Robyn, me, Elder Gilbert and Elder B.
Me, Haidi, Robyn, Jesse (Haidi's daughter)
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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!
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 :-)
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...
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
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) :-)
Sunday, 25 November, 2018
This week (during the week) was pretty much the same as the previous weeks. Dad's theory portion of the course finished up this week with all the guys passing the final exam - phew! Harry will teach next week for the avionics portion of the theory part of the course, so we have a week off coming up - Dad is looking forward to that.
I continued on with my exercise classes, walking 10,000 steps each day and knitting coasters.
On Thursday, I met up with my Aunt Beth (Poppy's youngest sister) at a local coffee shop - 'The Coffee Club' (where they sell the best iced chocolates). Aunt Beth lives in Brisbane so we try to catch up with each other whenever Dad and I are in town. Aunt Beth and I get along so well and we had a lovely time chatting over lunch (we spent 3 1/2 hours there).
Yesterday, we drove back to Hervey Bay and it is so good to be home. We have a chiro appointment this coming week, but that's it for Dad, so he will be spending a lot of time relaxing. I, of course, have Aquafit classes to go to and friends to catch up with, so I will be a busy girl. 😊
I continued on with my exercise classes, walking 10,000 steps each day and knitting coasters.
On Thursday, I met up with my Aunt Beth (Poppy's youngest sister) at a local coffee shop - 'The Coffee Club' (where they sell the best iced chocolates). Aunt Beth lives in Brisbane so we try to catch up with each other whenever Dad and I are in town. Aunt Beth and I get along so well and we had a lovely time chatting over lunch (we spent 3 1/2 hours there).
Aunt Beth and me at 'The Coffee Club'
Yesterday, we drove back to Hervey Bay and it is so good to be home. We have a chiro appointment this coming week, but that's it for Dad, so he will be spending a lot of time relaxing. I, of course, have Aquafit classes to go to and friends to catch up with, so I will be a busy girl. 😊
Sunday, 18 November, 2018
Well, this week was pretty much the same as last week. Dad's course continues to go well with all the guys passing the two exams Dad gave them. One of the exams was quite hard and a few of the guys just made the passing grade. One more week to go for Dad in this theory portion of the course and then we get to go home for a week.
I continued on with my exercise classes at the gym and walking to Dad's work each day to get in my 10,000 steps. I also did a bit of knitting (baby hats for the hospital) and some crocheting (coasters for Christmas bags we are giving to some widows in a nursing home in Hervey Bay).
Preemie baby hats for the hospital (I need to have someone else sew the back seam up as they need to be done a special way)
While we were at the mall one day, we made a wonderful purchase. When I was at the mall with Dawn last week, I happened to notice a bunch of lovely prints of giraffes. So, when I went with Dad after that, I showed him the stall where the prints were. I wanted to get a large one, but we decided that we just didn't have room in our house for one that big, so I 'settled' for three small ones. I am slowly building up my giraffe mementos. :-)
My three adorable giraffe prints
View of the park and surrounds where we found one of our geocaches
Interesting branch/root formations in an area where we found one of our geocaches
I continued on with my exercise classes at the gym and walking to Dad's work each day to get in my 10,000 steps. I also did a bit of knitting (baby hats for the hospital) and some crocheting (coasters for Christmas bags we are giving to some widows in a nursing home in Hervey Bay).
Me after my 'Body Balance' workout at the gym
Crocheted coaster for the Christmas bags for seniors
Yesterday, Dad and I went geocaching again and had another great day outside. We managed to find three out of four of the geocaches. When we got home and Dad was inputting the info into the geocache website, he happened to be reading the logs of the first geocache which we couldn't find. He found out that we were looking in the right place, but were not looking high enough. We are going to go back and try to find that one next weekend.
Sunday, 11 November, 2018
This week was pretty much the same as last week with a few minor changes.
