Cooling Off

Perth tried its best to kill us all with its heat over the past week. We had 3 days in a row at 108F, which needless to say was miserable. The house was so hot we'd sit as still as possible on the couch under several fans and get up only when necessary. Nights were the same way. In the morning (when it would get down to the 80's outside) I opened every window possible to let cooler air in the house and didn't worry much about the windows without screens because we don't see a lot of bugs here. Forgot about other creatures that may fly into the house!

This pretty little yellow and brown bird was fluttering around in one of my artificial plants in the living room and knocked himself silly trying to find a way back out of the house. We set him outside out of arms' reach of four curious hands and let him recover.

This was our saving grace for the last few days: a portable air conditioner! It brought the temperature in the living room and kitchen down to about 81 so the sweating was at a minimum.

And it was a nice place to cool off. Alex figured it out really fast. His language is improving daily and he learned "cold" from standing in front of the "big loud fan", as Ben affectionately named it.

Thankfully, the winds finally shifted yesterday and we're back in the regular pattern of an ocean breeze every afternoon and comfortable temperatures. I can see how you could live most of the year without a/c when the winds are favorable because the house stays really nice when the breeze comes through. Only now our dishwasher is broken, too. When it rains it pours! Luckily we do have terrific landlords who live right around the corner and try to get things fixed as promptly as they're able.

It's been nice enjoying being at home again! Like watching Ben having fun on the potty because he found a good way to bring an audience. I told him no toys on the floor since it has a tendency to get showered on occasion so he invented a great solution using the door handle.

The boys have been able to go outside and paint again because with the two of them playing off one another it's way past an indoor activity. A few minutes later they were head to toe in colored paint and we now have some pretty purple handprints all along the wall.

Today we walked down the beach to the playground and enjoyed a gorgeous morning. Ben decided he wanted to wear silly shoes and put on one of each color.

It's pretty great to enjoy a nice playground with the brilliant blue ocean right behind it.

Back at home Ben noticed the water spigot on the side of the house and naturally both of them were drenched in seconds.

That's right, Alex, get your hair nice and clean!

Sweet soggy boy!

Next Tuesday is Australia Day so Matt is taking off Monday and we're taking another road trip this weekend. Just found out it's more of an 8-9 hour drive than the 6 hours we were told, so it should be an interesting trip. Stay tuned for pictures from what will hopefully be an amazing beach in Esperance.