FANTASTIC FIRESIDE

Three posts in one day - sorry we have been busy and I finally got a chance to sit down and write it all up.

Last night Michael and Darcy Kennedy came to speak at a fireside. Michael Kennedy is the third great grandson of the Prophet Joseph Smith. There are here promoting their new movie about Emma. According to Michael about 1/3 of Joseph Smith's posterity is in Australia - I am now interested to know why they came to Australia, but he didn't really cover that bit of information.

He told of his conversion to the gospel and how it all started with an American history assignment in high school. He was told to do some family research and find a story about a family member who had affected American history. He talked to his father about it and his dad said that he had a relative, Joseph Smith, who started the Mormon church and helped to establish Utah (not quite the correct information, but it was a place to start right?). His dad then went and got a box of old pictures and other items which had been handed down from generation to generation. He put them all on the table and soon after the doorbell rang, it was "two men with the same first name" as he put it. They saw what was on the table and were awestruck and asked what it all was for. He told them that he was doing a report and that this man helped to establish Utah. He then got all six discussions about the gospel. After that he tried to avoid the missionaries until finally he took all the discussions again and was baptized thinking it would get the missionaries off his back.

Anyway, to make a long story short he and his wife have made it their mission to find all of Joseph's posterity and bring the Gospel to them. That the man who brought the Church back onto the earth can have his family gathered around him for eternity as well. Michael Kennedy was the first of Joseph's line to be baptized and receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. He talked a bit about the prejudices that are there for members of Joseph Smith's posterity to join the Church. The Church isn't really talked about and is a bit of a sore subject. He also said that they have yet to find a relation of Joseph's due to plural marriage. This due to DNA testing to see if they have the same genes as members of his posterity. I thought that was interesting.

It is also interesting to think that because of Emma's decision to stay behind in Nauvoo the Gospel has been lost to all those descendants of Joseph Smith. I have always had a huge amount of respect for Emma Smith. I have never judged her for staying behind and not moving to Utah. She had suffered so much and for whatever reasons didn't think she could go on. Apparently this movie that is coming out is all about Emma. It is done by the foundation which the Kennedy's have started and who did the Joseph Smith movie a couple of years ago.

After the talking part of the fireside they had a group come and perform their songs for us. It was fantastic! We had taken the kids and they just played on the floor beside us during the fireside. However, when we moved to the rec hall Madi wanted to sit on the front row. She and Cooper sat by some friends of ours on the front row while Kev and I sat towards the back so Rylee could walk around and so she would stay away from the guitars and the performers who were sitting in a circle in the middle of the rec hall.
It was a five man band from Nashville who had put out a CD in tribute to Joseph Smith. It was fantastic. Madi and Cooper sat intently on the front row through most of the performance. Madi was enthralled the entire time - I saw that Cooper listened well to the music but got bored during the talking in between songs. Rylee walked around and danced to the music and kept everyone around us very entertained. It was really late by the time we got home and the kids had great attitudes through the whole thing. I am really glad that we took them so they could experience the fireside as well.

During the performance a man, who had been walking around taking pictures of the band, sat down a chair away from Cooper. Soon I saw that he gave Cooper a sucker. Cooper came and showed me soon after that and was very excited - especially when I told him it was American candy because I saw that it was a Tootsie Pop. Madi told me after that she didn't take one from him because she didn't know him - well at least she is picking up on something we have taught her. At the end she got one too because they gave us all a free copy of the CD and the same guy was handing them out.

On the way home I asked the kids how they felt when they were listening to the music. Madi and Cooper both said that they felt happy inside. We talked about Joseph Smith and about how the Spirit was talking to them to tell them that he was a Prophet of God. It was such a wonderful conversation with the kids. I love moments like that.

So if you get a chance to see the movie I have heard that it is really good - I think I will have to have a family member pick up a copy at Deseret Book when it comes out and send it my way. Also, if you like Church music with a little country feel to it check out the CD. Madi has been playing it non-stop all day today.

Work picnic at Bobbin Head

We have never been to Bobbin Head before - although we have heard good things about it from people in the ward. So when a guy from Kev's work planned a get together on Saturday there we were excited to see where it was. What a beautiful place! Madi missed out though. She had a friend's birthday party that day and they let us drop her off early so we could get to the picnic on time. We missed her and promised that we would go back again so she could see it.

We played at the park which was mostly in the sun and the sand was really hot.

Kev played cricket for the first time - now maybe we will understand it a bit better when we see it on TV. I didn't get a very good picture of it though - sorry. I was laughing at him because he was holding the cricket bat like a baseball bat...

