Ack!  12 already?!?  Actually, this boy has always thought that he was older than his age!  There has been a real change in Cody in the past 6 months....not emotionally so much as physically.  He has grown about 4" (10 cm) and has gained 12 pounds!  I can see it in his face, neck and shoulders.  Not sure if I can blame those 12 pounds on puberty or all the fairy bread at the school canteen!  (Seriously, the boy is addicted!  White bread, butter and sprinkles!  He orders 7 pieces several days a week!)

Just like in Canada, Cody's birthday comes at a very busy time for the family.  We are at the end of Term 2 and the calendar is PACKED with adventures for us and then we leave for holidays on Saturday!  We planned to celebrate Cody's birthday on Tuesday with Howard taking Cody and his friend, Lucas, to the movies.  Unfortunately, they were all rated M so that was not an option!  I surprised Cody by bringing Lucas home after school and we cooked another of Cody's favorite canteen foods...chicken nuggets.  The boys had a bit of a play time and then we watched a movie.  Howard ran Lucas back later that night.

On Cody's real birthday, he took 4 dozen cupcakes to school to share with his mates.  We ate leftover chicken nuggets and cupcakes...really fancy!  As always, the best part for him were the presents.  The Conlans sent Canadian trinkets, the Tervets bought him the coolest little speaker that he'd been admiring in their car in March, and the family bought him Sydney Swans clothes and 2 tickets to an AFL game with a friend.  (Now....to fit that in!!)  

Looks like the friends party will be a big one but the date has not yet been determinedt.  It's hard to pick a date between all the footy and soccer teams that the boys and their friends play on......watch for a future blog.

Thanks to all our family and friends for the cards, e-mails, birthday $$ and phone calls.  He did have a great couple of days with more to come! 

Rachel and Steve have made a return visit to Boongarra Farm....guess they like our crazy lifestyle?!?  Some company you need to entertain and others, just join in the chaos and make themselves at home.  That's how it is with the Tervets.  (If you missed their first appearance, Steve and Rachel are on exchange from England to Albury, NSW and visited our farm in March.)

After footy on Friday night, Steve and Rachel were going to meet us at the farm.  I told them I would wait at the end of the driveway so they would see the lights but then got busy getting ready and promptly forgot!  They are GOOD because they were able to find our dark driveway with little trouble!

Saturday saw us driving to Ganmain for Cody and Kent's footy games and, on Sunday, into Griffith for Colt and Khye's practices.  Steve is a sports journalist and Rachel coaches at school so they are both very familiar with the sporting scene.  We just give them a glimpse into their future with a van full of kids!

The rest of the weekend was spent playing games, writing, fort building and watching footy on TV.  Actually, maybe Steve should stop cheering completely because all the teams he was going for this weekend LOST! 

Both of our families are off on grand adventures for the winter holidays next week.  The Tervets are starting in Sydney and are heading north and we are flying to Cairns and are heading south.  We almost meet in the middle but will miss each other by one day! 

Look for more time spent with the Tervets next term when we head off to Dubbo to the zoo!

People flock to Australia because of it's amazing beaches, warm temperatures and friendly people.  The majority of tourists hang on the east coast and miss so many other great sights in this HUGE country.  We have been fortunate to see most of the east coast, Tassie, and the Great Ocean Road.  Sadly, we must work for a living to pay for all these great adventures and there is going to be much of Australia that will go unseen.  (Or, as Khye says, "We'll do that when we come back next time, Mom.") 

One of the places that Colt and I really wanted to see was the red centre of Australia...Uluru and Kata Tjuta (formerly known as Ayers Rock and The Olgas).  With no school holidays left unbooked, this looked like one of those things that would have to wait until "next time".  But then, our principal, Mr. Pryor, was generous enough to give us four extra days off around the June long weekend and that was it!   We booked the flights and then...we were red centre bound!

After settling in at our hotel and buying groceries for snacks and lunches, the boys relaxed in our hotel rooms while Mom & Dad relaxed at the spa with massages!  (That is the way to begin a vacation!)  We also had the most wonderful supper.  Then it was early to bed and early to rise.

