tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12723338874668194442024-03-05T10:18:59.572-07:00The Adventures of Annie and Her BoysAnniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-11261837948393768992013-07-27T12:11:00.001-06:002013-07-27T12:11:44.304-06:00Citified in ChicagoWe left the quaint fields of Iowa and headed for the bright lights and big city of Chicago. I had been to the city before, but we had never explored it as a family. <br /><br />We took the train out to Oak Park, whose leafy tree-lines streets and hydrangea-hugged historic estates wowed me years ago.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/985.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_985.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />The wood on that home is astounding; I immediately pulled out my trusty When I'm Absurdly Wealthy notepad and jotted down the address. My failproof plan for absurd wealth involves the ol' standby of winning the lottery, and in the alternative, finding a pirate's treasure chest filled with gold doubloons.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/986.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_986.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/987.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_987.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/988.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_988.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/989.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_989.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />We also toured Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio, and what stood out to me this time was his stained glass designs.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/990.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_990.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/991.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_991.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/992.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_992.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I was fortunate to inherit my grandfather's stained glass tools, and Sam gave me a glass grinder as a law school graduation present. Unfortunately for my proposed new hobby, at that time I had a 13-month old Jackson and was 3 months pregnant with Alex. And had a bar exam to do a wee bit of studying for. Needless to say, 9 years have passed and those tools and the unopened glass grinder box are still patiently waiting in the basement. <br /><br />This trip may have inspired me to break them out soon.<br /><br />But I digress; let's get out of my basement and back to Chicago, where we sailed around Lake Michigan.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/993.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_993.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/994.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_994.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/995.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_995.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/996.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_996.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/997.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_997.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />We also hung around Millenium Park, which is home to the ever-awesome Bean and other really unique water features.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/998.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_998.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/999.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_999.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/1000.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_1000.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/1001.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_1001.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Riley, Jackson and I trekked through the city to the Hancock Building to have drinks and watch the day turn to evening from the 96th floor, a height at which no human (at least this human) should spend time.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/1002.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_1002.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/1003.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_1003.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/1004.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_1004.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/27/1005.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/27/s_1005.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />The city was fun, but camping is ahead as we continue eastbound...<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-7852664503055301182013-07-26T09:25:00.001-06:002013-07-26T09:25:57.353-06:00Hayfields and Water Towers and Corn, Oh My!Our second road trip brings us eastbound, reportedly to Maine and back (although I may or may not have a one-way ticket booked to a top-secret location abroad just in case I start to lose my mind trapped in that Toyota Sienna with 5 males). Why the government doesn't offer all mothers of boys (who take in extra boys to boot) don't get monthly spa days is beyond me. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1236.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1236.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Heading east from the lovely state Colorado means the scenery is going to be, well, less scenic to be put bluntly. I didn't bother planning a camping stay for our first night, as I can imagine little worse than camping in virtually scenicless central Nebraska during tornado season with an unimpressed Australian teenager who hates camping and is petrified of tornadoes.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1242.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1242.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />(Obligatory state line photo, sans Kenyon, who refused to participate)<br /><br />Instead, we stopped at the water park in a grand Island to get our wiggles out...<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1243.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1243.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />...and stayed at the AmericInn in South Lincoln, which gets bonus points for the cutesy name and was nice enough but not memorable.<br /><br />I love road trips, but the nutrition is often more lax than how we live in our normal lives (evidenced by some tongue colors that can only be produced by huge quantities of processed sugars and food dyes.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1244.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1244.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />While this area of the world doesn't have the grandeur of Colorado, there was a calm, quaint beauty to the landscape that I enjoyed. Maybe because it was a nice contrast to the experience within the car? Ha!<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1245.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1245.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1246.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1246.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1247.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1247.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />These two are thick as thieves:<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/26/1248.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/26/s_1248.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Kenyon has a hard time with goodbyes in general; he's not going to be very happy come July 31 when a certain someone boards a plane bound for Down Under.<br /><br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-50640228063188948972013-07-23T20:34:00.001-06:002013-07-23T20:34:43.535-06:00The Greatest of the GreatPrior to our visit to Yellowstone, the information I knew about the area was embarrassingly minimal--that it was the world's first national park and there was a geyser called Old Faithful. <br /><br />As you can imagine, my mind was blown.<br /><br />You can see why folks looking around this area would decide to designate it as a national park--the land is amazing, with storybook perfect streams, winding rivers, meadows with long grasses waving in the breeze, impressive cliffs with waterfalls, and beautiful forests. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2052.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2052.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2053.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2053.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2054.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2054.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2055.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2055.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Our walk-in campsite at Norris Campground was perfectly situated on the edge of a drop-dead gorgeous meadow with a snaking river and resident bison.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2056.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2056.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Riley is hard to impress; he definitely doesn't express awe or wonder with regard to anything having to do with the natural world. The closest Sam and I have seen him to being impressed was while he photographed this bison; could anyone not at least be slightly impressed by such a magnificent creature?<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2057.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2057.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Yellowstone is massive; we sometimes drove an hour and a half to another area of the park to see something. Luckily, while you drive you can regularly stop to see wondrous geological thermal pools. As we first drive into the park, the weather was fairly freezing; a nice contrast to the scalding water bubbling from colorful pools and streams.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2058.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2058.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2059.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2059.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2060.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2060.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />There's also the decent probability that at some point during the drive to a destination that you'll happen upon a crowd of cars pulled over, meaning there's some awesome wildlife to behold. During one such stop, we watched an infant cinnamon black bear hang out by a tree, seemingly waiting and looking for it's mother (who sadly never showed in the near hour we spent there). It was hard enough to refrain myself from running down the slope to give this baby bear a good snuggle; thinking of it as a likely orphan was heartbreaking.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2061.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2061.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />One day we were heading back to the campsite after a long day and came upon a crowd. Not wanting to make a long stop, I hopped out of the car to check what the fuss was about to see if it was worth all of us making a side excursion. I was told there had been a mother grizzly and two cubs, but they had disappeared behind some brush and hadn't been seen in a bit. Just as I began jogging back to the car, Riley walked across the street and at the same moment, quiet gasps were heard amongst the crowd.<br /><br />And just like that, the momma and her babies emerged.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2062.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2062.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />The rest of the family came over and we all watched them make their way across the grass, the two littles romping behind their mom.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2064.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2064.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I got a little teary-eyed at the awesomeness of that sighting.<br /><br />And even when there wasn't a crowd pulled over for viewing, sometimes we just happened upon absolute magic, like this bison rush hour:<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2067.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2067.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />This was only 1/4 of the crew, courteously galloping down their side of the road while we drove down our side.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2069.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2069.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />That little guy had a lame foot but kept up with the others just fine.<br /><br />The Mammoth area was another otherworldly geologic wonder to behold.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2071.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2071.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />It was endlessly peculiar to see scalding water flowing and pooling, straight from the Earth.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2072.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2072.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2073.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2073.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2074.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2074.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2075.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2075.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />(obligatory cousin photo; spot the obligatory uncooperative 5-year old)<br /><br />Bison are awesome...and massive. We're ten years in so I can't remember exactly, but I'm fairly certain there was a line or two in our wedding vows that dealt with promising to roll down a window and wait patiently with one's foot on the brake while the other photographs bison standing 2 feet away.