Photo Book

Today was windy and cold followed by a terrific rainstorm.  I spent the day indoors working on this project.  I've never done digital scrapbooking.  It was really fun and fairly easy.  I hope Travis likes it.  I wish I could be there when he opens it.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Museums and a National Park

New England Regional Art Museum

Today we went out for an afternoon to take in a couple of museums and another national park.  There are lots of both in and around Armidale.  We'll be hard pressed to see them all before we leave at the end of the month. 

The New England Regional Art Museum was interesting.  There were lots of paintings that would be considered modern.  Being the art enthusiasts that we are we didn't understand a good percentage of them. 



Art?

This painting was nothing more than a black square.  Really?  I guess we were just not intune with the message the artist why trying to convey.






Can I take it home Mom?

This rhino was pretty cool.  It was made of discarded clothing, there were all kinds of things worked into it from underwear to a military uniform. 




Making Hannah's death mask

In this room you could make death masks out of tin foil squares.  It was fun and simple.  Sounds like a great Cub Scout activity!

Nicholas finds his long lost brother.

The Aboriginal Center was nice but didn't allow any pictures to be taken.  Matt thought their art was very similar to that of the Navajo.



These pictures are from Dangar Falls (part of the Oxley Rivers National Park) in New South Wales, about 40 km from Armidale.  It was a short hike down to the lookouts.  Hannah was disappointed that she couldn't actually get in the water. 

A beautiful day for a walk in the park. 

My favorite thing I did today was my morning jog and having time to read.  I just finished Twighlight and New Moon.  I love my Kindle!

Australia's National Parks

Australia's cattle country, just south of Armidale, NSW

How many national parks would you guess are found in Australia?  25? 50? Would you believe 516!!  That's a staggering number.  If we can make it to even 10% we'll be doing well.  National Parks here are somewhat different than those in the States.  We've only seen two so far but both have been very small, no ranger's station when you pull in to pay a fee but yet very well maintained.  Yesterday we wen to the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (OWRNP).  To get there we actually had to drive through someone's private property.  Another park we went to was the New England National Park.  Both are within about 1.5 hours of Armidale.  One thing I was so impressed with at the OWRNP was they have a gas grill at each picnic site.  You just push the button and they light up.  This gives you ten minutes to cook and then they automatically shut off.  If you need more time you just push the button again. The grills were clean and easy to use. We ended up eating grilled sandwiches instead of the normal cold ones. It was great! Here's some pictures of our adventure. 


The three Amigos just before heading out on our hike.  



Wollomombi Falls

Wollomombi Falls - this is New South Wale's version of the Grand Canyon.  It's got huge cliffs on all sides.  If you look closely you can see a waterfall.  This is the dry season so there's not much volume.  Judging from all the moss on the trees in a few months this will be different. 

Nicholas, Matt and Ian 

Throughout the park are these staircases.  You hike along the path and then these stairs jut off to let you drop down in the gorge a ways.  They were pretty cool; although it made me slightly nervous to be hanging out over the gorge. 



Since Matt came to Australia, he's decided he'd take advantage of being away from BYU and not shave for a while.  I still find myself wondering who this strange man is.  I haven't seen him with a beard in more than 25 years.

Overlooking the outback at Lookout Pointe

These pictures were taken at Pointe Lookout (we'd probably say Lookout Point in the States).  It's a spot in the New England National Park that looks out over miles and miles and miles of thick dense forest.  As far as the eye can see you see solid trees - no blank spots like those found in Utah, just solid trees covering several mountain ranges.  Matt is sure there are places out there that haven't been discovered it's so thick with foliage.  On this particular day there was a forest fire nearby so the pictures aren't too clear.  We'll definitely have to go back when we can get an even better view.

The New England National Park is considered a temprate rain forest.  Everywhere around you see signs of this, moss on the ground and trees, ferns and other plants along this line.  It was a beautiful walk.

Matt  - note all the moss on the trees

Hannah with one of the many fern type plants growing in the park

If you didn't know better you'd think this was some sort of  fancy lace doily on the tree. It was amazingly intricate for something growing in nature.

My favorite thing I did today: spend time outdoors with the family.  When we got home we ate the Australian version of Dominos pizza.  Pretty good, more spicy than what you get in the States. 











A Couple of Quiet Days

Not a lot has happened the last couple of days.  Matt and Hannah took a train down to Syndey to pick up a rental car.  They were hoping to do it in just one day but things didn't work out too well.  It's a 6 hour drive on the highways but 10 by train.  They left at 8:00 am and didn't arrive till 7:30 due to some delays on the tracks.  Because of this they ended up spending the night and didn't make it home till late today. 