Friday morning had us meeting our tour bus at 6:00 am so we could watch the sunrise over Uluru.  The boys ate breakfast and tea by the fire and I snapped lots of pictures from the lookout.  It was a very cold morning with mittens!

Between breakfast and Uluru, we saw a wild camel!  There are around 1.2 million of them in Australia and they are a nuisance.   When we reached Uluru, we took a bus tour around the base of the rock and enjoyed two short hikes.   In the past, many tourists enjoyed hiking to the top of Uluru and we were encouraged, by many people, to do the same.  Once we were up close to the rock, we realized how steep the climb really is!  As well, the railing is only just above knee height.  The hike was closed the entire four days we were around Uluru due to the very windy conditions.  Even if our children were older, we would not have climbed Uluru because it is a sacred sight to the aboriginal people.   

After a very early morning, we needed to relax.  A little lunch, a little nap, a little quiet time and then a swim in the cold hotel pool.  Our boys are crazy....or maybe just Canadian, eh?  


On Friday afternoon, we were also able to watch the aboriginal dancers at the resort.  They entertained the audience and also involved us in dancing and didgeridoo playing. 

Saturday morning was a return trip to Uluru without the tour guide.  Because it is a 9.4 km hike around Uluru, and because we have little people, we only did a short 1.5 hour hike.  After that, it was back to the cultural centre where we stopped on our Friday tour.  We read the Sorry Book....a book of letters from people who have taken rocks from Uluru and later return them with letters of apology, bought a hot drink and a couple of souvenirs.  Then it was off to the hotel for lunch, a quick rest and then to meet our next tour bus. 

The tour to Kata Tjuta was on a much larger bus.  The goal was to hike to the 2nd look out on the Valley of the Winds hike.  It was about 3.5 km return.  We figured that our family would hike to the 1st look out together and then Mom would turn back with the little boys and do a 2nd easy hike while Dad and the bigs continued on into the Valley of the Winds.  Well.....never underestimate the power of a 5 year old!  Those little legs led the entire bus load (45 people or so) the entire way into and out of the valley.  In fact, at one point, he didn't stop at the meeting spot and just continued on so Cody had to run ahead and catch up to him!  Way to go Khye! 

While Uluru was impressive and interesting, it is Kata Tjuta that captured our hearts!  It is almost double the height of Uluru and has 36 domes between which you can hike and adventure.  The walk is just challenging enough and it is beautiful in every direction.  A full day at Kata Tjuta should have been the plan ......but that will have to be another "next time". 

After the great hike, we settled with snacks and drinks to watch the sun set over Kata Tjuta.  The colours were changing continually.  It was a super end to an exciting day.

The plan for Sunday was to hang around the resort and take in the free aboriginal activities there.  We had already seen the dancing but wanted to try some of the other sessions.  We began the morning with aboriginal paintings and listened to stories about the weapons and dreamtime.  After lunch, the boys tried their hand at spear throwing and then it was back to the freezing cold pool for one last splash!

I think the entire family was most looking forward to Sunday evening.  It was our last night at the resort and we rode camels while watching the sun set behind Uluru.  As it turned out, we didn't see the sun all day because it was overcast and cold but, the camels were great all the same!

The hospitality of the camel tour was excellent and they were very friendly and knowledgable.  I didn't even take my camera along because they had photographers who snapped pictures of us all along the way and put them on a disk after.  Also after the tour, we were treated to drinks and snacks as we warmed up and visited in the shop.  The kids got to feed beer bread to an orphan camel after the humans had their fill.  The camels were a definate highlight for us all. 

Monday was a rare long weekend in Australia.  We hopped on a plane for a short flight to Alice Springs.  After a delay at the airport, our shuttle dropped us at our hotel.  Shortly after, another shuttle picked us up again and took us on a tour of the town. 

Our 1st stop was the Royal Flying Doctor Service.  This was one of the two places that I most wanted to see in Alice.  The building was new and beautiful.  It had a replica plane inside for the boys to play in and then a bit of a museum featuring equipment and planes of days gone by.  A short film was shown highlighting the need for the RFDS and explaining a bit about how it works.  The majority of the new building was a retail store which was disappointing but understandable as their services operate on donations.  I enjoyed my time at the RFDS but left feeling as though I still wanted more. 

