Crawling out from under our rock...

So, I know I have been a total slacker and haven't kept up with the blog...but in my defense, nothing really that exciting has been going on...so it's good that I waited until now so you wouldn't be falling asleep reading about how many loads of laundry I've done this week! :)

We do have a couple fun things that have happened just recently...
First, we finally FINALLY got in all my visa paperwork! Now it is just a matter of time before I can work. Cross your fingers... I am ready to get out there (who would of thought I would be anxious to get a job? Weird, huh?) Plus I will finally be able to get health coverage here, which would save everyone a lot of worry.

Second, Sam entered the second mountain bike race in the Bermagui Dirt Surfers Biking Series and won first place! He totally smoked the competition (but really, should we expect anything less?)

Sam on his second lap

Holding his first place ribbon and all his prize booty!

On the way home I made Sam pull over because there were some huge pelicans near a dock.
They are such cool birds...

On a completely different note, while all my American friends are enjoying the coming of spring and summer, we are starting to feel winter's cold presence. Living in the house we are renting has certainly been an adventure for me... the house was originally meant as just a summer vacation house and is therefore lacking many of the luxuries spoiled little me has gotten used to. One of these luxuries is central heating...and I will tell you what...although it doesn't snow here, it gets darn cold when you have zero heat in the house. Sam, being the good sport that he is, has been on constant wood runs to try and keep the fireplace going so we can have a nice toasty house! This requires me to tag along and fill the trailer with cut wood while Sam chainsaws anything we can find. Last wood run was done at night during a rain storm... what can I say? The adventures in Australia never cease! :)

My lack of a visa has seemed to inspire me to pick up random hobbies to occupy my time. My latest hobby is baking and both Sam and I are excited to find out that I am not nearly as bad at it as I originally thought! What a pleasant surprise!

Some homemade chocolate and almond biscotti! Delicious dipped in hot chocolate!

And finally, we are proud to announce that we have a new addition to the family! (No, we aren't pregnant) We got a dog!!!! He is a pure-bred Standard Poodle named Snoopy and is the most hilarious dog I have ever seen! He has impossibly long legs, that are very close together, and therefore trips on everything! (Sam blames Snoopy's short wheel base) :)
Sam and I have never laughed so hard in our lives. He is a great running partner for me and keeps us both entertained! We love him!

This is Snoopy running across the yard right after we got him

This is how ridiculous Snoopy looks after being shaved. Since he had only been a breeding dog before, he had never left the yard... he went crazy when we first adopted him and had so much fun rolling in the dirt and sticks that he got all matted and tangled. As a result we had to shave him...I hope it grows back soon...he was much cuter with hair! ha ha :)

Koalas and Canoes

So here's a one week overdue update on what we've been up to. Sam had a week long break from Uni and although he spent most of it playing catch up with homework, we did kick back and play a little bit.... :) Since we had a whole week off, there is quite a few pictures, but hang with us... I think they are fun! :)

To start off his vacation, Sam entered into his first bike race for several months. With Uni keeping him too busy to train regularly he was a little unsure of how well he would do but he still beat most of the other racers. His biggest competition is his riding and training partner James but it was a close race the whole way....

Sam riding up and over a big log during the race...sorry about the branch...bad angle! :)

Sam receiving his award from the first race in the Bermagui series

He came in just seconds behind his mate James for a close second place

Although our new callings as primary teacher (Sam) and primary first counselor (me) have been at times trying and exhausting :) there are definite benefits of being part of the primary program! On Wednesday Sam and I accompanied the primary class to Potaroo Palace, a local non-profit wildlife reserve with all the Australian animals you could imagine. I was right along side the kids running from cage to cage, checking out all the fun new creatures....

Entering the Potaroo enclosure...unfortunately this was one of the only animals I couldn't find that day....

Ever wanted to see a dingo? Well your looking at one!
Does anyone else want to just reach in and pet it? Nice doggy........ :)

A close up of one of the black swans that swarm the shores of Australia

It's an emu! They were running loose around the sanctuary and this one let me get close enough to get a shot of his good side...

The coolest think yet? They give you food to feed the wallabys, kangaroos, and birds.... this is me feeding the most adorable baby kangaroo ever! (Can I have one, can I have one????) :)

Kangaroo close-up!

This is Sam and I's nephews Liam and Toby checking out the kangaroos

Now this thing is cute! It's an echindna! Just think extremely large hedgehog meets ant-eater! ha ha!

Toby and I on the train that takes you around the park!

It's a koala! It's a koala! It's a koala! (Mandy trying to stop hyperventailating) It's a koala! :)

And finally, to top off our wonderful Easter break, Sam and I went for our first camping trip! We loaded a canoe full of camping gear (I thought the canoe was going to sink...so much for packing light) and headed across the lake. We got a late start, so we paddled across the lake and camped right over on the other side, a short way from the ocean, where we could hear the waves lapping us to sleep! The next morning Sam got up early to go fishing in the ocean and caught several fish! Unfortunately most of them were puffer fish and poisonous so they had to be thrown back! He did end up catching a rock cod and enjoyed it for his lunch time snack that same day! To end our adventure with a bang Sam convinced me to go canoeing in the ocean. This is the following conversation...

Sam: The waves are a little choppy today but I think we will be okay. Isn't this fun? I've never done this before!
Me: What?!?!?!?!?!
Sam: Hey, what's that? Is it a shark?
Me: WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? (No joke...he was completely serious)

I played along for awhile and did have fun at the begining, but after almost shipwrecking on some shallow rocks, getting slapped in the face by several large waves, and getting violently seasick (not to mention the adrenaline rush of checking the water for sharks every 5 seconds) we decided to turn around and head back! Sam had a blast, I prayed more fervently than I ever have before, and in the end we both agreed next time we would go only if there was NO wind and therefore little to NO waves! First ocean canoeing adventure...success????.... ummm....we'll get back to you on that! :)

A view from the rock Sam was fishing on! The ocean here is crystal clear and beautiful!

About to canoe across the lake....the canoe doesn't look too loaded down... but that's because we're still beached. I thought for sure we would sink, but we made it....barely! :)

Did I mention that we had a lot of empty land between the lake and the ocean? This is a goooood workout, I'll tell you what!

A sweet pic of the campfire

Sam towing the canoe throught the shallows

Scruffy mountain man Sam after his morning fishing

Sam gutting the fish to cook for afternoon tea!

We have more adventures to come so we will keep you posted! Hope you all had a great Easter!

The Plagues of Wallagoot

So ever since we have moved into our house on Wallagoot we have had our fair share of crazy animal experiences! We have affectionately come to call these our plagues.... :)

Plague #1: When we very first moved in, sugar ants were literally taking over the house! We went into major deep cleaning mode and found a nest of them underneath a drawer in the kitchen! Although we thought we had killed them all, we still had weeks and weeks of tracking them down and getting rid of several more nests in the kitchen! Everything with sugar in it had to be stuffed into the fridge, breakfast cereal and all during the whole duration of the great ant hunt!

Plague #2: Warm weather ended up driving thousands of sand flies into our house every night. Since we have no a/c, we would keep the windows open to cool off the house. The flies were so small they would get right through the screens on the windows! We found them everywhere...in our cups, bowls, bedding...you name it! We finally sprayed the screen down with bug killer to ward them off... it worked...sortof! :)

Plague #3: About 2 months ago I woke up to use the bathroom and almost stepped on this tiny little frog outside our bedroom door. I chased him, caught him, and put him outside...only to have him come back in twice more through a tiny little crack underneath the door!

Plague #4: Well, here's a picture of our 4th little plague. We woke up one morning to find little 'presents' all over the kitchen counter and floor...plus a huge hole in the curtains above the desk...... we got a really big surprise when Sam pulled back the curtains soon after we had cleaned up, and a small creature came flying at us, landed on the floor, ran over both our feet, and under the fireplace....

Sam getting a closer look at our new little friend....

It's a bird! It's a plane! No it's just a REALLY, extremely fast marsupial mouse (who is also very 'street' smart)...you gotta admit..he's way cuter than a regular old mouse! :) Check out that aerodynamic head...no wonder he's so fast you can barely see him speed by!

This is the result of 1 and a 1/2 hours of mouse chasing...the furniture in complete disarray and we still didn't catch him! This little guy is so fast and so smart, we kept thinking we knew where he was hiding, only to find he was half way across the room, hiding in a completely different spot! He found a spot in the wall behind the fridge where we have been unable to flush him out.... we will keep you updated! Wish us luck in the great Wallagoot mouse hunt! :)

Recent Escapades

As always, the last two weeks have been filled with some creative and exciting adventures. First, Sam and I went our second date outside the house. Most of our dates have been relaxing around the house and spending quality time together but this time we adventured out to do some bush-walking! There were no trails, just Sam, I and our hiking boots! Since we are short on money and therefore fuel, we took the motorbike down some gorgeous roads to get to our final destination! I think date number 2 was a big success!


On one of those long nights where Sam was up late working on homework and I was just putting around the house, there was this gorgeous sunset on the lake right outside our front window. I ran out and had to snap a picture! It is a wonderful reminder of the beautiful creations our Heavenly Father has given us for our enjoyment! He is by far my favorite artist!

Not only did we have a gorgeous sunset, but we had several days of moon-less nights... that means it is the perfect conditions for a little wade in the lake to catch prawns! This last Saturday, Sam's family all gathered at our house at 10 pm to have a giant family prawning night! We split up into pairs, one net per pair, and chased prawns for an hour. Although it was warm and we were having a ton of fun, we finally had to come home since the bucket got so full we couldn't fit anymore in! We kept trying to put a couple more prawns on the top but we finally gave up when there were as many jumping out of the bucket as we were putting in! We will have some good food for awhile! Yum!

And finally......These last two weeks have finally ended with a big celebration...I finally got my visa paperwork in and have a bridging visa. Me and Sam are out almost 3 grand in fees but on the plus side this means that I won't have to go home when my original visitor visa expires on April 8! YEA! It also means we are one step closer to getting my temporary residence visa and with it, the ability to get medical coverage and working rights! Please keep us in your prayers during this crucial time and thanks for all your support thus far!

Sand and Snakes

Since Sam and I live so close to the ocean, it only seems fair that I try out some of the water sports that are specific for all those beautiful waves! Since my first encounter with body surfing ended with me face planting in the sand, I was a little unsure of body boarding. After some convincing from Sam and a couple rounds watching him catch the big waves, I decided to try! It was SO much fun that Sam could barely get me out of the water...I would get washed up all the way to the beach and then would turn around and run back out! It was great exercise and I would highly recommend it next time you are out by the ocean!!!!

Big ride numero uno! I was flying along on that wave...it's so fun! Check out how high I am out of the water!

After I figured out the body surfing, catching an awesome wave.

Washing up on the beach after catching a ride in on the board

This was how big the surf was....

Sam running down the beach after a body board. Total bay watch style. Ha ha

That's my handsome man...checking out the waves

Since Sam has been absolutely slammed with Uni (college), we have had to plan in a designated date night each week. The first was my choice so I decided, since being an adult is so much work sometimes, that we would buy some candy and sparkling juice and enjoy them under a home-made fort while watching a kids movie! We had such a great time being 'kids' in our fort. Date number one was an official success! :)

I bought the sparkling juice with the real cork...not a good idea since we don;t have a corkscrew ("how do you get this off again?")

Our fort

Living out by the lake is always interesting. We are fairly far away from most other people and therefore receive some interesting visitors. So far we have just had kangaroos, wallabys, and goannas (a type of giant lizard that gets up to 6-7 feet long). The local wildlife either comes to munch on our flowers at the front of the house or to sniff out our baby bunny as a mid-day meal. On this particular occasion, our bunny brought in a very rare (and in my opinion, very cool) visitor. Right outside out front door we found a baby diamond python checking out the house. Luckily the bunny was inside with us so we didn't have any confrontations. He was pretty small and sluggish so Sam decided he would catch it...which he did, luckily with no injuries. We released the snake away from the house but 5 minutes later he was right back on the porch. Apparently he thought Sam's bike pump was his.....

Sam with our late night visitor

He climbed back on the bike pump and refused to be caught again...

Even though our encounter was an adrenaline booster, I was very grateful for the opportunity to see such an amazing animal. To see diamond pythons is extremely rare and so it is really amazing that we found one so close to the house. It really made me appreciate the beauty of all Heavenly Father's creatures. It really makes me reflect and appreciate the ingenious creativity of all of God's creations and I feel truly blessed that I was able to experience one of His most amazing creatures up close and personal.