I'm Going to Hell and there are No Snacks Onboard

School Holidays (Summer 2011-12)

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000+11:00

Elissa relaxes.....

I have tried to take it easy over these school holidays. No major plans just relaxing around the house, catching up on some cleaning, organisation and sewing (Jewel's Baptismal outfit).

We have had some sleep overs, Jayde had a lot of friends from Curtin for a sleep over, Seth had two different sleep overs with separate friends from school and Jewel had 3 little girlfriends over (they had fun doing cake cooking and decorating).

Jayde also had a lunch with some of the girls from her new school - a chance to get to know everyone a little bit better before the first day of school (at their open day last year they swapped phone numbers). I made pizza's and cinnamon scrolls for the girls as they had a grown up lunch on the patio as we all ate inside.

We have also played lots of board games. Adam received Star Wars Monopoly for his birthday which has had a lot of use. He also received Star Wars Trivial Pursuit - which he won - but at the end there it looked like Jayde might over take him.

We played Cluedo, normal Monopoly, Harry Potter Board Game, Monopoly Deal card game, Ubuild Battleships, Ubuild Monopoly, and Ubuild Mouse trap.

I read lots of books and so did Seth & Jayde. Seth had received the Passage to Zarahemla and escape from Zarahemla for Christmas and after reading he read them we all read them and went back and read some Tennis Shoes books to see how they overlapped.

Jayde did a lot of cooking mainly Macaroon's (testing the cookbook Grandma got her for Christmas) and Meringues. I then did a lot of custard tars with all the left over egg yolks.

The kids watched some TV, mainly DVD's - catching up on some Dr Who. (Unfortunately the antenna for the TV on the main floor isn't working - we thought it was the set top box, then bought a new TV then that didn't work so bought new leads, still didn't work - turns out damage from the storms).

The kids had fun on their slip'n'slide that Jewel bought Seth & Jayde for Christmas. Once by themselves and once with the Garland boys.

We did a clean out of the Toy Room (old toys and kids books) and rather than have a garage sale sold a lot of them on-line. Hopefully the Thomas Train Track will go soon.

Overall a relaxing holiday. Pity I have to go back to work this week.

1015 Things to See in Oz - Waterfalls

2012-01-30T21:57:00.003+11:00

Adam documents:

Thought I'd try and add some more of our visits to the 1015 Things lists that I started a while back.

Section 12 Waterfalls:

134 Horseshoe Falls, Blackheath, NSW - We visited the Blue Mountains just after Christmas, and visited Govett's Leap, which includes both the Horseshoe Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Bridal Veil Falls was easy to see, bu the Horseshoe Falls were in another area where the cliffs formed (funnily enough) a giant horseshoe shape. It was a bit of a walk, which Elissa and Seth went to see, whilst I stayed back with the girls. The whole Govett's leap area is a very picturesque spot.

139 Fitzroy Falls, Fitzroy Falls, NSW - We have been to these waterfalls several times in the NSW Southern Highlands. One of the things that makes them spectacular is that you can go on a metal lookout that is above the falls crashing onto the rocks far below. Definitely a worthy addition to the 1015 Things list.

Honorable mentions: The book mentions several other waterfalls in the Blue Mountains that we haven't seen, yet we've been to several in the area that weren't mentioned - Katoomba Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Wentworth Falls and the Leura Cascades. We've also been along part of Waterfall Way between Coffs Harbour and Dorrigo, including swimming at the base of the Dangar Falls.

Elissa at top part of Katoomba Falls

Bottom half of Katoomba Falls from the Skyway cable car

Bridal Veil Falls in the Blue Mountains

Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains - we got to hike through the upper part of the falls before the drop

Dangar Falls near Dorrigo - the family went for a swim in the (muddy) lake below the falls

Section Total: 2 out of 17

Grand Total: 25 out of 147

Talk - Our Self Value

2012-01-29T15:56:00.002+11:00

Adam was asked to give a lesson to Tuggeranong Ward's Priesthood last Sunday based around Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk "You Matter to Him" from the Oct 2011 General Conference. I also had to give a Sacrament Meeting talk in Woden Ward that same afternoon. The talk developed out of the lesson, but when it came to give the talk, time was short, and I had to pare it down. Having said that, both the lesson and talk went really well. This is the talk I gave, rather than the full talk I prepared.

Elissa and I were discussing about Tim Tebow, a Quarterback in American Football who has gained current notoriety in the USA for his regular public prayers on the field during NFL games. Elissa was reading an online debate where people were criticizing his actions, some for, many against, and some making the comment that if God existed why would God bother to listen to his prayer, suggesting that that prayer itself was evidence of arrogance that God would listen to you.

This athlete’s actions are interesting in his polarizing example. Whether we agree with how he does it or not, of more importance is to note that firstly, he has an understanding that he can talk to his Father in Heaven through prayer, and secondly, that he is willing to do so. Of his detractors, it was interesting to note that they failed to understand our relationship with God, and why therefore, he is interested in us. And that’s not a collective us. Heavenly Father’s interest is not just in mankind as a whole, but an interest, and tender, Fatherly love for each of his children. He is interested in and loves Brother East even with all my faults. He is interested in and loves Bishop Abel, in Sister Keanan, in Brother Sorensen, in Sister Howe, in every single one of us. Why? Because of our relationship with Him.

Please reflect - If I was to ask you what is your relationship with Heavenly Father, what would your response be. [There is a difference between our Relationship TO Him and our Relationship WITH Him - need to understand the first and have the second] Would you give me a Sunday School rote answer? Would you give me an intellectual response about him? Would you be unsure? Would you tell me about the times that you have talked with him, and how you have seen his hand in your life? Would you share with me the tender mercies that he has bestowed upon you in your times of trial?

I testify to you, that God indeed lives and loves us. Each one of us are his sons and daughters. He created our Spirits. He knows us individually. We are all literally children of God, spiritually begotten in the premortal life. As His children, we can be assured that we have a divine, eternal potential and that He will help us in our sincere efforts to reach that potential.

For those of us who have been blessed with children, we gain a small glimpse into Heavenly Father’s life as we see our own children grow and learn. Many times when they are young, we will know what they are going to do in certain situations. I can tell you perfectly that when presented with an opportunity to do whatever they wanted for an hour, my son will want to go and play Lego Star Wars on the computer, my eldest daughter will attempt to read, dance and then draw, in that order, and my youngest daughter will want somebody to play make believe games with her, probably about being Hermione from Harry Potter. If nobody will play with her, she’ll want to watch TV. I can also tell you that when the sugar amazingly disappears over several days from the sugar container in the pantry that my eldest daughter has been wetting her finger and sticking it into the packet of sugar and then sticking it into her mouth ... repeatedly. I can tell you she will also deny she does this if you ask her about it. [Pause] If we with our imperfect knowledge can get to know our children well, how much more, can Heavenly Father, know us, his young children, knowing that He is not limited by the many things that restrain our understanding,. Just as he spake to the prophet Jeremiah - Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Compared to our Father in Heaven, we are spiritually young. In the Pre-mortal life he has watched over us, nurtured us and gotten to know us far better than even we understand ourselves. This relationship to us, of caring, loving and watching over us, has not changed, even though we are physically separated from him whilst in mortality. My earthly parents live in Albany, WA, and I do not have the opportunity to physically see them often. Despite this physical separation, their love and care for me has not diminished. Their desire to help me has not diminished either. Unfortunately, their capacity to physically help me is diminished by distance. This is an attribute that they don’t share in common with Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father created this world for us. It is the work of his hand and it obeys him. In addition, Father in Heaven when not physically with us, enlists us, when we follow his will, to take on the role of assisting our fellow brothers and sisters in accomplishing Heavenly Father’s will. Heavenly Father’s love for us, and his capacity to help us, are not lessened by our current physical separation from him. {Repeat} Heavenly Father’s love for us, and his capacity to help us, are not lessened by our current physical separation from him.

Heavenly Father’s plan for us, the Plan of Salvation, is wonderful. It is perfect, and provides the opportunity for all of us to be blessed. Our Father in Heaven wants us to dwell with Him eternally. His work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). In order to make this possible, He prepared the plan of salvation. He sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to loose the bands of death and atone for the sins of the world: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This sacrifice is the greatest expression of our Father's love for us.

Coming to Know God the Father

As children of God, we have a special relationship with Him, setting us apart from all His other creations. We should seek to know our Father in Heaven. He loves us, and He has given us the precious opportunity to draw near to Him as we pray. Our prayers, offered in humility and sincerity, are heard and answered.

This is the initial step in strengthening our relationship with our Father in Heaven. Sincere prayer. It’s an interesting thing to reflect upon and to evaluate how sincere your prayers are. It’s been something we’ve been trying to teach our kids. My children’s prayers currently oscillate between a standard rote prayer – I’ve almost memorized them word for word, and a shopping list of things they want. I’ve been encouraging them to do more thanking of Heavenly Father, to get them to realize the blessings they have. Sometimes, as I kneel with them at bedtime I encourage them to offer just thanks to Heavenly Father – a prayer of gratitude. I’m encouraging them to learn to look for blessings. Sometimes, we don’t see Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives, because we’re not looking for it. {Repeat} Sometimes, we don’t see Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives, because we’re not looking for it. When we stop and take the time as Moroni encourages (Moroni 10:3-4) to reflect, to ponder and then pray, we will see evidence of Heavenly Father’s love all around us. This will strengthen our relationship with Him. The Father-child relationship turns from a theological or intellectual understanding, to a personal, spiritual reality.
We can also come to know our Father by learning about His Beloved Son and applying the gospel in our lives. The Savior taught His disciples: “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. . . . He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father” (John 14:7, 9).

We draw near to God the Father as we study the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets and as we give service. When we follow God's will and live as He would have us live, we become more like Him and His Son. We prepare ourselves to return to live in Their presence. Again, as we begin to see the Heavenly Father’s will being done around us, we begin to understand and see as he sees. We develop greater charity towards our fellow man. We learn to view from an eternal perspective, rather than the short-sighted perspective of man. Once again, our Father-child relationship with Heavenly Father becomes a reality.

What of this relationship? What does it mean to you? We are here to become like Heavenly Father. The potential within us is beyond our Earthly comprehension.

Elder Uchtdorf stated “We need to realize that we matter to Heavenly Father. God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.” Recognise that no matter what our trials may be, with us and Him, nothing is impossible. This life time is but a test and trial, and the doubts and tribulations we face here will not endure with us into the eternities.
The invitation to us then is to recognise our potential. See yourself as your Heavenly Father sees you. As his child. See him as he is – your loving Father. Know that he loves you. Know that he wants to help you. Know that he feels the same of every single person that you see around you, no matter how proud or discouraged they may be. As you see this, you will recognise Heavenly Father’s will that you are the one to reach out to those around you. Let them see you carrying the Holy Spirit and the joy of the Gospel in your life. Let them know of your relationship with Heavenly Father.

I know that God lives. I know that he loves every one of us. I know that we can see his hand in our lives as we pause and take the time to look for them. I know that He has restored His Church today on the Earth, to help each of us to reach our potential as His sons and daughters. May we so realise and reach that potential within us, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

It's a New Car!

2012-01-28T22:53:00.003+11:00

Adam celebrates the arrival of the latest addition to our family:

Our Kia Carnival LS is no more. We first leased this car back in Aug 2005, following the write-off our previous car in "the accident". We got it when it was brand new, and in the subsequent 6 and a bit years have managed to clock over 210,000 kms (130,000 miles) in it. This car was driven to Perth, to Brisbane, to Melbourne at least 4 times, and to Sydney countless times, as well as numerous day trips to the coast, the snow fields and Canberra surrounds. We certainly drove it into the ground. A car of it's age is only meant to have done between 90 - 150,000 kms, so it's definitely been used. It was a good car apart from the last 18-24 months when it started to wear out, and started becoming very expensive to repair.

Well, that car was finally traded in Friday, on a brand new Kia Grand Carnival S. Well, OK, technically it's not brand new, it's a demonstration model, but it's only done 73kms, so it's actually got less kms on it than the Carnival we picked up in 2005 which was "new". It is "Crystal Blue" in color, and we got a few extras - nudge bar, roof rack, window tinting, reversing alarm, et al.

Elissa has been able to finally utilise one of her Christmas presents on the new car - "My Family" stickers. I note that they don't appear to have "Fat Star Wars Nerd Dad" stickers for some reason. They probably assume such people usually don't get to breed I presume.

Movies, Movies and More Movies

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000+11:00

I've seen more movies in the first 3 weeks of this year than I probably saw all of last year. There are also a lot of trailers that look interesting.

Saw At the Cinema in the last couple of weeks:

Puss in Boots

The Muppets

Saw for the first time on DVD in the last couple of weeks:

Cowboys & Aliens

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Watched again on DVD with the kids who were seeing them for the first time in the last couple of weeks

Jurassic Park

Galaxy Quest

Revenge of the Sith

Here's the laundry list of Trailers that I thought look interesting. Some may be good, some may be terrible, but we may actually go and see them. Makes a change for there to be stuff at the cinema of interest to us.

Sherlock Holmes 2 ; Game of Shadows (Now showing)

War Horse (Now showing)

The Darkest Hour (Now showing)

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3D (Oz Release 9th Feb 2012)

John Carter (Oz Release 8th Mar 2012)

Battleship (Oz Release 18th Apr 2012)

Men in Black 3 (Oz Release 24th May 2012)

Prometheus (Oz Release 7th Jun 2012)

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (Oz Release 4th Jul 2012)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Oz Release 26th Dec 2012)

Memories shared

2012-01-23T08:50:00.002+11:00

Elissa shares....

I have spent a lot of these holidays cleaning the house, repacking, de-cluttering and a good deep clean. In my cleaning travels I have come across several items from my childhood that were used as decorations. I had saved to one day give to the kids. That day has arrived. I have photographed in case they don't last in one piece in their rooms. Also to try and give a bit of the History behind each one (and when not correct my mum can fill me in). It appears at the same time last year I shared my childhood Lego with them so it obviously is a habit for this time of the year.

Jayde got two parts of a 3 part set I received on my 12th birthday. It is a vase and a photo frame with a Pierrot Clown on it. there was also a little oil lamp but the glass is broken so can no longer be displayed.

Jayde also got a ceramic cat. I don't remember the origin of the cat but I remember having it all my youth.

Jewel got my little Peter Rabbit cup and a Jewellery box shaped like a Dressing Table. This needed some mending.

Jewel has had my baby doll in her room for many years - but she seldom gets played with. Her eyes are
not as good as they used to be and someone drew all over her mouth.

Jewel also got this gold mesh purse - can't remember where I got this from either - but Jewel loves it (and Jayde eyes it off)

Seth received my Queens Silver Jubilee Mug that was brought back from England by my Uncle Steve. I remember both my brothers got them as well.

I also found some broaches that were in the Jewellery box (shaped like a Dressing Table). I have said these are for sharing and ask my mum where I got these from?

And some old rings of mine from old boyfriends - not sure what to do with them as the initials are wrong for the girls to wear.

