Advance Australia Fair

oh, the calm before the storm! six luxurious weeks in a warm, furnished apartment with nothing to do but enjoy Adelaide and our beloved friends.... well, in theory. actually, just as i wrote that last sentence, payton sat down beside me, glanced at the blog pics and said: "man! i never want to do THAT again! all those weeks in limbo between our permanent adelaide and albuquerque residences... that was exhausting!" so, maybe my memory is waxing sentimental (i am FINALLY writing this blog post six months after moving back to the states).

the eye of the storm, centered between the whirlwind move out of 12 sheldon and the long flight home, settled on team gardner once we were in 8/85 kensington. payton still went to work, nova still went to school... but we began wrapping up our "lasts" and all too quickly, we'd gone full circle and started racking up "firsts" again.

after nearly two years of regular kindergym attendance, nova had her last class with teachers trish and sonia. i stumbled onto kindergym when we first moved to adelaide and met two fantastic friends and their children: maike and anna (and eventually, little bro noah) and kathy and georgia. i credited kindergym with teaching nova strength and coordination, which it did, but it turns out the whitehurst-gardner klutziness is still strong within her.

sonia, nova, trisha - sonia and trisha are incredible women with big hearts and huge amounts of energy!

sonia and nova

in an effort to see one last place we hadn't visited before, we took a day trip rapid bay on the fleurieu peninsula. it was one of those trips that is more a memory for what it wasn't rather than what it was. windy and cold, grumpy kids... but in true south australia fashion, we did find a great middle-of-nowhere place to eat lunch.

life at 8/85 kensington:

canon was endlessly amused by all the drawers...

this picture was taken at the awkward angle of a mother pushing two kids in a single umbrella stroller... i was so charmed that nova and canon were, more or less, holding hands! they share a space well. on a sort of related note - about the bond between brothers and sisters - i was walking down the parade one day and noticed a boy and a girl walking ahead of me in their school uniforms. the girl was taller and older than the boy and though they each could have been of dating age, the way he comfortably and casually walked so close to his older sister, bumping shoulders, and the way she was able to make him laugh and then got tickled herself, made it clear that they had a long history of sharing spaces: a home, a bath tub, a backseat in the car, possibly a room... it was a moment that, whatever the reality, was recorded only by my imagination, and i found myself hoping that one day nova and canon will share that bond - comfortable, easy sibling love; a common history.

winter sunshine and a big picture window with a good ledge made for many hours of play.

teeny, tiny kitchen

nova's best friend, jack warren

we made good use of the local library branch - and canon made good use of the books.

nova, ever the doting big sister, loved feeding canon. and frankly, he ate better for her than for payton or me!

nice hat.

payton, exhausted by our transience, was targeted for decoration by nova.

a first and a last: our last walk on the heysen trail in the adelaide hills; it was our first hike that we found in adelaide. alas, we didn't make it far either time, but it sure was beautiful.

a final hike along the coast south of adelaide. this, too, was the first and last time we walked this section. the brisk sea air and wintry skies seemed very fitting - a sort of salty good-bye.

in the usual gardner style, we threw ourselves a going away party. we had a fantastic afternoon grilling with friends in one of adelaide's beautiful parks. there is always some secret reserve with big beautiful gums, green grass, a play structure and barbys tucked away on one of adelaide's quiet streets. it was a lovely way to share hugs and good-byes with good friends.

karen brown (jack's mum) playing with nova, anna robinson, georgia cavill and karen's son, jack brown.

karen cuddling canon and maike robinson holding her son noah with her husband, anthony.

dear friend kathy cavill chatting with kate canaway (another awesome kindergym connection) and her partner. kathy, also an ex-pat (canadian), lived near us. she was the first aussie friend i had who jived with the casual drop-by-for-a-cup-of-coffee-unannounced-and-sit-and-chew-the-fat-to-while-away-the-long-stay-at-home-mom-afternoon-hours. always ready with a cuppa and the casual play date that is more about chatting with another adult than the kids actually playing (though georgia and nova truly did enjoy each other), kathy always welcomed nova and me into her home. we even got some short, tuesday runs in while nova was at school and before the bob got shipped back to the u.s.

american PA gone aussie, amy schafer - whom i worked with at the queen elizabeth hospital - with her fiance and his two boys.

well, everyone in this picture is familiar - and in familiar places! payton and brian in charge of food and socializing with each other and nova referring to jessica as a second mom. more juice please!

nova and jack.

like 12 sheldon on the OTHER side of the parade, there was a park nearby (closer, actually) to 85 kensington as well. we took advantage of some sunny afternoons and enjoyed a few picnics there. we also had the bittersweet pleasure of playing with our dear friends maike, anna and noah one last time. it was a refreshing break from the chaos of prepping and packing for our international journey - only two days away at this point.

canon still in his turnout rug.

c-man

nova and anna. (maike, a german ex-pat married to a lovely south aussie fellow, and i started chatting one day after kindergym in the adjacent park. both with girls about to turn three and big, expectant bellies, we instantly enjoyed each other's company as much as anna and nova enjoyed each other. as it turned out, maike and i each had boys and though her kids are about 5 mos older than mine, they are also three years apart. kids do inspire friendships between their adults, if not out of necessity, than proximity. however, there are sometimes those connections that reveal a true friend and it just happens the kids were the ones to introduce you.)

noah and canon.

maike and noah

we left adelaide on july 30th, but not before celebrating canon's first birthday on the 28th! he may not have australian citizenship but at least he got to spend his first year there! we had a birthday lunch from red rooster - fish burger!! - and picnicked in front of the redlegs oval.

beautiful big sister, nova

for canon's proper birthday celebration, we partied with - who else? - brian, jessica, glenn, nikki, zara and laila at the harrington house. It was also our final good-bye (lots of good-byes in this post) to glenn and nikki. gg - gloria gardner, our reliable, golden nissan patrol - would soon become a harrington and get kitted out for glenn's long service leave and a long, awesome trip around australia.

a little new mexico nod with fresh flair from adelaide fruit.

mmm, cake. they always know what to do with that first piece of cake!

nova and zara showing their seasoned cake-eating skills.


zara is exactly one year older than nova and one of her most beloved australian friends.

and finally, the days were gone, there were only hours left. brian and jessica - they need no introduction or explanation! - came over to help us with the last few things: eating dinner (one of our favorite activities with them!), packing, keeping things we couldn't pack until the next time we see each other, getting the keys to the apartment so they could collect the crib and high chair the next day and helping load gg. and, of course, saying good-bye. ah, a sad good-bye, that one. but made more sweet knowing that these are life-long friends and that we will see them again - here or there or even in c-eh-n-eh-d-eh.

boy in a box

our last (for a long time, but not ever) departure from adelaide airport. look at all that stuff!! you can tell it's just the beginning of the trip because things are still put together. everything looks a little more disheveled at the other end of the journey. despite having two kids for this move, we may have pulled it off a little smoother than our original trip to aus. maybe.

proof we were on the plane. after this quick shot it was time to put the camera away start active-parenting for the next 30 hrs.

good-bye, adelaide! this was a WONDERFUL two years. we will be back!