Camping in Glenworth Valley

       Spending time with my Sydney family I have come to realize that to some, I am something of an expert on camping. Prior to my time overseas, I have usually been fortunate enough to have other people around who took care of the cooking and of setting up the tent, building the fire, etc. On this particular camping trip, they were looking to me to explain all of these tasks to them which was a whole new experience for me. It was Abby's first time sleeping in a tent and we shared our own tent and made a girl's night out of it. We made shadow puppets and stayed up giggling long after the rest of the family had gone to bed (especially when we heard her father snoring loud enough to wake the dead). She's really a lovely little person and a joy to be around.
        Glenworth Valley specializes in horseback riding and so Caroline and I went on a nice horseback ride together. They allowed us to trot with the horse far more than I have ever been allowed to in The States and I feel a lot more confident as a rider now. My horse as usual (for me) did whatever it wanted to do and took the liberty to run off in the woods to get to the front of the pack not worrying about the branches I would have to suffer through. It was a lot of fun, but I paid for it later. My muscles were very upset with me for the following two of three days.
        I also had the opportunity to go Abseiling for the first time which is another word for repelling. It was pretty scary at times, but we had good guides and it's not very difficult or strenuous. I couldn't see the cliff until I was already hanging off the edge of it, and I kept making the mistake of looking down. It's not for the fainthearted or those who fear heights for sure, but Steve and Guy and I had a great time.
        I have the best job in the world.

Blue Mountains with Friends

         I have really been slacking on updating this so first off let just apologize for that.....I'm sorry. :-P This is maybe a month and a half overdue, but a while back I went to the Blue Mountains with about 20 friends from church. It started out as a really nice day and we went on a nice hike. When we were about 3/4 of the way through our walk, the sky went completely dark and we were pored on! It only added to the fun though and we all took off at a run and found the nearest semblance of cover we came upon. By then we were pretty well soaked through but we dried off at a cafe and then some of us went on to a chocolate place with the coolest hot chocolate I've ever seen! It was my friend Sandrine's birthday and it was a really fun way to spend the day with her. :) I also want to mention that about half of these photos are from friends cameras. I thank you for their use.

Happy Birthday in Australia

        This year as usual, I had a skating birthday party. No matter which country you're in, it's always a lot of fun and since it has been exceptionally warm, we opted for ice skating for a bit of a respite from the heat. Another girl I go to church with named Tricia had a birthday only a few days before mine, so we celebrated together which brought out a lot of people and made it all the more fun!
        Before skating a bunch of girls and I went out to dinner at a gourmet pizza place and then had chocolate covered crepes with fruit and ice cream at another restaurant close by that specializes in chocolate! Now that's my kind of place! The ice skating was the weekend session which meant that it was a disco and we owned the night! We were all dancing and forming chains and getting everyone else at the rink to join in with us. It ended up being a great night and I was so relieved because I had been feeling a bit homesick beforehand.
        A few nights later on the actually day of my birthday, the family I live with took me out to a Japanese Steak House where they cook the food in front of you on a Hibachi grill. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves because it was a slow Monday and they wrote "Happy Birthday" out to me in salt on the grill which was impressive and then played a lot of games where we had to catch food in our mouths or bowls, etc. The food was delicious as always and the kids had an absolute blast. They said some really hilarious things and we all had a great evening with lots of laughs. I even got a pancake with ice cream and some chocolate for my special birthday dessert. :) I had a really wonderful birthday and as always, I feel truly blessed!