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2076.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2076.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I think I'll keep him.<br /><br />I am fully aware that my writing was chock full of superlatives, but superlatives are needed for such an extraordinary place; Yellowstone cannot and should not be described in any less terms. If you haven't been, then go, and if you have been, go again.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2077.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2077.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />I can't wait til we do.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2078.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2078.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2079.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2079.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2080.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2080.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/23/2081.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/23/s_2081.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-72351626754597189292013-07-17T10:04:00.001-06:002013-07-17T10:11:51.063-06:00Majestic Grand TetonsWe met up with Sam's brother and his family in the cute, albeit touristy, western town of Jackson Hole, WY and spent a night in a hotel before heading into the national park.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/949.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_949.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/950.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_950.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />We rolled into the first-in, best-dressed Jenny Lake campground insanely early to ensure a spot, and upon arriving we saw this guy waiting to greet us:<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/978.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_978.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Um, hello there. What a great way to start the wildlife portion of the trip. It was Father's Day, so I snapped this photo of Sam and his boys:<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/952.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_952.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />The Grand Tetons are aptly named, and rise so dramatically and close to where we camped.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/953.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_953.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/954.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_954.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />The campsite was equipped with a bear box to store all our food items. Riley was fairly petrified of bears and insisted on sleeping between Sam and I in the middle of the tent during our stay. It was overly cozy with us and Little Kenyon on the edge of the tent; luckily, Jackson and Alex felt comfortable staying in their separate tent. We never saw bears here, although we did see a couple of silver foxes trotting nearby.<br />We took a predawn float trip on the Snake River; it was leaner on the wildlife than we had hoped, but we did spot a bald eagle.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/955.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_955.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/956.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_956.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/957.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_957.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />On what is now known as the Day of Australian Complaint (although there have been others) we all took a hike to Inspiration Point. If you are curious what would spawn endless complaints from a certain Australian teen, forego the round trip ferry ride across the lake and decide to hike around one way, only taking the ferry on the return. Whoa. 5-year old Kenyon managed to log his longest hike (4 miles) without a negative peep; the 14-year old also logged his longest hike but I can't say the same for his attitude.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/958.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_958.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Even though Inspiration Point itself wasn't terribly inspirational, the waterfalls on the way there were great.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/959.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_959.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/960.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_960.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />A local told us about a hike to Huckleberry Hot Springs, so we set out after a kind stranger stopped us and lent us his bear spray just in case. <br />The area was gorgeous...<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/963.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_963.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/964.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_964.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />...but the hot springs weren't all that special--much of it was too hot or shallow to enjoy. Worth it for the hike and scenery more than the springs themselves.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/965.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_965.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/966.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_966.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The night before we left, we went on a drive in search of wildlife and scored two amazing finds:<br />A beaver!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/967.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_967.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />And a MOOSE!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/968.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_968.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/970.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_970.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The awesome moose was the highlight of the Tetons for me.<br /><br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-92063343509787305602013-07-17T05:59:00.001-06:002013-07-17T05:59:15.661-06:00Bear Lake State ParkTypically, my recipe for a sleepless night is to drop me in a camping area with no other sign of life. All sorts of fanciful tales of murder dance in my head, and I (and therefore my dear husband as well) am miserable.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/388.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_388.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />At Bear Lake State Park on the Utah/Idaho border, we were the only ones there for two of three nights, and miraculously I found it relaxing and just lovely.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/389.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_389.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Known as the Caribbean of the Rockies for its blue water, Bear Lake didn't disappoint but unfortunately I can't say that the water temperature was Caribbeanesque.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/390.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_390.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />When we rented a massive water trampoline, we also had to rent a paddleboat to shuttle us (save for Riley and Jackson, the two hearty souls who braved the icy swim) back and forth. Other than my nearly broken nose from Kenyon's head accidentally bashing me, the trampolining was great fun.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/391.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_391.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/392.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_392.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />This area is known for its World Famous Raspberry Shakes, and we managed to have a few during our time there.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/393.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_393.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />We spent a leisurely, pleasant three days there exploring.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/394.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_394.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/395.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_395.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/396.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_396.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/07/17/397.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/07/17/s_397.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Quintessential summer, and a perfect way to cool down after the heat at Arches.<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-26258027945515698182013-06-15T15:36:00.001-06:002013-06-15T15:36:55.012-06:00Water Abounds at Bear LakeAfter the inhumanely dry landscape at Arches, the greenery that came into view as we headed into Idaho was a feast for the eyes.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1703.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1703.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1704.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1704.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />(obligatory state border photo op)<br /><br />We camped at Bear Lake State Park on the border of Utah and Idaho. Known as the Caribbean of the Rockies for its blue water, it didn't disappoint at first glance.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1705.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1705.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />The campground was right at the water and was desolate but (luckily for Sam) for some reason I didn't have the imminent feeling that we were going to be murdered as I often do when we find ourselves the only family camping somewhere. <br /><br />When I researched our road trip online, I was sold on camping here with the whole 'Caribbean of the Rockies' bit and the fact that this area is known for its 'world-famous' raspberry shakes. Pretty scenery and a tasty treat? Done and done. We managed to get a few shakes in us during our four-night stay.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1706.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1706.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Our days were spent adventuring around<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1707.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1707.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />building sand castles <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1708.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1708.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />reading stories <br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1709.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1709.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />and listening to Riley obsess about wanting wi-fi. Ha!<br /><br />We rented a big water trampoline one day at Rendezvous Beach, which sounds totally awesome except for the fact that the water was FREEZING. I mean, ice cube cold. So how is a girl that was raised in Miami supposed to swim through it to get out to the trampoline? I like my water like a bath, thankyouverymuch. Like any good racket, the beach rental also offered paddleboats, so we rented one of those to shuttle us back and forth. Crisis averted!<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1710.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1710.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1711.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1711.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1712.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1712.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />We had a couple windy nights and a threatened storm<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1714.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1714.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />but overall the weather was pretty perfect and it was a relaxing place to spend a few days.<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/15/1715.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/15/s_1715.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />This morning, with Riley's clothes safely Zip-locked (true story!), we were off to Jackson Hole, WY for a night in a hotel (wahoooooo for a shower and a real bed!) before heading back into the bush (i.e. Grand Tetons).<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-76800303545995300432013-06-12T11:49:00.001-06:002013-06-12T11:56:48.210-06:00Summer 2013: US Road Trip Begins in Arches National ParkSeeing the beauty Australia had to offer really made all of us want to spend more time enjoying America's beauty as well. Since I was able to manage a law practice while roadtripping around Australia, we figured we could spend the summer break camping and visiting friends around the country here as long as I had fairly regular Internet access to work with.<br />One of our favorite people from Australia, a 14-year old boy named Riley, flew over to spend the summer with us (his take on his experience here is being chronicled at rileysroadtrip.wordpress.com). He said he hates camping, being in a car, and isn't impressed with nature--so why he agreed to a summer full of driving with a bunch of Americans and sleeping in tents in national parks is beyond me, but we're thrilled to have him here.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/979.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_979.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />The night before we left for our road trip, Riley was researching how much a flight home would be mid-way through the summer in case he hated camping. Armed with an awesome tent he scored from Craigslist, though, I could tell he was as excited as we were to set off.