Meet the Robinsons Down Under

Jet Lag

2011-12-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

*True to form, I wrote this post a week ago and forgot to post it. Here it is:

I have jet lag. It has been 5 days, so I should be completely over it, but it just seems to be hitting now: a nagging feeling that I should be eating at midnight, waking up at 4:45 AM even though I just went to bed at 12:30, a suddenly and unexpectedly falling asleep at 3 in the afternoon.

We are back in the US, after being gone for 18 months. We flew to Melbourne, spent the night, then flew from Melbourne to LA. I can never sleep on the airplane. I don't think it has anything to do with discomfort really, there are just so many movies I want to watch! Fourteen hours of entertainment later, we landed in LA. We visited Shon's brother Jason and his wife, Alex. Alex is 8.5 months pregnant. She is so cute. Really, that's not very fair. She looked like she was trying to shop lift a basketball. Lucky girl. We are very excited and look forward to seeing their little baby girl soon.

Somewhere in California.

I crashed and slept for a couple hours at Jason's, then it was back in our rental car - a beautiful grey mini van. Sounds pretty "flash", huh? It may not be cute, but it gets pretty good gas mileage and is surprisingly roomy. We have quite a bit of luggage and it all fits! Shocker. Anyway, we headed back into the van and I drove, on the right side of the road, for the next 5 hours, to a hotel in Kingman Arizona.

We stopped to fill up near Flagstaff, and the kids all romped in the snow!

After an awesome night's sleep, on the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on (I was really tired), we got up at 5 and drove to Farmington, NM! It was such a great visit. We stayed with my friend Annie and her family. They are such great friends. We loved having scriptures with their family, and watching the pleasant interactions between their children and Grandma (who lives with them). We felt so at home. What an awesome friend Annie is to host 7 extra people. And I'm sure we were pretty annoying. The first few days we were constantly saying: "Look at the size of this milk carton!" and "In Australia, we do it like this" or "they say this in Australia." It's kind of strange to be back. When I first heard the radio announcer in California, I thought she was joking and exaggerating an American accent!

Sunrise on the road in Arizona.

Farmington was great! With the exception of a weekend in New Orleans, we have never returned to one of the places we moved from. It was so nice to see all of our friends at church. I ran with my running buddies, twice! It didn't hurt at all, though I was definitely out of breath - but I'm blaming it on the elevation (sea level to 6,000 feet is quite a jump.) I got to have lunch with my choir friends too. We had dinner with a couple of very good friends. It was so much fun! I got to go to Homemaking (or whatever it's called) and chat with the ladies from church. And my children played with their friends! I think it made me as happy as it made them. I know how much they miss their friends, and to see them so happy was very fulfilling. (I have to admit, it was a bit shocking to see how much everyone has grown! Seriously, what are you feeding these kids?) It was just a really great couple of days.

We were sad to leave Farmington, but so excited to go see our family. It has been way too long since we have been home. Eighteen months is a mission for some people. And the last couple months have been hard, so it is really nice to be home. I'm usually pretty good at avoiding homesickness (avoiding is the key word here - you can't get over it, you just have to get around it.) More on that later.

So, after 35 hours (so far) of traveling, we are home. (We have another 18 hours to drive, and 15 to fly before it's all over.)

Life is good. I have eaten Mexican food, with green chilis and fresh tortillas. I have run with my friends. I have been to Walmart. (Seriously, have you seen how big that place is!) I have heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, on the radio! Soon, I will be in the mountains, skiing. My children have filled themselves with horrible, sugary cereals, and I'm not even going to say anything (like "that's not breakfast, that's dessert"). But best of all, I have seen so many friends and family! I couldn't be happier.

Life is good.

Visitors

2011-11-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

I love having visitors! Shon's sister Angie, her husband Brian, and their 3 children (plus one on the way) came to visit. We took a few days and made another trip to the Whitsundays. (I told you I couldn't wait to go back with my family! I was serious!)

This time we had the boat to ourselves. We had a ball. The skipper, Steve, was awesome, and the decky, Emma was "brilliant!" She was also Irish and a former pre-school teacher. It definitely came in handy on a boat with 8 children!

The weather was a bit stormy. We expected rain, but it only sprinkled. It was much warmer this time around. One wet suit was enough! (Shon and I wore 3 last time.)

Two down. . .

2011-10-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

***I wrote this post two and a half weeks ago, but I was in such a hurry that I forgot to post it! Better late than never.

It is General Conference time again. (Sigh. I love General Conference.) We ate cinnamon rolls, and actually sat and watched all of the sessions with very few interruptions. It's nice to have my children getting older. For instance, last week we had the missionaries coming over for dinner and I also had to pick up Caleb from a play date. You'd think pick up would only take a couple minutes, but I often find that "play date" here means "wine and cheese by the pool." (No thank you, to the champagne, but I'd love a glass of water.)

Actually, my one and only big complaint about Australia (besides the fact that everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road) is the alcohol. Alcohol seems to be the language of hospitality here. And though I don't drink, it doesn't bother me much to say no to a glass. People are honestly trying to be nice when they offer me something to drink. What I do have a problem with is children and alcohol mixed together. Let's see, first there was the kindergarten disco where my son was handed a can of beer instead of a soft drink, and my friend's two year old got ahold of a can that was already open - he slept very well that night. For the public school art night, every admission ticket came with a complimentary glass of wine. Oh, and the school's family fun night: all of the children went in a room for crafts and a sausage, while the adults stood around and drank. (Family fun?) At the last class parent rep meeting, one of the topics of discussion was how the school could get a liquor license for their next fund raiser. When my daughter told me about the father's day gift this year, I made a pre-emptive strike so my husband would actually be able to bring his 3 lovely gifts home. I brought sparkling grape juice to the school for the girls to put their hand painted wine labels on. The saddest thing to me was listening in on a conversation where one mum was telling another that it was time to teach her 15 year old daughter how much alcohol she could handle. I felt sick. Australia would be a very difficult place to live as an alcoholic. I'm glad I'll never have to deal with that. But just for the record, we have plenty of fun, laughter, and engaging conversation without the alcohol. And now I'm really off on a tangent . . .

Emily's sparkling grape juice label from the Father' s Day breakfast.

I went to pick up Caleb from a play date, said no to the champagne, swung by the grocery store to grab a few last minute ingredients for dinner with the missionaries, and came home to a perfectly clean kitchen! My children (mostly Emily) had cleaned the kitchen and living room! The magazines were even in a little row on the end table. The floor was even swept. I love having older children.

Speaking of older children, look who is almost taller than his dad.

I also love having the missionaries over - especially this set, because one of them is family. Sort of. Shon's cousin's wife's nephew is serving in our ward. Another tangent: Elder Sio shared a bit of polynesian parental advice with our family. When a parent asks you to do something, you have two options: Do it, or do it sad.

Here's Elder Thornton. We just call him Elder Cousin. Cuz for short.

But back to General Conference. I feel so at home watching General Conference. This particular one means our family has been in Australia for two years! We moved here just a few days before conference, and in my jet lagged state, I woke up at 4 AM and watched it live on the internet. (Because we are a day ahead of Utah, we end up watching General Conference a week later than the US.)

We have learned a lot in the last two years.

We have "learnt" to spell like an Aussie, whilst "practising" saying "Hache" and "Zede" in the alphabet (H and Z if you're confused.)

I learned that I can indeed whip egg whites to a peek, with just a whisk. Our stuff took 3 months longer to get here than we had planned, so I had to learn to make do with what we had. Ha! I only thought I needed a mixer. Seriously, try it. It gives your fore arms quite the workout.

We learned that we really don't need plastic grocery bags. After seeing dead turtles on the beach, and realizing how much easier it is to carry everything in with the big fabric bags, we, like the rest of Australia, have abandoned plastic bags. Besides, they are just gross. We have also abandoned paper towels. Total waste.

There is a lorkeet on Caleb's head.

We learned how to Surf! That was fun. Seriously, I love the beach. How did I ever live without it?

The kids learned to talk like an Aussie. I am however stuck with my American accent (though I am frequently asked if I am Canadian - but I think most people who ask me this just can't tell the difference and know that Canadians don't like to be called Americans, but Americans don't really care.) The two youngest are the best at turning their Aussie accent on and off. It takes a few minutes after getting home from school for "mum" to become "mom."

The family in Singapore. Caleb is going to be an Elvis impersonator when he grows up.

The biggest thing we have learned is that the world is very beautiful, and very small. All those countries you see on the news, with tsunamis, earth quakes, and social unrest - they aren't so far away.

We are all just neighbours, mate.

Reasons why I have nightmares. . .

2011-10-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Others have excuses, I have my reasons why. . . (cue music from Nickel Creek)

Hi my name is Juli. I am a mother of five. I heard that someone asked a large family once if they were all one family, or if they were on a picnic. The mother replied that they were all hers and it’s no picnic.

I agree. It’s no picnic.

I love my children. I have always wanted five children. When people asked me when I was little what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said I wanted to be a mother and have five children. I am very blessed to have the desires of my heart. I love being a mother. I am happy that I am the one that gets to raise my children, with my husband. It is definitely a two person job. But I was the one who breast fed them. I rocked them to sleep when they cried in the night. I folded their cute little socks – so little they sometimes got caught in the washing machine filter. I took them to their first day of school. I taught them to ride a bike (well, Shon did that.) I “helped” make pinewood derby cars (the ones Shon "helped" with won, but not mine!) This weekend I am taking my eldest to his first stake dance. Sooner or later, I will take them to college or to the MTC. I feel full of joy that I get to be the one to do those things for my family.

But it is no picnic.

I have this repeating night mare where I wake up sweating, thinking that I have forgotten something important. Unfortunately, some times it isn’t just a dream.

Shon caught one of the penalty kicks.

For instance, last week, Shon had to go out of town to New Zealand for work. (A trip that conveniently coincided with the Rugby world cup, I might add.) I knew it would be busy. Every night there were multiple things going on. Wednesday Emily had early orchestra, I had cello lessons (which went horribly, I might add – I’m blaming it on the fact that I donated blood Tuesday morning and I spent the rest of the week feeling less than sharp), a class representative meeting, swimming lessons for the kids, volleyball practice for Bryce, softball practice for Emily, and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on that I knew I hadn’t put in my calendar. I also helped Emily make a skirt for a Personal Progress project, but we didn’t quite finish it. She is supposed to wear it on Tuesday night.

Thursday was equally bad: ballet and jazz, a softball tournament for Emily, basketball practice for Bryce, and piano lessons for the younger children.

Friday was an all day volleyball tournament for Bryce, an eye appointment for Sarah, and girls camp began for Emily. Unfortunately the volleyball tournament was on the complete opposite side of the city from the girls camp. I spent most of the afternoon driving. Seriously, hours, and 6 trips over the Gateway bridge ($3.85 each way).

Bryce loves volleyball.

Saturday was no better: a primary meeting, followed by a basketball game and the rest of the volleyball tournament (from 1-7 pm) which I had to leave to pick up Emily from her camp (girls camp is only a one night deal here). Unfortunately, it was raining hard, and I had a miscommunication with the leaders, so Emily was already home as I drove through the rain from Bryce’s volleyball tournament, missing his last game – the only one that they won, I might add.

I might have been able to handle all of our activities, but I also had a talk to prepare for Sunday morning, hymns to learn for the organ, and the primary presentation to prepare for (I’m the music leader, and is the responsibility that stressed me out the most); and we have company coming from Singapore, which we are going to take on a holiday to the Whitsundays next week. I am so excited for guests, and I love holidays, but getting 5 children ready, with school makeup work too, and a house to clean for our guests, is no easy task. Whenever we go on vacation, I wonder if it is worth all the work.

Sunday, Shon came safely home, in spite of the strike at Quantas. He was a bit surprised at the state of the house, but I had only done the things that are absolutely necessary, like scrape the oatmeal off the floor. My talk went well. I prayed, worked hard on it during the volley ball tournament (I let the kids play video games between matches). The primary practice went well! I asked my friend to play the organ for me. Sunday I was asked if I could help with a musical number on Tuesday that desperately needed a pianist. I’m not the world’s greatest sight reader, so I said I would if I could find a couple hours to practice.

Monday went something like this: Student free day so the kids were all home, Emily had testing which I didn’t know about because I didn’t read the note at the bottom of the pile of papers I haven’t gotten to (which really annoys Shon), we mowed the lawn, took Bryce to the mall with friends, tried to find a friend for Sarah to play with, but she had fun doing the grocery shopping with me, picked up Emily, picked up Bryce, tried to clean house, had people over to my messy house (so embarassing) for a last minute practice of the song for Tuesday (which went horribly, I didn’t have time to practice, and it ended with them asking if I knew anyone else who could play the piano at the last minute). I threw together dinner just as Shon came home to another messy house. And the doorbell rang.

So, back to my nightmare, where I wake up, my heart beating uncontrollably, as I try to figure out what I was forgetting.

Shon had arranged for me and the kids to go to the H family's house and have dinner and help teach the discussions to their daughter.

On Wednesday night.

He reminded me, twice.

Oh, and I told my friend J she could bring her kids over to my house while we went to the Year 8 Parent Information Night (also written about in note on bottom of pile). She remembered. I forgot, until the doorbell rang and she came to pick me up (me wearing jeans and an old t-shirt, though “Information Night” apparently means “wine and cheese on the terrace” at our school.)

Oh, and I finally got around to checking my messages on my answering machine. There is one from Luke H, politely asking if we are coming for dinner.

And one from Sofiah’s mom asking if Sarah could come over and play. (My heart broke.)

It’s Tuesday morning. I know I should be practicing the song I have to play tonight, but can’t. Or maybe I should be practicing the cello so I can redeem myself from my last lesson after which my teacher is wondering if I know how to read music. Or maybe I should be up on the terrace, introducing new parents to each other at the new student orientation (I am the class parent representative after all.) Or maybe I should be doing the horribly filthy laundry from girls’ camp (it was muddy), or putting the zipper in Emily's skirt she is supposed to wear tonight. Or maybe I should be cleaning up the house from the past week, but I’m not. Instead I am typing and hoping that writing about this will somehow make me feel better.

And if it doesn’t make me feel better, perhaps it will make you feel better when you have a bad day, or two.

Can I just say thank you?

Thank you to the H family for making dinner for 7 extra people (who didn’t show up) and for so graciously accepting my apology.

Thank you to Shon for coming home. I don’t know how single parents do it.

Thank you to my friend J who brought cute cookies with candy corn (our favorite American treat - seriously Bryce asked for a bag for his birthday!) and for waiting for me as I changed out of my grubby clothes.

Thank you to the sweet sister in my ward who wrote me an email to say how much my talk helped her, that it was the answer to her prayers. It made it all worthwhile.

***Update: I found an hour to practice and the musical number went flawlessly. The spirit was very strong. My next cello lesson was excellent and Emily never finished her skirt!

Sailing the Whitsundays

2011-09-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's our anniversary this week. Shon and I have been married 15 years. More on that later.

In celebration of our marriage, we decided to take a little holiday together. We booked a sailing trip through the Whitsundays. They are a group of islands situated on the Great Barrier Reef. Though we have never been scuba diving (plenty of snorkeling though) we decided to give it a go and signed up for the "all you can dive" package. We ended up doing 5 "discovery" dives - we had to stay with a diving instructor (Tristan) and couldn't go lower than 15 m.

My sleeve says "Sail, Dive, Sleep, Repeat." Sounds like fun!

Here's our boat, the Wings 2. It was comfortable, and the food was great!

We left from Airlie Beach, and sailed around for a couple days. It took a bit to get used to the motion of the ship, but we didn't have any sea sickness problems.

In Airlie Beach, Queensland.

There was a yacht race. The water is so blue!

The crew were very friendly. Here is Captain Pete.

Diving was really fun, especially once we figured out how to control our buoyancy and stop from floating into stuff without using our hands (waving your hands around does no good and just makes the water cloudy.) The reef is gorgeous. There were so many colorful fish. We found Nemo, and a lion fish (very poisonous). One of my favorite parts of being under water was listening to the whales. I could have just sat and listened until my air ran out. They were very vocal. In addition to humpbacks, there was a pod of pilot whales swimming through. We saw a couple of large humpbacks putting on a show. It was amazing. (It looked like there was an explosion in the water. I am amazed at how far out of the water such a large animal can go.) We saw a few dolphins and sea turtles as well. No sharks or jelly fish (though just for the record, I'm more afraid of jelly fish than sharks.)

Whitehaven Beach is gorgeous. We could see dozens of sting rays swimming in the water below the lookout.

We climbed over some rocks and found a secluded beach. Sitting on the rocks, we saw a large animal surface. It looked like a fat dolphin. It was a Dugong! I've been looking for two years and this is the first I have seen. They are the Aussie cousin to the manatee.

Whitehaven beach was so amazing. I've never seen sand like that. It was like snow - fluffy and white.

What a sunset!

We had such a great time that we can't wait to go back and take our family with us.

Costumes

2011-09-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

Book week was in August. The kids dress up as a book character and have a parade at school.

Here's Caleb from Where's Wally? (or Where's Waldo? if you're American.)

Abby as Angelina Ballerina

Sarah had to go as an Australian colonist (or convict) to go along with their curriculum for this term.

Emily's class theme was fantasy, which was an easy one - she used her Hogwarts robe from the Harry Potter movie premier night. (Yes, we went at midnight. But I'm a meanie and made B and E go to school bright and early.) I borrowed Emily's "Muggle" tshirt for the occasion.

Emily has been working on a different costume lately. Last night's Primary Spectacular "Wearable Art" was, well, spectacular. We will be scrubbing blue makeup off her face for days to come. (For a school that won't even let the girls wear fingernail polish, better yet, mascara, this is really getting gussied up.)

Congratulations to Sarah who received an art award at a city-wide competition.

Here's a nervous smile for you.

And Congratulations to Caleb for receiving an award in the school assembly for "Staying Calm."

Each class had a calm child receive a certificate. They were a very peaceful bunch. I did find it amusing, because the day before, Caleb had gotten mad and kicked the window in the car. It was slightly open, and just that little movement was enough to knock it to the ground, where it smashed into a thousand tiny glass cubes. Caleb was upset (being the calm, sensitive child that he is) but he was even more upset when I told him he would have to pay part of the cost from his savings. He has been saving to buy a remote controlled helicopter. He will have to wait a couple more weeks.

Last week we went ice skating. It was fun to see the little kids improve over the course of two hours, from hanging to the wall, to independently waddling across the rink. On the drive home, Caleb said something funny. He asked if we could go back. I said we would probably go again some time. He said "Good, because I forgot to jump up in the air and twirl around." I love his confidence.

