I love to see the temple

Since the nearest temple to us is in either Sydney (6 hours away) or Melbourne (7 hours away), we decided that a trip to the temple would be a great way to spend a part of Sam's vacation from school. We hopped in our little car and caravaned out to Sydney with Sam's parents, Mark and Debbie. About an hour into our trip to the temple we saw a young man hitchhiking along the road. I have always been trained to pass them by without a second thought (since they could be an axe murderer you know), but Sam has a little more faith in people and felt we should pick him up. Ends up he's a law students from Brisbane who is spending his school holidays traveling as far as he can through Australia. He was great company and rode all the way to Sydney with us. I admit I was surprised to find how great it felt to help out this friendly young man. I think the Lord must have sent us his way to help out.... it was an amazing and humbling experience. I was glad Sam and I could be at the right place at the right time to help out some one in need...

After dropping our new hitchhiker friend at the Sydney bus station we headed to the temple. Since Sam and I were going back the next evening we decided to spend as much time as possible there to make the most of our trip. It was worth every painful, butt-numbing hour of driving to be in the House of the Lord!

Sam with his parents

Sam was growing out his moustache during school holidays. He got teased at the temple, but I still think he looked pretty handsome!

Even in the middle of winter the temple grounds were covered in gorgeous flowers....

On the way home from the temple (which is a 6 hour drive may I add) we had to stop to answer mother nature. In our search for bathrooms we stumbled across the coolest little park with a gorgeous lookout point. It was cold and a storm was coming in, but the view was breathtaking....my camera doesn't do it justice. It was the perfect ending to a great little vacation!

You can see the storm clouds rolling in. It was intimidating and gorgeous. Words can't even describe...

There were multiple stones along the lookout with spiritual thoughts. I liked this one a lot

Taking a break

So Sam is half-way through his 4 week break from school and I have thoroughly enjoyed having him around all-day! This most recent Friday Sam decided he was going to cook dinner and desert... I was completely thrilled until I realized that I didn't have anything to do while he was cooking... The result was me going through my make-up bag for various lipstick samples and trying them out....on Sam! (He's such a good sport!)

I think red is his color...don't you? :)

Since the break from school extends to all children in NSW, this vacation has also given us some great opportunities to have some fun activities for our church branch here. Since I am activities coordinator and Sam has experience in setting things like this up, we decided on having a talent night for the church and community. The turn-out was great and we had entertainment ranging from a Monty Python song ('I like Chinese') to poems, singing, and instrumental pieces. It was such a great success that people are already planning their pieces for the next talent night this December! I felt very blessed to work with Sam in creating such a fun, family-oriented night. Hopefully the next one will be just as fun.... :)

This isn't the best photo but it's showing Sam's brother Ben on bass and his sister Naomi on piano.

Not only have we been having adventures with make-up and music, Sam has also taken advantage of the break by rising early most mornings to fish off the rocks by the ocean. Thus far he has caught 2 fish and we have been wrapping them in foil and trying all sorts of flavoring methods. This last time we tried orange slices with oregano and basil...yummmmmm! The following pictures are from Sam's early morning trips. One morning he saw a shark and some dolphins...so cool! :)

The first fish that Sam caught...

A great picture of the beach during sunrise

The sun rising over the sand

We were totally excited to find a tiny little bat in our shed...he is awesome!!! Check it out! We have also posted pictures of Snoopy now that his hair is growing out (he's such a cutie now) plus pictures of me and Sam racing around the yard on the ride-on lawnmower and a little mini motorbike! I am learning to LOVE mini motorized vehicles! SOOOOO fun!!!!!

Look at his little piggy nose! We love it! Bats are so cool!

Our little cutie pie, Snoopy... giving you the puppy dog eyes

Curly cutie

We have a huge yard so we get to use a borrowed ride-on-mower to cut the grass...so fun! I totally can see the excitement in lawnmower racing...ha ha

Flying by on the little motorbike we are borrowing...weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

More updates sooon!!!! :)

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! :)