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/980.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_980.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />One of the best parts about road trips is taking the obligatory photo as you enter each state. We have pictures of all of us together on our real camera, but this is the only one I had handy on my phone...we must have entered a time warp at the Colorado/Utah border because we are clearly a family from 1972 here.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/981.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_981.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I wanted to impress Riley with the true beauty of the American west, and where better to do that than Arches National Park? <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/982.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_982.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Months ago, I booked the last available spot in the aptly named Devil's Garden campground--aptly named at least in the summer, where the temperatures were in excess of 105 degrees (that's 40 Celsius).<br />We arrived late afternoon when the temperature was a totally reasonable 99 degrees. Riley bolted out of the car like a jackrabbit to claim the best camping spot for himself--to no avail, though, because we spent both nights camping under the stars, with the Milky Way in full view. For as hot as the wether was during the day, it was perfectly lovely at night and we all slept great. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/983.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_983.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/984.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_984.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/985.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_985.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Hikes to Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch in the morning were awesome--there is really nothing that matches this landscape.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/986.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_986.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/987.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_987.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/988.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_988.jpg' border='0' width='400' height='400' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/989.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_989.jpg' border='0' width='279' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Between hikes, we were all kept amused by Riley's incessant pleas to be dropped off at an airport and threats that he was going to make friends with someone in an RV and go off with them. <br />The English language doesn't have a word to describe the heat that we experienced by midday on our second day--fortunately, we escaped the heat by venturing out to the Mill Creek waterfall area for a much-needed swim.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=13/06/12/990.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/13/06/12/s_990.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />I'm so glad we went through Arches, but two nights was enough and by the time we packed up on the morning of June 11 we were all looking forward to greener pastures and cooler temperatures ahead.<br /><br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-71511181191974581312013-05-07T13:28:00.003-06:002013-05-07T13:28:44.152-06:00Fostering Escapades, Chapter One: A Duct-Taped HeartI'm an unabashed dog lover; there's just nothing quite like having a dog around to love. I'll take the hair and muddy pawprints if I have something soft to pet. I know there's people that are totally in love with their dog, and then once they have a kid the dog plays second fiddle. Now, this certainly doesn't get me any closer to that elusive Mother of the Year award, but dogs in my life have always been told they how loved they are far more than the people in my life. (don't call Child Protective Services, I swear they're reasonably clean and fed!).<br />
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The Family Dog position in this household has been vacant for quite some time, for various reasons, one of which being the fact that we just spent a year on the other side of our planet. Although having a dog grace our household again is never far from my mind, the roadtripping that we're doing this summer isn't all that conducive to furry companionship, so all hiring for the position remains closed.<br />
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Shortly after we settled back into our lives here, a neighbor of ours posted on our neighborhood's Facebook page about an urgent need for fostering a dog. My Fluffy Pet-Wanting Radar sounded an alarm for sure, but I've always chalked up dog fostering as a ruse to get a dog into your home, at which time you'd pretty much have to end up adopting it. Isn't that the way it works? All I hear about are 'foster failures'--people who take in a foster pet, fall in love with it, and keep it.<br />
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But fostering--wasn't that the perfect way to fill my need for something lovable around here?? (not that my kids aren't lovable, mind you). I ran it by the Head of HR (Sam), and he agreed that we could have a temp position available to up the fluff quotient in the house. And while I'd like to say that the root of my desire to foster a pet came from my innate hope to instill a sense of caring for the needy in my boys, in all honesty it was purely selfish. That Mother of the Year Award isn't looking any more likely, I know.<br />
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The very next day, <a href="http://www.coloradocaninerescue.org/">Colorado Canine Rescue</a> gave me a crate, food, toys, a leash, and a collar, and that Friday, after making it very clear to the kids that THIS WOULD NOT BE OUR DOG, WE ARE JUST SAVING ITS LIFE AND PROVIDING A SAFE HOME UNTIL IT'S ADOPTED (and wrapping some duct tape around my heart to insulate it from that pesky emotion of love), our first foster dog made its way from a high-kill shelter in New Mexico where it was scheduled to be put down that weekend to a parking lot in Denver, where we picked her up.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_ogNRMrJpE2UZ0ybIlNtlqXYV4icWgv-qAlnejj6JmKfIHpmttYNRMum0BdWyU3UcVnk95AZWSSXHhxLuu8RXovWf0WmwqbYd6AfRUaKbnJam0n-CxVisRI2PSGiiE3Pu9DG5el14IQ/s1600/sally.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_ogNRMrJpE2UZ0ybIlNtlqXYV4icWgv-qAlnejj6JmKfIHpmttYNRMum0BdWyU3UcVnk95AZWSSXHhxLuu8RXovWf0WmwqbYd6AfRUaKbnJam0n-CxVisRI2PSGiiE3Pu9DG5el14IQ/s320/sally.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the way home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sally, as Kenyon named her, was an Australian Shepherd/Bernese Mountain Dog mix, and had the softest fur ever. As you can see, after a bath, she settled in nicely.<br />
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She was an absolute pleasure to have around--she slept by my bed, followed me from room to room, and was perfectly happy to be a true companion to her human.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">helping Jackson with his homework</td></tr>
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After just two weeks, the foster organization notified me that an adoption application came in for her. It looked great--a retired couple had another Australian shepherd and liked to take long walks each morning out in the country. I called them, and as soon as I started telling them about Sally...I started sobbing. Not just a little teary-eyed, but can't-get-words-out-sobbing. Somehow, I was able to choke out some sort of assurance that I was not a crazy person, but that Sally was just really such a wonderful companion. I guess duct tape isn't the fix-all for everything, because it sure didn't help a damn with protecting my heart.<br />
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The day Sally left to start a life with her new family, I managed to keep it together and was truly happy for her. To help fill the void in my home (and heart), I arranged to have our next temporary fluffy pet arrive later that same day. <br />
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I am the last person who you'd think would be a candidate for fostering...but I love it (and the kids do, too; hear that, Mother of the Year judges?). Taking in a dog is easy, and rescuing from a high-kill shelter that took in 4000 dogs last year and euthanized 2000 of them is directly saving a life. Try it; you won't be disappointed.Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-25480820600034900612013-01-18T12:55:00.000-07:002013-01-18T12:55:31.484-07:00Into the AlpineLife is too often so busy, or we are mired in the minute details of daily life, that we don't fully enjoy the actual <i>living</i> part of life. Loved ones being ill, parenting through difficult developmental stages, money stresses...it all takes a toll. But sometimes you can scramble to the top of all the thick stuff and the air is clear and crisp, like you can breathe for the first time in so long and holy shit the view from up here is unbelievable!<br />
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I'm not one of those Colorado residents who is keen to hike all fifty-something of the state's fourteeners (mountains with more than 14,000 feet in elevation, for my Australian readers). In fact, I've only hiked one (Quandary Peak) and it was the day after Sam and I learned I was pregnant with my first child. We had been married for a whopping month and I had just begun my second year of law school, so let's just say that I was still in a state of shock as I gingerly placed my hiking boots down with each step. Even though the tears I shed upon learning about my new condition weren't exactly ones of pure joy, I still didn't want jarring movements to upset any important plans that were taking place inside me. I stopped and sat a few hundred feet from the top while Sam and our friends continued, and I took a slow breath and looked around. Man, the view from up there was incredible...and life was so beautiful, even while being absolutely overwhelmed with it.<br />
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We are home, slowly putting the pieces back in place in the life in Denver that all of us enjoy. We are relishing catching up with friends, and it's so heartwarming to see the boys' friendships pick right back up, as if they had simply been paused for a year and then someone had the good sense to pick up the remote and press 'play' again.<br />
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The school situation had been a source of stress for months--not only have we mourned the boys not being able to return to the charter school they love, but the options for them were basically nonexistent (save for our neighborhood school, which unfortunately is one of the worst in the state). The district had been monitoring enrollment at a number of different schools on my behalf for months, but nothing was coming of it and our backup plan was that I would homeschool the boys for the balance of the school year. I've never been keen on homeschooling, but I was hellbent on not sticking them in a mediocre school to ride out the year.<br />
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The day before school started, I got a call that there may be two openings at the school I most wanted the boys in. It still took some pleading, but miraculously I wooed them into enrolling the boys not only in the school but in the classrooms I wanted. It's an academically rigorous program, something that the boys were thirsting for and they are lapping it up. Alex can be slow to warm up to new situations, but the school has been incredibly welcoming and it has made such a positive impact on his ability to assimilate into the school community. They love school again, which warms my heart.<br />
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On the drive to school this morning, the boys got into a heated argument, debating who was smarter--Leonardo Da Vinci (who Alex has been studying) or the fictional character in the book Jackson was reading. Our biggest disciplinary issue for this one brief chapter of mid-January 2013 is the fact that the kids read throughout the morning as they are supposed to be getting ready for school. That's right--I catch myself using an exasperated tone telling the boys to <i>Stop reading or there's going to be a consequence!.</i><br />
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. . . . .<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annual New Years Family Hike 2013</td></tr>
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The boys are rediscovering their belongings and Kenyon put on a CD of music that we had purchased at a kids' birthday party years ago from a Colorado musician named <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rocky-mountain-tunes-for-rocky/id280687745">Jeff Kagan</a> who sings about the outdoors. One song, called Into the Alpine, has always spoken to me. <br />
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I know that at any moment there could be something larger to deal with, something heavy, but right now it feels like we're right up there in the alpine, and I love the view.<br />
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<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-30605564898797936752012-12-19T05:58:00.000-07:002012-12-19T19:57:22.645-07:00ENP in B&W<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There's something about these elephants, especially when they're wet, that I just love in black and white...</div>
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Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-24465707467325323012012-12-19T03:27:00.000-07:002012-12-19T03:27:15.241-07:00Elephant Nature Park, Part IIWe woke up in the morning excited about spending more time with the beloved elephants. A side benefit was the fact that the food at this place was incredible, and breakfast was no exception--a long buffet of Thai dishes, the kind of buffet where your plate grows to gargantuan proportions because as you move along you happen upon things you just can't refuse.<br />
