Good-Bye/Hello

The decision has been made- we are heading back to Minnesota to stay. I would be lying if I said we weren't sad to be leaving Australia and all that it has offered us over the past 5 years. It has been a great adventure and one we will treasure for the rest of our lives.
So we bid a fond farewell to our home away from home.

Good-bye beautiful Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Good-bye lovely dolphins swimming in the ocean

Good-bye beaches we love to spend time as a family at.

Good-bye cockatoos with your beautiful feathers but god-awful squawk

Good-bye parakeets with your brilliant colors

Good-bye kookaburra- we shall miss your wake up call each morning with your wonderful laughter

Good-bye orb spiders who come out every autumn- oh wait, never mind- we really won't miss you all that much

Good-bye wonderful friends I have made here

But......Hello to the snow that Chesney loves

but Logan has always hated.....sorry mate, you'll get use to it.

But most of all, Hello to our family, whom we have missed so much and are looking forward to seeing again.

We will try to keep up posting during our travels over the next two months.
Until then, we will see you all in May!

Wine, Wine, Wine. Did I mention there was Wine?

A weekend away with the girls. The Wine, The Cheese, The Laughs. It was all so nice and child free. Me and five friends decided to head up the the Hunter Valley Wine Region this past weekend. We had a fab time and got drunkity, drunk, drunk.

The cottage we stayed at, very cosy, very nice

Our view from the cottage

Between the six of us- and that was only the first night. We do love our bubbly.

Off to the vineyards to sample, sample, sample

Where to start? Why at the Champagne house of course.

My favorite vineyard, Tyrrell's

The gardens were magnificent

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant at one of the vineyards, Rock Restaurant.
It was fabulous to sit there for a couple of hours and not have to get up once to tend to a child.
The views were stunning

And get a load of this bathroom. This was just the toilet stall, complete with your own sink and cloth towels to dry your hands. I just had to take a picture.

Justine, Liz, Jan, Kelly, Michelle, and Antonia

They offered an amuse bouch(or however you spell it) before the meal. Lucky for the three of us who love oysters natural, we got to eat the other three's who did not like oysters also.

And I did my best with what I had to work with to show the Aussies what a s'more is. I had to substitute the graham cracker with a biscuit and then I had to microwave them but I'd say they came out pretty good.

I came back with lots of wine to bring home, store in my cellar, and pull out in ten years to drink and remember the wonderful weekend with my great friends.

Chesney's Latest

Chesney has completed a set of short stories, soon to be out in your local bookstores (after we negotiate with the publisher, of course). Enjoy!

Boo! The boo boo

The ghost said boooooooooo

He ate a home

He ate a home, do you know why?
He's a giant, silly.
Why didn't you say that before.

Milking

When I milk the cow, the cow kicks me, pops me, poops on me.
Then I look like this.

I don't love that dog.

You know that I love Mr B, Mr Brown, and Mrs. Lilly.
But I don't love the dog that poops on me and on mom, dad, grandma and grandpa.

A Great Bird

Kookaburra Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree

Merry merry king of the bush is he

Laugh Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra

Gay your life must be We all know this childrens song. But when I was a child, I really didn't know what a Kookaburra was. I do now.
Their "laugh" makes me smile every morning as they wake me up, or in the evening when I am on a run.
I hope one day you all can hear the laugh of the Kookaburra.

Nelson Bay, NSW

Last weekend we headed up the coast to Nelson Bay. Just a short 2 1/2 hour drive and it was incredibly beautiful. I have never seen water this blue before- it was spectacular.

WOW!

The purpose of the trip was to see some dolphins. And we were not disappointed.

They were magnificent in the water.

The kids really enjoyed the boat ride. standing at the "I'm king of the world!" spot.

Driving the boat a bit

And hanging out in the net over the water where the dolphins would swim under.

It was a great weekend enjoyed by all!!

Bircher Muesli is go-o-o-o-o-od

Every once in a while I will actually think about what I would like for breakfast the night before. And on the occasion that I think of it at that time, I am able to prepare myself a yummy bircher muesli for breakfast. After I tell you about it, I hope you will want to also.

Here's the ingredients you will need- the fruit you use is up to your taste

Throw some oats in a bowl- and not those quick cook oats some of you like to use. I mean the real thing- old fashioned oats. (but not steelcut- that won't work- although they do work great in the slow cooker)

Next, grate up an apple- the peel and all

Throw it in on top of the oats

Splash some apple juice into the mix

Pour some yogurt on it. Unsweetened is good, if you want it a bit sweeter- use vanilla.

Next add a couple of sprinklings of LSA (this is a blend of linseed, soy, sunflower seeds, and almonds ground up- I put this in everything from cakes and cookies to smoothies)

And a dash of cinnamon
Then mix it up and throw it in the fridge to sleep until morning.

When the sun comes up drag your butt out of bed and spoon a little into a bowl

add a dollup of yogurt- I think I actually added a bit too much yogurt here.

Throw in some fresh fruit- bananas and blueberries are good, so are craisins, grapes, pears...whatever you desire.

Grab a handful of nuts and seeds and throw them in- I use sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, pine nuts and pepitas

Drizzle some honey over it - if you want to be even more healthy use Manuka Honey- its delish

Then dig in and enjoy a yummy, healthy breakfast.
This will last in the fridge for several days for your eating enjoyment.

Bircher Muesli (4 serves)

1 cup rolled oats
1 apple, grated with the peel on
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup natural yogurt
1 tbsp of LSA mix
pinch of cinnamon

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl and place in fridge overnight
before serving add:
nuts and seeds, fruit, dollop of yogurt, and honey

Hope you like.