A Summer to Remember (Check Offs on Bucket List)

Well, I don't officially have a "Bucket List" but if I did I think I could cross off several things from my travels this summer. My summer isn't officially over until August 8, when PDS teachers return back to school, but as I lay here thinking tonight, just thought I'd post a few things that stand out in my mind about this summer. (Forgive me, this may ramble and probably will have lots of run-on sentences!)
First, going to Costa Rica with a group of PDS rising 6th graders and a male teacher and male administrator was a great trip. Being the only female going, I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I think I did a good job hanging in there with all the guys through our adventures-staying in an eco-lodge with no AC and no hot water, sleeping under a mosquito net with lattice over the windows not knowing what could fly, crawl, or slither in my room, walking through the rainforest during the day hearing howler monkeys above us in the tree tops, walking through the rainforest in the pouring rain during a night hike (with possibly the worst flashlight on the planet that I thought was a good one when I bought it), white water rafting (and grabbing the life jacket of Mark Fruitt every time we went through the rapids-ha ha!), zip lining-which I LOVED and was amazed at God's beautiful creation, Tarzan swing-which I didn't love, but I did and didn't wimp out (if you missed the video, you missed a good laugh), being attacked by what I thought was a bat in my cabin, but turned out to be a bird (which I still didn't want in my cabin), meeting great people in Costa Rica and being reminded that STUFF doesn't bring you happiness, meeting and visiting with school kids in Costa Rica and helping their playground situation, taking care of scrapes, homesick, stomach aches, reminding boys to fill their water bottles, reminding them to eat even though our food was a little different from what they were used to eating, and just being a "mom figure" to them for a week was something I wouldn't trade! We had lots of laughs (including late night UNO and I Doubt It card games) and I enjoyed seeing those boys grow in leadership and service on this trip! I think we are going back next summer and if you are reading this and you are a PDS parent of a 5th grader this year, I would strongly encourage you to apply for your son to go...it's a great experience!!! I found out that my boss asked Mark (the administrator on the trip) how many times I cried on the trip and he immediately replied with THREE. I mentioned two of the times above (Tarzan swing and "bat attack" and the third was our first night there when the eco-lodge owner told me I was staying about 200-300 yards away from our group in my own cabin IN THE PITCH BLACK in the middle of the rain forest. Yes, I had electricity for light, but being that far from others scared me some! So, they put me in my own room in the area our guys were staying in but it had a door and I had privacy when I needed it. :)

Chris and Caleb went on a Father/Son mission trip and our trips overlapped so we didn't see each other for 2 weeks. I am so grateful for Skype and was always happy to video chat with them! They had an amazing trip! I need to have them post a summary together on this blog soon!

Our family took our yearly trip to the beach with our small group two weeks after returning from Costa Rica. We went to Gulf Shores, Alabama and rented a house on the beach. There were 18 of us this year. One thing that stands out to me was the threat of a hurricane the day after we arrived. It created HUGE waves and it was just amazing to see. I guess those waves brought in lots of sand dollars. We found over 300. I told Caleb when I was little and we went to the beach that it was a very rare thing to find a whole sand dollar. He couldn't believe it because they were everywhere. That was a neat thing...sounds small, but so neat to see them everywhere when you dug in the sand.

After that was my trip to Australia. I was there for a conference for school. I met people from all over and enjoyed hanging out with them for meals (especially my buddies from South Africa, Australia, Canada and the US). After the conference, Chris came to Australia. More bucket list items would include whale watching (one of my favorite things to do), hiking up a mountain in Manly to see the ocean from high above (even though I thought we were lost for a little while!), seeing the Sydney Opera House, taking a train up a mountain to a small village in the rain forest, holding a koala, petting a kangaroo (loose without a cage), diving in the Great Barrier Reef, and just BEING in Australia!

The times I have been home, I've spent with the kids swimming at my sister's, making cookies, and other things that some people wouldn't think are on a bucket list, but we enjoy just being together and having fun as a family.
As summer winds down, I guess I am realizing (not that I haven't always felt this way,) that I am truly blessed. I'm so thankful to be healthy, have a great husband, two healthy and fun kiddos, my family is close, great church, great friends, etc...could go on and on.  I hope you have had some fun this summer and hope you take time to reflect on all the blessings in your life!

Dive the Great Barrier Reef? Oh Yes We Did!

We spent the day at the Great Barrier Reef. A bus picked us up at our hotel at 8am and drove us about an hour to Port Douglas. Upon arrival, we loaded a huge boat to take us for an hour and a half ride out to Agincourt Reef to the Quicksilver pontoon (which is more like a floating platform.) The Agincourt Reef is on the very outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and is part of a group of special reefs known as ribbon reefs.
While on the boat, Chris decided we should scuba dive. They have guides to go out with non-certified divers. We signed up to dive and I was very nervous. If you know me well, I'm not one who goes into the ocean easily. Not knowing what's under me is something that freaks me out. We were in the first group to dive. There is training and throughout the training I wasn't sure I could do it. I was very nervous and it felt like someone was pressing on my chest (and we hadn't started diving yet!)
Our guide was fantastic and reassured me he would be right by me and hold my hand the entire time which made me feel better. I survived the training (without crying, although I did tear up two times thinking I couldn't do this) and down we went. There were four in our group.
Underwater was the coolest thing! Once down for about five minutes, I calmed down (still holding the guide's hand the entire way.) We touched an anemone full of clown fish (Nemo fish!)
We also touched a giant clam! There were some things called Christmas tree worms that when you tried to touch it, it would pop into a hole. It was very cool. We saw schools of fish and lots of different types of coral.
I'm so glad we did this- worth every cent to see lots of God's creation that we don't get to see very often.
After diving, we ate lunch. Then we rode a boat that had the part you sat in submerged under water. That was another cool way to experience the ocean!
After the boat ride, Chris decided to dive again-this time going farther out.
He saw a other giant clam, starfish, a Queensland grouper that was as big as he is, and more fish! I was able to take pictures and some video of him from and underwater observation deck.
We are purchasing a video of our dive adventure...can't wait to see it!
Overall, a perfect day and a great way to spend our last day in Australia. We fly home tomorrow. Our first flight is at 6am Thursday morning Australia time and we land around 6pm Thursday night Memphis time.

