MADI'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

This morning Madi was up and dressed before 7:00. She was so excited to go to school!! She was even upset that I wasn't up and making her morning tea and lunch. Every 15 minutes I would hear - "Mommy, are we going to be late?" I told her so many times that she had plenty of time and we would get there before the bell rang. Finally, the time arrived to leave for school (I was glad that Kev worked from home today to watch over Rylee) and Madi and I left for school without the little ones. Of course we had to stop and take first day of school pictures - she didn't really have much patience for those.

They lined up in their old classes and are going to be in those for the first week until they figure out the student enrollment and teachers. I think this is a bit strange - or should I say different. Why can't they do this before school starts?! It is a bit odd!! Since her teachers both retired last year she did get a new teacher today - but it probably won't be her teacher for the year - but the class was the same, except in a different class room (go ahead be confused, I am!).

Anyway, this didn't seem to phase Madi and she had a wonderful first day of school. She even did a book report (which she reported to us at the dinner table - she is actually getting pretty good at oral reports and such). She did some math and her favorite thing, they colored an Aussie flag!!!

I am mostly excited that she finally gets to move on to Year 1 (1st Grade) and we don't have to repeat kindy again - a year and a half is enough I think. I can't believe how grown up she has gotten and how confident she is!

THE BEST WAY TO COOL DOWN ON A HOT SUMMERS DAY?

Find some water of course!!! Yesterday late afternoon/early evening we headed over to the Sydney Olympic Park for some fun. We went to Bicentennial Park and found the fountains that Mari told me about - thanks heaps!! The kids had so much fun. They were literally soaked in seconds. We had a picnic dinner and the kids played for a long time in the water. Luckily I had come prepared and brought another change of clothes for the kids. Right behind where we had our blanket spread was a little opening in a hedge. So we went in there to see where it lead. There was a "secret garden" - as Madi and I began to call it. There was no one there so we had the kids change clothes (Kev held up the blanket for an extra screen). After changing we headed back to the park walking along the lovely trails and spending good quality family time together. Back at the park the kids had a great time playing on the equipment - especially the "spider web" ropes. Madi is our monkey (or spider man this time around) and with no fear was quickly up to the top of the ropes. Sometime we need to actually go see where the Olympic venues are - but there is so much around that we never even made it close. What a lovely place. We are going back again sometime to do more exploring!!

PRESIDENT GORDON B. HINCKLEY PASSES AWAY

As I was talking to my mom on the web cam today my brother called to tell her the sad news. President Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 7:00pm in his home at the age of 97. (which was Monday, January 28, 2008 at 1:00pm here in Sydney)

I can still remember the particular moment that I gained a strong testimony that President Hinckley was a Prophet of God. I was attending a Tuesday devotional at BYU and he was to be the speaker. Of course the Marriott Center was packed full of students and faculty and I was at the very top. I can still remember the feelings I had when he walked in and we all stood up to honor this great man. Then the student body began to sing "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" and I have never felt the Spirit so strong. I knew that he was called of God and that I needed to follow his counsel because he was speaking in the Lord's name.

What a wonderful man!!

He has done so much for the Church. From building so many temples to helping our image in the media. I am so thankful that I was able to have that moment, with so many other students, where I was able to have the Spirit witness to me what a great man he truly was. He will be greatly missed.

"Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue, with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing of sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her undertanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth. "

"The true strength that is America's , the true strength of any nation, lies in those qualities of character that have been acquired for the most part by children taught in the quiet, simple, everyday manner of mothers."

SUNDAY WATER FIGHT

Today was a hot day and the house seemed to soak up most of the heat by the time I had to cook dinner. (which was all American tonight - homemade mac and cheese, lemonade, and Ranch dressing along with veg and bread.) Cooper and I had a little water fight with his water guns while dinner was in the oven, and Madi wanted in on the action when she found out what she missed out on. What started out as a simple squirt gun fight between Cooper and Madi escalated into a full out water fight finding everyone soaked and dripping.