Across the street was a reptile house.  After visiting Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, I don't know why we bother with these type of things...nothing will ever compare!  It was really a shed with snakes and goannas and a crocodile.  The kids were interested but only for a short time and certainly not long enough to get our money's worth but.....I guess that's what you do when you're on holidays.  Sigh........

Tuesday was spent on a long tour of the West MacDonnell Range.  It stretches over 600 km.  We drove 132km west of Alice Springs with many stops along the way for short hikes, photos and lunch.  Another crazy Canadian on our tour even went for a swim in the icy water hole along the way!  It was a long, beautiful day but, by this point, I was tired of buses and hiking and had had enough fun.......

After our long day in the bus and hiking, I insisted on one more show.  This one was a didgeridoo performance in the theatre across from our hotel.  It was a combination of didgeridoo, drums, lights and slideshow.  Near the end, every audience member participated in a song.  The boys were up on stage with drums.  It was a very good show and he was extremely talented.

During the town tour on Monday afternoon, we ran out of time to visit the School of the Air.  This was a huge priority for me so, after checking out of the hotel, we caught a taxi to the school. 

We arrived at 9:00 am in time to watch the beginning of a Kindergarten math lesson.  We all sat  on the bench outside of one of the two classrooms and watched as the teacher started her lesson with a shape song/video and then welcomed each child to the class.  Khye and I were glued to the computer screen that showed what the teacher and children could see.  Unfortunately, we couldn't stay for the rest of the lesson because we were called away to join a presentation about the school.

The school employs 13 teachers (one of them a Canadian who had taken Term 2 off to go home for a visit) and has 131 students.  The children live at cattle stations, road houses, tourist attractions, an English speaking aboriginal community, etc.  The children must have a governess or a parent who sits with them to do school work for at least 4.5 hours a day.  The school sends the children their folder of school work and 20 library books every two weeks.  They no longer communicate with their teacher using a radio but instead use computers.  There are two classrooms at the School of the Air and we were able to observe them both.  Besides the Kindy lesson, we watched a Year 6 math lesson, a Year 5 math lesson and a Fitness class.  Once each term, the students and their famillies travel to Alice Springs to participate in sports days, testing, excursions, etc.  

I have to say, I have a huge fascination with the outback.  I love the books Jodi loaned me last year and I have bought many more since then.  I was emotional flying out to Uluru looking at the red, bare land and the roads jutting out in every direction.  I don't want to just visit a cattle station but to actually spend "time" on one.  And just walking into the School of the Air made me weepy.  (Maybe a new seed has been planted.........?)

At the end of our visit, each of the boys bought a souvenir and they each chose a book for us to buy and donate to the School of the Air library.  It was the perfect ending to our few days in Alice Springs.   

Our tour to the red centre of Australia was fairly active and educational.  It was NOT a relaxing kind of holiday.  If the little boys were older, we would have been able complete more of the hikes around Uluru, Kata Tjuta and King's Canyon but we have to do what we can do in the time that we are here.  It was a very good experience and we are all glad we were able to fit it into our already busy schedule.  It was unanimous that our favorite activities were hiking Kata Tjuta, the camel ride, the Flying Doctor and the School of the Air.  It was another great week for making memories in Australia.

A few years ago, a fellow Griffith teacher, Lisa Turner, came to Alberta on a teacher exchange.  While she and her, now husband, Micheal were there, Lisa's sister Kerry Kelly, husband Graham and family came for a visit.  They grew to love skating, hockey and the Oilers like we do and even watched the Oilers play at Rexall Place.  Fast forward a few years....I teach with Lisa, Kerry volunteers in my classroom, I teach her youngest child, Hugh, Colt plays cricket her daughter, Alex and Cody is in the same class as Tessa.  They are all super smart and sporty and have been very friendly with our family from the very beginning.   

Graham Kelly loaned us videos of Gretzky and hockey highlights to fill the void in our lives.  We visit at cricket and at school.  He even invited Howard to play on the men's soccer team that he plays for on Friday nights.  Well, recently, Graham hatched another plan....he recorded a Stanley Cup final game and then invited our family over for supper so we could watch hockey together! 

