A weekend to Remember...

This Weekend was pretty epic. On Friday night, we went to a youth dance and that was definitely interesting but it was fun. Totally different, as far as music goes. It was music from like a school dance. But remember the swear words here are different then the ones in the US. So that was an experience. On Saturday, we went to Featherdale, which is a wildlife park where we were able to pet and feed kangaroos, wallaby's, kookabura's, emu's, etc. We learned that the roo's really like cones! (like ice cream cones, minus the ice cream) We also saw dingos, croc's, all sorts of birds and reptiles native and exclusive to Australia. It was an experience of a life time, one I will never forget! Then I hit up the beach for some body surfing and boogie boarding. On Sunday, we went to Stake Conference. The size of the congregation filled the tiny stake center, but was significantly smaller then Gilbert or PG. And we had to drive over an hour to get there. After the wonderful meeting, we drove out to the Blue Mountains and saw sights that were so surreal. Beautiful, thick trees. the sight of "the bush" was amazing. So beautiful. We saw the three sisters rock formations. (although I think Moab rock formations was just as good, if not better. I'm a sucker for the red rock) We all got a kick out of the "Kangaroo crossing" signs.

A new perspective...

When I lived in Gilbert, the Mesa temple was maybe a 20 minute drive with traffic. Now, in Pleasant Grove, the Mt. Timp temple is like just over a mile away, definitely within walking distance. Yesterday, when we went to the Sydney, Australia temple, it took us an 8 hours, round trip. First, we had to catch a bus from the Manly Wharf to Chatswood where my dad works. It was supposed to be about a 45 minutes bus ride. Instead, we took an accidental detour and got off at a stop near a building where we thought my dad works. He works at "Adobe" but after we got odd the bus and walked closer to the building, we realized is said "Abode" So pretty much, we were lost in an unknown city. Luckily, we did purchase an Australian phone, so we called my dad and after getting on the train/subway, we ended up meeting him in Chatswood. Then we caught the train to another city, rode the bus to Epping, and walked the rest of the way to the temple. (This has been about 3 and a half hours) After leaving the temple, we walked to the mall, ate some Bondi Burgers (SO GOOD!) waited for the bus, rode the bus, rode the train, took the ferry. (The ferry was out of Circular Quey where the famous bridge is, the Opera house and the beautiful Sydney Skyline.) We got off the Ferry at the Manly Wharf, and walked the rest of the way home. We left our house and caught the first bus at 3:20 in the afternoon, and got home at about 1 o clock at night. Never again will i pass up the opportunity to go to the temple so close to me. We are so lucky, and take so much advantage of it!

the Tim-Tam SLAM!

Okay, for anyone who is wondering, a tim tam is a type of cookie. pretty much, it's a heavenly cookie and why we don't have them in the states is beyond me. For the Slam, I recommend the chocolate-caramel ones. The cookie is rectangular and about about 3 inches long. what you do is bite off adjacent corners of the cookie. Then you take a cup of warmed up milo milk, (milo is a chocolate powder additive such as nesquick, but it has less flavor) put one corner in your mouth and the other in the milk. Then, suck. It doesn't take long until the cookie becomes a liquid but you need to slurp it up before it falls apart. It is a divine way to eat chocolate, let me tell you! It's the Aussie-way!

Takin on the Jellies!

Andrew, my 7 year old brother was jumping the waves a few days ago when he was stung by a blue-bottle. It's a type of jellyfish, poor kid. He was screaming all the way back to our house where we put ice cold water on it, as well as a bag of ice. Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do to sooth the sting of a jellyfish, so we just had to let him scream. I held him for a while as he kicked and cried and screamed. I had him squeeze my hand "as if to give me the jellyfish pain" and i could tell it really hurt him. After about 45 minutes or so, he calmed down and was fine. We call him the jelly man now. we've seen a ton of jellyfish on the beach since then. All i can say, is that I hope I don't get stung!

Sunday with the Aussies!

Yesterday I had a great oppurtunity to go to chuch with the Manly Ward, here in Manly, Australia. We had to take a cab (now i can cross that off of the things I want to do before I die ;)) to get there because we don't have a car and it is WAY beyond walking distance. I was surprised when we walked in the chapel how small it was. It was about 8 pews deep and a row of chairs in the back. The bishop was a welcoming man and the ward was welcoming as well. Introducing themselves, asking about our family, etc. I was surprised by the reverence and the lack of youth in the ward.

The best part of the whole meeting was the opening song. We sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" I was shocked by the boisterious sound that filled the tiny chapel. I have never heard a congragation of that size sing as loud as these brothers and sisters did; they are by far louder than my home ward. I was blown away, and overcome with the spirit. I even choked up a little towards the end of the song and I know that they know, that their Redeemer lives. What great power comes through music. As D&C 25:12 says, "a song of the righteous is a prayer unto me." I have no doubt that the Lord was listening and the angels in heaven were singing along. It was an amazing experience. This is easily my new favorite hymn, and probably will be for the rest of my life, thanks to my Aussie brothers and sisters.

the plane ride

do you really understand how long 16 hours is? Because I believe nobody understands how long 16 hours is until they ride in a confined air tube that is perpelling itself halfway around the world for that amount of time. But don't get me wrong, it was still so fun!! The dinner they served was SOO good. it was this pasta/noodley/ somethin or other. way good! My favorite thing I watched was the Office episode where Jim and Pam get married. I watched it a couple of times. I only slept about 2 or 3 hours on the plane, I wish I had more. But that's all for now!

February 1- Cardigans and KIcks!

So today, I have been in the states Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and will be in Australia. 3 major cities, LA, Las Vegas, and Sydney all in a day! It's pretty crazy! So this morning on our way out of St. George, Tiff and I went shopping. Besides some normal clothes that we needed, we each got cardigans and high-top kicks. You know the song by Miley Cyrus.... "I hoped off the plane at LAX with my dreams and my cardigan.....who's that chick that's rockin kicks? Am i gonna fit in?" Well we both wanted to live that song, so we're sportin our cardigans and kicks! That's the only eventful thing that has happened so far!