I had another good day supply teaching Friday. I was at Torquay for just two hours (well, I got paid for two hours) and I was so happy when I found out I was with Chantelle's class as I had planned on staying all day with her class. Chantelle had 'warned' me about a young boy named Brayden and I was wondering how he would be for me since he didn't know me. Fortunately for me, he didn't show up. Those who were there were easy to teach (although there was one boy who could get annoying if I had to have him full-time) and we had a good two hours together. I stayed on with Chantelle to help her out, but it turned out that there wasn't much to help her with. I think that all teachers are feeling a bit overwhelmed at this time due to report cards coming up and having to have all sorts of assessment done at this point. Chantelle said that next time I came in, she would definitely have things for me to do.
Dad met up with John today (motorcycle teacher) to take his test - and he passed! YAY!!!!! John only had to ride with Dad for 90 minutes to know that Dad was ready to get his license. John met Dad at our house and watched him ride around some quieter areas of HB. He gave Dad some pointers (eg: not to take the corners so wide) and watched Dad ride some more. He then asked Dad to drive down into the middle of the town so that he could watch Dad maneuver through busier traffic. After that, it was out onto the highway to see how Dad handled the scooter going at 100km/h. After that, John followed Dad home (John drove his motorcycle over from Maryborough) where he filled out the paperwork to say that Dad had completed the assessment successfully and then Dad took that paperwork over to the DMV to have the scooter endorsement added to his driver's license. I am still not comfortable with knowing the streets of HB to take the test, but John told Dad that if that is the only issue, he could come out and take a longer time to assess me. I could also wait for Robyn and Geoff to get back and do some more practicing. I'm not sure what I will do, but I told Dad that he is not allowed to ride 'my' scooter until I get my license and I can go out and ride on my own. :-)
Dad picked me up from school and we drove to the Family History Centre as he had to close it up. I nipped onto the computers, put in my info about Richard Terry (great grandfather) to see if I could find the family tree and it popped up right away. I couldn't believe it! I checked out the info and I was able to pick up something that might help in my search, but most of it was stuff I already had. The person who put it on the site was listed as Nikki, but I couldn't find out who she was or how to contact her.
When we got home, I got a phone call from Mark Brose who is the Deputy Principal at Pialba and he asked me if I was available to teach next Monday and Tuesday. I had to check my calendar as I am getting a few days booked up now. I was available for both days and so he has booked me in to teach three different classes for the first day (Prep, grade 2 and grade 5 for an hour each - he told me that he knew that grade five was out of my comfort zone, but could I do it for just one hour and I said 'yes'). On Tuesday, it will be half a day with a Prep class and half a day with a grade two class (I am going to ask Mark if it's possible to do Mrs. Dean's class who I had last week if he doesn't have anyone particularly assigned to her class). I am excited to be getting some jobs at other schools and now I have two days booked next week (and we don't go on Friday next week as it's 'Show Day' - the kids get the day off school to go to the Maryborough Show - like the CNE). I also have three days prebooked for the next week at Kawungan in the grade two classes (each teacher gets half a day's coverage). Things are starting to look up! :-)
We got to Skype with Terri-Ann and the boys yesterday morning - I love that! :-) They had just arrived back from the ice-cream store and so the boy were covered with ice-cream - they looked so cute. Colin was singing a song I had learned at camp back when I was about 13 - I couldn't believe it when I heard him singing those words - who would have believed that someone would have taught him that silly song that I had learned all those years ago. It's called 'Vista' and I do it with the kids I teach as it's fun and silly and they love yelling 'VISTA' at the end. I told Colin that when I do it with my class, I have them hit their knees and then clap their hands. I meant that we hit our knees with our hands, but he thought I meant that we hit our knees together so that's what he was doing. :-) What a cutie! Colin reminds me a lot of Terri-Ann when she was a little girl in that he likes the limelight. :-) Caleb was trying to sing us a song he learned at 'Teddy Bear school' and Colin was trying to sing over him. :-) Benjamin was babbling, but when I told him to say 'Ma', he did! What a clever boy! :-)
I drove by myself for the first time yesterday - YAY me! :-) My friend, Denise, was going to visit our friend, Judy, in the Maryborough hospital and I wanted to go with her. I was not comfortable, however, driving all the way to Maryborough and around Maryborough, so I told Denise that I would drive to her place if she would drive the rest of the way (which she readily agreed to). Dad said he would drive me to Denise's, but that would have meant a 15 minute drive there and back for him and then again when he came to pick me up. I told him that I would try driving it on my own as long as he put the directions in our GPS (I love our GPS :-) I was a little bit nervous about driving on my own, so I said a quick prayer and then I was okay. On the way back from Denise's, I missed a turn, but it wasn't my fault as the GPS told me to turn after the actual turn (it thinks this street goes all the way through for some reason even though it doesn't), so I did have to do a U-turn, but I made it home safely and I was pleased about doing it on my own (well, sort of since my GPS friend was with me - I wonder if I should name the GPS like some of my other friends have done. :-)
I really enjoyed the talks given in Sacrament meeting today - the theme was about The Word of Wisdom. It's interesting to see some people's take on things. I have thought of The Word of Wisdom more as a list of DON'Ts rather than a list of DOs, but today I began to think of it in a different way. It's interesting how you can know something and hear something for years and then somehow come to look at it differently depending on the people talking about it or the place you are in at the time. Anyway, today as the speakers were talking (and I was listening :-) something came to my mind about how since The Word of Wisdom is a commandment, I should be following it more diligently. It's easy to follow the DON'Ts (like no alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, drugs), but I was thinking today about how it's not so easy to follow the DOs (like eating meat sparingly, early to bed and early to rise). I also think that there are some things which are not talked about, but which we can take from what is being said in this scripture should rarely be taken (eg: junk food) since the whole idea of this section is to take things into your body which are healthy and leave out of your body things which are not. Even though I have read the promises to us if we follow the things spoken of in the Word Of Wisdom, they really touched my heart today: shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. It's interesting how sometimes, you have someone speak at church and you really find it speaking to you - that's how I felt today. I want to do some more reading and pondering about this and I will write more about it later after I have done this.