Orange egg yolks?

The boys and I have been hard at work trying to get ahead on the schooling.  We have a pretty good internet connection now but not sure how it will be later.  With only two other teenage members within a 50 mile radius we are on our own to do Seminary so we do that each morning.   It's proving to be a good experience but I'm afraid the boys are missing out on hearing some of the cool stories Seminary teachers seem to always have. 

Here's some pictures of foods we've enjoyed since we got here.  When I first cracked the eggs here I was surprised to see they are orange not gold like home.  They taste just the same, just different color.  When you buy them at the store you choose between between cage eggs or range eggs (it says it right on the package).



Australian Cheese

Cheddar Cheese is cream colored; looks different but still tastes the same. 


Flavors we've never heard of in the States

I'm not sure what the fascination is with chicken flavor but you get it in all kinds of things; chips are just one.  These were pretty interesting.  Some of the kids liked them, I thought they were tolerable but not something I'd buy regularly. 

Unfortunately, we've discovered these Picnic Bars.  They are SOOOO good.  I wish we could get them in the States. 

My favorite thing I did the last couple of days is read.  I don't remember the last time I could just sit and enjoy a good book.  I've read two in the last couple of weeks: Heaven is Real and The Lucky One. 



Our House

2/156 Marsh Street, Armidale, New South Wales Australia





Matt was able to find us a lovely home (lovely - a term used often here) just minutes from the main shopping areas in town.  This has proved to be nice since we've been without a car and have needed to transport supplies by foot.  It's seems fairly new but is surrounded by older homes.  The zoning is somewhat strange here.  It's not uncommon to have several houses in a row then a doctors's office or a real estate office.  In the neighborhood I jog through there's a store in the middle of the block with houses on all sides. 

 

Looking east on Marsh Street

Here's what our street looks like.  You can't really see in the down the street picture but there's a McDonald's and a KFC about a block away.  There are McDonald's everywhere. In fact, this was the first thing Hannah spotted as we touched down in Sydney.




Looking west on Marsh Street - up the hill

Inside the house it's similar to those in the States. The kitchen is quite small.  When I used the oven for the first time I thought this doesn't go up to 350.  It was then that Matt reminded me that everything here is done in metric so the stove temperature is measured in celcius.  The hardest thing to get used to so far is not having a garbage disposal.  Apparently, you don't find many here.  They just aren't that popular.  This is amazing to me.  Another thing that's interesting about the kitchen is the appliances beep at you if you leave them open.  For instance, you can't stand and look in the fridge for more than a minute or it assumes that the door has been left open and is giving you notice to close it. 


Electrical outlets and switches are a bit different here.  Everything  seems really simple, no frills, just basic items from what I've noticed.  Plugs have to be turned on to work. 

The bathrooms are very basic, sinks with faucets on the side seem to be the trend.  We're still trying to get used to that.  It's hard to remember which way is hot and which way is cold.  They're also really small with no counter space.  This is a bit of a pain. It's hard to balance everything in the small spots around the sink.  I'm going to look for some type of board to cover the sink and turn it into counter space.

Finally, this is the heating source for the house.  It's an electrical heater attached the the top of the wall in our living room.  It keeps this room pretty warm but the rest of the house is freezing.  Matt keeps reminding me that it doesn't get that cold here so people just bundle up when it's chilly out. Since we've arrived I've went and bought blankets, sweatshirts and slippers.   

Favorite thing I did yesterday: going to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop and the Pet Store with Hannah. 



Catching Up

Let me just say that I am not a writer.  I do want to chronicle my family's adventure Down Under though so I'm turning to a blog as a way to do that.  I'll do my best to make it interesting.

We've only been here a few days and already we've seen some cool things, different way of doing things and met some incredible people. 

Let me start from the beginning....

Getting ready to go was incredibly stressful.  If I said it was anything short of a nightmare I'd be lying.  Not only was the family moving to Australia just for excitement we thought we add moving out of our rental house, getting plans in place to build a new home while we are gone, completing an Eagle project, quitting my job, getting a passport for a missionary and then of course all the everyday stresses.  In all the hubbub I managed to lose my driver's license.  I spent many precious hours looking for it with no success.  So if life wasn't stressful enough already, on the way to the airport we had to stop by the Driver's License bureau to get a new one. 

Nicholas' Eagle Project at the Elk Ridge City Park

With all the preparations completed as best I could and Carolyn mustering every ounce of patience she could we made it to the airport. 

