Internet error

NO don't worry....the blog has not been forgotten...we are just out of internet...that's right out of internet! Because in Australia they don't believe in unlimited internet... once you use up your quota, you go back to dial up speed... translation...no pictures until the 24th. Sorry y'all! Guess we should have waited to download 'Despicable Me' until after the blog was done...oops! :)

Just call me Picasso

Hello all!

I am doing better at the regular blogs! I only missed this Sunday because we were setting up our NEW COMPUTER!!!

It rocks! We got a mac mini and just hooked it up to the 42" HDTV we got off Ebay...and poof! Insta-giant computer! It's awesome!!!!

But I digress....

This week was all about PAINTING!!!!!

I took Grace out and we made some awesome art work! Thank goodness for non-toxic paint and great outdoor weather!

Of course the first thing she did is taste the paint...good thing it tasted bad. She only tried it once! Ha ha!

And this week we decided it was time for some new family photos! The last ones we had were from when Grace was newborn...so here are our self-photographed family photos! We got a couple good ones! :)

Gosh my family is good looking....... ;)

30th birthday shenanigans...

SOOOO....

You are probably wondering why there is a large dead buffalo at the top of this post! (that's right...I said buffalo. Water buffalo to be exact...we have them EVERYWHERE up here) Well that large dead buffalo is there because that was what Sam wanted to do for his birthday! He wanted to go out hunting with his Aboriginal teaching assistant, Stanley, and our good friend from Katherine, Steve.

So they did.

And this is what happened.....

I'm not sure I really like hunting but uhh...as long as Sam had fun (which he did), well....

Happy birthday Sam! :)

Steve...he's in the Air Force and likes guns...perfect person to go shoot things with!

So to tell you the whole story...Steve wanted to shoot a buffalo so of course he brought the biggest gun he had. It seems to have worked quite well....

Anyway, Steve got to keep the horns as a trophy.

They also ran down a wild cow (seriously...we have the most random things up here in the NT). Anyway, cows have probably been escaping cattle stations for ages and since there really aren't very many predators (only dingos...which are just dogs) poof! Instant beef for anyone game enough to go out and find them. I didn't post any of the pictures on here because they are a bit gory but I will tell you that Stanley and the Aboriginal boys that went along, chopped that cow up right there on the spot, put it on the top of Stanley's truck and hauled it back to Beswick where it was subsequently divvied out to several different families.... we even have a huge chunk in our freezer! (Steak anyone?)

The kids here learn to expertly butcher a cow by the time they are 10...no joke. It is something else when you see a kid expertly wielding a knife that is almost as big as he is...crazy!

Anyway, while they were out collecting meat, Stanley took Sam and Steve out the Black Rock...another gorgeous oasis in the middle of nowhere! I didn't go on this hunting trip but I wouldn't mind going out to Black Rock...it looks incredible!

Sam and some of his senior boys out enjoying the water. I usually don't out pictures of the boys on here because of traditional Aboriginal beliefs...but I figure the boys are too small in this picture to be easily identified.....hopefully....

Sam did the hunting thing the weekend before his birthday. When his birthday rolled around the following Thursday, we rounded up some of the kids from community and had a little party under the house.The boys played music, sang songs and ate cake...it was a lot of fun!

The birthday boy and his little angel

How cute is she all dressed up for daddy's birthday? :)

And finally, the week ended with a motor biking lesson for me and another teacher from school, Jasmine. We had a lot of fun and laughs!

Jasmine having a go....she's out to get her bike licence...just a couple more practices...lol

ME! Pretend you don;t notice my highwater pants...lol. I have the proper pants but no shoes to go with them...hmmm...stylish

And in true Parker form, Sam took Grace out for a little spin

(don't worry...I could walk faster than they were riding! lol)

And that's the end of another crazy week in Beswick! :)

I wish I could post more pictures of the gorgeous kids and people in Beswick but I must resist in order to show respect for the Aboriginal people...

but if you come visit us, we have a whole folder full of pictures to check out....

does that help give you incentive to come visit? Come on people!!!! Come visit!!!

We like company! :)

Vaca madness part II

Sorry about post numero 2 being so far after post numero 1.... apparently Sam's computer doesn't have enough memory for pictures so they have to be stored on an external hard drive which the computer has troubling accessing sometimes...yada yada yada... basically what it comes down to is I wasn't able to put pictures up an and apparently we need to buy a new computer....

So here is another whole gob of photos for your viewing pleasure....

In case you neglected to see the last post (tsk tsk) here's a little catch up...

Sam and I went to Thailand for 11 days and had a blast...when we arrived back in Australia we immediately met up with Sam's family (who had flown out from NSW) for a journey around Kakadu National Park. Our travel companions included Sam's mum (Debbie), Sam's dad (Mark), sister (Naomi), 2 nephews (Dominick and Liam), and niece (Hayley). Sam's family rented camper vans, and we had trusty Donk (our car) so off we went...to explore the great Kakadu!

And let the pictures begin......

Wait! Wait! I got ahead of myself... FIRST we had to do some sightseeing in Darwin, swim at the Darwin waterfront, and Naomi had to buy a sombrero

(because who doesn't need a sombrero?)....

okay....now on to Kakadu...

Sam volunteered to sleep with all 4 kids in a tent while the rest of us curled up in the camper vans. I was worried about Grace but apparently she slept fine....

Day 2 travelling...had to stop at the Kakadu signs and do the touristy thing....

Clapping for joy? Or trying to keep those pesky flies away???

Because there's a little Mexican in all of us longing to take a siesta in a sombrero... where ever we go...

Okay...sombreros...not my thing...

And for good measure since she's my daughter and the cutest baby ever (I think)...

here's some shots of that gorgeous little face....

Mr Dominick

Liam 'gaga' Chandler

"I don't wanna wear the sombrero mom!!!!"

First stop in Kakadu was Ubirr where we saw some amazing Aboriginal rock art and had an amazing view of the sun going down. At the end of the hike there was a gorgeous valley which we named the 'Land Before Time' valley.... because well...that's what it looks like

Endangered rock wallaby

This painting is of someone with Miyamiya. According to Aboriginal story, this illness is defined by swollen bones and can be contracted by disturbing stones of a sacred site downstream near the East Alligator River. This explains why Aboriginal people are so protective of their sacred sites.

They believe that if these sites are disturbed they are dangerous to everyone. Interesting huh?

More cool paintings

Palms that grow in spirals! Coolio

Like I said..."Land Before Time" valley...just missing a couple dinos and it would be complete...

Cheeky Hayley

She may grow up to be a dentist....

AHHH! Those eyes, that mouth...I'm in love...

Liam REALLY liked hanging out with cousin Grace so he's in a lot of our 'family' pictures...

makes us look like we have a son....oh well...just go with it....

Another siesta Naomi?

Wild Brumbies!!! My first sighting!

After trekking around Kakadu for a couple days the family brought their vans back to good ol Beswick and we relaxed locally. Although we have lived near Katherine for coming on 2 years, we had never been to Katherine Hot Springs. They weren't really 'hot' but a perfect (free) place to take a dip! And since Sam's family was with us, we finally sucked it up and went. It was worth it! What a great place! We had a ton of fun!

Naomi and her 'mini me' Hayley

Like I said... we had a temporary son during vaca!

Nanna showing off her mad motorbike skills just outside of Beswick...

Okay...that's it! That's the end of our whirlwind adventures over the school holidays (and just a fraction of the pictures). We had a great time and did a whole lot of things we never would have otherwise done! Can't wait to our next adventure!