New Zealand! (full version)

As you may be aware, I recently spent 2 weeks in beautiful New Zealand! I must say that I wish it had been longer (although I hear from my group of friends who are still there that it is rather rainy). The trip to New Zealand was the perfect way to end my time working for the Harvey's since it just felt like I was going on vacation. I had many expectations and fears for my trip to New Zealand and nothing went as I had planned, although I reckon it was a good th

ing.

I got to the Brisbane airport early on May 20th and

I met up with my fellow Canadians with whom I hadn't hung out in months. We hopped on and off the plane and through customs without incident. The feeling of being in New Zealand was pure ecstasy! We met up with two other Canadians who had flown into Christchurch from

Canada, it was a great reunion for everyone.

On our trip we were absolutely blessed to have rental cars (and very reasonably priced ones!). Having our own 2 vehicles meant that the six of us could roam freely around the South Island. We left Christchurch that same day and headed North West to Arthur's Pass. One the second day after a short time driving we came across Castle Rock; beautiful limestone rock formations. There we lounged, climbed, caved, took photos etc..uth Island on whichever schedule/timetable we pleased.

Later that day we drove the rest of the way to Greymouth. We spent a few nights there while we spent our days exploring the little town, thrift shopping, grocery shopping, and we even

spent an entire day at the local pool (I reckon it was the be

st pool day in history!). On the 23rd we drove to the west coast near Franz Joseph Glacier. We stayed at the most amazing (nearly deserted) campsite. On one side all you could see was mountains, then on the other was the ocean! Regrettably our days spent in and around Franz Joseph were rainy and cold (typical for the area).

When it rained we began to ironically use the saying "It,s another beautiful day in Franz Joseph" . Thankfully most of t

he rain held off for our hike to the glacier itself on the 24th.

After a terrible stormy night in Franz Joseph we drove 5 hours to Cromwell. It had to be the most beautiful drive o

ne could ever experience, the scenery changed at every corner and it only got more and more beautiful. It was a shame I felt so sick (I caught a nasty cold). We found a campsite outside of Cromwell where we stayed two nights. We had to go to a proper campground since there has recently been a ban on freedom ca

mping and we didn't want to risk a fine. Thankfully no one else was there (it being the off season) so we had the run of the place. We also got the most bang

for our buck since we used their kitchen, toilet, and shower facilities, and who could forget their selection of DVDs to watch!

During our time in Cromwell we did some wine tasting, some shopping and even an olive oil tasting where we were asked to help with some picking. Of course we were all keen to help out so we spent the next morn

ing learning about and picking olives. It was a great experience and we were even paid, but

in oil of course!

We arrived in Queenstown on Friday night and we went straight to a camp spot which was located on a small lake in a beautiful valley. After setting up our tents we explored the area by climbing a smallmountain. The boys made it higher than I did, but I blame it on the cold I had at the time. :P That ev

ening we sat around a fire eating our dinner and talking to a lovely re

tired couple from Cypris. They cooked us sausages, toasts, and even some wine! On

top of that they invited us into their camper van the next morning where they served us eggs and tea.

The day was spent in Queenstown. Shopping, internet cafes, watching rugby in a lounge, and eating massive burgers at Queenstown's famous Fergburger. The picture here is off my burger called the Hollier Than Thou which was a vegetarian burger make with tempura tofu, tomatoes, salad, coconut coriander satay sauce. It was the best burger of my life!!! Check out their website and see all the burger options: http://www.fergburger.com

The next day we headed for Dunedin after a bit of grocery shopping. I must say that Dunedin was my favourite city in New Zealand. In Dunedin we found a corner shop that sold the best chips ever for only $2.50 for a big bag (and smothered in chicken salt!). We shopped around at a few opp shops (thrift stores), checked out the uni campus, saw some terrible live jazz, and found an awesome book shop. We also spent every evening at the coolest pub ever called Al Bar. It was so relaxed, we sipped tea and played cards and trivial pursuit. It was so nice to have a place to hang out that had such a nice atmosphere.

One day in Dunedin was spent on the Otago peninsula. It was the most glorious sunny day! We ran up and down sand dunes, watched seals up close as they battled, we explored old army tunnels, checked out the albatross cen

ter and had coffee at a small restaurant. It was so beautiful and I was so excited to see wild seals up close, although I mus

t admit I was a bit nervous since we were so close to them.

