Today we left for Australia. Our plane was delayed 2 hours
because the handle to the door of the suitcase area came off. I managed to
watch all of Forrest Gump before we left the ground. After we got off the
ground I listened to Carmina Burana and read. I told Alia I was listening to
Carmina Burana, and she said “Who’s that?” After wards I was so tired I could
barely stay awake.
July 2
We spent a lot of time on air planes. I read two books and
listened to a lot of music because I didn’t feel like watching movies. When we
finally got to Australia we went to Dad’s aunt and uncle’s house. In the
evening our second cousins came over and we had dinner. There are four girls
and two boys. Their names are Maddie, Bella, Alisha, Jordan, Carl, and Charlotte.
We had cake to celebrate Carl’s birthday. I managed to stay up until 8 and then
I went to bed because I couldn’t keep myself awake any longer.
July 3
During our second day we went to a park. The park had a big
memorial for all the soldiers who died in the wars. We walked in the park and
looked at all the plants. There was an interesting plant that had zigzag
leaves. The flowers were used as candles. Then we went back to the house for
lunch. After lunch we drove to the Indian Ocean and put our toes in. I’ve never
been to the Indian Ocean before, and it was really cold. We looked at the shops
nearby and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. When we got home I went
straight to bed because I was so tired.
July 4
The next day we went to visit the animals. We saw peacocks
and emus. The emu followed me around and tried to stick its head in my popcorn.
There were talking birds as well, and they kept saying hello. The bird at the
front was named Bill and he kept asking for a scratch. We saw the kangaroos and
fed them popcorn. Then I fed the ostriches popcorn. The ostriches really liked
popcorn. We had lunch and afterwards we got to hold the koala. It was very
heavy and soft. The koalas really liked the lady who was in charge. One even
jumped out of the tree and came over to her. After the koalas we looked at
other animals like echidnas, lizards, and really big ducks. The ducks enjoyed
hissing at us. Then we went back to the house and some people went to the park
until dinner. After dinner I went to bed.
July 5
On Thursday we went to the mall in the morning. I got a red
sweater. We couldn’t stay very long because we were going to the aquarium. At
the aquarium there were fish and jellyfish. We went under a large tank with
large stingrays and fish and sharks. Upstairs they had some dangerous sea
creatures. My favorite was the puffer fish. They’re more poisonous than cyanide
and they can bite off a toe. After the aquarium we had ice cream and went home.
Alia and I went back to the mall in the evening and we looked at more stores.
Then when we got back we went to bed.
July 6
On Friday we went to visit Dad’s other uncle. We walked to
their house in the morning. Everybody talked and we had cake and tea and
cookies. Then we went to the mall with Dad’s cousins. It was a huge mall, first
we went into the souvenir shop. Then we went to go look for earrings we managed
to find opals at one store. Alia got earrings and I got a necklace with a rose.
We had lunch at the food court and then we went to other parts of the mall. We
went into a clothes store and I got a shirt because I was really hot in my
sweater. After that we left and went back to the house. Our cousins came over
and we played in the park until it rained. Then we went for dinner at a pizza
place and after dinner we went to go see Ice Age 4. It was a funny movie, and I
had lots of fun. After the movie it was late, so we all came home and went to
bed.
July 7
In the morning we went to the mall with Charlotte and Uncle
Charlie. It was a different mall that we hadn’t been to before. Alia and I got
socks and hair ties. Then we met our other cousins at their house and we all
walked to a café for lunch. After lunch we walked back and everyone got into
different cars. Then we all drove to the chocolate factory. They had samples of
chocolate for everyone and a window so we could see how they made the
chocolate. After the chocolate factory we went to some wineries so the adults
could try some wine. After all the wine tasting we went back to our cousin’s
house for dinner. I played with Alisha. We colored and played with her littlest
pet shops. Some of the other kids watched Transformers downstairs in the movie
room. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with my
cousins.
July 8
Today all the cousins came for breakfast. It was a huge
breakfast, it was really good. After breakfast Uncle Charlie gave me 614
ebooks. Now I have so many books to read, and I had a crisis because I didn’t
know which one to read first. It’s like Christmas, only with more books. For
lunch we went over to Dad’s other uncle’s house. We had a huge lunch and it was
really good too. After lunch we talked about iPods and other electronics. We
watched videos of our recital on Dad’s phone. Then we went for a walk outside
and I went to the park with the boys. We saw an ice cream truck and it played
Greensleeves, which is way too sad for an ice cream truck. In the evening we
went to Charlotte, Maddie, and Bella’s house to use their wifi. I watched 2 ½
episodes of Buffy and checked my email. The others watched a movie about
baseball. We went back to the house for dinner and Jordan, Carl, and Alisha
came over afterwards. We played with each other’s iPods and listened to music.
July 9
This morning we got up early and drove to the docks. We got
on a ferry and went to Rottnest Island. It was very cold. There we went for a
bike ride. We stopped at one of the beaches and put our feet in the water. It
was very warm water. Then we rode some more. We rode to a lighthouse, but we
didn’t get to go in. On the island there were animals called quokkas, which
looked like small kangaroos. We ate lunch very late and returned the bikes
afterwards. Then we went and walked around until our ferry left. We drove back
to the house and had dinner before going to bed.
July 10
Today was our last day in Perth. We got in the car and drove
for a very long time. We stopped once to look at the beach, but it started
raining. We drove some more, and stopped at a restaurant for lunch. We used
their wifi a lot. I finished the ½ episode of Buffy and checked my email again.
Then we got back in the car and drove to a small area with stores and walked
around. After that we drove for a very long time all the way back to the house.
Mom and Dad went out, and when they got back we went to say good bye to Dad’s
other uncle and his cousins. When we got back we hung out with Charlotte,
Maddie, and Bella until everyone else got there. We drew pictures before and
after dinner, and it was a lot of fun. I drew a humming bird and some other
random doodles. I was really sad when everybody left and I will miss them a
lot.
