After being away for 10 weeks, we decided to go with the Shock and Awe strategy as the only way we were going to get all of our stuff back to Fiji without paying a fortune. Arrive to the airport late and act flustered (or completely natural in our case) and drop 17 bags in front of the poor Fiji Airways ticket counter and let our kids wreak havoc on the world.
It worked as planned as Fiji Airways simply looked the other way and charged us $100FJD for the surfboard….we were home. Finally.
Now comes the part where everyone in Suva meets Tui……the king of Suva. 🙂
First came Nic & Charlie!
Then of course is Della…
Lucy’s class at ISS was pretty excited to meet the little guy!
Leba and Bubu Eseta!
Our old roomie….sweet Evi got a snuggle…:)
Of course Tahu was butter….
Such a meaningful and beautiful shot of Aunty Marigold!
These powerful ladies of the S. Pacific…Marlyn, Shamina and Ofa couldn’t resist.
Of course Ilco…mind you Theo’s first round of clothes were all from Macedonia. 🙂
Maki!
So glad that Charlie and Alice got to meet Tui before heading off to Myanmar!
My July 1, 1970 brother Henry and Tui!
Nani, Shirlyn and Lora fawn over Tui…
Jessica came from PNG to get some time with the big guy….and her best friends Abby and Della…
Everyone loves a big baby….
We miss you Trish!
Tui is looking large and in charge with Taina..
My turn!
Tui is giving some love to Liz!
Our guy can take over most rooms…even those filled with these bad ass ladies!
Lucy’s bestie Darya given Theo some love…in the form of a headlock.
Morgan and baby Maden…who is even more in charge than Theo.
Mommy’s turn…
and of course…all the way from Maine….DeeDee!
After being away for a few months, William was super stoked to be back with his boys….Darcy and Tama!
…and of course Jacky Booty!
The Boettcher / Useda’s in Fiji! After a few weeks in Australia, Lara, Dave, Turi and Andres came over for an extended visit to Suva. We immediately took them to Leleuvia and had one of the nicest weekends in memory.
It never disappoints….and every time we visit, it is a different experience. Here is Lucy and Lara snorkeling off the beach.
My favorite pic. Part of me wanted to know what is going through his head…..part of me knows exactly what goes through ones head when listening to William.
Dave enjoying a perfect day.
Some of the staff at Leleuvia have watched Will grow from a chunky little 18 month old to the little monster he is today…..and they adore him…….he responds to everything they say with an “OYE!”.
A quick trip to snorkel and explore Honeymoon Island with the cousins…
Ahhhh, the South Pacific suits Dave….
Lara and William enjoying the furniture…..
Daddy sneakin’ in a quick paddle….
Turi and Andres enjoying the ride…
Back in Suva, this one started up a daily coconut oil routine after his afternoon nap….
Kalavata. Kala means color and Kalavata means clothing of the same color…and with all the colorful fabric available is it a great tradition for the family to dress in Kalavata. We headed to the fabric shop and then found a tailor for us all in hopes of one grand pic!
Now THAT is a proper Kousin Kalavata!
Not exactly Theo’s most flattering pose….but, still super cute!
Unfortunately, we would have to wait till Theo’s first bday to have a full family Kalavata image…..but, these are beautiful and certainly will do. 🙂
So, we bought a boat! Suva is a lovely place, but weekends do start to drag especially in the heat of summer…during a school break…when the kids seem like they are awake for 23 hours a day, but I digress. Having a boat has always been a bit of a pipe dream…….but out of the blue there was an email from Nic and wala, we bought a 17′ boat named NicNic from Gareth and Amy!
Never having owned or operated a boat, Abby and I thought it would be wise to take a few test rides out with just the two of us before inviting the kids or friends.
…….I think we both agreed it was a good decision and we were ready for guests.
Our go-to spot early on is the sand bank which is about a 10 minute ride from our house…
Look at us….we own a boat!
..and boy, did we become popular. 🙂 Here we are with dear friends John and Caro! Someone brought his hair A game!
People came as far away as Maine to ride on the NicNic!
Gareth was a huge fisherman and gifted us 6 monster trolling rods and more equipment than we knew what to do with. So, we took Nic and the family out for a maiden voyage and bam, bam, bam……we caught two travally and one mackerel!
Are you kidding me?
Turns out that was the last fish caught on the Nic Nic for a few months…….until of course Nic again boarded the NicNic and wala!
Many more adventures to come with the NicNic!
Ruby’s Masterclass. Abby and I signed up for an Indian cooking class with my new best friend Ruby. 7 ladies and Clancey. Clancey was the dutiful student…always listening and following directions unlike the other students. Turns out, Ruby LOVES Clancey. During our final big dinner, Clancey brought an average at best garlic naan while the rest of the ladies cooked their brains out (Abby included). Guess who got singled out and thanked for bringing the delicious garlic naan?
