On the weekend of February 16-19, we made the long trek back to Sydney.  The NSW exchange coordinators and the Exchange Teacher League volunteers hosted a weekend for all visiting teachers and their families.  There were teachers from BC, Alberta, Ontario, Colorado, England and Ireland. 
Our family left Boongarra Farm after work on Thursday.  After a 7 hour drive, we arrived at our hotel (?!?!?!?) on the west side of Sydney at midnight.  This was perhaps the most dirty and disappointing place we have ever stayed (except that 1 "hot pool" place in Montana on our honeymoon.....OMG!)  The rates were cheap but the hotel was old, noisy and DIRTY.  Very gross....We will not be repeat customers!
Friday morning found us braving the rush hour traffic to make the 1h20 min commute to the central business district of Sydney.  We found our parking lot ($78/day!) and then our meeting spot.  I spent the day with the current and recently returned exchange teachers.  Howard and the boys joined some of the families on a walk around Sydney.  Their day sounded much more exciting!  They walked through the botanical gardens again, stopped inside the Opera House and walked across the Harbour Bridge and back again.  It was a very long day for some of the little legs!  Unbelievably, not 1 Jackson had a camera or an IPod to take pictures of their adventures!
After meeting up as a family at 3:30pm, we were all tired and had some time to kill before supper.  While other families went shopping, ours needed a break so headed down to our van in the carpark.  We flipped the seats forward and the boys had lots of room to relax, play and listen to music and eat in the back while Howard and I read in the front.  (We know how to make our own good times!)  At 5:30 pm, we headed out on another walk, this time to the restaurant to meet up with our fellow exchange friends.  After supper the boys played with the friends they had made during the day and we had a little quiet time to visit and compare notes with our colleagues.
Saturday morning was another rush as we had to meet our boat at the Sydney Harbour by 8:45 am.  The large group of us set out on a 5.5 hour cruise and picnic.  It was a beautiful, hot summer day with ships and sail boats everywhere.  The boys walked around the boat with their friends and spent most of their time far away from parents.  (Unless of course they were hungry.....check out the picture of Khye with chips, pop and chocolate all at the same time!)  We continued our visiting with new friends and compared our recent holidays, culture shock and school experiences.  After getting off the boat, we took our boys to an indoor pool so they could play for a couple of hours before heading back to our hotel.  
On Sunday, we were supposed to again meet up with some teachers near the Harbour to enjoy a morning walk and lunch.  By Saturday night, we had to call and cancel because we were all exhausted from our busy week, our long drive and our hectic weekend schedule.  Instead, we packed up the van early and headed for home.  We arrived home by 4pm and had lots of time to get ready for the week ahead.
It was a super busy but enjoyable and educational weekend.  I appreciate meeting the other exchange teachers working in NSW.  I am also VERY greatful for the excellent school, staff and community connections that we have in Griffith because there were several people at our weekend who have A LOT more to cope with than we do!!    I also realized that Griffith isn't really that far from civilization when I met the young, single lady from England who is working in Broken Hill!!  Now that's far!  I am hoping to get together with some of my new "outback" friends working in Dubbo, Canberra, Wagga and Albury.  Maybe we can plan our own "Outback Weekend!"  Of course, that would have to include boys AFL or cricket and some laundry! 

He's finally here!  Welcome to the world our newest little nephew, Kason Will Bowman.  He was born on Monday, February 6 and (I am told) is perfect.  This might be the saddest part of being in Australia this year....I will miss out on the new baby snuggles, smells and squeaks.  I LOVE new babies!  Congratulations Lori, Travis, Eric and Rylan.  We can't wait to love him in 2013!

My Dad, Ralph, celebrated his birthday today.  Happy Birthday, Bopa!  We called Dad from school so that all 5 of us could talk to him.  Howard called a bit later from his work too.  We have been thinking of you, Dad, and hope you had a great day!  We've sent a funny little birthday gift your way.  Be sure to share it with the 6:00am and 5:00pm Derwent crews!  Let us know when it arrives.  :)

Besides Dad's birthday and the swim carnival, today is also Valentine's Day!  It is not widely celebrated in Australia....we could only find cards for husband & wife or boyfriend & girlfriend.  The boys each got a little treat and Howard got chocolates (of course!).  I got a beautiful delivery of red roses at school!  The boys received Valentines from Grandma Lovey and Cody got a Valentine's Day gift from his sweetheart at school!  All around, it was a great day!   xxxooo

After a our Saturday morning cricket games, we made the 4 hour drive to Talbingo to the Conlan family cabin.  It is a house in the village of Talbingo with a very large lake nearby.  We spent the weekend with Cathy, Matt, Grace, Patrick, Isabelle and Will Dando, Paul Conlan and Peter, Sheryl, Riley and Michael Conlan.  They are Vince's brothers and sister.  It was great to finally meet Peter's family!  As it always seems to be....there were a lot of boys this weekend!  