I took the kids for a walk while Kev chit chatted with his work friends. We got to cross over the river on a bridge, see lots of little crabs run for cover in little holes in the mud, and go up some stone steps. We actually didn't make it that far before Cooper wanted to go back and Rylee was walking slower and slower. It was beautiful though. I love how the Aussies have incorporated nature into their every day lives. Here is this beautiful area in the midst of a bustling city. They are so good at that!

The coolest thing that happened that day was Rylee discovering a kookaburra up close and personal. She had walked off a little way on the grass and I looked over to see what she was after. There was a kookaburra sitting in the grass not far from her. It even stayed there until Rylee got really close. Then it took off and landed on a post. There it stayed with Rylee just underneath staring up at it and pointing. It was so cool to see on that close.

Last day of term and an excursion

Friday was the last day of term and Madi had an excursion to Olympic Park. She got to learn about trees, plants, animals, and how to take better care of the environment. Of course the best part was that she got to ride on a bus. When she came back she said, "Mom! Did you know that the fountains are at Olympic Park?!" She was so excited to know that she had been there before. They got to walk by the fountains and weren't allowed to take off their shoes so needless to say her shoes and socks were a little wet and smelly when she got home. She had a fantastic time on her last day of term 3....now it is two weeks spring holidays.

BTW: These are the fountains she was talking about - we went there earlier this year on a hot summer day and had a blast. Will definately be going back.

Glorious "P"

Yes, "P" can be glorious, but not the kind that you are thinking of. Here is the wonderful land of OZ they have a good way of making sure drivers know how to drive. Well, now that I am trying to get my motorcycle license I find myself subject to the system!

This last week I took a day off work to go in for a full day class and one hour test to move from my "L" (learner) plates to my "P" (not sure but I think it is practice) plates. I know you are all excited that I can now go 90 KPH (56 MPH) instead of the 80 KPH (50 MPH).

This will be for the next year while I get some more experience below my belt (or should I say on my tires).

The one thing that is interesting to me is the following:

• There is a rule that if you are over 30 when you pass your motorcycle "P" test that you don't have to get your "P" for a year, you can just get your full motorcycle license at that point.


• Of course there is an exception to that rule that you have to have a NSW drivers license for 5 years before that applies to you. So, because I have only had my license for one year I have to go through the complete "P" process!

I have to say that I understand that the purpose of the "L" plate is to cleary show others that you are a learner and so they can give you more room to drive. However, it is my experience (now having been a part of the system) that there are a large number of drivers out there that get very angry when they see that they are behind an "L" plater!

I had one person riding my tail so close that I could have probably leaned back and touched them and then they whipped around me while they were 3/4 of the way in my lane. So for the majority of the people it works but it makes a number of people unreasonable. Interesting!

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it....

Only a week until Rylee and I take our long trip home. I am excited and a bit nervous about the long plane ride alone, going through customs with my luggage and Rylee, and finding the right gate for my connecting flight to SLC. I know I am a big girl, but I have actually never flown alone so it scares me a bit. Someone told me to pinch Rylee when we get in line to go through customs - then maybe they would move us to the front of the line, LOL!!

Although that part makes me nervous I am so excited to go home and see family and friends. Kev is a little nervous that I won't be coming back. I have a list of things to stock up on and a list of eating establishments that I have missed (I may come back a few pounds heavier). My calendar is full of lunch dates and dinner dates, visits with friends, and family functions. I originally thought three weeks would be too long - now I am not sure I can fit everything in. I am actually feeling loved because so many people want to see me while I am there - although I know that the truth is they want to see Rylee, she is adorable after all.

My list of things to do before next week is slowly getting smaller - these are still the things that need to be done:

1. Write the Primary program - 90% done
2. Get the parts all ready to hand out
3. Get the next quarterly activity underway - good thing I have excellent counselors
4. Set up play dates for the two kiddos - got a few done.
5. Write a list of numbers down for Kev
6. Explain to Kev how to do the laundry
7. Stock up the cupboards and fridge
8. Type up a list of important school things to remember - library day is Tuesday, what can and can't be taken for lunch and morning tea, sports uniform on Friday, etc
9. Move some scrap kits to my thumb drive so I can take them with me - the hard drive is staying behind.
10. Back-up my layouts and pictures on DVDs to take and leave with our storage items
11. Entertain the kids for the first week of school holidays
12. Pack and make sure the suitcases are slightly empty so we can bring stuff back.

I am sure I will get it all done and be fine - but as of now I look at that list and feel a bit overwhelmed. It will all be worth it though when I fly over the Wasatch Mountains and see many familiar faces. I can't wait!!