Additionally, guess who got his diploma first which obviously signified the top student honor. Abby is still pissed……should rename it Clancey’s Masterclass.
Cyclone Winston hit Fiji 3 years ago and our poor mango tree in the backyard hasn’t produced another mango since….kind of felt a bit like the Giving Tree…..and the tree was happy, but not really.
Well, that all changed this year when she seemed happy again and it was mangos galore for a few weeks!
All night we could hear the bats, cats, birds and creepy crawlies battle over the ripe mangos…..we would wake up early and try to find 5-10 untouched mangos that had fallen during the night.
DeeDee and Alice got into the early morning fun….
I love my sister’s sense of adventure. She has always been game and her time in Fiji was no different. She took the boys on an extremely bumpy 1-2 hour trip to the Namosi region in the highlands in this jam packed carrier truck where they spent a few nights with Danny at the Namosi Eco Resort.
Here they are getting some help crossing the river to their bure’s…
……..what an adventure! $_&*%$@_@%* Awesome!
It was inevitable. We had to say good bye to the boys after about a month together in both Australia and Fiji. It had been a few years and was really meaningful and amazing to get to know the 10 & 12 year old versions of them. 🙂 I don’t think they will ever forget their time in Fiji. 🙂
Good bye Lara, Turi and Andres…..’til we see you again!
With everyone back to work, back to Rochester, back to school……our life returned to normal so Abby and I were able to finally take a walk along the seawall and reflect on the past year. It is impossible to describe the ups and downs, but we $*$_*%$ made it……and everyone survived….just amazing!
The last blog had us bidding farewell to Abby who was on her way to Brisbane and 35 weeks pregnant. The plan was for Lucy, Will and I to finish the school term and head to meet Abby in Brisbane at 39 weeks to have one last week as a family of four before welcoming little Cosmo (his pre-birth name) to the world!
Brisbane, here we come!
Cosmo stayed put and we arrived at week 39 and got to spend one last week together.
For us, Brisbane means playgrounds, good doctors and coffee….two of the three we can get at our favorite spot…….the playground at New Farm.
Even Will can appreciate the energy of the Banyan tree….
Cool crisp mornings means a fuzzy new wardrobe….
….facepaint and inflatable whiskers…with a big belly in the background.
..and some last minute snuggles.
…and a visit from our friends from Suva.
At 40 weeks, Salote arrived (apparently without her happy face) and we decided it was time for one last museum…
…and we were off to the hospital…right on cue!
Disclaimer: All things related to the pregnancy and child birth are written by a 40 something male who is incapable of truly experiencing the highs (making life) and lows (pain and general discomfort) of child birth, but everything has been reviewed for accuracy and approved by Abby.
Lucy was born in Washington DC the night of one of the worst storms in recent memory on the east coast (the hospital shook like there was a freight train coming through)…and the day that Obamacare was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Lucy came quickly holy shit it was intense.
William was born in Denver and while the atmosphere was toned down from DC, it almost broke the strongest human I know.
This one was going to be different…..Australia and an epidural.
There were never more than 2 people in the room for Theo’s birth…except for maybe the crickets. He came out quickly and was on Abby’s chest and didn’t move for hours….nobody came to measure, poke or prod…..it was surreal.
Here he is, Theodore Nathaniel Erikson, born on May 18, 2018 at Mater Mother’s Hospital in Brisbane.
Our little Queenslander….our little Wallaby…..
Now, here is the other big difference between the US and Australia…….the baby was now ours. Nobody was taking him away to sleep and bringing back to feed. I couldn’t walk down and look through the window and see him sleep alongside 30 of his new buddies while Abby rested in the room.
No, the baby was in our room and we had to figure out how to keep him from crying (no clue)….so, after a peaceful and lovely birth, it turned real…..real quick vs. the US where it feels like you still have 2 days before it gets real.
My turn…
Just in case you don’t believe that we had a third baby in Australia….
Like Lucy he came out pretty quickly and was treated for TTN and placed in the NICU for a few days of observation. Like Lucy everything turned out to be fine and after a few days, we were released. Here we are in the NICU for our first family shot..very fitting. 🙂
Much like Lucy, the NICU didn’t see to phase him one bit….
Through it all, we were lucky to have found a steady hand in Dr. Beak….Theo’s first pediatrician and a bit of an Abby whisperer….:)
Phase 1 & 2 were a success. Next we had to spend 3 weeks in an apartment in New Farm before Theo was old enough to get on a plane to Sydney to apply for his US Passport…which we needed to fly back to Fiji.
Literally our first walk as a Family of 5….to none other than our favorite park, New Farm.
While Abby and Theo slept, Lucy, Will and I explored Brisbane by day. Southbank is a stretch on the banks of the Brisbane River that has everything. Museums, theaters, restaurants, ferris wheels, markets, playgrounds of course and an amazing man made swimming beach area….
