we're home

We've been home for a few days now...

The journey home was very long and tiring, but we made it. The bus ride was fine because the boys were in their car seats. The long flight was terrible. The boys slept about the 1st hour and last 2-3 hours. The flight was completely full, so Jared was on our lap the whole time. At one point in the middle of the flight, Jared finally went to sleep. About 30 minutes later, Nathan decided he had to go to the bathroom. I carefully slid out from underneath Jared, and we climbed over him and Alex. We made it back in without waking Jared. Then 5 minutes later, Nathan said he had to go again. You don't mess around when kids say they have to go... so we went again. This time on the way back, Jared woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. Sigh.

We took turns holding him at the back of the plane.

The next flight from LA to Chicago was great. The boys slept the whole way, and they slept half of the last flight. Our one problem on the last flight was the landing. Nathan had to go to the bathroom again, but we couldn't get up because we were getting ready to land. He couldn't wait, so he went #2 in his pants...

We made it safely home though. Alex's parents were there to pick us up. And because we had to deal with Nathan's issues, all of our bags were waiting for us on a big cart. The baggage guy wheeled our luggage directly out to the car for us. That was nice. Six weeks worth of stuff is hard to cart around.

We hate traveling with little kids.

We did notice that the smaller the plane, the MORE leg room we had. For the long flight, the seats were so close together that we couldn't bend over to reach anything on the floor, unless we went down sideways. With kids, things are always on the floor, so that was a big problem. One other complaint: I know we didn't pay full fare for Jared (only 10%), but doesn't he still need food and drink? To most of the flight attendants, Jared was basically invisible, as they generally ignored our request for another drink.

Anyway, I'm done complaining. We're just glad to be home safe and sound. After being up for nearly 36 hours, it was nice to sleep. Now we just have to get back to a normal sleep schedule (waking up before 11:00am!).

good-bye Australia

We're signing out...we're pretty much all packed up. We leave in about 5 hours to go to the bus station (5:30 am)- a bright and early start to a long and dreary day. Hopefully it won't be too bad. We'll see how it goes... We take a 3-hour bus ride at 6:30am to Sydney. Our flight leaves at 1:30pm. After the 13.5 hour flight into LA, we fly to Chicago and then into Tulsa, getting in at about 7:15pm Oklahoma time (about 12:15pm on Sunday in Australia). So we just miss about a day...

We enjoyed our time here in Australia. It was hard at times, but it was worth it. The boys probably won't remember it, but we left our mark on Australia. We met some wonderful people and hopefully we will be back again someday. Until we meet again...

G'day Mate!

sunset

The sun is setting on our time here in Australia. We have one more day and then we're headed home. These beautiful sunset pictures were taken on our walk this evening...

Jared spent quite a bit of time in the stroller- good thing he likes it!

Nathan's birthday

Nathan turned 4 on the 9th. He was excited to be the birthday boy all day...

We did a small party with Gabrielle (our hostess) and a family from church (who helped us out so much while we were here)- Thomas the train theme. He had Thomas cupcakes and got another Thomas train.

Amanda & Bruce, with Christopher (who wouldn't look) and Lana and Erin

Questacon

On Tuesday, I took the boys to a place called Questacon. It's very similar to the Children's Museum in Houston, for those who have been there. The boys loved it. I was going to take them on Nathan's birthday, on Wednesday, but noticed that 3 year olds are free and 4 year olds are $9.00. So we went the day before his birthday.

There was a place called "Mini Q" (I think)- especially designed for little ones to play. Nathan loved the construction area. He played with the manual conveyor belt, bringing these plastic bricks up and down. And he had to wear the hard hat and vest of course. Jared was drawn to the water play, watching the fake ducks swim around.

Bittersweet moments

Today was our last Sunday here in Australia... Nearing the end of our time here in Australia is one of those bittersweet times. We're sad to say good-bye to the wonderful people we've met (even in just 6 weeks), but we're excited to come home. We said farewell to most of our acquaintances at church- they made us feel so welcome and offered their service to us. We received rides and meal invitations and even a night out this week without the boys (along with free baby-sitting and use of their car). You can't beat that... We also called upon a ward member to help give the boys a priesthood blessing when they were sick. They came right away and even brought medecine for us to use.