Bike Riding

2012-01-22T16:00:00.000+11:00

Elissa rides.....

I got a bike for Christmas. I had recently given my old (very old) one to Jayde when Jewel learnt to ride without training wheels and inherited Jayde's old bike. Once we got back from our holiday I started riding every morning. First just down to the Petrol station to buy a newspaper (6.5 km's). It isn't far but our suburb is very hilly - takes about 30 minutes. I then started doing an afternoon ride as well.

My bike developed some problems so I had to take it back, but started using Jayde's (my old) bike instead.

Then this week I progressed to riding to Tuggeranong Petrol station and back for the newspaper (15 km's - takes about an hour). I have really enjoyed this riding every day.

This morning I took Jayde with me. it was fun (even if it took longer 1.5 hours) - now I am trying to convince Jayde to get up early and ride with me every morning for the rest of the holidays.

Coughing

2012-01-21T23:05:00.001+11:00

Elissa worries....

Seth has been coughing for several weeks. It kept getting worse, a very dry croupy sort of cough. But it is the middle of summer so I didn't worry and it wasn't hurting him. Eventually I decided to take him to the Doctors. We walked in and he coughed and she started writing a script immediately - without even examining him. She did examine him afterwards but only to confirm her suspicions - a bad chest infection. We left with a list of medications to buy, 1 oral (once a day), 1 via Nebuliser (4 times a day) and one a puffer (twice a day).

I felt guilty that I hadn't brought him sooner, but how many times do I take to the Doctors only to be told it is nothing.

She has also inspected a new freckle on my leg and decided to remove it. The dentist these holidays is also getting to know me and my Credit Card very well. 2 visits down and one left to go. I think my kids should be dentists when they get older - they can then make back all of that money I have spent on Dentists in my life time.

[Note from Adam; If I'd written this blog, it would have contained lot's of Darth Vader references, but I didn't, so it doesn't. No, Seth, I AM YOUR FATHER!]

Storm Damage

2012-01-21T09:07:00.000+11:00

Adam is sad:

OK, had a chance to inspect the house this morning from last night's storm. The main issues appear to:

the loss of approx 19 metres (62 feet) of guttering around the house torn off by the storm
carpet on bottom floor is saturated in several areas
water damage to ceiling in Jayde's room and kitchen

The bucket we placed under the main light in the kitchen collected about 25mm (about an inch) of rain that came through the light fitting. Several areas around doors/windows are wet, but these are non-carpeted (laundry/craft area/dining room) so we've just mopped them up ourselves.

Insurance is sending around somebody to try and dry out the carpets for us, but they won't look at the gutters until Monday. Hmmm - seeing as there are more storms forecast for today and showers the next 7 days I'm not sure about the wisdom of that.

Storm!

2012-01-20T21:44:00.000+11:00

Adam quickly updates:

We're in the middle of a major storm - so far water is coming through the light fittings in the kitchen, Jaydes Room and our ensuite. There appears to be water damage visible to the roof of our room. Much of the bottom floor has minor flooding too. The guttering over the entire left hand side of the house has been torn off by either wind or the sheer force of water.

[Gap of 30 mins or so]

There was incredibly intense rain, lightning and thunder for about 30-40 minutes. It's now moving up into the rest of Canberra and dissipating.

Will update in the morning once it's light after we can inspect outside for further damage and take photos.

Mobile Phone Wallpapers - Lot 1

2012-01-15T22:24:00.002+11:00

Adam uploads:

Decided to make some wallpapers for my mobile phone (aka cell phone for the non-Aussies out there) a while ago, and finally got around to actually putting them on my phone. I thought I would upload some of them onto the blog for anybody on the web who might be interested in using them (Note - these are © Adam East, and permission is granted for personal use only - not to be redistributed without written permission)

These are all 320 x 480 pixels in size. I've deliberately desaturated some of the photos to enable icons to be more vivid on the phone desktop. If I feel like it, might post more in the future.

Lake Eucumbene in the Snowy Mountains, NSW - Photo by Adam East

Leaf Litter near Booromba Rocks, ACT - photo by Elissa East

Barbed Wire near Katanning, WA - Photo by Adam East

Ladybug, near Bungendore, NSW - Photo by Adam East

Anniversary Cards

2012-01-14T00:12:00.000+11:00

Adam scans:

It was our anniversary a little while ago. Just thought I'd share with you the covers of the Anniversary cards we got for each other. Posting them wasn't meant to show anything particularly deep and meaningful, just a nice memory to keep. [smiley face]

Her Card for Him

His Card for Her

Son of Mothra Awakes from Its Radioactive Slumber

2012-01-12T22:34:00.000+11:00

Adam is gobsmacked:

Leaving work today, I noticed this little fella .... and by little I mean huge. (Sorry about the poor photo quality - camera phone)

He's a caterpillar about 10-12cms (4-5 inches) long covered in lots of spines and hairs. I know that some of these beasties can be dangerous (think Spitfires), so I resisted the temptation to stick my hand next to it for size comparison ... unlike this gentleman who took a photo of a very similar looking caterpillar in his garden, also in Canberra, the same time last year.

Photo from http://the-riotact.com/what-be-this-dragon/35131

My initial thought is that it's obviously the son of Mothra, awakening from his radioactive slumber. Mothra. You know .... Mothra - enemy of Godzilla. Looks like this:

Well, it was an easy mistake to make. Turns out though it wasn't the offspring of one of Godzilla's fiercest opponents, but simply a White-Stemmed Gum Moth. These moths have a wing span of up to 16cms (half a foot for the non-metric), and yes, the hairs/spines all over the caterpillar stage are designed to break off into the flesh of any attacking predator and are known to be quite painful.

Jayde has a fascination for caterpillars, and I rushed home to tell her about the uber-caterpillar I'd found. I did advise her however that unlike those she finds in our garden, this one wasn't going to be picked up and put into her caterpillar house.

Young Boys Should Not Be Taken to Fabric Stores

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000+11:00

Adam notes:

Elissa inflicted the cruelest of punishments on Seth today - taking him to a fabric store. Rather than go fully psychotic and search for something that could be used as a weapon, or lay curled up in a ball crying as most males would, he found a rather novel way to deal with the situation:

Meet Fred The Miniature Hermit Diplodocus

2012-01-11T07:15:00.000+11:00

Elissa babysits.....

[This bit was written back on 11th Dec 2011]

Our friend Caroline Woolias is moving overseas to Namibia for 12 months to be a volunteer teacher. We are looking after her two prize possessions while she is gone her piano and her long-necked turtle "Fred". Fred got here on Friday afternoon. On the way home I had to drop into the Post Office - there was a long queue so Fred came with me (in a bucket). Had some interesting conversations while waiting (from the outside of bucket they could see something crawling and they thought it was a big spider).

Friday night we set the tank up. On Saturday we went and bought him some live plants and some varieties of food - two frozen and 5 fresh fish. He is showing an interest in the fish but has yet to catch them. I keep explaining to the kids that we cannot become attached to the fish or name them as they will get eaten. If he doesn't eat them soon I may need to buy some fish food.

We have always wanted a pet turtle so now we have 12 months to see if we like it. If we do I think I know what next years Christmas Present is. So far he is very popular and he gets talked to by the kids (and any visitors) and quite a bit by the parents. Nephi has yet to show any interest.

[This bit was written on 11th Jan 2012]

Well, he's been with us a month now, and here are some updates.
Fred is slow. Too slow to catch fish. He's managed to catch 3 of the 5 over the last month, so yes, we have bought fish food, and we're now having to feed our "turtle food" as well as the turtle himself. Until a day or two ago, there were actually still 3 uneaten fish ... jokingly referred to as Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. The fourth fish was called Kenneth. The fifth fish never received a name, may it rest in peace.

He loves humans, and loves following you about when you walk by, but is scared of us when he's out of the water. If his heat lamp is on and we're not around he'll happily "sunbake" on his ledge, but if you come into the room, he'll suddenly dive into the water as soon as you turn away from him. Hmm - trust issues.
Nephi has only shown uinterest in the tank once - and recieved a darn good talking to from Elissa afterwards, such that we hope she won't jump up on it again.
Fred and the fish have mangled the plants.
He is incredibly bad at seeing and eating food dropped straight in front of him ... maybe he needs glasses?
And finally, from the right angle, he can make a great kaleidoscope.

In fact, in consideration of the above, I have determined that Fred isn't a turtle at all, he's actually a myopic miniature hermit diplodocus that has taken up residence in a turtle's shell.

Sydney Post-Christmas Holiday - Day 5 - Going Home

2012-01-09T12:30:00.000+11:00

Adam is tired:

The Friday morning brought with it the end to our little camping holiday. A big thank you to the Davisons, who made the holiday possible, and for putting up with us hogging your bathrooms, and killing the grass in your back yard.

We packed up the tent and were quite surprised to find that we were able to fit it back into the bag it came in - obviously some TARDIS like happenings going on there. We'd also managed to make the Davison's rear lawn look a distinctly yellower shade of green - oops!. Hopefully it should right itself after a couple of days.

One last sight to see before we hit the road was Lennox Bridge. Only just down the road from the Davisons, Lennox Bridge was built in 1833, and is the oldest stone arch bridge on mainland Australia. This old bridge is nestled amongst the greenery and winding roads heading down the escarpment of the Blue Mountains. Whilst driving down to the bridge, we were fortunate to see a large Lyrebird cross the road into the rainforest in front of us. First time we'd ever seen one. Unfortunately it disappeared before we could get the camera out.

At the bridge, we got out and explored underneath it - the kids had fun jumping the stream flowing underneath.

That was the last bit of fun for the holiday. The rest of the day was devoted to the drive back to Canberra, and to start the process of cleaning up from the trip.

It was fun going camping again - we may go again in the future now that we've rekindled the flame. Next time, Elissa is thinking of roughing it though - no friendly people with nice house, amenities and warm shower to stay with, just pit toilets and a lot of deodorant :)

Sydney Post-Christmas Holiday - Day 4 - Avalon Beach

2012-01-08T14:38:00.000+11:00

Adam avoids the sun:

We had an interesting experience in the tent overnight, Seth still occasionally sleep walks - which is fine when he's at home and knows where he's going. Not so good when he's in a tent with his sisters sleeping on the floor next to him in a small enclosed room. We were woken up with howls of complaint from Jayde and Jewel as Seth tried walking over the top of them, trying to find the exit out of their room. Seeing as the exit had been zipped up, he was never going to find it whilst sleep walking. Elissa went into their part of the tent and managed to settle Seth back down again without too many injured sisters.

The morning was a bit of a mixture of activities. I looked after the kids so that Elissa could go to the Temple. We'd originally hoped to be able to go together but the logistics of trying to find somebody who could look after the kids was too difficult. Instead, whilst we waited for Elissa we did some shopping, browsed the Nativity display at the temple, looked in upon an art display on the life of Christ at the Visitor's Centre, and then sat in the gardens playing Monopoly Deal.

Much of the Nativity display was missing or covered though. It was vandalised on Christmas Eve - vandals set fire to three of the displays. Again, another sad example on this trip of mindless vandalism that make me feel sad.

Whilst we were waiting for Elissa, I also got a call advising us that our Salary Sacrifice for a new car looked like it was going to be going ahead, and that the dealer would pay us for our old Kia Carnival. We got the Kia new in Aug 2005, and have done nearly 210,000kms in the last 6½ years, so it's on its last legs - happy to get some $$$ for it.

After Elissa had finished, we'd decided that we would take the kids to the beach, but we wanted to do something different and go to the northern beaches, and up to Barrenjoey Lighthouse. Unfortunately, the drive took us a lot longer than expected - the beaches, and therefore the roads were popular. I've always thought of Sydney as a slum, without any redeeming features, however some of the beachfront suburbs we saw on the drive were rather scenic.We only made it as far as Avalon Beach, where we bought ourselves a late lunch of Fish & Chips, which we ate on the beach. The kids then changed into bathers and explored the rocks and sea pool. I tried not to get sunburnt, and not to look like some kind of pervert whilst on the beach, fully clothed, whilst using a large camera with telephoto lens.

As the afternoon passed we started the long drive back out to the suburbs (via 7-Eleven for Slurpees of course) out to Jon & Glenda (my brother and sister-in-law). We caught up with them for a belated Christmas get together. They had friends from Perth - the Joses, whom we also knew staying with them. They put on a delicious BBQ dinner for us, and we exchanged Christmas presents for the kids. It was a nice relaxing evening to finish off the holiday with family.

Sydney Post-Christmas Holiday - Day 3 - Blue Mountains

2012-01-05T22:23:00.001+11:00

Adam is exhausted:

We had decided to spend the day in the Blue Mountains, with a bit of advice from Eldon Davison about some of the sites to see. Elissa particularly wanted to do some bushwalking, and we determined that Wentworth Falls would be the likely candidate.

We'd stocked up on breakfast items' from the Emperor's Garden the previous day to allow us a quick breakfast, so we were able to head out for the drive further into the mountains, with the first stop being Wentworth Falls.

The plan was to walk from Wentworth Falls to the Valley of the Waters, however upon getting there I was a bit certain about whether the kids or I would be able to complete the trek, as it was rated a hard trek of 3-4hrs, with much of it ascending and descending the cliffs. In the end, we ended up going down to the Princes Rock Lookout, along the Overcliff Pass and National Pass. All up we walked for about 2.5 hours along tracks that varied from open bush, to expansive lookouts to crouching through small caves to railed cliffside paths to literally walking through waterfalls.. The paths were wet and muddy, and there were lots of tourists, but it was an awesome experience.

7-photo stitched panorama - view from National Pass - click to enlarge

By the time we got back to the carpark, it was determined that I wasn't going to die from the walking and stair climbing, well, at least not for a while, so we headed into Katoomba for lunch, to another of the "1015 Things" - the Paragon Cafe.

The Paragon Cafe is a rather unassuming normal shopfront on Katoomba's main street on the outside, but on the inside it is a National Trust listed example of 1930's Art Deco style architecture. The entry featured old style counters and displays of hand made chocolates. We were then ushered through into the front dining area containing ornate wooden booths with wooden carvings of Greco-Roman history. We were invited to explore the rest of the cafe whilst our food was being prepared. The other rooms were equally as impressive - ornate designed rooms filled with wood, brass, mirrors all detailed with exquisite intricacy and workmanship.Lunch itself was nice too - the menu is very simple - very traditional British/early Australian fare from the 30s era, but it was delicious with generous servings. We topped off our great lunch with some of their hand made chocolates

Following on from lunch, we drove out to Blackheath to Govett's Leap. This featured a lookout across the Grose Valley, the Bridal Veil Falls and walks down to the Horseshoe Falls. Jayde was all "walked out" and so stayed at Govett's Leap to sketch whilst the rest of started the walk down to the Horseshoe Falls. The path become too wet and slippery for my liking so Jewel and I headed back to keep Jayde company whilst Elissa and Seth continued on.