Computers and hard drives

Thank goodness for my computer. I realized a few months ago that I have never been this attached to the computer before. Although we have always had a computer in our home it spent a lot of time turned off before and I checked my e-mail maybe once a week. Not anymore. I now have a love/hate relationship with my computer. I love it when it works perfectly and hate it when I can't figure things out. I love to get e-mails and I check my inbox at least once a day. I love to update my blog and I love to read the comments. Since starting digital I scrapbook at least one page a day - not always, but most of the time. I wait until the kids go to bed and then it is my time to be creative and enter my own world. I have become more attached to my computer and the internet than I ever thought I would be.

So yesterday when I went to open up a file on my hard drive and it wasn't reading I panicked. Kev was at meetings and I was going to do a little scrapbooking while the kids were resting. Scrapbooking is after all my personal family history and a fabulous Sunday activity. You see on my hard drive is all my scrapbooking files, papers, embellishments, alphas, etc. Not only the stuff I use to create my pages, but the pages themselves are stored on the hard drive, along with all my pictures. I kept thinking that I had lost it all somehow. The crazy thing is that I was going to back it all up this week on DVDs to take with me and leave at my mother-in-law's house just to have a back up of all my stuff. When Kev came home I told him it wasn't working. After playing around for a bit and hooking up my hard drive to the other laptop it was determined that it wasn't my hard drive but the computer that was having a problem. Good thing to because Kev says he can figure out the computer but he is no good at retrieving things from a crashed hard drive. After playing around on the computer for a bit he got it to work as well.

Thanks to my amazing husband I can continue my scrapbooking addiction and nothing is lost!!! He is amazing and I don't know what I would do without him!!

Also some more exciting news that has to do with scrapbooking - kind-of. I am getting a new camera. After doing a bit of research, asking lots of people, and holding a bunch of cameras I decided on the Nikon D40. It is an SLR camera which makes me very happy!!! It is being shipped to my in-laws as we speak and hopefully will be waiting for me when I arrive!!! I am forgoing any Christmas and birthday presents this year but can't wait to play around and get fantastic pictures to scrapbook.

SATURDAY FUN!!

We headed into the city to find the elusive Paddy's market - not the one close to us, but the other one - we found it and it reminded me so much of the Silk Market in China. (This is a picture from China). I had the camera with me but forgot to take a picture at Paddy's market - I guess we will have to go again. The only difference was that the people didn't yell at you from their stalls about the price of their goods. We also did a little bartering - although not as good as the deals we got in China. Rows and rows of stalls filled with goodies to look through - although I get a kick out of how many of the stalls sale the exact same thing. We went there in search of Christmas gifts and found some fun things!! After walking around the market and getting hot and thirsty we walked over to Darling Harbor to play at the park - our old stomping grounds. We spent a lot of time at Darling Harbor and the park while living in the city because our apartment was so close to it. We then headed over and walked to Kev's new work building so we could all see where he works now. It was a very nice day. We came home exhausted, dirty, and ready for a good nights sleep.

Enjoy the shots of the day!!!

CALVIN & HOBBES

Kev loves Calvin & Hobbes. Before we were even married he had three books full of the comic strip and we have been hauling them around everywhere we go. Finally he has two people who love to hear them. It makes me laugh everytime the kids pick Calvin and Hobbes for their bedtime story. Kev reads it and he laughs and there is one of two reactions from the kids 1) No laughter at all or 2) polite laughter because they don't want to be left out of the joke. They just don't quite get the comic yet, or it has to be explained too much so it isn't as funny. Someday Kev, someday, they will laugh with you!!!

WEEKEND....

I love the weekends - we get to spend a little time with family, Saturday is cleaning day (love a newly cleaned house), and we get to go to Church and feel the Spirit. Well last weekend was great.

On Saturday we woke up to really warm weather - we pulled out shorts and capris for the day. It felt so nice to see the sun all day long! I have been wanting to go to Paddy's market in the city for a long time now and since I am going home and need some Christmas presents to take with me I thought this might be a great place to go and get some Aussie style to take home. I looked up online to see what times it was opened and saw that there was a market closer to home by the Olympic Center. We decided to check it out instead. However, it was only a fresh food market - lots of fruit and veg. Oh well! We got a box of apples and one of oranges. It reminded me so much of the markets we went to in China. and I was so upset that I had forgotten my camera. People everywhere, yelling out of prices, and you get to taste the products. It was an experience. We did walk really quickly past the fish - really, I cannot ever get used to that smell. We are going to try Paddy's market in the city next weekend. This time I will remember my camera.

