JANUARY
The new year started out well with Sakura and Cristiano having lots of outdoor water play while the rest of Australia suffered from bush fires. We have been unaffected and no one I know of has been affected. Truthfully, I didn't even know how severe it was because I don't watch the news and hadn't heard anywhere how bad it was. Our church asked us to do an area wide fast and about a week later we had lots of rain.
I finally got out all the paints so Sakura could paint on her new easel. She LOVED it! I sat and read statistics while she made beautiful creations.
Thanks to Christmas gifts from family - Sakura also got some other fun gifts like pool toys and books, but her absolute favourite is the hammock/swing we installed in the ceiling. She plays on it nearly every day. I'm so grateful for Little Legends Learning Centre for having these swings so I could do the same at home.
School Holidays
Sakura and I had lots of fun activities this month!
Australia Zoo
Abbey Museum - Egyptian Dig
Camping
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| Testing the tent - yes I know it isn't set up properly |
We explored the beach some before we headed to the turtle center for our tour. You have to be at the centre by 7pm and they have you in groups based on how early you booked. Rangers on the beach notify the centre when there is turtle activity and that's when the first group will go out. High tide wasn't until about 12am so it was a SLOW night - apparently the slowest of the season. After waiting till after 9pm they started taking groups to see a nest dig where the rangers dig up a recently hatched nest to see how many hatched and if there are any live ones. We went out and Sakura had no patience and just wanted to grab the shells he was digging out. We did not see anything - just one not fully formed turtle that moved and the ranger then held in his hand and place back in the nest for hopes it would continue forming and survive.
It was a dud as far as seeing turtles but the night was nice, there were heaps of stars, and Sakura was so dead asleep by the time we go back to our tent around 11:30 she slept through our commotion as we got ready for bed.
It was a rough night for Matt and I. We slept little, but got to start the morning with some cereal and beach play. It was so nice to wake up and play on the beach and have the water be so warm and nice. It made me wish I lived near the beach - it is so good for the soul. We headed into the city for lunch, the free zoo, and some play at the playground next door till we got back to the campsite.
We made some pork and eggs for dinner on our portable stove top. The rest of the evening we had more time at the beach and the nearby creek. It was so relaxing. We planned to go to bed early. Sakura was struggling though so I spent about 20 minutes or so walking her around the camp site and looking at the stars to get her to sleep. We tried a new sleep arrangement but Sakura didn't like not having heaps of space. Matt and I sat outside for a time talking and looking at the stars around 10pm. It started to storm heavily and then around midnight one of the poles of our tent snapped and half the tent collapsed. Matt was able to grab some straps and tie them together. He also reinforced the supporting tethers because the wind of the storm was intense. I decided to sleep on the floor of the tent and miraculously we all seemed to sleep well from about 2am on. Despite the lack of sleep I woke up with the sun and the kookaburras and let the other two sleeping in the tent. I went for a swim in the ocean and a run on the beach. It was so invigorating! I found two places where you could see turtles had recently nested. They might have actually come early that morning because otherwise the rain would have washed the tracks.
After some breakfast and some more time on the beach it started to storm again. I had packed up most things like the beds and whatnot. Matt was way down the beach so I caught up with him and Sakura as it started to pour. Sakura was so calm as we made our way back to the tent and changed her into warm clothes. I got out my laptop and we setup a movie to wait the rain out before leaving. Although we couldn't hear much, Sakura loved Meet the Robinsons. The rain stopped and we packed up all before the movie had ended. It was fun.
Before leaving we went to the Bundaberg Barrel to see the tour replica of the factory as well as do the tasting of the different bundaberg brewed drinks (non-acoholic). It was $12 for the tour, the tasting, and you get a 6 pack of drinks. So worth it!
After an awesome Japanese lunch, we went straight home and Sakura slept the entire four hours! We spent the night cleaning up all the supplies and putting things away. Despite the lack of sleep and not having all the supplies we would have liked...we loved it! Matt and I kept saying how rejuvenated we felt. We definitely plan and hope to go multiple times. We also decided we are going to make the Mon Repos trip an annual thing and maybe we can convince some others to go with us. Oh and in case anyone was wondering... we did not have any issues with wildlife. We saw wild kangaroos up close, kookaburras and other birds, and lots of crabs.
Birthday Fun
So for my actual birthday I took myself out to a nice brunch at Cafe 63 (technically on the 21st since I didn't have Sakura that day). On the actual day I made cinnamon french toast casserole with coconut cream frosting. Then Sakura and I spent the morning at Settlement Cove Lagoon. She loved it and she is getting so good at floating on her own. She fell asleep on the way home and I had some time to myself watching movies. For dinner I made pulled pork, potatoes, roast veggies, and pecan caramel cheesecake bars that we ate with the sister missionaries. I finished off the night teaching a couple classes. It was a nice day and the best part is that I got to enjoy my sugary treats for multiple days!
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| Got my hair cut! |
Australia Day
Australia day is basically equivalent to Independence Day in the US. It is the day we commemorate the first fleet's arrival to Australia. Typical celebrations include a BBQ or something (I can't actually remember what we have done in the past). We had church that morning - anyone notice we didn't sing Advance Australia Fair? Straight afterwords we went to visit friends at the Royal Brisbane hospital who had recently gone through a difficult surgery. We brought them lunch including egg salad sandwiches, our awesome chocolate chip cookie/cake (GF/DF) and pulling from my childhood memories of Columbus Day - deviled eggs made into ships! It was fun.
I feel this is also a good time to mention how I had my Australian citizenship interview and test and passed! I did 95% on the test and missed the first question hehe... I psyched myself out on the number of states and territories and decided to list them in my head - I thought I had forgotten ACT, but when reciting them again to my sister afterward we laughed that I missed Victoria! How could I forget that one! Anyway I find it funny I missed the easiest of all the questions I think. Now I just need to pledge whenever they tell me. Woohoo! I'm now completing Matt's citizenship application as well.
Here's to what's sure to be an interesting 2020!!
More cute Sakura moments!
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| She wanted to sleep in her swim nappy (over her normal one) and swimsuit one night |
P.S. Shade's new owner randomly called me and told me how he felt Shade and him were meant to be together. He loves him so much! He is and old retired guy and only started thinking about a cat when his neighbours bengal used to come visit a lot. They go on walks together and play often. I can tell Shade is in good hands and it seems like his temperament is back to normal. Here are some photos he sent me...
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