After Dunedin we drove towards Timaru where we found the most incredible FREE campsite. We drove onto some government land that is only used during shearing season (which it wasn't) and we camped there for two nights. At that sight we played card games, read books, climbed limestone walls, explored caves, and had massive bon fires. It was such a beautiful area and it was so good to hang out there and spend zero dollars, but enjoying ourselves immensely!

On Friday we drove two and a half hours to Christchurch where we stopped at a pool to relax and clean up a bit. Wow, did it ever feel good to shower! Not much was open in Christcurch it seemed so we spent lots of time loitering in McDonalds, KFC, and

Countdown (grocery store). We stayed up until 4am since we didn't want to sleep in the cramped cars and it was my last night. We took a walk into the city center where most of the damage from the last earthquake was. you couldn't even walk into the center since it was completely blocked off. I reckon the buildings are still very unstable. It was horrible seeing all the damage, but I couldn't have left Christchurch without checking it out.

Loitering in the Countdown parking lot with our mustaches.

The next morning I sadly hopped on the plane back to Brisbane. My two weeks in New Zealand were so amazing and I hope to go back again one say, hopefully to check out the north island.

camping solo

Over the Easter holidays Ashleigh and Maddison headed off to their mother's leaving me with some free time. So I decided it would be great fun to do some camping, since I haven't done any at all during my time here. I asked around, but no one seemed to be free to join me. So off I went camping on my own.

For me this felt a bit odd since I am usually so social, but I've come to realize that I need to get used to doing things on my own. So a camping I went.

I decided on Lamington National Park since it was in the mountains and rain forest, it's a beautiful park that I'd encourage anyone to go to. Since I kept a journal while I was there I thought that I'd just write that as my blog post, here you are...

Day One:

After slithering slowly up the mountain through the usual Australian Eucalypt forest into the rain forest I managed to arrive at the Green Mountains. Once there I was helped by a most helpful ranger in his mid 60's name Steve. I had called the day before to see if I could make a reservation (since it was the busiest camping weekend of the year). They were all full, but Ranger Steve was so kind and let me stay in the sites reserved for The Great Walkers ( a walk across the park from Binna Burra to the Green Mountains which takes 2-3 days). I was so excited since it was a walk-in site therefore it was separate from all the other campers so I felt so immersed in the rain forest.

My first walk of the trip was short and sweet. Since there were no maps left (I was told to come get one later that night) I had to stick to the very well marked trails. So, I did a 1/4 of the West Canungra Creek Circuit (4 km, 13 km). The track was muddy as! Thankfully I brought my boots rather than my joggers.

As I got back it began to rain like mad! I quickly hopped into my car and read for about 10 mins, then thankfully it stopped. I made dinner (couscous and veggies) did the dishes, then ran into a group of young French people!

I had seen that a turkey had gotten into their garbage at their site, so as they were walking by I told them. They didn't quite understand so I asked where they were from and they answered France. Later that evening we had a lovely chat ever tea. Laurie and François are dating and have been traveling around Australia together for a few months and their friend Nicolas was visiting them for a couple weeks. They even shared one of their precious bottles of imported French wine.

After tea and wine I headed off to my tent which was nicely hidden in the bush. Thankfully I had my head torch! I wasn't even nervous like I thought I might be about being in the dark rainforest at night, which I was very proud of.

Day Two:

François, Laurie and Nicolas invited me to do a walk with them in the morning. I obviously accepted and we ended up doing two short walks: Python Rock, and Moran falls. The two trails were bot

h beautiful with spectacular views of the waterfall. Afterwards we had lunch together and then they left for their next destination (Sydney I believe). Oh no! I hear thunder!...

Thankfully the thunder was accompanied only by a very light drizzle. After my delicious meal of 2 minute noodles and an apple I quickly cleaned up my dishes and headed to a small chapel near the campground for their Good Friday service. I arrived about 10 minutes early and was promptly asked by the Priest if I could do the scripture reading. I agreed of course, I was honored, but it was odd since I was there in my extremely dirty smelly clothes. I did the reading of the passion from John alongside the Priest and a lovely Woman named Marilyn. the mass was lovely (I think about 15 people attended) and I had a great chat with Marilyn afterwards (It turns out she only lives 20 mins away from me).

