We are almost going back to Sweden again! Our adventure here is over in two days.
The children and I are leaving on monday while Ronald stays another week here at AIMS. Thereafter he will be going to Lizard Island for more research, this time in the field (read: tropical paradise, coral reef, snorkling...) This is an amazing possibility for him, but we are really gonna miss him!!! :-(

I have some more mixed feelings at the moment, I am happy that we will go back to our familiar home, friends, climate and seasons, our own timezone and our cat and we will be closer to family, But I will miss the house here (so much space and freedom!! We can run around and play with the kids and only disturbing the wallabies...) and the animals, our 'private' beach, Alligator Creek, Billabong (the animal sanctuary) the wonderful library and toys library. I will also miss the city and its endless possibilities.
The things I will NOT miss are definitely the mosquitoes (!), the have to drive everywhere (I long to my bike!!!) and the cramp in my foot after a day driving.

When we first came here I felt completely overwhelmed by the fact that it is so different here from anything I have experienced before. It is so rough, big, dry, spectacular, sunny, hot. I was pretty scared, I was especially scared to go outside because of the snakes and other animals I feared would be there. When time passed I learnt more and more about the animals here (mostly thanks to the very friendly rangers at Billabong animal sanctuary) and I discovered that there is not that much to be afraid of. As long as we be careful, stay away from dangerous animals when we see them (never saw them in the wild by the way!) don't ignore the warning signs and keep an eye open for wallabies crossing the road.
The last ones actually caused the most dangerous situations. Wallabies here are like rabbits, they are everywhere! Not a day goes by that we not see at least one wallaby grazing and at least a couple more dead along side the road. They tend to jump back into the forest when we come too close, but sometimes they decide to go and jump to the forest on the other side of the road and than it's a good thing to have proper breaks in your car!

This stay in Australia has been and is such a wonderful and challenging experience. We have learned so much! Not only about Australia and its nature, history, climate and how it is to live here, but maybe even more about ourselves and one another and us living closely together as a family under different and challenging circumstances and Fleur and Nils as siblings.

Fleur and Nils really found each other. It took some time, but they became very inventive and creative in their play together. They started using their imagination more and more and loved playing in nature. It turned out that they didn't need much toys, they found their own; seeds, leaves, sticks, stones, sand etc. or inside the house: blankets and cushions were favorite. 

Fleur discovered how much fun it is to draw in sand. So everywhere we went, if there was sand, Fleur would sit down and start drawing with a stick or a stone or just her finger.
Nils was really fascinated by the Australian wildlife and wanted to know everything about what he saw. Just like his father ;-) ! But his greatest interest was and is definitely airplanes and trains, he can not stop talking about this! So he is very happy that we get to fly back home again!

Inspired by the creativity of Fleur's drawing I re-discovered my art-passion, I started drawing, we visited galleries and I have been reading a great book of Kelly Rae Roberts: Taking Flight. The drawing I tried out is called tangling (in a mindful way drawing patterns in a certain shape) and is 

One of my zentangle creations

very easy and fun, but takes a lot of concentration and precision. The book of Kelly is about 'inspiration and techniques to give your creative spirit wings'. Kelly Rae Roberts is a mixed-media artist who makes beautiful and inspiring art and when we get home I will definitely gonna try out some of here techniques (painting and collage) and see whether I can develop myself more creatively and find my own style. (I have tried out many things before, but haven't really found my style yet..) I am really looking forward to play with paint!!!

One of Kelly Rae Roberts' prints: I love it!

Another thing that has really helped me facing the challenges here and actually mostly helped me facing myself and my feelings and thoughts is, of course, my mindfulness practice. I already used to practice every day, but now more than ever I experienced the difference of skipping a day or not. Through my mindfulness practice I can keep in touch with my own calm inner self during the day and see from a bit more distance how surroundings, activities, other people but also food and my own thoughts and feelings affect me and I can more clearly see what I want in certain situations, what I need and what is most important and try to act to it.

I am so grateful that we got the opportunity to go on this adventure as a family and that we have experienced what we have experienced!

Just some more beautiful pictures of Nils and Fleur playing: