Australian Vacation: Rose and Joe's Big Adventure!

On September 17th, Jack and I excitedly made our way to Sydney (against all odds) to be there to pick up Mom and Dad on Sunday morning. I was nervous and after a few tense moments here and there, my jelly legs carried me to where I needed to be!

It was a joyous reunion on Sunday morning and I felt teary as I saw Mom and Dad come down from the gate at the Sydney International Airport. Jack gave kisses and hugs and then we made our way back to the car.

We must give special thanks to Beverley, Stephen, Oliver and Andrew for their hospitality and care of us in Sydney. We had a wonderful stay with them and benefited greatly from their expert knowledge of Sydney.

After leaving Sydney, we were headed back to Narrandera. We caught up on the journey of all the news from home and took in the beautiful scenery and many dead kangaroos on the side of the road. It was a tiring weekend for all travellers and Mom and Dad cat-napped from time to time on the long ride home. Once back in Narrandera, Sam and Jake greeted us freshly showered after spending the weekend at the farm. Brigitte and James brought over a lovely quiche and some wine for the weary travellers and then it was early to bed for all.

Mmmm Triple Chocolate Muffins and A game of 21 in the backyard!

The next day, I was back to work, the boys were off to school and daycare and mom and dad were left to recuperate after their long journey at home. The idea was that they could rest and relax and get over their jet lag but when we arrived home, they had cleaned out the shed, cleaned the house, etc... are you surprised???

Sam, Jake and Jack began their school holidays on Tuesday in order to spend time with Mim and Pip and show them Narrandera from their point of view... the skatepark, the fish and chip shop, the basketball and tennis courts etc...

Mom and dad have had a very busy week with us meeting many people and seeing many sights. They visited my school and spent an hour answering questions about Canada from my class and touring and meeting Jake's and my school community. On Tuesday night, Tom (Priscilla's dad)came for dinner and Dad got to ask him about Utes vs. Trucks. They enjoyed their discussion so much that on Thursday, Dad took a trip to Henty to the Farm Machinery Field Days. They saw sheep dog trials, new and vintage farm equipment as well as other events. They attended the boys basketball games on Thursday night and enjoyed seeing the fast paced action on the courts.

They also met the Parish Priest Father Tony, who introduced them to "Bee Stings" - YUM! Dad introduced Father Tony to Baileys in Tim Hortons coffee - double YUM!

On Saturday night, we went to Rod and Marie's for "tea" and had a great time chatting and learning about Australia's deadly and not so deadly creatures from them. Mom showed Rod a bite she had received on the first day and it was deduced that it probably came from a whitetip spider. You can imagine Mom's sleep the next night. The boys think it is fun to plant a plastic spider all around the house to scare her now. Fun times!

Today, we went out to the farm and had a terrific day. Alan and Helen are always such great hosts and they put on a roast lamb dinner with all the trimmings as well as desserts desserts desserts! Mom and Dad met the potty goat "Squeaky", the horses, the chooks and all the other

In the Paddock Dad and the Horses Mom meets Squeaky

animals. New life is always appearing at the farm and today was no exception as a little chick

hatched out of its egg while we were there today.

Alan and Marie and Lauren took us out on the ute to find kangaroos today and boy did we see them! We drove out on the paddocks - Mom and Dad in the back holding onto the bar for stability as we drove through the tall grass searching. It was slow at first but them they started popping up in every direction and hopping. There were moms and their young, browns, reds, greys all over! We gave chase and clocked a big red one at about 50kms! They use their hind legs to jump and their tails for balance and

Heading out on the Ute; A Red Kangaroo; Father Emu and Chicks

boy, can they move! We were also lucky enough to see several emus. We saw a father and 4 chicks which we were able to ride right alongside. It was amazing. Apparently the mother emu lays the eggs but the father sits on the nest and then raises the chicks -very hip and ahead of the times those father emus. We also visited a sheep shearing shed and Alan explained how sheep shearing has evolved over time. The shed is no longer used but you could clearly picture it in use many years ago. We even saw 2 owls who have taken up residence in the old shed. They reminded me of Hedwig from Harry Potter.

We are happy and tired after our busy week and looking forward to a couple of quiet days before heading off again. We are travelling to Canberra on Wednesday to visit Australia's Capital City and then once again to Sydney. On Oct. 1 we fly to Cairns where we will stay for the week and visit the Great Barrier Reef, The Daintree Rainforest and several other sights! Dad told my class he would wrestle a croc in Cairns so I MUST get a picture of THAT! Stay tuned as there is so much more to come!

We are enjoying our time together and I feel so happy that Mom and Dad have taken the opportunity to come and share this experience with us. We are so happy to have a bit of home here with us now. It is just what we need to carry us through the last few months of our amazing adventure!

(Click on any of the Photos above to enlarge).