When I returned to my campsite I went to greet my new rowdy young neighbours. They invited me to join them so we joked, laughed and ate together until I headed to bed around 9.

Added note:

As I was hiking alongside the Frenchies I suddenly noticed a massive amount of blood running from my knee down my leg. I was so confused since my leg was not hurt and I didn't remember cutting it on anything.

I had read earlier on that there were leeches at Lamington. Obviously I assumed that meant in the waterways (along with fresh water eels) since leeches are only in lakes and so on. Well apparently leeches are all over in the rain forest.

I ended up with a heap of the tiniest leeches ever all over the back of my knee and they were sucking me dry. I only had salt back at my tent so I bravely picked them off of my bloodstained knee. Then quickly ate a hand full of sultanas to regain my lost iron.

Day 3:

I didn't wake up until 7 today! What a long sleep!

After a quick breaky I did the box tree circuit track which was by far my favourite track! I took about a 30 minute brake once I got to the falls since I was able to sit on a rock in the midst of it. I sat there reading, it was so peaceful and beautiful!

After that track (roughly 13 km I reckon) I packed up my tent, ate some lunch and headed back to Capalaba. On my way though I stopped at the coolest little dragon fruit farm were I bought a couple of different types...yummmm! And also I stopped at an alpaca farm, unfortunetly you couldn't pet them. Darn!

Pictures to come tomorrow :)

Nightcap

It is nearly 10pm here and therefore past my usual bedtime (laugh if you must). The problem is that I am very sleepy, yet unable to sleep.

I have had a busy day helping Monique move the remaining things (furniture and all) over here (her house has finally sold! yay!). So, I'm feeling rather tired from that, but I am just too excited to go camping tomorrow morning! I've been here 5 months and I still have not gone camping and enjoyed the lovely nature that Australia has to offer! So, tomorrow morning at exactly 7:45 am I will leave home and head off to Lamington National Park. The reason for the time being that I need to stop and pick up some food at Woolies, and it only opens at 8.

I am all packed and ready to go so maybe I will even enjoy a bit of a sleep in tomorrow morning! Who knows!???

Also, we now have 6 chickens living in the front yard. I still need to name mine and I have no idea! Any suggestions?? She's a white chicken that lays pink eggs, her next and head is quite fluffy and she has an exceptionally long neck. I'll post a picture soon, but in the mean time name suggestions will be accepted.

Happy Easter everyone! Eat heaps of Paska for me! (I hope to make some on sunday or monday).

aussie thunder 2

so it has come to another wet holiday here in aussie land, so what we are doing this easter is buying some

arancana chickens they lay blue green and pink coloured eggs, and im not crapping u they really do so the kids will love them and em is naming one as well so everyone has a chicken dec has named his ben10 ashleigh has named hers daisy and the others we are driving up to gympie to get them tomorrow which is 3 hrs north of here, prob spend 100 bucks in juice to get 4 chickens the things we do for our kids hey. well emilly had a major hair emergency omg! looks or looked like a easter egg head check the pics, so after racing her to the emergency hair room shaving her head its all good now and looks great and by the way april her hair will grow back its nice with the shaved look!!

we took the kids and em up to the mountains there are great little botiques and lolllie shops and lollie shops and a few coffee shops and oh did i mention the lollie shops ummmmm so good fudge fudge, oh yeah and then after a sugar fix we drove to a place called ettamogah pub u can google that its a great pub just alittle on a lean great beer crap food but we all had a great day.

monique my sexy europeeing goodess has sold her house and we are in full swing moving her gear to the main house and we will all live here for eva and a day.

ashleigh and maddison are doing well. they had a cross country race the other day which is another way of just haveing a race but putting a bluddy bush in the way, and ashleigh came in 6th and maddison thought after the first lap she would go and get some ice for her ankle and then sly back in the race on the last lap and yeah yeah yeah came in , yes you guessed it 4th and placed for nationals lol she didn't think dad would work out that if she walks every time during practice and finishes like 20th that a miracle would occur on the day and with gods hand she would come in 4th. lmao yeah dads not stupid so now she has been on chore duty cause of what she did.