After our quick trip to the market we decided that since we were close to IKEA we might as well stop by. We are planning on putting Rylee in a toddler bed by the end of the year so we thought we would go and take a look. Well, we purchased a bed for her -although it is sitting in the garage probably at least until after our trip to the US. I know that for some of you this may seem too early to put her in a "big girl" bed - but this is about when I have always done it with the other kids too. They seem to adjust fine and I don't have to worry about them trying to climb out and hurt themselves. Since it works for me this is what I do.

The older kids love IKEA because they can play in the play place there, we get hot dogs, a drink, and an ice cream cone - what could be better!!! Madi was even happier when we got there and she saw the fairy princess face painting. She looked pretty good - luckily it all came off in the bath!!

When we finally got home on Saturday there was no time to rest. The lawn was so bad it needed to be mowed - it was actually getting pretty embarrassing. So we spent some time outside weeding, Kev mowed the lawn, and the kids played. The back yard lawn hasn't grown much, but the front yard grows like crazy because it is all clovers. I also have to tell you about Kev's lawn mower. It is the cutest little thing you have ever seen and so quiet. When we got here we had to buy a lawn mower. We didn't really want an expensive one because we have one back home and knew that we would sale it when we left anyway. So we decided on an electric lawn mower - it was the cheapest one we saw. It only takes about two minutes for the bag to fill up so Kev is constantly emptying it into the green bin. It is really quite though. It is like vacuuming the lawn.

Rylee spent most of her time picking the clover flowers and putting them in her little truck. She was sad when she had to move out of the way of the lawn mower and then all of the flowers had disappeared.

After the yard work was done we decided to go to the 7-11 to get slurpees. The kids had seen a 7-11 a few weeks ago when they were out with Kev and Madi remembered that it was where you get slurpees - of course a promise was made to get them so we had to fulfill that promise. I packed a picnic dinner and we took our slurpees and went to a park for dinner and a play. The perfect ending to a busy, yet fun, day - until Madi fell off the swings and scrapped up her elbows pretty badly. We then headed home, had baths, and fixed Madi up.

Well Sunday we woke up to a rainy, cooler, day. Church was a great - Primary was the usual interesting place to be. There is always something going on in Primary.....

While I was making dinner Kev took out the garbage and came in to tell the kids to come and see. This is what we saw right outside our front door. BEAUTIFUL!!!

REMEMBERING

Today is a day to look back and remember 7 years ago. I can remember getting a phone call from Kevin. I was still in bed with a month old little Madi trying to catch up on some sleep when the phone rang. All he said was, "Have you seen the news today?" I turned on the TV just to see the second plane hit the tower. I remember the shock I felt and how I was glued to the TV all day. It didn't seem real and I couldn't imagine someone making the choice to kill innocent people that way. I remember for the first time thinking how vulnerable we all are. How our little world isn't as safe and secure as I had thought. How things can change literally in a second. As things unraveled and I realized the impact of what had happened that day I held tight to my little baby and pondered many things. I realized that people make bad choices and people make good choices. That although many, many, many families lost a loved one there were also so many heroes amongst us. People who ran into the burning buildings while others were running out. People who overtook the hijackers and died in a plane crash, but saved the lives of so many other. People who grabbed their emergency gear and headed to New York from all over the country. So many people thinking of others instead of themselves.

Yesterday I told Madi about what today means. I explained to her what had happened and she had the look of shock and surprise on her face. We talked about how people make bad choices and they aren't following the plan of the Savior. She said to me, "They were following Satan, and if Satan ever tells me to do something bad to someone else I will know to say no way!"

I will never forget the morning of September 11, 2001. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing. I will never forget how I felt that day. I will never forget the images ingrained into my brain from that day, and the days that followed. I will never forget the bonding that seemed to occur in our great country. I will never forget that life is precious and can change in seconds. I will never forget the heroes that emerged from that day and that there are heroes all around us. May we all remember!

SIMPLE PLEASURES

Yesterday was a beautiful day - not only was the weather perfect, but it was a day was as well. Rylee and I went out for a little walk up and down our street before lunch and her nap. The trees are starting to blossom and the signs of spring are upon us. I love spring - my favorite time of year. I love the temperatures and the blossoms. I love the feeling of everything being fresh and clean and new. It isn't quite as big of a change here where you aren't waiting for the snow to melt and the grass to turn green instead of death yellow - but it is still a perfect time of year!I am not sure what these flowers are on this vine - but they smell yummy, and are right next to the clothes line so the clothes smell nice too!

Rylee found some water running down the gutter and spent a long time splashing in it. She is so good at reminding me to take time to enjoy the simple things. I actually enjoy the time that I get to spend just with her while the others are at school.