And speaking of funny things said, my children crack me up. We were talking about taking temperatures. One of the girls asked what the temperature of a dead person would be. I said it would probably be the same temperature as the room it was in. She said "so, if you put a dead body in a room and took its temperature, you could find out what temperature the room was?" I was like, "um . . . yes, or you could just use a thermometer and take the temperature of the room," to which she answered "Oh, yeah, that would be easier. . . and you wouldn't have to kill anyone!" (?!?)

The Parable of the Lost Violin

2011-08-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Once there was a girl, a beautiful young girl. She took violin lessons at school for $32 (Australian) a lesson, the going rate (I know, it's outrageous!) She didn't particularly enjoy practicing, but she was getting quite good. She made the school orchestra, and was having a lot of fun.

Then one day, something dreadful happened. She lost her violin. She left it at school, as she did on occasion, and the next day, Friday, it was gone. She looked everywhere, but decided not to upset her parents and waited till Monday to tell them it was missing. Her parents were visibly agitated and noteably concerned, but tried their best not to "lose their cool."

Tuesday she looked again, but with no success. It was nearing a week of absense, and like missing people, violins are best found early in the search. To compound the problem, this was not her first violin. Her first violin had suffered a sudden and violent death, due to a fall during practice. Though her parents attempted to glue it back together they had limited success - it became an ornament on their wall, instead of an instrument capable of handling tension on its strings, only to be played occasionally, lest the glue fail and the violin spontaneously disintigrate. The girl's mother in particular dreaded going back to Hannah at Simply for Strings AGAIN to buy another violin (as fun as it is to choose stringed instruments in the shop - it has excellent accoustics!)

Unfortunately, Wednesday, her sister had surgery on her ears (tubes and adenoidectomy) and her mother honestly had no time to help her in her search for the missing musical instrument, more especially since after 8 hours in the lovely hospital, the sister passed out in the elevator of the hospital on her way home and had to stay an extra hour to recouperate. (Seriously, one moment she was standing there and the next she was a pale heap on the floor. Thank goodness there was an ambulance driver in the "lift" to help with the situation.)

Sarah in the recovery room after she got 'tubes" (grommets) and had her adenoids removed.

This beautiful, young girl's cranky and stressed out, but wise, parents knew that she needed to learn the value of her violin by paying for it herself. She had been saving for an ipod touch (another item her parents knew she needed to purchase herself in order to appreciate) and had just earned enough money to buy one, by scrubbing floors and babysitting for her cruel mother, who uses the Financial Peace Jr methodology to teach money management to her children. She was devastated when her parents gently insisted that she use that money to buy herself another violin. (It hurt her parents as well, to have to show "tough love" and they shed tears of their own.) She was so upset, she didn't eat any supper (though I swear it was offered to her) and cried herself to sleep, with her mother smoothing her forehead, gently saying "there, there."

During family scripture study that evening, her family decided to pray together for her to find the missing violin. The beautiful girl prayed, along with her 2 sisters, 2 brothers, and 2 very concerned parents. And they kept looking. . .

The girl awoke the next morning with puffy eyes and a headache from crying. She drearily trudged to school in the rain (just kidding, it wasn't raining). After dropping her siblings off at their respective schools (her poor mother has children going to 3 different schools) and helping her recouperating daughter get comfortable, the mother went to the school to look, once again, for the missing violin. She was greeted in the school atrium by a smiling, but puffy-eyed daughter. The lost violin had been found! Her teacher had emailed the entire staff of the school. One of the gym teachers had seen the violin lying on a bench at the sports center!

And there was much rejoicing. They even made Rice Krispie Treats, with real, American marshmallows. (Now that’s a special occasion.)
And the moral of the story is:
Pray. And have your family pray with you. Ask for help.

What Expats do on Independence Day

2011-07-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

I know you're wondering what American citizens who live in another country do on the Fourth of July.

Sparklers were the best we could do for fireworks.

We get together with other Americans (even the little ones.)

The youngest American was only a few weeks old!

Sing a heart-warming rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Becky's awesome edible flag.

Drink A&W root beer, and other American food: apple pie (real Crisco in the crust), corn bread, hot dogs (NOT sausages), and salsa.

Thanks Family Fun Magazine for the idea.

Emily made and decorated cookies, all by herself.

And let our colors show.

Happy Fourth of July!

Slow Down

2011-06-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been very busy. The end of the school term always is. Several days I had to be in two places at once - Emily was in the City District athletics (track and field) meet, and Sarah had a jump roping competition (it is a girl's school after all.) Thank goodness for two parents! (Congrats to Emily for making City District, and congrats to Sarah for winning her jump rope presentation.) Shon has been working a lot, and we have all been generally stressed out. Perfect time to get away from it all. . .

We went camping. Yep, slept in a tent. Bribie Island is so close - just an hour down the road, and we didn't even have to take a ferry - and the camp sites are so economical (Robinson = thrifty.) We stayed on the beach, just behind the dunes. Our tent (aka, our summer home) is old - we bought it just after Bryce was born. It is huge, with three rooms. We were definitely thinking ahead when we bought it, and now it fits our family perfectly. It's had a lot of wear and tear. The poles even broke one night during a big storm in Corpus Christi (but that's another story). This is the first time we put out the big tent in Australia. (Apparently our little 2 man tent really fits one man, one teenager, and one little tyke; good enough for the father/son camp outs every year.)

We slowed down.

The weather was perfect.

The ocean was beautiful.

The wildlife. Kangaroos grazed just meters from our tent. It was actually a little creepy at night, hearing them hop around so close by, but not being able to see them. We watched for dingos but never saw any. (That's good.) Sea birds dove for fish and dolphins joined in the fun. My favorite part of the trip was when we had to stop to help "bogged" campers get their vehicles un-stuck. The kids and I lounged on the beach, collected shells, and watched the dolphins feed.

We took a little hike through the bush to see the WWII bunkers and mine stations. It was fun to explore.

No one got hurt, sick, or even hungry. Perfect trip.

I thought of it as I watched this mormon message.

It's good to slow down. . .

The Power of One

2011-06-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I'm a choir geek. I like to sing, but I LOVE to sing with other people. I'd much rather do a duet than a solo any day.

I miss singing.

In Ireland, two years ago on a choir tour.

Last weekend, my sister got married. Thanks to Ustream.tv, I was able to be there for the celebration, 8,000 miles away. My favorite part was hearing my beautiful, talented sisters sing together. It made my heart ache. Also, the choir I sang with in New Mexico (Caliente) is touring Greece right now! I wish I could be there. (Thanks for inviting me, guys, but I just couldn't make it.)

I've sung in choirs since I was little: Children's choirs, high school choirs, college and university choirs, church choirs, women's choirs, show choirs, a cappella choirs, community choirs - I even got to sing back up for a country band once. I love it. The thing that amazes me about a choir is the power that one voice has for good or for bad. Even in a very large choir, one person makes a difference. You are always heard. My dad (also a singer) sent me a link last week. Check it out if you have a few minutes. http://www.wimp.com/choirvoices/ (I think I am Eric Whitacre's newest fan.)

I think sometimes we forget that our voice is heard. Several months ago I went to a popular video store to rent a DVD (we still do that in Australia!) I couldn't help noticing their collection of porn on the top shelf along the entire perimeter of the store. I was offended by the pictures on the covers, and embarrassed to have my children with me. I got my video and left. I'm not the type that usually speaks up - if I ordered a steak well-done, and they brought it to me rare, I would just eat it rather than say anything.) I talked to my friend Becky (yep, the same one that I grew up with in Idaho, who happened to move around the corner from me in Australia!) and she mentioned that she didn't like their top row selection of videos either. We decided that we would say something, next time we were there. I was nervous, but I did.

I thought of my friend Angie who loves to read. She read a book she liked but when the sequel came out, it was full of awful language. She wrote to the author to tell her how much she loved her books and could she please not use such offensive language. The author wrote back and said she would!

Today I stopped by the video store for the first time in 3 months, to see if they had Anne of Green Gables (it's chick flick time - we are on school holiday) and the video store had removed their offensive videos!

I remember hearing that for every person who speaks up there are 100 people who don't.

Speak up. You never know the power of one voice.

Nanner and Popsy

2011-05-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Translation: Grandma and Grandpa.

I have just returned from taking my parents to the airport to return to their home in Idaho. Sniff, sniff. That's right, we have had visitors. We haven't seen my parents in almost a year, and for 12 glorious days, my parents stayed and played with us. The house feels very empty now that they're gone. I seriously contemplated faking a flat tire, so they would have to miss their flight, though I don't suppose that would be fair to my sister-in-law, Emily, who is 9 months pregnant. My mother is flying to Ohio to help her as soon as she gets home. (Busy woman!)

In the Tambourine mountain rainforest skywalk.

We had so much fun while they were here. I have forgotten how nice it is to do the dishes with my mom, or have a profound conversation over dinner with my Dad.

We played tourist for a few days, and even pulled the kids out of school so we could run up to the Sunshine coast (Coolum). (Hey! It was educational. . . )

Exploring the tidal pools in Coolum.

While we stopped at the Glasshouse mountains, the rain rolled in.

Riding the City Cat on the river.

Even the bugs in Australia are pretty!

We love the ocean.

Playing around at Underwater World.

We miss them.

Singapore

2011-05-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

We went to Singapore over Easter to visit family - the Zufelts. We had a great time! There was so much to see/smell/hear - I could never describe it all, but I'll try!

Sight:

Singapore is colorful and clean. It is red.

It is green.

It is tall buildings, smiling and helpful people, signs in four languages, and clean streets. Chewing gum is against the law. Smoking is punishable with a $1000 fine, as is littering, and dealing drugs is punishable by death. Trespassing is apparently taken seriously too. The street signs said it all.

I think this gets the point across, no matter what language you speak.

We went to a market near little India, where people were literally selling garbage.

That's where that remote control went!

Cell phone, anyone?

Touch:

The first thing we noticed about Singapore was the humidity! I have never experienced anything like it, and this coming from someone who has lived in Houston, New Orleans, and Queensland - all considered very humid places. Going outside from an air conditioned room meant being covered instantly in condensation. I didn't know it was possible to get so wet so fast - even without sweating. And sweat we did.

Sound:

Singapore is the bell of the taxi, ringing to say the driver was breaking the speed limit. It is the whirr of dare-devil motorcyclists, darting through traffic and creating their own "lane" on the dotted line; a dozen languages spoken on a train, none of which I recognized; and cicadas constant buzzing, like a broken car alarm.

It was the bells on the door of the Indian temple,

the mosque calling to prayer,

and monks chanting in the Buddha temple.

Buddha Tooth temple.

It was also primary children singing the same songs we sing in our primary.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building, Singapore.

One of the highlights of our trip was taking the elevator up to the fourth floor for sacrament meeting in a very beautiful, very tall, chapel.

Smell:

Singapore smells like incense, curry, sweating plants, beef bacon and turkey ham (muslims don't eat pork), bus exhaust, and elephants.

Taste:

Singapore tastes like curry, coconut, rice noodles, sugar cane juice, dim sum (eaten with orangutans) and fruits I have never heard of, but love.

Breakfast with orangutans at the Singapore zoo. Please remember it is REALLY humid before you judge my hair!

We bought 2 kilos of mangosteens. I love them. They taste a bit like a cross between a sweet plumb and rhubarb - tangy sour/sweet. You peel off the purple shell and eat the white flesh. We saw plenty of durian too. Durian are banned on public transport because of their foul smell, but they are still a favorite of many locals. People either love them or hate them. It smelled a bit like an outhouse to me, so we passed on that one. We did however try dragon fruit, and some strange thai fruit. It's strange to think there are so many delicious fruits out there that I have never even heard of, better yet tasted. I'm going to keep my eye out for mangosteens. Yum.

One of my favorite meals was in little India. Our meal came served on a banana leaf.

Bryce and Emily, eating off of banana leaves.

I couldn't help noticing that we were the only ones using utensils. It was a familiar sight, workers squating in circles near the back of a shop, eating with their hands red rice on banana leaves, in a surprisingly tidy way.

The sixth sense:

Walking along the nature reserve, we got the feeling that someone was watching us. It was the monkeys. They were more intimidating than a gang of thugs. We walked quickly and tried not to look them in the eye.

Monkeys waiting to ambush us. There are more hiding on the wall.

The monkeys at the zoo weren't quite so scary. We love the Singapore Zoo. It has a very Disneyland-esque feel about it - friendly, clean, entertaining, delicious. The Zoo also offers a night safari. It was awesome! An entirely different section of the zoo comes alive at night. The kids fell asleep when our tram broke down, but we definitely did not sleep through the fire-breathing show. It was amazing!

Bintan Lagoon

We took a ferry over to a resort on Bintan Island in Indonesia. The beaches were beautiful.

Hermit crabs were everywhere, and sand dollars were popular collectibles.

Finding hermit crabs.

But the kids spent most of their time in the pool, playing on the slide. When we ask them what their favorite part of the trip was, they all say "laser tag!" It was an amazing hotel, all open to the ocean breeze.

Shon was in heaven in Singapore, eating the food he ate on his mission, and speaking with the locals.

Shon in China town.

I enjoyed eating American food! You want it, they got it. Angie and I had lunch at Chili's. In Singapore. I love their chips and salsa. Yum. It's been a long time. . . (We don't get much Mexican food in Australia.)

We all had a great time!

Feeding the "Gold fish" at the hotel.

The very best part of our trip was being with the Zufelts. We already miss them. It's always hard to leave, though it's nice to be home again.

No worries!

2011-04-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Emily feeding lorikeets.

One of my favorite Australian phrases is "no worries." It is up there with "y'all" on my "Favorite Words I've Learned Since Leaving Idaho" list.

When I was in college, I played tennis with some friends on occasion. It was fun, but the problem was, they were all a lot better than I was. I was a bit self conscious, especially when making mistakes. Let's face it, in spite of taking lessons twice (once when I was twelve, and once when I was 18) I still strike out on occasion. It's hard to learn a new sport without making a complete fool of yourself (especially if that sport is diving, or so I hear from my diver husband, who is an excellent diver, but still messes up, and doesn't care. That is one of Shon's most endearing qualities, but I digress. . . ) One of my tennis buddies knew just what to say when I made a mistake. "Shake it off!" What else is there to do when you make a mistake or something bad happens to you, but fix it as best you can, and quickly move on.

I play the organ in sacrament meeting once a month and have done it many times, in several different wards. My organ playing career began in high school when my sister and I took organ lessons and rotated playing prelude music in church. It was fun because the bishop never noticed me and would thank my teacher for the music, even when I was playing. I was happy he didn't notice, because that meant I didn't make any big mistakes.

That is my prayer most Sundays: Please don't let me draw attention to myself! It isn't about me, it's about singing hymns of praise. (Because, as you know, "the song of the righteous is a prayer.")

This week's hymns weren't anything difficult, but I practiced anyway, and I was ready to go, in spite of a very busy morning, and an even busier evening the night before. Our church building is one of the oldest LDS churches in Brisbane - a beautiful red brick building with a lovely little courtyard, and tiny parking lot. The organ was replaced some time back in the 60's or 70's. It is very old. It has all sorts of funny stops that make it have crazy vibrato or plunking noises. Because of the position of the organ, you have to turn the volume up full blast in order for the people in the congregation to hear it. I have learned from experience that I can't trust what I hear. From where I am sitting, it sounds deafeningly loud, but from the pews it sounds fine. Most of the organs I have played actually make me sound better than I am, with bass coupling, and nice stops. Not this organ. It has broken and been repaired several times. This morning, as I was playing the opening hymn, the organ suddenly started making a horrible noise! There was a loud vibration coming from somewhere, giving the song a "heavy metal" flavor. I had a quick moment of panic. The chorister kept going. I turned the volume down a bit, and tried to see if any buttons were pushed, while still playing. After half a verse of 'Thanks for the Sabbath School', Def Leopard-style, one of the more experienced organists came up and jiggled a button and the noise stopped. Thank you Susan! I am still laughing. Never a dull moment! That almost beats the time, last month, when Shon announced the wrong person for the closing prayer! (There was an amusing bit of confusion. . . )

Shake it off.

Luckily, the primary children sang a beautiful rendition of "Beautiful Savior" accompanied by violin, so no one seems to remember my technical malfunction.

On another note, Caleb got his two bits worth, Saturday. He got a shave and a hair cut. I gave him the hair cut. The shave he did himself. Oops. I don't think he'll do that again.

No worries, mate!

Fall Break

2011-03-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

It's the end of March, which means it's time for Fall Break! (Think southern hemisphere here.) We climbed into PJ (our car) and headed to Straddie: North Stradbroke Island. (Obviously, we didn't drive in the water, like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We took the ferry!)

Trip highlights:

The ocean. Our unit was on the ground floor, but the apartments were on a cliff, so we had a great view. We fell asleep to the sound of the ocean, and could see the surfers below. I love the ocean. (sigh)

Unfortunately, the highlight was also our lowlight. We drove down on an unpatroled beach about 2 km from the surf and rescue club, in what looked like a pretty placid spot. We had 4 adults watching the kids, and one of them was in the water with them. The kids hopped on their boogie boards and were having a great time. Bryce's board had a broken tether, so he quickly lost his, but we weren't worried - the water was shallow and he is a strong swimmer. A family's car was stuck in the dunes behind us, so I walked back to see if they needed help. The next thing I knew, Shon was jumping in the car, yelling that he was getting the lifeguard. Bryce was caught in a rip. I looked up just in time to see him put his hand in the air (the signal that you need rescuing) 100 m away from where he had just been, and he was moving fast! I couldn't believe how quickly the conditions changed. Somehow he found a sand bar and stood up. Shon turned around and came back. With a little adult help, we got him back on dry ground. Maybe 2 minutes after it all started, a lifeguard was there with a Seadoo, ready to help, though by that point, everything was under control. Amazing. The lifeguards must have been sitting in their station, watching us with powerful binoculars, knowing that we were going to get in trouble. He must have really scrambled to get to us so fast. Thank you, Mr. Lifeguard! It could have just as easily been one of the little kids that got pulled out to sea. As it was, it took an hour for the adrenaline to wear off. And I will never swim on an unmanned beach.