i think emily has had allot on her mind with all the boys and grog she has been drinking lol not really i think she thinks allot about her future and what she would like to do not knowing which way to turn or go or what would her future be its funny that even as adults we still don't know and i don't think we ever do but just kinda stumble through it in what direction life gives us, my advice to her i gave was to not rush but to do what feels right to talk to your mum and dad and just work out a goal even if it changes but to make a decision and just go with it or to write down a list of what u would like to do and just make a path to that goal.

on a less lighter note!! we all saw koalas in the park yesterday and we haven't had to much rain as late and yes i aussie thunder am and as always beautiful one day and bluddy gorgeous the next!!!! be safe and we will keep em safe for u here

aussie thunder

hi to everyone who reads this blog. we thought since Emilly doesn`t blog so much we will help her out alittle with the life and times of Canadian bacon.

well she came to us as a shy little girl who said she loved kids and swimming, then we have slowly seen the truth of who is Emilly, well to our surprise she is like a daughter to us and a great addition to our house, she has travelled to Sydney and to a friend of ours in cairns and all over brissie even got her sea legs deep sea fishing while three other Canadian girls namely Paul, jeremy, jordons. you think they would be able to keep there lunch while at sea but no they threw up everywhere even my daughters had a good laugh. took them all to a island for a swim relax that's when we had the squid fight ( funny as ) then the boys went there own way and haven't heard from them since they went on there adventures.

Emilly helped me out in the tragic floods of Brisbane that was a experience that will stay with allot of us for ever as it happened last time in 1974. we have tried to make her feel at home in every way and keep a eye on her just the same as i would a daughter, and yes that means keeping the boys at bay too... lol just kidding....

so over came the brauns mum and dad lol.... they had a blast going to the goldcoast the sunshine coast and all over town em`s dad had to check all of the hardwear stores gotta love it hope he got all the info he needed to take home with him ( if not let me know and i`ll send over more stuff for u ) and em`s mum was glad to see her daughter i`m sure.

hope they had a great trip and are welcome back anytime, they also did seaworld a few times and liked the dolphins so i hear.

now alittle about our household. steve`s ( me ) fav word is dumbass, think that god made to many dumbasses in australia, there is monique my european goddess she`s a bueat chick then there is maddison and ashleigh my twin daughters who can allways do with a kick in the bum lol and little declan who is full of beans..

we have a medium paced lifestyle here set in a semi rual setting we do get koalas in the trees and kangaroo`s down the back, the kids goto school we goto work and life revolves alittle like that, we have a big fishing boat and a pinball machine out the back for fun.

emilly is about to head out with her churchie friends for a chinwag and a cuppa so i will try and up date all of u on what this little chickie is up to in a typical aussie way.

word of the day is wanker!! this is another version of dumbass... lol

hope u dont take offence to our aussie lingo.. or words if you can`t understand that

Dealing with homesickness

When it comes to missing Canada, friends and family I am most confused with how my mind deals with it all. The first few month here seemed to pass by so slowly, I felt the need to email, skype and write letters non-stop to people back home in order to stay sane. It felt so difficult to socialize with locals my own age, I think I just felt insecure. I had no idea how I would adapt from living in Winnipeg with heaps of friends to go out with and spend time with nearly every day of the week to going to a place where I knew absolutely no one. Thankfully Steve and Monique were so kind as to let me join them in every single family activity. They've always been sure to invite me to family events and include me in every outing. Without that I think I would have gone insane from boredom and lack of human contact. With their help and some self motivation I slowly began to make friends. It's so hard to tell when it happened, but over the past month or two I began to feel very connected to this community and my new found Aussie friends. It seems like I have now past the barrier of acquaintanceship and passed into real friendship. This has made me feel much more at ease and comfortable here. I no longer feel the need to constantly check my email and be on Skype every hour of the Canadian daytime. It's a wonderful freeing feeling not to have to live through conversations and emails regarding life back in Winnipeg, I feel like I have a life of my own now here and I couldn't be happier about it! Thank you so much to all who are thinking and praying for me, I appreciate it and need it so very much. Just because I'm feeling more comfortable here now doesn't mean you have to stop sending me mail and emails, I still love and appreciate them so very much! I love you all and I miss you! I'll see you on Canada Day (I will conveniently be arriving home on July 1st)!

