Perth

June 30

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.