Freewheeling in Freycinet

The last part of our Tasmanian adventure was spent on the East Coast of Tasmania in what is called the Freycinet National Park. This part of Australia has a unique beauty with gum trees, large lichen covered rocks, and beautiful white silica beaches. The most famous of these beaches is Wineglass Bay. The Adam joined us on this part of the trip, so we all took a day hike up to a lookout where we could see the picturesque scene from 1,000 feet above. Since I had to carry Marina for about half of this trip, Marce, Alene and I took her back down to the trailhead while the Adams continued down to the beach with Michelle, Meagan, and Madeline. We met them a few hours later when they returned from their adventurous hike. Along this hike we met an American couple, Neil and Naomi from Philadelphia. Naomi was selected from over 150 international applicants to be the Director of Marketing for the Sydney Opera House. They have been in Sydney for a year, and we are hoping they will come visit us in Brisbane. In Freycinet we saw echidnas and the famous Tasmanian Devils. They actually don’t look anything like the Bugs Bunny version, but do sound a bit similar when they are fed! On New Year's Eve we packed up and flew back to Brisbane while the Adams continued their tour of Tasmania in a campervan. It was a real blessing to be able to see this wonderful part of God’s creation in Australia.

Marc

Hopping Through Hobart

On Christmas Eve we drove the two-and-a-half hour trip to Hobart along what is called the Midlands Highway, which cuts Tasmania in half from north to south. Here were drove through the small, sleepy towns of Ross and Campbell. Upon arriving in Hobart, we found it to be sleeping as well given that it was Christmas Eve. Fortunately we had enough time to catch a seafood lunch at the legendary Mures waterfront restaurant. This restaurant is similar to Ivars in Seattle, and had a nicer restaurant upstairs and a seafood bar downstairs. On this day we chose the downstairs and had meals such as Trevally and chips. Trevally is a large fish caught in the South Pacific Ocean. Hobart was one of Australia’s first cities due to its beautiful deepwater harbor location. The downtown area surrounds a large dockside area with “heaps” of fishing and crabbing vessels. After checking out the town and hitting Woolworth’s grocery store before it closed, we returned to our 3 bedroom apartment to finish the evening playing games. On Christmas morning, the girls were pleased to find that Santa had tracked them to Hobart and had dutifully placed their stockings by the heater with care. Because of our travel, we had opened presents prior to our trip and so were glad Santa tracked us down. After celebrating Christmas we packed up a Christmas picnic lunch and drove to the Huon valley where we saw beautiful vistas and seaside bays. When we decided it was time for lunch we pulled over to a picturesque location and had a fantastic seafood lunch and salad prepared by Marce, Grandma and girls. It certainly will be a Christmas we won't forget. The day after Christmas in most Commonwealth countries is Boxing Day. We have heard different stories as to the origin of Boxing Day, but the winner seems to be (1) the day you box up your Christmas decorations, or (2) the day you accumulate more boxes via after-Christmas sales. For our Boxing Day we did neither, but travelled to the famous Port Arthur location where we met up with the Adam family who had just arrived late Christmas Day. Port Arthur was one of the first convict prisons, much of which is still preserved today. And it was one of the first “reformatories” in the British system, and we were able to visit the different buildings to observe how it all worked. Apparently it met with some success, but not everyone was reformed as some people also went insane.