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The day was also special because it was Alex's 8th birthday, celebrated with a cake the park had prepared.<br />
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Sam was interested in hanging out with one of the mahouts and arranged a time in the morning to sit and watch him carve. As a thank you, he drew a picture of baby Navann and his mother as a gift. It amazes me that he can take two moving targets and come up with this likeness as a result. My attempt would have resulted in a stick figure elephant that more resembled a beach ball impaled by 5 toothpicks.<br />
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We were able to spend time with the veterinarian who was treating a chronic infection in one of the elephants, whose injured leg caused her to get abcesses in her cheek and shoulder from lying down. Rather than a dainty syringe, medicine is administered in huge pumping spray bottles like you'd see an exterminator use. Here, the vet has just pumped her wound full of an antibacterial liquid and is pressing on it to flush out excess medicine and pus.<br />
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The most incredible part of the two days was arming ourselves with bunches of bananas and walking around the grounds, spending time with and learning about the different family groups. Despite their difficult pasts, these creatures exude such a gentle demeanor that is captivating to witness firsthand.<br />
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Not separated by a railing...<br />
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...not standing on a wooden platform...<br />
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...and not near a building.<br />
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The sanctuary is also home to water buffalo...<br />
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...as well as hundreds of dogs who were displaced during the recent floods. A few of the dogs followed us around the property, remarkably fearless of their much larger pachyderm companions.<br />
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As soon as my winning lottery numbers are drawn, I'll be booking a weeklong volunteer experience at the Elephant Nature Park for my family and friends. I'm counting the minutes until then.<br />
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<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-71601669909320694182012-12-17T17:53:00.000-07:002012-12-18T23:41:47.605-07:00Elephant Nature Park, Part 1I'll conservatively estimate that there are 65,387 elephant parks in Thailand. When I was planning our trip, I spent a <strike>gross</strike> fair amount of time, possibly in lieu of cleaning our flat, looking into the different parks. We knew we wanted to get as up close and personal as we could, and the vast majority of parks include a ride on an elephant. The more I looked into it, though, my search narrowed and I to spend our time at a park where the elephants were treated wonderfully.<br />
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When I saw the <a href="http://elephantnaturepark.org/volunteer/">volunteer program at the Elephant Nature Park</a>, my search ended. We wanted to do the full week volunteer program, but the required Monday start didn't work out for the days we'd be in the country so we settled on the 2-day experience.<br />
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We were picked up from our guesthouse in the morning and watched a video about the park and Lek, the amazing woman who runs the place. The park is a sanctuary for elephants who have rescued from various forms of abuse--logging, street begging, trekking, land mine victim...I was teary-eyed watching the video and figured I'd be a wreck for the next two days.<br />
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The stories of these elephants and how they've come together to form 5 family groups within the park are overwhelming and heartwarming. I'll share one, but please visit the park someday and learn the rest on your own. <br />
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Jokia, while pregnant, worked in the logging industry in a village near the Burma border. She birthed her baby while working on a steep hill and the baby died after falling down the hill with Jokia unable to rescue her. Afterwards, Jokia refused to work and her owners repeatedly poked at her eyes with sticks, eventually leaving her blind. <br />
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After many attempts, Lek was able to buy Jokia and bring her to the park where she could bathe in the river and enjoy her life. Mae Perm, the nana elephant of the park, took Jokia under her wing and the two are always together, with Mae Perm acting as Jokia's eyes.<br />
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We began by feeding the elephants; because they are vegetarians, they spend up to 18 hours a day eating so there were always opportunities to reach into a basket and offer something to an outstretched trunk.<br />
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We were fortunate enough to visit just 6 weeks after the surprise birth of baby Navann, an adorable elephant whose mum is recovering from a land mine injury to her foot. Because of her injury, she is contained in an enclosure so they can control the infection to the wound.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxmHGFm5SXYFYTZlWT7SOn76nqUm4q5wMBHrjEazfdCQKDVsPwidI7PifcsjdlvO6xo8lfNV_SoqeNoQXnwC58bO6Hvb_uLrWZQFPnyyT_IaTPHl812b5Tvxp6jPB8TzDqMIVpNJCp3A/s1600/Thailand+163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxmHGFm5SXYFYTZlWT7SOn76nqUm4q5wMBHrjEazfdCQKDVsPwidI7PifcsjdlvO6xo8lfNV_SoqeNoQXnwC58bO6Hvb_uLrWZQFPnyyT_IaTPHl812b5Tvxp6jPB8TzDqMIVpNJCp3A/s320/Thailand+163.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Navann with his mahout (elephant caretaker)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Somehow, all the mahouts are artistic and they carve as they sit with the elephants.<br />
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In the afternoon, we went down to the river to bathe the elephants.<br />
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The kids had an absolute ball, although kids+river+buckets=heaven so I think they could have been throwing buckets of water at a cement post and had almost as much fun.<br />
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We found flat rocks we could use to scrub their coarse skin.<br />
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It's difficult to put into words what this was like. All of us were in awe, all day, of these beautiful creatures, their incredibly gentle nature...<br />
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...and of their good fortune in being saved by Lek and living on this grand property.<br />
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In the evening, we had a Thai massage. I honestly am gobsmacked that I spend more for a cup of coffee in my normal life than the 30 minute experience I had here. Jackson and Alex had their first massages--Jackson said the bum massage made him a little nervous but he figured they wouldn't do anything inappropriate. Ha!<br />
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The accomodation was simple but lovely, and we went to bed excited for what the next day held in store.</div>
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<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-71657444694034353572012-12-16T17:50:00.002-07:002012-12-16T17:50:32.960-07:00One Morning in BangkokAny way you slice it, wrangling 6 suitcases, 3 backpacks, a laptop bag, a car seat, a straw beach bag, and three kids is not the way to begin a vacation. That's the last complaining I'll do about it, though, because if that's my biggest problem I know I'm doing okay. We arrived in Bangkok at the auspicious time of 1am and 2 hours later, we miraculously found our hotel by happenstance because our taxi driver had absolutely no idea how to get there. I'm not quite sure what the twelve dangly tchotchkes that hung from the ceiling of the driver's side were for, but I'd bet they weren't directional guidance charms.<br />
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It was great fun and only slightly bizarre to meet up with my mom at the Bangkok hotel, and after crashing for a few hours' rest we were game to explore. We had only just stepped out of the hotel when a durian cart caught our eye.<br />
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This is Sam telling the woman that he wants just a little. (she gave him a lot)<br />
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I have always wanted to try durian but the smell has made me a little wary. The fruit was just fine, although I don't think any of us would put it at the top of our list.<br />
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Just down the next street was a woman freshly squeezing pomegranate juice...yes please.<br />
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Thailand is a feast for the senses.<br />
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I had (and still have) no idea what these were, but they looked like works of art.<br />
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And they were delicious.<br />
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We stopped at a temple and watched people making offerings of food to monks.<br />
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After a quick glimpse of Bangkok, it was time to get to the airport to head up north to Chiang Mai.Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-532335418421170252012-12-10T03:30:00.001-07:002012-12-11T14:26:01.249-07:00The Friends Make the Place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the course of the year, we have amassed countless pictures of the ocean, Australia's unique wildlife, and our family on hikes, swimming, camping and more. But what has truly made this year memorable are the people we've met, who took the time to get to know us even though they knew we were only here temporarily.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ocean, Jackson, Kenyon, Alex and Rhed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bronwen and her brother, David</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtSIR8AmGrBV77aKPlqdPrUGqDi3CreTy8ZS6tMhlm1CqX2u3ywm85otYzMCfsCtSPw9Ug_pToF1BXIsr6GUESfIuezGs6Yc0HKDwejFpMxIJAb6v9QrN1AJMwnDA_MeqfJd2XFjcQEE/s1600/December+2012+168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtSIR8AmGrBV77aKPlqdPrUGqDi3CreTy8ZS6tMhlm1CqX2u3ywm85otYzMCfsCtSPw9Ug_pToF1BXIsr6GUESfIuezGs6Yc0HKDwejFpMxIJAb6v9QrN1AJMwnDA_MeqfJd2XFjcQEE/s320/December+2012+168.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riley and Kenyon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIsgNU_fHlNJZ5p9QW_WLpQBHM_KJmWL6HHoFeg_IptbIjQipo2dl3edi1KdczObdJr5XnUvB8rsto0rxGy-hPRbBcP6WyXz4v069UMancU4Q1u-4SDHn7j0GEVDIzu6QB1MY1X4Tasc/s1600/153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIsgNU_fHlNJZ5p9QW_WLpQBHM_KJmWL6HHoFeg_IptbIjQipo2dl3edi1KdczObdJr5XnUvB8rsto0rxGy-hPRbBcP6WyXz4v069UMancU4Q1u-4SDHn7j0GEVDIzu6QB1MY1X4Tasc/s320/153.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex, Biniam and Connor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIACID_NTibZTdgHUIs_I-ucRfUutzDCEWxybto-QNNvz9IP3SBeIap7vdrKw7VaDOZooUu_uzGmH94VKplVH7tToL-0BR57cuwVFTp7_lokM9EevrvUClwuDGLe2ErevElAjGbQKvkXo/s1600/154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIACID_NTibZTdgHUIs_I-ucRfUutzDCEWxybto-QNNvz9IP3SBeIap7vdrKw7VaDOZooUu_uzGmH94VKplVH7tToL-0BR57cuwVFTp7_lokM9EevrvUClwuDGLe2ErevElAjGbQKvkXo/s320/154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson, Preston and Yazan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcz2Z2co-abcPo9NIkrqgZoX0EzkfvQxxjbKAuIEMZ3QN4ixb6tUBc9flF7bWtvaIlW45VjImr5PgMModJtTdH7cvtGFKRPpj_1Y8YoWqMwPtsGXMO_daKZ9fIzugHUSP1-JLl-r4w50/s1600/2012-11-02_1351837463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcz2Z2co-abcPo9NIkrqgZoX0EzkfvQxxjbKAuIEMZ3QN4ixb6tUBc9flF7bWtvaIlW45VjImr5PgMModJtTdH7cvtGFKRPpj_1Y8YoWqMwPtsGXMO_daKZ9fIzugHUSP1-JLl-r4w50/s320/2012-11-02_1351837463.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenyon and Riley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOy1G21-cFcTlrmKJe-UQfTT7MslPtjcaMqUcId6_dlyQio3ndAKSO-156aYBrgAOol0VlnDCLQ6sPUD8ReIqehCYZ0BMBdo808QjERrkeBc7kVzEijkUiqWD3sk6rMIdAKPp0oQDPsKQ/s1600/December+2012+156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOy1G21-cFcTlrmKJe-UQfTT7MslPtjcaMqUcId6_dlyQio3ndAKSO-156aYBrgAOol0VlnDCLQ6sPUD8ReIqehCYZ0BMBdo808QjERrkeBc7kVzEijkUiqWD3sk6rMIdAKPp0oQDPsKQ/s320/December+2012+156.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby and Kenyon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They have opened up their homes...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGz70Had3KnwEOKfqnidRvfiLe2h52Obu7G6f5y-pByAnsvi7xeoypMql8zAQIFyjGyimzlFh0rBTE_pTCK1UFfQ6264zUoPlTpbb3ZPtRCv19O4q_fghA2Lqf2T-wV-AUWRIpfTxndQ/s1600/104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGz70Had3KnwEOKfqnidRvfiLe2h52Obu7G6f5y-pByAnsvi7xeoypMql8zAQIFyjGyimzlFh0rBTE_pTCK1UFfQ6264zUoPlTpbb3ZPtRCv19O4q_fghA2Lqf2T-wV-AUWRIpfTxndQ/s320/104.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sal and Emily</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0kBVS2n8Hh8V53lx2tEPGl7srobjkOjeoi1k6UCDx58c2t6lmJGodu8II-V-2RciacUq4FJfrBd8b0iBu0ApZTQoiufhfRz_vrFqtJeX_C_kE_OZK7TSKc4b3W6i7MPRC5sU2rFIwMLQ/s1600/December+2012+129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0kBVS2n8Hh8V53lx2tEPGl7srobjkOjeoi1k6UCDx58c2t6lmJGodu8II-V-2RciacUq4FJfrBd8b0iBu0ApZTQoiufhfRz_vrFqtJeX_C_kE_OZK7TSKc4b3W6i7MPRC5sU2rFIwMLQ/s320/December+2012+129.