5-photo stitched panorama - view from Govett's Leap - click to enlarge

After taking in the Govett's Leap views, we continued on down the Victoria Pass end of the Blue Mountains down into the small historic village of Old Hartley. This consists of a a dozen or so well preserved buildings from the 1830s. We had fun having a quick look around and discussing what it would have been like back in its prime.

We then took the drive back to the camp spot, detouring via Katoomba and Leura to do the Cliff Drive on the way home. Elissa had wanted a BBQ for dinner and we were looking at where we could go to have one when we got a text from the Davison's, inviting us to have a BBQ dinner with them. I grabbed some some food at the local shops to contribute to the BBQ, including a salmon steak for Elissa in lieu of us missing our Anniversary celebrations because we were camping. It was an enjoyable evening with the Davisons, we all got on well, including the kids. We had fun during the preparations identifying a geocache in the neighbouring park, which the kids then took off to try and find after Eldon & I had originally discovered it. Later on, we enjoyed a small bonfire out the back that Eldon set up which both families then sat around toasting marshmallows over and talking.

Sydney Post-Christmas Holiday - Day 2 - Harry Potter

2012-01-03T21:29:00.000+11:00

Adam continues to document:

We slept well in the tent, despite rain and a menagerie of Australian birdlife deciding to test out their lungs at 5AM whilst perched in the trees about us. Today was the big day - taking the kids out to the Harry Potter exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. The exhibition featured many props, costumes and artifacts from the 8 Harry Potter movies, which of course was of interest to everyone in the family (excluding myself.)

Following the avian alarm clock, we drove down into Darling Harbour and onto our first stop - breakfast at the Emperor's Garden Bakery in Chinatown. Love those exotic Asian bakeries.

Afterwards, we determined to check out another one of the "1015 Things" and walked down to the Sydney Fish Markets. It was about a 15 minute walk from the monorail station, which was made more interesting looking at some of the old colonial era buildings. One lady even gave us a bit of a run down of the history of the buildings as she noticed us admiring them as we passed.

Once we got to the markets we were surprised that it did strongly cater for tourists, with lots of tasty morsels on offer. Besides ogling all the sealife for sale, we tried a few items to supplement our breakfast - Elissa had a mornayed scallop served in its shell, whilst Jewel and I had salt & pepper squid. Seth wasn't keen on eating the "cute" fish, and so had crabsticks. Jayde was more interested in one of the gourmet stalls selling chocolate dipped strawberries.

We then walked and monorailed back into the CBD, and browsed the Kinokuniya bookstore again (we love drooling at the large and eclectic selection of books and novelties) before heading to Sushi Hotaru - our favourite sushi train for lunch. Jewel managed to cause a commotion at the sushi train by accidentally rubbing wasabi into her eye. Elissa was frantically trying to convey to staff that we needed water to try and clean Jewel's eye - they started bringing us out glasses of water to drink. Still, despite the Jewel sideshow, as always, the food was incredible, and it was fun watching the sushi chefs creating the delicacies. Elissa was particularly enamoured with a seared scallop nigri that the chefs grilled with a blowtorch.

Finally it was time to head over the Powerhouse Museum, and after battling the monorail and large crowds, we got into the exhibition. The opening room contained a presenter in character as a Hogwarts teacher. She called up 3 volunteers and used the Sorting Hat on them to determine which house they should belong to. Jewel and Seth managed to be fortunate enough to be the first two chosen. Jewel was pronounced as belonging to Ravenclaw, whilst Seth was Gryffindor house.

Following this, we went through the various rooms, done up as sets from the movies with various props and artifacts. The family all enjoyed it. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed so I was unable to document the event. The kids were fairly tired from all the walking earlier in the day, so we spent a small amount of time looking around the Powerhouse Museum afterwards. Jayde got the opportunity to play one of the antique pianos on display, but was a bit intimidated by a child prodigy who preceded her.

After driving back out to the Blue Mountains we grabbed a pizza dinner, eating it at another one of the "1015 Things" - the Prime Ministers' Corridor of Oaks. This is a park where each Prime Minister or a close family member of theirs has planted an Oak tree. Each particular tree had a plaque advising whose tree it was. The kids found it funny to find the trees for Curtin and Fadden opposite each other. The most recent tree was Howard's although it had been vandalised and chopped down. Sad to see juvenile hatred like that on national memorials. Nearby was the grave of Sir Henry Parkes, the Australian "Father of Federation", which we also visited and tried to explain his historical importance to the kids.

Heading back to the tent, we settled in for the evening, using the Davison's bathroom to shower and freshen up. After Jewel and Seth had both showered, we sent Jayde in there. "There's no shower in there" she responded as she came back out. "Yes there is I said, go back in and have your shower". Off she goes again "There's no shower in there, I'll prove it." She demanded that I follow her into the bathroom "Look!" she triumphantly declared, pointing to the corner spa. I place my hands either side of her skull and tilt her head up a couple of degrees towards the shower head and taps above the spa. "Oh" Jayde replied. She hadn't seen any shower screens and had completely overlooked the actual existence of the shower itself.

After everyone freshened up, the family played the Monopoly Deal card game - a Christmas present from the Garlands that has become a big hit with the family.

Sydney Post-Christmas Holiday - Day 1 - Getting There

2012-01-02T15:00:00.000+11:00

Adam documents:

We had decided a while ago to try and get up to Sydney after Christmas for several events, including going to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum and getting to the Temple as well as catching up with my brother Jon and his family.

Boxing Day morning was spent having a BBQ breakfast beside the pool at a friends house, so following that and packing the car, we finally got going about 3PM - rather a late start to be heading up to Sydney.

One of the things I thought we'd try and do whilst on Holidays was see some of things recommended in the 1015 Things to See and Do in Australia book. Figured that we might enjoy some of the attractions from the book in between the other things we were doing.

It didn't take long to catch the first of our "1015 things". Less than an hour out of Canberra, Elissa was already asleep in the car, and I was feeling drowsy, so I decided to pull over into the small town of Collector to get out, stretch the legs and try and wake up a bit.

At Collector we encountered two sites of interest. The First, which was one of the 1015, was the Bushranger Hotel, where bushranger Ben Hall and his gang conducted a robbery, resulting in the death of the towns only policeman, Constable Samuel Nelson. The hotel there has been named after the incident and there is a monument next to the hotel for Nelson.

Just down the road is something we hadn't heard of which was quite a sight - the Dreamer's Gate sculpture. Apparently it's been a source of legal battle - a large semi-completed gothic piece that Jayde reckons belonged in The Lord of the Rings.

After resuming the journey up to Sydney, we eventually reached the Davison's home in Blaxland where we were staying. Elissa knew Amie Davison (nee Alekna) when Elissa was a missionary and Amie had graciously volunteered their backyard for us to stay in after our original locations fell through.

We had fun trying to put the tent up in their backyard, noting that it had been 3 years since our last camping experience and we were a bit rusty on what bits went where. I think we had to redo the tent 3 times. Add to that that after being overcast all day, the rain decided to settle in for several hours literally only minutes before we reached our destination, and it was a bit of a mad scramble when we arrived.

The Davison's place was nice - very well kept, and it was a nice area. Really appreciated their hospitality to us. They had 4 girls aged between 4 and 15 that both Jayde and Jewel got on well with. Seth didn't even seem to mind that he was seriously outnumbered.

Dress alterations

2012-01-02T08:30:00.000+11:00

Elissa sews....

We are very strict on what the children wear. I know some people think too strict but we believe the body is a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father and should be treated as such. The standards we go by are the same as the church's and are printed in a booklet called "For the Strength of Youth". We believe in no short skirts, dresses or shorts above the knee. No low necklines (or going shirtless for the boys) and always having sleeves on our shirts (or covering of shoulders). No exposed tummies. Nothing too tight.

Jayde has been given some beautiful hand me downs recently, but as she has grown so quickly they are quite short. Also as some are spaghetti straps or strap less she could not wear them without a t-shirt underneath. So I have been doing a lot of altering with my sewing machine.

This dress was a spaghetti strapped dress and the black under shirt was a 3/4 sleeve shirt - they are now one dress and not a dress and shirt.

This dress needed sleeves and lengthening - I searched on the net how to add sleeves and added an extra layer in the same material and I am quite happy with the result.

This dress was too short - this was the dress that started all the altering - she had admired this from afar for a few years and when it turned out to be too short there were many tears. This being lengthened brought much happiness.

There was also a pair of bathers that were so cute, but Jayde is so long the Tankinni top left too much tummy exposed. I added in a black strip to the top so they now meet up with the bottoms. I am so glad I saved these as they are so cute.

There are more in store - and the Young Women at church have started asking if I could do the same for them after seeing my efforts on Jayde's dresses (which were some of their old dresses).

Cinnamon Scrolls - Recipe of the Day/Week/Whatever

2012-01-01T20:24:00.001+11:00

Elissa bakes....

I have been making Vegemite scrolls for years in my bread machine and they are delicious and very popular. I have also varied the recipe to include cinnamon scrolls and have discussed these many times recently - they were especially popular at seminary for breakfast. The teachers at school have also regularly requested that when i need to cook I do my cinnamon scrolls. People have been asking for the recipe so here it is.

250 ml water (luke warm)
egg
2 tablespoons margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon bread improver
520 g plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoon yeast

Place in Bread machine and walk away for about 2 hours - really easy - read a good book, mop the floors or work out.

Once the machine beeps - I take out the dough and roll it out. This is where things get tricky as i just do it - there is no recipe it's all in my head. I roll it out to approx. 30cm x 60 cm.

Next I mix probably about 2 tablespoons of marg/butter with 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Once smoothly mixed together it is spread across dough. Then take the ends and roll into the middle. Rather than one huge roll this gives you two smaller rolls that meet. I then slice down the middle and pinch both edges to the rolls. Then I slice each roll into about 3 cm's rounds and lay on a tray - so you can see the scroll pattern.

Now you place a tea towel on each tray (usually makes two trays) and place in a warm position for 1 hour (approx) until about doubled in size, I often actually do these in evening and leave to rise over night - baking first thing in the morning. Bake in an average oven for about 10 minutes. While baking mix 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk - goes quite thin.

Then remove from oven and immediately baste with glaze mixture above. Can cool in tray or eat immediately - these smell delicious and are usually eaten very quickly by anyone close.

Gifts from the USA via the Phillipines

2012-01-01T08:30:00.000+11:00

Elissa unwraps.....

One of the great advantages of living in Canberra is the many different nationalities you get to meet because of foreign embassies. We have made many great friends through the US Embassy. The Hables were one of those families - they have children similar ages to ours and we got along great. We enjoyed introducing them to many Australian foods and experiences. They moved back to the US earlier this year and are now in the Phillipines. To help them adjust I sent a care package with Vegemite and Licorice Bullets. We were recently surprised to find a care package on our doorstep from them.

The Cinnamon Bears did not last long.

The Tootsie rolls weren't far behind.

We made the Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs cereal last a bit longer by designating them as Weekend only cereal (no sugary cereals allowed on school days).

I am grateful for friends from all over the world that remain close friends even when distance separates us - and I am also grateful for Cinnamon Bears :).

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-31T09:41:00.000+11:00

Elissa celebrates.....

A few days before Christmas we had the annual Christmas Photo of the kids with Father Christmas. Grandma always makes the kids a Christmas Outfit. This year they managed to fit into hand-me downs of the sibling above them. Grandma sent a new skirt for Jayde but it got here after the photo. She wore kt on Christmas Day and it looked beautiful.

The morning was spent opening presents - everyone was very happy with their presents. the main present to the kids had been all of their photos up till the end of 2010 printed in a photo book. This took a lot of work, scanning old photo's and the choosing and arranging the photo's. Each book was between 150 - 160 pages and each was personalised for each child. They seemed happy with them - Jayde so far has taken the most interest. I always remember one of my presents from my parents as a kid a photo album with all my photo's in it and I loved it and still have it now. they also got lots of books, DVD's, games, lollies and stuff - and were really spoilt by Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. Seth also got some Baseball Cards that Adam had got made up for him - with Seth as the player - very cute. Oh and did I mention that I got a bike :).

The breakfast was left over ham from the night before, hash browns, chipolatas, eggs and fresh Cinnamon Scrolls.

Then it was off to church. I love having Christmas on a Sunday, it has more depth to the day. It was a shortened service and joined together with Woden ward. We went 1/2 way back in the cultural hall - it was great to have so many people there.

Then it was back for a late lunch with our friend the Mad Cat Lady and her family. A big meal of Roasted Turkey, Potato, Pumpkin, honey carrots, Sage and Almond beans and squash, corn on the cob and cauliflower & Broccoli Cheese. Unfortunately the Christmas Pudding flopped (I had tried cooking in slow cooker and I over cooked it) but we were so full it didn't really matter.

The next day our celebrations continued as we went to some great friends for our Boxing Day Brunch and swim in their pool. This is usually done every Christmas Morning but as we were all at church it was delayed a day. A wonderful morning full of a lot of laughs and a lot of food and fun watching the kids play in the pool.

Ward Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-30T23:30:00.000+11:00

Elissa recalls:

We are running very behind with our writing as we have been so busy in the lead up to Christmas. A week before Christmas we had the Ward Christmas Party. The kids had been practicing a nativity for weeks. It was very cute, Jewel did a poem reading at the end and the beginning, Jayde was the Angel and Seth was one of the Wise Men.

A cute Jewel doing her poem

The Full cast, Seth is second from the left as a wise man.

A final photo for mum

The men did a skit as well - an old but a funny one - one man using another man's arms to do some basic morning activities like, eating,teeth brushing and shaving. Adam was in front and worth many a laugh.

They had a lovely meal and everyone was meant to decorate their own table (we forgot but enjoyed using some friends left over decorations).

I worked up until Friday before Christmas - which made it a busy time. I had a lot of stuff done early or simplified the evening meals. On the Friday night we had a lovely BBQ with our friends the Arnolds, who are originally from Perth and about to move to Newcastle with Defence. A lovely evening and then we went to see some Christmas Lights in Forrest. This house has been acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records for the most lights on a residential property. It was late and a long line to get in but the kids loved it.

The next morning I finally got a sleep in and then it was off to brunch with another family, the Stuarts. A very relaxing morning - helped me relax and start to get into the swing on the season.

After brunch it was time to start preparing our evening meal - with our friends the Garlands. As Kirralee is pregnant something new that she could eat - a baked Ham. It turned out fantastic (see the previous post for what it looked like). The kids then had fun planning a nativity for the parents - it was fun doing it with more than the usual three kids - less costume changes needed. Unfortunately we didn't get any photo's . Dessert was a delious Ice cream cake (also see previous post for an amazing photo) made by Kirralee.

A wonderful lead into Christmas and despite my late start I was truly into the mood by Christmas morning.

Farewell to 2011 Teachers

2011-12-26T16:30:00.000+11:00

Adam notes:

Farewell to the children's teachers for this year, Ms Hoskisson, Lawson-Santos and Lenon.