Wildlife. We saw dolphins. They were just hanging out by the jetty, so Emily ran down and put her hand in the water, and they came right up to her! (The fishermen on the dock weren't so thrilled - they scared all of the fish away!) Call me American, but it still surprises me every time I see a kangaroo. We saw a lot. Goanna lizards kept walking past our veranda, like small dinosaurs. It was fun to watch one climb up a tree too. We also watched a huge sea eagle fish as we drove along the beach. Abby and I explored the tidal pools (anemonae, crabs, little fish) and saw an awesome beetle. It was electric blue with orange spots. We're not in Kansas any more. . .

Straddie is a popular spot for sea turtles to nest. This year they had 14 nests. They had mostly all hatched before we arrived.

Along with the magestic wildlife, we also saw some of the more annoying varieties. I saw the largest huntsman spider I have ever seen! It was easily larger than my hand span. It was just hanging out in the game room. We also saw cane toads and hords of baby frogs and tad poles. And one ferral cat.

Off-roading. PJ didn't let us down. We never even got stuck! (We tried our hardest. . . ) We drove through massive pot holes, and washed out roads. I will be cleaning red mud and sand out of our car for a week! We learned the value of a good map.

Surfing! We took surfing lessons. Kids are awesome. They just pop right up. Even we grown-ups learned quickly: pick a good wave, paddle hard, get up quick (not on your knees!) and don't look down. It was so fun, but the next morning it felt like I had done a hundred push-ups (which I had).

photo courtesy of Andrea Call.

The very best part of our holiday was spending time with friends and our family, and now we have 2 lovely weeks left to enjoy together in our school holiday.

Volleyball

2011-03-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

Shon here:

Bryce just finished the volleyball season. His team was undefeated and they didn't lose a set the entire season. Okay they did lose two third sets after they had won the game in two and had extra time so they decided just to play. Today was one of those days. In the third set it was hilarious. There were these HUGE fans in the gym ceiling (probably 10' fan blades) to keep the place cool. They were hitting the ball up as high as they could (during the third set) trying to hit the fans.

Bryce really loves volleyball. I asked him why he liked it the other day and he said because I am good at it. He is too. He was selected as one of the best two kids in his grade to play on a combined team against the teachers and he has been invited to play on a select team later this year.

It will be nice to have a Saturday break from sports for a while until soccer games start. Here is a picture of three weeks ago before he started jump serving. Bryce is the only kid on his team that does jump serves. He got all his serves in today too. Last week he got them all in but foot faulted twice.

Happy Love Heart Day

2011-02-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

For the most part, Australians love to shorten their words. Chocolates are "chockies." Breakfast is "brekkie." The garbage collector is the "garbo." Afternoon is "arvo," not to be confused with "avo" which is avocado. An umbrella is a "brollie." Biscuits (cookies) are "bikkies." And my favorite: Lipstick is "lippie."

There are, however, a few words that are actually longer here. If I were wrapping a present (prezzie) for, say, my daughter's birthday, I would use tape and wrapping paper. Here we use "sticky tape." If that gift were a coloring book, she would spend her leisure time "coloring." Here she would spend her time "colouring in."

Speaking of coloring, and birthdays, my youngest daughter wanted this cake for her birthday. It was in the American Girl magazine a year ago. I couldn't find the actual magazine, but we still had the "mini mag" - the magazine for the doll. I had to use a magnifying glass, but the recipe was there!

Emily and I made rainbow pancakes to match. Thanks, Laura, for the idea.

Back to Aussie lingo.

In Australia, a heart is an organ. That shape, the symbol of Valentine's Day, is a "love heart."

I love heart you!

But, my heart is given to someone else. Happy Valentine's day to my sweetheart, Shon. This is our 15th Valentine's Day together. He knows what I like.

Thanks for the lilies. (I'm not a big rose fan - definitely a highly over-rated flower.)

And I know what he likes. Shon's favorite dessert is Amish Apple Pie. It's a family favorite. Here is the recipe.

Amish Apple Pie

1 C sour cream
1 egg
3/4 C Sugar
3 T flour
1/4 tsp vanilla
3 - 4 C diced, peeled apples
1 unbaked pie crust

crumb topping:
1/2 C brown sugar
1/3 C flour
1/4 C butter at room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon

Beat sour cream and egg together. Add flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Stir in apples. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes. Remove pie from oven. Spread with crumb topping. Bake 20 min more.

A couple tips:
-Use a nice big pie pan (I like the pyrex glass pans with the handles) or your crumb topping will spill all over your oven and might even catch on fire (like it did when I baked this pie at the Shanklin's house!) But then again, it's nice to have your kitchen smell like cinnamon and spice for 3 weeks. (Been there, done that.) Trust me, put a cookie sheet underneath your pie, just in case.

-Only use 3/4 of the crumb topping. There's just too much of it. Make a double pie crust and use the extra topping to spread on the extra pie crust. (You're children will thank you!)

-Use a medal pie ring, to cover the crust so it doesn't get too brown. Take it off when you put on the crumb topping.

Happy Valentine's Day. I think I'll go put on a little lippie and smooch my hubby.

Back to school. . .

2011-01-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

It's the end of January, which means back to school here in Oz. It's been a very long, very wet summer. With the weather being less than beach-worthy, we spent a lot of time at home. We still swam, even in the rain (if you're wet, you might as well get wet) as long as there wasn't lightning. There were a few moments when I thought my children were going to drive each other crazy, like those mice in that study where they put them in close proximity for too long and they eventually started killing each other. So, I was very excited to have school start again. It has been three days of school and I feel strangely lonely. I miss my children.

Caleb started Prep (kindergarten.) For the first time in 13 years, I am home alone. Six hours of peace and quiet. Please, do not ask me what I'm going to do with my time. In case you didn't notice, there are still 24 hours in the day, and I still have meals to cook and laundry to do. Sure, someday maybe I'll go back to teaching science, but for now, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing - without children. Maybe I'll actually get something done for once.

So, there's an echo in the house. I turned the TV on so that it wouldn't be so shockingly quiet here.

I love all of my children, but I'm particularly noticing Caleb's absence. I've found that the best gifts are the ones you never ask for. I think God knew we just needed him in our family. He made it whole. I already had 4 small children at home, my oldest being only 7 when Caleb was born. Personal space and sleep were both in short supply. So, when I heard a sister in Relief Society talking about how she missed waking up with her new born, and those quiet moments when it is just the two of you in a rocking chair, I thought she was crazy. I swore I would never feel that way. Caleb is the snuggliest child we've had yet. I earned him. He leans in. He has been holding hands from the moment he could hold hands. He practically pulled Shon's pinkie finger off from holding onto it constantly. He would (and still does) walk up and take my hand and just rub it on his cheek or put it on top of his head. Even now, when we tuck him in bed, he will call several times for us to come back and give him one more hug and kiss. How could I say no to that? So, I know what that lady in Relief Society was saying. Now he is gone during the day, off playing with his "mates" and I miss his little hand.

Phone picture on the way into school. Who is holding onto whom?

Here's a blast from the past. The kids 4 years ago.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get all drippy and sentimental on y'all.

Back to school shopping is very different here than what I grew up with. Really, I only have to buy a couple uniforms for each of the kids. The kids haven't even grown out of their uniforms yet, so I only had to get new shoes and some socks. Caleb needed a couple sets of his uniform, a hat, a backpack, a set of long socks, and some navy blue sandals. Thank you, Keen, for making comfortable, cute, durable sandals that happen to come in navy blue!

Bryce goes to school a bit early, so he's on his own for his back to school photo.

I love uniforms.

Water, water, everywhere

2011-01-15T00:36:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that it's been raining for 3 months?

Most of Queensland is flooded, covering an area larger than Texas. It has been flooded for a month, but until now, it hadn't really affected us. We are high and dry, living on a hill in Ascot, near the river. That all changed when the Brisbane River flooded. Even Down Town Brisbane is flooded. Sky scrapers stand in a lake, and parking garages are under water. It is amazing to see the city work together to recover. . .

We have had two families (expats from New Mexico) staying with us. Mike, Christy, their baby Wesley, and dog Smudge just left this arvo (afternoon) to stay in a hotel their company provided. We were so sad to see them go (though Smudge gets to stay - the least we can do.) Their home is two stories and the first level had a meter of water. Chuck and Emily were evacuated from their high rise apartment on the river, and joined the party! And that is what it has been - an evacuation party. When Christy arrived, I asked her if she lost anything important, and she looked around and said "everything that's important to me is right in this room." They had arrived with just the clothes on their back - all she had was her family. Everything else is just stuff.

We've had an evacuation party before. You may remember that we used to live in New Orleans, Louisiana, and in Houston, Texas - both cities that have been hit by big hurricanes. After Katrina, we were blessed to be able to share our home with the Gomez's, one of our favorite families, while they waited to return to New Orleans. We loved it. What is there to do when the power goes out but make a big pot of gumbo and share with your neighbors! So, I laughed when Christy (a native of Baton Rouge) suggested we make gumbo. It was the best hurricane gumbo ever! We played games until late in the night.

Shon's take:

Monday was a normal day at work for most in Brisbane but we knew floods were coming. Because of a freak storm in the mountains, a wall of water pushed through Toowoomba, tragically killing many people, and headed down river.

A road turned into a river.

Tuesday started off with a phone call from a guy I work with saying he wouldn't be in because the river was up and he was cut off. Most people came to work but at 9:30 I sent an email to all staff saying they should go home and prepare for flooding. (This is the part where Juli runs to the grocery store to make sure she has everything she needs.)

Debris as seen from Chuck's house.

Wednesday morning at 5AM we got a call from Christy and Mike (who we were friends with in New Mexico) saying they needed a place to go because the water was coming up fast. We helped them bring everything up from the bottom level. On the way back from their home we picked up Chuck and Emily (also New Mexicans). Their apartment was right on the river and they had an amazing view of the devastating power of the river. In the 10 minutes we were there, we saw several capsized boats, docks, and lots of debris floating down the river. Many buildings along the river were already flooded.

Mike and Christy's back yard.

The water, coming up Mike's street. There's nothing you can do to stop it.

Thursday the river reached its peak. As it started to recede, we went back to Mike and Christy's to help them get the belongings they will need until their home is repaired. It took most of the day and we were all pretty tired at the end.

Mike in his kitchen before. . .

and After! (The water had already receded a meter or so.)

Friday the waters returned to their banks, and Mike and Christy went back to clean up their house. They scrubbed and hosed, and cleaned. I went with a number of people from our church to some businesses just down the street that had been flooded. We mucked out a large auto repair shop and cleaned it out.

The owner of the auto shop was SO grateful!

We then moved across the street to a uniform manufacturer. The women in the shop were trying in vain to wrestle the large bolts of filthy fabric out to the rubbish heap. We had about 8-10 men and teenagers helping and we spent most of the rest of the day there. Juli (with Rose and Becky! I just dropped it off.) made lunch for the entire army of 30 people that we worked with and then took home many of the uniforms that were soaked with filthy water, and laundered them so that they could be ready for the kids that are starting school in a week.

Saturday Bryce and I went with the church to muck out houses in the Brisbane Stake, across the river from us. There were 17 church members' homes that were damaged. Some of the areas we went into had massive amounts of damage and water in their properties.

Walls of garbage line the street.

Brisbane is amazing. There is such a spirit of service. Everyone is helping each other - even perfect strangers. There is much to do, but with everyone pitching in, the city will recover quickly.

Shon's Top Ten so far for the 2011 Brisbane Flood

10. Seeing Australian pride as everyone does something to help. Queenslanders have an amazing sense of community, and work hard.

9. Seeing people that had damage but really had no means of helping start up their BBQs and throw a sausage sizzle in the street for the people doing the clean up.

8. Seeing Utes (trucks for you Americans) drive around with food and water on the back giving it to everyone and anyone.

7. Feeling like we made a difference at the auto shop. The owners house had flooded up to the roof, and as soon as we were done with his auto shop, he and his wife said thanks many many times, grabbed their broom and shovels and headed to their home to work.

6. Knowing we made a difference today mucking out houses. The homes we worked at were all two story homes and they all had water in both levels. The lower levels were just completely filled with muck and junk and we spent hours just carrying stuff to the curb and making piles to be hauled off.

5. Working with other members when no one cared how bad we stank, how bad we looked we were just all working together making a small difference.

4. Eating the lunch that Juli (and Becky Brouwer) made. I don't know if it was because I was starving or if that was the best tuna fish sandwich she had ever made. Anyway I was filled and happy. (Note from Juli: I wish I had lettuce - unfortunately, fresh fruits are in short supply. And I didn't do it alone - Becky makes the best chocolate chip cookies EVER.)

3. Working at the uniform shop. We did tons of work there and the people were so thankful. We moved lots of heavy equipment to allow access to areas to power spray, washed uniforms so the school kids would have uniforms for school, and got the place back so that people could have a sense of normalcy and return to work.

2. Opening our home to friends in need. We came out on top in this situation - they cooked and did the dishes! (Our dishwasher kicked the bucked two week ago.) We love Smudge, their dog, who will be staying with us for a month or so.

A road becomes a river.

1. Doing something. Juli's favorite saying is "When you can't do everything, just do something." We can't do everything, but we did something.

I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas . . .

2010-12-26T00:27:00.000-08:00

View from our home - storm's a comin'!

Merry Christmas! It's summer here in Oz, and WE HAVE COMPANY! (Ok. I'm trying not to get over-excited, but we don't get a lot of visitors to this hemisphere. . . ) Shon's parents, Dave and Debbie are here to visit. We are ecstatic (and not just because they brought American food!) They arrived on Wednesday, two days later than planned, thanks to delayed flights. We whisked them off on a road trip to Bundaberg, just hours after they arrived.

Boogie boarding Rainbow Beach - the surf was rough and I'm still finding sand. . .

We stayed in a beach house on Rainbow Beach for two days, and drove up to Bundaberg, to the Mon Repos Turtle Sanctuary, to watch sea turtles lay their eggs at night. It was amazing. It was a busy night in the turtle rookery. By 8 o'clock, there had been 6. There had only been 2 turtles the entire night before. Our turtle was a 200 lb, young 30 year old female, laying her second clutch in her first breeding season. (Sea turtles don't reach sexual maturity until they are 30, and as far as we can tell, they live to be about 80.) We very quietly (no electronics or lights) watched her dig a hole with her back flippers, lay 100 ping pong balls-like eggs, fill in the whole, tamp it down with her body, and crawl back to the water. The whole process took about an hour. It was amazing. We were able to take photos for 30 seconds after she laid her eggs.

Turtle laying eggs. Ranger in background.

The turtle in the background.

She was in pretty good shape, though she had barnacles and marks on her shell where crocodiles tried to get a nibble. Another turtle that was laying eggs near by hadn't been so lucky, and only had 3 flippers, most likely from a shark attack. The rangers gave her a hand digging her hole. It was amazing, and the whole family learned a lot about this endangered species. We would love to come back in 8 weeks and watch the eggs hatch.

The kids and Grandparents.

This has been a very rainy summer, and we are having a rainy Christmas as well. That didn't stop us from swimming and having a barbecue Christmas day. My favorite part of Christmas was our Skype marathon. I could almost taste my mother's cooking, and I sang along with my sisters in our annual sing along (though that was a joke - I was 1.5 seconds behind everyone.) We love our family. Skype is good. :-)

From the words of "An Aussie Night Before Christmas:"

Happy Christmas to all and goodonya mate!

Halleluja!

2010-12-14T05:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without the Messiah, so when I heard about the Uniting Methodist Church's "Sing It Yourself Messiah," I joined some friends and sang. I love Handel. It was great fun - except for one miserable chorus that I had never heard before. I've sung the Messiah many times and heard it even more times, so I don't know how I missed "Chorus No 37 - The Lord Gave the Word." Apparently, I am not the only one who missed this painful gem. During the rehearsal, the director kept saying "Don't worry about the semiquavers." To say it was weak would be an understatement.

Semiquaver. Now there is a musical term I'd never heard. Later, I asked Jill sitting next to me, "What's a semiquaver?" She looked at me like I was crazy, and said "it's one of these little notes here with the two flags." I just had to stare at her. Are you joking me? "You call sixteenth notes semiquavers?" Wow. I've studied music since I was knee high to a grasshopper. How did I miss that? I'm astonished. Apparently, this is the terminology used in the British system of music. Most of the world uses it. A quarter note is a crotchet, and a whole note is a semibreve. Just for the record, a sixty-fourth note is called a hemidemisemiquaver. Astonished.

This church had beautiful acoustics.

Speaking of the Messiah, I love flash mob choirs. Wouldn't it be fun to be in one - to just stroll through a busy train station and suddenly burst into song, with a dozen other people. I love this one. It's perfect to get into the spirit of Christmas. You can tell which people in the video know it's traditional to stand for the Hallelujah chorus.

I love U2

2010-12-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

I love you, too.

But I also love U2.

Shon and I have had a long tradition of sitting in the cheep seats. When we were dating, we went to a Jazz game and sat on folding chairs behind the back row. The night we became engaged, we went to Les Miserables, and sat on the back row. It was the same for Wicked. When we lived in New Orleans, I would go to the Orpheum and watch the New Orleans Symphony rehearsal - $4 tickets and you get to know the conductor too. Next week we will be going to see the Nutcracker, and sitting near the back. When we heard U2 was adding a Brisbane show to their 360 tour, we splurged and got the better seats.

Here's a little video I took with my iphone. The sound quality is awful because of the volume - as much from the crowd as from the band!

We had no idea how good those "seats" would be! I say "seats" because we were in the standing area. Robert and his son Ethan took Bryce and went early while I picked up Shon from work (and calmly looked for missing tickets!) The early bird gets . . . the awesome spot in the exclusive "red zone," inside the circular walkway, 20 feet from the stage! We were close enough to make eye contact with Bono. We could have jumped up and touched him when he crossed over the moving bridge (thought I'm sure Mr. Big Security Guard would have stopped us.)

I'm amazed that after 30 + years as a band, U2 are still running strong. They are all amazing entertainers, and Bono has been married to the same woman for 30 years - which makes him classy, in addition to a great musician. (Jon Bon Jovi is classy for the same reason.) I'm happy that Bryce got to go to his first concert with his parents, and a friend.

Runners Low

2010-12-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

You always hear about "runner's high", but not much about "runners low:" that nagging feeling you get Saturday mornings at 5:30, that won't let you sleep in; that there is something else you should be doing.

It has been 3 weeks since my last run.

I've always had a little pain in my right leg. It was mild, then moderate, then a couple weeks ago, I went for a run, and got about 200 m before throwing in the towel and limping home.