Dad's course went well again this week. It is full-on with these guys as there are a lot of inexperienced mechanics on the course and that means that, at every break and lunch, there is always a line-up of guys wanting clarification of things Dad has been teaching them or they have questions about the information they have been learning about. Dad is pretty tired by the time he gets home each day, but at least he has taught this course so often now that he doesn't have as much preparation to do each night as he has had to do on previous courses. The guys had an exam on Friday and they all passed. Dad does a review of the questions anyone got wrong, though, and that took up a fair bit of time on Friday after the exam.
My week was taken up with my gym classes that I attended last week and I started another one this week called 'Body Pump' - it's hard work (we work with weights). but I love it as I am getting stronger and building my muscles. I also kept up with walking my 10,000 steps each day, so I am pretty pleased about that.
On Thursday, I ditched my Pilates class (I am not fond of that class, so I didn't mind missing that one :-) and met up with my friend, Dawn (Dad's boss's wife) at a local mall. I met her at morning tea time and so I had to have my iced chocolate (she is the one who turned me on to those a few years ago) and it was as delicious as usual. We had a lovely time chatting for ages before we got up and did a bit of walking since she knew that I wanted to get in my 10,000 steps. After our walk, we had lunch and then did some more walking around the mall before we went home. I always enjoy getting together with Dawn - we always have a nice time together.
Dawn in front of a beautiful water fountain outside where many of the mall eateries are
On Friday night, we went to the Temple - it was so nice being able to get in a session there. We always love going to the Temple and being able to do the work for someone who has passed on. It is so peaceful in there - it's great to feel calm and be able to focus on the things we learn in there to help us to be become closer to our Heavenly Father and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Dad and I in front of the Brisbane Temple before we went in to do a session
On Saturday, we met up with our friend, Niles, who is also an instructor with QAC. Whenever we are in Brisbane (which isn't that often), we try to get together with Niles. We met him at 'Cafe 63' (our 'go to' place for a meal when we are in Brisbane) and had a great 3 hour chat over lunch. It's always nice to catch up with Niles - he is very easy to talk with.
Dad's course went well again this week. It is full-on with these guys as there are a lot of inexperienced mechanics on the course and that means that, at every break and lunch, there is always a line-up of guys wanting clarification of things Dad has been teaching them or they have questions about the information they have been learning about. Dad is pretty tired by the time he gets home each day, but at least he has taught this course so often now that he doesn't have as much preparation to do each night as he has had to do on previous courses. The guys had an exam on Friday and they all passed. Dad does a review of the questions anyone got wrong, though, and that took up a fair bit of time on Friday after the exam.
My week was taken up with my gym classes that I attended last week and I started another one this week called 'Body Pump' - it's hard work (we work with weights). but I love it as I am getting stronger and building my muscles. I also kept up with walking my 10,000 steps each day, so I am pretty pleased about that.
On Thursday, I ditched my Pilates class (I am not fond of that class, so I didn't mind missing that one :-) and met up with my friend, Dawn (Dad's boss's wife) at a local mall. I met her at morning tea time and so I had to have my iced chocolate (she is the one who turned me on to those a few years ago) and it was as delicious as usual. We had a lovely time chatting for ages before we got up and did a bit of walking since she knew that I wanted to get in my 10,000 steps. After our walk, we had lunch and then did some more walking around the mall before we went home. I always enjoy getting together with Dawn - we always have a nice time together.
Dawn and I enjoying our 'morning tea' (me with my iced chocolate :-)
On Friday night, we went to the Temple - it was so nice being able to get in a session there. We always love going to the Temple and being able to do the work for someone who has passed on. It is so peaceful in there - it's great to feel calm and be able to focus on the things we learn in there to help us to be become closer to our Heavenly Father and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Me enjoying another iced chocolate (which Dad and I shared) at dinner at 'Cafe 63' after the Temple
On Saturday, we met up with our friend, Niles, who is also an instructor with QAC. Whenever we are in Brisbane (which isn't that often), we try to get together with Niles. We met him at 'Cafe 63' (our 'go to' place for a meal when we are in Brisbane) and had a great 3 hour chat over lunch. It's always nice to catch up with Niles - he is very easy to talk with.
Niles, me and Dad at 'Cafe 63' for lunch
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