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Oma and opa in Eltham
The last weekend in February, oma and opa came over to Eltham. We had lunch with
Jo and Pete. We swam and
jumped
into our pool for the last time. On Monday, dad flew to Sydney and oma and opa took Piet and Emma, one car and a camper trailer up to Bendoc. Mum stayed behind to supervise the packers arriving later that morning and do some final cleaning. This time, we had enough furniture to fill two shipping containers, hence our old removal company had quoted us twice the price we had paid to ship our stuff from London to Melbourne. After two days, mum drove to Bendoc too.
Manly
Mum, grannybunts and Piet and Emma came up to Sydney on the first Sunday in March. The next day was the big day. We
watched the
removal truck arriving. We hadn't paid for unpacking the
boxes, which did not bother Piet and Emma at all. Already on Thursday and to our great surprise, Piet had his first day in the local kinder or better: preschool, as this is New South Wales and naming conventions are the other way around. Three and four year old go to preschool two or three partial days - if they get a place at all, which is only possible after a long wait or if you are close to starting school (like Piet). The first year in primary school - five days a week - is called kinder. The second year in primary school is called grade 1, which is the first term on which Victoria and New South Wales agree. Another difference between these states is the cut-off date for going to school. In Victoria, Piet would have been the youngest in his class, while in NSW some kids will be a few months younger. Given his shyness, this suits us fine.
Piet and Emma quickly felt at home in the new house. They walk the stairs as if that is the most normal thing in the world, they don't mind the garden being a fraction of the old size and having the beach at five minutes walk certainly helps too. We are more nostalgic and think back of the last time we moved house. Emma was only five months old when we moved into Stringybark Road.
To the zoo
After two weeks, mum took Piet and Emma to Taronga Park Zoo. This zoo is built on a slope on the harbour with nice views to the
central business district. We entertained ourselves with the
giraffes and loads of other animals. Mum walked all the way down to the harbour and, because Piet was reluctant to step into the the cable car, we made her push the pram all the way back up again.
Back home, we had fun dressing up in hand and tea towels, we made paintings for the grandmothers and read books on the coach with mamma. As we are going to the beach between five and seven times a week, our swimmers started to wear. Mum bought us new swim suits. Piet found nice swimmers in the first shop, while for Emma mum had to track to a second one. Finally a white pair was chosen, but as she is still two years old she refused to try on the size 4 (which is the next size up from 2), as that was not her number. Luckily, the size 2 fitted perfectly. Sigh.
The rest of the month, we spent unpacking boxes.
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P.S. Our new address is shown on the left.
