Counting the Days

Right now I'm in full count down mode.  27 days until we leave for Cairns!!!!  As sad as it sounds, I haven't even really started to think about Baby's arrival, or start getting super excited about that yet.  (I mean, I'm excited, but not thinking about that primarily).

Because we have to leave the country to find a decent hospital for having Baby, we go to Cairns, Australia.  Since this will be our fourth baby born there, it really feels like a home away from home, away from home. =)

We love going to Cairns!  Yeah, the days can get a bit long, and it's really expensive for us to stay there (especially with the pathetic US dollar right now), and it will be a bit squishy (all 4 kids will share a bedroom, and we're going to have to get really creative in trying to figure out a workable way to homeschool with little kids playing in the same room).  But I can't wait to go! 

Some of our most favorite things about being in Cairns are:

*Muddy's (an awesome playground that also has a water-fountain section for the kids to play in)

Kaitlyn in 2006 playing at Muddy's

*The Lagoon (a public swimming pool that is also like a man-made beach that is a ton of fun)

2009 at the Lagoon

*going swimming

*McDonald's, Dominos and other restaurants

McDonalds!

*Large, well-stocked grocery stores

*A big bathtub to wash the kids in (seriously, on furlough and in Cairns a "normal" bathtub is considered to be a swimming pool by our kids, who are used to the tiny base of our shower as a tub)

*Everything being cleaner (I won't have to scrub black feet every time the kids come in from outside, and their natural skin color may finally start to show again!)

*paved roads and sidewalks

*Blending in!!!  (It's amazing how much of a sense of relief it is to just fit in -- well, until we open our mouths-- it's nice not to be the very tallest (even taller than the men) and just constantly stick out like a sore thumb)

*Shopping!  Walmart, Target, etc, here I come! =)

*Date night with my favorite guy  (here in Ukarumpa, there is nowhere to go for a date)

*Rusty's (an awesome farmer's market for fresh fruit and veggies-- as much as I love tropical fruit, I miss some good stuff like grapes, apples, oranges, etc!)

*Real Ice Cream!!!  (not the PNG variety which is more Ice than Cream)

*And last, but definitely not the least:  Family and friends who will be visiting during our time in Cairns!!!!!