I went to the doctor last week. She told me to stop running. Probably for good. I spent the day mourning my immortality, and trying to face the fact that I may be a swimmer-only for the rest of my exercise existence. From the moment I started running, I knew I wouldn't last forever. When I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, I asked the doctor what I should do for exercise to which she replied "well, you won't be running any marathons." I guess I took it as a bit of a challenge. . . The way I see it - I'm going to be a hunched over old lady anyway, I might as well get that way because I actually did something. So, I started running. Surprisingly, I think it actually helped in my case - my increased circulation and muscle tone prevented me from "freezing." And ok, I got a good deal of pain relief from endorphins (yes, I'm self-medicating.) So, I have a hard time taking "No" for an answer. Call me crazy, but I'm not ready to quit yet.

I went to a physiotherapist (that's a "physical therapist," Americans.) After putting me in the iron maiden, and other methods of torture, he said "no, that's not arthritis - you've probably got a tear on the tendon that attaches your hamstring to your hip process." Yep. I blew a hammie. This is actually good news - it's fixable. Right now, my choices are 1) surgery, or 2) do lots of physio and then perhaps run slow the rest of my life. Right now, I just want to be able to walk without limping.

I think I can handle slow. Maybe.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday. There is nothing materialistic - just a group of friends and family getting together to give thanks and eat. And it is purely American.

Thanksgiving this year was AWESOME. We had two of our favorite American families over - twenty people in all. If you don't remember, last year I had quite the dilemma in finding ingredients. Refresh your memory here. This year, I knew what to expect. It was a great day with friends and food. Emily and Sarah were the little artists who made the turkey place cards. (Thanks for the idea, Family Fun magazine.)

Thanksgiving in Australia involves a few differences in tradition. First, we ate dinner al fresco. Second, between the meal and the pie, the kids swam. (Third, the turkey had really long legs - I swear someone slipped me a young emu instead!)

While the kids swam and the men played life guard/dishwasher, the ladies and I did what we do best (besides cook) - we talked.

Did I mention that Becky (there on the love seat) had a baby 5 days before Thanksgiving! What a trooper to give up her nap to make rolls and come eat turkey. Becky is awesome . . . it's a long story. Ok, if you insist, I'll tell you:

Becky and I grew up in Idaho, a mile (2k) apart from each other. We were in the same ward at church. We took lessons from the same piano teachers. We both came from large families and happen to be the second oldest with an older sister named Kim (my older sister being one of her best friends.) We have the same accent. Now she happens to live around the corner. In Australia. We have been leading parallel lives. Like us, this is their second international assignment. We also have children roughly the same ages. (I have 5, she had 5 until last week - now she's got me beat with 6. You go girl.) I feel at home with Becky. That makes her awesome.

Yes, I still miss my family in Idaho - especially at Christmas time, but being with friends who are in the same boat we are makes it fun.

One down . . .

2010-12-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

We've been in Australia for one year officially.

It's been a long year. It's been a good year, but it's been very long. It was one endless summer. After two summers in a row, I was anxious for winter. It never really came.

Last week I was cleaning out my junk drawer and came across a Raddison Hotel pad of paper. Some time during our packing up, I scribbled a list. Since I'm feeling a bit home sick (Thanksgiving always does that to me), I'll share it with you. Here it is:

Things I Will Miss About New Mexico

10. The sky. It is really blue. I wonder if it is all of the orange sandstone - contrasting colors, and all.

9. The smell. The high desert smells so good. When we moved from Houston, the first thing I noticed was the smell when it rained - juniper and cedar, with a touch of pinon. Really, there needs to be a scented candle called "mesa after rain." The best smell of all, however, is the roasting chilis in the Wal-mart parking lot. (You can buy green chilis by the box in New Mexico, and they will roast them for you over a giant propane burner - it smells SO good.) I'll miss watching sweet Navajo grandmothers at Walmart, with their skirts and tennis shoes, long braid down their back, and turquoise jewelry.

8. My Garden. I miss my garden. I have a thing for oddly colored fruits and veggies. My philosophy is, why grow something I can buy in the grocery store?! So, our raspberries were yellow, Potatoes were purple, and tomatoes were yellow, along with the usual varieties, of course. I miss watching my garden grow. It never failed to surprise me - I would stick the seeds in the ground, turn on the sprinklers, and two weeks later, there is life!

7. The drive to Twin Falls. I can't believe I actually put this in. In the 3 years that we lived in NM we drove to Idaho at least quarterly. That's a dozen 12-hour each way trips. Some times it was the longest 12 hours of my life (think crying toddler and icy roads.) Once we discovered books on CD, things went a little faster. (We listened to the entire Harry Potter series, and all of the Eragon books, plus many others.) I knew the road like the back of my hand. Southern Utah is full of interesting shapes. The kids named the rocks we saw on the way: Birthday Cake Rock, Snowman Rock, Turtle Rock, Foot Rock. The journey was measured in bathroom breaks: Monticello, Moab, Price, Salt Lake (the Robinsons!), Tremonton, Snowville, almost there - you can wait . . . fine we'll stop in Burley. Finally, Twin Falls.

6. Watching the sun rise. I love the view from my front porch - especially when the neighbor's RV was gone for the summer! One advantage of a desert is an un-obstructed view of the sunrise and sunset.

5. Running Pinon Mesa. I never thought I would say this, but I really miss running long Saturdays at Pinon Mesa. It was a trail run through a high desert. BYO water!

4. My Piano. I miss the way the sound would fill up the whole house. I have a lovely piano here, but it's just not the same as my old one.

3. Caliente. (That's the name of the community choir.) I loved singing with these fabulous singers. It was a ball. I miss them, and I miss the music. Music is my drug of choice. I'm suffering from withdrawal. I'm feeling particularly left out now that they are planning a musical tour of Greece. Without me.

2. My friends. I miss my book group. I miss the ladies I ran with. I miss running and talking at the same time. I miss birthday lunches at Si Senor.

1. Shon. I miss having my husband come home at 4:30. Wow. That was nice. He's cute. And he does dishes. (Sorry ladies, he's mine.)

Things I miss, that I didn't know I would miss:

Crisco
Graham Crackers
Green chilis
Skiing
Reece's Peanut Butter Cups
School lunches
School buses
Walmart
Soccer Practice
Inexpensive piano lessons
Inexpensive anything!
Snow
wider traffic lanes

A few things I don't miss:

My fingers cracking and bleeding because it is so dry. (Super glue was my only successful solution.)

Crime. Believe it or not, I think I'm actually safer running in a big city than I was in NM.

School clothes. We wear uniforms here. I LOVE it. We can wear the same clothes twice and no one cares. No one has to decide what to wear in the morning.

Whew, I feel better now that I have that off my chest.

The Song Remembers When. . .

2010-10-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

Conversation this morning over breakfast:

Emily: "Mom, we're singing a song in choir: 'Song Sung Blue.' Do you know it? "

Me: "Oh yeah, I love Neil Diamond: Song Sung Blue, La lala la la la or something. Let's look it up on itunes."

And there it was.

Suddenly, I wasn't in Australia any more.

"Song sung blue. . . "

I am in Fort Greeley Alaska, and it's 1979. My socks have slipped down and are bunched up at the bottom of my boots - my water boots, because it's spring time and everything is wet with melting.

"everybody knows one. . ."

I find a marble I lost in our golden shag carpet.

"Me and you, are subject to the blues now and then. . . "

My hands are stained yellow from picking dandelions. I can taste the dandelions because I forgot to wash my hands before I ate grilled cheese sandwich (with tomato soup.)

"Weeping like a willow. . ."

I can feel the sun on my shoulder, always coming in at an angle, making long shadows like it does up north. I can hear the theme song from "Mash" in the background.

"Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice. . . "

My bell bottoms (the ones with the heart patches on the knees) are wet from playing in the run-off, so my mom tells me to take them off before I take a nap - in my wonder woman underoos. I am looking at my "Bambi" book and listening to the tape, listening for the chimes "trrrring" to turn the page, but I'm tired and never even make it past "your mother can no longer be with you - man has taken her away. . ." before drifting to sleep on my Holly Hobby bed spread.

"And before you know it, start to feeling good. . ."

My dad is walking through the door in his army uniform. Becki and Kim and I are singing "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home" and climbing up onto his lap as he sits in his orange velour rocker/recliner (the one my mom bought him for Father's Day). He manages to take off his glasses before we get to "a great big kiss."

"You simply got no choice. . . "

Emily: Yep, that's the one.

Me: Yeah. I think I'll buy the whole album.

Thank you, Neil Diamond, for writing the background music of my childhood.

Fraser Island

2010-09-27T02:00:00.001-07:00

Shon here.

I know this sounds really rough but after the 5 days on Moreton Bryce and I and Robert and Ethan went to Fraser Island (North of Moreton about 4 hours) with the young men from church. This wasn't as cush as the resort because we camped but it was still incredible. We drove up Thursday morning. We drove in total almost 250k on sand!! The beach they call 75 mile beach really is 75 miles long. We were able to play beach cricket, gridiron (American Football), baseball, swim in 3 different fresh water lakes, the ocean, and tide pools. We also saw a ship wreck, a light house, whales, a (huge) dead ray, dingos, caught pipis for bait to fish in the surf. One of my favorite days was spent driving. We really put the 4WD through a workout. All I can say is that PJ is the bomb. We had 4 vehicles and 17 people. The only one that never got bogged (stuck) was PJ. In fact PJ snatched 3 vehicles with the snatch strap. I learned tons about sand driving and 4WD. I think it would be tough to find somehow that I could have been more in heaven.

Top 10:

10. Seeing dingos running around the island (they will attack small children so you have to be careful)

9. Driving on sand for 8 days straight!! (that includes Moreton)

8. Learning to snatch cars. You hook up the snatch strap and then just start driving with the snatch strap half extended at 20km/hr and you pull them out. We spent almost an hour pulling cars out with PJ.

7. Swimming in the tide pools and ocean at Champagne Pools. The Aboriginals would catch fish stuck there by the low tide.

6. Doing a flip off a tree into Ocean Lake (the second time). The first one kind of was not a great memory thought it was funny. (See above photo of my leg.)

5. Swimming in Wobby lake. There were kids going down the sand dune on boogie boards that would go half way across the lake.

4. Playing grid iron. I love beach football and lake football.

3. Swimming in Lake McKenzie with it's pure white sand and crystal clear water.

2. Seeing what happens to a RAV 4 at Fraser. Paul your car rocks. Bryce said one of the highlights of his trip was that big jump you did.

1. Hearing the testimonies of the boys at the fireside. Such great young men.

Island Holiday

2010-09-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

We love the view from our veranda. On a clear day, we can see to the ocean and across to an island - Moreton Island. Little did I know, that island on the horizon is heaven on earth.

It's Spring Break. (Please think southern hemisphere here.) We just spent 5 lovely days on Moreton Island. It was fabulous, in spite of the cold rain. The best part, of course, was that we were with friends. Everyone had someone to play with.

The first day we drove to the ferry and took a 90 minute boat ride to the island. Only four-wheel drive vehicles are permitted on Moreton Island, as there are no paved roads. The ferry landed and we drove onto the beach. The adventure began. And so did the rain. But we're not the type to let a little rain spoil our fun.

We stayed at the Tangalooma resort. It is a former whaling village. Back in the 1950's they "processed" 6200 humpback whales here. The whale blubber was mostly used in making cosmetics. Now Tangalooma is a beautiful family resort where people come to feed wild dolphins. It was so amazing to watch. Every evening the dolphins would stroll through the harbor. One evening, our children were in the water playing and the dolphins came just a few feet away. The resort had all sorts of fun activities for families: snorkeling the sunken ships in the harbor, tennis, ATV's, movies, food, karaoke, basketball, ping pong, boules, croquet, archery, "sledding" the sand dunes in the "desert" - and best of all, beaches. Sand is our favorite toy. We have sand collecting in all of our pockets, but it was worth it - the kids had a ball playing in the sand.

Our second day we took a drive around the island. Driving on the beaches is a ball. Driving across the island was a bit more treacherous, but so beautiful. There were flocks of beautiful little rainbow bee-eater birds, and we nearly ran over a large (2 m) snake (most likely a carpet pithon.) We drove to the lighthouse and then back along the beach.

People often see humpback whales from the lighthouse, but they weren't showing off that day.

We drove back along the eastern side of the island. The beach was amazing.

The most memorable thing we saw though, was 2 dead sea turtles and a manta ray. The turtles were huge. They often mistake plastic bags for jelly fish (their main source of food) and smother. (We'll be using cloth bags, thanks.) The ray was 7-8 feet across.

After the eastern beach, we drove to the desert and went sledding. It was fun! The road was very treacherous, but our Pajero was a beast and got us through deep sand and steep hills. The kids gave our car a new name. We're calling it "PJ" now.

The next day, we went on a whale watching trip. This has been a dream of mine most of my life. I saw a whale when I was 5 on a trip from Alaska to Seattle, and I've been interested in whales ever since. I was not disappointed, and I plan to go again. It was cold and rainy, which meant we had most of the ship to ourselves and an unobstructed view.

We saw around 6 humpback whales. They breached and flapped their tails and fins at us. At one point, one of the whales poked it's head out of the water to get a better look at us. The whales were so curious. One of the kids asked if the whales were on a people watching trip. They came to us.

Our fourth day, we went snorkeling on the wrecks near the harbour. The ships were intentionally sunk there, to provide an anchor for a reef. The fish were so colorful. We saw tens of thousands of fish and even a sand shark (small, yellow/brown).

Our final day on the island was sunny and warm. It was heavenly. I spent the morning like a beached whale, while Shon took the kids to do some more sand sledding.

And we headed home (whichmeans I have 14 loads of laundry to do.) Overall, we had a really great time and would love to go back!

Spring

2010-09-02T04:25:00.000-07:00

It is officially spring in Australia. The weather was unseasonably warm today - high of 76 F. It hasn't been quite that warm lately though. It's been down right chilly. That didn't stop my family from swimming in our unheated pool. Shon decided it was time for us to have a little polar bear swim. As the photographer, I managed to evade getting wet. :-) They didn't last long in the water. I took two photos, back to back. By the time the second one took, everyone was almost out!

Bryce had an assignment at his school to have a picture taken reading with a parent in an unusual place. This is what we came up with. You can't see, but the book says "How to Swim."

*Ta

2010-09-02T03:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. White Car,

Please forgive me for dinging your door. I was sure that my daughter would stay in the car for 10 seconds while I ran across the street to get her sister from ballet. (I might add that I was 15 minutes late to pick her up, so she really was sitting there waiting for me.) I had driven past the ballet studio twice looking for parking, so I was happy to have a spot open up, never mind that I had to park with one wheel on the curb because our massive car doesn't fit in the 1950's parking spots on Racecourse Road. Everyone within a 100 meter radius heard the "thunk" when she opened the car door - and smashed the massive door into your cute little white car, leaving a small dent and a 2 cm gash in your paint. I was glad you came out of the coffee shop at that time, because I am not the type to leave without saying what happened. So I'm writing to tell you thank you for not cursing me or my sweet, tutu-clad ballerinas, and for turning down my offer of money and insurance information. I know you were pretty angry - especially considering you've only had the car for 2 weeks. Since I don't know your name and have no way of returning the favour, I'll just have to pay it forward and encourage anyone else who is out there to please be extra nice to someone today, because someone was nice to me.

Thanks and

Kindest regards,

Juli

Here are the girls last July near Twin Falls, Idaho.

* "Ta" is short for "thanks," like "hi" means "hello." This is one of my favourite aussie words.

On Magpies and Mockingjays

2010-08-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

One of my first memories in Australia is of waking to a very strange bird call. It sounded like a combination of R2D2 and a crow mumbling under its breath. What I was hearing was the Australian Magpie. (You can hear its call here.) They are big black and white birds, which look more like crows than American Magpies. One of the things Australian Magpies are known for is drawing blood. They are swooping birds. It's August, which is winter here, but soon it will be spring, which is magpie nesting season. The males become particularly territorial and will attack anything that moves. Bicyclists beware. People have come up with some pretty creative ways to ward off magpies. I frequently see bicyclists wearing helmets with cable ties sticking out all over. Also helmets with eyes on the back. Children walk home from school with ice cream buckets on their heads, with eyes drawn on the top. (It's very Australian!) I found this website particularly interesting. The video was surprising. Let's just say I won't be wearing a cable head any time soon.

Speaking of birds, you may be wondering why I am wearing this gold pin on my jumper (er, sweater). First of all, because my lovely sister gave it to me for my birthday. Thanks Beck. Also because Mockingjay is coming out in one week! I am so excited. I loved the first two books in the Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) and have been eagerly waiting for the third. I haven't been this excited since Harry Potter #7. (I know, I'm such a nerd. Just for the record, I do read non-fiction too.) If you haven't read the Hunger Games yet, you still have time. Come on, you know you want to. Go ahead, neglect the laundry. Have Macca's (Mc Donald's) for dinner. Your preschooler can take care of herself, she has been dying to sit and watch Little Einstein all day for 2 days. It won't hurt her intellectual development. It's only TV (said with the same inflection as those anti-alcohol videos they showed us in high school where the guy tempts you, saying "It's only beer.") Who needs fresh air and exercise anyway? (Though I have to give this disclaimer: These books are violent. You'll want to discuss it with your 13 year-old if he reads it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than that.)

Sigh. I love to read.

Speaking of ballet, I took the kids (minus Shon and Caleb) to see "Swan Lake" over the weekend. The choreography was spectacular. The set was awesome. The music was Tchaikov-

sky (need I say more?) The people were beautiful. It was fabulous. I have decided that when I grow up I will be a ballerina (after I learn to fly an airplane that is.) Bryce even liked it, though he did say he would never dance ballet because "their pants are too tight." Agreed. And we went to our favorite gelato cafe afterwards. Gelato Milany. Yum. That's all I can say.

Calorie counting challenge

2010-07-20T03:38:00.001-07:00

Anthony introduced me to the fine art of Slurpee drinking. On the day we moved my mom and dad to their new home Anthony and I both drank 4 40 oz. Slurpees. That translates into +/-2200 calories! Pretty sweet until you realize how many calories you have to burn. I looked it up. You pick what you would do.....

1. 612 minutes of walking

2. 252 minutes of jogging

3. 184 minutes of swimming

4. 336 minutes of cycling

5. 780 minutes of walking combined with lifting 25,000 lbs.

As for Anthony and I we pick #5.......We are both overachievers so why stop at 612 minutes of walking. 780 here we come. Then what the heck bring on the 25,000 lbs.........

