Keys Don't Matter when it's FOOTBALL Day!

Okay so let me start with my version of the keys by saying as intelligent as my sweet missus is, when you get 9 dopey teenagers in the one place, surely (with regard to common physics or the laws of nature or some other scientific formula) that 'dopeyness' is sure to rub off on those around them. It's kind of like, if the Denver Broncos played the Indianapolis Colts....sure the Colts may be champions, but often the lessor team will bring the champs down to their level. And if you put a dozen morons in a classroom with Albert Einstein then clearly old Einy will leave the class slightly less smart than when he walked into the room due to stupidity being a disease recognised by the W.H.O!

So the point I'm making is that although Jen is very responsible, being around a bunch of teenage girls may have caused her a moment of 'brain freeze' and hence we were without keys...keys to the car...keys to the house...keys to the new chapel....keys to the workshop...keys to the garage...(workshop and garage are actually the same thing, but by gee it makes it sound more dramatic itemising them seperately doesn't it?)...keys to padlocks to lock things up.

Now here's the thing right?....My set of keys was large, it was akin to the size of a jailers set of keys in an old western movie, with the big ring, and my car key as big as a Bajio enchalada! No joke. And they were shiny. I have been surfing for 30 years...kind of don't so much now coz I'm being very well looked after and see no need for physical exertion of any kind. But my point is that I have been going to the beach as long as I can remember, surfing, snorkelling, scuba diving or just playing in the sand, and most of the time I don't even have pockets. And NEVER ONCE, have I lost so much as a 20 cent piece!! So I just don't understand how someone could lose a set of keys that could weigh down a space shuttle!!

But as Jen mentioned, I have had no alternative but to rescind all of Jens driving privelidges indefinately. And while the cookies, sheet cake, milkshakes and all the other treats are most welcome and go a long way to helping me achieve my dream of captaining the Australian Sumo wrestling team at the next Olympics, it will take a first born son for Jen to be able to drive on the wrong side of the road in the near future.....but as stated and I will go on record with this...if she can deliver me twins, (boys preferably, identical) then she will get her own car, quite likely a BMW! Twin girls would equate to a small SUV......Triplets or above and she can call the shots..I shall submit my will and mind to her the almighty child giver!

GRAND FINAL DAY 07

Having said all that, the keys are now an afterthought until the end of today because it's....Grand Final Day! For those of you, (read most of you) who don't know what Grand Final day is, well it's akin to your superbowl in the US, where the top two teams, after a long season that began in late Feb, play off in one game to decide who is the champion team for this year.

My team the Hawthorn Hawks were beaten in the semi finals...should I say we woz robbed I tells ya...the bloody umpires cheated us out!

So now it is the Geelong Cats playing Port Adelaide Power..(Victorians hate Port Adelaide!) ((With a passion)) (((and they hate us equally as much)))

So all of Victoria will be barracking for the Cats..Go Cats.

So there is only twice a year all of us (male) Australians stop what they are doing for sport...the Melbourne Cup Horse race in November and the AFL Grand Final. It's a big day and coincides with lots of BBQs and beer drinking. Now I'm a Mormon I forgoe the beer drinking....instead I bloat up with diet coke and BBQ'd meat! And with the big screen TV, it's a big day.

Sadly today the day is overcast with scattered rain showers and an expected top of about 15. So during half time we still might get to go out and have a game in the backyard! We are having a few friends from our ward come down for a BBQ and to watch the game on the tele.

But it's GRAND FINAL DAY and I'm sure the keys will not be given a second thought once the game starts...unless of course one of our friends brings it up.