The Kelly kids decorated the house with posters....Kellys, Jacksons, Canada, Australia, Kings, Devils and Oilers (just to cover it all!)  It was so cute!  Micheal Turner joined us for supper and the game too while Lisa stayed at home with their little daughter, Rose, and another baby due any day.  We enjoyed a delicious meal of pasta and desserts.  The kids played, watched movies and ate s'mores.  (The Kelly's really do know a few things about Canada!)

Graham and Micheal were sporting their Team Canada and Oilers jerseys.  They own more team gear than we do! 

It was Game 2 of the Stanley cup final....the Kings won in over time and now have a 2-0 series lead.

It was very thoughtful and kind of Graham and Kerry to think of us and to go out of their way to make us welcome and comfortable in their home.  It was a great evening that felt so familiar and yet, maybe made us a little bit homesick too.  We can't wait to have them out to "our" farm for the next get together!   

Robert, Isabelle and Alex Gilbert have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome in Griffith.  Actually, that's nothing new.  Robert and Isabelle adopt backpackers all the time and often have some living with them.  (Don't ask Robert about it....his heart was recently broken when the two girls moved on!)  Anyway, during supper at their home two weeks ago, a plan was hatched to go horse back riding at West Merribee Farm.  Robert and Isabelle used to own the farm but it is now owned by Nace and Helen Dalton.  Today was the lucky day and we followed Isabelle, Alex and, another teacher friend, Jess Kenny, out to West Merribee Farm where Robert, Nace and Helen were saddling horses and preparing for us.

As soon as we arrived, Helen loaded us into the back of her ute with three dogs and we were off across the yard and through the paddock to see her sheep.  They are raised for meat not for their wool.  The dogs on the ute wanted to jump and run with the sheep so we had to hold them back.  The sheep all followed the ute thinking they would be fed.  The boys liked the baby lambs, which had long tails.  Khye even spotted a lamb drinkink milk!  Helen gave us a tour of the shearing shed and taught us how they used to run the sheep through the barn.  This was interesting and would be great to watch!

After Robert, Nace, Howard, Jess, Alex and Cody headed out on horseback, the rest of us loaded food and supplies into the ute.  We stopped at Nace and Helen's beautiful home and gardens to pick up a few things (and to use the washroom, of course!).  In the red, dusty, sometimes bare countryside, I did not expect to find this amazing garden, home and pool!  Leanne Pipke, I was thinking of you.....wish you could have seen it!  The autumn colours made it even more brilliant.

We drove 20 minutes or so through the paddocks to reach our campfire spot.  Along the way we saw several large kangaroo.  Nace and Helen own all 10000 acres around them except for the 300 acres that include this amazing 1900's home!  Robert and Isabelle and their family used to live here! 

In the early 1900s, the owners of this home owned several farms/stations and this one was 30 000 acres.  It was the largest Merino stud station (sheep) in the southern hemisphere.  When the Gilberts lived here, people would stop and ask for tours.  After one of the local schools burned down, the Gilberts opened the house for tours and took donations for the school.  Currently, the property and home is owned by one lady (who unfortunately was not giving any tours today...).

After we arrive at the campfire spot, we unloaded the ute and Helen started the fire.  We awaited the horse riders.

Robert, Nace, Howard, Jess and Alex took turns leading the boys around on several of the horses.  This was Khye's first time riding a horse!  Robert gave his dog a ride on Khye's horse too.  Nace helped Colt do a back flip off of his horse when it was time to eat! 

The boys made damper (which was cooked perfectly Alex!) and we all ate sausages.  Colt and Kent dug in the red sand and Kent played by/with the fire.

When it was time to head back, Alex jumped in the ute with us and Colt was able to ride the 45 minutes back to the farm.  He was soooo excited!

This little boy grinned all the way home tonight.  It was an excellent day!  And to top it all off......Isabelle and Alex have loaned us their Lego and Duplo for the next couple of months!  Could life get any better for this 7 year old?!?  Thank you Robert, Isabelle, Alex, Helen and Nace for entertaining us all day and for making Colt's Australian dream come true.  We've had a wonderful day! xx