Tuesday, 18 December 2018

We were only home for three days before we headed off to Sydney on Wednesday to begin our cruise to New Zealand on Thursday.  Monday and Tuesday were full of appointments and socializing....massages, chiropractor, facial, haircuts, morning tea with Haidi and Robyn and having the missionaries and Robyn over for dinner.  It was a crazy two days!

Robyn showing the pavlova she made - the missionaries had never had pavlova before - so yummy!

Robyn, me, Elder Gilbert and Elder B.

Me, Haidi, Robyn, Jesse (Haidi's daughter)

Sunday, 16 December 2018

Dad is so happy to be finished with this course - he is quite worn out.  All the guys passed the practical part of the course with flying colours and gave Dad a glowing report on his instructional skills and knowledge of the airplane.  Dad is not scheduled to work now until early March - he is looking forward to a long deserved break.

A few of the guys on Dad's course checking out some of the engine components as part of their practical experience

On Thursday, I met up with Dad's boss's wife, Dawn, at our usual place - Chermside Mall - The Coffee Club - yes, for another iced chocolate!  Dawn likes to shop, so after our morning tea, we walked around and nosed in some of the shops.  After lunch, we did the same.  It was as nice as it always is to get together with her and spend some time hanging out.  She said that next time we are in Brisbane, she and Harry will have us over for dinner which is something to look forward to.

Dawn enjoying her cappuccino and me with my 'usual' (iced chocolate)

That evening, Dad and I went out with my Aunt Beth and her partner, Neil.  Aunt Beth doesn't like any of the restaurants which are close to where she lives, so I suggested we just get take-away and sit by the beach.  We met at their place and, after a bit of a chat, we headed to the take-away.  By this time, it was dark and so, instead of taking our food to the beach, we stayed at the cafe and enjoyed the sound of the waves.  We really enjoyed getting together with Aunt Beth and Neil - they are so much fun to talk with and we had a really lovely time with them.

Dad, Neil, Aunt Beth and me at the take-away - fish and chips for the three of them and a Chiko Roll and chips for me

Yesterday, after cleaning the house where we were staying in Brisbane, and packing up, we headed home.  It felt so good when we arrived!  We are only home for three days before we head off again and our days are full already, but it is always good to be in our own place, if only for a bit.  We will fly down to Sydney on Wednesday and sail out on the ship, the Norwegian Jewel, on Thursday for our trip to New Zealand and back.  We are both really looking forward to some rest, relaxation and being taken care of.

Sunday, 9 December, 2018

This week was Dad's first week of practical training for his course.  He still does a lot of teaching in the classroom and this week, they were able to go and get some hands-on experience at the airplane three of the five days.

I continued on with my Aquafit, Body Pump, Yoga and Body Balance classes at the gym.

I forgot to mention last week about our advent calendar which I made last year, but didn't get to use until this year.  I really love it!  It's made with a 24 mini muffin pan.  I found 24 pictures of the story of Jesus and glued them onto magnets.  Inside each muffin hole is a scripture which we read each night.  It's been great to put so much of a focus on Jesus Christ each day of December leading up to Christmas Day.

My advent calendar

This evening, we went to a fantastic performance at the Kangaroo Point chapel which is right next to the Brisbane Temple.  The Christmas musical celebration included two community choirs led by a wonderful director (with a fabulous pianist and organist) and an actor (woman) who narrated a story about her family's traditions growing up and what they do now mixed with the stories of how some carols came to be.  It was just incredible and it really helped us be in the mood for the real 'reason for the season'.

Program for the Christmas Musical Celebration which was held in the chapel

 Outside the chapel were various groups performing Christmas musical numbers (this group was made up of young adults)

 This group singing in front of the Brisbane Temple was made up of Samoan members

Dad and me in front of some of the beautiful flowers on the Temple grounds

Sunday, 02 December, 2018

It was so good to be home this week and, as usual, it was full of appointments (chiro and facial) and social engagements, as well as my two Aquafit classes.  Dad and I also went kayaking for the first time.  (we bought the kayaks about 1 1/2 years ago) and we absolutely loved it!  We took them down to a quiet part of the beach and just paddled close to shore for about 45 minutes.  We can't wait to get them back in the water again and for a longer time.

 The tide was so high that the waves were coming over the breakwall - we were walking along the foreshore from the chiropractor's to the pier

Me with my double gelato (chocolate and passionfruit) at a new store in town - so yummy!  Reminded Dad and me of the gelato we bought in Rome... 

 Dad kayaking

 Me kayaking

 My friend, Maureen, with our iced chocolates - we went out for lunch and had lasagna with chips and salad (child's size) along with our drinks - mmmm!

Our view from the restaurant where Maureen and I ate lunch ('Cafe Balaena') - it was quite a grey day, but was warm with a nice breeze

 Robyn and I went to 'Sundaes at the Pier' (the same place Dad and I had our gelatos) and we got gelatos for morning tea - we took our gelatos across the road by the beach and sat and chatted for a while - then, we went back to the gelato place and ordered lunch - with the obligatory iced chocolates, of course :-)

We had the missionaries (Elder Gilbert from Utah and Elder Boenari from Malaysia) and Robyn over for dinner this week, too - we made it really easy, though, since we were so busy - roast chicken (from the store) with salads (from the store) with a mudcake and ice-cream (from the store) :-)