The only thing I was sad about was that we could have had a fifth Slurpee and all would have been well (765 minutes of walking and 2750 calories). Next time.....next time......

Shon

Winter Break

2010-07-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

Yep our winter break was awesome. We escaped the horrible cold of Brisbane (50 degree lows and 70 degree highs) to visit the Western US. We had a great time visiting relatives in Idaho and Utah. It was one of the more productive vacations I think I have ever had. We got lots of dental work done (thanks Ken). Sarah was baptized and confirmed (definitely a highlight). We moved my parents into their new home and built the majority of a wooden fence around their property.

We got to meet three new family members on Juli's side of the family (Collin, Mia, and Lindsay). We camped which was really fun. I think all the cousins loved steal the flag and four wheeling. We went to the lake, hiked, and had a wonderful time. I think all the kids loved the time with cousins. They slept over nearly every night somewhere together (thanks Kim and Gaye). We saw everyone from both sides of the family except Spencer's family. We missed you guys (still do).

Top 10 from Winter 2010 in no particular order except #1 (Shon's perspective)

10. Meeting 3 new family members

9. Camping and playing steal the flag

8. Going to a movie and on a date with Juli and Kim and Rustin

7. Getting to go to business class on the way home after 6-8 hours trying to sleep sitting up (thanks Juli for swapping half way)

6. Seeing Collin blessed

5. Manning and Robinson cousin reunions!! Thanks Jenny and Judy and Grandmother Ellen Mae!!

4. 4th of July in the USA!!!

3. Time with my sisters and brother working and playing

2. Getting my mom and dad moved and with most of a fence up

1. Sarah's baptism and confirmation

The Gulf

2010-06-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Juli asked me to blog about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As most of you probably know I am a drilling engineer. For the last 13 years I have drilled and completed oil and gas wells. I have followed the BP disaster very closely and from everything I have read (presentations to Congress by BP, the Waxman letter, updates from the BP website, etc) BP made some poor decisions that led to this disaster. The only thing that comforts me is that relief wells work 100% of the time. That is the only way that the well will be brought under control and the flow of hydrocarbons stopped. All other options have been exhausted. I included a link to a very good presentation ~10 minutes long on the relief well here (Kent Wells technical update from June 27).

I am extremely confident in the relief wells. One is enough. Having a second is prudent given the damage that is occurring. They will work. It is proven technology. "Killing" a well is easily done from the bottom of the well but very difficult from the top. From BP's update they are 55' away from the well and are honing in on it. They are 10 days ahead of schedule.

Oil and gas drilling can be done very safely. To drill safely two barriers must be maintained at all times to prevent oil and gas from coming to surface. In the case of the BP incident a late change in the well design, the decision to not lock down the wellhead seal, a poor cement job, performing multiple operations at once when displacing the well to seawater (which contributed to missing indications that something was wrong), and then the failure of the blow out preventers resulted in this tragedy.

We were sad to hear about oil reaching the marshes of Louisiana and the beaches of Florida. We frequented the swamps south of New Orleans and loved the sea food and culture present in South Louisiana. We still have many friends there and loved our time and now visits there. I participated in work parties with our church after Katrina and Rita to clean up hurricane damage in Louisiana. We feel close to the people there. While we lived in New Orleans for 3 years one of our favorite places was Fort Pickens. We have such great memories camping there. We loved hearing the frogs, playing in the ocean and bay, walking on the beaches at night and seeing the phosphorescence as the waves crashed and where we stepped in the wet sand.

So here are my thoughts: I think we are actually lucky that BP is the responsible party. They seem to have acknowledged their responsibility and in my opinion are doing everything possible to remedy the situation. The industry I work in will clearly have to change because this should never have happened and we should have been better prepared.

What I am saddened by most is the president's decision to stop offshore drilling. That is like saying that if there is a coal mining accident in one mine that all mines should be closed. That is unbelievable. For the people of the Gulf Coast to lose a major industry like fishing is horrible but then for the president to shut down another main source of income (oil and gas drilling) is worse. There needs to be a measured response. Unfortunately the American public does not understand the industry that provides them energy so there are many misunderstandings and false perceptions. My heart goes out to the people of the Gulf Coast.

Maybe this is a chance for us to look more longterm. We as a nation have never been able to do this though. Until something else replaces hydrocarbons we need them to maintain our standard of living. As Americans we use 25% of the WORLD's energy with only 5% of the world's population. We import 60% of the oil that we use. Most of that comes from countries near us (Canada, Mexico, Venezuela). We are energy pigs. I think we should be thankful for the country we live in, the freedoms we have and the lifestyle we enjoy but we MUST conserve and become better stewards of what we have. We have some tough choices as a nation ahead. If we move to solar (doesn't work when the sun is down), wind (huge footprint relative to what hydrocarbon production takes and not efficient), nuclear, coal, or hydro they all have pretty major disadvantages. To me it makes sense to do some of all of them. Solar in NM and Queensland makes sense but not in Seattle.

I commit to do my part. What are you going to do to be better? Set your thermostat one degree hotter or cooler, use Solar in your home, put in a zero scape yard? We can all do something......

Happy to talk to anyone about this.

Jumper

2010-06-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

Aussie Word of the Week

Jumper (n): Pronounced "Jompa"

Translation: a woolen or fleece sweater or jacket.

Used in a sentence: Sarah dearest, it's cold outside. You better wear your jumper.

Here's Sarah. Can't you tell her hands are cold. It was really cold - at least 60 degrees. She is sporting her Jumpa outside at pick up time - my least favorite time of the day, not because I don't want to pick up my kids but because it is such a hassle! All of the girls wear the same hat, which makes it difficult to tell which child wearing Madeline camoflage is mine. Remember that movie about the penguins in Antarctica? Remember the part where the penguins are changing places and trying to find their chick, though they all look alike? That's me, 5 times a week, squawking and hoping my chicks will hear me and reveal which one they are. And one other thing that I hate about pick up time: parallel parking. I'm still avoiding it like the plague. It causes me anxiety. (Please note that I received an A in parallel parking in driver's ed. Doing it on the other side of the road still feels very awkward.)

Hopefully, we won't need jumpers next week when we go to visit our family. That's right, we're changing hemispheres for a holiday. I love the fourth of July. I'm excited to spend it in the good ol' US of A.

Speaking of the fourth of July, did I ever tell you about our first fourth of July down south? We were living in New Orleans and decided to go camping in Mississippi for the holiday. Did I mention I was 6 months pregnant and it was July? Of course. Actually, I wasn't the only one who was pregnant - Natalie Summers was due a week before me. The Shanklins and Pickards came too. We decided to stay in the "primative area" which is code for "the jeff foxworthys camping next to you will be peeing in the bushes, so avert your eyes." I've never been so hot in my life. Sleeping was not easy. We had to open all of the windows to let some air in, otherwise, I would have slipped into something a little more comfortable, like my birthday suit. It was that hot. We found refuge from the heat by standing in the luke warm lake, dodging cigarette butts the entire day. Only problem was that the lake wasn't that clean, so I ended up with a brown line across my middle - the high water mark. The ladies in line to the outhouse were super nice and let me go first on account of my delicate condition (good thing - that line was long!) Thank y'all.

I do have to give credit to the city of Hattiesburg. They had an awesome fourth of July picnic. There were sack races (which Shon won with his mad skills. I'm sure the fact that he was the only one not drunk helped.) and an ice cream eating contest - won by the three time returning champ, Bubba, looking the part in his overalls without a shirt. I set my picnic basket beneath a tree and found it an hour later inhabited by an entire colony of ants - they ate through the plastic wrap and tunneled all around in the banana bread like an ant farm. My favorite part was just before the fireworks when Elvis came and sang the national anthem: "I wish I lived in a land of cotton . . ."

I sound like I'm being sarcastic and didn't have a good time, but it's actually one of my favorite memories of the Fourth of July. I would do it all again.

Running alone

2010-05-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

I have found that when it comes to running, a little peer pressure is a good thing. I miss my friends in New Mexico. Many mornings I lay there thinking how much I didn't want to get up and go out in the cold, but I knew if I didn't, Annie would be saying "Juli, where were you?" It has finally cooled off here in Oz. It is not terribly cold, but the cool and dark combination makes it appealing to sleep in. Luckily, I have a running "mate" here, Jennifer Curtis, who will also be asking me "Juli, where were you?"

Last May I ran the Shiprock half marathon. I was scared. My friends were running the Moab Half (my favorite half - because it was my first). Not knowing if we would even be in the United States for Moab, I didn't register for it - we played the waiting game for about a year before finally getting a position here in Brisbane. So, I ran the Shiprock instead. My children had soccer games. I was nervous because it was the first race I had ever gone to by myself. My mother claims that I was a very independent child, but I really don't do anything on my own. I learned a lesson from the experience.

The race was good. The weather was cool and a bit rainy. The course was beautiful. The people were nice. I love New Mexico. But I was alone. About half way through the race I realized the girl in front of me was running the same pace. I caught up and talked to her. (People who don't run always ask how I can run and talk at the same time. Really, if you can't talk, you're trying too hard. That said, I do run faster when I don't talk.) It turns out the girl in front of me graduated from BYU the same year I did. We both had 5 children, 3 girls and 2 boys. Our husbands were both engineers. Another lady was listening to our conversation and said "You guys are freaking me out!" So we ran the rest of the race together, finishing within seconds of each other. It wasn't until later, when I saw the professional pictures (which I never buy - I'm not a photogenic runner, especially in the rain) that I realized our numbers were one apart! And I set a new PR.

Lesson learned: I'm never alone. It changes the way I look at people when I think that way. There are no strangers, only friends I haven't met yet.

No, it's not Mardi Gras. Jen and I are showing our numbers.

So, last week I ran another half marathon. This time, I came with a friend. And I met a few more along the course. The Warwick, Queensland, Pentathrun Half Marathon was very hilly and very foggy. It was beautiful in a very quiet way. I ran the first half of the race very fast. It's a rooky mistake for sure, but I fell for it. By half way through, I was feeling it - about the same time Michelle ran up to me. She lives out in "the bush" with her husband and 5 children. Actually, she had 6 children, but one recently passed away. I had a great experience talking with her about life, children, religion, snakes, running. It was a great race - not too hot, because of the fog. At one point I ran past a forrest where all of the spider webs were covered in dew. There were some very large spider webs - it was amazing. One issue I had was that I didn't know where the end would be. I know a half marathon is 13.1 miles, but I have no idea how many kms that is. I guessed about 20.5. After one of the many hills, I thought for sure that was the last and I started looking for the finish line. Then another hill came peeking through the fog. Just for the record, 13.1 miles is 21.1 km. What is there to do in that moment but keep moving forward (the Robinson moto.)

This is what most of the race looked like. Foggy.

That was a hard hill. But in spite of the hills, and the fog, I got a new PR! (That's the fun of being a new - ish runner - every race is a new personal record.) Thank you, AJ Curtis, for letting me use the awesome pictures you took.

I ran right past this "mountain" and had no idea it was there until the fog burned off.

Nice spandex, Shon.

I'm not the only one in my family who has been running, lately. Shon recently completed his first triathlon, in spite of tearing his calf muscle the week before. He showed the tough stuff he was made of. He couldn't walk without limping, but he still finished in good time.

Emily and Sarah also recently ran in a cross country meet. I was proud of them. They worked hard and woke up early for practices.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm late, but Happy Mother's Day to everyone. I have the greatest mother and mother-in-law ever. Thanks, Moms. I am so blessed to have grown up in a house where my mom made us feel loved and confident, and taught us to serve other people. You're the best, Mom. I want to be just like you when I grow up.

We had lots of lovely fun on Mother's Day. The kids made an awesome breakfast of buttermilk waffles with strawberries, my favorite. (Thank you to Shon for cleaning up!) Our ward priesthood took over Primary for the day. It was fun to go to Relief Society again. Thanks, guys.

St. Margaret's had a special mother's day breakfast the Friday before.

The girls give their mothers a gift that they make. This year it was bangles (bracelets). I was lucky because I got three.

It's traditional at St. Margaret's to wear the previous year's gifts to the breakfast. Some of the ladies were decked in rings, earrings, scarves, necklaces, and bracelets. One lucky dad got to come in his wife's place. Yep, he came fully accessorized. What a good sport!

A special thank you to my sweet children who make me a mother. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lest we forget. . .

2010-04-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Anzac Day!

Australia took a holiday on Monday to remember the Anzacs. Anzac stands for Australia/New Zealand Army Corps.

Not knowing much about the Anzacs, I checked a book out from the library. I didn't know. I didn't know that Australia had such a part in the first and second world war. I didn't know Australia went to Vietnam. I didn't know that Australia is still fighting today in Afghanistan and other areas of the world that need extra security.

I think war stinks. I understand why we have war, but it is a complete waste of human life and natural resources. If leaders would stop being corrupt and people would be kind and tolerant of each other, war wouldn't be necessary. But it is. I pray for peace, but I also pray for the safety of the men and women who are fighting for peace, no matter what country they are from.

As a mother, it hurts to see the pictures of men lying on battle fields. I know some of them had wives and children, but they all have a mother.

I was profoundly impressed with the respect and honor that Australia shows its veterans. We went to an Anzac Day concert at one of our favourite places, the South Bank. It was beautiful. The Queensland Symphony played, prayers were said and hymns were sung, along with a standing ovation renditions of "Advance Australia Fair", and "Waltzing Matilda", and the pipes were playing - the Queensland Police Pipes and Drums. What is it about bag pipes? I can't get enough.

During part of the concert they showed pictures of families being reunited with their loved ones. Those pictures really touched me. I've been there. My father is a Gulf War veteran. I remember the day in December that he left. We drove to Salt Lake City where we stood in line all day to get our military ID's updated. We went to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and they sang "I'll be home for Christmas." It was a live recording, so we had to try not to sob as our family cried through the song. Even more vividly, I remember the day he came home. It was an explosion of hugs, people holding signs, singing patriotic songs, and happy crying. Fathers were holding babies they had never seen. We came home and our neighbors had decorated our house in yellow ribbons. I saw that same expression of joy and sacrifice on the families in the photos at the concert.

Thank you for your sacrifice, and also thank you to Australia for showing the respect to your veterans that they deserve.

Here's an Australian classic and a new family favorite:

Anzac Biscuits

125 g butter, chopped (1 cube)

2 Tbsp golden syrup (Americans, look in an import store, or try 1 T molasses and 1 T corn syrup.)

1/2 tsp bi-carb soda (baking soda)

2 Tbsp boiling water

90 g rolled oats (1 C)

150 g caster sugar (1 C white sugar)

65 g coconut (3/4 C)

1 C flour

In a pan, stir butter and syrup until butter is melted. Then add the soda and water. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix. Bake at 150 C (325 F) for 20 min or until lightly browned. My oven burns everything (really, it's not my fault!), and I like things chewy rather than crunchy, so I only cook them for 10 min. They have a great chewy texture and a wonderful carmel flavour. Even my children, who don't like coconut, love these cookies. Don't forget the flour (I did the first time I made them - actually, my recipe left it out - honestly, it wasn't my fault!)

Shon

2010-04-20T00:29:00.000-07:00

Guess who will never be the Elder's Quorum President again? (Shon has been Elder's Quorum President 3 times, in 3 different wards.)
That's right, Shon's a High Priest. He is the new first counselor in the Chermside Ward Bishopric. Our Bishop is awesome. He's also been bishop for 7 years. . .

We live in paradise. It is heavenly. Most of the time. But we definitely have our moments - the kind that make you say, "can I go home now?" It just gets a little awkward being a good little Mormon mother of 5 in this society.

For instance: yesterday I got a text from a couple mums at Churchie asking if we could all meet at my house to plan car pooling and have a coffee. I called her back. Um . . . you can come over, but we don't drink coffee. "That's ok, she says, we'll just have tea" and hung up. I later explained that we're LDS. We don't drink, nope, not even Coke - except for medicinal purposes :-). In the mean time, we had a nice cup of vanilla mint herbal tea and some lovely lavender cup cakes (did you know lavender tastes good?! It does!)

They look pretty. My new best friend, Vanilla Pod, made them for me. (Vanilla Pod is an awesome pastry shop near my house.)

Here's my new tea pot.

Banks in Australia close at 4. That stinks.

Sydney

2010-04-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

The kids went back to school today. Easter Holiday is over. I keep calling it spring break, but it's not spring, it's autumn. Here's what we did with 2 weeks off school.

Now isn't this your idea of fun: stick 5 happy (but noisy) kids in a car for 14 hours to explore a bit down under. (Actually, we had to go to Sydney to visit the American consulate and conduct some business - kill two birds with one stone.)
Listen to a little didgeridoo and party with the natives.

Here's a familiar sight.

The Sydney Opera House has such great angles.

Ride the ferry out to Manly beach.

Bondi Beach (home of the famous reality TV show: Bondi Rescue - don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either, but we don't watch a lot of TV.)

Bondi is a beautiful beach right in the middle of Sydney.
This is a wildlife crossing. There were koala and kangaroo signs everywhere, but I think this is for the sugar gliders and possums. We saw plenty of boomers. After Sydney we drove to Coff's Harbour where we realized our car was badly leaking fluid. It was Thursday evening. We found a mechanic who would take it - on Tuesday. In the mean time, we got to use their loaner car - a totally "flash" (australian for fancy/cool) 1991 station wagon, which didn't have enough seatbelts for everyone. Fortunately, it says "Goodyear" all over it, so we had no problem convincing the cop at the random check point that it wasn't really our car. I think Shon's 5 o'clock shadow (broken electric razor) helped convince her that we really are responsible parents who use seatbelts. (We really are!)

On Sunday we went to church. It was a small branch which doubled in size for the holiday. We don't normally see the fruits of our efforts, but we did this time. We made friends with another family that had children (here is their daughter with ours) and Shon got to borrow their surf board. We brought our boogie boards, and had a ball. We also had an invitation to dinner and, most importantly, a ride home to Brisbane for Shon (who had to get back to work) and Bryce (who had a football [soccer] camp). The rest of us got to stay and enjoy a couple more days at the beach. The car took all of an hour to fix, and we got to spend a relaxing 6 days by the beach.

This was my morning run, along the beach and up the stairs, where I startled a kangaroo. (He startled me too.)

Caleb, mate, you're too young to kiss! We took a little bush walk, past the banana plantations at the top of a hill. It was beautiful.
It was cloudy, so it's hard to see the ocean in the background.I've never seen this before: an honesty box. Put in your $2 coin and take a bag of ripe bananas.