Things here in Capalaba have become quite routine. Monday to Friday I take the children to and from school, I spend my days visiting with friends, Skyping with friends and family, cleaning, and whatever else ends up filling my time. Most evenings are spent helping with homework, dinner, and card games. A couple nights a week I sneak out early to go to bible study or visit with friends that live around the area. I have become so comfortable here that it's hard to believe I've only been here 4 months!

I have been praying for some sort of part time or casual job for the pasts 2 months and as of Sunday my prayers have been answered! I got word from one of my friend's in the area that there was a family he knew in need of a support worker for their teenage son. I sent them an email Sunday afternoon and by Sunday evening I was offered the job! Every Tuesday until I come back to Canada I will be driving to the north side of the city (about a 40 minute commute) to pick the young man up for his work experienc

e. I help him out with his office admin type work at a company called Mamre. This involves scanning, filing, etc... Then we go out for lunch (Macca's is his favourite so I'll need to be prepared to go every week). The timing couldn't be better either! It works out that I can fit in the shift perfectly between the children's school hours! This is such a Godsend and I couldn't be happier with how my first shift (last tuesday) went. I'm really looking forward to see what next wee

k will bring!

Driving over the Gateway Toll bridge is part of my commute.

Last week I discovered one of the Gold Coast's more beautiful beaches. I've been to all the popular ones: Surfer's Paradise and Main Beach. Last Friday though I got the opportunity to check out Burleigh Heads. WOW! The water was crystal clear, the sand was soft and white, and there was plenty of parkland around to picnic on. This is by far my favorite beach on the Gold Coast...for now.

I nearly forgot! Last week Steve and Monique came home and sent the girls and I to the local park to see a Koala in one of the trees. We spent about 10 minutes searching the trees for the koala, when suddenly it ran out on one tree and onto the next. This is the first wild koala I have seen while here in Australia, so I was quite excited!

Pretty cute isn't he?

Visit with Mama and Papa

I am terribly bad at writing regularly, therefore I apologize to anyone who is disappointed by that. Since I can't say that I will begin to post things more often I will simply try to make this post extra good! Here goes nothing...

My parents arrived safe and sound in Brisbane exactly one week ago and consequently I have a an absolutely wonderful week! Reuniting with them after nearly 4 months was more emotional than I had expected, I realized just how much I missed them. They got off the plane and as soon as we began our drive home I started to blabber/talk/explain and generally just carry on about where to go what to see and funny Aussie lingo, laws, etc...

Steve and the rest of my au pair family were more than happy to have mom and dad stay with us thankfully. So... I've lost my room and have been demoted to sleeping on a foam mattress in the office. Of course I don't mind though, it's a small price to pay to have my parents right here with me for 2 weeks.

The night they arrived I brought them to church where I found myself doing the same thing that my parents have done to me all of my life: I showed them off.

Throughout my life there have always been times where I feel like my parents are introducing me as their daughter and making sure I meet everyone because they are so proud of me. Now that I have them here I feel the opposite:Now I'm the one saying: ''Hey! Come meet my parents! They've come all the way from Canada! Aren't they just great????!!!''

After a few days of having my parents around I began to see why I do what I do around the kids. I'm definitely my parents daughter. Everything I do with the kids here is based on what I've learnt from my parents. Whether its discipline, talking, playing, or having a song for everything. It's just amazing, and I've never realized it until now when I see them with the kids.

Well, we haven't sat around doing nothing all week, we have been quite busy:

I've shown my parents around Capalaba, they've seen all my favorite shops, the girls' school, my church...I guess that,s about it for Capalaba haha.

We've had sorbet at Cleavland Point, shopped at one of the nearby Westfield malls, wine tasted at Sirromet, watched the dolphin show at Sea World (twice), and finally we spent this past (very rainy) weekend at the Gold Coast, followed by a great no-fuss dinner after church today.