Seth and Ms Hoskisson

Jayde and Ms Lawson-Santos

Jewel and Ms Lenon

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:50:00.003+11:00

May You Enjoy the Holiday Period as we celebrate the birth of the Saviour Jesus Christ

Adam's Kind of Advert

2011-12-23T13:14:00.002+11:00

Adam laughs:

I rarely watch TV, so I don't really have much of an idea about adverts on TV. I did see this one on the Internet today, and killed myself laughing at it. This is my kinda advert. Heck, I reckon I might go buy a new Kia after this :)

Holiday ≠ Holiday

2011-12-22T21:45:00.001+11:00

Adam is sore:

My first day of "Holidays" today. It went something like this:

Start pruning 2 trees out front at 7AM whilst waiting for Government employee to arrive at 7:30AM
Call Government employee at 8AM to discover he'd forgotten, and would now come at 10AM
Finish pruning front 2 trees ... I love the smell of sap in the morning!
Prune 3 hedge bushes on back fenceline to try and ward off dispute with neighbour that is brewing
Shape front hedge with hedge trimmer (oooh - fun!)
Explain dispute with neighbour to Government employee and show around property
Drive to go pick up Jayde from sleepover
Do Christmas food shopping with 3 kids in tow
Take kids to lunch (BreadTop bakery now open in Canberra - yummy!)
Go home and unpack shopping
Remove rear 4 seats from car to turn it into van
Get kids to help load the van with branches and prunings (we're talking several cubic metres for each load here, not a small job)
Drive to tip and empty van of dead plant matter (by myself this time)
Drive home
Show Piano movers where to put piano that we're piano-sitting for a friend
Move branches out of the way from where said piano movers need to travel through with said piano
Get kids to help load up the van again with more dead plant bits
Drive to tip for second time and once again remove evidence of previous plant massacres (also by my lonesome)
Drive home ... this process also involves killing a spider that migrated from plant matter onto the front windscreen whilst I'm driving
Clean out car from remaining leaves et al, and put 4 car seats back into van (left dead spider bits for Elissa to deal with)
Get dinner ready for family (luckily it was leftovers)
Dinner time
Get haircut by Elissa (which shows a large amount of trust by me in her, especially given said non-removal of dead spider bits from the inside of her windscreen)

It doesn't exactly seem like a holiday yet - I'm sore.

Jayde's Graduation from Primary School

2011-12-21T22:06:00.000+11:00

Elissa watches.....

Jayde had her Year 6 Dinner and Dance Graduation last week. She has been so much looking forward to this all year. Months ago while buying her first high heels she knew she wanted to wear them here, and so were picked to go with several dress choices. One of those dress choices was a hand me down a friend had promised her that Jayde had admired from afar for a long time. This ended up being her dress of choice (after I made a few alterations but another BLOG about those another day).

After school she went to the hair dressers for a cut and style. We love it short and knowing this was coming up we put off getting it cut till the day. Then she went to a friends to get dressed and her friends Dad drove them to the Dinner in his flash car that he uses as a Wedding Car. I was waiting at the school to take photo's of her arrival.

As a staff member I was allowed/invited to attend the dinner. But Jayde made me understand I was not to approach her - this was her night and didn't want her mum hanging around. I managed to keep my distance and enjoyed my time with my work colleagues - and enjoyed watching her look so grown up. I was not allowed in the dance so left my work colleagues and worked in the office for 1.5 hours till the dance was finished. The theme of the night was from the Dr Seuss book "Oh the places you'll go". This is a book I enjoyed reading to the kids when they were smaller.

Her friends and car

A close up

Her class

In front of a display of each of the graduating year 6's.

The next day was the Graduation ceremony at school. It was a wonderful ceremony with some great speeches all tied into the theme of "Oh the places you'll go". They gave out 4 special awards Academic, Citizenship, The Arts and Sports. Two were given out in each category and then two students were given the overall awards - they excelled in all areas. Jayde knew of these awards and had her heart on set on The Arts (excelling in areas of music, dance and art work). I was so nervous when they announced them - and I cried when they announced her name as one of the two winners.

Jayde getting her graduation certificate from Principal Lindsay Musto with Deputy Merryn O'Dea

Jayde with her certificate

With her Arts Award - and other award winners

Signing programs with other Year 6's afterwards

With her proud parents.

Next year we discover about life as a High School student.

Adam's Han Solo in Carbonite Birthday Cake

2011-12-21T16:30:00.000+11:00

Elissa bakes....

With Adam's 40th birthday approaching I knew I had to pull a pretty amazing cake out my oven. As I racked my brain with what to do I thought of his recent BLOG post about the ice cube tray that he wanted. I had looked into getting one of these for him but as much as they were only $10 the $28 postage (to Australia) took it out of reach ($38 is a bit too expensive for an ice cube tray). I searched on line and found many other peoples cakes also made as a Han Solo frozen in Carbonite but most looked like they had been used using the Ice cube tray.

So I had to do something else. I then came up with the idea on making my own mold with play dough. So one night the moment he walked out the door I made a batch of play dough. I then used Jewel's Ryan doll from High School Musical and pressed him face first into the play dough, I removed poor Ryan and froze the dough.

The next afternoon I had to drive to NSW for work and had the chance to drop into a speciality cake shop there and buy some Silver paint/icing used in Cake decorating. That night when Adam got busy elsewhere in the house I melted some white chocolate and poured it into the play dough mould and let it set in the fridge. then I pulled the play dough off and hid it in the back of the fridge.

The next night I made a chocolate cake with a Peanut Butter filling (Adam's favourite flavours).

The final night (on his birthday but the night before his party) I started putting everything together. I made some gray icing and iced the cake, getting the sides and edges very straight while fluffing up the top. Then I placed the white chocolate Han Solo into the Fluffy Icing and painted it all silver (not very noticeable on fluffy icing but coloured Han wonderfully).

Adam liked it.

Adam - Mutant X

2011-12-20T07:19:00.000+11:00

I only use my super powers for good ...

Seth and the Canberra Cavalry

2011-12-19T16:30:00.000+11:00

Adam goes out to the ballgame:

As a part of the baseball promotions here in Canberra, they invite one of the junior baseball teams to run out with the Canberra Cavalry players at the start of each Australian Baseball League game.

Back on the 9th December, Seth's Under 10's Baseball team had the privilege of running out with the Canberra Cavalry players at the start of their game against the Adelaide Bite. The family was all excited for him, with Elissa (an avowed baseball disliker) and the girls even coming out for the start of the game to see Seth.

Seth was absolutely thrilled - you can see him grinning ear-to-ear in all of the photos. Seth got to run out with Kody Hightower, an American Minor League player who plays shortstop for the Cavalry. He stood with him for the playing of the National Anthem, following which Kody signed a game program for him, and then Seth got to run back off the field.

Bandstravaganza 2011

2011-12-18T09:30:00.000+11:00

Adam documents:

As a member of her school band, Jayde was invited to participate in the ACT Bandstravaganza back on the 23rd November. This is an event where several school bands combine and play at the Llewellyn Hall at the ANU before around 1200 people. Jayde played the French Horn as a part of the combined band.

The band that Jayde played in performed three pieces:

Stradford March

Forrest Gump Main theme (her favourite)

Jamaica Farewell

The rest of the night featured performances from several other combined school groups, as well as some of the Senior Combined School Bands, to give the kids a taste of what they can look forward to in later years.

Jayde also had the opportunity to join in with the ACT Primary Concert Band - basically the best from all of the ACT Government Primary Schools, however, it was another night out of practice in what was already a busy schedule for her, so it was something we didn't take the offer up on.

Elissa did manage to take several photos with her phone during the evening.

Cars Are Evil

2011-12-17T22:12:00.000+11:00

Adam is broke:

I have mentioned before that cars are Satanic. This has been reinforced over the last couple of weeks.

It's been a vehicular massacre, with both cars on life support. So far we've paid for:

Set of 4 new tyres
New muffler
Power steering (A's)
Power steering (E's)
Service (both cars)
leads
A lot of light globes

Stuff that still needs doing:
ABS System
Rear Brake Rotors

The Kia has been a good car for the first 5 years, but has really started to need repairs over the last 12 months. We're seriously considering trading it in for a new Kia Grand Carnival.

Taekidokai Gradings

2011-12-14T23:00:00.000+11:00

Elissa watches....and watches.....and watches.....

Saturday was a chance for Jayde and Jewel to do more gradings in Martial Arts (Taekidokai). Jayde was going to a Purple belt - one tip and Jewel brown belt - one tip. It was great to watch them both perform - very proud of them, they have worked great and did a great job.

But it was a long session, they had a lot more than usual grading, Jaydes went for 1.5 hours and Jewel's for 2.5 hours (every kid gets a turn in groups) and you have to stay for the entire time. Jayde and I jumped out quickly for lunch after Jewel's turn in her group and still made it back in heaps of time.

When not doing her grading, Jewel had to kneel quietly on the floor for almost 2.5 hours. I was also proud of how well they waited patiently for their turn and while everyone else had their turn. Both progressed in their grading to the level they were going for.

This could be Jayde's last grading in the junior section, she has been told she is mature and skilled enough to start training with the seniors without going through the next several levels. She is a bit unsure about this but I feel she is ready too. I have promised I might train with her when she progresses - that should be worth a laugh.

½ a Christmas Card

2011-12-14T06:51:00.001+11:00

Adam laughs:

We have been very slack with Christmas cards the last couple of years. We've quite enjoyed sending and receiving many cards throughout the years, and enjoyed stringing up those we received each year throughout the house. However, over the last couple of years we haven't sent any cards out, and subsequently, haven't been getting as many back.

This year has been particularly lean ... so far we've only received half a Christmas card. In all fairness, it probably did actually start out as a whole Christmas card before it got put in the mail by the look of it.

Adam's 40th Birthday

2011-12-13T17:09:00.000+11:00

Elissa celebrates.....

as Adam turns 40 (and she doesn't - yet). We started the day with a cooked breakfast and presents.

Jayde gave Dad a polarising lens filter for his camera.

Seth gave Dad a Star Wars Monopoly game.

Jewel gave Dad a Lego Display Case for his Lego Minifigures.

And I gave Adam an External 1 Terrabyte Hard drive. I was so proud of myself for picking it out myself (with the help of the Dick Smith shop assistant).

That evening was spent at the Baseball so the next night we had a small gathering of friends at our house to celebrate. It was a Pizza night and it was running late due to a 4 hour taekido grading (that I expected to be 2 hours) for the kids, so everybody at the party jumped in to help - especially Andrew, who was a Chef in a previous life. We had enough pizzas to feed a house full of kids, teenagers and adults.

The cake was dessert and a bit too rich for some people but the design (Han Solo in Carbonite) was the selling feature. Not a bad cake for a 40th if I say so myself :).

He picked up some great presents from friends, a 70's style Laptop (notebook), Computer key cuff links, Huge Peanut Butter cups and an R2D2 alarm clock (for his side of the bed). He'd also been sent presents from friends and family via the mail, including a DC Action Figure (of Adam Strange). A great night that even he enjoyed (Adam hates parties, even his own).

Jewel's Assembly As a Phoenix

2011-12-12T20:57:00.000+11:00

Elissa laughs.....

Jewel recently had the chance to participate in the class play at a school assembly. She was dressed up as a Phoenix (mythical sacred fire bird). She made the costume herself (with some help from some clothes at home).

It was a very cute play about a group of Phoenix (note from Adam: I reckon the plural of phoenix should be Phoenii) who went in search of one of their stolen eggs. She had some very cute lines - my favourite being when finding some Sirens (dangerous mermaid like creatures)and asking what they were she said "they are very loud eeewwwah.....eeewwwah......eeewwwah" (meaning the siren off an ambulance).

Photos from the Sydney CBD

2011-12-07T23:00:00.000+11:00

Adam captures images:

Went into the Sydney CBD last Saturday whilst waiting for Jayde. I had intended to spend the day photographing architecture and sights in the city. However, once I got there, I felt that I wasn't really "in the zone" - I did take a few pictures, but nothing really inspired me. Instead, I ended up touring some of our favourite shops around Sydney - Hobbyco, Kinokuniya Book store, King's Comics, Comic Kingdom, the ABC Shop (found Seth's pseudo -Lego TARDIS set for $180!!) and the Hotaru Sushi restaurant that I loooove.

I did take a few pictures that I liked, but nothing earth shattering. True to form, most are primarily human free, shadowy and textured

Windows, Queen Victoria Building

Christmas Tree, Queen Victoria Building

Sydney Town Hall

St Andrew's Cathedral

"Walking in Time" sculpture, George Street

3 Wise Monkeys Pub

Great Hall, Knox Grammar

The fact that many parts of the CBD were closed off or traffic being redirected due to a large Pro-Gay Marriage rally probably contributed to my overall lack of enthusiasm for photo taking around the city. Lots of bad vibes around the city :(

My favourite photo of the day is probably the one of the entrance to Sydney Town Hall.

2011 Australian School Teams Chess Championships

2011-12-05T23:00:00.000+11:00

Adam is proud of Jayde:

Jayde & I drove up to Sydney on Friday after music lessons, staying with my brother Jon and his family overnight. We then drove out to Knox Grammar on the Saturday morning where the 2011 Australian School Teams Chess Championships were being held.

Knox is one of the more upmarket private schools in Sydney (costing over $20K per year). The Championships were being held in their newly built "Great Hall". This hall was three basketball courts in size, featured wood floors and panelling in the interior, a mezzanine level with seating for spectators, and multiple electronic screens and displays throughout. I took a photo and sent it to Elissa, joking that this hall probably cost more than our kids' entire school. That was only reinforced when I discovered that the complex was actually four storeys deep, with a gym and aquatic centre on the lower levels.

It was an 8:30 arrival for a 9AM start - fortunately the organisers were running a bit behind schedule as some of the other girls were running late and didn't get there til after the scheduled starting time.

Only 4 states had been able to send teams to the Primary Girls division (no teams from WA, SA or Tas - presumably too much cost to get there), so the championship would be played as a round robin, playing each other state twice (once as white, once as black), with 3 games occurring each day.

The players were ranked according to their ACF ratings - Jayde was the 4th best in the school team, so she would always be playing the equivalent 4th ranked player in the other teams.

Jayde did well, winning 2 out of the 3 games she played on the Saturday. Her only loss was against the player from the top team - that particular team went undefeated all day, winning all 12 of their games. Of the 12 games the ACT played on Saturday, they won 4 games and lost 8, sitting in 3rd position by only 1 point.

After making sure that Jayde was settled in and playing, I left the championships and caught the train into the city. Jayde and I had discussed beforehand that she didn't want me to be standing over her watching during the games, so I hadn't planned on staying all day during the championship. I had planned to spend much of the day taking photos in the Sydney CBD.

I got back from the city to the championships for Jayde's final game in the afternoon and the BBQ dinner, after which we took the long drive back to Canberra. Jayde enjoyed herself throughout the day. In between games, the girls enjoyed teaching each other dances, playing on the elevator between levels and talking.