I’d like to think this moment lasted forever….or has happened again.
Since Lucy was missing the majority of her second term during her first year at school, we found a tutoring service in a random strip mall in the suburb of Indooroopilly. We had low expectations, but Lucy loved going there…and Mark and the team had a rather profound effect on her reading.
Our Airbnb in New Farm was perfect in terms of size, location…..and our host Tania is a teacher who gave Lucy a few painting lessons.
The Brisbane River snakes through the city filled with fabulous sounding neighborhoods….here we are across the river in Bulimba on a search for a new playground.
Back in New Farm, there was plenty of snuggles with Theo…
Had to go black & white for this next set…..my dad liked to always take three images at a time so this one is for you dad.
Lucy, Will and I had scoped out some grass and a spot in Bulimba for our first real outing as a family of five.
Followed by Mommy’s first glass of bubbly in almost a year…..having kids teaches you to really truly enjoy all the little moments…:)
Mission: Theo’s US Passport. Getting our little guy his US Passport was no small feat.
Step One: Passport picture. Eyes needed to be open and focused on the camera. We headed to a camera shop in Brisbane and we spent a good hour with Theo on the floor trying to wake him up, keep him from crying while the camera guys (we went through 3 of them) waited for THE moment….we finally resorted to a little photoshop work and headed to Sydney with our fingers crossed.
Step Two: Apply for a passport with the support of the US Embassy/ Consulate. There is no US Consulate in Brisbane, hence the trip to Sydney. We checked in on the 10th floor of non-descript high rise in downtown Sydney. All electronics, all bags…everything is checked in on the 10th floor and we head up to the 65th floor with a stack of papers, a baby and a change of diapers.
We are greeted by portraits of DJT and VP Pence and head into an exact replica of every DMV in the US for our scheduled interview…..much like the DMV, we took a number and waited…and waited….
We were finally called up and gave them all our paperwork and were informed that we needed an original marriage certificate to satisfy all the necessary doc’s for his Passport.
We left them all of our docs and quickly headed back to the airport to catch an evening flight back to Brisbane with a back up plan…..and after 10 days of frustration with the US Consulate, our dear friend Baker retrieved our marriage certificate from our storage facility in Denver and sent it to Sydney via Fed Ex and the countdown to our flight back to Fiji was on….
A Thank you to the many nameless people at the US Consulate in Sydney who did absolutely nothing to help us out.
Noosa !
While we waited for Theo’s passport to be processed, we headed up to the Sunshine Coast (about 3 hours north of Brisbane) and settled into our house on Sunshine Beach just outside of Noosa.
Super important to note that about 2 years ago, we came over to Brisbane to meet with an ENT about Lucy’s tonsils and decided to check out Noosa. While watching Lucy and Will run around half naked on the main beach, we decided to try for a third and that if successful, we would come back here for our maternity leave……
Here is Lucy and Will high up on the dunes by our Airbnb on Sunshine Beach….shortly after both raced down which ended in two spectacular face plants in the sand.
How could things get better? Theo is asleep and mommy gets asnuggle in the sun on our back porch. Man, it seemed like everything was falling into place…..hold that thought.
But first….the town of Noosa is set next to an absolutely endless and breathtaking beach with a fabulous beginner beach break and so learning to surf was the first order of business for Lucy.
So we headed for an early morning lesson with her teacher.
And just like that, Lucy was up….
STOKED!
Ahhhh, the beach! As I mentioned, this beach literally was the inspiration for Theo….not the name, but the baby.
Needless to say the kids enjoyed as much this year as they did last year…..
A few minutes away was the more rugged Sunshine Beach. Here we are on our nightly walk at sunset (okay, we only did it twice).
General rule of thumb with Lucy and Will: No matter how cold the air or water is, if their feet touch sand, they are going in the water.
It starts with a sand castle on a stormy windy afternoon…
..and always ends fully dressed and soaked to bone.
..and then back to the sand for more.
Mastitis disclaimer: same general idea as the pregnancy disclaimer.
Abby is very good at both enduring and describing the pain of pregnancy and child birth, but nothing prepared either of us (see disclaimer…the word us was approved) for what happened next.
It started out as a sharp pain and a high fever…..followed by a late night visit to the Noosa clinic where the doctor prescribed an extremely low dose of the wrong AB’s because of fears about breastfeeding.
Fast forward to the next day, Abby is talking to Jesus (ie, hallucinating) and we are desperately trying to control a 104 fever. We decided to stay on the course of AB’s for another day, but take Theo into see a pediatrician in Noosa who promptly said, ‘Honey, you are not well’ and sent us off to the hospital to get transported by ambulance an hour away to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital where Abby was rushed into the closest room and immediately given a massive dose of the correct AB’s to keep her from becoming septic.
