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.

Summer is coming to an end.......boohoohoo

I know, you all feel my pain. "Poor Kelly. BooHooHoo. Suck it up, Jahnke- We are cold in MN." But actually I misspoke. School break summer is ending. We still have months left to enjoy the heat. Teehee.
I have to say we have made the most of these 6 weeks off between school years. Want to know what we have been up to? Well, thanks for asking- I shall tell you.

First up, Chesney lost a tooth, this being her fourth. We were on the beach when she lost it, so I consider her lucky it didn't fall in the sand where it would have been gone for all eternity.

Then we had the pleasure of my parents, Bob and Martha, coming for a visit over Christmas.

Duey and I were able to take advantage of the parents mentioned above for babysitting and went into Sydney to watch the fireworks over the harbour bridge. Spectacular.

Logan attended a daylong Rugby Camp and he loved it.

Chesney went to an ice skating lesson to see if she would like it. She did not.

We hung out at Darling Harbour.

We went to the Sydney Aquarium

Chesney lost her fifth tooth. She is such a trooper. She won't pull it out when it is uber loose. But she doesn't freak out when it gets stuck in odd positions from eating either. Good girl, her daddy was very proud because, according to him, he use to freak out at losing teeth as a boy.

We took in a day at the Taronga Zoo

The we went to the Australian Museum, where logan tried on various animal skulls

And Chesney couldn't understand why I was saying "Maybe a dingo ate your baby."

Australia Day was yesterday, So like all good Americans living in Australia, we celebrated.

We hung out with the very large crowd of people

We listened to the singers on the floating stage, including the recent Australian Idol winner (whose name I can't remember) and the bushy haired guy that sings "You make me feel like dancing" (whose name I also can't recall). Then the sail boat show.

What else did we see?

Fireworks, of course. And lots of them. The show was spectacular.

But above all, we just hung out and soaked in the sun.

School starts back for Chesney tomorrow- she will be entering in year 2
Logan starts back on Monday for his last year at preschool. He will be going three full days this year. Hmmmm, what will I do with all my free time.

Brilliance in the Sky

We were in the house the other day when we heard this rumble of thunder in the distance. I went outside to see this amazing sight in the sky.

Just Brilliant!

Fun at the beach....again

Once again we headed down to our favorite beach, Freshwater. Ahhhh, its a great place to cool down in the hot, hot sun (no, I'm not rubbing it in)
We especially like this beach because when it is low tide, the kids can walk far out with ease due to the very gentle slope.

Chesney and Logan recieved some money from Dueys dad for Christmas, so we purchased them each a bodyboard. They really enjoyed riding the waves.
Logan was pretending to surf on his.

It worked pretty well until the wave came in.

Chesney had a little harder time getting it and wanted to control where she went on it a little to much. Eventually she figured out it is just best to let the wave take her in.

I really like this picture, it just captures the spirit of the beach.

Oh, yes it does!

Happy New Year

Here's wishing you a fabulous New Year full of Hope!