It's good to be home.

Congrats Beck and Jer!

2010-03-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

I just have to shout out a big Congratulations to my sister Becki and her husband Jeremy, and their son Ethan. They have a new baby. Tiny Amelia was born early, so she's only 4 pounds, but she's making up for lost time.

I'm so happy.

You've probably noticed their button "Beck and Jer: Finding our baby" on my blog. Becki had cancer (she's doing great now - thanks for asking) 7ish years ago and they have been trying to adopt since. It has been a roller coaster. Just when we had all given up hope, here she is. I'd never pray for anyone to have an unwanted pregnancy, but we're so blessed to have someone selfless make the best of a bad situation.

What a beautiful, tiny, baby. Welcome to our family. You have cousins who eagerly await meeting you in June when we take a vacation to another hemisphere.

Congratulations!

Fetch

2010-03-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

Fetch was the magic word the last week.

We have friends from New Mexico that moved to Brisbane ahead of us and just had their first child. We watched their dog, Smudge, for several days while they were in the hospital recuperating.

I need to give a little explanation about Smudge. She is the most athletic, can't sit still, want to play, 6 year old dog I have ever been around. She will bring you the ball and set it in your lap, at your feet, next to you, time and time again wanting to play fetch. We had Smudge over a couple times over the last couple of months to swim. She played fetch in the pool for at least 2 hours straight each time.

Now when you take Smudge, mix her with a 3 year old boy that loves to be outside in the dirt, you have two of Heavenly Fathers creations in Heaven. Caleb could care less about how slimy the ball was that Smudge brought back, how dirty it was, how long she wanted to play or how long it took her to find it and bring it back. He just wanted to play. They were perfectly matched. After playing together for 3 days Caleb slept in a couple of extra hours and went to bed early too. Smudge, who normally wants to play fetch in the morning, actually didn't bug Mike (her owner) to play, the morning after she left our house. She even slept in.

Shon

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T23:17:00.000-07:00

Caleb loves to run barefoot in the garden. In addition to dirty feet, he also brings back flowers. Yesterday, he came running to me and told me I needed to see the hearts in the grass.

This is what we found.

It is finally beginning to feel like autumn. The weather has cooled off enough that we don't need our AC on. We keep the windows and doors open during daylight hours. The moment the sun goes down, the Aussie Mozzies (that would be Australian Mosquitoes) take over and we close up shop. This has been one long summer - since last June, to be specific. I never thought I would say it, but I'm glad to see the summer end. I have been waiting for the weather to change.

We'll see what Australian Autumn has to offer.

cricket pictures

2010-02-21T04:39:00.000-08:00

OK. Some of you seem very confused by the cricket terminology. No worries. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Juli

Cricket anyone?

2010-02-19T00:23:00.001-08:00

Churchie sports newsletter:

"Churchie sent Villanova into bat and while Villanova set about scoring runs at a steady rate, Churchie countered with excellent fielding. We worked on fielding during the week and the improvement was visible. Bryce Robinson held every ball that came his way and ended the day with 4 catches. Lachlan Hill took 2 difficult catches, one of them at ground level in front of him. The net result was that Churchie was able to contain Villanova to 115 and get them all out in the 22^nd over. One area for future improvement is to cut down on the number of wides and byes.

"Churchie struggled to score runs off Villanova’s excellent bowling. With most of our batsmen dismissed, it was left to Chris Binks, Bryce Robinson and last man in, James Picken to score the necessary runs. Once again, as with last week, the end of the match a ‘nail-biter’. What was almost certainly the last over of the day commenced c.11.25 AM with Churchie needing 5 runs. Churchie achieved the target on the second last ball of the day. We played out the rest of the over to ensure the result and our last batsman was out on the very next ball. The scorers checked back over the score card and Churchie was confirmed as the winners. Great atmosphere. Both sides demonstrated excellent sportsmanship. Once again our team experienced how exciting cricket can be."

Now I realize that not everyone is a cricket expert that reads this blog so I'll interpret. Each team gets 11 batters. Unlike baseball where the teams trade after 3 outs, in cricket each team gets one fielding chance and one batting chance. In cricket you can end the batters turn by either bowling the agreed amount of overs (overs are 6 throws) or by getting 10 outs (wickets, catches, or run outs). So Bryce had 4 catches of the 10 the team got. That is almost unheard of.

Then when batting a ball that rolls over the "outfield" line is called a 4, a ball that flies over the boundry is a 6. Bryce hit 3 or 4 4's and he and the other batsman Chris Binks racked up the points. Bryce made the winning point, and then the next bat he hit a good one but it was caught ending the game!

I was very proud of our budding cricketer.

Shon

Year in Review Video!!!

2010-01-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

Can you tell we took advantage of living in the Western US near family? Grants New Mexico Quadrathalon, Grand Canyon, California twice, Cruise, Petrified Forest, Camping with Pattersons outside of Heber, Grandma Maleta's funeral, Lake Powell, Ireland Choir tour, Flew around the world, Juli's Marathon, Moved to Brisbane, Incredible beaches, Great Barrier Reef, Kangaroos, Koalas, etc.

Juli made me do it and I am glad I did.

Trip to the Great Barrier Reef

2010-01-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is Shon:

I thought I would give you a snapshot of our most recent 10 days. I'll do it in top ten format so you get an idea of the best moments:

10. Having our friends (the Kofoeds) from Malaysia stay with us for 10 days (family of 7). Note from Juli: Curtis and Shon were roommates in college, both engineers, and both worked for ExxonMobil. Michelle is also from Idaho, which makes her a very nice person. We lived a mile from them in Texas. Needless to say, we had a great time together.

9. Seeing 100s of thousands of bats (big bats) fly at dusk in Bundaberg. We saw the bats at Carlsbad Caverns but this one put that to shame. They filled the entire sky from horizon to horizon and were LARGE. It was really cool and we just chanced on it. We were ordering pizza at Pizza Hut and just standing there watching in a strip mall. The sky literally became dark.

8. Getting the rental furniture moved out of our house (yes that means we have more than 8 plates now)

7. Getting our shipment (sans lawn mower, trimmer, and some pots that needed to be cleaned) Juli says: Yeah!

6. Going to the Great Barrier Reef. Yes, we found Nemo.

5. Seeing Caleb as a competent swimmer. He now swims across the pool at will, takes breaths in the middle and will just float there face down relaxing and then put his head up when he needs a breath.

4. Snorkeling with Juli and the kids at the reef. Lots of fish. We even saw turtles. Abby, Sarah, Emily, and Bryce were great and just went off on their own. Caleb even had a go. It was fun.

3. Walking on Lady Musgrave Island. There are 40000 birds. It was amazing to be on a coral island. The shells were stunning.

2. Hearing about the kids soccer camp. They are loving it and having a great time!

1. Riding the vomit comet. The ride from the shore to the GB Reef was 2 hrs through some ROUGH sees. Of the 14 in our group only 4 didn't loose it (all the boys in our family and Curtis). It was actually funny to watch (you could hear some people). I don't know why it was so funny to me I just thought it was and I have a big smile right now. Note from Juli: It was only funny the first hour. After that it was miserable - like two hours on a rollercoaster. The people running the boat said it would be rough (2.6m swells) and if anyone would like a refund they would re-schedule. If anyone ever says that again, I will take them up on it. At one point the waves were so big there were alarms going off on the boat. It was worth it though - the reef was beautiful. I have wanted to do that my whole life.

Year in Review

2010-01-13T03:54:00.000-08:00

Juli reminded me today of my assignment. I am to make a slideshow of the year in review. I think it may be tough to beat our past year. I am setting a due date for this assignment as January 18th. I'll let the excitement build but my favorite memory for 2009 was when

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

This is Christmas at the Robinsons:

In the pool. Caleb just learned to swim.

Peace.

Self portrait, just to prove I really was there.

Our stockings this year were really hosery (and yes, Santa brings toothpaste) - our stuff still hasn't arrived (it's two months late) - which also means that I had to bake my pies in a casserole dish and its lid. Yes, that is pumpkin pie. I bought a japanese pumpkin and steamed and mashed it. It tasted great, but too much work. I'm not really a fan of pumpkin pie anyway. I just wanted it because I couldn't have it.

Ginger bread houses.

We had dinner and played games with friends, then climbed around on Mount Coot tha.

Merry Christmas!

A tale of two Pies

2009-12-17T19:32:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was great. We celebrated on Saturday with some fellow Americans. Christy (from Baton Rouge) and Mike (Colorado) cooked the bird (and made Christy's grandma's cornbread stuffing - yum!), which left us with the other stuff. I love pie and I was really looking forward to pumpkin pie. I decided to make a pecan pie too - mostly for Christy - she's southern and she's pregnant. Gotta have pecan pie.

Alright, I admit, I procrastinated. Friday night, I went to the store to get the ingredients. I already had the crust tackled. My mom sent me Crisco for Christmas. (Can't get Crisco here - we cook with butter.) Thanks mom. Pie crust just isn't the same without it.

On to the filling. I asked one of the nice blokes at the grocery store where I might find pumpkin pie filling. He looked at me like I was crazy. Ok. How about just pie filling, do you sell that? "Thud oil on the leeft, might." (Translation - third isle on the left, mate.) He sent me to the pie fillings. There was minced chicken pie, curried beef pie. Hmm. Apparently "pie" here is made with meat. Oh, ok. Could you direct me to the tart fillings? No pumpkin. Do you have pumpkins? Sure, would you like butternut pumpkin? Ok, so pumpkin is squash. How about apples? Do you have those? Good.

On to the pecan pie. My recipe calls for Karo syrup. I already know they don't carry it here, but I have connections. My friend Penny (just returned from living in Finland) just happened to see it at an obscure convenience store ($6 for an extra small bottle.) All I needed was the nuts. Once again, I asked the chappy in produce what he had. Do you have puhCAHNS? No, how about puhCANS? PeaCahns? Oh, never mind, I see them over there. Oh, did you mean PEAcins? Yes. The pie was great.

Next year, I will be ordering pumpkin pie filling from the American online grocery, and those little fried onion things for the green beans.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T03:38:00.001-08:00

This video has me thinking.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Some of the things I'm thankful for:

My patient, loving, hardworking husband

My five fun kids

My family who loves me even though I live in a different hemisphere

The gospel of Jesus Christ which keeps me anchored in a sea of changing values.

Brother A - I'm going to have to explain this one another day

Friends.

Music

Health - I can run and not be weary and walk and not faint

The world - there are so many beautiful and interesting places

The ocean

Skype - so I can be there, even when I'm not.

Clean sheets.

Mangoes.

PBS

Clouds

Afternoon thunderstorms

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Asics

Fresh tortillas

A good book

The Good Book, and another testament of Christ (the Book of Mormon)

I'm such a nerd.

2009-11-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

I totally went to see "New Moon" last night. (One of the perks of living in Australia is that we get to see it a day early.) Thanks Jennifer for coming on a girls night out with me. (Ooh, and we had yummy and healthy grilled chicken burgers too!)

I love Stephanie Meyer, though I believe her books to be very young adult (not for children) and FICTION. They're just a story. That means don't take it too seriously, girls. There is no Edward. Men don't come like that. (And call me old fashioned, but I don't think teenagers should be sleeping together even if they're just "sleeping" together.) But don't we all love to escape our boring lives for just a few hours . . .

So, about the movie:

You're going to love the part where. . . just kidding, I'd never spoil it for you. (Don't you love people who say things like "don't worry, it has a happy ending." I don't want to know ANYTHING about something I haven't seen.)

All I'm going to say is: Put me on team Jacob.

You know you're not in Kansas anymore . . .

2009-11-17T02:42:00.001-08:00

We had a great weekend. We had nothing to do (meaning no birthday parties to go to - actually, there was a birthday party but it was on Sunday and Sarah decided to politely decline - but they brought her party favors anyway, wasn't that nice?!)

We went to the beach. There are so many awesome beaches here, and we can't wait to try them all. Where to start. We looked at a map and asked the kids. They picked Mermaid Beach, on the Gold Coast. An hour in the car and we were there.

It was beautiful. We stayed inside the flags and did a little boogie boarding. The surfers were having a good time - I can't wait to try that. (Inside the flags is the safe area to swim - no rip tides.)

It was Sandwich Sunday this weekend - a sort of munch and mingle after church. We were asked to bring finger food. I confess - I like to make food that tastes good. I want to please people with my culinary skills, you know, make someone's day with a bite of something delicious. So I stressed a little about what to make for Sunday. I'm still laughing about it. I didn't have a thing in my cupboard to make anything exciting (creme brulee isn't exactly a finger food, but it's a croud pleaser) and did I mention that all of the stores close at 5 on Saturday, so there was no running to get a missing ingredient (or popsicle sticks and glue for a 6th grade bridge building project - thanks for the notice, Bryce) and thinking ahead is not one of my greatest skills right now. I keep thinking that will change when all of our stuff arrives . . . you can only blame so much on rental furniture.

So I threw in the towel and made boring old cinnamon rolls. Actually, it's one of my favorite recipes that I got from my friend Jill in Farmington. It makes a ton and is perfect for General Conference. What could be better than enjoying spiritual enlightenment while snuggling with my man, and eating my favorite comfort food?

So I was a little shocked when my boring cinnamon rolls were a hit. People kept coming up to me and asking "what are these?" Someone asked if they were coconut buns (what the?) and no less than 5 wanted the recipe. We're most definitely not in Kansas, Toto. I probably could have made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and still had the same reaction though. (I need to find out what coconut buns are. . . )

But, in case you want the recipe, here it is.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 C water

2/3 C sugar

1 T salt

bring to a boil and add

1 C butter and let melt.

then add

3 C milk

in the mean time, add

2 T yeast to

1 C warm water

and let it get frothy, then add to the other liquids. add

4 beaten eggs and

12 C flour

(add 6 C and mix on low 30 sec, then faster 3 minutes. Add remaining flour and knead for 5 minutes)

Divide in 2 and place in 2 oiled bowls. Let rise until double (1 hr) then roll out and sprinkle with melted butter and cinnamon sugar.

Bake 350F (180 C) for 13 minutes. Makes 4 large cookie sheets.

Tastes great with cream cheese frosting.

And speaking of church, look who is passing the sacrament. When did I get old enough to have a 12 year old?

Why I'm sitting here eating yogurt out of the carton. . .

2009-11-11T19:19:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite songs is "Reasons Why" by Nickel Creek (my favorite group ever). Part of the song says "Others have excuses, I have my reasons why."

These are my reasons why. No excuses.

This is Sarah. She's sweet and cute and a bit shy and rather keen on dancing ballet. Unfortunately, her ballet shoes (lovely hand me downs from her sister) are in a box, in a crate, in a sea can, on a container ship, somewhere between Seattle and Brisbane. A box which I might add was supposed to arrive in October, 6-8 weeks after being packed in August, but which will now be arriving sometime near the end of December, if we're lucky - probably January because everyone takes Christmas as a holiday, and our shipment still has to pass customs, which could take an extra month. (I miss my stuff.)

Well, Sarah is taking ballet and she happens to have a recital coming up in a couple weeks, so she needs her shoes. With nothing to do but laundry and with my little guy watching the Upside Down Show (best Aussie kids show ever) I thought today would be a great day to hunt down a pair of ballet shoes and some pink tights. Did a little research: two shops sell ballet shoes near by - one 45 minutes north of us, another down the road in Fortitude Valley (a trendy shopping area just a couple km's away). I opted for Fortitude Valley. I called the shop and got the cross streets and plugged it in so "Bruce" (my GPS) could do the work. Only he got a little confused, and knowing that parking is difficult to find, and thinking I was close to the shop, I pulled into a parking garage that said "parking from $3". The closest spot was on level 5, and a tight squeeze for our Mitsubishi Pajero. (Never heard of a Pajero? It's because they don't exist in the US.) I happened to notice they only take coins to pay for parking, which made me nervous because all I had was a $50 bill - a rarity for me since I technically don't have a bank account here (long story), so first item of business was getting change. It's lunch time, so I thought I'd grab a slice of pizza for Caleb and head over to the store. Caleb pointed to a slice and I bought it. He freaked. He didn't want the pizza (which I now realize has pineapple - he hates), he wanted the sausage roll on a stick (which I wouldn't buy anyway), so I'm stuck with the task of eating the pizza (which wasn't in my calorie (er Kilojoule) budget today). I end up picking up the crying toddler and heading toward where I think the store is.

After looking around a while I finally ask directions and hear that the shop is 20 min's walk down the road. Wondering if I would be able to find another parking space, I opt to walk, but now Caleb is asleep on my shoulder. Did I mention that he weighs approximately 20 kilos. My shoulder is falling off and my shoes are rubbing wrong, and it's hot. I would have worn shorts, but I fell down while climbing the stairs at Ascot State School yesterday (thank you to the Sheila in the 4 inch heels who ran over to pick me up) and now I have a black and blue knee which isn't particularly attractive - so I'm wearing long pants, and a large bandaid. There, tucked between the Mercedes and Mazaradi dealership is the trendy shopping center.

After asking two more people for directions I find my ballet shop. I tell the lady at the counter what I'm looking for. After translating twice in my head I realize that she has said that I really aught to bring my daughter in to have her shoes fitted as they come in 4 different widths. Couldn't I bring her back another day? Did I mention that shops here close at 5 on the dot. Every one. Some grocery stores stay open until 8, but everything else is done at 5. No, I really can't come back another day. So I estimate her width and get her a pair and some pink tights (total $79! blink blink), and haul my heavy toddler back to the parking garage, all the while eyeing the open parking spaces on the street. By this time, my heels are bleeding from my unwise shoe choice, and the hair which I blowed dry and straight this morning has become "Hermione hair" (as my friend Jennifer would say), and I am dripping in sweat. Australian deodorant is not made for Americans.

I go to the ticket booth in the Car Park, and find that I owe $15! I was gone just over an hour! I have to do a 15 point turn to get my car out of the tiny space. It takes 3 wrong turns for "Bruce" to get me headed in the right direction and I'm home. What is there to do on a day like this but put a little ice on my aching heels and eat a bowl of "moose tracks" ice cream. Mint chocolate chip would even do! Unfortunately, my body thinks it's time to store up for winter, when really, it's just come season for putting on swimmers (togs, cozy, whatever you say). That means, no ice cream. So yogurt it is, only I haven't run the dish washer yet, so all the bowls are dirty.

I'm eating yogurt out of the carton.

These are my reasons why. Long story.