Dad had my phone in his pocket at church today and it started ringing during Sacrament meeting - oops. :-) Dad said he always turns both phones off, but he forgot for some reason today. After Sacrament meeting, he checked the message and it was from my teacher friend, Bronwyn. I called her back and she said that she wanted to know if I was working tomorrow and Tuesday. I told her that I had already been asked by Pialba to teach on Monday and Tuesday. It turns out that she was calling for Kelli (a new grade two teacher at Kawungan) who's mother-in-law had been flown to Brisbane by helicopter for a medical emergency and so Kelli needed someone to cover for her. Bronwyn told her she would take care of it. I was disappointed that I couldn't do it - it would have been great teaching grade two and doing it beside Bronwyn. Bronwyn said that if Kelli needed someone for Wednesday and Thursday, would I be available and I said 'yes', so we'll see what happens. It doesn't rain, but it pours (with supply teaching jobs), eh? :-)
Dad and I are both sitting outside on our patio furniture while I am writing this. The weather is gorgeous: blue sky with a few clouds, warm (about 26C) and so peaceful out here. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is playing on the CD player - such sweet and soothing music. Life is good - nay, life is GREAT! :-)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
I got a call yesterday to go in for Fiona again - what a nice way to wake up - getting to teach a lovely class and not feeling like I'm really earning my money! :-) I had a really nice time in Fiona's class - she had sorted another lovely day for me as well. I told the kids that if they worked hard, I would take them out for some ball games. They were really excited and worked really well - and we did go out for the ball games. Little did they know that Fiona had put it on the day plan - they just thought I was being nice. :-) At the end of the day, I was thinking how much I would love to be the teacher of that class on a full-time basis. There was a prac student (student teacher) with us yesterday (she's with Luise for 3 weeks) and we were talking. I was telling her how difficult it is to get a job in Hervey Bay - I didn't think it was going to be this difficult to get work - but, at least I am getting some days.
Dad spent yesterday doing census stuff again. He finished checking out his seventh and final area of his census district. It took him all afternoon to input the info into the computer. Then, he had to organize all the info he received about the people applying to be census collectors and put that onto a sheet so that he could set up his interviews.
We spent the evening at the Family History Centre last night. I decided to continue working on my Grandpa Terry's line - and somehow I found my way into a Terry family tree. It had my great grandfather and great grandmother on it although it had a different date of birth for my great grandmother. I was so excited to find the info - but, I forgot to write down the way I got to it - so today, when I went into library genealogy centre, I tried to find the family tree again and couldn't find it. I was so frustrated - I figured out how I found the way to do it, but not the route to get to the way I did it. That makes no sense at all, I know, but it's hard to explain. Anyway, I am going to try and find it again next time I get to work on it. I did find out info about my great grandfather's trip to Canada from England. I found out where he was living when he left England in 1928 and also where he was going to once he landed in Quebec. It's neat finding out information about my ancestors! :-)
I was very pleased NOT to get a call to supply teach today. I like not working on Thursday as I like to do 'Meals on Wheels'. Fortunately, we also didn't get a call from Avis to say she didn't need us. So, off we went at 10am to drive to the MOW building. We got route 4 today which I was happy about as our Bishop and his wife, Diana, live on this route. Diana really hurt her leg and shoulder last week, so bad that she wasn't even able to come to church last week. Half way through the route, we stopped at their house and had a short chat with her - I just wanted to see how she was doing. Dad and I get along with the Bishop and Diana really well - we want to invite them over to dinner really soon. At one of our stops near the end of our route, one of our clients had some cute kittens running around his place. There was a ginger one who was soooo adorable. The man could see that I was so taken with this little kitten - he asked me if I would like to take the kitten home - I would have loved to, but of course, Dad said 'no'! :-( I know that it makes sense since, when we come back to Canada, we come for so long and it would be hard to find someone to come over and feed a pet for us for such a long time, but the kitten was so cute, it was hard to leave it behind. :-(
I did a load of laundry when we got home from MOW and put it out on the line. I checked it when we got back from the library and I told Dad it needed another hour or so. About half an hour later, the 'air conditioning' turned on. :-) What I mean by that, is that it started to pour rain - on our tin roof, it sounds just like air conditioning. I ran to the back door to see if I could save the laundry, but it was too late. So, now, it's staying out overnight and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, it will be dry. It's so strange here with regards to rain - it had been raining overnight and that's why I didn't do the laundry before we left for MOW. While we were out on the route, the skies cleared up and the sun came out and it was lovely. In the middle of our route, we had a very short, very light shower of rain. Near the end of our route, there was another shower. Then, by the time we got home, it was beautiful out again. So, out went the laundry, and then, just as if on cue, down pours the rain again (this time it was truly raining in strength, but not in length). It's what happens when it rains in HB - it rarely rains for any length of time - just many short showers. At least it was 24C today. :-)
Tonight at SES, they did a maps, compass and GPS navigation exercise. They were divided up into teams of three and given a map with a starting reference (they had to figure out from the reference where the starting point was). From there, they were given several bearings and distances to follow and had to write down what they found at each of the endpoints. When they got back, the instructor cross-checked each group's findings with his. The pacer in Dad's group underestimated his paces, so the distances were too long. Dad's group missed their marks, but because it was a circuit (they went in a circle), they ended up in the right place in the end. Dad's group decided that they need to double check their paces when they are going to do an exercise like this.
Dad spent yesterday doing census stuff again. He finished checking out his seventh and final area of his census district. It took him all afternoon to input the info into the computer. Then, he had to organize all the info he received about the people applying to be census collectors and put that onto a sheet so that he could set up his interviews.