We managed to get through check-in thanks to a very kind clerk who allowed us to shuffle things around to meet the 50 lb. bag requirement and even let the boys take their lacrosse sticks on at no charge. 



The Shumway version of the David statue

By the time we found our gate we only had about 30 minutes to spare.  We quickly grabbed something to eat (we hadn't eaten all day because we were running around so much trying to get things finished up).  I've never been so relieved to board a plane.  I finally began to relax because I knew I couldn't do any more.  Anything that wasn't done at this point was going to have to wait. 

On the plane from Salt Lake to LA I met the nicest lady named Susan from Sydney.  She had been traveling in North America for the last month  and was now on her way home.  We talked the entire flight.  She gave me all kinds of tips for making our stay in Australia memorable, safe and exciting.  She was wonderful.  We learned of things that aren't included in the travel books, places that are overlooked and all kinds of other things we could do for little or no charge as well as things that weren't worth the time or money to visit. 

I can't help but think that people are placed in our path for a reason.  I am so grateful that I was able to meet Susan and for the help she was to my family.  I am also grateful for all the people back home.  We could not have made it without help particularly those who helped Nicholas finish his Eagle Project, those who are watching over our house and much more.  We are eternally grateful for great friends and family.  We'd be lost without them!

Once we got to LA things took a turn for the worse.  For one thing we had no idea where to go to catch our next flight and no one seemed to be around to ask directions.  We finally found someone who told us the wrong direction then found another fellow who told us where to go to catch a bus heading in the right direction.  When we got to the Virgin Australian Terminal they asked for our passports.  I pulled my backpack off to get them out and discovered that my backpack was unzipped and my wallet was missing.  I was sick.  Luckily, the passports were in a different part of the backpack and I had put my visa card in a secret pocket in my pants; so we weren't in dire straights, just felt bad that it was missing. 

After about a 4 hour lay over we boarded the plane to our final destination.  The flight crew was amazing.  They did a great job to make the lengthy flight bearable.  The kids actually enjoyed it.  Each had their own personal tv screen that they could watch all kinds of movies, tv shows and play games.  They also fed us quite well.  Many people complain about airplane food but I thought it was wonderful. 

Once we arrived we got our luggage and then waited for Matt.  It took a while to hook up because of the way the Sydney airport is arranged.  It doesn't make pick-up easy.  We managed to locate each other and were on our way for a 6 hour drive to the "country".  Getting out of the city would prove to be interesting.  I have gained a new appreciation for all the interstates and direct routes we have in the "States" (this is how the Aussies refer to the US).  This country is in love with roundabouts.  You find them everywhere, back roads, city roads, highways etc.  Thank heavens for GPS or we'd still be going around in circles. 

The town we'll be in for the next month is Armidale, New South Wales.  It's a small town of about 25,000 people.  The University of New England is here and it is this university that Matt is working with.  The town sits half way between Sydney and Brisbane about 1.5 hours inland from the coast.  It's a beautiful area.  Looking out from the church parking lot you see rolling hills with eucalyptus trees spread throughout and cattle grazing.  Matt says it reminds him of Zimbabwe.  Speaking of wildlife, we've yet to see a live kangaroo.  We saw 18 dead ones on the road home from Sydney so we know they are around and apparently abundant. 

We live about half a mile from the shopping areas in town so we've made the trip up and down the hill several times (on foot) getting groceries and other necessities.  This morning I went out for my first jog.  It was incredibly cold but a beautiful morning (Australia is opposite of the States so we are just coming into spring). 

The only thing we've really done besides shopping since we arrived is go to church (the jet lag killed us the first few days).  I am so impressed with the members of the small branch.  There are about 25 people who apparently attend most weeks.  One family travels more than 3 hours to attend church so they only come on Fast Sunday.   Many of the members own farms on the outskirts of town or in the neighboring communities.  Only one couple lives right in Armidale.  There's also a young man from China who is attending the university here.  He met the missionaries about a year ago, joined the church and has been faithful ever since.  He's now assigned to pass the sacrament each week. The thing that I was most impressed with was the member's dedication to the gospel.  They are so strong in their convictions and testimony.  There wasn't a wasted moment during testimony meeting.  You'd think they would get tired of hearing each other's testimonies each month but apparently they don't.  It was a wonderful meeting.  There are only 2 other kids my kids ages; a girl who is 14 and a boy who is 12 (what are the chances his name would be Nicholas).  The kids really enjoyed both their Sunday School class and YM/YW.  I think it's going to be a great experience for our family to be part of this branch.

We've been here less than a week but loved every minute so far.  In the future my blogs will be much shorter.  I'll share some of the amazing things we're discovering about this country.