Kookaburras sitting in the old gum tree: I love photographing these birds!
It's spring in Australia and I am only just now writing about winter. We have done so much, gone so many places, broken so many bones (another blog), taken so many tests and the list goes on and on that I don't know where the time has gone. I wish I could freeze it - but I can't so we are making the most of every moment. We are feeling the countdown as we are scheduled to return to the states in 2011, unless we will accept another assignment. We have loved this experience and would not have changed a thing.
The end of the school year is always full of events, performances and tests. One noteworthy event was Carson being asked to represent the American Boy Scouts at a ceremony honoring the American Memorial Day.
The ceremony was held at the Flame of Remembrance, which is a memorial for all fallen soldiers from Australia. The flame is always lit. He and one other scout were asked to carry a wreath and lay it at the flame to honor all the fallen US soldiers. President Obama and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sent messages for the service to be read aloud. And the Australia Military Representative thanked the Americans who helped keep Australia a free country. The stories of American assistance to aid the Australia military were very moving and I learned alot and we can be proud of what the Americans did for the Aussies.
The kids at the International School get lots of opportunities to learn about local activities and sailboarding is one of those. Any kid in the middle school could sign up and take lessons. Carson did this and enjoyed it so much that in his free time he goes with friends down to the river to sail.
The end of the school year always mark a special day for Mikaela. She turned 15 on June 7. We arranged a surprise birthday party for her and we really pulled it off - she had no idea. The kids all made a cake whilst at our house see below:
Held at the same park with the Flame of Remembrance, Kings Park, is the annual Red Bull Air Race. This is a great race of airplanes over the river who compete to get the lowest time through the course. In the photo you can see an orange plane sideways going through the pylon.
At the end of the school year in June, we were so excited for the kids to be done with school!!! Nathan had 5 AP (advance placement) classes and Mikaela her first set of high school exams and the stress was intense as the kids strove to do their best. So when school ended the very next day we boarded a plane to Indonesia. We went to Bali to recoup. We stayed in a villa and had a marvelous time. We watched and learnt from the local people and toured the island from one end to the other. We hired a driver for the week and he came to get us each day and took us around in a mini-van. Nathan hired a scooter for five dollars a day and did some sightseeing on his own amongst the back roads and terraced rice fields. Click on the smilebox below to see lots of pictures of Bali:
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We enjoyed being in Bali and seeing a different part of the world, we stayed away from the typical tourist destinations - and we went out and explored Bali and saw what life was like for the typical Indonesian in Bali. I think it was good for our kids to realized how blessed we are day to day with the clean water, safe food, education and medical services that we have. The best bits of Bali I believe are the sense of community, the daily attention to religious beliefs, and simple way of life. The worst bits of Bali, stomach aches, monkey bites and exit visas!!!! Elise's Bali braided hair.
After we left Bali, which we almost didn't leave Bali - because we couldn't pay for the exit visa - long story made short, I gave all the Balinese money to Todd as the kids and I were flying out first and went to the airport not knowing we would need an exit visa and the Balinese would not take my credit card or check and I had no money. No-one would help us and they wouldn't let us out of customs without the visa's, it was awful. After asking for supervisor after supervisor, I finally got someone who allowed us to use a credit card to pay for the visa and we were able to leave Bali.
We flew from Bali to Dubai. We got to see the world's tallest building, but more importantly we learnt that the people of the United Arab Emirates appreciates Cheetos just like we do in America see below: we miss Cheetos in Australia.
We got to go to Houston and visit family and enjoy seeing friends. One of the first things we did after arriving in Houston was to get Nathan the rabies vaccine after being bitten by a monkey in Bali. He had to have the complete series and the immunogoblin injected into the site of the bite - only done in post exposure to rabies. The doctor offered to put him under, but he did it without any pain meds or sedation, the vaccine series was a piece a cake after the immuno. Two doctors arranged to work in tandem to inject the immunogoblin so it wouldn't take so long, and after the procedure was over they said they were going to need to cancel patients for the rest of the day and go home and that Nathan owed me a margarita and that he could never get close to a monkey again. He has followed through with the second order.
My dad has turned his back yard into a vineyard and the kids got to pick the grapes while we were there and we made grape jelly.
We stayed in Houston for the 4th of July and Todd got to fly in from Australia to join us for a few days. See below the Texas cousin's:
Elise and Amy made up for lost time.
A photo of the kids in Texas when we traveled home.
Spent all the time we could with family.
Then we headed up to Salt Lake City. We got to stay at our cabin and loved it. It is like being in another world up there in the canyon. We saw moose and deer and coyote and lots of little squirrels and potbellys.
Again we tried to see all the family we could and we got to go camping with Todd's family and had a blast. One day we all went on horse/mule ride through Bryce Canyon. Elise was so excited she was one day too young to ride, but the owners agreed to let her go as she was turning 7 years old the next day. Mikaela on the ride:
Here is a picture of Grandma Sue and all the cousins, only missing Timmy and Amy both living in Houston. Everyone met at our cabin and we had a fire, roasted marshmellows and played games.
Nathan and cousin, Jordan, went fishing at the lake above the cabin and got some trout - yummy!
After a bit of time in SLC we headed back to Australia. The kids start school early as they are given 6 weeks off at Christmas time to go visit their home country, so school starts late July. We got to bring my mom back with us to see Australia. Those adventures will be in the next blog. We loved getting to see everyone at home and made us miss you all even more!
Lots of photos from America click on the smilebox below. --Good-bye!
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