Cars, Dinner Parties, and Babies in Coolers

I don't know if I'm just not down with the sickness, or hip, or well-educated on new parenting techniques, but I've witnessed one of the craziest Australian Dinner Parties ever. Get ready....

There was a baby in a cooler.

Okay, maybe it wasn't an ACTUAL cooler, we really didn't get close enough to look. But last night we went to a dinner/birthday party for one of Ben's co-workers, Adam. We all walked in and got introduced, and everyone was just standing in little groups, chatting and having a nice time. And I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and thought there was a pet. You know, like a....cat? So I turned around, and there it was. A 7 week old baby, on the floor, in one of those (what looked to be, anyway) fold out soft coolers. Maybe they make them especially for babies now or something. But it looks just like the soft cooler my parents have, only a bit more shallow.

Crazy Australians and their baby coolers! I should mention that the child wasn't on ice, though. That's probably important.

Other than the picnic baby, the dinner party was great. We had roast, beet salad (it tasted like dirt...but that was my first encounter with beets, maybe they'll grow on me), couscous, and a weird sweet potato. The cake was fancy and beautiful! We met a lot of nice people, from Australia, England, and Ireland. We had a great time, and it helped me stay awake. Ben has adjusted really well to the time change, but I've had a really hard time with it. Finally, last night I went to bed at 11:30p and didn't wake up until this morning at 7a! A normal sleep schedule at last!

Ben and I finally found THE car. Our options are limited because we don't have a car to find a car (catch-22? annoying...), but we feel great about the choice we made. The guy at the dealership was honest and genuine (but I'm sure they all seem that way) and didn't push the more expensive cars on us. We found a Mitsubishi Magna that has about 92,000 km on it (about 57,000 miles). In Western Australia, you don't need to inspect your vehicles. And when you buy from a dealership, the car is registered for 3 months. There was only one fee on top of the actual price of the car, which he told us about when we first met with him to look at cars, and our term is 3 years. We are just waiting to hear back to see if they accepted our lower deposit offer. Will keep you all updated, and hopefully there will be some pictures of the new car in the next couple of days!

Also, we went to see a few houses yesterday. One was in a complex. It was right across from the beach and had ocean views, a pool, and tennis courts! But it was kind of old, and the bedrooms were very choppy. We also saw a beautiful new house, but we aren't fond of the location. I have my heart set on a house that is very close to the Inlet, the stores, and Ben's work. It's new, but cheaper than some of the other places we've looked at, and has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. I feel like it's everything we want all in one place. We see it tomorrow. Cross your fingers for the Mitsubishi Magna and 1b Forster Street, please!

By the way, enjoy your weather. It's currently 38 degrees F and sunny here!