Back at school on the Monday, we were disappointed to hear that the team were unable to keep up the pace, dropping back into 4th place for the tournament by the end of the Sunday. Still, it was a fun experience and a learning one as well. Jayde is determined to continue to improve with her chess, and only money is preventing us from allowing her to go to Melbourne for the 2012 Australian Junior Championships in Melbourne in January.

Jayde's Invite to the Australian Championships

2011-12-04T23:23:00.000+11:00

Adam is tired:

Earlier in the year, Jayde's school won the right to represent the ACT in the 2011 Australian Schools Team Chess Championships. Each state held their own state championships with teams of 4 students representing their respective schools, with the winning school in each of the 4 categories (Primary Boys, Primary Girls, Secondary Boys, Secondary Girls) qualifying for the Australian Championships. The Championships are a joint exercise between the Australian Chess Federation and the Australian Junior Chess League.

Fortunately the Championships were in Sydney this year, making it relatively easy for the ACT teams to get to. Jayde's school qualified as the Primary Girl's champion for the ACT. Jayde was invited to play as a part of the team. We had originally said no, noting that it was played over a weekend and would mean having to play on a Sunday. We have always tried to instill in the family that Sunday is the Sabbath, a day of rest and of worship, that is to be set apart from the other days of the week. As such, we avoid sporting activities and similar events on Sundays.

The manager of the team was familiar with our family's desire not compete on Sundays and advised that they would be willing for Jayde to come up and play for the team on the Saturday only. They would have another girl come up as a reserve, who could fill in for Jayde on the Sunday. On this basis, Jayde accepted the invitation to be a part of the team, representing the ACT, along with friends from the chess club at school - Kezia, Bella and Lucy. Lucy's younger sister Zoe would be the reserve. Zoe is only 7, but is a bit of a prodigy when it comes to chess and can easily beat anybody who underestimates her because of her age, having previously beaten high school students at chess competitions.

The Championships were held over this weekend, and I'll do a write up with photos, but just wanted to post this background information first to put the write up of the trip into context.

Seth in the TARDIS Console Room

2011-12-01T23:12:00.000+11:00

Adam writes:

Seth saw something that he really wanted a couple of months ago. We posted before about the Dr Who Minifigures that have been released. Seth saw pictures of one of the playsets designed for these figures - the TARDIS Console Room. Dr Who and psuedo-Lego - he was hooked instantly.

He saved up for months from his paper round and eventually had the $80 he needed to buy it online. Of course, in that time, the price had gone up :( He was prepared to keep saving, but as a reward for his hard work, we told him that we'd pay the extra so that he could get it. We were happy that he had the self discipline to save up for a big purchase. So, the order went in to the shop in the UK, and then the waiting began. Several weeks passed until on Tuesday, a brown paper box was left at our door.

For 2 nights, Seth has been working feverishly, and he's finally got it completed.

The set features 4 characters - The Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams and River Song. There is the outside of the TARDIS on a red alien landscape that opens up into the TARDIS Console Room. Seth's stoked with his new toy, and has even been asking for pictures of it, so he can show one of the teachers at school.

Now he wants the boxed set of all 11 Doctor minifgures for Christmas ...

Animal Cruelty in Christmas Songs

2011-11-30T18:00:00.000+11:00

Adam is disgusted:

These are bells - please notice their size in comparison to a person:

Photo originally from www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~chn2/pz,html

These here are bobtails - please note also, the size of the bobtails next to a person:

Photo from www.superstock.co.uk

Photo from pilbarapythons.com

I present to you now, the lyrics from a well known Christmas song

O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bobtail ring
Making spirits bright

Honestly, what type of sicko gets their enjoyment from tying a large metal instrument to a lizard?
In all seriousness, how would the bobtail even manage to get the bell to ring in the first place?
Who comes up with these lyrics?

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night ...

2011-11-30T07:31:00.000+11:00

Adam survives:

A series of storm fronts hit just after we got home from work last night. We could see the black clouds and lightning around us, and Jayde was watching the route of the storm cells on the radar.

Radar this morning after the heavy storms had cleared

The radar was showing intense cells getting all the way through to the brown in intensity. FYI, Red = rain intensity of 120mm/hr or 4.75 inches/hr for the metric impaired. The dark brown represents over 360mm/hr or over 14 inches/hr of rain.

All up, the Bureau says that Tuggeranong (our nearest weather station) received 44mm of rain - we figure that some of the heavy rain cells must have missed the weather station, as they recorded only 0.4mm of rain when the first storm hit us about 6-7PM. At that time we had hail and enough heavy rain to overflow our water tank and flood our back yard. (Another whole issue in itself, with the neighbour behind us wanting us to contribute to payments to cover drainage costs and damage due to run off from our property during all the flooding last year.) Oh, and lots of lightning and thunder.

Inspecting after the first storm cell passed, Elissa discovered that her fruit tree out the back has been damaged - one of the large branches is broken. I had to go out afterwards to do some errands, including filling up the car with petrol. It's kind of scarey filling up the car whilst lightning is hitting around nearby and you being subjected to loud thunder booms. Driving in the car felt just as perilous, with heavy rain reducing visibility, and many lightning strikes about. Within one several second period I had a lightning strike to rear, on the to the left and one the right ... rather unnerving.

Photo from the Canberra Times website this morning of the lightning last night.

Another two storm cells came over before bedtime, producing an evening of lightning, and humid weather making it difficult to get to sleep. We were all woken up after 2AM by another storm cell with heavy hail, rain and lightning. With a day last week with over 90mm (3.5 inches) of rain, we're hoping we don't get more flooding like last year. Whilst the rivers and dams are cool to watch, it's not going to help with our neighbourly battle over run-off damage.

Present Ideas for Adam

2011-11-28T17:00:00.000+11:00

Adam advertises:

These looked kind of cool I thought ...

If I had a Birthday, or Anniversary or Christmas coming soon, these Star Wars items would make cool presents for me.

Han Solo in Carbonite Chocolate Bar

Or, alternatively, if I got this for a present, people could me make me lots of the Han in Carbonite chocolates whenever they (I???) wanted. Hey - with a bit of imagination, you could turn these into Han in Carbonite Peanut Butter Cups! Hmmm ... maybe he didn't survive the freezing process after all ...

Han Solo in Carbonite Ice Cube Tray

Seminary Graduation 2011 & Talk on Church History

2011-11-27T17:59:00.000+11:00

Elissa reflects:

A few weeks ago we had the Graduation for all of our seminary students. Those that had completed 4 years get recognised for all the hard work and early mornings they had put in. They also give awards to those students who have worked hard in explaining the scriptures both writeen and verbally, knowing where to find them and memorising the scriptures. This takes a lot of work as there are 25 scriptures they need to do this for. If they do everything for 1/2 of them they get a bronze award, for 75 % they get a silver - 95% a Gold and 100% a Gold Plus. Some of these scriptures are really long so to have all marked off is a lot of work. Even the 95% is a lot of work. I was so proud as my class all got gold or above. They worked really hard and deserved their awards (They got certificates and I also made them all an edible award).

Then during the week I was asked to give a talk in church about Joseph Smith as we had studied Church History this year. I think it went well so I thought I would share it with you.

What Elissa Learnt From Teaching Church History during Seminary in 2011

When I was given this talk earlierthis week I hit a writer’s block. I could not figure out where to start. Adamsuggested I write a list of all the things that I learnt this year in teachingseminary. I tried – but it seems a lot of the things I learnt were how well theyouth respond to cinnamon scrolls and chocolate at 6:15 in the morning.

As many of you know I have held adesire to teach Seminary for many years. Over the years I have taught in manyauxiliaries but have always felt that the 40 minutes that you had on a Sundaywas not enough time to discuss in as much detail as I wanted the scriptures. Isaw seminary as a way of being able to delve into the scriptures a lot deeperand in a lot more detail. I also love working with the youth. I am also a morningperson. For those that don’t know seminary is a scripture study class held forthe 14 – 18 year olds at 6:15 every weekday morning for 45 minutes.

Despite this when the call came toteach in seminary this year my initial reaction was no – it is not the righttime – I had just started a full time job and did not feel I had the time todevote to such a calling. Luckily I asked Heavenly Father first and He let meknow that this was the time and there was a reason for the way things hadhappened leading up to this calling.

When I learnt the study course forthis year was Church History and the Doctrine & Covenants I inwardly groaned – this was the one areaI felt I was really lacking in knowledge. This was going to take me out of mycomfort zone and make me learn many new things. And learn I did. This course ofstudy has been eye opening and I have learnt a lot about Joseph Smith, theGospel of Jesus Christ and the scriptures.

From Joseph Smith we learn how toget answers to our prayers. Let s listen to the steps he took and the words heused to describe his preparation for the First Vision.

S=Study: Notice how the followingwords from Joseph’s account of the first vision (Joseph Smith—History 1)indicate his efforts to learn the truth by study."

· “I attended their several meetings” (1:8)

· “I was unable to come to any certain conclusion” (1:8)

· “I was one day reading the epistle of James” (1:11)

· “I reflected on it again and again” (1:12)

· “At length I came to the conclusion” (1:13)

P=Ponder:

· “My mind was called up to serious reflection” (1:8)

· “I often said to myself: What is to be done” (1:10)

· “Who of all these parties are right?” (1:10)

· It was impossible for [me] . . . to come to any certainconclusion" (1:8)

A=ALONE:

· “I retired to the woods” (1:14)

· “Having looked around me and finding myself alone” (1:15)

D=DESIRES:

· I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart toGod" (1:15)

E=EXERTION

· " But exerting all my powers to call upon God" (1:16)

· “Just at this moment of greatest alarm” (1:16

We sometimes expect $20 dollaranswers to 10 cent prayers. We desire to know the truth of all things but arenever prepared to put in the effort. Heavenly Father loves us and desires toanswer our prayers – but we must approach Him in a similar manner that Joseph did. I heard a great saying at one point in the year that I know I repeatedin class many times. “Prayer is not there so we can get Heavenly Fathersattention, it is so He can get ours”.

From Joseph Smith we learn aboutrevelation. He received an amazing revelation to his Prayer – we call this theFirst Vision. I enjoyed when I was a missionary memorizing the First Vision andrelating it to people. The spirit was always so strong and I knew time and timeagain on my mission that this was a true event. One of the great joys I had asa seminary teacher was hearing some of my students also memorize thisrevelation. The Spirit would be so strong as they relayed back to me the eventand we would all be uplifted.

But as I studied the Doctrine andCovenants I discovered that as much as Joseph Smith received many greatRevelations that included visions and angels – he also received many greatrevelations that were answered by scriptures and whisperings of the Holy Ghost.Most of the answers to our prayers will be found in the scriptures – they areLiving Revelation. What does this term mean? Living means that it grows andchanges – Revelation is inspiration from Heavenly Father. So we can continuallyreceive revelation from Heavenly Father on our changing and growing needs.

To explain this better. I have manysets of scriptures, I would quite often have several sets at go in the seminaryroom – if someone had forgotten one of their's they could find themselves readingfrom my seminary scriptures or my missionary scriptures. What I findfascinating is the markings I have placed in these older scriptures, they areheavily marked with words underlined, passages marked and many words written inthe columns. I would read a passage and receive impressions on how I could putthat to use in situations in my life. Then I would look at the writings fromprevious readings – I had received different impressions those times. Differentparts had stood out to me. Why – because my needs and situation were different. We may think "But I have read the scriptures several times already –what else can I learn?" We do not read the scriptures like a novel to find outwhat happens at the end. We read them so we can hear Heavenly Fathers words tous – written through the scriptures. The Holy Ghost will let us know how itapplies to life right now.

In the spring of1829, Oliver Cowdery was a school teacher in Palmyra, New York. As he learned about Joseph Smith and the work oftranslating the Book of Mormon, Oliver felt impressed to offer his assistanceto the young prophet. Consequently, he traveled to Harmony, Pennsylvania, and became Joseph’s scribe. The timing of his arrival andthe help he provided were vital to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

The Savior subsequently revealed to Oliverthat as often as he had prayed for guidance, he had received direction from theSpirit of the Lord. “If it had not been so,” the Lord declared, “thou wouldstnot have come to the place where thou art at this time. Behold, thou knowestthat thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell theethese things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by theSpirit of truth” (D&C 6:14–15).

Thus, Oliver receiveda revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith informing him that he had beenreceiving revelation. Apparently Oliver had not recognized how and when he hadbeen receiving direction from God and needed this instruction to increase hisunderstanding about the spirit of revelation.

I said earlier how I had wantedmore time to teach as 40 minutes once a week was not enough time to teach all Ihad found in my studies. I discovered that 45 minutes every morning was notenough time to go into all of things I had learnt in my studies. There is alwaysmore to learn.

Through the Prophet Joseph I learnt aboutfollowing the answers to my prayers. Many times Joseph would receiverevelation, and not knowing the end result he would follow. One example was theMormon Battalion – at the time he thought they were going to go and liberatethe captured lands of Missouri – but instead they learnt about wagon travel – some ofthese lessons saved the lives of many of the saints as they crossed the plainsmany years later. They also learnt many truths on this walk. All of theimmediate future leaders of the church went on this expedition and tell storiesof the things they learnt.

I could look at my accepting ofthis calling the same. I felt I could help the youth so much – but really theperson who got the most out of this calling was myself. There were times when Icould feel the spirit so strongly – teaching me as I taught the youth.

I learnt a lot from the D&C.Think for a minute about the Scriptures we have

The Old Testament

The New Testament

Another Testament (Book of Mormon)

And “Our” Testament is the D&C– Wilfred Woodruff said

“I consider that the Doctrine and Covenants, ourtestament, contains a code of the most solemn, the most godlike proclamationsever made to the human family”

I believe there couldbe some significance in the words that begin each of our Standard Works. Thefirst word of the Book of Mormon is “I”; the first word of the Pearl of GreatPrice is “The”; the first word of the Bible is “In”; but the first word of theDoctrine and Covenants is “Harken.”

I have learnt from Joseph about the Atonement. He wasonly a man – a prophet but still only a man who made mistakes. When he did heturned to the Saviour Jesus Christ and sought forgiveness. When Joseph gave the manuscript toMartin Harris who lost it, he turned to Heavenly Father. In D&C 3:10 he is told “But remember, God is merciful; therefore repent of that which thou hastdone which is contrary to the commandment which I gave unto you and thou artstill chosen and art again called to the work”.

That is what the Atonement is all about , we are going tomake mistakes – we need to repent and turn to our Saviour – remember He ismerciful and wants us to move forward with the work.

When we read the chapters of 121 & 122 – they were sopowerful to see the trils that Joseph was going through. How he Turned to theSaviour and the Saviour lessoned his burden. He did not take it from him butcomforted him. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thineadversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment”

So what have I learnt about Joseph Smith this year. I havelearnt to pray to my Father in Heaven, to read my scriptures to get answers toprayers and to follow those answers. I have also learnt about the Atonement ofJesus Christ. How it is only through our Saviour that we can ever hope toovercome our shortcomings and failings and sins and return to Heavenly Father.

Princess Mary in the Flesh

2011-11-23T06:31:00.000+11:00

Adam gets up close and personal with Royalty ...