We spent the evening at the Family History Centre last night. I decided to continue working on my Grandpa Terry's line - and somehow I found my way into a Terry family tree. It had my great grandfather and great grandmother on it although it had a different date of birth for my great grandmother. I was so excited to find the info - but, I forgot to write down the way I got to it - so today, when I went into library genealogy centre, I tried to find the family tree again and couldn't find it. I was so frustrated - I figured out how I found the way to do it, but not the route to get to the way I did it. That makes no sense at all, I know, but it's hard to explain. Anyway, I am going to try and find it again next time I get to work on it. I did find out info about my great grandfather's trip to Canada from England. I found out where he was living when he left England in 1928 and also where he was going to once he landed in Quebec. It's neat finding out information about my ancestors! :-)
I was very pleased NOT to get a call to supply teach today. I like not working on Thursday as I like to do 'Meals on Wheels'. Fortunately, we also didn't get a call from Avis to say she didn't need us. So, off we went at 10am to drive to the MOW building. We got route 4 today which I was happy about as our Bishop and his wife, Diana, live on this route. Diana really hurt her leg and shoulder last week, so bad that she wasn't even able to come to church last week. Half way through the route, we stopped at their house and had a short chat with her - I just wanted to see how she was doing. Dad and I get along with the Bishop and Diana really well - we want to invite them over to dinner really soon. At one of our stops near the end of our route, one of our clients had some cute kittens running around his place. There was a ginger one who was soooo adorable. The man could see that I was so taken with this little kitten - he asked me if I would like to take the kitten home - I would have loved to, but of course, Dad said 'no'! :-( I know that it makes sense since, when we come back to Canada, we come for so long and it would be hard to find someone to come over and feed a pet for us for such a long time, but the kitten was so cute, it was hard to leave it behind. :-(
I did a load of laundry when we got home from MOW and put it out on the line. I checked it when we got back from the library and I told Dad it needed another hour or so. About half an hour later, the 'air conditioning' turned on. :-) What I mean by that, is that it started to pour rain - on our tin roof, it sounds just like air conditioning. I ran to the back door to see if I could save the laundry, but it was too late. So, now, it's staying out overnight and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, it will be dry. It's so strange here with regards to rain - it had been raining overnight and that's why I didn't do the laundry before we left for MOW. While we were out on the route, the skies cleared up and the sun came out and it was lovely. In the middle of our route, we had a very short, very light shower of rain. Near the end of our route, there was another shower. Then, by the time we got home, it was beautiful out again. So, out went the laundry, and then, just as if on cue, down pours the rain again (this time it was truly raining in strength, but not in length). It's what happens when it rains in HB - it rarely rains for any length of time - just many short showers. At least it was 24C today. :-)
Tonight at SES, they did a maps, compass and GPS navigation exercise. They were divided up into teams of three and given a map with a starting reference (they had to figure out from the reference where the starting point was). From there, they were given several bearings and distances to follow and had to write down what they found at each of the endpoints. When they got back, the instructor cross-checked each group's findings with his. The pacer in Dad's group underestimated his paces, so the distances were too long. Dad's group missed their marks, but because it was a circuit (they went in a circle), they ended up in the right place in the end. Dad's group decided that they need to double check their paces when they are going to do an exercise like this.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I knew that I was going to be teaching today as I was asked to do this day (Monday) at Pialba State School and that it was grade two. It turns out that the teacher was going to be in the school all day doing some assessment with the children. It turned out to be a lovely class - two boys who were challenging, but overall I had a really good day. As the teacher was there before school, she was able to review with me what I needed to do that day and I also was able to ask questions to clarify things. So, my day went really smoothly. I told the teacher at the end of the day, when I gave her my card, that I would like to supply for her again if she needed someone.
Dad worked on area number six of his census district - this was the area in which we were going to have a house built before we bought this one. There has been so much building going on that there are way too many dwellings for one area so they are going to have to make it into two separate areas or put another person on for that area. Dad says there are sixteen houses in the street that we were going to buy on - in some areas of Hervey Bay they are just going crazy with building.
Guess what? I got another call to teach today - I was so happy! This time it was for a grade one class at Kawungan - Fiona, the teacher, is really nice and has been great to me - when I got to school, she was there - her daughter wasn't feeling well and so Fiona came in to write up a day plan for me. She left me a lovely easy day - she basically said I could do as much or as little as I wanted to (except for reading rotations because it involved two other teachers). She warned me about one little boy who was a handful. The class was amazing and I had a terrific day! Even the little boy who is a handful was pretty good today. Mind you, I made him my 'carpet example' - I kept mentioning that everyone should be doing what Logan was doing: sitting like Logan was, watching me like Logan was, being quiet like Logan, etc. It really worked well and so my day went smoothly. I really enjoyed being in a grade one class again and it made me look forward to taking over Luise's class in October. I also got a call from Tracer asking me to supply teach for two hours at Torquay State School on Friday - this works out great as then I can stay there and volunteer in Chantelle's class and then talk with her about ideas for her class - she wants help with her literacy centres - it's great to be wanted. :-)
Dad spent the day doing a lot of different stuff: he spent the morning inputting info re: the census areas he has been canvassing into his computer program; then he came home and mowed the lawn; and then spent some time this afternoon working on his seventh and final area - he was able to get almost all of it done, so he should be able to finish everything up this week. He also received some more applications for census collectors which he will have to go through and will likely start interviewing people next week.
We had the missionaries for supper tonight and I made my delicious penne pasta with bacon - oh, I love this dish - it is so yummy! :-) Elder Richardson asked Dad and me to write in his book - he is asking people he is close to if they will write something so that he can remember them when he gets back off his mission - he's only been out six months so far, so he has a ways to go. He feels an affinity to Dad and me for some reason - he says we 'get him'. :-) He even called me 'mommy' tonight. :-) We asked them to come earlier next week as we don't have much time with them if they don't come 'til 5pm and they have to leave at 6pm for their meeting with the Bishop.
Dad had his PEC meeting tonight with the Bishopric and Chris, the Elder's Quorum president. As the Bishop wasn't at the meeting last week (he was ill), he wanted to review the people on the ward list. They are trying to find out whether less active members are still in the area and they also want to decide who will be their home teachers - whether it will be Dad's group or Chris' group. It's a long process to go through, but it will be really good in the end when everyone will be assigned to the members in the ward and more people can receive monthly visits.
Dad worked on area number six of his census district - this was the area in which we were going to have a house built before we bought this one. There has been so much building going on that there are way too many dwellings for one area so they are going to have to make it into two separate areas or put another person on for that area. Dad says there are sixteen houses in the street that we were going to buy on - in some areas of Hervey Bay they are just going crazy with building.
Guess what? I got another call to teach today - I was so happy! This time it was for a grade one class at Kawungan - Fiona, the teacher, is really nice and has been great to me - when I got to school, she was there - her daughter wasn't feeling well and so Fiona came in to write up a day plan for me. She left me a lovely easy day - she basically said I could do as much or as little as I wanted to (except for reading rotations because it involved two other teachers). She warned me about one little boy who was a handful. The class was amazing and I had a terrific day! Even the little boy who is a handful was pretty good today. Mind you, I made him my 'carpet example' - I kept mentioning that everyone should be doing what Logan was doing: sitting like Logan was, watching me like Logan was, being quiet like Logan, etc. It really worked well and so my day went smoothly. I really enjoyed being in a grade one class again and it made me look forward to taking over Luise's class in October. I also got a call from Tracer asking me to supply teach for two hours at Torquay State School on Friday - this works out great as then I can stay there and volunteer in Chantelle's class and then talk with her about ideas for her class - she wants help with her literacy centres - it's great to be wanted. :-)
Dad spent the day doing a lot of different stuff: he spent the morning inputting info re: the census areas he has been canvassing into his computer program; then he came home and mowed the lawn; and then spent some time this afternoon working on his seventh and final area - he was able to get almost all of it done, so he should be able to finish everything up this week. He also received some more applications for census collectors which he will have to go through and will likely start interviewing people next week.