As nice as it is to have mom and dad here I know when they leave in a week it will be hard to see them go. Being away from the ones you love really makes you appreciate what they do for you and what that relationship means to you. So my encouragement to everyone is that they don't take time spent with family for granted. Every little bit counts, enjoy it even if it's difficult to sometimes.

Here's some pictures from their trip so far...

12 weeks

I can hardly believe that I have been here for 12 weeks! Yikes! It seems like I have been here forever, while at the same time it feels like I just got here. Even after 12 weeks I still am upset that because of the time change I lost nearly an entire day of my life! I guess I'll get it back when I return to Canada.

Thus far my time in Australia has been such a learning experience for me. I have learned what seems like a new language with all of Australia's many abbreviations and odd words. I have learned how to drive on the left side of the road. I have learned to cook Thai food (reasonably) well. I have learned to scuba dive, how to take a train rather than buses, I have learned I have good sea legs, but mostly I have learned that no matter where you are people aren't very different.

It's so interesting how people from so far away can be so similar. Earlier on this morning I had the pleasure of going for coffee with a lovely young lady from the local Presbyterian church. we chatted about life, books, coffee, traveling, and much more. I was blown away by how both of us were on such similar journeys in life and how we were both struggling with the exact same dilemma. I found such solace in talking to her about struggles that we shared when I thought I was the sole person I knew working through it. It was such a comfort and joy to have found someone to relate to and share with.

Day to day life here seems so trivial sometimes, but when I step back I see just how content I am with it. The simplest things are what I enjoy most: Driving

the girls to school and listening to the daily prank call on the radio. Sitting in the hot Aussie heat to read a book and getting so boiling hot that I have no choice but to jump into the pool. Sitting down and watching the morning news (Sunrise) with my

cup of green tea.

When I made the decision to come to Australia I thought that through my time here I would understand my path in life. I thought that once I was here I would have the answers to post secondary education, to what career I would pursue, to my future family life, pretty much I thought I would grow up, mature and become the Emilie I was meant to be. I guess I was too naive to realize that Australia isn't magical, I definitely haven't received any answers yet. If anything I am more unsure and confused, but I think

I like it that way. My mind changes on a daily basis, and it keeps things interesting, I seem to be looking up different career options every week (this week's is Natural Medicine in case you were wondering). None really ever seem to stick, but maybe one day something will, I'll just wait and see, I still feel like I have heaps of time.

This post may not be as exciting as the others, but I figured a select few of you readers may want to hear things other than my Aussie adventures. For those who are only interested in my adventures here are some pictures of this past weekend's deep sea fishing trip:

My trip to Cairns

My trip to Cairns was an absolute dream come true! I left from the Brissy airport on Thursday the 27th right after we picked the girls up from school. After about 2 hours in the air I landed in the extremely hot and muggy tropical climate of Cairns. I landed around sunset so I saw the sun go down over the mountains and I had a beautiful view of the reef.

Steve's good friend Rhonda lives in Cairns and so I was thankfully able to stay there. I have never felt more welcome in my life! Rhonda's youngest son, Samuel (10) moved out of his room for the weekend so I had my own room! That night I sat in on a lovely family dinner with Rhonda, Samuel, and Ilyssa (17).

Friday Rhonda had to work so I spent the day with Ilyssa and a few of her friends

. We drove to Crystal Cascades. I have never seen so beautiful a place! The cascades ran down in between a large forest of beautiful green tress, vines and flowers. We spent the day there swimming and jumping off the rocks. I managed to face my fear of heights and I jumped off o

ne of the taller cliffs.

Now Saturday the 29th of January was a day that I will always remember. Rhonda booked

herself, Samuel and I to take a snorkeling/diving tour of the reef. Since it was my birthday Steve, Monique and the girls surprised me with a call that morning telling me that the whole trip to the reef (including my first dive) was all taken care of! I couldn't

believe it! I couldn't have gotten a better gift.

After we got checked in we spent an hour and a half on the boat to get out to the reef. Poor Rhonda and Samuel both got quite sea sick. Once we were there I immediately jumped into my very beautiful Lycra body suit and I was shown the basics of diving. Next thing I knew I was 7 meters under water breathing out off this mouth piece and wondering where the boat was. It was a very eerie and uncomfortable feeling at first.