When the water fight started I was giving Rylee a bath and after I finished I took out some cups full of water and Kev took out a squirt bottle. It was the kids against us and it was heaps of fun! After a while the kids ran around to the front yard and I had a brilliant idea. That is where the hose is and today is one of the two days that we are allowed to hand water the lawn and flower beds. By this time Cooper was on my team so we proceeded to spray Madi and Kev just a little bit. Then ran around to the back yard and I continued to water the grass. Madi then came out and said she was on our team against daddy. They were supposed to watch for Kev - but he snuck up on me with two pitchers of water. I was soaked, but I did spray him back pretty good. Once again he left, and the kids were supposed to be on the look out - remember I am watering the lawn and bushes. He came out of the garage, with Cooper oblivious to him approaching, and dowsed me again with two pitchers of water. I got him good with the hose again, but then dropped it and ran as he came up to take it away from me. After this we decided that it was time to quit and get ready for bed.

It was a great way to cool off on a hot day and great family fun!! Cooper had a great time and was laughing as well - usually he hates to be wet, but he has come a long way. We even put on a show for the neighbors who were outside BBQing and laughing at the same time. The second time Kev got me one of our neighbors was walking down the street and was also laughing.

Good times had by all!!

INTRODUCING COOPER

Due to the fact that Cooper has to do everything his sister does, he now has his own blog. I can't guarantee that they will get updated as often as the family one - I only have so much time in the day - but we will try to update at least once a week.

He has also informed us that he needs his own camera - he doesn't want to borrow ours anymore. Does anyone have an old one they want to lend to our cause? Jokes and stuff.

Anyway, enjoy reading - mostly looking at pictures - and leave comments if you want.

P.S. Kev made his title - isn't it cool?!!

http://cis4cooper.blogspot.com/

AUSTRALIA DAY 2008

Australia Day, celebrated annually on 26 January, is the official national day of Australia, commemorating the establishment of the first European settlement on the continent of Australia. The date is that of the foundation of a British penal colony, by Captain Arthur Phillip, who was to become the first Governor.

We started out Australia day with a ward BBQ at the park. Where we ran into the David and Roxann who are in town for a couple of weeks. It was good to see them again and catch up. They lived in Sydney for five years, where he served as bishop for the ward we are currently attending, and have been back in the States now for a few years. He works for AMEX as well. David also used to be Kevin's bishop when he went on his mission - what a small world. Roxann also brought goodies from the States - which she will bring to Church tomorrow (can't wait).We spent a good portion of the morning at the park playing on the equipment, chatting with friends, eating yummy food, and Kev and the kids played tennis. Although it started out really early for us (7:00 am), and we were late because the kids just wouldn't wake up, we had a great time celebrating our first Australia Day!

We ended the day with a BBQ - can't have Australia Day without one, as is evident by the smell coming in through the windows all night long - and a trip to the park to play with Cooper's parachute man. To end the night we played Blokus and then had baths and bed. It was a nice relaxing day.

BTW - Thanks to Dan and Linda and family for the package. We got it in the mail upon returning from our vacation to Adelaide. It had to go through quarantine and customs - but nothing was taken out - so I think it may have taken longer than usual. We love all the goodies and the kids loved the toys (especially the parachute man!! It was a huge hit!!!) Thanks you guys are the best!!

BABYZILLA

The trouble with a baby that can now crawl everywhere and a boy who loves to make train tracks and line up his cars in colors. The pictures speak for themselves.

ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

I have been interested of late about the states that make up Australia. So I did a little searching on the Internet for some facts. Australia is made up of six states, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland, and Western Australia. As well as two major territories which are Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. The capital of Australia is Canberra which is located in the Australia Capital Territory. Sydney is the largest city in the country and Australia is the smallest continent in the world. Now from the map it is easy to see where our travels have taken us over the past week. Our trip to South Australia lasted one week - 4 days were spent on Kangaroo Island and a trip to Victor Harbor (Tuesday, Jan. 15 - Friday, Jan. 18) and the rest spent in Adelaide and the hills surrounding it (Saturday, Jan. 19 - Tuesday, Jan. 22). This is a picture of Jessy and Kelli's Aussie house. They were so great to let us come and stay with them. It is so nice to spend time with friends!! The drought has affected Adelaide with it's hot temps and low humidity (they seem to have a climate similar to Utah's). They can only water their grass and plants once a week by hand to save water. No wonder the grass is all dry and yellow in all the yards. I found a map of Adelaide area - Kev would be so proud (he loves, loves, loves, maps) - so it would be easier for me to remember where everything was.