In the last couple of weeks, Canberra has had several dignitaries visit. First was HRH Queen Elizabeth II. This was followed several weeks later by Barack Obama, President of the United States of America.
Now it was the turn of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark.

They may not be quite as well known as the other two internationally, but Princess Mary is big in Australia. She was an Aussie girl who met up with Prince Fredrick, the future King of Denmark, during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and ended up marrying him. Her life been described as the fairytale Princess story - the commoner meeting Royalty by chance, and then ending up in love and becoming the [future] Queen.

By chance, my car was in for repairs and servicing today, and it worked out that due to our need to juggle cars I would have some time to kill with the children after school. Elissa suggested that I take them down to the Australian War memorial where the Royal couple would be laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

It was wet, and a bit of a long wait for the kids, but we were fortunate that after the wreath laying, Princess Mary came out and went around the crowds, accepting bouquets and shaking hands. We were the last area she met with before leaving. Each of our kids got to shake hands with her, which they were all excited about. Jewel getting to meet a real Princess ... no tiara though :)

The above photo is of Mary shaking either Seth or Jewel's hand. Unfortunately, because it wasn't preplanned, I didn't have my good camera, and had to rely on my phone to take photos, which didn't cope too well with the task.

The funniest part was watching Prince Frederik, the future King of Denmark being completely upstaged by Mary. He just stood back and let her do all the meet and greet of the crowd. It would probably be an interesting change for him, who would normally be the one who is doing all the Royal duties and crowd greetings back home. Even funnier was that General Peter Cosgrove was standing with him holding an umbrella whilst they watched Mary. They were literally only a metre or two away from us. General Cosgrove saw the kids in their school shirts, and asked them if it was the best school in Canberra. I have to admit, I thought he looked familiar but didn't recognise him at that time, otherwise I could've explained to the kids who he was.

Jewel excels in all areas

2011-11-21T23:17:00.000+11:00

Elissa claps again....

in another assembly Jewel received an honour certificate. She was honoured for making big improvements on her spelling, numeracy and being a good friend. The principal mentioned as she gave it to Jewel that it was great effort in the 3 main areas she needed - literacy, numeracy and social skills.

Twilight Fair 2011 - Now Vampire Free!

2011-11-20T08:17:00.000+11:00

Elissa cleans up.....

Every year Curtin Primary School holds a major fundraising event - the Twilight Fair around November. It starts at 5 and goes till about 8.30. Of course the preparation starts months before and the level of work at school goes up in preparation. As much as the P&C runs it (not the school) we in the office spend a fair amount of time helping in the preparation.

As a parent in the school I also am meant to put on time on each of my kids stalls. I also let them know I would stay around as long as needed afterwards to get it cleaned up - as a parent not a staff member - but a parent with keys and codes. I did time on the 2nd hand book stall (Jewel's class), managed to miss helping on Seth's class (Lollies and Fairy Floss) as the Fairy Floss machine kept bringing down the whole power (and alarm system) of the school, and the Final shift on the ice-cream stall (Jaydes Class) - which was fun - constantly lowering the price till all the ice-cream was gone. I was also used to help in first aid, and with running errands, finding people and making more photocopies.

I managed to find time to eat some delicious curry from the curry stall, buy some plants, hair elastics, cakes (and see the cinnamon scrolls I made go very quickly) and watch Jayde dance with her friends in the Talent show. She didn't win (an amazing young girl at school who is learning opera won) but several parents and teachers let me know that they think she did a magnificent job (surprised to find out she doesn't do dancing lessons). The two youngest enjoyed the rides.

I hung around at the end - getting tables cleaned and put away, getting bins emptied and away and making sure all locked up. An amazing night and a great fund raiser.

First Pair of High Heels

2011-11-19T16:55:00.000+11:00

Elissa shops....

Jayde has been growing so quickly recently that we realised she needed new shoes. So I spent 3 hours in the afternoon recently walking around DFO looking for new church shoes. I had decided it was time for her to try her first set of high heels. Jayde had kicked up a stink first about shopping for shoes (apparently she hates it) but once I mentioned she high heels she wanted in. It took quite a while to find a pair that weren't too high (for a first pair) and a style and colour and price (if I wouldn't pay that much for a pair of shoes for me she couldn't get them) we could both agree on. She left a very happy girl and proudly wore her new shoes to church the next day.

A Boy of Distinction

2011-11-16T21:15:00.000+11:00

Elissa is proud....

Seth once again got a distinction in the ICAS competition, Maths last month and Computer Science this month - top 2% of boys his age. It is great to see the difference the program he is in at Curtin has helped him find his strengths and excel. I remember the hard decision to make the change. It sure has paid off. He got a credit in Science and Jayde got a credit in each as well. I wasn't there to actually take the photo (or whoop and clap loudly) as I was picking Jayde up from her open day at Merici - which was brilliant she tells us.

We ran into his old teacher from Fadden in the shops the other day Mrs Martin - she couldn't believe how tall he was and when I told her of all these awards she was so proud of him.

Grade Three Exam - Modern Pianoforte

2011-11-13T16:09:00.000+11:00

Adam congratulates:

Jayde did her Grade Three music exam for Modern Pianoforte several weeks ago. Full details of what she was required to do as a part of the exam are contained at the ANZCA website. For her optional solo pieces, she chose to play the following:

Ballade - by Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller
Fantasia - by Carl Philipp Emanual Bach
Romance - by Pauline Chang

She got her results last week. She passed with Honours. And she was very happy about it.

A Day at the Baseball

2011-11-13T11:25:00.000+11:00

Adam indoctrinates Seth:

It was the start of the Australian Baseball League season last weekend, so Seth & I had a very baseball filled Saturday.

Seth played for his team during the morning, following which we popped home for a quick lunch before heading back to Narrabundah for an ABL double header between the Canberra Cavalry and the Brisbane Bandits.

The evening consisted of Seth & I alternating between him chasing foul balls and me heading off to take photos. Seth managed to chase down 3 foul balls, which he was quite proud of. He gave one of them to some girls in the stand that the ball had almost hit when it came down. He also won several Cavalry pens during a scavenger hunt promotion between games.

We got to see Thom Carter - a member from Woden Ward - working as one of the Cavalry promotional staff. He's actually an employee of Major League Baseball, sent Down Under to assist with the Cavalry team. He did a good job. The Cavalry lost the first game of the evening, but managed to hit a walk-off home run in the 9th inning of the second game to win. Thom had been rallying the crowd prior to the home run in the second game - I told him when I saw him yesterday in passing that he should be credited with that run on the stats :)

Leisurely Trip Back from the Temple

2011-11-12T21:02:00.000+11:00

Adam documents:

We had the opportunity to go to the Temple several Saturdays ago when Grandma was here. She looked after the kids back in Canberra, allowing us to drive up early on the Saturday morning. It was good to be able to get to the Temple together. Because one of us is usually looking after the kids when the other goes, we rarely get to go together.

Part of the special reason for going up was to see the Petersen family sealed in the Temple. Fiona was baptised when I was Bishop a number of years ago. Her husband Duane has become active at Church over the last couple of years. It was a privilege to be able to see both of them and their four beautiful daughters sealed together as a family in the Temple. It was a nice reminder for us of when we were married in the Sydney Temple many years ago. Family is not just meant to be until "death do you part".

Afterward finishing at the Temple, we took the opportunity to make the trip home a bit more leisurely than the usual freeway dash. We started off with a late lunch at one of our favourite sushi train restaurants - the Sushi Bay, followed by a stop at Krispy Kreme.

On the drive home, we detoured off the main highway, and had a look around the towns of Mittagong and Bowral. Situated between them is Mt Gibraltar. We initially stopped at a scenic fern and tall tree filled glen on the mountain before admiring the view from several lookouts.

We also drove around the towns - some very large homes and gardens hidden behind large colourful hedges - they were very pretty. We passed by the Bradman Museum (technically, it's now the International Cricket Hall of Fame) at Bowral - it was already shut for the day by the time we got there though. We continued on down to Goulburn and ended up having a delicious dinner at the Tamnak Thai restaurant, before the final drive back to Canberra. A most enjoyable day - a good spiritual morning, followed by pretty scenery, delicious food, and good company.

A Perfect Day

2011-11-10T20:41:00.000+11:00

Elissa relaxes......

Saturday was labelled by the girls and I as a perfect day. It started out great because we had all done our chores the day before so could get out of bed at a slow pace and I even enjoyed reading the newspaper over breakfast.

Seth and dad left for baseball and the girls enjoyed some computer and TV down time while I ran 5 km's on the treadmill. This went great - I was very sick for about 4 weeks with a nasty cold and had to stop running. These last two weeks I have been struggling to run again but have not been able to run 5 km's straight - having to stop and walk every so often. This morning was the first time when it felt good and I didn't have to stop. I always watch TV while running - helps me not focus on how long left and today I finished the third season of Alias. One incentive if running is getting to watch the next episode in whichever series I am working through - I am not allowed to watch unless running.

Then some time in my garden, great to watch my seedlings slowly growing (and some sadly dying).

Next we made a special lunch for everyone (including the boys who came home triumphant from Baseball), English Muffins with bacon and egg. It is sometimes the little things that make days great.

The boys then left us again to go and watch Baseball this time (double header that I am sure Adam will Blog about soon) and the girls and I took to bikes in our street and Jewel learnt to ride a bike.

Then we decided if the boys were going to be out buying junk food for dinner we needed to have a great dinner for just the girls. So we went shopping, not the usual rush in and out but a relaxing walk doing a lot of window shopping, and buying treats for all of us. I bought the next season of Alias so I can run with it next week, and we bought the ingredients for Pizza.

Jayde, Jewel and I had a fun evening making Pizza's and then I started cooking some Chocolate & Marshmellow Whoopsie's from a Magazine for a fun new recipe and the girls started watching "Phantom of the Opera". This was the movie version from a few years ago - almost as good as the stage production. several years ago I took Jayde to the production in Sydney and she loved it. About half way through Jewel started crying - she felt so sorry for the Phantom and that Christine didn't love him (she was touched mostly by the scene where Christine and Raoul sing their love for each other not knowing that the Phantom is watching. It was sweet to watch her touched and the way that Jayde then comforted her.

The movie progressed and I got busy with those dang Whoopie's (why don't mine look like the Magazine). At the end they both came down stairs crying, so sad - and Jayde was saying how much better she understood it now (she also loves watching with sub-tittles on so she doesn't miss a word). So sweet, they both tried to eat a Whoopie but both were too full from all the Jelly Beans I had feed them.

The boys arrived home at this point and everyone had happiness to share from a very fulfilling and relaxing day.

Like Learning to Ride a Bike

2011-11-06T22:52:00.000+11:00

Elissa helps......

It was a beautiful Saturday and the boys were heading out to Baseball and so I decided it was time Jewel learnt to ride a bike without training wheels. Jayde and Seth learnt a lot earlier but we have been busy and it has been too cold for going out anyway. Of course her little pink bike with training wheels was way too small as she has become so tall so we grabbed Jayde's bike which was a perfect fit. Jayde started the training and then I came out to help. Amazingly Jewel picked it up so quickly (a lot quicker than Jayde and Seth did) must be something to starting later. There were no falls or accidents or stacks. We were just around our street (the flat bit around the park). She still has to master taking off but mostly gets it by herself, rides great once going is a master at stopping safely (without falling off). I didn't get as many photo's as I should have because I only grabbed the camera near the end and after an hour bike riding she was tired.

Then we had to decide what to do with Jayde - as she no longer has a bike (generously given to younger sister) - pull down down mum's bike, adjust the seat and there you have it. Jayde is now riding a Ladies full size mountain bike - when did she get so tall?

Bowling for Frozen Custard - Daddy Daughter Date

2011-11-06T10:14:00.002+11:00

Adam wins!:

Jewel earned enough tags in our reward system to have a special reward several weeks ago. She decided that she wanted to go Ten Pin Bowling with Daddy.

We had two games on a Friday night. Jewel lead both games early on before Daddy came back to win both of them. Afterwards we then went out to Goodberry's for Frozen Custard, which Jewel thought was the best thing in the world mixed with Gummy Bears and M&Ms. Actually, Jewel thought the whole night was the best thing in the world.

Naked Husbands

2011-11-01T23:09:00.000+11:00

Adam laughs:

Elissa and the kids were talking during dinner tonight. Following on from a line of conversation, Jewel decided that she wanted Mummy to sleep in her bed with her. Elissa replied, "No", that "she'd rather sleep in her bed with Daddy. When you get married, you'll want to sleep in your bed with your husband too."

Her priceless reply was "Yuck. Especially not if he's naked"

ICAS Results

2011-10-24T09:30:00.000+11:00

Elissa yahoos....

Every year we have the kids enter the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) tests for Maths, English, Writing, Spelling and Computer Skills. They are run at the school on behalf of the UNSW and they are great ways of tracking your kids progress over the years. This year's results have just started to come in.

Seth got a distinction in Maths (top 7% of kids in NSW/ACT) and Jayde got a credit (top 29%). I excitedly walked into assembly to take photo's just as Seth got his award - I apparently "Yahooed" and clapped a little too loudly for Seth (according to Jayde - Seth didn't mind).

Luckily for Jayde I knew she would not like the same treatment and was demure in my clapping for her (much to her relief she told me afterwards).

Very proud of them both and interested to see how the rest of the competition results go.

Lesson on Revelation

2011-10-23T09:22:00.002+11:00

Adam studies:

I'm teaching the Elders Quorum in Woden today. I've been asked to draw my lesson from the Conference talk "The Spirit of Revelation" by Elder David A Bednar from back in April. To help me study, I thought I'd make some notes:

******

Q Do you have major questions in your life that you need answers to?
Where do people tend to look for answers to their questions and when making decisions?

Great learning opportunity with Nephi and his brothers after their father Lehi has spoken to them about the vision he had about "The Tree of Life" in 1st Nephi Chapter 15, verse 6 through 11. Nephi's brothers claimed that they didin't ask God, because God didn't answer them, to which Nephi points out that even if God was answering them, they were so spiritually out of tune, they wouldn't recognise the answers.

Receiving revelation requires two things:

1. Faith that Heavenly Father will answer our queries
2. Being spiritually in tune to recognise the answers when they come

Elder Bednar's talk gives a comparison of turning on a lightbulb vs a sunrise.
Q How are they similar, and how are the different?
He uses these as an analogy to explain revelation. Both provide illumination, however one is a sudden instantaneous outpouring of light, whilst the other is a gradual increase from dark to light.

The spirit of revelation is available to every person who has been baptised by proper priesthood authority and who has received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is given to us to help us in our lives.

Recognize that:
1. Heavenly Father wants to help us, he loves us. We can have faith in Him.
2. Sin is the process where we deaden ourselves to spiritual things. Things such as pornography, addictions, harmful media and so on all impair and eventually destroy our capacity to recognize spiritual communication.

Through scriptures and Church history, there is a lot of focus on the "lightbulb" moments, as they are dramatic and faith promoting. They are however the exception, rather than the rule. Most spiritual understanding and communication comes through the gradual process of line upon line, precept upon precept.