We had the missionaries for supper tonight and I made my delicious penne pasta with bacon - oh, I love this dish - it is so yummy! :-) Elder Richardson asked Dad and me to write in his book - he is asking people he is close to if they will write something so that he can remember them when he gets back off his mission - he's only been out six months so far, so he has a ways to go. He feels an affinity to Dad and me for some reason - he says we 'get him'. :-) He even called me 'mommy' tonight. :-) We asked them to come earlier next week as we don't have much time with them if they don't come 'til 5pm and they have to leave at 6pm for their meeting with the Bishop.
Dad had his PEC meeting tonight with the Bishopric and Chris, the Elder's Quorum president. As the Bishop wasn't at the meeting last week (he was ill), he wanted to review the people on the ward list. They are trying to find out whether less active members are still in the area and they also want to decide who will be their home teachers - whether it will be Dad's group or Chris' group. It's a long process to go through, but it will be really good in the end when everyone will be assigned to the members in the ward and more people can receive monthly visits.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
I got called in to school on Friday to a class I had been in before and I was really excited as they had been a dream class last time I was in (except for one boy). I was in for a bit of a surprise, as it turned out. It was a grade three class at Kawungan - there are a lot of girls from Bronwyn's class last year and there was just one boy who was annoying. Since then, another boy has moved into the class and he was annoying as well. One boy wasn't hard to handle last time as the other children were really well behaved and respectful. 'Naughty' boys tend to find each other and set each other off and isn't that what happened on Friday. I was so frustrated at the end of the day that I walked out with the first boy and spoke to his mom after school. She told me he had been 'naughty' at home and had received consequences and she was going to give him more consequences as a result of this behaviour. I don't know her so I don't know if she follows through - I sure hope she does - I know that if I go into this class again, I will not be as patient as I was this time - I will just send the troublemakers off to the office. I really get steamed when one or two children spoil the day for the rest of the class!
Dad spent his day doing a variety of things - sort of a finish up/catch up day for him. He started off his day at the Family History Centre checking some films in and being on the phone with the film distribution centre in Salt Lake City - there had been a major error in shipping and Dad needed to work it out. After that, he finished up working on two of his areas from his census district. After school, having to deal with that class for the day, all I wanted to do was come home and do nothing for the evening - which is just what we did - we even were lazy for dinner and had a frozen McCain pizza. :-)
Saturday was a lovely day and so we spent most of the day outside - well, I did. :-) I wanted to spend some time working out some ideas for a day plan in case I got called into a classroom and there wasn't a day plan. Terri, a grade two teacher from Kawungan, loaned me a book which had tons of ideas and I spent a while going through it and choosing things which would take little supplies or supplies which would be available in any classroom. I plan on typing them out and then keeping the list in my bag which I take my stuff in to school every day - it will be good to have these ideas as twice now I have shown up to supply and a day plan has not been available. If we had not left a day plan at R.J. Lee, we would have been in big trouble. After I finished writing down my ideas, I decided to lay out on my chaise lounge and have a nap outside. The sun was warm and it was just lovely to relax outside on such a beautiful day. :-)
Saturday night we were invited to a 30th birthday for our friend, Tammy, from church - she is the young woman who is the same age as Terri-Ann, has red hair and who also has three boys about the same ages as Colin, Caleb and Benjamin. We were supposed to dress up in 80s outfits or come dressed as a tv/movie character/singer from the 80s. I just came dressed as myself as did Dad. :-) But some people were able to come up with an outfit. Our friend, Leanne, got into her 20 year old son's old dance costume and wore one of those; Tammy came dressed as Strawberry Shortcake and her husband, Zander, came dressed at Beetlejuice. They all looked great! They had 80s music playing (did any good music come out of the 80s? :-) and they had food and goodies to eat. We mostly just sat around talking with our friends from church. After a couple of hours, I could tell that Dad was ready to go and so we said our goodbyes and came home.
Today, at church, the sacrament meeting theme was about prayer - one of my favourite subjects. :-) I really enjoyed the final speaker, Steve, who gave a great talk - he had made notes, but rarely referred to them so kept eye contact for most of his talk - I really like that as it is so much easier to keep focussed when someone does that. He talked about how important it was to say our prayers - to talk with Heavenly Father - to let Him know how grateful we are for our blessings and to ask Him for what we feel we need. He talked about prayer like it was a regular conversation between two people and I love to think of prayer like that. When I pray, I often try to think of Heavenly Father in my mind so that it feels more personal to me.
The missionaries came over for lunch today. They are feeling a bit taken aback as they had their car 'taken away' from them. There are more missionaries in this mission now and so they are sharing some of the cars around - our missionaries have had a car now for 3 months, so it's another set's turn. The mission only has so many cars right now, although now that there are more missionaires in the mission, the mission president is going to ask for more cars. We enjoyed our time with the missionaries as we always do - we had pizza for lunch and spent some time chatting with them. We spent this evening just relaxing - it was a nice way to end our weekend.
Dad spent his day doing a variety of things - sort of a finish up/catch up day for him. He started off his day at the Family History Centre checking some films in and being on the phone with the film distribution centre in Salt Lake City - there had been a major error in shipping and Dad needed to work it out. After that, he finished up working on two of his areas from his census district. After school, having to deal with that class for the day, all I wanted to do was come home and do nothing for the evening - which is just what we did - we even were lazy for dinner and had a frozen McCain pizza. :-)
Saturday was a lovely day and so we spent most of the day outside - well, I did. :-) I wanted to spend some time working out some ideas for a day plan in case I got called into a classroom and there wasn't a day plan. Terri, a grade two teacher from Kawungan, loaned me a book which had tons of ideas and I spent a while going through it and choosing things which would take little supplies or supplies which would be available in any classroom. I plan on typing them out and then keeping the list in my bag which I take my stuff in to school every day - it will be good to have these ideas as twice now I have shown up to supply and a day plan has not been available. If we had not left a day plan at R.J. Lee, we would have been in big trouble. After I finished writing down my ideas, I decided to lay out on my chaise lounge and have a nap outside. The sun was warm and it was just lovely to relax outside on such a beautiful day. :-)
Saturday night we were invited to a 30th birthday for our friend, Tammy, from church - she is the young woman who is the same age as Terri-Ann, has red hair and who also has three boys about the same ages as Colin, Caleb and Benjamin. We were supposed to dress up in 80s outfits or come dressed as a tv/movie character/singer from the 80s. I just came dressed as myself as did Dad. :-) But some people were able to come up with an outfit. Our friend, Leanne, got into her 20 year old son's old dance costume and wore one of those; Tammy came dressed as Strawberry Shortcake and her husband, Zander, came dressed at Beetlejuice. They all looked great! They had 80s music playing (did any good music come out of the 80s? :-) and they had food and goodies to eat. We mostly just sat around talking with our friends from church. After a couple of hours, I could tell that Dad was ready to go and so we said our goodbyes and came home.
