Remember That Time

That time we wanted to do something fun but I had to work so we didn't have much time. And then the weather wasn't great. So we bought chips and chocolate and lollies and went for a drive up One Tree Hill. We looked in the old cottage and you found a "war room". Trying to pat the sheep that turned out not to be as tame as they first looked ;P Hanging and playing games with my little sibs. Bringing your friend Allison along to see us all. Forgetting to take photos. And then getting up at some crazy hour to get you on your flight back to Aus. Thinking we should make the most of our last few minutes together but being too tired to think lol. Deciding to get photos together and wishing we had remembered when we didn't look so tired . . . :P Thanks for your friendship, Bethany <3

Aussie Trip {Part 16} Grace's Birthday

I love how Grace's 20th was one of the main reasons for my trip but I barely took photos! :/ From what I heard, she and Aileen spent most of the day in the kitchen preparing an African-themed meal for a number of us; I love cooking but a whole day is pushing it! :O It was really nice though, so thanks ;)

So anyways when we arrived at the cousins' place I walked straight in and announced I was home ;P and then greeted the cats as I found them ;) Uncle Richard had come down so it was great to finally see him (he was away for work when I was in Brissy and we headed south before he returned), and the one week I'd been away from Maclean seemed like a long time . . . it was nice to be back with the cousins and Aunty Vicki there as well.

Some of the second or third cousins came as well, we saw them back on our '05 trip and some of them have been here since then, but I'm still not sure I can remember who's who . . . :O Oops ;P

: : Okay so most of these photos I just pointed the camera in the general direction and hoped for the best; : :
it was too dark to see much of anything on the screen 

Thanks Grace and Aileen and Bethany and Uncle Richard and Aunty Vicki, and everyone else who helped pull this off!
And happy birthday Grace! Hope you enjoyed being 20 . . . since that year's actually over now ;P

Aussie Trip {Part 15} I Don't Have a Noticeably Kiwi Accent . . . Or Maybe I Do

Apart from the Pet Porpoise Pool, Bethany and I met Susie for lunch one day at the river; it was overcast to start with and a bit chilly, but by the time we left the sun was out and it was getting pretty warm. We watched some people on the river, and I was informed that anything including sharks and crocs could be hiding under the surface, never mind the water itself not having an overly clean appearance. Anyways lunch was good and it was nice to catch up with Susie again -- thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to come see us! :)

I also let Jared win some board/card games (coz I'm such a good guest . . . or I just haven't practiced enough ;P), folded some washing (everyone kept telling me to make myself at home! :P), got completely spoiled (Mrs. McAlpine reckons I'm a good guest . . . idk I think the credit goes to her), and went to some of Bethany's jobs with her. The playcentre brought back memories, although thankfully we never had to worry about arachnids of incredible size when I attended one over here years back! ;P

Oh yeah, and we did some shopping and a receptionist was surprised to hear I was from NZ, saying my accent wasn't noticeable . . . Bethany cleared that up pretty quickly though ;P And I went to Toastmasters for the first time. (What's with air conditioning?!)

: : On my last day with Bethany, getting ready for Grace's birthday that night : :

Aussie Trip {Part 14} Dolphins or Seals?

The Pet Porpoise Pool is a fairly small place, so I feel like dolphins and seals were the main animals, although they also had turtles and several tanks of fish. But anyways, it was kind of funny that we each had a different favourite animal. Bethany decided she needed a pet seal to keep her great dane company, and I reckon the dolphins were a whole lot cooler close up than I expected. Maybe one day I'll pay the big bucks and swim with them. ;) On a warmer day though . . . but anyways. 

This one was in its enclosure behind glass; the reflection was really strong most of the time, which destroyed some shots that would have been pretty amazing otherwise! :/ 

Oh yeah, the keeper basically put on a small show for us . . . most people had left by this stage and we were the only two who walked over.

And then we were heading toward the exit and saw this one.

We thought those last shots were a pretty good finale, and we were ready to leave anyway, so I grabbed a few souvenirs for some of the little sibs' and then we started on the drive home. :) Thanks for my belated birthday present Bethany ;)

Aussie Trip {Part 13} Pet Porpoise Pool

While my main focus in visiting Australia was to catch up with friends and family, I did want to do a couple of touristy things and bring back some cool photos for my blog ;) On one of the days I had with Bethany we went down to the Pet Porpoise Pool in Coffs Harbour. At this point in my trip the weather packed up so the day was a bit chilly and we had some rain (#totallynottheidealweatherforourexcursion) but we decided to go for it anyway since we didn't have long together, and we had a good day regardless. :)

: : Gotta love shutter lag ;P : :

: : Oh yay, caught some of the action this time!! : :

: : We got to stroke the dolphins as they swam past; they're so smooth! : :

: : Oh, hello! : :

: : Lol those teeth are so small . . . ! : :

: : So hard to get good shots with the sun reflecting off the water :/ : :

: : They look so cute here, but wow the smell :P : :

: : Someone's hungry! : :

: : Eww fish :P : :

: : I love how this one at the back is just doing his own thing lol : :

: : I don't normally take photos of rubbish bins . . . but . . .  : :

More to follow :)

Recent Happenings

Recap of my Wellington adventure coming soon. :) In the meantime, here's a small summary of miscellaneous things we've done over the holidays so far.

I've posted a few photos from our house-rearranging, but here are a few more:

Yeah. It isn't half as spacious now :P

Bookcases in and wardrobe filled. We've raised the bar in the wardrobe a bit because some of the dresses were too close the the shoe rack. And we put in another shelf below that one ;)

Triple bunk set. It is more solid now and will be painted purple before it makes it to our room. Jarrod has been building it with some advice/guidance for our uncle (Uncle Paul) who's a builder.

My friend Bethany visited from Australia for a little while. It was three years since I last saw her and it was great to catch up but she has to stay longer next time :P Sadly the photojournalist in me is working part time right now. :/ So we took very few pics I'm afraid. We had a successful shopping expedition together, and Mum took us and another of my friends to a cafe in Devonport for dessert one night.

That's Bethany next to me, and the girl in the blue top is Alison. They're from the same church and came over together.

The end of this post. :P