Marc

Landing In Launceston

On Tuesday 19 December we boarded a Virgin Blue flight with Marce’s mom, Alene, bound for Launceston, Tasmania. Upon arrival we collected our bags and obtained our 12-seat Toyota Hiace minibus. Last year in New Zealand we hired a Toyota Hiace having only seatbelts in the front two seats, which was a bit nerve-wracking on the narrow, windy New Zealand roads. This year however we had a shining new white Hiace with only 10,000 km on it, seatbelts all around, and giant red-letters “Avis” painted in bright red on each side. We all joked when looking for it in a parking lot that we could see it a mile away! On our first day we visited the Cataract Gorge, which is only 5 minutes out of town. The gorge boasts beautiful gardens, hiking trails, colourful peacocks, and a long chairlift which takes you across the gorge. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time strolling around the gardens and hiking up the gorge. The weather was considerably cooler in Tasmania, with high temperatures rarely breaking 20 degrees Centigrade (70 deg Fahrenheit). On the second day Marce was fighting a cold, so Alene and I took the girls up north to Hillbrook strawberry farm. Unfortunately a recent frost had wiped out their strawberries, so we were unable to pick any. Instead we picked red currants and enjoyed strawberry parfaits out in the garden. We then went to the Swiss-themed town of Grindalwald and played a round of miniature golf. We returned to our villa to eat dinner and pick up Marce so we could drive to Low Head to experience one of the highlights of our trip, a Ferry penguin tour. At 9PM we joined a tour group of 15 people armed with red-flashlights and went out to special locations on the beach where a colony of 3,000 Ferry penguins returns each night. Just like clockwork the penguins started coming out of the water after sunset and walked in groups up various sand pathways through the bushes. If we stood still the penguins would not notice us and almost walk across our feet. We learned that they were returning from fishing at sea all day, and came back to their nest to take micro-naps of 4 minutes long. Apparently they do this at sea as well while floating in the water. It was great to be able to be so close to the penguins as they returned home. On Thursday we went to the Ashgrove Cheese Factory and after snacking on too much cheese, went to see the 190 metre long King Solomon Cave. Unlike last year's wet gloworm caves in New Zealand, this cave was dry and had a tight pathway through the calcite stalagmites and stagmites. On Friday we toured Seahorse World and the Platypus house in Beauty Point, approximately an hour north of Launceston. Here we learned that Australia has many species of sea horses, some right outside of Brisbane. In the Platypus house next door we were able to see and learn about the unique Australia mammal which gives birth to its young via eggs. We also were able to pet two echidnas, another unique Australian monotreme, similar to a cross between a porcupine and ant eater. After all this fun and learning we took a 20 minute hike to the beautiful Alum Cliff Gorge, located about one hour west of Launceston. We all agreed that Launceston was a great town and has much to offer.

Marc

2 Tickets 2 Paradise

On Friday 15 December Marce and I joined our friends, Ramsis & Ceclia Adam and Andrew & Carole Owen, on a 4 day sailing trip to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. This group of 74 islands along the central Queensland Coast was discovered by Captain Cook in 1770 on Whit Sunday and forms a haven for sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef. We traveled non-stop by air to Hamilton Island, 90 minutes from Brisbane. Once on the island we transferred to the Sunsail office, where we met our captain and "hostie", Marc and Stephanie. They treated us to a fantastic adventure combined with Stephanie's excellent cooking. At 2PM we boarded our 46 foot Bahai catamaran named "Melissa Py" and began our voyage. We sailed out and along the west side of Whitsunday Island, the largest of the islands. At approximately 5PM we moored on the north end of Hook Island, overlooking the Hayman Island resort about 1 km away, which happens to be the resort where Marce and I celebrated our 20th anniversary a year and a half ago. The moonless night came alive with stars, which included Orion and its flickering shoulder red-giant star Betelgeuse, and the Andromeda galaxy, which could be seen with the naked eye. Stepanie cooked us up a wonderful Spanish paella which we ate outdoors in the cockpit in 75 degree temperatures. On Saturday the wind and weather were favorable which allowed us to sail to Bait Reef, one of the many reefs that form the outer portion of the Great Barrier Reef. Upon arriving we were met by "Boris", a giant bue Wrasse fish about 2 feet long and 1 foot tall. He frequents this boat as he knows he will be fed. Once moored we all jumped in the water and had a great time snorkeling around the Stepping Stones, one of the world's premiere snorkeling locations. Sunsail has one of 15 permits allowing them to anchor at the outer reef, and we were blessed to be able to spend the night out on the reef, some 60 miles offshore. On Sunday morning, we woke early and traveled to Whitehaven Beach, located along the east side of Whitsunday Island. There we enjoyed the 7 km beach with some of the world's purest silica sand. The sand on Whitehaven Beach is so pure that it's actually used to form the glass mirrors on the Hubble Space telescope. At 12:30PM our pre-arranged Air Whitsunday seaplane touched down and met us in Melissa's zodiak boat, where we boarded the 13 seat Cessna 208 Caravan. This airplane was one of the nicest I have seen, with a four-bladed propeller and gas turbine engine, and a GPS-enabled glass cockpit inside. I was able to sit up front and watch while our pilot, Mick, took us on a memorable aerial adventure back out to Bait Reef, Hook Reef, and finally to Hardy reef where we flew over the famous Heart Reef. Air Whitsunday is the only company in all of Australia licensed to land inside a reef, and this we did in Hardy Reef. There we boarded a small glass bottom boat and cruised over the coral before coming to an idyllic location where we all donned stinger suits and snorkeling gear and dove into the water to experience some of the best snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef has to offer. After an hour of snorkeling, we enjoyed cheese, crackers and champagne on the boat before returning to the Cessna 208, which was waiting for us at its mooring buoy. We then returned to Whitehaven Beach, speechless from the beauty we had just seen. After meeting captain Marc and transferring back to the Melissa Py, we enjoyed a wonderful snack meal prepared by Stephanie. No, we did not lose any weight on this trip, that is for sure. We then spent the next 2 hours playing Bocce Ball on a deserted Whitehaven Beach. Marce and I were able to take a stroll along the beach by ourselves where we saw sting rays in the water and thousands of soldier crabs, which were small and formed what looked like blue-gray clouds that moved along the beach. Once the sun had set, we enjoyed our last dinner, a fantastic BBQ steak and prawn meal. On Monday morning the wind had come up, and we had a good sail back to Hamilton Island with 25 knot winds pushing us along. As we said our good-byes to Marc & Stephanie, and boarded the plane for Brisbane, we all agreed it was one of our best vacations ever!