Today, at church, the sacrament meeting theme was about prayer - one of my favourite subjects. :-) I really enjoyed the final speaker, Steve, who gave a great talk - he had made notes, but rarely referred to them so kept eye contact for most of his talk - I really like that as it is so much easier to keep focussed when someone does that. He talked about how important it was to say our prayers - to talk with Heavenly Father - to let Him know how grateful we are for our blessings and to ask Him for what we feel we need. He talked about prayer like it was a regular conversation between two people and I love to think of prayer like that. When I pray, I often try to think of Heavenly Father in my mind so that it feels more personal to me.
The missionaries came over for lunch today. They are feeling a bit taken aback as they had their car 'taken away' from them. There are more missionaries in this mission now and so they are sharing some of the cars around - our missionaries have had a car now for 3 months, so it's another set's turn. The mission only has so many cars right now, although now that there are more missionaires in the mission, the mission president is going to ask for more cars. We enjoyed our time with the missionaries as we always do - we had pizza for lunch and spent some time chatting with them. We spent this evening just relaxing - it was a nice way to end our weekend.
Thursday, May 12, 2010
I didn't get a call to supply teach again yesterday morning and I was very disappointed! I am beginning to get discouraged about this teaching situation. When we were looking into moving to Hervey Bay, I emailed a teacher here and she told me that there were tons of supply teaching opportunities - that was about four years ago and things sure have changed over the years. As I was saying a prayer this morning, I told Heavenly Father that I knew we were supposed to be in Hervey Bay, but that I really wanted to be teaching more and asked why this was all happening. I didn't get an answer, but I felt better just praying about it. :-) As I went through my day, I started feeling a bit more positive than I was in the morning. I had a good time being in Luise's class again today - I even got to take over for one lesson while Luise did some more reading running records - it felt good to be up in front of the class and then having the kids come to me when they were done. This is what it will be like in October - December when I take over Luise's class. She told me yesterday that she will be gone for eight weeks, so that's one more week than I was expecting, so I am very happy about that. I also handed out my card to all the grade one teachers in that block and I also went to the Prep (Kindergarten) classes and told them that I would love to supply teach for them. They were all pleased to know that and one even said that I might get more work than I wanted (I wish! :-)
Dad spent the day doing more Census work - he was able to finish up the fourth and fifth areas and now has to do a lot of inputting on the computer. It's taking up a lot of his time right now and he will be busy for at least the next two weeks between checking out the areas of his district and interviewing potential census collectors which he will start to do next week. I think he will be glad for a little bit less hectic times which will come in a bit. After the interviews, he has to do some more training on how to train the collectors and then has to do the actual training of them. Once that's done, he should have a bit of a rest until it's time to hand out the census forms.
Dad and I spent yesterday evening at the Family History Centre. Dad and another member, Alistair Gilbert, were the ones on call for Wednesday night. I worked on my Grandpa Terry's line again. I was trying to find out where my great great Grandma Evans (Mary Ann) and her two daughters, Mary Ann and Isabella (my great grandma) were living, but I couldn't find them in the 1901 census, so I don't know where they were at that time. Mary Ann (the mother) was a widow at this time, so she might have remarried, but I can't find Isabella either and she was not married as of yet. I think that I have found Isabella's birth record, but it doesn't tell me anything about her parents unless I order her birth certificate, so I think I will talk with the lady at the HB library genealogy centre about that on Saturday morning because apparently she can get these certificates for only $15. where they are usually almost twice that.
Today was an incredibly beautiful day and I was okay about not getting a call to supply teach today. I really like having Thursdays off because I like doing Meals on Wheels. However, we got a call this morning to say that we weren't needed for Meals on Wheels today - they have a couple who do it once a month and today was their day, so Avis called to say that we could have the day off, since Dad did a double run last week. It was a little bit disappointing because I really do like doing this service, but it was such a beautiful day that we didn't have trouble filling in our time. We started off our morning doing some errands - the usual running around (and I bought two more skirts that Miller's had on sale - Dad reminded me that I had said that I had enough new clothes, so I bought the skirts in one size smaller than I am at the moment - I know that I will be able to get into that size by the summer and the price was too good to pass up). :-) Then, we found a phone booth and called Nana - I haven't talked with Nana in a while and hadn't heard from her in a while, so I wanted to check in and see how she and Warren were doing. Would you believe that we talked for 1 1/2 hours (okay, you smarty pants girls - I can hear you saying that that would be NO problem for Nana and me :-) It was great to talk with Nana and get caught up on how they are doing (both doing pretty well) and to also get caught up on what Uncle Ken, Uncle Baden, Michael and Jamie are doing. Michael is now getting married in August, but it will be a small wedding with just very close family (eg: Uncle Baden, Nana and Warren and of course, Uncle Kenny, from our family).
After lunch, Dad and I went for a walk along the beach - it was one of those 'typical' Hervey Bay days - blue cloudless sky, warm temperature and nice breeze. We decided to walk along a different part of the beach (the western part) and Dad really liked it. The beach consisted of sand and rocks - we checked out the rock pools (the water was just starting to come in to high tide time), but we couldn't see any creatures which might have been left behind. After going along the beach for a while, we walked back to the car and drove down a bit to a different part of the beach. I asked Dad if we could first walk along the street to have a sticky beak in a few stores. We came across a souvenir store and I saw some t-shirts (kids, of course :-) and I saw one that was PERFECT for Benjamin so I just HAD to buy it. Of course, that also meant that I had to find one for each of the other boys. :-) I will give them to the boys for their birthdays when we get back to Canada. We had another short walk along the beach to get back to the car and then spent some time laying on our chaise loungers in the backyard when we got home from the beach. What a lovely way to spend the day!
At SES tonight, the group learned how to winch (pull) a four wheel drive out of a bog or from being stuck in the sand. They learned several different techniques and approaches which can be used to get a vehicle unstuck. After learning these techniques, the group did a hands-on exercise where they actually winched their SES jeep across the SES parking lot with the wheels of the jeep not turning. Dad thought it was a very practical exercise to do as there are lots of four wheel drive vehicles in HB and lots of places where people can get themselves stuck.
Dad spent the day doing more Census work - he was able to finish up the fourth and fifth areas and now has to do a lot of inputting on the computer. It's taking up a lot of his time right now and he will be busy for at least the next two weeks between checking out the areas of his district and interviewing potential census collectors which he will start to do next week. I think he will be glad for a little bit less hectic times which will come in a bit. After the interviews, he has to do some more training on how to train the collectors and then has to do the actual training of them. Once that's done, he should have a bit of a rest until it's time to hand out the census forms.
