the past 2 weeks

We've had a mix of things to keep us busy these past 2 weeks--inside, outside, and everywhere.  It started with our official welcome from the Darwin City Council.  We were introduced to several members of the Council, representatives from the US embassy, and several other individuals who's names, admittedly I should but can't remember.  No surprise, everyone was incredibly friendly and supportive about the exchange program.  Over the next few days, the Darwin Festival events kept us busy.  We went to a concert and acrobat show--Cirque du Funk-- just right for the kids.  Then we went to a free for all kids day at one of the neighborhood pools. Here we swam, the kids learned how to belly dance, and Jordan got picked from the audience to help in the magic show.  She was one enthusiastic helper!!  We also went to a nighttime show at the Botanical Gardens called Strange Fruit.  Can't say that we understood the story, but the show mostly revolved around these giant chinese lanterns on 20 foot tall bendable poles. Inside the creatively lighted lanterns, the performers made them bend and sway while the audience got to lounge around watching from their picnic blankets.  The next day we took a break from culture, gave Matt a day off, and I took the kids camping. We went to Douglas Daly Hot Springs. We found a stretch of river water which was warmed just enough to keep the chill off--the kids swam for hours in water which mostly was no higher than Bryson's middle.  Then we had another week of play group, swim lessons, parks, and swimming in the pool.  To end this week, we headed back to the Hot Springs for another camp (with Matt this time.)  The adventure continued the following day when we went down the road a little further to see Butterfly Gorge - accidentally went off trail and ended up shuttling the kids over some cliffs until we had to admit that it was best to turn back.  After that adventure, we felt a little defeated so we weren't ready to head home yet.  Instead we camped for another night.  This time it was Lichfield National Park.  In the morning, we hiked up to the top of Wangi Falls--Bryson and Jordan getting piggy-back rides lucky little tykes.  Spectacular views and a refreshing swim to the falls with the kids made the trip complete.