Marc

P.S. Check out this website below to view more of our pics at the online Kodak Gallery:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=rb4s789.1k0ceiat&Uy=-7rdamw&Ux=0

Grandma Alene Arrives For Christmas!

It's been a long time coming (especially for the girls) but Grandma Alene, my mom, arrived Friday morning for her second Christmas Down Under with us. In our 21 years of marriage, she has only missed two Christmas seasons with us--one, three years ago when we had just arrived in Brisbane, and the other, the year she decided to take a warm-weather holiday to Mexico. This year she will join us for a month of fun in the sun. The weather has been perfect and cooler than normal for her arrival--highs in the upper 80s with evening temps in the low 60s. After travelling for 27 hours (actually 17 hours in the air) she did an amazing job keeping up with us for the day. Once she was settled, we enjoyed an invigorating swim in the pool, followed by a few hours of Christmas shopping in the mall, and ended the day watching "The Santa Clause" movie while wrapping and wrapping and wrapping gifts--whew! She managed to stay up until 10PM before crashing for the night.

Yesterday morning Grandma Alene, Michelle, Meagan and I were up and out the door by 7AM for a brisk walk down to Racecourse Road (a weekly ritual for Marc and I) where we enjoyed breakfast at one of my favourite cafes, Ascot Continental Deli. Then it was home to fit in a little more wrapping before we all headed out to see "Charlotte's Web, starring Dakota Fanning. Yes, you read that correctly, the film was released in Australia on December 7th ahead of the American release date, December 15th. Usually we have to wait to see new films until about 2-6 months later, so this was quite a treat! "Charlotte's Web" was filmed in and around Melbourne, with its idyllic setting, which is why they chose to premiere it in Australia first. It was a positively charming and beautiful adaptation of E.B. White's book, and a much more engaging film then we expected. We all agree it's a definite must see film of the holiday season!

Then it was time for--surprise, surprise--more Christmas shopping at Queen Street Mall where we finally scored and found a swimsuit for Meagan, after months of searching. Well, it's not really Meagan's fault; its just a difficult process finding modest swimwear in Australia.We wrapped up our day out with dinner at Sitar, our favourite Indian restaurant. Then it was home for an evening Christmas celebration, which was admittedly a little strange because we celebrated it so early in the season. The highlight of the evening came when Michelle and Meagan discovered that their two dear friends, Callie and Margaret, will visit us for three weeks in March. The girls are barely able to contain their joy and excitement!

Today, we're off to church and then over to the Adams for another Christmas get-together and BBQ dinner (an Australian Christmas tradition).

Marce

What Is A Didgeridoo?