Well anyways, my dear brother in law Aaron has suggested I read up on basic reproduction in Wikipedia, so I now have the page open and shall do it. Although I must say that I have previously experienced how dopey most women get when they're pregnant...so I have that to look forward to! I just hope my extended family all keep their word and come over when we do get pregnant. Then I'll be able to lock myself away in my office or go and watch sport with Monte and Russ while Jen and her Mom and my mum soak up all the emotions of being pregnant. Remember my Einstien theory!!!!! I fully plan to keep all of my brain cells during pregnancy!

whew...what a weekend

So Friday was the first day of school holidays. Over here in Oz kids get two weeks off from school once every quarter then they get their summer break (which is over Christmas until February). Since it was school holidays, we decided to have a young women's sleep over at our house. When I announced that we were going to have a sleep over at my house, the girls got all excited and then started to stress because "we live so far away". We live about 45 minutes from the church and the majority of the girls live about 5 to 10 minutes from the church...when I told them we had a cinema and we lived 5 minutes from the beach, they were all excited and decided that they could handle the 45 minute drive. So they piled in my dear counselor Sharon's mini van and headed down to our house on Friday.

I thought it would be fun and easy to have each of the girls make their own pizzas for dinner so I ran out to the shops and picked up all the ingredients. When the girls got there and I told them we were going to make our own pizzas for dinner, I was amazed that all of them replied, "We've never made pizza before, how do you do it." I had everything out and ready for the pizzas so I walked them through the steps of making a pizza....base, sauce, desired toppings and then cheese. They were excited to create their own pizzas. As I was explaining I noticed one of my girls looking at the selection of meats that I had bought for the pizzas. I asked her if she was okay, and she smiled and simply said, "is that kangaroo meat?" I smiled at her and said, "no that's ham, why?" She then said, "I just thought since you lived out in the country, you would have kangaroo meat to put on your pizzas." It was all I could do not to burst out into laughter, as that was one of the funniest things I had ever heard. I said just because I live out in the country, and there are kangaroos that live around here, doesn't mean I eat them. She smiled and looked relieved at that, and was happy to make her pizza. After the pizzas were made and in the oven baking, some of the girls noticed some of the family photos I had around the house...some of which were taken at the wedding. This same cute girl who was worried about the kangaroo meat, looked at the photo and said, "who is that in the wedding dress?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing and said, "Um....me." She replied, "Oh you look so beautiful there." (does that mean I don't look beautiful here?) I tell you what, she had me laughing all night with some of the things she was saying! The pizzas were a hit and after we had all eaten we started our chick flick marathon. It was a great night full of laughs, junk food and hunky chick flicks, it was the perfect recipe for success!

Here is the group of girls who came (thanks Darran for braving the night and taking the photo) Sharon my counselor is in the denim jacket in the front left then there is Jasmine, Lootay, Siesta (hiding her face under the pink blanket) Backrow: L'eta, Rebekah, Skyler, Raquel, Me and Mele.

Well after a night full of movies, the girls were finally getting tired and winding down at about 330am, so I decided it was far time for me to go to bed. Sharon had only lasted until midnight. So I told everyone good night, turned off the lights and headed to bed. Not more than a couple minutes after I slid into bed, I heard the giggles start. The next morning I got up at 8am to make cinnamon rolls and orange julius (how American is that?) but when I went out into the kitchen everyone was so sound asleep that I couldn't bring myself to start making the rolls. So I let them sleep another hour before I started banging around in the kitchen. At about 1030 everyone was finally up and I thought it would be fun to go down to the beach and spend an hour down on the beach. The girls were excited to go, and I was excited to show them and give the rolls another hour to rise! :) So we headed off to the beach, which is just 5 minutes from here, past the local kangaroo mob. I had to laugh as these "city" girls saw the kangaroos...I love sharing new experiences with people! It brings a smile to my face!

The Beach.

There were several opportunities for photo shoots along the way. This one is one of my favorites! It was taken at the top of the sand dunes as you get to the top you see the beach for the first time. It wasn't the easiest way to get to the beach, but it is a pretty walk through the bush, and since these girls don't like to do anything outdoorsy, I thought it would be fun to let them experience nature. Aren't I nice?