Saturday found us winding our way up into the hills above Adelaide. We drove through wine vineyards and through sleepy little towns and came upon the city of Hahndorf. We ate our sandwiches in the car and Kev and Jessy helped jump start a car before we made our way to the strawberry patches. For a small fee you could go and eat all you wanted but had to pay for any strawberries you wanted to take home. Since they were over $8 a kilo we decided not to take any home with us. They were delicious and a great after lunch snack. We then drove back through Hahndorf, which was founded by the Germans and therefore had such a feel about it, and I loved looking at all the unique buildings. I wish we would have done a little widow shopping, but this is easier said than done with six kids between the two families.

After the strawberry picking Jessy took us to a wonderful ice cream parlor where we enjoyed ice cream cones. After the cones were done we headed to a great park for the kids to burn off some energy.

Sunday we got up and went to Church. It was nice for me to go to Sunday School and Relief Society. It has been a long time since I have been able to go and I thoroughly enjoyed the lessons taught there. Madi and Cooper headed off to Primary with Savannah and Collin and loved it - of course. We all came home from Church exhausted. The kids had a little quite time after lunch and watched a "Liken the Scriptures" movie. Kevin, Jessy, and Kelli all ended up taking a nap and I took some time to update my blog about KI and Victor Harbor.

After a yummy roast, potatoes, and gravy dinner we went for a walk on the bike/jogging trail by their house to go and feed the ducks.

Before reaching the ducks we came upon the mulberry bush and had to have a sample of the fruit. It seemed to have reached it's prime and was really tart. This didn't seem to stop our kids from having some though and getting the juice on their hands to show for it. They were stained for a few days, but they seemed to like the mulberries. I tried a few some were really sour, but the last one I had melted in my mouth!

We finally made it to the ducks and had fun looking at the different varieties in the pond. Many we had never seen before. Kelli was passing out rolls to the kids and Cooper immediately took his half of the roll and threw the entire thing in the stream at once. He was disappointed the he only got another half, but this time, after better instructions from us, he was so careful just to take off little pieces to throw in. Rylee was mesmerized by the ducks and just couldn't take her eyes off of them.

I then thought it would be great to get a picture of all the kids together. There were these fallen logs that made a great place so we headed over there to take some pics. As everyone knows it is hard to get everyone to look in the right place and smile at the right time. So we did the best we could with very tired kids and didn't get many shots.

(Hunter, Cooper, Collin, Madisen, and Savannah)

(Cooper and Collin)

It was all well and good until Cooper fell off one of the logs and hit his head pretty hard. After giving him hugs and of course checking his eyes for a concussion he said his head hurt but he was okay. Kev gave him a piggy back to the house and he told me that he was fine by the time we got there. We then decorated a cake and had a little dessert!! After which the kids headed to bed and we stayed up to watch a little Australian Open Tennis (we actually seemed to watch this every night - Jessy and Kelli were lucky enough to go there last year and see it in person) and play a rousing game of Monopoly, the Australian edition.

Monday was our last full day in SA so again we headed for the hills. This time we went to a huge (The biggest one in the world to be exact!) rocking horse and toy shop. Kevin and Jessy took the big kids up to the top and I stayed down with Rylee (I wasn't too sad about this seeing as how I don't really like heights).