Last Christmas I was given two tickets from Boeing to attend a Christmas concert put on by the Queensland Orchestra. Marce had come down with the flu, so Michelle and I enjoyed an evening Brahm's concert. The highlight of the concert was a piece played by William Barton, one of the most prominent didgeridoo players in the world. You might be asking what a didgeridoo is? A didgeridoo is an approximately 3 foot long branch from a tree which is hollowed out by termites. By blowing into the end, one can make some interesting sounds from a hollow branch. The real trick is something called "circular breathing" where you breath in and out at the same time. I still haven't figured that one out! After the concert Michelle and I had the opportunity to meet William, a 26 year old Aboriginee from Mt. Iza in northern Queensland. We exchanged business cards and kept in contact. At some point William told me he wanted to develop a corporate speaking program to compliment his orchestral playing. One thing led to another and we invited William to our house where we had dinner and laid out the strategy for his first coporate speaking event at Boeing. Following that session we had a few planning sessions with my Australian friend, Brendan Croucher, who is truly world-class at developing corporate strategy events. William was the surprise guest speaker at my groups' annual offsite, which was held at the Twin Water Resort on 9-11 Nov on the famous Sunshine Coast, about 90 minutes north of Brisbane. During our offsite William played both modern and traditional didgeridoo pieces for both dinner meals, and led an afternoon session where all of the Boeing team learned to play PVC pipe didgeridoos. Marce and the girls came up for the end of the event, and we stayed one extra night at the resort which gave us time to swim, hike and play on the Sunshine Coast. It was a great weekend for all!

Marc

On our way to Twin Waters ...

Earlier this week, my dad had a leadership training program at Twin Waters, a resort located about two hours north of Brisbane. He proposed that we all meet him there once he finished so that we could spend some time relaxing, swimming, and bike-riding. So, at this moment, we’re driving to Twin Waters along the freeway. Bing Crosby’s Christmas album is keeping Madeline and Marina occupied (they’re singing and bopping like crazy!), and I can’t help but think that “White Christmas” is a ridiculous song to listen to in Brisbane. Right now, the sun penetrates through the white cumulous clouds floating in the baby-blue sky, and would cause our car to feel uncomfortably hot if we didn’t have air conditioning. Whoever invented air-conditioning, we thank you with our whole hearts! This year, the weather is actually quite a bit cooler than we remember last year, but we all know that in just a few more weeks, the mercury in the thermometer will touch the 35* Celsius mark (which is about 95* Fahrenheit).

Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere … it just doesn’t feel right. While browsing through the malls (they call them “shopping centres” here), we’re bombarded with miniature Santa Claus toys, fully clad in jackets, boots, and scarves. Anyone wearing that in the middle of December would practically die of heat stroke! Australians should realize that Santa ought to change into a different costume before giving gifts to Aussies. Maybe he would be decked out in shorts, flip-flops, and sunnies (Australian’s nickname for “sunglasses”). He definitely would receive tim-tams and ice-cold beer from the kids instead of the traditional cookies and milk. But one nice thing about having Christmas in summer is that the dads are given about two weeks’ holiday to spend traveling with their family, relaxing, etc, instead of having only one week in Christmas and one in summer. That last option doesn’t give much time for traveling overseas or relieving all the stress from work (of course, I don’t really know much about occupational stress, because I’ve never had a job other than picking up pine cones...).

Last year, around this same time, we vacationed at Twin Waters, and found it to have a never-ending list of activities. In the middle of all the hotel rooms and restaurants sits a rather large, manmade lake filled with an enormous floating trampoline, sailboats rented by vacationers, and numerous pink and green colored kayaks, bobbing up and down on the gentle waves. On land, even more activities abound: bike-riding, bungee-jumping (it’s really small, though, and more for little kids), tennis, and trails to and from the near-by beach. I don’t think we’ll suffer from boredom this weekend! We’ll try to write about our time here soon.

Thanks for reading!