I think I'll just stay home tomorrow and iron pleats.

Bryce's first Video

2009-10-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Bryce was assigned to make this video. He did a great job! I love the ending. Sorry we didn't have Juli's iTunes stuff on the mac so the music selection was pretty small. Hope you like Irish music......

For the record

2009-10-24T23:19:00.001-07:00

That spider was nearly dead when we found it. Shon flicked it and it fell on its back and stayed there. Just thought you should know since I can tell some of you are considering not coming to visit. And it wasn't poisonous either. So there.

Here's a big, happy, messy face for you.

Crikey, it's a big one!

2009-10-21T04:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, and went to make breakfast, and before I had even put in my contacts, I could see this beauty waiting for me in my living room.

Let's take a closer look.

Thank goodness my Lone Ranger was there to save the day. You're my hero, Shon. I'm not scared of spiders, but I've never had a Huntsman Spider (not to be confused with the Huntsman Cancer Center, which we love) hanging out on the wall.

Here's Shon in action. He used the swat and stomp technique. The spider is no longer with us.

Actually, I live in a zoo. I saw a fruit bat fly past my house last night. It looks more like a flying chihuahua - they call them flying foxes. You're in serious guano if you leave your laundry out for the night - green poop everywhere.

Shon posted about our trip to the zoo. What he didn't mention was the animals we saw that weren't part of the display. The wild turkeys tried to steal our lunch. Kookaburras were in the trees.

And these burley Iguanas were fighting over a lovely female - on the sidewalk. My favorite was in the snake cage - not part of the exhibit.

Don't worry, it's on the other side of the glass. Not that I'm scared or anything.

Please note: No one (besides Steve Irwin, who we adored) says "Crikey" here.

I'm lost!

2009-10-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

We've officially been in Australia for three weeks. I've learned a lot in those three weeks, but I must say, I'm still lost.

I'm lost in the grocery store. I have no idea where my favorite items are or if they even carry them. I couldn't help noticing that vanilla here tastes sweet! I made a big scene the other day when I asked where I could find baking soda. After consulting three employees and a grandmother with a straw hat, I realized that baking soda here is called bicarbonate of sodium. Of course, it's sodium bicarbonate! I have yet to find Crisco. I never realized I even cooked with Crisco until I couldn't find it. My cookies and biscuits are just not the same with butter. Would you believe that bell peppers here are called capsicum. Wha? And did I mention that everything is measured in grams here - flour, butter, salt, water. I bought a scale, but I'm still lost. I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't find a single cereal that looked familiar - oh yeah, there's Rice Krispies, I mean Rice Bubbles.

I'm lost on the phone. I can't talk to people on the phone without repeating several times "pardon, could you say that again?" I'd just say "What?" but that's a little bit rude-americanish. I still don't think that handy man who came by today was speaking English. Really, would you mind repeating that. I don't know my phone number. People ask and I look at my palm where I have written it in permanent marker. It would be easier to learn the phone numbers here if they weren't so randomly grouped. It could be xxxx-xxxx or xx-xxx-xxx or xxx-xxx.

I'm lost at school. Yesterday was "student free day" but I had no idea until my children were already in their uniforms. (I'm not sure if student free day meant a free-day for the students, or a student-free day for the teachers, like fat-free or drug-free.) I have no idea how to button the white collars on to their shirts and I confess that until this week I had never ironed pleats.

I'd better master that one soon - I have a feeling that if I took the girls skirts in to the cleaner, he'd probably sigh and say "Oh, St. Margarets. . . " I have yet to figure out how to use the tuckshop (canteen) - at which you can purchase lunch (sushi included on the menu) or morning tea, via a basket system? (Basket system?!) I think the kids are doing well, but at the parent teacher interviews yesterday, their teachers mentioned that they need help in measurment (metric!) and counting money (in Australian $ which has tiny $2 coins and 20 cent pieces).

I'm lost driving. I still can't back out and look over my left shoulder. Half the time I still turn on my windshield wipers when I aim for the blinker. Twice this week I have gone to the passenger side door when I was the driver. I will avoid parallel parking at all costs. I cling to my GPS (whom we have affectionately named "Bruce,") like a security blanket, though yesterday he led me astray - straight over the Gateway bridge (toll $2.95 each way!) We've decided it's better for our marriage if Shon drives - that way he won't have to sit in the passenger seat and cringe every time we turn a corner. It is seriously disorienting to be in the passenger seat and not have control of the vehicle. He's been very patient with me and my new drivers ed. It might help if they put a big A in my window for "American Driver" like they do with the L here - L for "Learning" then P for "Provisional" after one year.

I've been lost for a couple of weeks, but there is one place I know I'm not lost - at church. We showed up at our ward building and I know where to sit and I know that the library would lend me a set of scriptures (because my luggage was too heavy - 60 lb - I only brought a missionary copy of the Book of Mormon) and the children know that primary is after sacrament meeting, and we sing the same songs. I know I have visiting teachers to call if I need help. We watched General Conference 6 days late (because we're 16 hours ahead, the meetings were broadcast in the middle of the night), but I knew I was still sustaining the same prophet, whom I love, and I felt at home - that same spirit of comfort I feel in my own home/apartment/hotel room.

Before we could come on this assignment, we had to have an interview (aka psychological evaluation) in Houston. After asking many questions about the strength of our marriage and our drug/alcohol habits, they asked if we had some sort of support system. We said we were LDS, you know, Mormon, and the woman doing the interview said "Oh, I guess we're done here." Wherever I am, I am at home.

Somewhat settled

2009-10-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

Hi it is Shon so if it isn't cute it isn't Juli's fault........

We are getting more and more settled. Today we bought a fridge, washing machine, dryer, TV, DVD player, the list goes on and on. It is nice to have behind us. Today for the first time we kind of have stuff set up. We have the upstairs TV, DVD player set up (huge deal). We have the downstairs TV, DVD, and game systems set up (again huge deal). It is starting to feel like home. Juli keeps walking around saying I love my house, I love my house. I hope that isn't code for "there's no place like home". Hmmmmmm. We'll see.

Emily played the xylophone in a concert Thursday night. She did well. I could tell what the song was when she played it without any question.

We still have lots to do but we are settled enough for you ALL TO COME ON OVER NOW.

Next week will be huge. We get internet and phone service!!!! Then we can skype, call home to the US for free etc. We feel like we don't talk to anyone and we want to. As soon as we can we'll be talking your ears off.

Hope you all had a great week. I love reading everyone's blogs. It keeps me in the loop on what is going on. Jason I love the texts from your phone. That is cool........

Only downer from the move so far is our desktop looks like it didn't make it. Hmmmmm if I lose all the pictures I will be pretty ticked. This is the first move ever where we didn't do a full back up. Duh. It is the farthest ever..... Anyway hopefully it is something recoverable. Thank heavens for our laptops.

G'day Mate

2009-10-07T16:22:00.001-07:00

We're here in Brisbane. It is beautiful and a bit too hot, which is too bad since it's only spring. We're staying in temporary housing and it's driving me nuts. Enough complaining, we're moving to our house on Friday. Yes.

We survived the flight. The fourteen hours from LA to Brisbane were the easy part, thanks in part to a flight attendant named Peter. He was so helpful. We started our day with a 3 hour drive to Salt Lake and then a flight to LA, followed by a 5 hour lay over. Caleb fell asleep in the lounge before we had even gotten on the plane and he didn't get up until 2 hours before we landed. Actually, he did wake up, but I didn't. Thank you Peter for getting him some juice and starting a movie. With unlimited movies and video games, the flight was not hard. Getting through customs with 10 checked bags was a chore, especially since the kids were getting cranky and Caleb refused to sit in the stroller, which meant I had to carry "the child" and push the stroller too. Did I mention that he weighs 40 pounds. We were just lucky no one got lost. Let me tell you, I was glad to see Shon.

The kids started school on Monday. It has been great. People here are so friendly. We've already had play dates and party invites and one awesome mum from school even brought us dinner. There are a lot of people who have lived out of country themselves, so they really understand what our needs are. Penney even let us borrow some toys.

One of the big adjustments has been driving on the left side of the road. Shon is all-pro at it because he lived in Hong Kong. I spent the first day refusing to get behind the wheel (though I accidentally ended up there a couple of times - I was looking for the passenger side but it moved). I was waiting for a parking lot to practice in but there is a complete lack of parking lots here (not a bad thing). I finally submitted to driving on the motorway (freeway). Shon felt inspired to capture the moment on film. I look relaxed, right. Turns out it's not a big deal. Once I stopped running people off the left side of the road (we Americans tend to drift left) I was good. Until I tried backing up. Threw me off again. Oh and yesterday out of the blue I turned a corner and there was no one there. Suddenly I was on the right side again. Oops. I think I'm going to have to completely re-learn how to parallel park. I have so many things to learn.

The kids have been amazing. They got over their jet-lag twice as fast as I did and jumped right in to meet new friends at school. We're loving the new uniforms - one less decision to make in the morning. The girls look like Madeleine in their panama hats and midi skirts. They all belong to Hufflepuff house, I mean Bede. Emily has already asked if she could please stay as a boarder. I had to explain that the boarders come from far out of the city. And no way am I letting my children move out so young. I don't know how the boarders mums do it. I guess if you lived far out in the bush you'd do what you could to get a good education.

Bryce is doing great. He had to choose a sport when he started. His choices were: cricket, tag rugby, or water polo. He picked water polo, though I think he wanted to try cricket (the team was pretty full), which means he'll be wearing a lovely speedo swim suit (they call them "budgie smugglers" here). He blushed when we bought it. They make the kids wear a rashie (swim shirt) when they're swimming. I really like it. It's so much easier to slip on a shirt than to wear sunscreen everywhere.

Of course, the hats really help keep the sun off too. Better not forget your hat or they won't let you out to recess. There's been an epidemic of skin cancer in Australia - a combination of people of european descent and a hole in the ozone. I've already had skin cancer myself, so I welcome the fashions here. It isn't cool to be tan. The only tanning salons I've seen here are the ones that spray paint you.

So, it would be Eden here if only I didn't miss my family and friends so much. I need to talk to my sisters and my mom. I think I'm suffering from withdrawal - headaches, fever, nervous twitching. I haven't run in two weeks. I just ran a marathon on Sept. 19th (recap to come soon), so I keep thinking that I earned it and it can't hurt to rest, but I really miss it and mostly, I miss my friends. They did a marathon without me on Oct. 3. I really wish I could have been there with them. I'm so proud of them. They are awesome. Annie, Stephanie, Debi (and Keith too) you are strong women.

We're Here!

2009-10-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

This is Shon. Juli and the kids made it safely to Australia.

We are having a great time! We went to the beach for the first 5 days in Australia. Then Saturday we went to a Koala preserve in Brisbane. We had no idea what would be there but the kids got to pet kangaroos, hold a koala, hold baby chicks, pet sheep and the sheep dog (that was a cool show). Emily even got to catch, feed, and hold an owl. She did a great job. In that picture with the family Emily really is holding a live Koala bear. Everyone got to hold it even Caleb.
Caleb was a little nervous to pet the kangaroo but once he was in he loved it. He fed it, petted it etc. They were everywhere.
Aren't Bryce and I cute! We chose the same shirt from Jason's mission. Funny.
Abby loves to pose at the beach. The kids loved the 5 days we spent there.

Here we go again . . .

2009-08-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

We're still alive. I know some of you were wondering. It sounds like a cliche, but really, we are very busy, because we're moving

to Australia!

It's been 3 awesome years in New Mexico and we are seriously sad to leave, but this will be a great career move for Shon and an adventure for the adventurous Robinsons. So, I am writing from Brisbane, where we are hunting for a house. Because of limited internet access, details will follow.

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

I love the Earth. I think it's beautiful just the way God made it. I also love this commercial from the Discovery Channel. Awesome.

Just for the record, I didn't take this picture.

I'm not an extreme person. I recycle when it is convenient and I try to re-use or not use plastic bags. (It's amazing how much stuff you can fit into those cloth bags!) I used cloth diapers with a couple of my children - but they had skin allergies, so I was very motivated. For those of you who think that's gross and inconvenient, it's really not. I used Bummis, which is a diapering system that is pinless and uses really thick polyester instead of plastic pants. They're so cute too! It was not a big deal. I heard that 10% of our garbage comes from disposable diapers. That's gross.

I think the easiest tip I could give someone to save money and help the environment (and your clothing) is to use a clothes line. I love my clothes line. I have a five line retractable clothes line - I bought it from a great little hardware store in Durango, Colorado. I admit, I still throw my whites and anything else I don't want the neighbors to see in the drier, but if the weather is nice, my clothes go out on the line. On a breezy, sunny day, even my jeans are done in 20 minutes - not even the fanciest dryer can do that, and without all the wear and tear on my clothes. I never would have considered using a clothes line until my family moved to Canada. Like many Americans, I thought clothes lines were for people who couldn't afford electricity. In Nova Scotia, even the nicest of neighborhoods have clothes lines. I love to see my sheets waving in the wind. I remember making forts and playing shadow tag with my grandmother's sheets. And in New Mexico, my laundry comes out smelling like juniper and cedar. That beats Downy - hands down. Best of all, it gives my an immense sense of satisfaction to see my clean laundry blowing in the breeze. As Cjane would say, "I am a housewife after all." Oh, and that's not my laundry and it's not my grass either (I live in a desert!)

Spring Break (Juli's Take)

2009-04-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

OK. That last post was Shon. Thanks for working for me, hon. (He knew it would take me a week to get around to talking about our vacation . . I'm still cleaning sand out of everything.)

Spring Break was awesome. Just for the record, we're really more of a camping/road trip family, but we made a very last minute decision to take advantage of the economy and the travel advisory (no one wants to go to Mexico right now) and get a great deal on a cruise. It ended up being a very family friendly adventure. There was a camp for the kids. We checked them in in the morning and picked them up for meals and again at ten every night (except that night that Bryce and Emily stayed for the party until 3:30 am - way to win the ice cream eating contest, Bryce!) There were some really great activities for all of the kids, appropriate to their ages. They made friends quickly and had a good time. And you should have seen the folded towel origami our housekeeping staff did. Here's a scorpion.

My favorite part of the trip was our stop at the Grand Canyon. We have a national park pass and fully intend to get our money's worth. Coming from a family that stops to read historical marker signs, this is an easy thing.

I learned that the scrubby little pinon and juniper trees in my yard are 200 years old! It was so much fun to drive Route 66. I kept singing the song as we passed "Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona, don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino." I think the kids are a little sick of "Get your kicks - on Route 66", but I loved it, especially the classic cars.

Catalina was beautiful, Ensenada was fun. I have to say that I never felt anything but completely safe in Mexico. I think the tourist industry is really taking a hit because of a few dangerous people. I had fun shopping. My favorite purchase was a "recycled" hand bag. It's made of wrappers. Yep, I see an oreo in there. Maybe a Capris Sun too. Here's a cheesy pose.

I love the beach.

While we were gone, my running buddies did the Canyonlands Half Marathon. It was my first big race last year. (Read about it here.) I think I'll always love it. I was sad not to do it with them, so I made them some goodie baskets. I threw in some Gatorade, a Runner's World magazine, some Jelly Belly Gu beans, a couple energy bars, a box of pasta (for carb-loading) and put it in a basket (which was cheaper than a gift bag - weird!) - some cellophane and a bow and anything will look good. I wish I had thought to put in a copy of my running mix, but ipods aren't allowed in Moab anyway.

Spring Break

2009-03-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Wow what a great trip this week. We started out driving from home to the Grand Canyon. We started at the East side and went West. It was awesome. The kids loved the tower. It provided an incredible view of the canyon and was awesome inside. The decorating inside was done by native artists and was neat to look at. We ended up near the village and the kids all got their Junior Ranger Park Badges. Here are some pictures.

After the Grand Canyon we drove to Kingman Arizona and stayed in a hotel there for the night. Sarah, Emily, Abby, and Caleb spent some time in the pool there (hot tub). The next morning we drove to LA to see Jason and Alex. It was fun to spend Sunday afternoon with them. We got to their house right when they were finishing church. We decided to go to the beach. The beach was a little windy but that didn't stop any of our kids from getting in the water. They all got soaked, sandy, wet, and cold. We didn't have changes of clothes or towels so it was funny to see what they wrapped up in for the drive home (J's pants were definately too big for Bryce) and jackets got lots of use. Alex said that was the windiest she had ever seen the beach. We all had sand in ALL our crevices without even getting in the water.

Then Monday we headed off for the cruise. The kids loved it. We spent a day at sea, visited Catalina Island, Ensenada Mexico and then headed back to LA. On Friday since Jason and Alex had to work we went to the beach until they got home. The weather was awesome. The kids said it was one of the highlights. They played and played and played.

After the beach we went back to Jason and Alex's house (awesome house by the way) and had dinner and then Juli and Alex went shopping while the rest of us stayed home and played video games and watched movies. Finally on Saturday we made the entire drive home. We did it in 13.5 hours including Caleb's 10 potty stops and an hour plus at the Petrified Forest National Park. That was cool!

2009-02-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Juli. (Hello, Juli) and I'm a blog neglector.

Yes, it's true. I frequently ignore my blog in favor of other more "exciting" pursuits: laundry, cleaning up after Caleb (who is obsessed with water - not a good thing), nursing sick children, a Love and Logic parenting class, soccer practice, recycling (trying to make myself sound respectable now), running (and taking a nap later), reading, and (under my breath) watching TV.

Yes, I admit it, I watch television. This is kind of a new thing for us. After 12 plus years of marriage, we finally got cable last year. It has been very entertaining and very distracting. I have to say that in general, my children seem less creative than they were in our public television years. There were a couple of things we just couldn't get on the two stations that came in. The first is Biggest Loser. I love Biggest Loser. As someone who struggles to maintain my weight (lost 50 lbs, still checking in to WW once a month), I love the inspiration it gives me to see other people succeed in their efforts. This season is awesome. There are a couple of teams that Shon and I just LOVE. Dane and Blaine, and Sione and Filipe. They were such hard workers and just nice guys who were family oriented. I was not surprised to see Filipe's wedding picture in front of the Salt Lake Temple, and after Blaine went home to AZ for the birth of his fourth child I was not at all surprised to learn that both teams are LDS. Read here about it. I think many of the teams this season have shown moral character.