Dad and I spent yesterday evening at the Family History Centre. Dad and another member, Alistair Gilbert, were the ones on call for Wednesday night. I worked on my Grandpa Terry's line again. I was trying to find out where my great great Grandma Evans (Mary Ann) and her two daughters, Mary Ann and Isabella (my great grandma) were living, but I couldn't find them in the 1901 census, so I don't know where they were at that time. Mary Ann (the mother) was a widow at this time, so she might have remarried, but I can't find Isabella either and she was not married as of yet. I think that I have found Isabella's birth record, but it doesn't tell me anything about her parents unless I order her birth certificate, so I think I will talk with the lady at the HB library genealogy centre about that on Saturday morning because apparently she can get these certificates for only $15. where they are usually almost twice that.
Today was an incredibly beautiful day and I was okay about not getting a call to supply teach today. I really like having Thursdays off because I like doing Meals on Wheels. However, we got a call this morning to say that we weren't needed for Meals on Wheels today - they have a couple who do it once a month and today was their day, so Avis called to say that we could have the day off, since Dad did a double run last week. It was a little bit disappointing because I really do like doing this service, but it was such a beautiful day that we didn't have trouble filling in our time. We started off our morning doing some errands - the usual running around (and I bought two more skirts that Miller's had on sale - Dad reminded me that I had said that I had enough new clothes, so I bought the skirts in one size smaller than I am at the moment - I know that I will be able to get into that size by the summer and the price was too good to pass up). :-) Then, we found a phone booth and called Nana - I haven't talked with Nana in a while and hadn't heard from her in a while, so I wanted to check in and see how she and Warren were doing. Would you believe that we talked for 1 1/2 hours (okay, you smarty pants girls - I can hear you saying that that would be NO problem for Nana and me :-) It was great to talk with Nana and get caught up on how they are doing (both doing pretty well) and to also get caught up on what Uncle Ken, Uncle Baden, Michael and Jamie are doing. Michael is now getting married in August, but it will be a small wedding with just very close family (eg: Uncle Baden, Nana and Warren and of course, Uncle Kenny, from our family).
After lunch, Dad and I went for a walk along the beach - it was one of those 'typical' Hervey Bay days - blue cloudless sky, warm temperature and nice breeze. We decided to walk along a different part of the beach (the western part) and Dad really liked it. The beach consisted of sand and rocks - we checked out the rock pools (the water was just starting to come in to high tide time), but we couldn't see any creatures which might have been left behind. After going along the beach for a while, we walked back to the car and drove down a bit to a different part of the beach. I asked Dad if we could first walk along the street to have a sticky beak in a few stores. We came across a souvenir store and I saw some t-shirts (kids, of course :-) and I saw one that was PERFECT for Benjamin so I just HAD to buy it. Of course, that also meant that I had to find one for each of the other boys. :-) I will give them to the boys for their birthdays when we get back to Canada. We had another short walk along the beach to get back to the car and then spent some time laying on our chaise loungers in the backyard when we got home from the beach. What a lovely way to spend the day!
At SES tonight, the group learned how to winch (pull) a four wheel drive out of a bog or from being stuck in the sand. They learned several different techniques and approaches which can be used to get a vehicle unstuck. After learning these techniques, the group did a hands-on exercise where they actually winched their SES jeep across the SES parking lot with the wheels of the jeep not turning. Dad thought it was a very practical exercise to do as there are lots of four wheel drive vehicles in HB and lots of places where people can get themselves stuck.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Yesterday, I decided to take the day off school so that I could go to some other schools I have not been to as yet to inquire about supply teaching. The first school I went to was the Anglican College (private school). There, they told me that they needed a resume and a copy of my Queensland Teacher Registration Certificate. The second school I went to was a Catholic School. There they told me that I needed to apply with the catholic board and then come back with my passport (to prove that I am an Australian citizen) and a copy of my registration certificate. The third school I went to was the one I taught at last Thursday and Friday. I wanted to introduce myself to the deputy principal at Pialba so that he could put a face to the voice he spoke with on the phone when he called to ask me to supply teach. Last night, he called me to ask me if I could supply teach next Monday, so I am glad that I went in yesterday morning. I forgot to mention that on Sunday, I spoke with Leanne who is the Primary Music Leader and who also teaches at a local primary school. I asked her if she could introduce me to one of the Deputy Principals at her school (Bronwyn had suggested to do this as she had spoken to that D.P.). Leanne said that she would speak with Ann (the D.P.) this week and so hopefully next week, I will be able to go in and meet with Ann and also speak with someone at another Catholic school near Leanne’s school at the same time. Once I have done that, I will have contacted all but one primary school in Hervey Bay (the one I haven’t is not one I want to supply teach at - I have been told that there are a lot of behaviour issues at that school).
After we finished up at the schools, Dad dropped me off at the local library so that I could do some genealogy - there were a number of people at the church FHC and so I didn’t want to take up one of the computers there. When I was at the library, I was able to talk with a woman there who was able to help me find some info about my Grandpa Terry’s mom - Isabella Evans. I still have some checking to do, but I think that I have found her name, year of birth, mom and dad’s name and sister’s name. It was so exciting to find out this information - all I had before that was her name and possible year of birth and their marriage date (Isabella and my great Grandpa Richard Terry). I am looking forward to finding out some more information about Isabella on Wednesday night.
Dad spent the afternoon finishing up his work on the third area of his census district. He had to visit a couple of retirement villages to confirm the number of people living there. He also had to go to a couple of smaller businesses to make sure that nobody lived on the premises. When he got home, he spent an hour or so co-ordinating the information he had gained.
I went in to school today to volunteer (didn't get a call to supply :-( , but I did have a good day anyway. Luise told me that some of the other teachers were going to try and 'take me', but she was going to use me first. I ended up doing a lot of assessment in math this time - listening to the students tell me what the numbers and number words and ordinal numbers were which were on a sheet - I was able to listen to all the kids except one boy who is SEU (special ed) and so was out of the classroom most of the day. Luise mentioned that she was having difficulty listening to the kids read to her and answer comprehension questions because she was always so busy during the day, so I suggested she give the kids an activity to do and I could supervise while she read with a student. She said that she didn't think that was right since I wasn't being paid - I told her that I was happy to do it - she kept on resisting, but finally she asked me if I would do it after 'big lunch' to which I readily agreed. She thanked me a number of times during the day and even told me that she had to take a day off in June and two days off in August and had asked the office to get me to cover for her. I was very pleased about that.
