A Lockup, Footy and Manic Monday

On our last day living in the CBD, we went to Melbourne's oldest tourist attraction, Old Melbourne Gaol, where Ned Kelly was hung. As part of the tour we had the Lockup Experience, where a cop yelled at us for half an hour as if we were criminals and locked us in a cell. I couldn't really take it seriously though. The cop was a young woman from New Zealand. It was like being in a fight with Diana!

On Saturday night we took the children to the Telstra Dome to see the mighty Bombers trounce the Brisbane Lions. Hannah recorded every goal in the Record, and Sam sang along with the Essendon theme song at every opportunity. Unfortunately, I didn't take a camera so you can't see them both in their Bombers colours. But you can read all about the game here.

The first day of school went very well. Both children enjoyed the day immensely, both made friends, both looked forward to going back on Tuesday. Hope it lasts. They get their school uniforms on Thursday and I will post some photos of them and of the new house, assuming I have a home internet connection by then. We moved in on Monday and all went well. The lease furniture is very good and the house is fine although it has extremely high ceilings and lots of bare floors so it is quite cold. Vicki stayed for pizza and the children enjoyed their new bedrooms, although Hannah's door fell off. Nothing's perfect I guess.

Goodbye Mantra

Monday is a big day - we move into our new house and the children start school. Everyone is very excited. Hannah has found out that her school class has a sleepover in September, and they both have swimming lessons as part of the school curriculum. And tonight we are all going to the Telstra Dome to see the mighty Bombers take on the Brisbane Lions. Oh yes. 50,000 Bombers fans will be hoping for a miracle.

More from Melbourne

Things are moving rapidly in Melbourne. We move into our new house on July 21st. It is in Essendon very close to where my father and I use to watch the Bombers play every Saturday afternoon. The children will start school at Essendon Primary School on July 14th and will look resplendent in their black and red uniforms. Hannah will go into Grade 2 and Sam will be in Grade Prep (equivalent to kindergarten in the US). Sam will face the bigger test because he will be in school all day for the first time and all his classmates will have had six months of school already. But we think he is up to it. I will post first day of school photos in a couple of weeks. We have also agreed to buy a car. A Mitsubishi Lancer. Sam is very excited because it has a spoiler! We are buying it from Rachel's boss and I have to go to Sydney to get it.

The children are having a couple of days with their grandparents in Drouin. Rachel and I had dinner last night at the Italian Waiters Club, and followed up by having a glass of red in a comedy club on Bourke Street. The comedy was awful, but the wine was good.