January 15, 2009

It's been a fun packed stretch of days.  Have to admit I'm a bit exhausted, but all well worth it.  Wednesday we went to the movies to see BOLT.  Our little review group gave it a solid thumbs up.  Thursday we hit the water park--Jordan spending the whole day belly down in the water with her new snorkel--Bryson running mad through the water slides and fountains.  Friday we went to Litchfield park to see the waterfalls during the wet season.  The strength of the flow was certainly impressive maybe even more so having seen them when they were their weakest during the dry.  We were able to take in a swim and picnic while there with Detroit and Shelby and gang as well.  Saturday we headed back to the wildlife park with our new friends from down the street--Jeff, Shoni, Ashleigh, and Katie(who will be in Jordan's class in February).  The kids were stumbling tired by the end of that day, but Matt headed out that night to see his first rugby game.  Saturday started out with Bryson and Matt heading to the beach with friends, and finding some beautiful new shells.  Jordan and I stayed here for a playdate with another friend.  Then, in the afternoon we had an impromptu swim party ending with  Jordan and I down the street for a horse and pony ride.   It's nice to know your neighbors!!!! Today we headed to the museum.  What a treat that was--the kids are actually old enough to understand that they can't touch everything, and young enough to be totally excited to see what's around the next corner.  Yesterday Matt and I had a fantastic time wake boarding at Manton Dam. The kids loved riding in boat and swimming at the beach. Maybe those days of snowboarding and skateboarding translated to the water, or he just has some natural ability, but Matt did terrific.  I had my share of falls, but managed to get up a few times thanks to alot of good coaching from the guys from C watch. Today it's recovery day--I hurt just about everywhere imaginable.  Plus, it's time to pack.  Tomorrow night we leave for Tasmania  Yeah!!!  Tell you all about that when we get back.  

January 5, 2009

Well, the season came and went in that frantic manner that it does every year.  The kids met Santa at 9 separate events this year.  It seems when the elves let him out of the workshop, he likes to spend some quality time down here in the sun.  Right before the big day Matt and I had a night out-sans-kids for the first time since the horse races.  We went to the B watch Christmas Party and had a great time enjoying uninterrupted conversations (a rare event in my life lately) with some terrific folks.  While Matt was at work the kids and I took a driving tour of the homes that won the Christmas light competition.  Bryson was in awe of the millions of lights and decorations.  We spent most of Christmas Day with our friends the Johnson's eating, swimming, and playing.  They had a big crowd, and the kids had plenty of playmates.  The next few days we stayed busy swimming and riding bikes.  We also went to the wildlife park which had extra activities for the school break.  The kids spent at least an hour whizzing down a giant slip-n-slide.  They also saw their first real scuba diver when it was fish feeding time in the giant aquarium.  On top of that, the mother wallaby who resides at the park let us give her a pet and allowed us to get a close up look at our first joey.  New Years was spent with Franky and Gurty and a few more friends.  Now that they live next door we were able to ring in the New Year with plenty of libations--thus Matt and I spent our first day of the New Year as Gurty put--"Feeling far less than ordinary. "  We managed to pull through spending the day on the wharf with the kids  and some ice cream.  We also discovered some new walking trails downtown and explored some beautiful neighborhoods in Darwin.  Our last adventure this past week was a trip to the rocky shoreline of Nightcliff where we found new shells, trilobites(I think), and sea slugs( I think).  Off to a fun filled start this year