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bronwen and Amelia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5PmF3HNqm5B7PGDizVEe2SK2AU3iGihRy9V3QdMLOjl1Ch7LUovdDifBjq67BN8Yvz1jb5eqsrQ8-xQEhrFD3gSnOfU_YGZG1-3Uk8TDb4g9AOzgMLCI77XDjUla_5Bo7EvztcyzCtU/s1600/IMG_2972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5PmF3HNqm5B7PGDizVEe2SK2AU3iGihRy9V3QdMLOjl1Ch7LUovdDifBjq67BN8Yvz1jb5eqsrQ8-xQEhrFD3gSnOfU_YGZG1-3Uk8TDb4g9AOzgMLCI77XDjUla_5Bo7EvztcyzCtU/s320/IMG_2972.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kylie and handsome Jack</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTaFye66okoFm6fFEXqR0cCi1Anp4O0-wYtgEROFLXAPNnKYxk5YeZuc8RFJcgdCKR_cnOwGA6Pbw_XbzCxBOp7aHsIS1ujTo4IpSCauYa-cDwyqxz0TGiHrpZF5G5cuwpPciklum4fw/s1600/101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTaFye66okoFm6fFEXqR0cCi1Anp4O0-wYtgEROFLXAPNnKYxk5YeZuc8RFJcgdCKR_cnOwGA6Pbw_XbzCxBOp7aHsIS1ujTo4IpSCauYa-cDwyqxz0TGiHrpZF5G5cuwpPciklum4fw/s320/101.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leigh, Sal and Simon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ofwkjta7-yfuVDvswk6A0LO9FiSg_ytbfVrDrKkbg1GJ51yBWmR-sM78T0CJc470l0R5XPvgVJjKTEi0BsnmuFKi2AHmGW-QJiXTg4P29wN0dsq4XxfJTUziEXEJ6X5bGWE0qNVApX4/s1600/145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ofwkjta7-yfuVDvswk6A0LO9FiSg_ytbfVrDrKkbg1GJ51yBWmR-sM78T0CJc470l0R5XPvgVJjKTEi0BsnmuFKi2AHmGW-QJiXTg4P29wN0dsq4XxfJTUziEXEJ6X5bGWE0qNVApX4/s320/145.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon and Sam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3s6y1L3XeQfLrljdAJYefO9RPI-ZIIli7N-BNUgW-3Qxy1MN_CjEbYT5YDEDWfR9pzo4MIVztp2GVz4FwlGNt1ok35f43jXa8cDLKIke3Iz4gXJ0VEN08W_7gJ0D4HTbw4Hr0Bkg3TDA/s1600/138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3s6y1L3XeQfLrljdAJYefO9RPI-ZIIli7N-BNUgW-3Qxy1MN_CjEbYT5YDEDWfR9pzo4MIVztp2GVz4FwlGNt1ok35f43jXa8cDLKIke3Iz4gXJ0VEN08W_7gJ0D4HTbw4Hr0Bkg3TDA/s320/138.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenyon and Julian</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUfvmV2466tSjBE6NUXH814vScxQQRl8-RnBqG23FafxDKvvLBKfIAjFJ-mceh3vq8ypzJ3QKf_OOLP7MvIW-IgVNYtmTGCljPsiNsggt_VW4BQPnWjC0RsIscfpC1Uyigojc8Edo_KA/s1600/121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUfvmV2466tSjBE6NUXH814vScxQQRl8-RnBqG23FafxDKvvLBKfIAjFJ-mceh3vq8ypzJ3QKf_OOLP7MvIW-IgVNYtmTGCljPsiNsggt_VW4BQPnWjC0RsIscfpC1Uyigojc8Edo_KA/s320/121.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bella</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFqipF_5MP0N8RPelFa3GgWIcH7U49yR1zmCWh3SyHFmrSmhgJPE2wQ5LL8WeBg2G5ueJg__9DPxA0ZE1UGOW2ms8maz1mhrtkgoDZpUJjTZJjwMYWg63Wvi99e5082EVr1hoIAc-Bls/s1600/130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFqipF_5MP0N8RPelFa3GgWIcH7U49yR1zmCWh3SyHFmrSmhgJPE2wQ5LL8WeBg2G5ueJg__9DPxA0ZE1UGOW2ms8maz1mhrtkgoDZpUJjTZJjwMYWg63Wvi99e5082EVr1hoIAc-Bls/s320/130.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenyon and Mika</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6EQv495GqX1frfdZzO68Gx-NPvSMe26o89QAU07gOPxhFJplVpnXQS-jl7Qv1XUeeyIw9QBk3L-ZpBU_kH_JMCJiQbOwHrl03XUJ24X-yiUtMfAj7XGamqjr7gnJpZld6qLQh4-C_oc/s1600/December+2012+130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6EQv495GqX1frfdZzO68Gx-NPvSMe26o89QAU07gOPxhFJplVpnXQS-jl7Qv1XUeeyIw9QBk3L-ZpBU_kH_JMCJiQbOwHrl03XUJ24X-yiUtMfAj7XGamqjr7gnJpZld6qLQh4-C_oc/s320/December+2012+130.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica and baby Felicity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x0PFqfQHdBZmKJ7MRFB2g41HEd0H1K_Jc7yI95pqy-crnFiowUQHASPim9kZ27UeiY6msMU4W1LZu13R2lCjKApDGu8qB03m9PI-0RS0MgqiO7xBfw6Y9FXBUhQ3AoknATb9BLUiaB8/s1600/100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x0PFqfQHdBZmKJ7MRFB2g41HEd0H1K_Jc7yI95pqy-crnFiowUQHASPim9kZ27UeiY6msMU4W1LZu13R2lCjKApDGu8qB03m9PI-0RS0MgqiO7xBfw6Y9FXBUhQ3AoknATb9BLUiaB8/s320/100.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam, Emily and Yeedah</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieel0JlrOoaQEPyBvBxdP-Jlk1i46z6m0ji56R5TQeWN1_CpzKTx9FDZSB6aol8bbUznsnJnBDCIc4pPucjTDX9u7X8ttoXdP0UZ20X1Br6lgQQtbStw7BY6DjAhyphenhyphenRsFFdn4Oat0XovPU/s1600/December+2012+232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieel0JlrOoaQEPyBvBxdP-Jlk1i46z6m0ji56R5TQeWN1_CpzKTx9FDZSB6aol8bbUznsnJnBDCIc4pPucjTDX9u7X8ttoXdP0UZ20X1Br6lgQQtbStw7BY6DjAhyphenhyphenRsFFdn4Oat0XovPU/s320/December+2012+232.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me and Yeedah</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49TGnqonjAWF1fOF7fvRG_SRvZSlBzzV-qb5aqO-kmXe-PSqVM8sh_qHxQ4bl1R3yanuoV67Toxn1hBXbivYGkmS1DK8sAZWL02CJS-xaGqb9xtF_kHCV26hbSIl3BkYYdHlXBL-hKEc/s1600/108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49TGnqonjAWF1fOF7fvRG_SRvZSlBzzV-qb5aqO-kmXe-PSqVM8sh_qHxQ4bl1R3yanuoV67Toxn1hBXbivYGkmS1DK8sAZWL02CJS-xaGqb9xtF_kHCV26hbSIl3BkYYdHlXBL-hKEc/s320/108.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sal and Kenyon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTwrD_jJ7CA1MjkMAyZ2k97s9_vRRxba3s84jvVK0ySrOq_ySshEnZsuJoVQeEmCGqMsQ0N1fCAUN_wjm9mFVTij7isXKjL9GK_IlIZbXwy65dgkViDzyDiFV2Hgf_sbdi1v1LPsS3Jc/s1600/December+2012+263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTwrD_jJ7CA1MjkMAyZ2k97s9_vRRxba3s84jvVK0ySrOq_ySshEnZsuJoVQeEmCGqMsQ0N1fCAUN_wjm9mFVTij7isXKjL9GK_IlIZbXwy65dgkViDzyDiFV2Hgf_sbdi1v1LPsS3Jc/s320/December+2012+263.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeedah and Shelly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XCK3h8Hd3l0mKBCDAs9y9CcO1_KplQef0r7BQgxW5wZgxUEIj_zOUOl2Drt5X0U7eUmh6UoLe4iSlgvSSi3wDSYJg9GXbEHXtvfpskj4VH679bOtgZsnGqFElHSrZ7sfI_pX-GE1PjU/s1600/December+2012+271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XCK3h8Hd3l0mKBCDAs9y9CcO1_KplQef0r7BQgxW5wZgxUEIj_zOUOl2Drt5X0U7eUmh6UoLe4iSlgvSSi3wDSYJg9GXbEHXtvfpskj4VH679bOtgZsnGqFElHSrZ7sfI_pX-GE1PjU/s320/December+2012+271.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riley and I</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
They have showed us some of the best parts of the area...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_By6qkyeDR-ew3OQMQv21eJB409W2mcHvEDN0IP1SeLh5qFIPBoXz218iJUc7W2ob1f_8SSGm9mblm0HH5EWZSYhKPKMkCiG5FQXHQ0Q4vuaERiNYxFKn3X3dJN5HPDdF6iWodnemGNY/s1600/077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_By6qkyeDR-ew3OQMQv21eJB409W2mcHvEDN0IP1SeLh5qFIPBoXz218iJUc7W2ob1f_8SSGm9mblm0HH5EWZSYhKPKMkCiG5FQXHQ0Q4vuaERiNYxFKn3X3dJN5HPDdF6iWodnemGNY/s320/077.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeedah at Pandora's Wine Room</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-W2qmb8S3gSk0eGpBOC-KP1PKByBmStxmLtQVMMy4VXNcCW1-Kg_aAM3AGUcO0wY2ZKpNukz_ublZk9bjGntKUlU62QV5nuXf1zVCZBxf2BylQlybJmBdc08vcgTfabXMVvHGiuOrYhU/s1600/2012-09-10_1347243364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-W2qmb8S3gSk0eGpBOC-KP1PKByBmStxmLtQVMMy4VXNcCW1-Kg_aAM3AGUcO0wY2ZKpNukz_ublZk9bjGntKUlU62QV5nuXf1zVCZBxf2BylQlybJmBdc08vcgTfabXMVvHGiuOrYhU/s320/2012-09-10_1347243364.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenyon and Mika at Pod</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1dwE-WM87B5dIYmDODR4R0OWRmTxf59-Jqwq6CbATl6FFeljeQCpg4XU8V-xIl_08vIKx4zlqkOVtZ8lCppBC0qaA1CLhzOMpo69M2plLnIqAk9Vr5_JHjLgiIPykFa5v9-PkY3Mz44/s1600/083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1dwE-WM87B5dIYmDODR4R0OWRmTxf59-Jqwq6CbATl6FFeljeQCpg4XU8V-xIl_08vIKx4zlqkOVtZ8lCppBC0qaA1CLhzOMpo69M2plLnIqAk9Vr5_JHjLgiIPykFa5v9-PkY3Mz44/s320/083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hall, Thomas, Harris and Tunheim families at the lighthouse</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3E83qreH4JX4gGb0ebmFFrd0R3eaCXbz4tXGt7u9dsbMj1ayMmu7Bcn-QYq2eFFz6E0CxjZ0Y9jS25Mpd-NMqLVMdNkv5fOs4IQEfkSRtHqXpq-MqrEJG0aHZ7ehVBYJwQuWIwSYEO3s/s1600/081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3E83qreH4JX4gGb0ebmFFrd0R3eaCXbz4tXGt7u9dsbMj1ayMmu7Bcn-QYq2eFFz6E0CxjZ0Y9jS25Mpd-NMqLVMdNkv5fOs4IQEfkSRtHqXpq-MqrEJG0aHZ7ehVBYJwQuWIwSYEO3s/s320/081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhed and Kenyon at the lighthouse</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zprPshsqk00cTSypemRLsX_1Cy4_H-tbjcUhfLcljf35Jf1lRvhFNT9-AlF1uq9TRdHQRXrAbV5lKee2uBPuLHUk4Oo7KKpob1rUbJlwVZlve3zVWMTS7uLVC7SQVJ39hP24msfad5c/s1600/IMG_1996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zprPshsqk00cTSypemRLsX_1Cy4_H-tbjcUhfLcljf35Jf1lRvhFNT9-AlF1uq9TRdHQRXrAbV5lKee2uBPuLHUk4Oo7KKpob1rUbJlwVZlve3zVWMTS7uLVC7SQVJ39hP24msfad5c/s320/IMG_1996.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kylie and Issy at Birdland Animal Park</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9iR4e7hEj9tSemEl4ivmYT6AZ9tkzupVks5S6coYD9bM8-hA9i72GNcNLxNWcZ3EvP_2DAci9jJoDK5hj915TbifgFOV8aYUYy18gxhBliWATTq9UxEfotOO3dbUSXjYY_uxqzyheU4/s1600/hisboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9iR4e7hEj9tSemEl4ivmYT6AZ9tkzupVks5S6coYD9bM8-hA9i72GNcNLxNWcZ3EvP_2DAci9jJoDK5hj915TbifgFOV8aYUYy18gxhBliWATTq9UxEfotOO3dbUSXjYY_uxqzyheU4/s320/hisboy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me, Yeedah and Sal at His Boy Elroy</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoSJHvGdSo__pN9cfYhwir3ZlzVbsTv8SnRd6qXF9rFSvA2Uqd9tjfFpo_mXUS0vmHxUC6CnR5AkJYzlkMedw4_QLjKmUj-9oGVzo0mnDx8SSunhbFNe7yoM1vZK-S8ZTHpLRXhWBy_s/s1600/2012-09-20_1348107118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoSJHvGdSo__pN9cfYhwir3ZlzVbsTv8SnRd6qXF9rFSvA2Uqd9tjfFpo_mXUS0vmHxUC6CnR5AkJYzlkMedw4_QLjKmUj-9oGVzo0mnDx8SSunhbFNe7yoM1vZK-S8ZTHpLRXhWBy_s/s320/2012-09-20_1348107118.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon in his studio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPp3PQG47SgitTHNL0io1uF3-VyMS2VnBLWDzR1TZ3acg5qzwNoBHTFdt9jqYUEy9PrZVlMlxIZn3AVDzuxMjy222ka4dvl5R5tBSM_wZ0f03p4D3X7x8akHJg_FnfuJitlIveKz9yUE/s1600/IMG_2001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPp3PQG47SgitTHNL0io1uF3-VyMS2VnBLWDzR1TZ3acg5qzwNoBHTFdt9jqYUEy9PrZVlMlxIZn3AVDzuxMjy222ka4dvl5R5tBSM_wZ0f03p4D3X7x8akHJg_FnfuJitlIveKz9yUE/s320/IMG_2001.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Issy, Josh, Xavier and Kylie with my best friend Bubbles the wombat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZkJfoe1WpDMaysohhaQuC6T9KynJ-Q0XXixYuBW3N4vhibkOtIzhk6AYUtNlli7eqYQ82mc9UkpkQk-UOoE6cw1GQIMKmsRf2C_2Dn2gPX2hcnLUBS4ARswTq-xhr8IOdKyQYB0fhc8/s1600/2012-11-11_1352612930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZkJfoe1WpDMaysohhaQuC6T9KynJ-Q0XXixYuBW3N4vhibkOtIzhk6AYUtNlli7eqYQ82mc9UkpkQk-UOoE6cw1GQIMKmsRf2C_2Dn2gPX2hcnLUBS4ARswTq-xhr8IOdKyQYB0fhc8/s320/2012-11-11_1352612930.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex, Jackson, Riley and Kenyon at Little Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e1rqdd9LGtOrCIFy60jYBP7q482p3gNv8qFvkE_BIyuEv40NDepRSe4X_Sea5GUgm0UIEtvMz1wNEwRdzAZfVt4TUMJwIiA_Nidj9W3wbj37T38w5ge3NwZGeHbjN92kwJL6cvS8JLY/s1600/IMG_3029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e1rqdd9LGtOrCIFy60jYBP7q482p3gNv8qFvkE_BIyuEv40NDepRSe4X_Sea5GUgm0UIEtvMz1wNEwRdzAZfVt4TUMJwIiA_Nidj9W3wbj37T38w5ge3NwZGeHbjN92kwJL6cvS8JLY/s320/IMG_3029.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam, Jackson and Ocean at Osborne Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaC_SHjhO_novAmc-U_hj8GL0B79SIoJfmKmyfXI9f4Na6l2ZRE7eqJM_kGgwrYMjKFVkC7XxkZS-CdIqGJGDB6XDcTsJHfw4zN8TepLclE6ktuMntYtvv0ibprwQx0s8kEk0j-PbcuA/s1600/IMG_1923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaC_SHjhO_novAmc-U_hj8GL0B79SIoJfmKmyfXI9f4Na6l2ZRE7eqJM_kGgwrYMjKFVkC7XxkZS-CdIqGJGDB6XDcTsJHfw4zN8TepLclE6ktuMntYtvv0ibprwQx0s8kEk0j-PbcuA/s320/IMG_1923.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson and Xavier at Depot Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWUsKI6R8UgCTq_vVgvyCM8ziJVDMKPwfUl7ANJDJ2zk-DRKE5kRtjl7c9yoN4qanDRm2RQ6M9AhaSdWccM7bMyfysFsjmmL9ercJ3A_748I3c_debQAHy-J_whvd0U3wXGxCIb4oYwE/s1600/IMG_2294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWUsKI6R8UgCTq_vVgvyCM8ziJVDMKPwfUl7ANJDJ2zk-DRKE5kRtjl7c9yoN4qanDRm2RQ6M9AhaSdWccM7bMyfysFsjmmL9ercJ3A_748I3c_debQAHy-J_whvd0U3wXGxCIb4oYwE/s320/IMG_2294.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David at Liz and Martin's in Mullumbimby</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlob9UexQSyQV9kK_y2JIQAmKEQa152IBmB3_4BCaV4KouxGOWvtaNSFNBjmXY-99V28-65q4wg3jpzznz0c2hGLSdQ1i_dDKMAxF6QHVyMKVhJW-KBXuUC6h0EbxnRHU_ATe7XH_IP3M/s1600/December+2012+150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlob9UexQSyQV9kK_y2JIQAmKEQa152IBmB3_4BCaV4KouxGOWvtaNSFNBjmXY-99V28-65q4wg3jpzznz0c2hGLSdQ1i_dDKMAxF6QHVyMKVhJW-KBXuUC6h0EbxnRHU_ATe7XH_IP3M/s320/December+2012+150.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenyon and Riley at the rockpool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_uVeCVUFB2S5Q7M8VEsvfAXfaHXB1jCnFH-mH37iGabpZwwzxFdV_DrujLoYVijf_EP1BHTRYM1nOxQbEfhPj71lUj7kUBW4pN4b5VBG1SD41j7uTsbf_BCy6WhKZRgMcQffuZ2FePk/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_uVeCVUFB2S5Q7M8VEsvfAXfaHXB1jCnFH-mH37iGabpZwwzxFdV_DrujLoYVijf_EP1BHTRYM1nOxQbEfhPj71lUj7kUBW4pN4b5VBG1SD41j7uTsbf_BCy6WhKZRgMcQffuZ2FePk/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victoria, Emily and I at His Boy Elroy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We had a warm, wonderful send-off, and I received the loveliest gift that I will always cherish.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieC3VV8gwxpLeu1sUAGo9W4rDkF0cnLVumxM1SoPXVC5RkKUFCEWyUfgUU4apvilUXmBcYlurWznyPidMxeDzRa-wcj86Lm6BZBl6xOui-pjdQyzYjjDT-9tvWDAgy6L2DRbEogBo1DRE/s1600/December+2012+287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieC3VV8gwxpLeu1sUAGo9W4rDkF0cnLVumxM1SoPXVC5RkKUFCEWyUfgUU4apvilUXmBcYlurWznyPidMxeDzRa-wcj86Lm6BZBl6xOui-pjdQyzYjjDT-9tvWDAgy6L2DRbEogBo1DRE/s320/December+2012+287.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I will miss all of you, too. The Earth seems smaller now, and we'd love the opportunity to open our home to you in the coming years.</div>
</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-59325472442355036602012-12-08T19:51:00.001-07:002012-12-08T19:51:41.909-07:00Saltwater in our VeinsDespite the fact that Sam and I grew up on opposite coasts and have had a lifelong love and comfort with the ocean, our boys up until this year were Colorado-born--more comfortable amongst the mountainous landscape and hiking than the sea. At the start of our year here, they were somewhat tentative in the surf. They have made great strides, though, and Jackson and Alex now both dive with ease under oncoming waves in a manner I never needed to become accustomed to in the warm, still bathwater of Miami Beach.<br />
<br />