Fish we saw right when we got in the water

Chris on the second dive (so I was able to take pics)

On the boat that submerged underwater

Ready for dive #2

Loving the wetsuit!

Great Day in Kuranda

We rode a bus to the train station this morning and took the train to Kuranda. The train was a great ride! We saw waterfalls and great views of the rainforest.
When we arrived we went to a place called Rainforestation. While there, we went on a tour of the rain forest, saw aboriginal dancing, threw a boomerang, and saw an aborginal man throw a spear and play the digiridoo. (probably spelled that wrong!)
After that, we had a buffet lunch and took our picture holding a real koala. I was so excited to hold a koala. It was so sweet!
Then we toured an animal park and were able to pet kangaroos. So timid and cute! We also saw a huge crocodile, baby kangaroos, and other neat animals.
We took a sky lift down and there were great views from there as well.
We had a fantastic day!

Australian Sayings and Other Info

After being in Australia for almost two weeks, below are some differences from the US that have stood out or people have pointed out to me.

Elevators are called lifts.
After you say thank you, most people reply with "no worries."
Grills are called BBQs.
Trash is called rubbish.
Umbrellas are called brollys.
Australia has no one cent coin. They got rid of one cent years ago. Everything is rounded to the nearest five or ten.
What you see on a price tag or menu is what you pay. Tax is included in all prices posted.
Tipping in restaurants is optional. Many people have told us not to tip, but we've always left something.
While we were here, their students were on holiday for two weeks for winter break.
Mum is their word for mom. :)
Bathrooms are called toilets.

Welcome to Cairns!

We made it to Cairns and our room wasn't ready. We ate lunch and spent $10 in the casino across from our hotel. After that, our room was ready. The pictures are the view from our room. We have a balcony overlooking the water. Beautiful!
This afternoon we are going to some local markets then dinner somewhere.
Big plans tomorrow taking a train, going to a wildlife refuge, then a sky lift back down.

What a Crazy Morning!

We woke up to leave for Cairns in plenty of time...so we thought. In all of our travel experiences through the years, this was one of the worst ever! We went to the domestic terminal and went to check in at Quantas airlines. We were told we weren't on that airline and to go to jet star which was one terminal down. We got to jet star and were told we needed to go to the international terminal which was 5km away and we had to be there in 15 minutes. We grabbed a taxi and headed toward the new terminal. Upon arrival, they were asking for passengers going to Cairns (we weren't the only ones running late) and put us ahead of the long line to check in. We then had to pay because our bags were over the 20kg limit. We rushed to customs and then through security. Upon leaving security, I was stopped for a random additional security check for explosives. Chris went ahead to the gate. After passing the check, I rushed to the gate. I was wearing a shirt, sweatshirt, and added my north face jacket when trying to lighten my luggage-so needless to say I was very hot while getting to the flight.
We made it to the flight and are really considering today to be a day by the pool relaxing but guess we will decide when we arrive!
We will plan for our return trip to Sydney to catch our flight to LA much better than we did for this flight. Ha ha!

From Sydney to Manley...another great day in Australia

Today, we started our day with breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It's a buffet that we get for free, so we've eaten there each morning. The buffet includes eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, breads, fruit, cooked to order pancakes and eggs, etc....but also has several items we found interesting such as sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, and fried rice.
After breakfast, we walked to the Sydney harbor and went to a very neat marketplace called The Rocks. It was packed with people and vendors selling neat items, most made in Australia. We ate corn on the cob they were grilling. It was good. There were also great views of the Sydney Bridge and the Opera House.
After some shopping, we took a ferry to Manly. It was a 20-30 minute boat ride but it took us right by the Opera House. We arrived in Manly and had lunch at a local restaurant. Chris enjoyed the fish and chips. We saw the beach at Manly and found it interesting that people were swimming in the ocean and there were people on the beach in bathing suits and others in jeans and jackets. Guess it's only as cold as you think it is...we had on long sleeves and thought it was chilly.
We hiked around Manly for about two hours. We went up on a cliff and hiked through a pretty empty area. It was a nice break from tourist areas. Also, there were great views of the ocean from our hike.
We made our way back to the Manly harbor and took the ferry back to Sydney. We walked back to the hotel and had snacks from the Executive Room at the Hilton for dinner. We are in for the night as we leave for Cairns in the early morning...our flight leaves at 8am. Overall, it was another great day in Australia!

View of Opera House from the ferry

Hiking in Manly

Taking a break from a hike in Manly

On the Sydney Harbor

Fish and Chips for lunch

Great view in Manly

Beach in Manly

Opera House view from Sydney Harbor