Not long after our decent into the ocean a massive Blue Wrasse named Wally was swimming up to us waiting to be given a pat. We each took our turn posing for a picture with him and I even ga

ve him a little cuddle. After that the dive went by so quickly! We

squeezed sea cucumbers, touched sea anemone, and just got used to the feel of diving. After that first dive i was hooked, I quickly grabbed some lunch then headed back for my second dive. Thankfully this one was longer now that I knew the basics. This time it was just the instructor, an older German man named Wolfgang, and I. This time I wasn't scared in the least. We slid off the platform and descended to a depth of 15 meters this time. I swam along side an old sea turtle, held a clown fish that I captured while playing with the anemone. I gave the sea turtle a nice back scratch, but I don't Think he noticed because of his shell. When we swam back up to the boat I couldn't believe how quickly the time had passed! I was offered an opportunity

for a third dive, but of course it would have cost me. Now looking back I wish I would have just done it. Oh we

ll, I had a great afternoon snorkeling with Rhonda and Samuel. I saw heaps of beautiful blue parrot fish, clown fish, butterfly fish, a sting ray, and even a bamboo reef shark! (a pretty small one, but ma

ybe that was best).

When we got back to Rhonda's Ilyssa had made a lovely veggie lasagna and picked up a delicious chocolate cake for my birthday dinner. We set off sparklers outside before cake and retired early since we were so tired.

On Sunday we drove to Port Douglas to take a look around the markets and eat lunch on the beach. After we went to Mosomon Gorge and took a walk through the rain forest. We even took a dip in the chilly runoff from the mountain. It was such a beautiful place!

Monday was my last day, I spent it shopping with Ilyssa and her friend Jake. I found a few neat souvenirs and a nice pair of Thai pants. Then in the afternoon Rhonda, Samuel, Ilyssa came brought me to the airport and off I flew back to Brisbane. It was a wonderful weekend!

Back to School

The girls started their first day of year 6 today! Of course in preparation we spent Sunday and Monday at the theme parks. Sunday was a day full of dolphins, sea lions, penguins, and rays at sea world. We saw the sea lions and dolphins show,and road up front on our favourite sea ride:

Jet Rescue. It was a blast!

Monday was spent at Wet N`Wild where we spent most of the day waiting in lines on the boiling hot cement. I must say that the highlight of my day was Wet n`Wild`s newest ride: The Aqua Loop. (http://wetnwild.myfun.com.au/en/Attractions/Rides/AquaLoop.aspx) The Aqua Loop is a water slide that starts off with you free falling through the clear tube then takes you through a full 360 degree loop. When you are at the top the lifeguards help you into a clear pod. Then an eerie female voice counts down "three, two, one", th

e floor drops from underneath you and then you soil yourself. Haha ok, maybe not but it was scary as! Of course, I`d do it again!

Now that I have weekdays free, I'm unsure as to what to do with my time. I have signed up to do child care for Mom's Morning Out at the church I've been attending. I would be doing that every second Thursday. I haven't heard any news from the lady in charge yet, so I hope that it works out. Other than that I may be looking after Declan on Tuesdays. I've been starting a bit of a job search mainly childcare, cleaning or waitressing, so hopefully I find something soon so I don't get too bored (and make a bit of extra $ for traveling).

As for tomorrow: IT'S AUSTRALIA DAY! (January 26th) We'll be taking out Steve's boat, and enjoying the sun and sea! Then we'll spend the evening with Monique's family having a birthday BBQ for Monique's nephew and sister in-law.

So... in case you forgot (in which case I hope that for you own good you didn't) it's my birthday this Saturday! I'll be leaving Thursday afternoon to go up to Cairns for the weekend! The weather looks good so far, so hopefully I'll spend the weekend exploring the Great Barrier Reef and dodging crocks on the beach.

OMG! Oprah's big secret!!!! ...

I wish I was Oprah's half sister!!!!!!

And I hope everyone has been watching Oprah's Australian special! It's been a pretty huge deal around here.