One of the best things the boys have participated in this year is the <a href="http://www.wollongongcityslsc.com.au/">Wollongong City Surf Lifesaving Club</a>. Kids as young as 5 years old learn about ocean safety and practice different events: Jackson and Alex both compete in flags (a quick beach race to grab a small section of hose, with one or two kids getting eliminated each round), sprint, sprint relay, and wade--and at Jackson's level they also do a swim as well as board races.<br />
<br />
We also signed them up for the four competitions in the Sydney Water Carnival Series, where they had an opportunity to compete against a number of other surf clubs in the area. Between the Saturday carnivals, the Sunday Nippers training and the Friday board training, the boys slept well at night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3C6RNOJY4vyqwh2j_j-pCeYBQUEZzyQmHrDI078GUF-aDMKgG18QhkK4V9hrf73j0Yt11jlsDi3qnCIN8yHFF7-VxJOPNoD9nd9Et-jSTtm-RYp0edVC3W_UbS_k-3-hTUhblPFsryw/s1600/December+2012+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3C6RNOJY4vyqwh2j_j-pCeYBQUEZzyQmHrDI078GUF-aDMKgG18QhkK4V9hrf73j0Yt11jlsDi3qnCIN8yHFF7-VxJOPNoD9nd9Et-jSTtm-RYp0edVC3W_UbS_k-3-hTUhblPFsryw/s320/December+2012+037.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jackson, who at four years old told us he was 'focusing the blood in his brain' before riding a sheep at a rodeo, thrives on competition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43xdXqSJxQjXOTT28juMTMdH2bHZg_aNb4ExqilMDQsDDWKqyQzbQUtSyoGaYfY-Rb532ECOIqHPZiM4TGZZgW-XUVhdeeCPTTdff0NziEVkkDXi1MbuddzTmldla_THC9D2JSd0alK0/s1600/December+2012+200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43xdXqSJxQjXOTT28juMTMdH2bHZg_aNb4ExqilMDQsDDWKqyQzbQUtSyoGaYfY-Rb532ECOIqHPZiM4TGZZgW-XUVhdeeCPTTdff0NziEVkkDXi1MbuddzTmldla_THC9D2JSd0alK0/s320/December+2012+200.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson on the red board </td></tr>
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At the start of the season, Jackson was playing catch up as he learned the technique of each event for the first time, but by last week's Nippers pointscore competition, he was 2nd in flags, 4th in boards, and 5th in the swim. <br />
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And here's a little glimpse of what we see from Alex, our dreamer...<br />
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With no extra fat on his bones (clearly taking after his father more than myself), he is not one to brave the cold water and he often says he makes sure to not do well enough in the wade to have to go again in the finals.<br />
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Flags is his favorite event, and he has done as well as 2nd place within his club (when he doesn't miss the signal to start running).<br />
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For months now they have had everpresent sand in their scalp and unlike Sam and me, don't seem to mind a little grit in their bedsheets. At the last Sunday session this morning, Alex's Under 8 group gathered around and gave him three cheers as a send-off, of course while I subtly wiped tears from under my sunglasses.<br />
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Over the past couple of weeks, and with a little bit of gentle prodding, Alex has confided that he's feeling anxious and that what he will miss most about Australia is the ocean. Dear friends wisely gave the boys some worry dolls as a going away present, and Alex used one last night because he told me he worried about how his friends will do here without him. As we walked away from the surf club for the last time this morning, Alex held my hand and told me that he thought he'd be using the worry doll again tonight.<br />
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Sweet boy; I know exactly how he's feeling.Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-69575084669883778392012-11-28T04:51:00.001-07:002012-11-28T04:51:17.856-07:00The Travel Bug Two weeks from today, we'll head out of Wollongong for the last time. I'm trying to temper my sadness of leaving Australia with thoughts of Colorado: there's nothing like the promise of fresh snow, a fire burning in our woodstove, and Denver's eye candy of those majestic mountains draped across the city's backdrop to get me excited about going home. <br />
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Sam and I wonder how we'll feel when we get home--do travelers look forward to their next adventure, or do they revel in nesting for a period of time? I am already dreaming about a summer-long road trip across the States...but also yearn to be settled in something that's <i>ours </i>again. Once the springtime fruit tree blossoms give way to summertime heat, I can see planting a full-fledged garden, meeting friends at City Park Jazz, hiking, and experimenting with my ice cream maker. Denver summers--all its seasons, really--are glorious.<br />
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The ice cream maker in my head was heartily churning but disappeared in a poof when I saw that <a href="http://www.adventuresinafrica.com/">Africa Adventure Consultants</a> recently launched a contest to win a South African family safari. We immediately started some family brainstorming and a couple of weeks later, we had an absolute ball filming, editing and submitting a video you can see if you click <a href="http://www.adventuresinafrica.com/african-safari-contest/">here</a> and go to 'View and Vote'--ours is titled '<b>Australian Safari</b>'. As you'll see, we are far from professional web/graphic/film/nameyourtechnology designers--but it was great fun to plan and execute our faux wildlife documentary.*<br />
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After this year in Australia with my kids tracking goannas, quietly observing kangaroos, crawling into wombat holes, and platypus-spotting, their bred-in-Colorado love for the natural world has increased exponentially. A South African family safari would be an incredible experience that I don't foresee us affording on our own, and the kids would soak up every minute of the wildlife, from the beetles to the Cape buffalo.<br />
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Our video doesn't need to receive the highest number of votes; we just need enough to get us into the top 25--all of the finalists are judged on quality, creativity and humor. So, if you are so inclined--<a href="http://adventuresinafrica.com/african-safari-contest/">check out our video</a> (as well as the others), and make a vote! You can vote once a day if you are so inclined, but likely only my mom, at best, would be so devoted.<br />
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If we don't win the safari, you are all invited to our house to hover around the ice cream maker next summer and test out some experimental flavors--heirloom tomato ice cream, anyone?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*and a big shout-out to Riley, our favorite 13-year old Aussie and semi-adopted son who helped us scout locations, film sequences, and edit the piece into a somewhat cohesive concoction! </span>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-91476741194591435012012-11-12T20:44:00.002-07:002012-11-13T06:29:13.646-07:00The End is NighYesterday marked a month until our departure...and the pit in my stomach is growing. Wollongong feels like home now, so much so that I was actually surprised when a waitress recently asked us if we were from the States. Who, us, with an accent? I don't even notice it anymore, especially since Jackson has picked up all kinds of Aussie phrasing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Oi mate, let's play some footy. It'll be fun as, bot!"</i></td></tr>
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Driving on the left side of the road doesn't give me the slightest pause, although I still regularly (cough cough *today*) walk up to the wrong side of the car to drive. I tried to make it look casual, like I needed something out of the passenger side, but it was a little conspicuous. Maybe because I was wearing my red white and blue 'Proud to be an American" shirt. <br />
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JOKING.<br />
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My stomach muscles have now adjusted to the Herculean strength necessary for steering the grocery carts without careening into the aisles. When people ask me "How ya going?" I know to answer them with a 'fine' instead of having an inner debate about what the hell that means (by car? by foot? ummm...). When friends tell me they'll see me this arvo (pronounced ah-vo) I know I'll see them in the afternoon, not at the Salvos (the local thrift store). I can even tell by the squawk whether it's a galah or a sulphur-crested cockatoo flying overhead.<br />
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We know that an outing at low tide means always keeping an eye out for sea urchin skeletons--there's nothing quite as appealing to me as the orderly, nubby rows on those round gifts from the sea. <br />
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We know that a calm sea makes it easier to catch the spout of water from a whale; the tail usually follows a few seconds later. Early evening is a great time to spot squid, and dozens of hermit crabs make great playmates at Little Beach. The best coffee is found at <a href="http://leeandme.com.au/">Lee & Me</a>, <a href="http://www.swellcoffee.com.au/">Swell</a>, or <a href="http://www.hisboyelroy.com.au/">His Boy Elroy</a> (where the cocktails look incredible--mental note to test my hypothesis in the very near future).<br />
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Just when I have this all figured out, we're putting our car on the market, starting to clean out closets, and our goodbye party is on the calendar. My light posting here is a function of still not having an adequate camera (I think Hurricane Sandy must have slowed the shipping out of Long Island) and the fact that we are spending much of our non-school hours at the beach. North Beach, Little Beach, City Beach, tidepools, continental pools, rock pool...soaking it all in, literally.<br />
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I love Denver. But part of my family's hearts will always remain in Australia for sure.Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-57081451507301059142012-10-22T20:56:00.000-06:002012-10-22T21:23:53.702-06:00Tidepools in MacroSo, I recently discovered the macro lens on my camera and was in love with viewing the world through a magnified lens. If I had two wishes, I would shrink myself and live amongst the magical world where the rocks meet the sea (I'd happily donate the first wish towards curing childhood cancer).<br />
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My love for all things macro is now in a period of mourning, because I dropped our camera (while in its padded case) into the water for a millisecond at the close of our canoe trip. Lightning fast reflexes prevented moisture from breaching the case, and it there wasn't a hard impact on the fall, but I'm still getting a lens error, dammit. I keep powering it on in hopes there will be have been some camera faith healing due to sheer will, but no dice.<br />
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Coupled with the loss of my iphone due to a freakish wave on the beach soaking our belongings, I've had some serious pangs of withdrawal and Paul Simon's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZpaNJqF4po">Kodachrome</a> has been playing on a loop in my head as we go about our days here. The mention of Instagram makes my eyes teary and my hands are shaky for the shutter button.<br />
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These are precious days, made more poignant by the boys growing right before my very eyes. I've blinked and the pajamas that Jackson seemingly just wore are now Kenyon's. I love the fact that Alex's almost 8-year old self is most comfortable sleeping in his green plaid Major Snoozers with his blanket and stuffed guinea pig, but it won't be long before they will all be a mere remnant of his boyhood. Alex came to Australia with a mouth full of baby teeth but has lost six of them during the course of this year. It goes by all too fast, this mothering of children, these years of family togetherness, and I want to soak it up while I can. To have a record of Kenyon's hair before it's no longer a sun-kissed blond, his naked body wearing nothing but a blanket as a cape. And of Alex's perfect sprinkling of freckles, and Jackson's strong boyish build.<br />
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***<br />
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I just sucked it up and purchased a new camera; a duplicate of the Canon Powershot Elph 300HS that we have been using. It's no fancy SLR, but it works just fine for traveling. Unfortunately, there is no instant gratification to be had in Australia for anywhere near a reasonable price. I'll be hardly containing my excitement until it's delivered to my brother and then forwarded along to me.<br />
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<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-85095640438884035062012-10-21T05:25:00.002-06:002012-10-21T05:28:01.153-06:00Bellingen BirthdayMy birthday fell towards the end of our road trip, and since I was still <strike>holding my family hostage in paradise</strike> basking in the glow of Bellingen, we went <a href="http://www.canoeadventures.com.au/">canoeing on the Bellinger River</a>. Sam gave me the ultimate birthday present by telling me to go ahead and have my own kayak while he'd be managing the kids.<br />
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Jackson was in a single-person craft as well,<br />
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and Sam, Alex and Kenyon triple-teamed it.<br />
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With no kids to wrangle, or iwanttositupfront/isaidthatiwasgoingtousethatoarbutyoujusttookit/whenisitmyturntousethesinglekayakyousaidicouldusethesinglekayak to mediate, it's amazing how peaceful it is to be on a river!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ahhhhhhhhh...serenity now. So lovely.</td></tr>