After school we did bubbles in the backyard.

For FHE we opened up our praise box to see what was inside. The kids had permanent smiles on their faces as we read the notes that were written. We talked about how good you feel when someone tells you what you have done well and we decided as a family to do it again. Then we had banana splits - this is the third night in a row we have had them. Reminds me a bit of home and Leatherby's! The bananas and ice cream are gone now....

The kids and Kev then got out the gummy teeth that Madi gave Kev for father's day - who could resist this shot?

I was reminded yesterday that life is short and that we really do need to take time to enjoy every possible moment we have together. You never know what could happen or what stress may come your way. So I encourage all of you - take time to have a great day and look out for those simple things around you to enjoy!

"HELLO! My name is Inigo Montoya....

...you killed my father, prepare to die!"

I love, love, love the Princess Bride. When I was a kid one summer my sister Wendy watched that movie at least once a day for the entire three months. Needless to say my entire family has the movie memorized and it is even used in normal conversation when we are together.

So, why am I telling you all this? Well, since coming to Australia Kevin and I have started watching Criminal Minds. In the early seasons there was an actor in the show named, Mandy Patinkin. I have been telling Kev for months that he is Inigo Montoya and Kev continually tells me "there is no way!" Tonight we are watching Criminal Minds and I happen to have the computer on my lap so I googled Princess Bride and indeed he is the same man!!!

I WAS RIGHT!!!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MR. KEVS

Last year Kev was lucky enough to get two father's days - but not this year I told him he had to pick one, so the Aussie one it was. The kids got to get gifts from their school father's day stalls and he got a radio shaped like a juke box from Madi and a torch (flashlight) from Cooper. Rylee gave him two packages of Tim Tams as well. My gift came a few weeks ago and Kev actually purchased it for himself. He got an Olympic style basketball.

So happy Father's day to a wonderful father. Someone who isn't afraid to change diapers, wash dishes, get up in the middle of the night with the kiddos, clean toilets, I could go on and on. A man who gets greeted by his youngest daughter each day at the door. She hears the garage door go up and runs to the door to wait for him to open it saying, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" as she goes. It is so adorable. I love to see him playing Mario Kart endlessly with Cooper and pet shops with Madi.

Happy Father's Day to the best father in the world!

Life happens...

This week has been a bit crazy - but fun. We have had a lot to do so I will share some of the highlights.

Monday was a gorgeous spring-like day. We had a playdate after school at the park and then came home and had an iceblock (popsicle). Rylee's first! She was so funny. She couldn't figure out at first how to just hold it by the stick so she would grab it with both hands and then scream and cry because it was so cold. Eventually she figured it out.

We also had a great FHE. There has been a lot of arguing around our house lately - not between Kevin and I, in case you were worried about us. The kids argue about everything and argue with me when I tell them something they don't like- it is driving me crazy. So I came up with a good idea - well at least I think it is a good idea. Instead of focusing on the bad we are going to focus on the good. We made a praise box for FHE and talked about choices we make! All through the week you can write on a piece of paper about something done well and put it in the box. It has been fun so far to see the kids get excited and say, "Mom, I have something to put in the box!" We are going to read them all on Monday at FHE. I think we will continue this box for a while. The arguing has actually lessened and I think it will be fun to see what is in the box. Tuesday was grandparents day at Cooper's school. He wasn't phased by it at all - no worries! It probably helped that I got to help out at school for the day.

Wednesday Madi's class was in charge of the school assembly. They sang a few rap songs - here is a video of one of those songs. So cute!!! Madi is in the second row. The kid in front of Madi just couldn't hold still through the whole presentation.

After Monday and Tuesday being perfect spring days winter has come back with full force. It has been cold and rainy. Good thing we finally figured out that our house does have a heating system which runs through the air conditioning system. We are a little slow! It would have been nice if they would have given us a bit more information about this house when we moved in.

Last, but not least, the kids have been making a list. In a month Rylee and I are flying back home to Utah for a three week trip. The kids are staying here with Kev who will work from home and keep the ship from sinking. Hopefully! Madi and Cooper have been making a list of things to do while I am away. Now that Madi can write she makes lists of everything. I just had to share it with you...

One day this was our conversation:

Madi: "Mom, can you go to Utah tomorrow?"

me: "No, I'm not going for a little while, why?"

Madi: "Well I want you to go tomorrow so we can start on our list!"

me" "Don't you want me to stay here?"

Madi: "Yes, but we have so many fun things to do on our list, like go to the beach and have a pillow fight. I can't wait until you go!"

What am I chopped liver?!