Australia Firsts....

So many people kept asking us, "So what are you going to do first when you get to Australia?" We would usually say something like, "Get haircuts!" or "Celebrate Ben's birthday". But, those plans changed a bit when Caleb got a stomach bug.

So, let me back up. After our flight from Port Moresby to Cairns (pronounced "Cans"), Australia we headed to Tree Tops Lodge. Our room was open and ready for us. We were SO tired and it was already about 10pm at night. Caleb was sick so as soon as he brought the bags in, he went to bed. Ben and I stayed up until about 11pm. He was wide awake because of his nap in the afternoon.

We woke up on Friday and decided that the first order or business was to go shopping for food and a few "necessities". Thankfully, we have friends (from Ukarumpa) who were already staying at Tree Tops. They had already bought some eggs, cheese and orange juice for us. We enjoyed a nice breakfast (Thanks Matt, Christy and fam for picking up these items for us) and then headed to Cairns Central Mall.

And what was at Cairns Central mall, you might ask.......brace yourself.......a TARGET! :) I could have stayed there ALL day. I knew I had missed Target, but I had not realized just how MUCH I had missed it. Ben's toes were literally falling out of his shoes, so we bought a pair of knock off crocs for him. We also bought a swim shirt since all the Aussie kids wear them here....and because you burn easily here....much more than if you were in the States. He picked out a batman swim shirt. Oh, and we bought him a new sun hat because the one he currently owns he wore as a baby. :) When we checked out, the lady asked, "Is someone going swimming?" How could you tell??

We then walked around the mall and enjoyed people-watching. Ben got a Happy Meal from McDonald's and Caleb and I found wraps...hoping they would ease his stomach.

After lunch, Ben got a haircut. Now, you have to understand that when we cut his hair in PNG, we have two options- Aussie clippers that are quiet but only have 3 levels/guards or US clippers that have 8 guards but needs a transformer. Now, using the transformer with these clippers makes the clippers work overtime which means they are LOUD. We aren't just talking "oh-that's-annoying-loud". We are talking "you-go-a-little-deaf-for-a-while-after-using-them" kind of loud! Ben desperately needed a haircut, but I was a little worried about whether or not he could handle the experience. What would my child do? Would he cry and beg us not to let the lady cut his hair? Would he let her get started but completely freak out once she was halfway through? I had no idea. I even suggested to Caleb that he wait outside in case Ben embarrassed him. How would the child act??

Well, to my surprise, he was fine! He hopped right up on the chair, reclined a bit and watched The Wiggles on a little DVD player. :) It turns out that we told the lady to cut his hair too short. Oh well, at least he won't need another haircut for a looooong time. He is a little bummed that he can't make "spiky hair", but he seems to be over it by now.

I was pretty proud of my little boy.....and thought we were all transitioning well...until the next store.....

When we got to the food store, Ben went nuts. I have to cough it up to culture shock/transition. Ben walked into the store and soon began touching everything in sight.....and I mean everything. There were even times I would turn around to find him literally rolling on the floor. Oh....and he ran into every person around. It was like he wasn't aware of his body/speed at all. I wanted to say, "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" It was the oddest thing to watch. Let's just say that I have a deeper appreciation for my friends who have already been home and had a furlough. It was like my child had just been released from the insane asylum. He was nuts.

We made our way back to the lodge. That afternoon, Ben got to go swimming for the first time in a long time. Caleb found some American Football on TV and stayed back to watch it a bit. He joined us at the pool just in time to run into friends from the States!

It turns out that family friends are here in Australia at the very same time as us. Finding out that Sherm and Bernie were here just made the week-end. Talk about a small world experience. We had no idea that we would get the chance to see them. Once we knew they were here (and only for the rest of the week-end), we began making plans with them......the next post will have all about what we did this past week-end....