My Girl Comes Tomorrow, I am About to Pop, and Update from Mitch

Mary Beth and Kevin in Route and Update from Mitch!

Hello Elementary Friends,


Well - I must say that I am preoccupied this week.  Mary Beth and Kevin are arriving tomorrow, and I am so excited!  We have some fun things planned that I will tell you about next week and the next!

With Mother's Day coming up, I thought I would tell you that here in Australia, children call their mother "MUM."  It is so cute to see the children's writing when they speak of their mums.  This week we made purses for our mums.  The children did not know what a purse is because here they call it the handbag.  Inside the purse is a story all about mum.  Here is a photo of my children with their "Mum's Day Purses/Handbags." 




I am sorry that I will not be with my own mother this year on Mother's Day.  Last year we were all together in Denver, and it was so nice.  My mother, Beverly Dague Babcock West has a birthday on May 9th, so we always celebrate her birthday and Mother's Day around the same time.  Here are the two cards that I put in the Australia Post last week - she is my "MUM" this year!



Happy Mother's Day to all you Mums!

 And - to assist me with the blog this week, here is an update from Mitch:

Critters Two


For All of my Interested Friends, 
For my Closest Friends, 
Dear Family, 
Mom, 

It’s been a while since I posted about the lethal nature of Australian wildlife so I thought I should provide an update.

1. We are both still alive and I’m happy to report that neither of us has even had a chance encounter with dangerous animals. This doesn’t rule out the possibility.

2. I’m happy to inform you that the Australian drop bear doesn’t exist. It’s not even a myth - just a hoax. Actually, I’m not sure it is even a hoax but more of a ploy to divert one’s attention to the trees to allow the snakes, spiders and crocodiles a better opportunity to get at you. Not that they need it. I pretty much keep my eyes on the ground.

3. There have been 37 deaths from Brown Snake bites in the Sydney area over the past several years. I include links to newspapers to show that I’m not making this stuff up. For the record, I didn’t make up the drop bear up either. I was duped…or hoaxed.

4. A young child died the other day from a Brown Snake bite. She didn’t know she had been bitten. I sense an epidemic.


5. A woman in a Sydney suburb found a python coiled up near her toilet. Her toilet is on the second floor of her home. It climbed the outside wall of her house to enter through a window. The zookeepers from the Taronga Zoo (Sydney’s lovely zoo) said people shouldn’t be alarmed because they aren’t venomous. It was 2.5 meters long. I’m concerned and going to the bathroom has taken on a whole new dimension. Especially at night.


6. A man died in April from a Red Back Spider bite. It was the first spider bite death in 37 years. He was bitten on the penis. I reserve further comment.



7. You get the picture.

8. We just went to New Zealand for a couple of weeks. New Zealand doesn’t have snakes. In fact, New Zealand didn’t even have mammals until the arrival of the Maori (other than bats and seals - they could fly there or swim there). I was feeling pretty safe.

9. Then I met these guys.





10. The Maori weren’t the most dangerous things in New Zealand however, unless they were also driving vehicles. As anyone who has ridden with me knows, I’m sort of a “creative” driver. That can be magnified several times over as I drive on the left side of the road in a car that has a steering wheel on the right side of the car. That having been said, New Zealanders are the worst drivers I’ve ever encountered. Hands down no questions asked.

11. Yesterday I went shopping for groceries. The supermarket has a wonderful fresh seafood section. This was for sale. That is my hand and a crab. I have new reason to stay out of the water.



12. Mary Beth and Kevin arrive here tomorrow for a visit. I’m really excited to see them and we’ll have a lot of fun. Kevin wants to try surfing, however, which opens him up to a whole plethora of potential dangers. He’ll just have to stay between the flags and wear a wet suit. The shark patrol will fly over to keep a lookout for the larger dangers. He’s on his own otherwise. I’ll keep you posted.

OK - Thank you Mitch, for that lovely update!

Finally - this is for my Mortensen Elementary School Office Staff - Susan, Gayle, Linda, and Jamie:

Just to prove to you that I am wearing my Monday Mortensen Office Uniform, I had Mitch take my photo last Monday.  I do this each week to honor you!


Now - I am going to bed, and when I get up my girl will be about two hours from me!  I am one happy MUM!

Take care, dear friends!



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