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We'd paddle some, and then mosey on over to the side to spot water dragons in the trees. <br />
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Alex spent much of his time in the canoe crafting and delivering his finest arguments as to why he should have a turn in the single-man kayak. You'd think one of his parents was one of those annoying attorney-types or something; I wonder where on Earth he could get this persistence? <br />
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Of course, as soon as he got his wish, we saw a lot of this:<br />
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A blur of lots of movement but going absolutely nowhere? Check. Stuck in trees and other brush? Check. Backwards motion while seemingly paddling forward? Check. It's honestly hard to believe so much effort could be put forth with such a poor outcome. Luckily, my wonder-husband Sam totally MacGyvered a solution by breaking off a vine and tethering his canoe to Alex's so he and the other two boys could provide some forward momentum for our canoe-inept Al Pal. And more luckily, I was still in my peaceful solo kayak enjoying the river.<br />
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Despite the fact that it was my last day in Bellingen (cue the weeping), it was a pleasant, peaceful birthday out enjoying life with people I love, in beautiful surroundings. No better way to celebrate another year on this planet, really, and I can't think of any other life I'd rather be living at 35 than this.<br />
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(think harder, you say? Ok, if hardpressed, I'd toss a few more dollars in our bank account, buy some property up here large enough that friends and family could visit, and then do the obvious--open a wombat sanctuary.) But canoeing on the river is a close second, and I'll always remember it.<br />
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**and this concludes my posts and gushing about Bellingen, I promise!**Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-83303789997474626472012-10-06T05:59:00.001-06:002012-10-21T05:28:18.113-06:00I Left My Heart in BellingenLast week, we pulled into the town of Bellingen, NSW for just a one-night stopover. Have you ever gone to a new town and immediately had the uncanny sensation that you were home?<br />
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I hadn't, until that moment. <br />
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We parked along the main street of small, non-touristy shops (of course, making a quick mental note of the gelato shop), and I already felt twinges of a crush. <br />
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By the time we strolled around the corner and my eyes fell upon the hostel, I immediately turned to Sam and informed him that we would be staying here more than one night. There were no arguments; we were all fairly enthralled.<br />
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The boys quickly got acquainted with the pool table ("we don't even have to pay for the games!") and the chess board. The various other kids staying at the hostel became playmates.<br />
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'Paradise' is a strong word, and not one that I toss around lightly. Paradise evokes images of different things for different people (cue theme song to Diff'rent Strokes), but my paradise?<br />
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Well, it needs to have lots of <b>wood</b>--lots of trees as well as wood in the living spaces.<br />
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Set nearby <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0011">Dorrigo National Park</a> with its lush rainforests, trees are aplenty in Bellingen. The hostel had wonderful wooden deck spaces and balconies to enjoy the view.<br />
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Another must-have for my paradise is a swimmable <b>river</b>. Here, my dear Bellingen scores a double-whammy. Just beyond a grassy meadow behind the hostel is the Bellinger River, and the hostel had inner tubes for the taking.<br />
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A scenic 15 minute drive takes you up into--and I'm not making this up--an area called the Promised Land, where the Never Never Creek runs.<br />
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Any place named the Promised Land can't be drab, barren or forgettable; here, the area more than lived up to its name with a) striking hills and postcard-perfect farmland<br />
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and b) a gorgeous river with water pure enough to drink.<br />
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I'd also like to see some <b>interesting flora and fauna</b>. <br />
I am always seeing new and interesting plants in Australia, so that's an easy one.<br />
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But again, Bellingen scores high on the fauna scale with its huge colony of <a href="http://tunheimfamily.blogspot.com/2012/10/bombs-and-bellingen-bats.html">grey-headed flying foxes</a>. Seeing thousands of bats heading out as dusk takes over the land is magical, and I love that it happens on a nightly basis and isn't just a seasonal migration. <br />
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Another must? I need me some <b>character</b>. With less than 3000 residents, Bellingen is small but its disproportionally high number of artists and musicians lend a wonderful feeling to the community. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">painting on the side of a house near the bat nature reserve</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yarnbombed gate</td></tr>
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I know I sound like some gushy tween who just got the latest issue of Teen Beat, but I swear I wish I could bottle the sweet smell in the air and replay the sound of the birds chirping, because it was simply everything that I picture when I think of the word 'paradise' (well, except that there was a notable absence of frolicking wombats...but you can't have everything, right?).<br />
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I don't profess to know what happens after we die, but if we are reincarnated, I can only hope my soul will find its way into any life form in Bellingen. Platypus in the river? Sure. Rainbow lorikeet in a banksia tree? Awesome. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**there is one more thing that is difficult for me to type...a major flaw that puts a chink in my idyllic image of the area. Anyone who knows me well will understand why I see this is a major travesty, yet I am willing to (gasp!) overlook it because I love this town so much. Ok, here goes. The town is called <b>Bellingen</b>, but it is set on the <b>Bellinger </b>River. Strange, huh? Um, it is said that the discrepancy is a spelling error likely caused by the misinterpretation of bad handwriting. My beloved town is linked to a spelling error? Noooooooo!**</span>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-28251952588093912932012-10-03T04:18:00.000-06:002012-10-21T05:28:33.279-06:00Bombs and Bellingen BatsDuring this entire year in Australia, a recurring, near-daily theme that the older boys discuss in our household is Odyssey, their public charter school back in Denver. Sure, they talk about the friends they miss, but it's so much more than that--they talk about the teachers and the principal, all of whom they endlessly adore. When I admire any work they've done, they say that it's because Lori (or Billy) was such a good teacher. Because they go on camping and hiking outings with Odyssey, the school assuredly comes up on every single road trip as we camp and hike. They talk about things they've learned and the <i>way</i> they learn there, because it is so much more interesting than the school they're at in Wollongong. I agree wholeheartedly; I've said before that the Odyssey community is what I miss most about Denver. <br />
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A long and painful story short, our participation in this school district-sanctioned teacher exchange program has caused our boys to lose their spots as students at this school. Current state and district funding rules don't take this exchange program into account, despite the fact that this teacher exchange program has run for upwards of thirty years. With charter schools on the rise, especially in Colorado, the rules need to change--it is a detriment to the exchange program that while my husband continues to earn his salary from the school system, gains another year towards retirement, and retains his position, our children are the ones who will be punished by being cut off from the educational community that they know and love upon our return.<br />
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We found out a couple of months ago that the kids had definitely lost their spots at Odyssey, and I was gutted. Our plan was to wait as long as possible before telling the boys, especially since we didn't know what school they would attend and we thought the unknown would cause even more anxiety. Recently, though, the talk about Odyssey has increased, and it has felt more and more like we're lying to them. I didn't want to cause them anxiety, but I was experiencing extreme amounts of anxiety myself whenever they'd bring it up.<br />
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On our way to hike at Warrumbungle National Park, Odyssey came up for the second time in an hour, and Sam and I looked at each other and gave a small nod. I took a deep breath and dropped the bomb on the kids. With a shaky voice, I told them I had some bad news and let them know they wouldn't be returning to their treasured school right away, that it would take some time with wait lists and such. That I was working on getting them into another great program and I'd let them know when we knew what it was (after this year of joyless education, all I want is for them to be in a program where they can feel engaged and fulfilled). <br />
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The dust settled, and we were all still alive--the boys had tears in their eyes, but it was far, far better than I had imagined over the preceding two months. We processed it as we hiked, and Jackson said he was angry and sad. I agreed, and said I felt the same way. I assured him that he'd see his friends all the time and that we'd have lots of sleepovers, but he said he'd really miss the teachers as well. I agreed. I'm sure there will be more processing in the coming months as we prepare to head home, but I admire the way they have handled it thus far. I don't handle perceived injustice very well and have had a far rougher go at this news myself.<br />
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I am fully aware that if this is the worst bomb that is dropped on them during their childhoods, they will have been blessed--but still, I hate the fact that this community that has nurtured them since their foray into education will not be there to welcome them back with loving arms when our exchange ends.<br />
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***<br />
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Just a 5 minute walk from <strike>the place I want to sell all my earthly possessions and move to</strike> the hostel we've been staying at is a mini nature reserve that houses a huge colony of grey-headed flying foxes. These massive bats are unlike anything I've seen in the States. We have seen them flying in the sky here at dusk, but we took a walk over there around 4pm to see them hanging from the trees. <br />
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I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but as we walked down the short path we saw them immediately.<br />
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Whoooooa. Tree after tree, infested with these strange, wondrous creatures.<br />
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Um, holy crap.<br />
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When we first arrived, they were all sleeping but within a couple of minutes they began to awoke and began chittering noisily, stretching and poking at each other.<br />
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Many of them were staring down at us, and although they eat fruit I was a bit nervous that they would angrily swarm us for invading their territory.<br />
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'Stay up there, nice little bats' was my silent mantra as we watched them, necks craned towards the sky. And then here and there, they started taking to the sky.<br />
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Amidst school difficulties here and the boys losing their places at their beloved school, I have often wondered whether we've detrimentally altered our kids' educational paths by selfishly doing this exchange. <br />
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And then we watch fruit bats awaken right over our heads and fly off for their evening feasts. My mind flashes through watching kangaroos box right next to our campsite, spotting octopus in the tidepools, rainforest hikes, swimming in perched lakes, and I hope those amazing experiences and so many more we've had as a family this year will render those dreary classroom hours immaterial. <br />
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And boys, I am so, so sorry that you won't be back at Odyssey.Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-16848069549463373022012-09-30T05:51:00.001-06:002012-09-30T23:06:59.409-06:00Sawtell Beach GemsWell, I guess the universe is trying to teach me something about my whole trip-planning mode; today was a lesson in letting go, and I'm listening. We had loosely planned this whole road trip around being in Bongil Bongil National Park at a certain date and time to attend an award-winning tour about Aboriginal weapons and bush tucker. We pulled into the park and waited with a number of other people, but the ranger guide never showed. Although I was bummed because I had really been looking forward to this activity, the rest of our day ended up being so enjoyable I can't muster up any complaints.<br />