Dad spent the day working on two more of his areas for his census district - he was able to get 95% of one area done and 75% of another area done. He has to go back tomorrow to speak to some people who weren't there today, but it was a good day since it's taken him a day to do each previous area and he was able to do so much more today. He will finish up both these routes tomorrow and then will just have two more routes to complete. He then will have to interview all those who have applied to be census collectors.
Tonight, while Dad was at his weekly PEC meeting, I went visiting teaching with Rosalea - we went to visit Sue (Terri-Ann, her last name is Coates - isn't that funny? :-) For everyone else, Sue Coates is the name of a sister in the Orangeville ward). Anyway, it was really nice to sit and chat with Sue and Rosalea - I really enjoy talking with my friends from church - we talked about so many different things that each of us has experienced - it's good when you can talk with people who believe the same as you do.
After we finished up at the schools, Dad dropped me off at the local library so that I could do some genealogy - there were a number of people at the church FHC and so I didn’t want to take up one of the computers there. When I was at the library, I was able to talk with a woman there who was able to help me find some info about my Grandpa Terry’s mom - Isabella Evans. I still have some checking to do, but I think that I have found her name, year of birth, mom and dad’s name and sister’s name. It was so exciting to find out this information - all I had before that was her name and possible year of birth and their marriage date (Isabella and my great Grandpa Richard Terry). I am looking forward to finding out some more information about Isabella on Wednesday night.
Dad spent the afternoon finishing up his work on the third area of his census district. He had to visit a couple of retirement villages to confirm the number of people living there. He also had to go to a couple of smaller businesses to make sure that nobody lived on the premises. When he got home, he spent an hour or so co-ordinating the information he had gained.
I went in to school today to volunteer (didn't get a call to supply :-( , but I did have a good day anyway. Luise told me that some of the other teachers were going to try and 'take me', but she was going to use me first. I ended up doing a lot of assessment in math this time - listening to the students tell me what the numbers and number words and ordinal numbers were which were on a sheet - I was able to listen to all the kids except one boy who is SEU (special ed) and so was out of the classroom most of the day. Luise mentioned that she was having difficulty listening to the kids read to her and answer comprehension questions because she was always so busy during the day, so I suggested she give the kids an activity to do and I could supervise while she read with a student. She said that she didn't think that was right since I wasn't being paid - I told her that I was happy to do it - she kept on resisting, but finally she asked me if I would do it after 'big lunch' to which I readily agreed. She thanked me a number of times during the day and even told me that she had to take a day off in June and two days off in August and had asked the office to get me to cover for her. I was very pleased about that.
Dad spent the day working on two more of his areas for his census district - he was able to get 95% of one area done and 75% of another area done. He has to go back tomorrow to speak to some people who weren't there today, but it was a good day since it's taken him a day to do each previous area and he was able to do so much more today. He will finish up both these routes tomorrow and then will just have two more routes to complete. He then will have to interview all those who have applied to be census collectors.
Tonight, while Dad was at his weekly PEC meeting, I went visiting teaching with Rosalea - we went to visit Sue (Terri-Ann, her last name is Coates - isn't that funny? :-) For everyone else, Sue Coates is the name of a sister in the Orangeville ward). Anyway, it was really nice to sit and chat with Sue and Rosalea - I really enjoy talking with my friends from church - we talked about so many different things that each of us has experienced - it's good when you can talk with people who believe the same as you do.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Friday was a very busy day and an exhausting one - I was wiped by the time I got home from school. I had a good time in the grade four class teaching a second day with Maree. Since Mother's Day was today, most of Friday was spent working on a Mother's Day gift. The students created a paper pillow with love hearts inside it with qualities written on the hearts which the students felt their mother had. They also made a paper scroll which had a wordsearch on it based on the answers to questions the students answered about their mothers. I also showed the kids my Canadian coins and told them about each coin - it held their attention for quite a while which was good.
Dad had a really good day at the Family History Centre Friday - he had six non-member visitors - all of them came as a result of the article that was in the newspaper - two of the six were returning patrons and four of them were new. It's really exciting that so many new people are coming in to use the FHC. Dad was flat out helping all the new people, but it's good being flat out for that reason. :-)
Robyn and Geoff picked me up after school and brought me home so that they could follow me riding the scooter around - another practice session. Dad feels comfortable enough to go for his final riding test now, so he decided not to go for a ride that day. I feel really comfortable riding on the bike, but not about going around town as I still don't know it well enough. So, Dad and I had mapped out a route for me to go. I started out and did really well getting to the first road north and then the next road east and then north again and then west, but then when it came time to go south, I missed the turn-off - I didn't know the landmarks of the cross streets. As I was going over the road, I realized that I had missed it and so turned left at the next street and stopped up a bit. Dad hopped out of the car and got me back on track and I managed to get all the way home without any more problems. I totally felt good on the scooter, but I really do need more experience driving/riding on the streets of Hervey Bay. I think that Dad is going to go for his motorcycle license in the next couple of weeks, but I'm not sure if I am ready to get mine since I don't know the area well enough. I don't know if that matters or not so I will have a chat with John when he comes to test Dad and see what he says.
Robyn and Geoff stayed for dinner. We were going to have a barbecue, but Dad and I were both full-on and we just didn't have time to get things organized for a bbq. So, we had tacos and they turned out delicious - mince (that's hamburger for you non-Aussies), kidney beans and crushed tomatoes for the base. I wish that we had our new living room furniture already - we had to sit the whole night at our dining room table - which is fine as far as comfort goes as our chair cushions are really comfortable - but, it would be nice to get up from the table and sit on a couch or chair. We had a lovely evening chatting with Robyn and Geoff - we get along with them so well - they left yesterday for six weeks to take care of their daughter who lives down south and is having an operation. We are going to miss them while they are gone. I told them after dinner that when they get back I would like to have people over from church for dinner and that I thought it would be good to have them and one other couple and they thought that was a great idea.
Saturday was an incredibly beautiful day - the sky was blue, the sun was shining and the temperature was lovely and warm! I went to Homemaking in the morning and drove there all by myself! :-) The homemaking meeting was about 'living well for less' and although I didn't learn much new (it was mostly about food storage and how to make natural cleaners), it was really nice meeting with the sisters in the ward - we just don't get enough time to talk with each other on a Sunday (especially those of us in Primary) and so I love these opportunities to get together.