~Michelle

Marina, up and running again

What a relief to have Marina back to her perky, cheerful self after this past week! The case of gastroenteritis she contracted at the end of our trip to South Australia was a real doozy! She was so sick and lethargic by Wednesday that we took her to our doctor who promptly told us to get her into ER. We were extremely impressed with the staff at Wesley Hospital, a private hospital about a 10 minute drive away. As Marc was paying the bill, he jokingly commented to the Receptionist that it would cost that much just to pay for parking in a hospital parking garage. The cost of Marina's ER visit? Less than $100US--amazing! I guess that's a result (or some would say benefit) of living in a socialized country. Fortunately Marina didn't have to stay overnight, but we were told to force the liquids down and monitor her closely for the next 12-24 hours. By Friday, she had turned the corner and today she's thankfully back to normal.

Marce

Great Ocean Road

On Saturday, we packed up and headed out in our rental minivan to drive the Great Ocean Road. This road hugs a windy coast between Melbourne and Adelaide, and takes about 15 hours to drive. Given that we had limited time and four girls with us, we decided to only drive the first five hours to Warrnambool, a mid-sized town along the coast. The highlight of this part of our trip was seeing the Twelve Apostles (actually there are only 9 left), which are breathtaking sandstone stacks of various colors towering out of the sea.

The low point of the trip was when Marina "lost her breakfast" due to a bad case of gastroenteritis combined with windy roads. This picture was snapped about an hour after she was cleaned up--poor, exhausted thing!

The foliage is also very unique, and much of this area is a rainforest. During our drive we saw koalas in the wild for the very first time, fulfilling one of Marce's dreams before returning home. Meagan snapped a great picture of an alert koala, shown at left. This is highly unusual, as most koalas sleep or rest about 19 hours a day. And we sighted not just one, but four climbing trees in the same area! Our stay in Warrnambool ended with Thai food take-away and a “dinner theatre” watching "The Princess Bride". Our trip home to Brisbane was uneventful (except that poor Marina was still suffering from the flu bug), and we were glad to be back to our balmy tropical climate. Even Michelle, who was the only one in our family who seemed to thrive on the cold and damp weather, was glad to return to the Brisbane sunshine. It was the first time in almost two years that we had been in such cold weather and Marce and I realize we are becoming weather wimps!
-Marc

Seattle Weather Down Under

This morning we woke up to wind, rain showers, and temperatures which had plummeted to 8 C (45 F). They say if you don’t like the Melbourne weather, wait 15 minutes. We learned that it changes often and drastically, with the potential for hot air coming from the northern deserts, or the icy cold winds blowing north from Antarctica. The phrase "four seasons in a day" is part of the popular culture. We spent the next few days both in and outdoors, depending on the weather.

One of our favorite spots was Queen Victoria Market, an open air market filled with a diverse range of inexpensive merchandise--over 1000 stalls worth! We checked out Federation Square, an irregular-shaped piazza with distinctive modern buildings. The architecture is striking and peculiar in design and seems to lack the warmth needed as a public centre and meeting place. We also enjoyed walking through Southbank, visiting the various ethnic districts, and patronising Starbucks, which was necessary to help us warm up between our cold outings. Yes, with the weather being so much like Seattle, more Starbucks exist here than anywhere else Down Under. -Marc

Flinders Street Station

Funky Federation Square

On to Melbourne

We made a brief visit to the National Botanical Gardens this morning, which were lovely, before arriving at the airport for our noon flight to Melbourne.

Perfect weather greeted us on our mid-afternoon arrival, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 20s Celsius (~ 85 F ). We checked into our 2 bedroom apartment overlooking the water at an area called the Docklands. It was new, modern and very nice with restaurants located along a promenade below us. We quickly dropped our luggage off and headed into town via one of the many trams that are used for public transport. Melbourne is definitely a tram city, with many modern electric trams which are used for transport in and out of the city.

We soon learned why Melbourne is called the shopping capital of Australia, as it has everything from fashion houses, to major department stores (one, in particular, that even rivals any we've seen in America), and unusual souvenir shops. It has the most European feel of any Australian city with many alleyways and old stone buildings. It is also the Southern Hemisphere's leading cuisine capital with a host of ethnic restaurants. We found ourselves in the Greek district where we enjoyed a delicious Greek dinner and scrumptious desserts--Marc and I agreed the tiramisu dessert was one of the best we've ever had. We walked home in balmy weather, still in the upper 20s Celsius. We discovered (not surprisingly!) that Melbourne has twice shared the top position in a survey by The Economist of "The World's Most Livable Cities".

