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!

Overland Track, Tasmania - Day 6

Windy Ridge Hut to Narcissus Hut
Distance Hiked 9.5km/6miles

Ah, look at all that flat
We woke at 5am our last day to hike our last three hours in the morning- and it really was a lovely morning for it- cool morning air, no bugs, sun not to high and hot in the sky. We arrived at Narcissus Hut at 9am, had a cup of tea and waited for our ferry to take us to the bus heading back to hobart.

Lovely boardwalk

streams are turning into a river

Very cool suspension bridge to walk

Keep your eye on the prize- there it is Lake St Clair. Our destination

Spreading Guineaflower- they were everywhere and so brilliant with yellow

Waiting at the jetty for the ferryboat to take us across the lake.

Lake St Clair- the deepest lake in Australia- 168 meters deep to be exact

The end of the journey

I think I will shower now. Good-Bye

Overland Track, Tasmania - Day 5

Kia Ora Hut to Windy Ridge Hut
Distance Hiked 8.6 km/5.2 miles

See that downward hill towards the end? it was killer

So nice to be wearing a tanktop and shorts.

DuCane Hut- built in the 1930's for hikers to stay- no longer used as a stop on the trail for sleeping

Cindi taking a rest near DuCane Hut

Somewhere in here is a wombat- I can't find it but I know it's there somewhere

A cute little skink- if it is attacked, to defend itself it will drop off its tail and run like crazy while the preditor is playing with the tail

These balloons off the side of the tree are sap balls that the tree grew around. Artists will cut them off and make bowls out of them.

This was the downhill that was killer. Nearly 2km down stepping on the roots descending steeply.

All done for the day- We had planned on continuing on to the next hut that day but the sun was so nice to sit in we decided to call it a day and relax.

And this is where we chose to relax all afternoon. Its the helipad for the hut. It was just lovely.