Surfs Up!

Since the internet was down and we still only have basic cable (that is like...so 1980's) our usual babysitting tools weren't available to us.  So, we put the kids into surfing lessons.  The lessons ran from Monday-Thursday.  The kids had a lot of fun and caught on quite quickly.  So surf boards are now on the wish list.  Here's some of the action photos:

Here's a shot of Nadia and Keva braving the 'spa' in our backyard.  We're not sure if it's filtered and if so what kind of filtration it uses.  We haven't turned the heat on the spa for obvious reasons so this is currently being used as a mini-pool.  However, with the ocean so close we're doing all of our swimming there.

About a  two minute drive from our house is the Aquarium of Western Australia.  We took 1/2 a day to visit.  It's pretty good but it's not Sea World.  They have lots of fish, particularly from this part of the country, and a couple baby Salt Water Crocs.  They also have a display called the "ship wreck cove" or something similar, wherein you stand on a moving carpet and it takes you through a circular tube surrounded by water.  Inside the display there are lots of different fish, sting rays, turtles and a couple different species of sharks.  For a fee you can go snorkelling or scuba diving inside the display.

 Cyrus & Zaren looking chill in the tube.

A scuba diver in the display with a shark in the background.   This arrangement has a couple of advantages for the aquarium: 1) They get a little extra incom from these activities; and 2) it keeps the sharks well fed at no additional cost. 

Nadia and Cyrus watching a shark swim by.  Keva hamming it up for the camera in the foreground.

Also, we finally got the kids fully registered in their new school and they picked all of their classes.  It's a very different system here.  For example, in year 11 & 12 there is only one mandatory course: English.  The rest, including math and sciences, are optional.  There are also a bunch of different streams the kids can choose from including University, TAFE (techinical school), apprenticeship (no, YOU'RE fired!) and others.  They basically have to choose what they want to do after secondary school when they go into year 11.  It has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Lastly, Zaren and Cyrus had a job interview at a coffee and bagel shop.  The interview consisted of them working for 2 hours for free.  We're supposed to hear back from them today to see if they're hired but it sounded positive.