Alright, I admit that I've been in the middle of a Jane Austen book binge. Pride and Prejudice rocks, but Persuasion is my favorite. I even read a couple of sequels. Mr. Darcy's Diary was interesting, as was Mr. Knightly's Diary. I also read The Independance of Mary Bennet. Don't bother! That was poorly written and junk. I confess I stopped reading and skimmed the last three quarters of the book. The new BBC films of all 6 books have been very good. I even liked Northanger Abbey (shock)!

Typing with child on lap. Here he is on my lap again.

I am taking a Love and Logic parenting class. I love it. I read the book "Parenting with Love and Logic" after my first two children were born. It was so helpful. I absolutely recommend it to anyone with children, but especially young, strong-willed children. The biggest thing I have learned is to stop giving warnings, be firm, be loving, be consistent, and be sincere. The website http://www.loveandlogic.com/ has been very helpful. Seriously.

I'm still running. I have a couple of marathons planned for the future. The City of Los Angeles is on Memorial Day weekend. We'll be in LA that week. I wasn't planning on doing it, but I heard that people were skipping it because they changed it from Sunday to Monday this year. Thank you. Do you know how hard it is to find a marathon that's not on Sunday? They have my support. Unfortunately, I have to train for this one by myself. I am really excited though. It's a big marathon (20,000 people!) with pace groups and entertainment and the whole shebang.

Shon and I celebrated Valentines Day this year by participating in the Mount Taylor winter quadrathlon (cycle, run, ski, snow shoe up a mountain and then back down again). It was awesome. It was hard. I love my husband. He rocks. When our cross-country skier couldn't make it, he volunteered to change from cyclist to skier. Cycling is his speciality. He had never cross-country skied before. A couple of Saturdays in Colorado and he was set. He can do anything. I did the run. That was the longest 10 miles of my life, but I was so glad I did it. It was hard (I already said that). We had fun and came back with an awesome T-shirt (very important).

And it's Friday Night, which is Family game night at our house. Cranium Family Edition and Moose in the House are favorites. Gotta go.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T17:38:00.001-08:00

The Robinsons are doing great this year. Here's the wrap:
Bryce is 11. We can't believe he is that old. he excels at soccer and plays goalie. He also played basketball for the first time this year and did well on defense. He started 11 year old Scouts and is excited for the Klondike campout in January. He continues to do well playing the piano and seems to have it come to him naturally. Bryce also won the inagural Robinson Family March Madness Tournament. We'll see if he can repeat this year.

Emily (9) enjoys piano and will play basketball for the first time next year. She enjoys crafts and Activity Days. She is also a great gymnast. I'll just say I can't do a back walkover can you? Emily has loved reading this year and recently moved to share a room with Sarah. She is tender hearted and loves to do secret things for people She is excited to ski this winter. She totally bombs the runs and just goes straight down. What a speed demon.

Sarah (6) is in first grade and turning into a great reader. She is awesome at soccer and scored from the goalie position with an awesome kick. She kicks HARD!!! She also loves crafts and is always coloring and using her imagination. She did gymnastics this year and was quite good. She lost 50 teeth this year and hopes to repeat next year for the extra income. She went skiing for the first time last year and loved it. She is excited to go again this year.

Abby (4) is so entertaining. She sings all day long and seems to prefer "opera style". She can do everything herself and loves to be magic. She can appear dressed or finish a chore quickly if you ask her to do ti magically. She loves preschool this year where she is learning tons. She has her favorite books memorized so if you read it wrong you get corrected. There is a Monster at the End of This Book is her favorite right now.

Caleb (2) is a busy little guy. He started preschool this year and for the first time in 11 years we are celebrating no diapers in the house. He moved to a big bed and lovces to be a "helper" around the house. His favorite pass time is being quiet and making big messes. This year's signature messes were the mural he made on the living room wall with permanent marker and pouring all the water out of the bathtub (don't worry it drained out the light downstairs).

Shon coached Bryce's soccer team again and served on the soccer board. He still loves his short commute to work and living in Farmington. He did the bike part of a quad-rathlon and his team medaled! He trained to do the Ironhorse but it was canceled this year because of snow. He is training again for the "quad" so wish him luck.

Juli started the year by having her tonsils out. Ouch. In her "spare time" she enjoys running and reading. She completed both a 1/2 marathon (13 miles) and a full marathon (26.2 miles) for the first time in her life this year. She read 265l4.4 books and another highlight was going to the Twighlight Premier. She is serving in the Young Womens at church and loves her calling. She is excited to ski this winter.

Our family made 5 trips North this year to visit family. The kids are pro travelers. We visited Sand Dunes National Park and went on the Polar Express this year. Both were great family trips. Shon and Juli spent their anniversary in Loagn, Utah where Juli ran a marathon (Shon ran with her from mile 20-25.5 where he died, I mean went to watch her cross the finish line). They also got to go on an overnight trip to Santa Fe, NM. Thanks to those that helped make those possible. Both trips included a temple visit which was great. On a sad note we lost both a guinea pig and a gecko this past year. If anyone wants a gecko or a guinea pig you know where to come. Merry Christmas,

The Robinson Family Shon, Juli, Bryce, Emily, Sarah, Abby, Caleb, a gecko and guinea pig

When October goes. . .

2008-11-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

Ok. It's been a busy month. Here are a few of the things going on:

This year for Halloween, Bryce was dirty laundry (pretty scary eh?), Emily was Rapunzel from Rapunzel's Revenge (really, your girls will love this book), Sarah was a witch (Elphaba from our favorite musical, Wicked), Abby was a turtle, and Caleb was a stink bug. Yep, a stink bug. He picked it, not me.

Shon thinks I look like Sarah Palin. I think it's the glasses. That would have been a great Halloween costume.

Fall soccer is over. The kids had fun, but it's nice to not have so many practices to go to. Bryce is a great goalie. Abby spent a lot of time running around, waving to the croud. Her favorite part of soccer was giving the other team a high five. (I think four might be a little young for some kids to play soccer.) Sarah did really well this season. She is one quick kid.

October also brought our first frost, which means my garden is dead. It was an awesome garden year. Here's a picture of the tomatoes. They completely overgrew my white picket fence. We're still eating tomatoes that I picked green off the vine before the frost and set in the window. In addition to tomatoes, we also had peppers, pumpkins, watermelons, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, peas, carrots, onions, beans, corn, basil, cilantro, strawberries, cucumbers, purple potatoes, and yellow and red raspberries.

Here's Emily with a funny carrot.

Caleb is officially potty trained, which means for the first time in 11 years, no one in my family wears diapers. I wish I could take credit, but he's really the one who decided it was time. We were watching Bryce play basketball, the score was tied and there was a minute left and Caleb says "I need to go potty." I said "wait just a minute, ok?" to which he said "I need to go potty." I put him off again. Then I heard giggling behind me. I looked at Caleb. He had taken off his clothes. Ok! Let's go potty! He's got a lot of great role models to show him the way. It's nice. No bribes, no potty chair. Just a two year old saying "I do it self" every ten seconds. One tip I learned that I think really did help was that I started changing his diaper standing up. I don't know what that does, but it seemed to really help him take charge of things.

Here's Caleb on his first day of preschool. He LOVES his back pack. He even took a nap in it the first day. He's still my baby, so it's hard for me to see him growing up so fast. It's a good thing he's such a snuggle bug.

2008-09-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

You've got to see this video. It pretty much sums up how I felt on Sunday.

Top of Utah Marathon - Delivered

2008-09-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

I did it. I ran a marathon Saturday. 4 hrs. 38 min of exhilaration. Here are the details - probably more than you want to hear.

Friday, Shon and I drove up to Salt Lake with 4 of our 5 kiddos. (The fifth gladly stayed to play soccer.) We dropped the kids off with Shon's mom (Thank you, Debbie) and headed up to Logan. It's been a long time since I've been to Logan. It is beautiful. But the first thing I remember thinking as we drove out of Sardine Canyon was how far I would have to go. I could see the Blacksmith Canyon and I could see Logan and they looked really far apart. It doesn't seem to matter how far I can run, a mile is still a mile. A mile is a long way to go. I did 26.2.

We checked into our hotel and went to the expo to get my number and chip. This is where it got exciting. Everyone was so happy and enthusiastic and healthy?! Seriously, I don't think I've ever been in a room with such healthy people.

We got back to our room just in time to meet my sister, Becki for dinner. We went to a really great Italian spot called Le Nonne. It was a cute old house converted into a restaurant. The food was fabulous and the live jazz made for a great atmosphere. I love carb loading, but I was getting pretty sick of pasta - a week of it is a little much for a girl who prefers chips and salsa. But this pasta was great. Mmmmm.

My mom met us at our hotel and I hit the sack. I knew I'd be getting up early. Surprisingly, I had no problem getting to sleep - it was staying asleep that got me. I kept waking up thinking it was time to go. Suddenly, it was 4:30 -time to go. I didn't feel like eating but ate anyway - my standard running meal, a bagel and a banana. My heart sank when I realized that it was raining outside, but it looked worse than it was. I threw in a big plastic bag anyway, just in case. Shon drove me to the park where I caught the bus.

I sat next to a nurse from Ogden and a lady named Kathy from Park City. They were both so great. They were so encouraging. I knew I could do it after talking to them. We got up to the ranch at the top of Blacksmith Canyon and waited in line for the bathrooms. I've never seen so many port a potties. It was cold and dark and everyone huddled around the fires they had set up. Everyone was so friendly. I met people from Idaho, Massachusetts, other New Mexicans, and even a lady from Twin Falls (who had just gotten her contacts replaced by my brother-in-law!).

Someone asked me if I cried during my marathon. I did - 3 times. The first time I cried was, surprisingly, when the gun went off and we started down the hill. I was so excited and happy - I have no idea where the tears came from.

The canyon was beautiful. The leaves were changing color and a stream followed the road. I brought my ipod (which is permitted in the TOU) but I didn't listen to it. I chatted with people near me. Ester from Heber city. The guy who was doing 1 in each of the 50 states (crazy!). My training partner, Stephanie. The first 14 were down hill. I "gu"ed at mile 13. Yuck. I hate the stuff. It took me a while but I have learned that I can take the strawberry banana flavor without losing my lunch. Bananas are slimy, after all. I knew my family (including my dad who was in Idaho) would be getting text messages when I finished 13 and 20. It made me feel like they were doing this with me. I finished the first 13 faster than I did the Moab half - probably because it was down hill.

The course was closed to spectators until mile 14. I started to look for a familiar face. There they were at mile 15 - my cheerleaders. Becki and Mom had signs that said "Run like the Wind! Go Juli!", "Ya Juli! Run! Run! Run!" and Shon had a sign that said "Run Hot Mama! We love you." Call me egotistical, but I love having people cheering for me. A high Five and a quick kiss from Shon and I was on my way.

That's me in pink at mile 15.

The first 20 miles flew by. We wound through Millville and Providence and then on to Logan. At about mile 20 I started getting tired. I ran with a man from Oregon (65-ish but doing his 23d marathon!). He was very encouraging and we had the same pace. I saw him off an on until the end. I started to look for familiar faces again. And there they were, cheering me on. I almost cried, I was so happy to see them. I saw Shon was wearing his running shoes, so I asked him if he would run with me. Shon is a non-runner, thanks to a couple of bad knees. It's too slow and he would much rather cycle anyway - a bit of a thrill seeker. I know he didn't want to do it, but it was our anniversary - Happy 12 years to us! It was the most romantic thing he's ever done. I was tired and having him there next to me made all of the difference. I thought he would hang around for a mile and drop off, but he ended up running most of the last 6 miles with me.

We hit mile 21 and that's where crying #2 came. I realized I had 5 miles to go. I run 5 miles 3 times a week. I started to say "I'll just do a little morning run" and broke down. I thought of Debbie and Annie at home doing their run. I cried for about 10 sec., because a guy with a camera was standing there and I wanted to look like the whole thing was fun and games. It wasn't. I never wanted to stop running, but my body wanted me to stop. My right foot hurt, like it usually does after 15 miles, and I knew I had blisters brewing. It was raining a bit and there was a rainbow. The weather was actually perfect. The air was cool and breezy.

Shon left me at mile 25. I knew I could do the last 1.2, but I was sad to have him go. It was so fun to run with him. The last mile was the longest of my life. I know I'm not the only one who felt that way. A man had passed out with half a mile to go. The medical team was there, so I didn't stop, but still, he wasn't getting up of his own accord. So close. I kept running.

I thought of a friend of the family who had been in an airplane crash recently and is now in a burn unit and how hard her life is. People do hard things every day. I knew I could keep moving forward. And besides, there was a guy race walking in front of me. No way was I going to say that someone had walked it faster than me. So I passed him.

Almost there.

I knew the finish line had to be around somewhere because I could hear the music, but I couldn't tell how much farther I had to go. Then I saw a man standing on the corner. He had his yellow number on and a finisher's medal around his neck. He looked at me and said "You're almost there, it's just around the corner." I said "Nothing is stopping me now" and I rounded the corner. I can't tell you how much it helped to have someone tell me how close I was and hear the crowd cheering me on. I cried. (#3) And smiled. At the same time. There was the end. The announcer said my name and where I was from. I don't know why, but it surprised me. There was my family on the left. They had flowers for me. I gave them a hug, even though I was sweaty (you better believe it) and I heard someone yell "go Juli" from the right. I figured out later that it was the girl from Ogden I had met on the bus.

This picture makes me laugh. I'm almost there. Thanks for the flowers, mom.

And I was crossing the finish line. There were volunteers (in rubber gloves) to help if I couldn't walk properly, which I could. Someone took my chip, and someone was draping a medal around my neck. And the Nesquick bunny was handing me chocolate milk. (Chocolate milk?! Yep. Apparently, it's good for you. Kuddos to the guy in the suit who ran the 5 K and won his age group - in a bunny suit.)

Here's me and Shon at the finish. Don't I look cute! I couldn't see in my left contact that morning so I had to wear my glasses.

I wanted to take off my shoes, but I knew it wouldn't be pretty. It wasn't. I'm going to lose a toe nail or two. (I expected that - I stubbed one of my toes when I was a kid and it doesn't bend the same as the others, so it took the brunt of the down hill.)

I went to the hotel and took a shower and ate a little lunch (very little - I was definitely not hungry), took a nap while Shon watched football, and we drove back down main street to go to the Anniversary Inn (it is our anniversary after all.) There were people still running. I cried again. It made me feel very emotional to know there were still people out there working on their goal. I wanted to give them a wind at their back or run along side telling them they could do it - it's just around the corner. Instead I rolled down my window and cheered them on. The greatest thing about a marathon is that everyone who finishes wins. We all have different paces. I think that time is something very personal (like your weight). When Bryce asked me if I won my race, I said yes.

Shon and I went to the Logan temple - we don't live near a temple, so we take advantage of every opportunity we can. I was tired, but surprisingly alert. Super alert. I think all of those endorphins were kicking in.

As we sat in the temple, I thought about how life is like a marathon. We have a goal we're working toward - to finish. People are there to encourage us on the side lines, telling us to keep moving forward, and others to run the race with us. We're all going at a different pace, just for us. When we get closer to the finish line, those who have already finished come to cheer us on. It's just around the corner.

We went out to dinner at an Indian place and I don't think I've ever enjoyed eating so much. Overall, I think it was one of my favorite anniversaries ever.

Some of my favorite things about running a marathon:

The volunteers at the aid stations are so great.
Telling the cops stopping the traffic "thanks".
Giving the kids on the side a high five.
Watching the man pushing his brother with cerebral palsy in a wheel chair.
Taking a nap afterward. Best nap ever!
Saying I did it.
Advil. No, make that Aleve.
Ice
Sleeping in on Monday - no running for me, thank you. But I woke up at 5:30 anyway.
Laughing at myself as I try to walk down stairs. Seriously funny.

Sorry it took me so long to post results, but I was hoping to find some better pictures - they're not out yet. I will up date later. Thanks for all of your encouragement. I needed that.

I'm Expecting . . .

2008-09-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, Mom, I'm not pregnant. But I feel like I have been. I just spent the last 9 months preparing for my first marathon . . . and I'm due Saturday. I'm running the Top of Utah marathon in Logan. I'm so excited. But like having a baby, I know it will be hard before the great reward at the end. I have no idea how big this baby is (4 hrs? 6 hrs?) and I haven't decided whether to go for the epidural (ipod). Which ever way, I will do this, or die trying.

When I tell people what I've been working on, I get one of two reactions: a) Good for you! or b) Why would you do that? So for those of you who are in the latter group, here are my reasons why. (Others have excuses, I have my reasons why. . . )

My Top 10 reasons for running a marathon

in no particular order

1) It's fun. I get to talk to people and see beautiful scenery all the while being left quietly to my own thoughts. (Quiet is something I don't get a lot of.) It makes me happy to run. I feel ready to tackle the stresses of the day.

2) I want to be healthy. I lost 48 lbs, and I want to keep it off. Heart disease runs in my family (I was in 1st grade when my grandmother died) and I want to live long enough to earn gray hair. I run for life.

3) I love my children. I read an article that said children who had active parents were more likely to be active. In particular MOTHERS who were active taught their children to move more. (Oh the pressure. It's always the mother's. . . ) I want my kids to be happy and healthy.

4) I want pretty legs. That's going to take a little more work and prehaps a vascular surgeon. I'm so vain.

5) Pain management. The first month I started running, I hurt. After that, I've hurt when I don't run. I have arthritis, and this has worked better and more consistantly than any pain medicine I've taken, though I still have my days.

6) Because I can.

7) Last year I took a personality test. It said that I am great at starting but not finishing. (You should see my collection of unfinished enrichment night crafts.) I have to prove to myself that I am a finisher.

8) I want a medal. Yep, that dream of mine from 6th grade where I win the gold, I'm still hung up on it. I want someone to put a medal on my neck. And a t-shirt would be nice too.

9) Every day I do ordinary things. I clean the dishes and toilets and do the laundry. For once in my life, I want to do something extraordinary. I want to do something that not everyone else can do - though I really believe anyone could do it.

10) There's something about being in a large group of people all moving in the same direction. I suppose this is the same reason I joined the community choir this year. My Communication Phd brother, Spencer, calls it consonance. I believe it is a physical need that we all have to harmonize - whether it be through music, running, art, community service, cooking delicious food - it's different for everyone.

So, if you wouldn't mind praying for me at about 10:00 am Saturday. I should just be reaching mile 20 - the wall.

I can do it? I can do it.

Emily

2008-09-03T21:38:00.001-07:00

Emily is a better blogger than I am. Check out her report on a grandparent here.

We're off to Ashlee's wedding.

(I'm SO excited - about the wedding part, not the drive in the car for 24 hours part.)