Marce

Our view of the Melbourne Skyline from the Docklands

Parliament House Tour in Canberra

We started the day off with a visit to the new Parliament House, which has a tall, aluminum structure visible from most of Canberra. On top flies a large Australian flag. We didn't know what to expect given that most of the Parliament House is actually located underground, so that symbolically the people can walk over the government. Once inside we all agreed that the building exceeded our expectations in terms of size, grandeur, and beauty. It is a modern building with a unique mix of old and new architecture. After having lunch at the new Parliament building, we finished the afternoon at the very modern National Museum of Australia containing numerous exhibits about Australian society and history, and an entire wing devoted to aboriginal Australian culture.

Parliament House

We also stopped by the U.S. Embassy where we took the below picture. It was Sunday afternoon and all was quiet at the guard gate. Not 30 seconds after taking this picture, we were surrounded by security who had noticed us at the front gate. Obviously, security is high at all Embassies around the world! -Marc

High atop Mount Ainslie with a bird's-eye view of Canberra

Canberra Attractions

Today we went to Qwestacon, the national science centre for kids. It is very similar to the Seattle Science Center in that it contains a host of hands-on activities for all ages. One of our favourites was a free-fall slide where you hang from a metal bar before letting go to find yourself free-falling for a split second before being whisked away by a smooth metallic slide. They also have a motion-based simulator where we rode a simulated cartoon roller-coaster.

Following Qwestacon we went to the famous Fishwyck vegetable market, which was like Pike Place Market on steroids. The people, and hustle and bustle were a bit too much so we just plowed through the people to get the few items we needed.

We then finished our day with a quick trip to the Old Parliament House, which started operation in 1927 and stands in front of the new Parliament House, which was opened in 1988. There Meagan tried on a wig while sitting in a chair for the House Leader. -Marc

PSAT jitters

Last night at 6PM we boarded our Virgin Blue flight to Canberra, the nation’s capital, for an eight day family trip to Canberra, Melbourne, and the famous Great Ocean Road. The impetus for the trip was Michelle taking her PSAT, which was not offered in Brisbane. We decided to seize the opportunity and turn it into a family holiday. Canberra (pronounced Can-bra) is located in the Australian Capitol Territory, which is akin to the District of Columbia, about 100 km away from Sydney. This location was selected in the early 1900s because the long history of rivalry between the two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, meant that neither could become the national capital. Prior to its selection as the location for the nation's capital, it was just a sheep paddock. After our 90-minute flight we quickly checked into our hotel- the Griffin Hotel, named after the American architect Walter Burley Griffin. In the early 1900s Walter Burley Griffin won an international competition for the design of Canberra.

Michelle and I were up early Saturday morning to have her out to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) by 8:45AM. The AIS is a large complex on the edge of Canberra where many Australia champions are born. Seeing all the monuments and large complexes for training gave us a real sense for how much Australians value sports. There were only seven PSAT test participants, which was being administered by Judy Freudenberger, the U.S. Embassy Sub-regional Coordinator for Educational Advising Activities in the South Pacific. She ended up being a talkative resource of information for us, and may help us line up some Advanced Placement and SAT exams in Brisbane next year.

We moved onto the Australian War Museum, which we all agreed was a fantastic museum. The War Museum is very large and it would probably take two days to get through it all if you read everything. We focused on the major items- the tomb of the unknown solider, the wall of names of every soldier who has died in service, an exhibit on Gallipoli, the Great War (WWI) and two movies. One movie was on WWII air raids in Germany and the other was on three Japanese submarines which snuck into Sydney Harbour during WWII. Here is a picture of Madeline looking at the wall of all the names of the soldiers killed during the Great War. -Marc

Homeschool Art Co-op

Homeschooling, as many of you know, is not a common practice in Australia. The church we have been part of the past 10 months is unique in that all of the families with children under the age of 9 homeschool. Two weeks ago, three families, in addition to our own, started a fortnightly Art Co-op. It is geared for 6 to 7 year-olds and Madeline takes part in it along with Abbie, Gabrielle, Natalie, Tyndall, and (alas!), the only boy, Parker. He's a great sport and cheerfully joins in with the girls in their activities.