I can see the hand of the Lord in our lives in so many ways. At a recent conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Henry Eyring spoke about looking daily for evidences of the hand of God in our lives and recording that. While unfortunately I haven't been keeping record daily, I have thought about that and noticed several times when my family or I have been blessed in small and simple ways. During our time here, being so far away from home, I have felt more dependent on God for strength and patience. When at times I didn't think I could walk anymore in the heat, with tired boys, carrying groceries, while the flies were bugging us, then I'd see a pretty flower and think it was there just for me. It was just enough to keep me going. OR another time when we missed the bus from the grocery store and the next one wasn't coming for an hour, a nice lady (who had seen us in line at the grocery store) offered us a ride home. OR when we found nearly the last motel room on Christmas and they didn't charge us extra for the kids. OR when we made it home 5 minutes before it started pouring, sparing us from walking in the rain. OR getting a full week off for Christmas. OR getting a chance to watch the First Presidency Christmas devotional again when we missed most of it the 1st time. OR all of the rides, meals, and service I mentioned earlier.

These are just a few of the little blessings I've noticed- small, but evidences of the Lord's love for me.

1st day of primary

Nathan is no longer in nursery (18 months to 3 year olds at church). Today was his 1st day of primary (Sunday School for children 3 and up- they have to be 3 before January 1st, so he didn't get to go to primary this past year). I got a glimpse of what it may be like to send your child off to school. I was excited to see him go to primary, but a little sad, because that means he's not a baby anymore. My baby is growing up...

The primary theme for this year is "I am a child of God." That is Nathan's favorite song and he sings it pretty well. I was so proud to hear that he sang it in primary today, and he even sang so well that they asked him to stand up in front while they sang it again. Yeah Nathan!

Sir Thomas

When we returned home from our trip to Melbourne, we were surprised to see 2 dogs and a GOAT. Gabrielle received it as a gift for Christmas from her children. The dogs belong to one of Gabrielle's daughters. The goat's name is Sir Thomas (you must say it with an Aussie accent...) - the boys were a little unsure of the goat, but have warmed up to him. Nathan liked playing fetch with the dogs. They would retrieve a ball as long as you wanted to play. The dark brown dog has only 3 legs, but does just fine. He catches the ball in his mouth before it hits the ground.

"Pudge"

"Meg"

Nathan and Sir Thomas

Day 7

Friday 28th- Day 7

We went to the Melbourne Zoo on Friday. It was HOT- felt like 90 at least. Nathan liked the elephants and Jared liked the butterflies. They both liked the gorillas, orangutans, and fish. The fish weren't really an exhibit, but that's what they liked.

We stayed until 3:00pm and then drove back to Canberra.

We made good time, getting in around 11:00pm.

Day 6

Thursday 27th- Day 6

We went back to the temple in the morning and traded off watching the boys. The boys loved wandering around outside the temple and playing in the dirt in the lot next to the temple.

We finally got to see some friends we met in Canberra a few years ago. Their little girl Zoe was a newborn when we last saw them. It was fun to see the kids playing together. Zoe had a new trampoline that was a hit and the boys also liked pushing the doll around in the stroller. Maybe we should get the boys some dolls...

Michael, Zoe, and Naomi (Naomi is expecting TWINS!)

Day 5

Wednesday- Day 5

We let the boys play at the playground in Apollo Bay in the morning and then we finished the Great Ocean Road. We drove to the temple in Melbourne, but it was closed, since it was "Boxing Day." The day after Christmas is a big day in Australia. We ate at a nice Chinese restaurant- the chopsticks were fun to play with... and then we ended up staying in the same motel in Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne, that we stayed in 3 years ago.

the end of the Great Ocean Road, near Geelong

"I love to see the temple; I'm going there someday..." - just not today

Day 4

Tuesday 25th- Day 4

It turns out that Santa Claus found us after all. But he possibly left some bigger items back home in Oklahoma. We weren't sure if Santa was going to make it or not, but he did...

Christmas morning was a little depressing. I think this is the first Christmas that I haven't been with other family (besides Alex and the boys). And we didn't have a tree or anything festive, just each other and a few small presents from Santa.