When I got home, Dad and I went for a lovely drive - the day was too beautiful to stay inside - or even to stay outside at home. Dad and I both thought about where we wanted to go and decided on a place called 'Rainbow Beach' which is about 1 1/2 hours south of Hervey Bay. We knew that a lot of people stopped there as it is a popular place to catch a barge to get to Fraser Island. When we got there, we found an incredibly beautiful beach with brown sand and going on for ages. We walked the beach for quite a while - it was such a lovely way to spend an afternoon walking along the water's edge. While we were walking along, we came upon a wedding on the beach, a parasailor, a dog swimming in the ocean, several four wheel drive vehicles, and some swimmers and other walkers along the beach. After our walk along the beach, we walked the main street - one side of a very short block :-) and then bought some ice-cream and sat on a bench near the beach to enjoy them. After that, Dad wanted to go up to Inskip Point to see what it was like where the barges crossed to Fraser Island. Once we parked the car, it was just a short walk along the beach until we got to the barge landing point - the barge just beaches itself in the sand while people walk on or people drive on - in four wheel drive vehicles only. By the time we were ready to leave, it was almost dark - it was a bit worrisome driving home as we drove on a road which is not well travelled, but we made it home fine and have wonderful memories of a fabulous day. Here are some pics of our day............
Dad had a really good day at the Family History Centre Friday - he had six non-member visitors - all of them came as a result of the article that was in the newspaper - two of the six were returning patrons and four of them were new. It's really exciting that so many new people are coming in to use the FHC. Dad was flat out helping all the new people, but it's good being flat out for that reason. :-)
Robyn and Geoff picked me up after school and brought me home so that they could follow me riding the scooter around - another practice session. Dad feels comfortable enough to go for his final riding test now, so he decided not to go for a ride that day. I feel really comfortable riding on the bike, but not about going around town as I still don't know it well enough. So, Dad and I had mapped out a route for me to go. I started out and did really well getting to the first road north and then the next road east and then north again and then west, but then when it came time to go south, I missed the turn-off - I didn't know the landmarks of the cross streets. As I was going over the road, I realized that I had missed it and so turned left at the next street and stopped up a bit. Dad hopped out of the car and got me back on track and I managed to get all the way home without any more problems. I totally felt good on the scooter, but I really do need more experience driving/riding on the streets of Hervey Bay. I think that Dad is going to go for his motorcycle license in the next couple of weeks, but I'm not sure if I am ready to get mine since I don't know the area well enough. I don't know if that matters or not so I will have a chat with John when he comes to test Dad and see what he says.
Robyn and Geoff stayed for dinner. We were going to have a barbecue, but Dad and I were both full-on and we just didn't have time to get things organized for a bbq. So, we had tacos and they turned out delicious - mince (that's hamburger for you non-Aussies
Saturday was an incredibly beautiful day - the sky was blue, the sun was shining and the temperature was lovely and warm! I went to Homemaking in the morning and drove there all by myself! :-) The homemaking meeting was about 'living well for less' and although I didn't learn much new (it was mostly about food storage and how to make natural cleaners), it was really nice meeting with the sisters in the ward - we just don't get enough time to talk with each other on a Sunday (especially those of us in Primary) and so I love these opportunities to get together.
When I got home, Dad and I went for a lovely drive - the day was too beautiful to stay inside - or even to stay outside at home. Dad and I both thought about where we wanted to go and decided on a place called 'Rainbow Beach' which is about 1 1/2 hours south of Hervey Bay. We knew that a lot of people stopped there as it is a popular place to catch a barge to get to Fraser Island. When we got there, we found an incredibly beautiful beach with brown sand and going on for ages. We walked the beach for quite a while - it was such a lovely way to spend an afternoon walking along the water's edge. While we were walking along, we came upon a wedding on the beach, a parasailor, a dog swimming in the ocean, several four wheel drive vehicles, and some swimmers and other walkers along the beach. After our walk along the beach, we walked the main street - one side of a very short block :-) and then bought some ice-cream and sat on a bench near the beach to enjoy them. After that, Dad wanted to go up to Inskip Point to see what it was like where the barges crossed to Fraser Island. Once we parked the car, it was just a short walk along the beach until we got to the barge landing point - the barge just beaches itself in the sand while people walk on or people drive on - in four wheel drive vehicles only. By the time we were ready to leave, it was almost dark - it was a bit worrisome driving home as we drove on a road which is not well travelled, but we made it home fine and have wonderful memories of a fabulous day. Here are some pics of our day............
Driving on the road to Rainbow Beach
Rainbow Beach
Four wheel drive vehicles on Rainbow Beach
Rainbow Beach
Parasailor on Rainbow Beach
Rainbow Beach
Sue sitting on a buoy on Rainbow Beach
Mike in the surf on Rainbow Beach
One of the barges taking a vehicle from Inskip Point to Fraser Island
Sun setting on Inskip Point
Another barge at Inskip Point
View across the water at Inskip Point
Crab balls of sand and holes - the crabs dig a hole and then push the sand out and it forms into balls on top of the sand - they were all over the beach
Sun setting at Inskip Point - a wonderful ending to a wonderful day out
We finished off this wonderful day Skyping with Terri-Ann and the boys. It was great being able to talk with the three boys - well to talk with Colin and Caleb and to hear Benjamin talk to us - he sure isn't a shy boy. :-) It's so funny when all three boys are trying to talk with us at once. It was so cute when Colin gave us hugs and kisses over the computer - I am looking forward to getting some 'real' ones when we come back in December. :-)
Today was a really nice Sabbath day - not weather-wise as it was grey and cloudy - but a nice day at church and for the rest of the day. Our speakers today were Ethan (a young man) and two women who all spoke on (what else?) mothers. Ethan spoke about how wonderful his mom is and Amanda and Trudy spoke about their mothers as well. It was a nice way to start the day. Primary went smoothly and the children seemed to enjoy making their Mother's Day Date Night Kit. I found the idea on the net and I really liked it. It meant that I didn't have much to do to prepare the kits and the kids didn't have much to do, either, as we only had 20 minutes for them to do it. I had put 12 M & Ms in a little baggie (2 of each of six colours), a popcorn bag and a piece of paper explaining the task. On the paper, the children had to write about what was so special about their mom. Then, under that was a poem which were the instructions which said that the mother was supposed to pick out an M & M and then answer a question based on the colour chosen. The child would do the same thing. Once they were done answering the question, they could pop the popcorn and play a board game together. The children liked the idea of having a one-on-one date with their mom and I hope the moms and the children have a fun time together.
The missionaries came over for lunch today as they get to call their moms on Mother's Day and they had asked us if they could use our computers to Skype with their moms. They both had a lovely time talking with their families - it was great for their families to be able to see their boys and to talk with them. I love that mothers are thought of as so important as to be able to receive a call from their boys (and sometimes girls) on the moms' special day. :-)
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