We browsed through the toy shop and then headed to the little wildlife park that was there. Upon going to the park we stopped by a cage full of cockatoos and galahs. A man was petty a galah with his key on it's head and it seemed to really enjoy it. After they left Madi put her finger in and stroked it's head softly and it was still very content. Then Cooper stuck his finger in and was a little to harsh with the bird. It moved it's head around quickly and bit his finger. After that I noticed the sign that said to be careful because they bite. We then entered the park and for $2 bought a bag to feed the animals. We had fun feeding the chickens, chicks, peacocks, ducks, and such and then we came upon three kangaroos. They were pretty lazy and even ate the food out of the kid's hands.

We then got in the car and said goodbye the Savannah and Kelli (Savannah had a party to go to), and headed to Cuddlee Creek to the Gorge Wildlife Park. Here we got to get up close and personal with kangaroos, wallabies, baby emu, and even hold a koala. We bought a bag of peanuts and one of biscuits and headed into the park. It was such a grand adventure - too bad for Jessy who had been there at least four times previous, he seemed to have a good time anyway and said most of the animals were more active than he had seen them in the past. Here are some of the pictures we took.

We will start with the kangaroos. I was so amazed at how they used their tails to get around. They would grab the biscuit and hold it in their little front paws and eat it. We even saw some albino kangaroos white as can be. I have never been so close and was a little nervous that they would "box" us or something - but they were so peaceful and would jump away if they were really nervous. I am sure they are used to this lifestyle. Sit in the shade and people will come up to you and feed you peanuts and biscuits - not a bad way to live.

Next we headed for the wallabies. Along with the wallabies were baby emu, and they were aggressive birds. We would give a peanut to a wallaby and the emu would grab it out of the wallabies paws and eat it himself. One also tried to grab the peanuts directly out of Cooper's hands. We have some funny video (thanks to Kev) of the kids running from the emu and also from me trying to get away with Rylee asleep in the stroller. I had all the peanuts and biscuits sitting on top of the cover to the stroller and they were chasing me around. Kevin and Jessy thought it was very funny. Pretty soon the kids were all huddled around me and the stroller so we decided to head out and see something else.

We made our way to the koala showing and got to hold the koalas. It felt just like holding a baby - except it was more furry. Madi even got to hold the koala and thought that was awesome. Cooper tried, but it scratched him a bit on his neck and he freaked out. He did give it a hug and stood by me for a picture. Kevin held Rylee and the koala and Rylee eventually snatched the eucalyptus out of it's hand and began hitting the koala on the head with it.

After several hours at the park we headed back to the city and back to Jessy and Kelli's house for some dinner and Family Home Evening. Kelli did a great lesson on service and had the dads wash the feet of the kids - it was a great object lesson because we had been walking around in the dusty wildlife park so their feet were especially dirty. We then had rootbeer floats for the treat - heavenly treat!! After the kids were in bed they talked me into staying up late to play a game and because they suggested the bean game I couldn't resist!

Tuesday morning we got up early to leave for the airport (6am wake up call this time - not as bad as 3:30 that is for sure). We said goodbye to the Jones family (6am is normal wake up time at their house) and Jessy took us to the airport before he headed into work. It was sad to say goodbye and we had had such a great time. We look forward to spending more time with them when we are both back in Utah.

We had an uneventful time and Rylee quickly fell asleep on the plane. The hardest time we had was figuring out how to get Madi's peacock feathers home in one piece. This is how she walked through the Sydney airport - silly peacock Madi.

We were grateful to see Katrina waiting for us curbside and were more than ready to get back to our own beds and the kids were excited to see their toys again (especially the trains for Cooper). We had such a great time on our holiday. We were excited when we found out the Jessy and Kelli love to play games and since we had brought a few we were excited to teach them some new ones. We were entertained nightly by puppetshows and were able to participate in their family tradition of dessert everynight after jammies are put on. We stayed up late watching tennis, talking, and playing games and had such a great time. I was glad to get to know Kelli better as we spent so much time driving in the car from place to place. They are such a great family and wonderful friends! Until we met again in Utah!!

And P.S. from Kev - We love their statue/birdbath that they have in the front of their house! (We are sure that is the main reasons they got the house that they did! Ha ha ha...)