Matt and Cathy just bought a boat so we were able to all enjoy water sports.  The Dando family had a wakeboard but had not been able to get up on it yet.  Turns out speed was the problem.  When you pull the kids out at 30km, the tend to fall flat on their faces! Cody popped right out of the water first try and helped to teach the boat drivers and the boarders how to get up.  3 or 4 of them had a go after that and were able to get up.

It was a rushed weekend but we were glad we decided to make the trip.  We were missing the water after being on the ocean for the first 3 weeks of our Australian adventure.  We hope to see more of the cabin this fall or in the winter if we venture up there for skiing!  Check out the Talbingo pictures under "More/Talbingo".

Now that the 4 boys and I are settled in at school, it is time for Howard to head back to reality too!  Our family and the Conlan family have done a TRUE exchange!  Vince and I have traded schools, we have all traded farms and Howard has now begun working for the same company that Mary works for...Ningana Enterprises...NEI. 

During our first week of school, Howard met some of his coworkers and toured their facilities.  They are a government agency that employs clients with disabilities.  They have a farm and a wine bottle labelling facility.  They are trying to build an organic strawberry farm and are two years away from achieving that status.  (I am still learning about their company so will add more as I learn more.)   Howard's role will be to act as a general labourer/farm hand/mechanic. 

My man began working full time for NEI on Monday, February 6.  That day was pretty easy as he completed more paperwork, opened an Aussie bank account, bought new work boots, had a breakfast meeting and picked up his work ute!  (The tires are a lot smaller than the big white ATCO Pipelines truck but we don't seem to have the need for them here!) 

Tuesday and today have seen reality set in!  Howard gets up at 5:00 am and is out of the house by 5:30 am.  He works from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm then drives to the school to meet the boys and I at 3:15 pm.  During these past 2 days Howard has picked very pokey weeds from the potatoe patch for 6 hours, fed the pigs, picked up sheep from a farm, labelled wine bottles, dug potatoes until there was a breakdown, ripped apart the broken machine, delivered broken parts to the welder, picked up new potatoe seeds, visited for 20 minutes with the police officers that pulled him over (checking that his potatoe seed load was secure - it was!), met all the employees and clients at another meeting, talked about Canada and explained to them where Mary is, labelled more bottles...etc.  I am sure I've forgotten something!  It was a busy and entertaining 2 days for sure!

The house is very quiet in the evenings now because all 5 of my men are in bed before 10 pm.  (If I knew what was good for me, I would be too!)  NEI will be a great company to work for and they have been very generous to us with Howard's wage, paid holiday time, vehicle, school holidaytime off, etc.  We appreciate Mary setting that up for us!  Thanks, Mary!  Again, I'll add more pictures when we get a tour of "Daddy's work". 

For the Jackson 6, cricket began on Saturday, February 4.  There were only 6 weeks left in the season but the organizers were very generous and found spots for all 4 of our boys on 4 different teams with their new mates!  Coworkers, friends of friends and even the sports store in town, donated cricket clothes to the Jackson boys!  We sent the 2 little boys with one new Mom friend and Kent with the new Dad friend.  Howard and I took Cody to his game and then began our tour around town to the 3 different parks where they were playing. 

The games began at 8:45 am and 9:00 am and all were done before noon which was great because it was a "very warm" day...+35C.   Just like home, everyone begged to go to a friend's house afterward (they all have pools!) and we ended up coming home with only one little boy.  He was happy to have us all to himself...I was happy too because he's the one that likes to sweep and vacuum! 

Cody and Kent play cricket at school almost everyday and Cody (and maybe Kent) will be trying out for the school cricket team very soon.  With all that practice, they will be better prepared when they start the cricket season again next October.

I have added all of the cricket pictures under the heading More/Sports.  I will load more in the next week because I didn't get very close photos of Kent.  Also, this Saturday will see Kent's #1 team take on Cody's team!  Should be exciting!  (I don't know who's going to take the little boys to their cricket.....might have to draw straws for that one!!)  Check back soon!  

Life has taken another turn as the carefree days of summer are behind us.  This week saw 5 of the Jackson 6 heading back to school and, let me tell you, it is just as difficult in January as it is in August!  It's hard to get into bed when it is still light outside and it's even harder to get up early in the morning like the Aussies like to do!  I'll tell you a little about each of our school experiences thus far....

