The Blog of Blogs: Australia Edition (so grab a cuppa--as they say-- and hang on)

Dianne here...

G'day mates.  We loved Australia--the people, the food, the wide open spaces, the wildlife, the scenery, the way it felt like home, and the mailboxes. 

We'll start there.  

Australia wins for most original mailboxes.  Apparently there is no standard size nor shape, so the mailboxes brim with personality:

My personal favorite. :)

Next up, wildlife, both real and sign-post style:

And, sure enough...

This cute little guy is an echidna.  Who knew?

These wallabies are similar to, but smaller than, kangaroos.

THESE are kangaroos. :)

There were so many cockatoos in this tree, that we
 thought on first glance that the tree was in bloom, 
and these were it's white flowers!

We also saw loads of wombats, these adorable little creatures, although we did not take this picture, as all the wombats we saw were...um, dead on the side of the road (presumably from being hit by cars), so I decided to post this pic of a pre-hit wombat.

On to Food and Friends:

This tropical fruit is a lychee.  My first. And, for those who are wondering, it is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family.  Mmmm...

The next two pictures on the right are of the Lush family.  They live on the campus of Brisbane School of Theology (BST), where Brad taught, so we saw them every day, and loved every single minute we got to spend with them.  So many of the adventures we had in Brisbane were with these guys.  How we love them!!

In Sydney, the Gill family loved us to no end.  They are friends whom we met in Cambridge, and they are one of  the main reasons Australia felt like home.  It was lovely to already know them, get to spend time with them, and hear all that the Lord is doing--both in them, and in Sydney. :)

Malcom and Tamara Gill and her to-die-for pavlova.  Just LOOK at that dessert!!  She is one amazing woman!

CHURROS!!

Next up, scenery and skylines:

View of Brisbane from BST

Along Great Ocean Road

Spectacular View from "The Gap" in Sydney

Remember the movie The Man from Snowy River (that was filmed in Australia)?!?!

Well, THIS is Snowy River!!!! :)

Up next, the GAMES we played in Australia:

Ping pong--we played lots of it!!

One of my favorite pictures.  I still laugh every time I see it. 
They are looking at the ball that just whizzed past them as they
 both watched it go by... 

Cricket:

Whether in Geelong with friends at Reformed Theological College...

...or with friends in the backyard at BST...

...the kids have played, and we have watched, a lot of cricket... :)

Cards and Seven Wonders:

In this little cabin in a wood...

...we stayed and played lots of cards, as there was no television...no internet...and it rained BUCKETS (see figure 1 below) most of the three days we were there.

Figure 1.  So much rain that it was a sheer sheet of water on each window.

We fell in love with the Chong family while in Sydney.  They were our neighbors at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, and with 3 adorable kids, plus being native New Zealanders (where we had just been), we hit it off right away.  It was in their home that Tori started humming songs from the Romans cd, on which our niece Kelsie sings the lead female vocal, and Cheryl (the mom) said, "Oh, we have that cd."  Wait...WHAT?!?!?!?!  Way over in New Zealand, they had heard about it and ordered it, so we started listening to it as we played Seven Wonders.  So fun (and so proud of Kelsie!! :)

And, speaking of the Chong's adorable kiddos: 

Frisbee (note the cricket game in the background):

Bowties:

These guys were so much fun!   They both wore their bow ties just for Brad on the last day of his class.  Alan Stanley, on the right, and his family made us feel so welcome!  They let us use their car for the entire week, plus checked in on us every day--
so kind!!  All these guys at BST were a complete joy to get to know!! :)

Other Random Australian Memories:

Watching an airshow with a stunt pilot at Manly Beach...

Love this picture of my boy. 
 (Taken on ferry crossing Sydney Harbor.)

That little cabin? Had creek behind.  With LEACHES!!! LOTS of them. 

Love this picture of my boy. 
 (Taken after seeing our first kangaroo in the wild.)

Same little cabin, in the brief interlude between torrential downpours. 

Sometimes...just sometimes...I don't WANT to smile...  

...unless I'm with this guy... ;)

Oh my word.  This guy, Mark, was the chef at Reformed Theological College in Geelong.
His culinary creations were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

The Lush family is kinda like the Von Trapp Family--all very musical
 and willing to share their gifts.  Here Jonny is on guitar and oldest
daughter Isabella is on cello in their worship band at church.

Tori's Hair Salon is now open.  She's had plenty
of on-the-job training this year. :)

Sydney's Opera House, from the ferry

Sydney's Opera House, not from the ferry ;)

Farewell, mates.