So the plan was that we would go to the beach for an hour do a little walk and then get back have brunch and then they would head back to their houses. But, that is not how the plan went. We got to the beach, and these girls were in seventh heaven. They were loving being at the beach, playing in the water, and exploring the sand dunes. It was great to hear their laughs and giggles and even more fun chasing them into the water. At one point they all started complaining that they were tired and had walked too far and too long and were ready to go back. I turned around and this is what I saw....
I quickly snapped this picture after I heard the girls complaining about walking too much. It just made me laugh. It looks as if they had been walking for years... when in reality we had been on the beach 10 minutes. They started complaining that they needed a break and asked if we could stop. So we stopped for a rest break, which lasted all of a few seconds because a couple of the girls wanted to climb the sand dunes. So once a couple of them started to climb, all of them had to climb. It was great to see the bonding that was going on as we have had a few bonding issues between some of the girls. As we continued down the beach we were getting ready to finally start back to the car, when I realized that I had lost the car keys.

Have you ever lost your keys at the beach? It is not a fun experience! But it was actually funny, I don't know if it was because I was sleep deprived, but I couldn't believe that I had lost the keys. I told Sharon that I had lost the keys and that I was going to retrace my steps and asked her to take the girls and continue to head to the mouth of the river where we would turn to get back to the car. So I head one direction with one of the girls to look for my keys and she started off in the other direction, just as we saw two girls crest another sand dune and disappear. As I was looking for my keys I kept thinking how grateful I was that I could retrace my steps in the sand (good thing I have such big feet, they were easy to track) We got back to the place where I last remember hearing the keys in my pocket, and there were no sign of them anywhere. So we started back to meet up with the rest of the group. When we got back to Sharon, half of the girls had fallen in or pushed each other into the ocean and they were soaking wet. And the two girls who had climbed the sand dunes, were lost, and hadn't come back. So not only had I lost the keys to the car, I lost two girls as well, the day wasn't going exactly as planned! We decided to turn around and head back the way we came and have everyone look for the car keys. Two girls who knew the area, volunteered to go up and find the other girls in the sand dunes. So we took off on our trek back to the car. I'm happy to report that the two girls in the sand dunes were quickly found, because once they got to the top of the dunes they didn't know where they were so they just sat down and waited for someone to find them. I couldn't be mad as these two girls have been having issues with each other for the past couple months and hadn't been talking to each other, and by the time this was all over, they were laughing and giggling and walking back to the car arm in arm.

This is Sharon and I.

She's my right hand man and I couldn't do this calling without her!

We finally get back to the car and had no luck finding the keys. So we piled all 10 of us in Sharon's mini van and headed back to the house 2 hours later than planned. When we got back, I had to break the news to Darran that I had lost the car keys. All I could do was laugh as I watched the color drain out of his face. He was not happy, and said that there were important keys on the key ring...I said the most important one, the key to his heart wasn't on there so it would be okay. He agreed but still didn't think it was funny. The worst part was that when I got home we couldn't find the spare key either. Not good. Darran jumped on his bike and took off toward the beach, he truly looked like the wicked witch of the west peddling his bike as fast as he could go. I had a house full of girls still so we quickly baked the cinnamon rolls and made orange julius (which they loved) and we packed them up and headed out the door. They dropped me off at the beach and they headed for home. It was a great success and fun sleep over...but little did I know the fun had just begun.

I began walking the beach and retracing my steps looking for the keys, praying madly that I would find them. As I kept looking for the keys I ran into Darran, who hadn't had any luck either. So we started re -re-re-retracing our steps all over again. At about this time it's 530pm and my calf muscles are starting to crap from walking up and down in the sand, as well as the tide is starting to come in. Not good signs. We got a call from some friends in the ward, who live about 15 minutes from us who were in the area and whose daughter was at the sleep over, and they called to see if we had found the keys and needed their help. So they came down to the beach to help us look. It's at this point where this is no longer funny, and I am getting tired and emotional...not a good combo. We continue to search up and down the beach looking for these keys and have no luck, by this time I am in the water up to my knees as the tide keeps rising.

