Vonage phone but not our Slingbox. So, no Nebraska football games. We have obtained a VCR though that will play US tapes so family and friends will be taping the games and other shows for us and mailing them to us through the Australian pouch. Overall, I guess we're just happy that we have SOMETHING . . . FINALLY . . . after 10 weeks of waiting and living here.

So, for those of you that want to contact us CHEAP . . . just call our Moline phone number and it will ring us in Australia . . . and there are no international fees! Just remember we are 15 hours ahead of the Central Standard Time zone . . .

Bryan leaves today for a quick whirlwind trip around Australia. He will be going to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney (he'll be in Sydney when George Bush is there visiting) all within 5 days. This trip is like traveling from New York, then going on to Los Angeles, Dallas, Orlando, Washington D.C. and then back to New York. Then next week he will travel over to New Zealand. He is completing training with John Deere dealers for Phase One of the project he was brought here to help develop.

Not much sight-seeing for us this week. Here are a few pictures of Evan and dad getting ready to go on a bike ride (note that Evan is wearing a helmet without crying) and of Evan remembering what it's like to be in a crib again, as we are preparing for the arrival of the new baby - 6 weeks to go!







Australian Education: It is common in Australian homes not to have ventilation for your clothes dryers so most people keep them in the garage (which is a PAIN!) There also usually isn't room to put both a washer and dryer in the laundry room unless you hang one on the wall. Here is a picture of our wonderful dryer . . . in the garage . . . between the cars . . . not easy access and quite a distance from the laundry room. We also have a clothes line in the backyard to use instead of the dryer.


** Also, Spring has sprung in Australia! September 1 was the first day of spring here. The weather has been warm this week and we have been wearing shorts and sandals. It is supposed to rain more this week and get cooler again so we'll be back to pants and maybe long sleeved shirts for awhile. The Aussies will have their winter boots and scarves out for the cooler days!