Reflect - what revelation or spiritual communication have you received in your life?
If you feel like Nephi's brothers, this may be an appropriate time to reflect on your own 1. Faith and 2. Actions in your life that are leading you to or pushing you away from recognising spiritual communication.

Invite you to reflect on this and to act upon your reflections to choose to seek guidance from Heavenly Father, and to learn how to more fully be receptive to spiritual things.

******

My lesson also draws a number of quotes from the original talk. If you haven't read it, I would recommend it to you as a great talk to study. I really enjoy the talks given by David A Bednar - he is one of my favourite Apostles to listen to. I love the good use of analogies he utilises, and the clear doctrinal messages he is able to convey, but more importantly how he helps explain the personal application of these doctrinal principles.

Play Ball!

2011-10-22T19:26:00.002+11:00

Adam scores:

After having gone with me to several Australian Baseball League games last summer, Seth decided that he wanted to play baseball rather than do Little Athletics this summer. We signed him up to the Erindale Vikings, and he started training several weeks ago.

Today was his first ever game, against the Weston Creek Indians. The games were played at Narrabundah - an exciting location for Seth - part of the baseball complex with the Canberra Cavalry's baseball stadium. (Fort Narrabundah).

At their age level, the games only go for one hour - in this case, that equated to 3 innings. They also try and cycle all players through when fielding, so Seth only got to field for two innings - one as Second base, and one as Catcher. He liked being Catcher.

He also got to bat twice - first bat being a forced out at first base, and his second bat being a single, following which he ended up scoring. Seth enjoyed it, so it looks like a summer of baseball coming up. For the record, his team won 19-12. Oh, and I'm on the team too - I'm the scorer :)

We have a public Photo Album with more photos for anyone who wants to check out more shots of Seth during the game.

Not fat - just fluffy

2011-10-20T18:07:00.001+11:00

Elissa weighs in....

but not herself this time but the cat - Nephi. Nephi was adopted from the RSPCA approx 3.5 years ago - they think she was 18 months old - had been dumped there with kittens - they didn't know (or offer) anything else. She was always a big cat but we admit once we got her home she got pretty fat. Our vet ordered her on a diet (she thought 6.5 kilos was too heavy for a cat). We followed the vet's advice - we are used to being told to lose weight in this house.

We now buy very expensive cat biscuits for cats with a weight problem, and she gets only 1/2 a cup once a day. She is always starving, close to meal time she meows constantly 'til fed and then gulps it down in no time. The vet saw us a few months ago and says she is now around 4.5 kilos and she is proud of us, didn't think Nephi would lose any more weight (apparently once cats put on weight they stay fat). But Adam and I have been watching her and wondering if she was starting to get a bit guant- still large frame but looking quite slim elsewhere.

I started doing some research (googling cat breeds) and discovered a cat that looks exactly like her and has the same temperament - A British Shorthair (blue-bi-colour). The interesting thing is that the websites say they weigh between 5 - 7 kilos. So she wasn't overweight - she was normal for her breed - until we put her on a diet. They are heavy because they have so much muscle - the "bulddogs" of the cat world. So Nephi is going back to 2 meals a day (1 1/4 cup and one 1/2 cup).

Now Adam is googling his breed on the net to see if he is really in the healthy weight for his breed.

Holidays with Grandma

2011-10-19T17:30:00.000+11:00

Adam documents:

Grandma's almost 4 weeks with us here have now come to an end. Here are some memory joggers of the many things that have happened with Grandma

Costco trips
Going with the kids to see them doing their Taekido
Lots of sickness
Fishing at Bateman's Bay

Gorman House Markets, Handmade Craft Fair, Mt Stromlo and Tidbinbilla Deep Space Communication Centre

Grandma taking the kids to Floriade
National Museum

Seeing the movies Red Dog and The Smurfs with the kids
Seeing the movie The Help with Elissa
Gunning Fireworks Festival

Grandma doing Family Home Evening on how she joined the Church
Taking Grandma along to Church

The Kids doing a "Show" for Grandma
The kids dressing up for Yum Cha at home

Grandma taking the kids for picnics down at Point Hut Pond
Yum Cha at XY Dim Sum, Dinner at Hogs Breath, Fish & Chips at Bateman's Bay, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Goodberry's Frozen Custards, Junk food at Costco

Played Monopoly, Cluedo, Yahtzee Hands Down, Guesstures, Who Said?
Elissa & Adam heading out on a date and a trip up to the Temple

Grandma goes home

2011-10-18T22:38:00.000+11:00

Elissa is sad....

and Jewel sobs. All good things must come to an end. Today was the last day of Grandma's holiday with the Easts in Canberra. Last night we had a beautiful roast dinner as the start to a Farewell evening. Then the kids put on a show for Family Home Evening - in Grandma's honor.

First the kids gave Grandma some handmade cards to say thanks for the wonderful time they had had with her. then they gave her Thank you cards for Grandad to say thanks for letting us borrow Grandma. Then the show began - the kids started with them miming the Spam sketch by Monty Python. Second was Jewel dancing to "That Man" by Caro Emerald. Third was Jayde dancing to "Waka Waka" by Shakira. Fourth Seth sang "The Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog - accompanied by a dance routine with Jayde. Then they all played a piece on the piano. Then it was a fun game of charades (game called Guesstures) that had us all in stitches (especially Adam doing long jump). A treat of Krispy Kreme Donuts finished the night off beautifully.

To make her last day special we started with fresh cinnamon scrolls. I got off work a touch early and we had an early dinner before taking Grandma and her very heavy cases out to the airport. Jewel got a little bit sad at home.

At the airport she got even sadder and hugged Grandma heaps with lots of little sniffs and tears. By the time Grandma was boarding we were all sad but Jewel was crying hard. By the time the plane took off (with Jewel running up and down the airport following it taxiing and finally taking off) she was sobbing. She sobbed most of the way to the car and during the drive home. I think she was still crying by the time she feel asleep.

Grandma has been a wonderful presence over the last 4 weeks. Lots of kiddy cuddles when Mum was grumpy. Lots of treats for the kids. A few arguments over who got to sit next to her in the car and at the dinner table. Lots of chats and cuddles and giggles. Lots of sneaking downstairs to watch TV with Grandma and have more cuddles (sometimes it was mum sneaking down stairs to watch TV).

For my point of view 3 very happy and relaxed children as they had an amazing school holidays. Lots of outings, lots of plays at home, lots of plays in the park. Grandma also took over my washing basket - I would turn around and she would have done another load of washing, washed, dried and folded and sorted. It was amazing. I got quite sick during the holiday and during my worst few days mum (Grandma) was an amazing support. We had many laughs, and talks.

Grandma you will be greatly missed by all of us - not just Jewel.

Gunning Fireworks Festival 2011

2011-10-17T17:00:00.000+11:00

Adam watches things go BANG!:

Despite both Elissa and I being sick, we had planned on taking Grandma out to Gunning to see the Gunning Fireworks Festival. We were impressed with the Festival last year, and thought she would enjoy it as much as we did.

We got there about 5:30pm, and took the opportunity to tour the varied craft and produce stalls around the area. One featured reptiles, so, as usual, Elissa was in there trying to get a pat of a snake. (She'd have been no good in the Garden of Eden.) We grabbed some dinner - pluto pups and stuffed spuds, after which Grandma gave the kids $5 each, which they splurged on rides and/or treats. Jewel had a ball in the Funhouse. Elissa talked of the contrast how she saw it as dingy and falling apart (lights not working, rust, etc), whilst all Jewel saw was something to have fun on. As we waited we were serenaded by a country band ( or maybe they were a western band ... not sure), followed by pipers until the Fireworks started about 7:45PM.

The individual firework displays seemed to be different than last year - obviously many new designs. Grandma was suitably impressed. I took my camera - got some OK photos but not as good as the ones I took last year.

After the individual firework displays there was an impressive display of fire juggling and acrobatics put on by a group from Goulburn. They were very impressive, and would have almost been worth the entry fee alone.

Afterwards, they had the Grand Finale featuring a major display set to 80s movie music (Rocky, James Bond, Top Gun, Ghostbusters, Return of the Jedi, etc). As usual, we were so close, literally sitting right next to the fence with the fireworks beyond. The finale meant that fireworks going off covered your entire field of vision. Once again, an awesome evening, even if we were battling sickness throughout it.

Jayde 1 Daddy ∞

2011-10-16T20:39:00.000+11:00

Adam is not too proud to note:

A monumental day for Jayde today. We've gotten into a routine of playing a chess game every Sunday. After a stalemate last week, Jayde finally beat me for the first time ever this evening. Jayde reckons that she is quote Awesome! unquote.

Storm over the Brindabellas Panorama

2011-10-16T07:37:00.000+11:00

Adam imagizes:

A thunder storm came through over the Brindabellas on Friday evening. It was fascinating watching it roll in quickly. I managed to capture the following images of the storm as it arrived. This panorama is a stitch together of 12 different photos. Click for a closer view.

Punk Fish

2011-10-12T18:00:00.000+11:00

Adam notes that this isn't a Dr Suess story:

One fish, two fish, punk fish, blue fish.

Long weekend in Canberra last weekend, but Elissa and I were both sick. Elissa seemed to get it the worst though, with a trip to the Doctor on the Monday holiday morning confirming a sinus infection.

We made the snap decision for me to take grandma and the kids down to Bateman's Bay to do some fishing, allowing Elissa to rest at home.

It was a fun trip, after leaving mid-morning we got down to the coast and had lunch at a Fish and Chip shop. It was nice fresh produce. Jewel declared that she didn't want to eat any of the "cute little fishies" though. It's alright I told her, only ugly fish get chopped up to be eaten ;) Following our meal we went to the small jetty where we first took the kids fishing back in 2009, and went fishing for an hour.

It mainly consisted of feeding the fish (ie put bait on hook, put line into water, fish eat bait, bring line back up, put bait on hook ... repeat process ad infinitum). Lots of bites and nibbles, but nothing hooked. I did get one bite that was on the hook for a second or two before getting off. Then, about 10 minutes before we were scheduled to leave, I finally got a solid bite. I pulled it in, and pulled up a blue and yellow spotted fish with a large "horn" of some type. (Good to see that the fish came in West Coast Eagles colours.). The kids decided that it was a unicorn fish because of the horn.

Now ... what do we do with said fish. Well, let's get the hook out. Ummm, yeah. Wrap fish in cloth I brought, pull hook .. and. Hmmm. Pull hook and .... Ok, let's try pulling the hook this way. Nope. Couldn't get the hook out. At this stage, Jayde's mightily concerned with the fishes' welfare - "It can't breathe". Yeah well, if he's edible, not breathing is going to be the last of his worries. But, being unable to dehook him, and deciding that he was a bit too small to make much of a meal (or even if he was edible) and that Jayde thought he was "too pretty" to eat, I decided to cut my losses, and simply cut the hook off the line. I then put the fish back into the water, who promptly swam away for his life.

We then headed back to the car where Grandma was huddled from the cold of the sea breeze. We stopped by the bait store, who identified my fish from the photos as not a Unicorn Fish, but a Leatherjacket. Quite edible, but apparently you have to skin them first.

We drove home and arrived back to a rested Elissa bearing gifts we bought from the lolly shop in Braidwood, and tales of the pretty unicorn fish with the hook in its mouth.

So, somewhere in the NSW South Coast is a young upstart Leatherjacket fish, telling tales of it's journey onto land to the other fish at school, bragging about its new piercing, and showing off the shiny new hook through it's nose.

Stake Young Women's Camp 2011

2011-10-11T22:28:00.002+11:00

Adam gets smokey:

The Stake Young Women's Camp was held last week - about forty 12-18 year old girls, along with their Ward and Stake leaders. Part of my responsibility at Church is assist the Stake Young Women's leaders. Because of this, I had the opportunity to try and arrange to have several Priesthood holders at the camp at all times to assist and to act as a bit of muscle power and security if needed.

This wasn't easy as the camp was being held on a Wednesday through Friday. Other major events and non-aligned school holidays between the ACT and NSW meant that it was the only time the camp could be held. This obviously precluded a lot of fathers and leaders who were working fulltime during that period from being able to assist.

Still, after lots of chasing around between myself and the wards, we had at least 2 brethren assigned for every part of the camp. The camp itself was designed around a "Survivor " theme, with the girls all divided into tribes and competing in challenges.

I was scheduled for the Wednesday night, going down after work to Camp Cottermouth and spending the evening with them. I mainly helped with tending the campfire as the girls heated up there dinner. Afterwards they held a devotional around the campfire, before doing a number of skits. It was an enjoyable evening, even if I did come home smelling like a smokey bonfire. I even had the girls sing a thankyou song for coming to help.

Unfortunately they got flooded out by some heavy rains on the Thursday afternoon, and the camp was called off at that point, so not all of the brethren ended up needed to go down and help. It was a good experience though and I'm looking forward to Jayde going up to Young Womens next year.

Wakakirri 2011 Final

2011-10-05T18:30:00.000+11:00

Elissa watches......

Jayde has worked really hard as the understudy of the main part in the school Wakakirri production. One of their final practices they got the understudies to do the dance. They did a great job, quite a few commented on how talented Jayde was, not just with her dancing (which she hadn't done before) but also with her acting. I was very proud of her.

Grandma was due for a holiday to help look after the kids during the school holidays and came early so she could see the finals. This time we also took Jewel and Seth and Caroline Woolias - a great friend and old teacher of Jayde's. We dropped her off Friday night and then went off for dinner at "Hogs Breath Cafe". Just before getting there I realised that I had left the tickets at home - an hour till it starts and 1/2 an hour each way and I was worried. Then I remembered that the theatre had made us type out a list of who got what tickets - I cursed this at the time. I went in and had my tickets reissued and thanked them a lot - promised to never curse them again.

So I joined the family (minus Jayde) for a relaxing and yummy meal.

I was so nervous during the other performances before us, 2 before us and 4 afterwards. I think everyone did a great job. I had a few concerns with a few of the themes, and one school that had one girl in a wheelchair that ended up dancing. This probably made everyone at our school (and in our performance) a touch uncomfortable as we have a girl in a wheelchair who will never walk. She saw it backstage and was so excited that their was another girl in a wheelchair and apparently her heart broke when she saw the girl walk and then dance.

Our school did us very proud and we had the longest and loudest applause (rowdy bunch we were). Jayde did a wonderful job with her speech at the end. We felt we were in with a chance till Wanniassa got up and then it was obvious who the winner would be. They tied in the Theme of volunteers with the bushfires, floods in Australia and then the earthquakes in Japan. We were a little disappointed that we didn't even get a place as we felt our performance was good enough for a placing but we agreed on the first place. And to get to the finals was an amazing achievement.

We have ordered the DVD but will take at least 4 weeks for delivery. Will post the dance then.

Learning Journeys

2011-10-04T21:54:00.003+11:00

Elissa learns....