With no luck finding the keys, and thinking that they have been swept out to sea and will probably land in New Zealand sometime this year, we then have to figure out how to get the car home, and how to get in the car. During all this searching Darran thinks that the spare key is in the glove box and if we could get in the car he could find the key. So, thanks to our friend who is the female version of McGiever Darran was able to break into the car using a spoke from the umbrella that she had in the back of her car. We were all so excited that we were able to get into the car, but there was no spare key in the glove box. Again, not good. So Darran leaves me with the car in the dark parking lot surrounded by the Aussie bush and goes back to the house with this friend to search for the spare car key.

I could just imagine him tossing open all the cupboards and drawers looking for the key. An hour or so later (we are now approaching 730pm) they come back to the car park where I am sitting with the car, and they have brought this friends husband, who works for the RACV (Aussie version of AAA) and they have called the RACV to come rescue us. The RACV has called a locksmith who was willing to come and charge $400 for the key, or we could get a tow back to our house, and hope to find the spare at the house. We opted for the tow, and at 9pm our car was being returned to our drive way. Grateful for our friends and all their help I loaded up a plate of cinnamon rolls to send home with them as just a little thank you for all the help that they had given to us. I was cold and tired so I quickly jumped in the shower, but noticed that the house had been ransacked while Darran had been searching for the spare key.

Once I got out of the shower, the tiredness hit me, and I lost it, I felt horrible that I had lost the keys, and that I had put us through this. I had been at the beach from 1030am until 9pm excluding the hour and a half when I went back to the house to feed the girls and send them home. I fell onto the bed and had a bit of a cry and then had a feeling that I needed to check a stack of books by my bed. As I lifted up one of the books, there was the spare key, don't know how it got there, or why it was there, but I had found the key, and now could redeem myself in my husbands eyes! :) So sheepishly I headed toward the kitchen where I could hear him getting himself some dinner. He looked at me and I again began to apologize for loosing the keys. He just looked at me and said, "I just don't know what we are going to do." I then opened my hand and said, "will this help?" as I showed him the spare key. It did help, and we have learned our lesson about being more organized and having a designated spot for the spare keys. We have also learned that Jen can not have the keys to the car when she goes to the beach. It's been a fun, emotional, sleep deprived weekend, and I can tell my body is going to take a couple days to recover from this. But boy I wouldn't trade the experiences for the world!

Just a side note to this story: Darran was talking to my sister Jill today and told her his side of the story (I'll see if I can get him to add it to the blog) and told her that I have lost all my driving privileges, and until I produce him a son, I don't get to drive. He said that if I produce twins, he'll get me my own car. Everybody pray that we get pregnant and I have twins! :)

Lists

As many of you know, I love to make lists. To do lists, things I want to try before I die, grocery lists, you name it, I like lists. So today, I thought I'd make a list of everything that I miss about America (thanks to some friends asking me if there was anything I missed) and things that I love about Australia....So here it goes!

Things I miss about America

1. My family

2. My friends

3. Sweet's Cinnamon Bears

4. Sunday Family Dinners

5. Early morning walks in the snow, sleet, rain, summer and spring

6. Bajio's

7. Chili's Chips and Salsa

8. Hugs and kisses from Abby, Emily, Garrett, David and Allison

9. Midnight Target Runs

10. BYU football

11. Mountains

12. Gallons, Oz, Pounds

13. Sitting on my deck in Farmington and looking out over the golf course

14. Angie my hair dresser

15. Johnson and Johnson morning show on Kbull 93

16. Diet Pepsi with Lime

17. Doing yoga with sweet tart and tootsie roll

18. Shopping with mom

19. Lunch with friends

20. Summer vacation and family cabin in Idaho

Things I love about Australia

1. DARRAN

2. Being married to an incredible man

3. The beach

4. The ocean

5. Fish and chips

6. Being the one that has the accent (still not used to that)

7. Vegemite

8. Party Mix

9. Adventures with Pam and Russ

10. Footy

11. Aussie BBQ's

12. The lemon tree in the back yard

13. Sunday family dinner

14. Living in the country

15. Milo

16. Sausage Rolls

17. The smell of tea trees and eucalyptus trees

18. My in-laws

19. My social club

20. CADBURY CHOCOLATE

We love to paint!

