August 24, some older photos

We finally got our film from the Butterfly farm/petting zoo, and the Ambon yacht race-only had  black and white film left when it was time to reload. 

August 24 this week

We slowed it down just a little this past weekend due to a few runny noses, but then we started up again.  We took the passenger ferry to Mandora and were rewarded with a visit to a fun little b
each bar, a picnic, and our first view of the Darwin skyline. The following day the family went for a walk through a monsoon woods.  We found all sorts of plant life to examine.  Jordan found a whole family of twirly twigs to cherish.  Meanwhile, Bryson did his best to destroy any leaf or stick he could grab, but undeniably enjoyed every minute of his demolition.  We tried the great outdoors again the following day, and were rewarded with one absolutely terrific day.   We headed to Litchfield Park this time.  Paul, Sean, and Eddy from B watch led the adventure along with Tommy and Cooper--Sean's boys.   The plan for the day was to show us a few of the places in Litchfield where you can go swimming--a watering hole tour.   They showed us three spectacular swimming hideaways complete with cascading falls  (some several stories high) that I'm certain have graced more than a few postcards.   Jordan made us proud by swimming through some of these waters on her very own.  She's still pretty raw, but she's come a long way since the hot tub back home.  Several of the swimming holes close in  few months during the rainy season, so we'll have to make it a point to go back soon.  

Friday we had our first taste of lawn bowling, a pretty popular past time around here. The B watch came out in force with about 30 fire fighters and their families. Matt and I didn't discover any hidden talent for the game, but we didn't humiliate ourselves too badly.  That night we stayed at Paul and Sue's who, generously opened their home to us despite the fact that Bryson clocked their little girl in the chin with one of the bowling balls. They live near the bowling greens right on the golf course, so we were chauffeured home in a golf buggy in the stealth of night.  The next morning Matt took the kids while I got to go the second ever "Hit and Giggle".  A ladies only event for those of us who don't know anything about golf.  80 women showed up!   They divided us into  groups of 4-7 and placed each group with a woman who knows a bit about the game.  I  joined 6 other women who also knew Sue--my host form the night before and our resident golf pro.  We each received hands on golf lessons throughout out the day.  Since we played off the best shot in our group, we made it through nine holes with a pretty fair score.  I was the weakest link, but grew stronger through the day (despite visits from the beer cart).  I had so much fun, I put my name for the next event-a half golf/ half  lawn bowling day.  

Today brought us to the Teddy Bear Picnic.  Hundreds of kids and teddies showed up to this great extravaganza of kids crafts and entertainment.  Bryson was entranced by one of the entertainers in a bug costume, he kept following her everywhere, while Jordan's favorite part was the teddy bear hospital.  She made up an elaborate story of how her bear was run over by a car and continued to find injuries that required, bandaids, dressings, lots of love, but no shots!!  Hmm, maybe there's  been too much shop talk in front of the kids?

August 15 we've been busy

We've been doing so much, I had to pull out our home made calender to put it all in place. (Some things are the same no matter where you go--try finding a calender in July wherever you live.)   Anyway, we started out on the 4th of August--our 1 month anniversary in this adventure, with a trip to the races.  We were generously treated to passes to the member's lawn at the biggest horse race day of the year Day 8 of the Darwin Cup. Many of the women were dressed to kill in cleavage bearing dresses,  outrageously high heels, and  these amazing hats that I've only seen on runway expos. Meanwhile, the men mostly wore shorts.  No matter the attire, everyone seemed to be having a tremendous time.  We discovered that the distinct advantage of the member's lawn was 1. no lines at the beer garden,2.  no lines at the bathroom,3.  a track side view of the finish line.  All 3 advantages being of equal importance throughout the day--Thanks Paul for the tickets and thanks Gurty--who watched the kids for us.  Without them, the day would not have been possible. Well, at the races we finally worked up the courage to ask how to  and then actually place a few bets.  We won some and lost some, but mostly lost--but not much.  Regardless, the day was fantastic fun!  For the next few days, I kept busy with the kids.  We went to our first Playgroup where we created octopuses, music, and a couple of happy kids.  Then we discovered McMinn's Lagoon--a picnic hideaway  just minutes from the house.  Next came more swimming lessons, Bryson and Jordan were literally bouncing in their seats on the way to the pool.  Thursday brought us to the Fun Bus again where they created some art.  In classic Jordan style, a masterpiece requires nothing but speed.  Her average project must be completed in 1 minute or risks being abandoned.  In addition to the art projects, they played with their friends and once again had a good time.  Friday we tried out the Leanyer Water Park.   This place is kiddy heaven with  water slides, pools, fountains, and a whole additional park right there--and, unbelievably, it's free!  We slept hard again that night, and the next day we headed out of town. After missing out on the fun during the week, Matt was able to join us on this adventure.  We met up with a couple of other families at a camp site at Robin Falls.  We picnicked and the kids braved the cool creek.  Later the women and children went out for a hike while the men "collected fire wood"--for those who don't know -- that's code for sat around and drank beer.   The hike was a success with a pretty little waterfall as the destination(--evidentially it's a pretty big waterfall in the wet season).  Jordan hiked as well as the big kids while Bryson hitched a ride on my back for most of the rocky trail, enjoying his view from up high. We aren't set up for camping just yet,but we hope to be soon.  So we came home that night. Sunday morning Matt headed out of town for a boys fishing weekend.  When he came back Monday there was no fish, but he did have some great pictures. I never get a lot of details out of him when he goes on these rugged retreats--sacred manly rituals I'll never know, but he did manage to reveal that he had a good  time and that the place was beautiful.  They went by sea, camped at a mangrove island, and everyone but Matt managed to catch a fish.  While Matt was gone, we had a visit with friends here at the house, and the kids recovered from another busy week.  Monday we headed to  a new park at Humpty Doo--yes that is the name of the town.  They have a terrific park there with some spacey looking slides and a silly looking Humpty Dumpty that lets you know they have a sense of humor about the goofy name of the place.  Monday night we headed to  a  movie at Jinglii Water Gardens.   Bryce, Jordan, and I watched  Finding Nemo under the stars and bats.  Amazingly, they both sat through the whole movie.   Tuesday's Playgroup brought  a special appearance by the Amazing Drumming Monkeys--a puppet show that had about 30 kids up jumping and dancing.  That afternoon I begged off and had a day at the beach by myself.   I spent the day beachcombing, walking when I wanted to, and stopping when I wanted to. I ended the day with fish and chips on the wharf watching the sky turn from blue to pink.  When I came home I found the kids in bed and Matt wore out.  Tuesday Matt was back at work again, while the kids and I headed to the swim lessons then to the beach where we did some beachcombing  at their speed.  We collected many treasures and built three sandcastles. 1 for Jordan and her extended imaginary princess family, 1 for me so I could feel like a kid again, and 1 for Bryson so he could squash it over and over again.  Wednesday the kids and I headed to the fun bus, but we were  a little lazy, so we left early to picnic at Jinglii park again.  This time we had a chance to explore the playscape and the fountains in the daylight.  Today we took a day off and spent the day at the house, swimming in the pool, and watching a movie--which is why I finally had a chance to write this all down.  Meanwhile, yesterday, Fiona let us know that Matt received a summons for jury duty in the mail.  To think of all the fun we could be having if we were back home.