BASEBALL

Adalyn started t-ball three weeks ago and seems to really enjoy it!  She is one of two girls out of about 50 kids!  They won't start playing any games until after the first of the year so right now they have been working on the fundamentals of the game-when the coaches can contain all the boys running around!  Here are a couple of snap shots of her at their first "practice" and of course one of Emi entertaining us while we watched the kids practice. ;)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Okay…Halloween isn't a huge deal here in the land of Oz…not yet anyhow.  We were told that the whole "trick-or-treating" thing wasn't introduced until a couple of years ago, and that some Aussies love it and others can't stand it.  (it's a culture thing)  Our house was one out of two on our street with any Halloween decorations on it, and a taxi driver asked Brandon if we liked spiders for some reason (I had put webs up on the second floor balcony). :/  Anyhow, our Canadian friends, whom we met and became friends with in Mexico, started the Halloween tradition of trick or treating on their street a few years back so we headed over there for the late afternoon. Adalyn chose to go as the beautiful blessed St. Kateri Tekakwitha (she learned about her in Kinder) and Emi was the cutest Minnie Mouse ever!  They had a lot of fun going to the houses with our group!  The girls drew on their pumpkins this year and Emi and I made pumpkin and ghost cookies while Adalyn was in school.  Overall, it was a great first Halloween down under!  

MORETON ISLAND

We were invited to go camping with a few families on Moreton Island for the last part of the school break this past weekend.  We were all excited to go (especially Adalyn since she would be spending her days with one of her best friends)!  A few days before, we all headed to the camping store and bought the necessities since all we had was the tent!  We had so much fun prepping for this vacation and all the work/stress was worth it!  We took the Micat ferry from the port of Brisbane and headed over to the island.  The girls had fun camping and playing...of course Emi wouldn't step on the sand in her bare feet, and if she did, she froze on the spot saying "I don't like it!!!"  Needless to say she had shoes on most of the time or hung out by the tent playing on the mats.  We did get her down to the beach (with water shoes) for a couple of days.  Adalyn loved playing in the sand with the other kids that were in our group and even caught a few ghost crabs.  I'm sure the crabs were probably glad when we left being that they were held captive in buckets for most of the 4 days and if they tried to escape they were quickly scooped up! ;)  The island itself is absolutely beautiful!  No modern roads, cold showers (not so pretty), absolutely unspoiled land!  There is a resort on the North Side of the island but we all enjoyed being out in the wilderness!  It's also whale watching time over here and we did get to see some of the whales breeching!  I have no words for how beautiful and peaceful it was to get to see these animals coming up out of the water.  We saw them from far away but it was so exciting to get to witness something like that in person.  (hoping to do a whale watching tour next season or getting a really high powered lens for the camera) Overall, we had a fabulous time and enjoyed getting to see another part of Australia!

Emi making sure the snorkeling gear works!

Kiddies getting ready for a boat ride.

Adalyn and Lindsay after playing in the sand most of the day!

Our own "semi-private" beach

View from our camp site

Adalyn and one of her ghost crabs.

No caption for this pic....it just makes me smile!

Honeymoon Bay....it was about a 20 minute beach drive from our campsite.  Absolutely breathtaking!

EMI IS 2!!

Not real sure where the time is going but Emi turned 2 on September 18th!  She is a vibrant and very articulate little girl who LOVES to be outside, ride her tricycle, read books, play with her big sister, sing, color/draw, her "little blanket", and her naps (which usually last about 2 1/2 hours sometimes 3)!  Oh yeah....and she ADORES Thomas!  She can count to 20 (skips 15 sometimes), knows her birthday,  can spell her name and sings the words to quite a few songs. (anything from Twinkle Twinkle, Amazing Grace, Big Green Tractor, to Just Give Me a Reason) We celebrated her special day by letting her choose where to eat...she wanted quesadillas...so we went to a little Latin American restaurant near our house for an early dinner then came home to celebrate with a Thomas cake and gift opening!  She was pretty tired by the time we got home (the girl likes to be in bed by 7:30 if not...look out!) The following weekend we had a small party at our house complete with hamburgers and a Thomas ice cream cake! We are so proud of her and Adalyn and know that God has truly blessed us with these two special little girls!   

OOOOO.....A Thomas dress! She was so excited to see this!

I love this expression! Emi decided to put her Thomas bow in after she unwrapped it!

Loving my new outdoor climbing frame!

1, 2, 3....Blow!

Family photo....isn't this the case....always one not looking! ;)

Child of the Week

Proud Parents Moment....Adalyn was named "Child of the Week" for her class last week!  Her teacher selected her among her classmates for "her enthusiasm to learn" and for "her good manners"!  She was recognized at their weekly assembly and received a certificate.  We were all so happy for her and Emi was excited to see "sissy on stage"!  