How cruel is Mastitis? One of the first things they tell you is that you need to keep breastfeeding…..which is like telling someone who broke both feet and both ankles that the best thing they can do is run a marathon.
Here is Theo overseeing momma’s recovery.
Lucky for us, our dear friend Emily decided to come up to visit from Melbourne and was thrust into taking care of Lucy and Will while I commuted back and forth….
Good lord Emily how we love you!
Emily took the kids to the fabulous and Original Eumundi weekend market and tried on hats….and hat holders if your name is Will…:)
Here we are with our hero, Emily Miller!
With the Mastitis incident behind us, we decided to check out Noosa National Park. Much like the playgrounds in Australia, the national parks (sweeping generalization coming) seem well funded, clean and the gift shops all serve amazing espresso.
Packed up and ready to go….and very serious.
After about a 20-30 minute walk we came to yet another amazing and secluded beach …and yes, the Bob goes everywhere.
We found a nice little spot to stack rocks, look at the day time moon…
…and take a nap.
One is Lucy and one is Theo…..same age, same ones. At first glance they look like twins, but the green stripe onesie and the cute Boettcher button nose are all you are actually looking at. 🙂
Visitors! Our lovely and amazing friends Glenn and Fiona came up from Melbourne for a visit. Glenn and Abby worked together back in Suva when Glenn was consulting for the Ministry of Women. Since getting to know Uncle Glenn, our kids call every male over the age of 20 Glenn. Glenn is also the first Aussie with enough patience to sit with me and explain the games and language used in both Cricket and Aussie Rules Football…….and had I owned white pants, I would have played my first game of cricket with Glenn, but alas, there is no way in hell….:)
…and Fiona is just an all around amazing lady who the kids fell for instantly! ( Fiona, it is the only pic we have and we love you even with your eyes shut).
The obligatory 3 tiered seafood bonanza with Glenn and Fiona (eyes wide open) in Noosa……it was so lovely to spend even the briefest of moments with these two!
With Abby on the mend, we ventured back outside and took a crack at the Eumundi Market. “Renowned for its locally made artisan treasures, there’s no other market quite like it. The Original Eumundi Markets is the biggest and the best art and craft market in Australia. Step into an ever-evolving collaboration of talented locals seeking to share their gifts with the world. ” It felt like stepping back into time when people made things…..lots of things….combined with a Renaissance Fair feel….it was unique, fun and a fantastic day out!
I think I am just happy to be outside and around German Sausages…
If there is one thing that you know you are going to find at the Eumundi Market, it is a Fairy House…..
Abby…hippie at heart.
Meanwhile, the Rochester Boettcher’s prepare for their first trip to Australia and Fiji. Here is Andres about to board in LAX…….
Wala…..cousins reunite…errr Meet Again!
This is more realistic.
Lara, Dave, Turi and Andres joined us in Noosa for a week before heading off to explore points north before meeting back up with us in Suva for a few weeks in Fiji! It has been a few years and our days (and nights) were exhausting, but we managed to have an amazing and super meaningful few weeks together that we will always remember!
From June 28 to July 28, we have a flurry of milestones……starting off with Lucy’s 6th Bday celebrated with her cousins in Noosa!
Followed by Daddy’s birthday on July 1st!
I had the perfect 48th Bday…..a long solo hike from our house on Sunshine Beach to Noosa National Park where I met up with this one…:)
Even though we stayed close to home, we did manage one lazy kayak trip starting in Noosa town. Oh how they suffered…..
After a few weeks in Noosa, we returned to Brisbane as we waited for Theo’s passport to arrive. We stayed across the river in Bulimba and passed some time on the front porch.
More visitors! While in Bulimba, we got an unexpected and amazing visit with Abby’s dear friends, Kim and Shane.
Shane and Abby go way back to her days at IRC and while Shane and I have never met, we did have a ‘who was the first lesbro’ beef ‘ and decided that we should just agree to share the title. Shane was a monster hit with William, monster hit……and yeah, Theo thought he was ayiiight.
We had time for one last stop to say good bye to the kangaroos…
Our last find in Bulimba was a coffee shop named Clancy’s….
Worn down dad of 3 young kids Clancey meet young hipster coffee shop owner Clancy….I’ll never be able rock one of those T’s.
Our flight back to Fiji was scheduled for Monday and Theo’s passport arrived on Thursday before which was cutting it close. Especially since we had a 1/2 day on Friday to have the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Fiji sign off on a letter that put Theo on our visa…otherwise, Theo would not be able to get into the country. In most circumstances this letter and signature takes weeks. So, we sat in the park in Bulimba and mapped out a few scenarios from hiding him in the Moby to simply staying in Brisbane for good. We got the call at about 2pm on Friday and the letter was sent and we were all set to go home and call it a day on our adventure in Australia.
