aussie-merican momos: I really should blog more....

Alright folks...you know the routine.... Mandy's a slacker and therefore you have one heck of a long blog with lots of pictures...again! I will try and be better at breaking these things up and blogging each time we do something...how's that sound? Well, until then, just sit tight and enjoy the visual feast and stories following.............

Well we should start with my first fishing trip. Sam has been several times with 'the boys', but I wanted to see how well he would do as the hunter of the family... you know, in case we get flooded in and he has to provide all the meat for the family... :)

I should also mention that this was Snoopy's first fishing trip! And whoa buddy! That little thing dad kept throwing out into the water was just too exciting! If he wasn't such a wuss about water he would have chased it each time Sam cast, but lucky for us, he never goes in past his belly! Nevertheless, Snoopy's splashing scared most of the fish away, but we still had a great time laughing at our silly dog!

These were taken just outside of our community where the Waterhouse River and Dook Creek meet (our 2 main water sources). Along with the fishing pictures I have included some of my favorite nature pictures from the fishing trip...because every time we go out, I discover something new and beautiful...enjoy!

Sam's first and only catch of the day! A large catfish! We threw it back because around here the catfish have poison spines on their fins and are way too much of a pain to prepare. So this one was just for the picture books.

So here is Snoopy getting a little excited about Sam's fishing lure...the bank was pretty steep and we just kept waiting for him to face plant it into the water..but he held his ground....

Well...almost...... Whoops! In he goes!!! ha ha ha ha

Second adventure....last minute trip to the Katherine Gorge. Yes, we've been there before, but it is a beautiful and amazing place, so we packed up one day and headed out for the weekend!

Lucky us, our camping trip had a great start! We arrived at the campground to find that they were serving delicious meals poolside and that there was free live entertainment..booya! So we enjoyed camel skewers (camel is actually quite tasty believe it or not) and barramundi while listening to good music and watching Kookaburras swooping around to catch late night bugs! It was a relaxing and fun dinner!

After finishing dinner we headed out to find a campsite and set up our tent (yes, in the dark). We found a good site, made sure we were settled in and fell asleep, eager to start on the next day of hiking, biking, and swimming. Unfortunately for us, despite the green grass everywhere, the ground was about as soft as a stack of bricks...and we hadn't taken very much padding...neither had we brought warm sweaters (because we live in the NT! It never gets cold here! Are you kidding?). So we slept cold and uncomfortable. Well....I did until 1 am..then I crawled into the car, leaned back the seat, pulled my arms into my t-shirt for warmth and left Sam to fend for himself in the tent! Being the wonderful husband he is, Sam brought me the sleeping bag so I could stay warm and went back to the hard ground, wrapping himself up in a picnic blanket to stay warm! Guess we learned our lesson...

Needless to say, we survived the night and woke up early the next morning for a quick hike. We then headed back to camp so Sam could meet with one of his friends, Ryan, for a big biking adventure. I was all too eager to stay behind at the pool with Ryan's wife, Kristy, and their two kids. Not only did I get to hang with Kristy, but other Beswick teachers and a church friend of mine also headed out to the gorge for the day. The result? A great day filled with chips (fries as we Americans call them) and lazing around the pool..... I'd say the weekend was a success!

These were taken on our mid-morning hike to Gorge outlook! It was just as beautiful as ever!

Holy flying foxes Batman!!!! Yes...we have bats here...the fruit eating kind...also known as flying foxes (we are talking VERY large bats people)...and despite popular belief these guys don't sleep in caves, they sleep where ever the heck they want! So watch your head as you are walking around...otherwise you may end up with a permanent present from the bats above (bat poo absolutely never comes out) :) They are everywhere and sure are cool!