King's Beach

The big Ekka was going on in Queensland a couple of weeks ago and the government makes one day during the two week affair a holiday so everyone can go to Ekka.  (Ekka is Queensland largest livestock show and carnival....the equivalent to the HLSR)  We were told that it would be a total zoo on the holiday so we opted to take the girls to a nearby beach called King's Beach.  It was a beautiful day, but we didn't go in the water as the Winter season is just now winding down.  I stuck my feet in and it was freezing!!!  Adalyn had a blast playing in the sand, Emi wouldn't get off of the picnic blanket (kept saying "no like the sand"), and Brandon and I just enjoyed watching the girls play while taking in some nice breezes and sunshine.  

Snapshots....

The girls are starting to play with each other more and it's so fun watching them and interacting with them!  Emi adores her big sister and Adalyn adores Emi.  (most times)  There are times when we hear the "EMI DON'T DO THAT" and of course Emi is now in the "mine" stage.  Here's a few shots from the past few weeks of the girls....

 My First Pigtails (I was SO proud!)

 Let's Play Dress Up!

 Selfie from Mom's phone!

Enjoying an early Spring day!

One of the many important jobs of being a big sister....teaching little sis how to dunk homemade cookies in milk! 

This is from the zoo....I love this picture!  They remind me of the cows after eating all day...not a care in the world! :)

Mary MacKillop

Two weeks ago Adalyn's class gave a small presentation on Australia's first saint.  Her name was Mary MacKillop.  Adalyn played a nonspeaking role of one of Mary's sisters in the play. Of course Brandon and I thought she did a great job, AND she took her role as a Sister very seriously.  Here are a few snapshots from the play.

Australia Zoo

This past weekend we took a trip to the famous Australia Zoo that Steve Irwin is so well known for.  It is a beautiful place and the scenery on the drive there was absolutely stunning!  The zoo itself is only about an hour drive from Brisbane...I can see us making several trips there during our stay here!  We all enjoyed it!  The best part, in my opinion, was the main attraction where they showed how aggresive and strong the crocs can be.  These animals are truly amazing especially after hearing how they have been saved and how they are the last living link to the dinosaurs.

Wait!!

These are the Ibis birds.  They are scavengers and are everywhere!

This is one of the many crocodiles (crocs) that Steve Irwin rescued.  There were several at the zoo and some were rather large!  Not sure how the men who "rescue" these animals get up the courage to do so!

Adalyn next to an owl.  

Cuddly Kolas....which we have been told can become very aggressive if provoked!

Girls being silly!

Here's another shot from the show.  The trainer was exhibiting the strength of the crocs.  He stated that if you are out and about to not walk too close to the edge of the waters here or even hang around in trees over the water.  Reason being is shown here...they can jump rather high (in this shot the croc is only half way out...he was still coming up as I snapped the photo)  using their tail to balance!  The trainer was holding up a treat and the croc actually jumped up to where his hand is to eat it!  

Catching Up

 I guess we'll start where we left off 2 years ago!  Adalyn and Brandon celebrated their 6th and 39th birthdays this year!  We did our usual at home celebration with dinner, cake and gifts and then Adalyn her party at a great local venue where they do ALL the work!  (no clean-up for us!)  One of Emi's favorite gifts (at the time) her big sis received were some high heel dress up shoes.  She loved wearing "high shoes" around the apartment!  It's hard to believe 6 years has passed and our Adalyn is growing up too fast!  She loves her horses, playing with friends, reading books, drawing and being outdoors!  Emi is 22 months old and is talking/singing all the time.  There is never a dull moment in our house with these 2 around and we wouldn't change it for anything! 

Posing at the birthday party

Happy Birthday!

My "High Shoes"

Happy 6th Birthday!  It was a Princess Fairy kind of day! :)

It's been 2 years....

Okay....2 years has gone by without ONE update!  Sorry....things have been a little hectic!  We had Emi in September of 2011, moved from Argentina to Texas, stayed in Texas for almost a year and a half, and have moved to the place we NEVER thought we'd get the opportunity to visit much less live!  Brandon, the girls and I packed up our things the week after Easter (2013) and moved to Brisbane, Australia.  We have been here a little over 2 months now, LOVE the people, the atmosphere, and the crazy wildlife, but still miss the little comforts of the quietness of our country life back in good ole Hallettsville.  We know its still there and will always be, but we needed/wanted to explore a bit more and let the girls see a little of the world live and in color besides pictures in a book.  I promise to update with pictures as soon as I find the camera cable in the few boxes we have left to unpack!  We are slowly,but surely getting settled and once all of the boxes are unpacked and things are tucked away, we can't wait to see what Australia has to offer!  Hope everyone is doing well and we'll see you all soon!  xoxo