Cody - Cody was the guy that really didn't want to come to Australia.  He wanted to surf and then head home to Canada to finish up the hockey season!  I'm very pleased to tell you that Cody is now the most excited member of the "Aussie Jackson 6"!    He watches cricket non-stop and plays it at school too.  He hit the ball over the fence on the first day of school and hit a parked car!  (Kent said, "It was a Ferrari....no mom it was a Volkswagon.....it was red!" - Still his goofy self!)  Cody has met all the boys that he was e-mailing with and they have become quick friends.  He has other new friends too and has mentioned there is even a pretty girl in his class.  :)  One of the girls put a jar of Vegemite on his desk with a note - Welcome to Australia!  Very cute....It'll probably still be here for you Mary!  Cody has 33 students in his class and his teacher is Mr. Cook.  He and his wife are our school mentors.  Cody says Mr. Cook is very funny and strict and Cody is loving both.  (So are his parents!)  Cody has been doing his reading, daily homework and weekly memorizations without being reminded.  (I know it's only day 4 but I'm impressed!)  As you can see from the school pictures, on the 2nd day of school, Cody was voted a captain of one of the house teams.  He is super excited about that.  The school swim carnival (competition) will be held on February 14 and, as a captain, Cody has entered 7 of the 8 events so that he can earn 26 points for his team.  I told him he better start taking his iron pills now!!

Kent - Oh my bubby....always the clown.  Kent has 30 students in his Year 5 class and his teacher is Miss Carter.  She reminds me of someone I used to teach right next door to but Kent hasn't figured that out yet!!  :)  Anyway, Miss Carter is also very strict (yah!!) but likes to have fun too.  I talked to her about Bubby.....she can't say I didn't warn her!  Kent has been very close with his e-mail friend, Dean, as well as a few other boys.  When I walk across the playground at recess or lunch, his friends will point me out to him and Kent will pretend he doesn't see me....then will give a sly grin and a little wave....HONESTLY!!  Kent has also been playing cricket every day and also hit it over the fence the 1st day of school.  Kent is also signed up for several events at the swim carnival.  I hope they can swim as well as they think they can!  

Colt - Colt is so quiet and gentle.  He is in Mrs. Graham's class with about 25 students.  I think the curriculum is quite advanced in some areas compared to ours so I hope he does well.  Mrs. Graham and I will be keeping an eye on him.  She's been extra kind to him so far too (loaning personal books, giving draw entry forms, etc.)  Today was the first day that I saw Colt really playing with other kids besides Khye.  Mrs. Graham is trying to introduce him to and get him playing with the kids in his class.  Today there were 6 boys and girls together.  One of the girls wondered why I don't give Colt money for an ice bar like the other moms....oops!  Colt is happy but doesn't say too much about school yet.

Khye - Khye is very confident for a 4 year old!  He is in Mrs. Mulholland's class with about 20 students.  Their room is right across from mine and close to Colt's.  Khye has been playing with Colt and with other kids in his class.  He talks about a boy named Rylan in his class and a boy with "different skin".  Khye likes his school and the playground.  Today, all of the big kids were called away at lunch by Mr. Cook so Khye and 2 other little boys took over the cricket pitch.  They were very cute!  Khye's biggest problem is that he is tired.  He comes to school full days, 5 days a week!

Mom - Last Friday was spent meeting the teachers and staff at GEPS.  We had 2 meetings and then I spent a bit of time finishing paperwork for the boys school applications.  I worked until 7pm to clean and decorate my room.  Saturday and Sunday were also spent at home, at play and at school.  It's always interesting trying to juggle family and work and it's no different in Australia!  The problem so far is....everything here takes me so much longer!!  I could tell you where almost every item in all of Clandonald School is located but couldn't find a hole punch here.  Little things like different sized paper, 2 ring binders, none of my personal teacher resources and not being able to understand my own timetable were setting me off!   I have a binder of great Math and COGS plans left for me but couldn't understand them or find the resources to teach them.   Between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night, my culture shock was sky rocketing!  By Tuesday afternoon, I had had too much and had a little melt down during my Year 1 meeting. (Sorry girls...you are all so sweet!)  They didn't make me cry.....it's just that my frustration had reached the saturation point and I couldn't hold it any longer.  My Clandonald friends know I'm an emotional girl anyway!  Heck...I had to leave town without even saying goodbye to Anita....too emotional!  Well, now I'm happy to report that everyone is trying to look after me (and I mean almost everyone from teachers to staff to my sister!) You will be glad to hear that the rest of my week has been very good.  I am settling into a routine and am feeling more confident.  Next week will bring more changes but it should settle down after that.  I am getting more sleep and am feeling better.  My class is very loud (a product of their environment I'm sure!) and I will work on that.  So, don't worry all, after my meltdown, I really am right now!  The staff at GEPS have been amazing and very friendly and I am enjoying getting to know them this year.  I think that the Year 1 teachers will become good friends of mine this year and I really appreciate them so much already!  

So that's it for tonight.  Mary is so right when she says it takes most of her day to update the blog.  I've been at it for 2.5 hours already tonight.  Check back soon because all 4 boys are going to start playing cricket on Saturday....we're just trying to round up their uniforms right now!  Also, Howard will start work on Monday and that will be another great entry!  Thanks for the comments, everyone.  We love to hear from you!