Today we hosted the 2nd Co-op, with Michelle and Meagan stepping in to be the primary art teachers--and enthusiastic ones, at that! The program started with the kids doing a traditional show n' tell, followed by recitation of the Matthew 5 Bible passage they are memorizing, and moving on to a 60 minute art lesson. There were two 'Big Ideas' the children learned. The first: "Shapes combine to show pictures". And the second: "Lines can show movement and action". All the moms agreed that Michelle and Meagan did a fabulous job teaching the lesson! They finished the afternoon off with a rousing game of beach volleyball in the backyard, while the younger siblings played in the sand pit. We are thankful to have such wonderful families to support us in our schooling endeavors and are excited for the delightful opportunities of fellowship.

Marce

An Inconvenient Truth

On Sunday Marce was not feeling that "flash" (an Australian term) so I decided to get the girls out of the house so she could enjoy some peace and quiet. First I took Madeline and Marina to Replay, which is a children's shop with games similar to a carnival where they earn tickets depending on their score. In the end, they get to redeem their tickets, which today earned Madeline and Marina a bracelet, lip gloss and a few pieces of candy. Upon returning them home to show off their hard-earned treasures, I decided to take Michelle and Meagan to see the Davis Guggenheim movie on Al Gore and Global Warming. Although I am not a fan of Al Gore, I have to say this is one of my favorite movies. I think Davis Guggenheim does an excellent job of using music, still photography, and home movies to compliment the slide show developed by our former Vice President. In addition to the creative cinematography, I also found the story compelling enough to make me think more green. Find out more about the movie at http://www.climatecrisis.net/ I would recommend you see the movie, or get the DVD which comes out 21 November. Following the movie Michelle, Meagan and I had dinner at the Pig & Whistle restaurant in the middle of the outdoor Queen Street Mall, shown at the left. We had a nice meal while we watched people strolling up and down the mall--the weather being around 80 degrees. September and October is the best time in Queensland, with warm days, comfortable nights, and blossoming tropical flowers.
-- Marc

A typical shopping day

From start to finish, it took me 2 ½ hours just to do the shopping for a special dinner party we hosted last night. I purchased fish at the seafood market, produce and dairy goods at the fruit market, canned goods, as well as frozen products and beverages at the supermarket, bread at the bakery, dessert at a different bakery, and then I hit the bottle shop for wine and beer. Of course if I was serving beef, lamb or poultry I’d go to the meat market for that. Whew! You’d think I’d get used to it by now, but it can still be a little taxing, especially with Marina in tow. :-) I still have the tendency to shop like I’m at Costco, so the trolley (which is the Aussie term for a shopping cart) is mounded high with all my groceries. And the trolleys they have here are different from the US ones. For one thing, the 4 wheels can go in every direction, and the more loaded the cart, the more difficult to maneuver. They're also not equipped with wire shelves underneath to hold some of your more bulkier items. I get some interesting looks from people, since most use the hand-held baskets and shop for just 1 or 2 days worth of food, while I struggle through the store with my unwieldy cart. Getting out to the van with it can be quite a feat as the trolley usually doesn’t head in the direction you steer, but wants to go at an angle. Madeline and I have worked out a great system where she guides the front of the cart while I push it. Its actually quite comical!

Another thing that is a bit irksome is that grocery stores don’t restock their shelves as frequently as in the States. Most shopping trips, I come away without finding at least 2 or 3 things on my list. And if I really need the items, then I have to go to another Coles (the name of the supermarket I normally frequent). That’s one reason I shop like I’m at Costco (at least with canned goods). For instance, I don’t know if they’ll be out of peanut butter or maple syrup on my next vist and if its on the shelves then I’ll load up on about 6 jars each.

Well, that’s a little glimpse into one of my typical shopping excursions. No worries…

Marce

Special friends near and far

It was a day filled with mixed emotions. Today our dear friends from home, the Spears, would have arrived in Brisbane for a couple of fun-filled weeks. But God, in His wisdom, had different plans. Sweet Simona, their eldest daughter, had an unfortunate accident 6 weeks ago when she fell from a tree swing and broke her leg. Because of the seriousness and location of the injury she had to undergo surgery. Her doctor recommended that she not travel until more healing has occurred. Fortunately, they were able to reschedule their trip for February, which we are looking forward to with much anticipation! We miss having them with us.