Every year at school there is a morning where the parents get to come in and have a look at the work the children have done. It usually takes about an hour and the kids get to lead the way and show their parents what their favourite work is. This year we were lucky to have Grandma with us to enjoy the "Learning Journey".

One morning it was Jewel and Seth's turn. So we took turns in each room. Great to see some work. Jewel did a great poem about "boring" and got to show Grandma how to make a salt timer. Seth had done some amazing "Tessellation" and also some lovely poetry.

Jayde's they had them dress-up in period clothing - so after raiding mum's clothes (shows how old my clothes are) Jayde looked a little bit more Historical. We got to read some wonderful stories with very expressive writing from Jayde and also see a large timeline she had done and her Hairdressing shopfront.

Mosiah Chapter 14 - Quoting Isaiah

2011-10-02T09:26:00.000+11:00

Adam studies:

Another short chapter, this chapter covers Abinadi quoting what we know as chapter 53 of Isaiah. This is a natural lead on in his teaching to the wicked priests. Abinadi has reprimanded them in their failure to understand to the Law of Moses, and has commenced teaching it to them.

The important part he is emphasizing here is the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah which they failed to understand. Isaiah was a contemporary from around the time of Lehi, hence his oft quoted status in the earlier parts of the Book of Mormon as those in the New World referenced elements from back in Jerusalem.

Isaiah's main teachings in the chapter quoted by Abinadi are:

1. The Messiah will be rejected by many, both physically and spiritually.
2. The Messiah will suffer for the sins of mankind.
3. The Messiah's sacrifice will enable salvation for mankind.

My one line summary for this chapter is:

Q - Abinadi quotes Isaiah's prophecies of the Messiah's mortal life, that He will suffer for and redeem mankind

1015 Things to See in Oz - Trees

2011-10-02T08:30:00.000+11:00

Adam documents:

Continuing on with our list of what we've seen and done from the list fo 1015 Things to See and Do in Australia. Two related sections.

Section 10 : Trees:

118 Boab Prison Tree, Derby WA - I remember seeing this as a kid when travelling with my parents in the North West back in 1981. Boab trees have very fat trunks, but aren't very tall - this particular one has a circumference of about 14 metres (46 feet). The prison tree is partially hollow inside and has a 1 m by 2m "gap in the side of the trunk that served as a doorway into the interior of the tree. This tree was used as a prison holding cell for aboriginals back in the 1800s.

Section Total 1 out of 13

Section 11: Giant Trees:

126, The Tree Towers, Manjimup, WA - Have been to the Diamond Tree - one of these tree towers near Manjimup - as a child several times. Never got more than several feet off the ground trying to climb it. Having a fear of heights doesn't help.

129 - The Gloucester Tree, Pemberton, WA - Again - one visited as a kid with family, school camps and several times throughout life. The viewing platform on this one is 64 metres up (210 feet). Also, like the Diamond Tree, I've never even attempted to get more than a few feet off the ground climbing it. We took the kids to see it in late 2009.

Honorable mention: The Tingle trees of the South West. Can't believe that the Tingle trees further down near Walpole didn't get a mention. Things like the Valley of the Giants Tree-Top walk and the very matter-of-factly named Giant Tingle Tree really should be on this list above some that are there. The hollowed out trunk of the Giant Tingle Tree is nearly 25 metres (82 feet) in circumference. To put that in perspective, there are photos from the 1950s before it became a tourist attraction with a car comfortably parked inside the tree.

Section Total: 2 out of 7

Grand Total: 23 out of 130

Rag Time Hairdressing

2011-10-01T19:45:00.001+10:00

Elissa rags.....

This term at school Jayde's class has been doing Australian History. They all started the term as Convicts and as the term progressed and they finished assigned work and projects from the teacher they were paid in pounds. As they progressed in money their station in life changed. They became Free Settlers next, followed by Explorers, Gold Diggers, Business Owners and finally Land Owners.

When they were Business Owners they got to buy at auction (with their pounds) which business they wanted - it could be done either solely or as a partnership. They then had to create an authentic store front and sell goods and services to fellow students to gain more pounds (to enable them to become Land Owners). Jayde and her friend Eva bought a hairdressing business and had fun with hair clips, bows etc.

I suggested one day that we try ragging Jayde's hair like they did back then to see how it worked so she could sell that service. So we Youtubed it and saw how it was done. then on Saturday evening after the hair was freshly washed and wet I spent the evening ragging her hair. It looked lovely the next day for church and still had curls in it for school on Monday. She sold one hair ragging at school but it didn't work as the student did not have the patience for waiting 8 hours and took them out too soon.

Stay Tuned!

2011-09-25T13:28:00.000+10:00

Adam notes:

It's been a busy week, and not much of it has been blogged, however I'm sure we'll catch up with our writings over the coming days. Here's a quick peek at what has happened over the last week:

Grandma flew in from Perth and will be with us for the next 3½ weeks
Jayde had her hair Ragged
Jayde competed in the Wakakirri finals
Elissa started her new garden

Stay tuned for more exciting details!

Mosiah Chapter 13 - A Type of Things To Come

2011-09-24T22:58:00.004+10:00

Adam studies:

Been slack with all my blogging this week, so getting back into the swing of things with some study. We continue on with Abinadi in the court of King Noah. The main points of this chapter being:

1. King Noah decides that Abinadi is mad and should be done away with, however Abinadi is protected by Divine power. We don't know what exactly occurred, but we know that "his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses' ... in Mount Sinai". Whatever was happening, it was enough that the people "durst not lay their hands upon him". Abinadi exclaims that this is because he has not yet delivered the message that the Lord has commanded him to, therefore, God will "not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time." He knew that he probably was going to be killed after delivering his message, but warned them, that this would be "a type of things to come." What happened to him would also be what would happen to the people.

Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments

2. At this point, Abinadi teaches the Ten Commandments. This was natural extension of the discussion in the previous chapter where the wicked priests claim to have taught the Law of Moses. Abinadi had rebuffed that not only had they not taught them, they weren't living the commandments either. It was a natural extension therefore for him at this point to use this opportunity to teach or remind the people of the laws they should be living, and he did so, using the Ten Commandments.

3. He didn't just explain them in isolation though, he continues on to explain the Law of Moses, explaining that the Law itself would not save them. The Atonement of the Messiah would be the actual enabling factor in their salvation. There would even come a time when the law of Moses would be done away with. It was a preparatory law for a proud people. He reminded them that the laws were all about types, or analogies - symbols. They were pointing to the coming of the Messiah, and were to be reminders as a part of the daily life. Every single Prophet had pointed to the coming Messiah.

It's interesting to reflect that Abinadi knew he was going to seal his testimony with his blood - that he would be martyred. His message was about the Law of Moses, and of it being a "type" - an analogous symbol - of that which was to come. Similarly, his life as a part of his prophetic call would also act as an example of this to the people Their treatment of him would be a type of the things that would come to them.Abinadi's message and testimony were not just in his words, but literally in both his life and death.

My one line summary of this chapter:

Abindai is protected by divine power. Abinadi - D - His life is a type. The Ten Commandments. The purpose of Mosaic Law

Does this look like ice cream to you?

2011-09-19T21:32:00.001+10:00

Adam sulks:

I got told off earlier tonight. Elissa asked me to go to the chest freezer and get out 2 tubs of ice cream. So I went to the chest freezer, and brought back two tubs of ice cream and put them in the fridge as per her instructions.

Later on, when she got them out, she asked me what's this steak doing here, pointing to the following?

I was silly enough to mistake this for ice cream. Obvious error - of course, it's frozen steak!

Ummm, because it's a tub of ice cream? Well, it turns out it isn't. It's an ice cream tub that Elissa has filled with frozen steaks ... obviously. Silly me :)

Mosiah Chapter 12 - Return of Abinadi

2011-09-18T15:30:00.000+10:00

Adam studies:

The main points from this chapter are:
1. Abinadi returns after 2 years. Considering that the last time he was in town, King Noah told the people to kill him, you can be forgiven for thinking that a two year break before coming back was quite acceptable. Judging by Abinadi's actions though - he was no shrinking violet - he wasn't waiting out of fear. Essentially he gave the warning to the people the Lord had told him to give. Then there was a waiting period, a period for the people to choose to see if they would accept the commandment to repent. The Lord gave them their period of grace to repent, they rejected, and now he sent Abinadi back with a very different message.

2. Abinadi outlines the things that the people will soon suffer. The three main points being that:

They will be brought into bondage. Not talking a spiritual bondage, but slavery and servitude.
They will suffer pestilence and famine. This will be caused by a number of factors - insect plagues, hail, damaging winds (the east wind).
King Noah's life will be as a "garment in a furnace" - effectively saying, he will suffer death by fire.

3. Abinadi is bound and taken before King Noah. Funnily enough, the people didn't listen to Abinadi when he told them to repent two years earlier, and they were even less impressed with him this time around. He is taken captive to the King. The people declare that "we are strong and shall not come into bondage", and deceive themselves saying that "we are guiltless and thou, O king, hast not sinned".

4. Noah casts Abinadi into prison. He is brought before the priests of King Noah to be questioned. He seizes upon one of the questions, where he is asked what one of the passages in Isaiah means, criticising the Priests who claim to teach the Law of Moses. Abinadi points out that they neither understand the Law of Moses, nor do they live it, or teach the people to live it either. At which he point, he starts to explain the Ten Commandments.

As I said, Abinadi is certainly no shrinking violet. he certainly had courage. I think it likely that he knew that he was going to be killed for his testimony, but he had the strength and conviction to deliver the emssages that the Lord wanted him to.

Interesting article over at the Maxwell Institute at BYU titled Abinadi: The Man and the Message, by Todd B Parker. An interesting point it raises are the similarities between Abinadi's message and the words of King Benjamin. It speculates on the possibility that the angelic visitor who taught Benjamin may have been Abinadi. Interesting point to ponder.

My one line summary of this chapter:

Abinadi returns after 2 years and prophecies bondage. He is imprisoned and questioned. He expounds the Law of Moses.

Laughing in the Rain

2011-09-18T08:08:00.000+10:00

Elissa laughs....

I just found some photo's on the computer that must have been taken by Adam last Sunday after we got home from church and it was raining. Jewel wanted to go outside in the rain and we let her. I hadn't seen these photo's of the event and thought I should share.

Jayde's Uber School Assembly Participation

2011-09-17T19:29:00.000+10:00

Elissa recounts.....

Every week at the school assembly one class is responsible for hosting. They are the compares and arrange the "entertainment". Some do plays, show a unit of work they are working on etc. Last week was Jayde's class' turn. They had the Year 6 band play several items. Jayde plays the French Horn in the year 6 band. (A quick point it was crazy hair day so that's why the teacher has pink hair and all the kids hair look a tad unusual).

They danced an old style progressive dance to modern music (this is actually all of the year 6's - not just her class). I filmed this it isn't the best quality but you can get the general idea. Quick point - they had the boys in a circle and the girls were meant to walk around and stop when they met up again and dance with the closest boy. It was fairly obvious that Jayde - who was leading the way on one side of the girls - stopped when she got to the boy she wanted to dance with - yes the one with the pink mohawk - glad his hair isn't usually like that but its longer than Jaydes. I am looking forward to next year when she is a private all girls school and he is at a private (and extremely exclusively expensive) all boys school.

Then each student that wanted to was given a chance to shine - doing something they are good at. We had some puppet shows, showing of art work and the playing of the Piano by those who could. Jayde played "Imagine". I was very proud of her she did a great job and one of the mum's wanted to know how long she had been playing because she was so good.

1015 Things to See in Oz - Sections 4 to 9

2011-09-17T10:33:00.001+10:00

Adam is sad:

I'm sad because there are a whole bunch of Sections in the list here where we haven't done many or any of them, so I'll group them all together. This is going to be a list of not muches and near misses.

Section 4: Lighthouses:

65 Cape Otway Lighthouse, Cape Otway, VIC - Part of the Great Ocean Road trip back in 1999. We stopped here at sunset and enjoyed the view.

Good looking bloke outside Cape Otway Lighthouse in 1999

Sunset view from Cape Otway Lighthouse

67 Barrenjoey Lighthouse, Palm Beach, NSW - This was a part of one of my mission areas. Don't remember too much about going there, apart from the fact that the one of the soapie TV shows - Home & Away I think, did all it's outside shots on the beach nearby.

Honorable mention- been to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse several times, but that was included back in the Leewuin-Naturaliste National park entry (number 21 in Section 2 - Panoramic Views)

Section total: 2 out of 16

Section 5: Holiday destinations:

None. Basically it was a list of a lot of Northern Queensland destinations that we've never been to.

Section Total: 0 out of 6

Section 6: Surfing:

None. Have been to Bells Beach and Margaret River, 2 of the 3 surf locations, but neither of us surf, so neither count from that point of view.

Section total: 0 out of 3

Section 7 : Diving

None. I actually won a scuba diving course for us from a radio competition back in the late 90s. We weren't interested and sold it off for the money. I don't think we're ever likely to do any of the things in this section of the list.

Section Total: 0 out of 6

Section 8: Fishing:

None. We don't mind going fishing, but it's more of the take the handline out on a jetty and see if we can get a fish to show the kids, rather than anything involving lures, boats or anything to do with patience. All these uber-fishing activities are unlikely to be challenged by us.

Section: 0 out of 7

Section 9: Islands:

None. I haven't even been to Rottnest Island despite living in Perth for several decades. How boring of us :) Again, many of these were in Queensland, which is one of our least explored states. Plus, it involves going on the sea in boats - not something I'm overly keen on doing. Don't like water I can't see the bottom of.

Section total: 0 out of 11

Grand Total: 20 out of 110

Hmmm, the % of stuff done really dropped through those sections :(

Father Son Outing - Johnny English Reborn

2011-09-16T23:03:00.002+10:00

Adam goes out:

We've been trying to motivate the kids with their morning chores by letting theme earn "tags" which they can trade in for non-monetary treats such as extra time on the computer, getting to choose the movie for movie night, choosing dinner, etc. To rejuveante the tag program, we changed it recently by adding a monetary treat. For 20 tags, you could earn a special one-on-one treat with Mum or Dad, such as going out to the movies, bowling or something similar. It's a way to give us the one-on-one time with each child, plus gives the kids something to work towards earning.

Seth was the first to cash in for one of these special treats and he had it tonight. His treat was to go out to movies with Dad. So tonight, we went out to see Johnny English Reborn.

Typical Rowan Atkinson comedy - slapstick humour. Seth laughed himself silly. Wasn't a bad movie - a little predictable in places I thought, but as an extra bonus it had - Gillian Anderson - acting in it too. Gillian Anderson is on my List of Women I'm Allowed To Marry If Elissa Dies. (Actually, to be technical, she's on the Not Approved By Elissa List of Women I'm Allowed to Marry If Elissa Dies list :) )

Afterwards, Seth & I went and checked out the Lego in the department stores. I bought Seth several Dr Who minifigures - so he now has his very own pseudo-Lego Dalek to terrorise his Lego Harry Potter figures who can then be rescued by his pseudo-Lego Timelord.