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Once almost an hour had passed and it was clear there was no chance of the ranger's appearance, we made the 5 minute drive into the cute little town of Sawtell and had a quick picnic lunch before heading to the beach.<br />
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Not a bad Plan B on a whim.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">someone was excited to be at the beach...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we spotted lots of these teeny little jellyfish globules in the sand</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pretty coral covered rock</td></tr>
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Tidepools are an endless supply of wonderment, and today was no exception.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam found this awesome banjo shark</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hey little crab!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">eagle-eye Alex spotted this octopus, and we also got to see it squirt ink!</td></tr>
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But the real highlight for me? These AMAZING starfish that looked as if they are adorned with batiked Celtic knots. <br />
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Honestly, have you ever seen such gorgeous sealife?? They were all over the place, and each one had a different color scheme. So lovely.<br />
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Sawtell Beach reminded me a lot of <a href="http://tunheimfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/beach-perfection-at-yuraygir-national.html">my all-time favorite beach</a> at Yuraygir National Park, especially with the crabs that come up from holes and push out these perfectly round little balls of sand.<br />
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And on the walk back, I caught a sweet moment of brotherly love between Jackson and Alex...<br />
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...and caught Kenyon during a rousing game of Fall in the Sand While Stomping Through the Steep Parts<br />
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We stopped for a long time and chatted with a father and son, learning as we watched them capture sandworms to use as bait. <br />
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The father dragged a bag of fish parts back and forth over very shallow water to attract the worms just beyond...<br />
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The son's trained eye would spot the little feelers of the worm coming up through the sand, and he reached down to hold a little piece of fish directly above it...<br />
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And voila! Sand worm.<br />
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This is a fine art, and was far harder than it looked--the boys and Sam tried repeatedly, even with finding a worm and having their fingers right on it, but were never successful. <br />
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And me? I stayed on the chatting/photographing end of things, not wanting the knowledge that these massive worms live <i>right</i> under the sand in the very area that had only very recently been deemed tied for the esteemed award of Annie's Favorite Beach.<br />
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Epic, epic day, despite that darn ranger being a no-show. Now I need to start researching the logistics involved with constructing a wall-length batik starfish aquarium back home in Denver...<br />
<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-83041500176486835302012-09-28T06:07:00.001-06:002012-09-28T14:36:47.234-06:00Trip Planning Braggadocio and Dorrigo Rainforest Hike When it comes to traveling, I'm a planner. And not just a planner, but I spend hours upon hours scouring the internet, doing Google blog searches, for any and all information I can find on the very best places around. I figure if I'm only going to be someplace once, I want to see the things and eat at the places that I'd most enjoy (and if I'm hardpressed, I guess I think of my family as well...). Wouldn't it be a terrible shame if I missed, say, a terrific cup of coffee at a cute cafe, or worse yet, an amazing chocolate shop with a resident wombat?? My hands tremble at the mere thought!<br />
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<i>(if a wombat-adorned chocolate shop exists, I beg anyone reading this to write and tell me now before I leave this country because I will find a way to get there, come hell or high water)</i><br />
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I write all this because despite my travel-planning ways, we woke up in our hotel in Armidale, NSW without a clear plan of where to go next. We knew we had to be at <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkhome.aspx?id=N0089">Bongil Bongil National Park</a> (motto: So Nice We Named It Twice!) by Saturday morning for an Aboriginal Bush Tucker, Tools and Weapons tour. But with no camping allowed at the park, I was unsure where to go--not a great position to be in at the start of a long holiday weekend where anyone and everyone is traveling. There are only 22 million people in this whole country, but during a long holiday weekend they all seem to go wherever we want to go. And with a husband tapping his foot and three antsy kids, I spent a frantic 30 minutes with my trusty iPhone and iPad working overtime to draft a plan. <br />
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I'm well aware of Australians' disdain for tall poppies and their view of Americans as loudmouthed braggarts...but can I take a moment and pat myself (lightly) on the back here? Because I scored bigtime sitting on a concrete planter during this hasty motel parking lot trip planning when I scored the last room at the Bellingen YHA. <br />
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But I'm getting ahead of myself, because I also squeezed in a perfectly-timed mid-drive rainforest hike. (again, let me pause to demurely bask in the glory of myself...)<br />
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<a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0011">Dorrigo National Park</a> is a World Heritage-listed park that seemingly comes out of nowhere--we had just driven through terrain that bore an uncanny resemblance to Sonoma County, California when all of a sudden we were in a lush rainforest.<br />
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The Crystal Shower Falls hike was just the right length to stretch our legs, and you can't beat a picnic lunch right smack in front of a waterfall.<br />
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Behold, the obligatory waterfall pictures...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">excuse the wrinkles and Sam's bad hair; we've been camping...and we're getting older.<br />
I'd probably better add a youthful appearance to the picture...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">much better</td></tr>
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Then we were off to Bellingen, where I sit so contentedly writing this post and continuing to revel in my luck. And now I shall retire to bed, so declaring my undying love for this town I'm in must wait until tomorrow...Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-40603095651609484812012-09-27T05:06:00.001-06:002012-09-28T04:51:58.587-06:00Warrumbungles Ahoy!We set out for our final school holiday road trip at the auspicious time of 3:40am. With our neighbors having a loud party until the wee hours of the night, Sam and I slept for but a wee bit ourselves before our alarm rang. It sounds torturous, but believe me--waking up up at an ungodly hour to begin a road trip is far, far more enjoyable than spending any more than 4 hours in the car with three children. With 7.5 hours of ground to cover, waking up super early and putting three sleepy kids in the car who would sleep for another 4 hours was a no-brainer.<br />
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Our first stop was the teeny but cute town of Mudgee, where we had an awesome breakfast and a run around the park.<br />
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One of us--I'm not naming any names (although I did take a picture), had some post-breakfast grump to work through.<br />
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The rest of the drive was no big deal thanks to a book on tape, and before we knew it we were pulling into <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkhome.aspx?id=N0035">Warrumbungle National Park</a>. We chose a great spot that would be our home for the next three nights, and met our new neighbors.<br />
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We camped next to a dry creek bed, nestled amongst the trees but with a nice meadow.<br />
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The Warrumbungle region is known for amazing stargazing, but although we had clear skies the moon was bright enough to hamper any memorable experience with distant galaxies. Instead, we kept our activities to the daytime and went on a couple great hikes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this tree stump was made of gorgeous waves</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we found a sweet little abandoned bird's nest</td></tr>
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This first hike took us to Tara Cave, where we could see grinding grooves in the stone from earlier Aboriginal occupants.<br />
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The second hike was only 3.6km but contained 2000 steps...and my calves are feeling it.<br />
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The views at the top were worth it, as well as the nice couple we met up there. They said that seeing us was like a time warp, as they also had three boys spaced apart exactly as our boys (although they were now 35, 33, and 30). They were both educators and it was great to chat with them about family and teaching before heading back down.<br />
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I was slightly bummed that we didn't get the stargazing delight that I had imagined, but we did have an unexpected surprise that was a clear highlight. As we began driving out of the park, an mother emu and her babies crossed the road right in front of us.<br />
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If you look closely you can see a few babies around her as well as the plucky little straggler still crossing...totally awesome!<br />
<br />Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272333887466819444.post-76700058300202157082012-09-20T07:43:00.000-06:002012-09-20T07:43:28.518-06:00BlogHer Book Review: Daring Greatly<br />
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I received an advance copy of a new book to read and
review, and in full disclosure, I am being compensated to participate in this
brief <a href="http://www.blogher.com/bookclub/now-reading-first-husband"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">BlogHer Book Club</span></a> review but
my opinions about the book are mine and mine alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr. Brene Brown, an academic researcher on the
topic of shame, gained wide recognition from a 2010 TED talk called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Power of Vulnerability</span></a>. Her new
book, <i>Daring Greatly</i>, explores themes of shame,
vulnerability--topics I don't necessarily have on the forefront of my thoughts
on a regular basis--and it gave me some good insight into both how I view
myself and how I parent my children.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All parents have hopes and dreams for their children,
and as I watch my boys grow, my hopes and dreams for them are not that they go
to Ivy League schools, or that they become lawyers (heaven forbid!). What
I yearn for most when I imagine them as adults is that they are...happy. Happy
that they are alive and living their lives, because life is beautiful. It
sounds simple enough, but this ambiguous adjective is hard to ensure because
there are no tangible criteria for progress in one's happiness like there are
in mathematics or reading. Instead, we as parents need to somehow arm our
children with emotional tools of resilience so they have the strength,
confidence and peace of mind to find their own happiness. A daunting
task.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brown writes how present society has this overarching tenet
of scarcity, of 'not enough'--we feel we aren't (insert any adjective here--rich, pretty, smart, active, tall, petite,
curvy). We didn't get enough sleep. We didn't eat healthy
enough that day. We weren't funny enough when we told that joke.
She posits that in shame-prone cultures with this 'not enough' mentality,
self-worth is tied to what a person produces instead of simply who they are or
what makes them happy. Thinking along these lines, we will never achieve
satisfaction with our lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This one quote really stuck with me: "Raising
children who are hopeful and who have the courage to be vulnerable means
stepping back and letting them experience disappointment, deal with conflict,
learn how to assert themselves, and have the opportunity to fail. If
we're always following our children into the arena, hushing the critics, and
assuring their victory, they'll never learn that they have the ability to dare
greatly on their own."<o:p></o:p></div>
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That right there is enough for me to chew on for a while,
and then I'll return to the book for more. <i>Daring Greatly</i> is a book most anyone would
find thought-provoking, and I look forward to more from Dr. Brown.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01003509923187311611noreply@blogger.com1