We left the motel for 10:00am check-out and headed to Port Fairy. We walked to the lighthouse and then let the boys play at the playground. After that, we began our Great Ocean Road tour. We saw all the major spots- the Grotto, Arch, London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, and the 12 Apostles in Port Campbell National Park.

We finished off our day in Apollo Bay. We didn't get into town until about 8:00pm and hadn't eaten dinner yet. Not much is open on Christmas Day. We found a pizza place open and then started to look for a motel. We searched nearly every motel in the town. It was a little ironic that we had just talked about "no room in the inn" the night before. We couldn't find any vacancies. I think we ended up with the last room in the town that was less than $200. And the lady was nice enough not to charge us extra for Nathan. We spent $140 for the equivalent of Motel 6... I guess that's what you get for not planning ahead! We were just thankful we didn't have to travel in the dark on the Great Ocean Road...

Jared at Cutter Cove

London Bridge

The Arch

12 Apostles

The Grotto


lighthouse at Port Fairy

Santa came...

Jared could care less about the toys; he went straight for the M&M's (Santa knows him well...)

Playground at Port Fairy

Day 3

Monday, 24th - Day 3

After a short stop by the toy store for last-minute items, we headed into Grampians National Park in the morning. Our first hike was Pinnacle Point, near Halls Gap. It took us about 3.5 hours. Since Nathan quickly grew tired of walking, Alex carried him on his shoulders and I carried Jared in the backpack. It was a little bit chilly for the boys, but great weather for "bush walking."

We also took a short walk to Mackenzie Falls and some other look-outs. We drove a couple of hours into Warrnambool that night. We read the Christmas story from the scriptures and sang a few hymns.

Mackenzie Falls

The "Balconies"

look-out point

We hit 3 birds along the way. This one broke the grate and got stuck in it. Poor bird...


little waterfall on our hike to Pinnacle Point


nearly to Pinnacle Point

Pinnacle Point

The boys enjoyed sitting in the bush, eating apples.

Some pretty pink flowers along the trail.

I don't know what they're called- if anyone does, let me know...

Day 2

Day 2 of our escapade was Sunday, so we went to church in the morning. Luckily there was a branch in Wangaratta. The 30 people there were very excited to see us, but sad we weren't staying... We got a chance to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, again, during Sunday School. I thought that was a blessing from the Lord. We tried to watch it a few weeks ago, but were only able to see the last 20 minutes, due to our walk taking longer than we expected. (That was when my heels were bleeding). So we got a 2nd chance, and we were really touched by the message and music. After church, we headed on to Ararat, near the Grampians. We had Easy Mac and soup for dinner (yeah for microwaves!).

Christmas vacation

We had an amazing week, although long and lots of travel. For the boys and I, it was vacation within vacation. For Alex, this was his week off of work. He's been doing research at the Australian National University for the past month. We had a full week to do whatever we wanted to- we thought about our options.

1. Drive north to Brisbane, about 15 hours or so from Canberra.

2. Drive 24-30 hours to Uluru, in the Red Center, near Alice Springs (via Adelaide)

3. Drive 8 hours to Melbourne, take a 10-hour ferry ride to Tasmania (for $1000) + rental car and accomodations for a week

4. Drive south through the Victorian High Country, the Grampians, along the Great Ocean Road, and into Melbourne.

We chose option 4, due to strong influence from me to see friends in Melbourne.

Here is our dinky little car we drove, a Toyota Yaris, with almost no trunk (or boot as the Aussie's say). We were jammed in there with the pack 'n play, 3 bags, food, and other stuff.

I will try to break our trip down into days. (By the time the photos get done uploading, we may be headed back to the states.)

Saturday: Day 1

We drove about 5.5 hours to the Victorian High Country. We visited the towns of Mt Beauty and Bright. After visiting those two towns we visited Mt. Buffalo National Park (the first national park in Australia).

This was one of the many trees we saw in the area. Most of them had the bark falling off of it. I thought they were very majestic.


This suspension bridge was nearly our 1st stop, in Mt. Beauty. Nathan enjoyed jumping on it.


It rained most of the 1st day, but that brought this beautiful rainbow in Mt. Buffalo National Park.

Nathan, with Lady Bath Falls in the background

Me, in front of the (Lower) Eurobin Falls, close enough to get wet from the spray.

After Mt. Buffalo, we drove about an hour to Wangaratta.