Life is now closer to complete. It's about 5:30 A.M. here, and the birds are sqwaking outside. I am sitting in my sweater (it's nippy in the morning!) blogging, and happy as a clam. Today I think the plan is drive (we got a car, will blog about that in a minute) down to Kirra Beach - about a 45 minute drive, and get breakfast at an Oz-famous breakfast restaurant called Kirra-Misu. We will likely check out the resort there, and then head back up to Surfers for a beach party we were invited to. After that we all get haircuts and buy bikes, watch a session of conference, and then head to bed. In the morning we watch the rebroadcast of Sunday's sessions; I must remember to pack a picnic lunch for between sessions, as the rebroadcast is at the Stake Center a little ways from here.
So our car is a Mazda 626. And yes, for anyone wondering, it is the same kind of car I had when we first got married. It is cute. This one is red, and has LPG (liquid propane gas), aka alternate no-emissions fuel that it can run on. It had a conversion done a few years ago, and it goes 500K on one $25 filling. Nice, eh? Because we chose an older vehicle, we got to pay cash for it, so that was extra nice.
Australia is truly a most amazing place. We went to a National Park last weekend just me and Randy early in the morning, (forgot the camera-won't make that mistake again) and saw wallabies, and it was like we were the only people on earth. There was a waterfall that drops down into what used to be a cave, but now it makes an arch. It is - ahem - a dry year for the rain forest, and it feels a little dry and somewhat sparse, but still quite lush and fantasy-like when you look up at the trees that are covered with vines and think that Tarzan would have a ball there. Even I thought it would be cool to be up in the trees at certain points. In places the "vines" were as big around as a telephone pole, and they just swing back and forth - albeit minimally - from the tree. They are covered in a moss-like coating that makes them look that big. I guess they are called something like strangle-figs, and can take 100 years to choke the life out of a tree, and by the time it does, the fig has become so much a part of the tree, that it remains standing as though it were the tree - it just isn't that type of tree anymore.
Wallabies I am told are extremely shy, and don't like to be seen. This was news to me, as we saw probably 10-12 in a 45 minute walk through the park. I heard some rustling and could see one, but Randy couldn't, so I clapped my hands to startle it so Randy would see it move and then be able to pick it out, and the forest erupted in scampering sounds - apparently we were more surrounded than I realized. We couldn't see most of them. They are really the only "wildlife" we have seen. There are a lot of cows and horses off in the foothills leading up to the hinterlands (rainforests), though. Next time we will remember the camera and get some photos.
The kids started school this past Monday & Tuesday. They wear uniforms, which is great for me, as there are no more fights about what they can/can't wear to school, and it costs significantly less to buy a couple of uniforms than it does to outfit 2 kids with the latest trends. I'd recommend it to everyone! Tee hee. It's probably not feasible, but really, it would be so great. Both kids started in the grade they just "left" in the states, as the principals told them they could go into either, and then either move up with their age group (a grade up) if they felt better there, or stay with their younger peers if they felt like they weren't socially or intellectually up to it. Both stressed that the curriculum could be "made up" easier than the social or emotional aspect.
Not surprisingly, Rachel chose on Friday afternoon to move up a grade. The grade 9 kids are socially much less mature than is she, and while it will take some doing to "make up" for almost a full year of curriculum, it is certainly feasible. She will end up making up a year of Seminary "at home", and possibly a few classes to make up "credits" that colleges are going to want to see if she doesn't just take some college via correspondence (online, mostly) before she graduates.
Also not surprisingly, d'Artagnan wants to stay with the grade 6 & move up to 7 next year. He's not quite a socially advanced as Rachel, so that is actually good. We thought it was great that the principal works with the kids to help them make that decision. I am thrilled that they give the kids the opportunity to learn at their own developmental pace, and that there appears to be no social stigma, as they don't call it "being held back" or anything like that. The kids in grade 6 think he is amazing, and he is enjoying some of his new-found celebrity. He is also taking FRENCH in primary school, so that is new. The high school has a French Immersion program, and he is somewhat interested in that. All their classes are taught in french in that program. I was amazed. Both schools seem fantastic.
After our adventures today I will post pix, as we have the camera on our list of things to bring. We were going to try to get to the Brisbane Temple next week, but it is closed for cleaning until the 27th, so that will have to wait. I suppose we could fly to Sydney, but that will probably wait, too. I would like to stick close to home for the next little bit.
Love you all!