Queensland floods 2011

As you may have heard there is serious flooding here in Queensland. If you haven`t well then check it out it`s pretty darn bad. I spent half of my trip in Sydney trying to get updates on the situation in Brisbane. By the time Friday came around the airport (thankfully) was still open and I was able to make it back to Brisbane without any troubles. I arrived in Brissy only a few hours after the river crested and thankfully the water was a whole meter lower than predicted. We spent the day driving around and scoping out a street in Kenmore that needed some serious cleanup. Steve and I went out the next day (Saturday) to help with cleanup. We took the water semi and all the hoses. We left the house at 4:30am and got there by 5:30 am. Steve spent the first few hours hosing off the road to prevent anymore mud from being tracked into the homes, while I used a 5000 ppi pressure washer to clean out the bottom level of a home. The homes down that street are all two levels and they were only flooded one the first level. After I had cleaned out the home Steve disinfected it chlorine. We spent a major part of the afternoon hosing out the underbelly of a home right on the river. After a 12 hour day of non-stop work we had hosed out 3 homes, the road, and disinfected 4 homes.

The work was very difficult, but it was good to be a part of the clean up. I could really feel the Aussie spirit as volunteers came from all over to help, and people brought us sandwiches, treats, and drinks. Please keep the people of Queensland in your thoughts and prayers as they clean up and rebuild.

As for our home, it`s completely fine. Capalaba has been untouched which has been a real

blessing.

As an extra: my rav4 broke down today after delivering water hoses to the flooded Rocklea Markets so I spent my morning waiting for a tow truck to arrive. The badly damaged areas are overridden with traffic trying to get in and out with volunteers, trucks and supplies, therefore making the traffic jams insane.

My week in Sydney

While the girls spent two weeks at their mother`s I hopped on a train and made my way down to Sydney. During my 13 hours on the Country Link train from Brisbane to Sydney I met a group of New Zealanders, saw the beautiful Aussie countryside and saw a trampoline set up on a hill at a 40 degree angle (quite odd).

(performers at the Sydney Festival)

Once in Sydney I saw all the sights: Bondi Beach, the Opera house, New South Wales Art Gallery, the Harbor Bridge, the Sydney Markets

, China Town, and last but not least the Olympic Park.

I was also able to explore a few suburbs where I was staying (Waverton, Lidcombe, Ashfield, and New Town). My

favourite of these was Newtown. It was filled with Thai restaurants, 2nd hand book shops, hippy boutiques, and even a bike library!

Lucky for me I arrived in Sydney in time for the kick off of the Sydney Festival. I was able to take in a few free concerts and enjoy downtown city. I even scored a few freebies from my bank ANZ who was sponsoring the event.

(View of the Opera House from the bridge)

That was my trip to Sydney in a nut shell. Hopefully I`ll get a chance to go back again yet during my travels!

(Kangaroo Pizza)

what`s new...

Last week was flurry of post Christmas shopping, playing with Christmas gifts and rain. The girls, Declan and I spent the lone sunny/hot day on the beach at Wynnum. It was great because they have a giant pool filled with sand and sea water, so it`s like swimming in the ocean, but without the dangers of waves, currents and wild life (great for the kids!). I had two evenings out as well, where I managed to make a few more Aussie friends. It was nice to see a bit more of Brisbane and spend time with people my age.

We spent New Years Eve at South Bank in Brisbane. We went for the 8:30 fireworks which were beautiful but apparently the midnight ones kick the early one`s butt. I`m pretty sure I was in bed and asleep by 10:00. Then I was rudely awoken by the loud bang of fireworks at midnight! What I party pooper I am eh? Oh well, next year I'll do better, I promise.

The girls left on New Years Day to spend two weeks with their mother. After two hours without the girls I found myself quite bored and unsure what to do, so i dyed my hair. This week has been nice and relaxed so far. I`ve done some house cleaning and yard work, swam in the pool, read The Lost Symbol, watched 2 foreign films (The Edukators and Jeux D'enfants) I recommend both. I`ve also gotten to spend more time than usual with Declan which has been a blast!

As for this comming week without the girls: I`m off to Sydney!!!

I`ll be sure to write about my adventures there as soon as I return to my home in Capalaba.

And the picture... yes it is a BBQ set to make beer bird. There's no better way to cook a chicken then to but a beer up its bum.

Ta-ta for now!