In spite of our sadness, we did manage to enjoy a wonderful afternoon of feasting and fellowship with a few families we invited over after church--as a matter of fact, they are all from America! We have grown close to the Alexanders, a very special family who has been here for 18 months. We recently learned they will be transferred to Jakarta, Indonesia within 1-2 months. Our church body has been in earnest prayer they would be able to remain in Brisbane, but the Lord seems to be closing doors for them here and opening new ones in Jakarta. We are excited for their new adventures, but saddened by the loss. They joined us, along with their delightful parents who are visiting from Florida. Gene and Gini, a lovely couple from South Carolina, who are here for a couple of months (and due back in January for another couple months) joined us, as well. We had a great time. And all the young girls even had the courage to go for a swim in our pool--brrr! It was the first time they've used it this season. Well actually, they spent most of their time in the spa warming up--so maybe they weren't all that brave after all!

Later that evening, Marc and the older girls spent the evening relaxing in the spa while they did a bit of stargazing--a lovely way to end the day!

Marce

Ayubowan!

Marce, Cecilia, Sonali, Lily and Karen

Ayubowan, meaning "May you live long", is the customary greeting of Sri Lankans that denotes welcome, goodbye, respect, devotion or loyalty.

Last night we had the privilege of being included in an authentic Sri Lankan dinner at the home of the Adams, along with 3 other families. Vinny and Sonali, native Sri Lankans, introduced us to the delicious cuisine of that little island with the following dishes: Beef Curry, Sri Lankan Lentils, Sri Lankan Red Chicken, cucumber and yogurt sauce, and rice. Sonali even supplied "saris" for the wives to wear. We all felt so feminine draped in the beautiful and rich-colored fabrics. Most importantly we had a great time getting to know a few families the Adams have become close with through their children's school.

Marce

Birthday Balloon Surprise!

Look, up in the sky...its a bird, its a plane, its a...what?! Why its Meagan, Michelle, Marc, Ramsis and Noah up in the sky floating over Brisbane in a hot air balloon!! Happy 14th Birthday, Meagan!! Marc and the girls were up and out the door before dawn, 4:45AM to be exact, with perfect weather conditions. Their pilot, who happened to be from Seattle (small world!), had the girls assist him with inflating the hot air balloon at the launch site, which they enjoyed immensely. Once in the air, they were able to enjoy 360-degree aerial views of spectacular scenery as they floated slowly along over the meandering Brisbane River. They couldn't have asked for a better flight path! They were able to float over our house (unfortunately I was still fast asleep and didn't get any pictures--bummer) and the Adam's house, as well. It was a truly unique and memorable experience, and a wonderful way to celebrate Meagan's special day.

Meagan and Michelle assisting in set-up

High above beautiful Brisbane

We rounded out the day with her requested birthday dinner menu: grilled steak, mashed potatoes (am I the only one who tends to make them just for Thanksgiving?), Northwest Autumn Salad (with lots of apple slices, candied pecans and blue cheese) and a chocolate devil's food cake finished off with a lightly-sweetened whipped cream frosting...yum!!

Meagan is growing into a lovely young lady these past 14 years. She has an exuberance for life, deep commitment and devotion to God, and a joyful countenance.

Happy birthday, sweet Meagan, and may you continue to be a blessing to those who know you!

Marce

2006 Riverfire Extravaganza

We were guests of Andrew (a Boeing co-worker from England) and Carol Owen who graciously hosted an evening to enjoy Brisbane's annual Riverfire celebration. They live on the 47th floor of the tall building in the above picture, which provided one of the best vantage points in all of Brisbane.

The show started promptly at 7PM with 2 F-111's flying in from the north at speeds of 800kph and doing a fuel "dump and burn" along the river. They looked like 2 gigantic fireballs lighting up the sky!


Incredibly, the pilots were flying below the skyline, which allowed us to look down on the planes as they flew by the Owen's balcony--cool!!


In a showcase of choreographed color and music, the bridges, rooftops, and skies above the city erupted in a massive fireworks display that was nothing short of spectacular.


The extravaganza continued for over 30 minutes with perfectly synchronized fireworks at multiple staging areas. A glorious evening for all!

Marce