As many of you know about three months after moving to Oz, getting called to be the young men and young women's presidents in our ward, adapting to Aussie living (okay let's be honest going from snow and cold to hot hot hot), did I mention still being newlyweds and learning how to live with each other after being single for so long? And trying to become a "legal" resident of this country (Isn't that enough you say?) Well no, we had to go out and decide to buy a business. Our business is called Playscapes for kids. We are an internet based business that makes hand painted wooden wall murals for children's rooms, play rooms, nurseries and child care centers.

At first when we were talking about buying this business, I will be honest and tell you that I was nervous. I mean, what did I know about painting wall murals? Did the craft groups that I planned and ran at the hospital for the 80-90 year old ladies count? I guess if you counted the touch ups that they asked me to do, or the samples I had to make for them to copy, then yes, I could paint, but to think that people would actually be buying our work to stick in their houses and decorate their children's rooms with, was a bit overwhelming.

So after much talking, fasting and prayer we decided to go for the business. And what an adventure it has been! We both could see and still do see the potential for serious growth and have set some pretty great goals and plans for the future. It's really exciting! And who would have ever thought when we first bought the business that we would be decorating the walls of homes, and child care centers in Kuwait, England, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Australia, just to name a few ? Oh if you are wondering why we don't ship to America, the previous owner actually sold those rights to some girls in Colorado a few years ago, so they have the market over there.

So when you get a minute, check out our website if you already haven't it's http://www.playscapes.com.au/ Have a little look. We're updating the website and always are welcoming comments, thoughts, complaints or even ideas for new themes. I can't believe how therapeutic the painting is. It is so fun to take this blank piece of wood and turn it into a bear, moose, fish, horse, cow, elephant etc. It's pretty cool to stand back and look at our work and think, "yeah, I did that".

Below are a few pictures that we took at our first trade show in the city of Ballarat. If my Aunt Joyce were still around, she would be proud! How I miss her and think of her often when out working in our shop.

Jungle Bungle theme

Part of the Farmyard Theme

Under the Sea Theme

Oh yeah, and us...out in the shop. I think the giraffe is my favorite to paint, love all those spots! :) Also, yes that is my real hair...down to my shoulders, can you believe it? Haven't had a hair cut since I left the states in December...that's another story for another day. But my nieces and nephews have been requesting more pictures of Mr. Wiggle and Jen Jen, so here you are guys!

Mmmmmmmm Cookies

My family think that my cookies are the best! Darran has mentioned on more than one occasion that one of the first things he fell in love with were my cookies. I have been making this particular recipe since I was about 10. Every Sunday afternoon, I would usually beg my mom to let me make cookies. Well, thanks to her, my love and some say talent of cookie baking was born! When I came over to visit Darran for the first time in Australia, I made cookies for him before I left, so he could have something to remember me by, which didn't last long as he is a fan of my cookies! Anyway, after I left he shared some of the cookies with a couple of his young friends here. So the next time I came over, they were begging me to make cookies. Fast forward to moving here in December. One of the first times we had these friends come and stay at our house when we got back, I had made cookies. With four teenage boys and Darran, the cookies didn't last long, and at 1130pm one night one of the boys came up to me and asked if I could make more cookies right then and there. So I guess you could say that the cookies are highly popular over here as well. :) But it hasn't come easy! Since getting here, I've had to learn how to cook on a gas stove as well as learn how to cook with Celsius temperatures, which at times has proven very interesting in the final product! I felt that the first few times I made cookies, they weren't anywhere near good, or perfect....at least not what I am used to. But I am happy to report...just this past week, I have conquered the cookies, and I feel like I am back on track to producing good yummy cookies. So this blog is dedicated to my dear family and all the nieces and nephews who love my cookies. Sorry I'm not there to make them for you, but promise to make some for you when I see you all next! Love you bunches!

American, Who me?

So yesterday at church, I was told by some of my young women that I looked very American. I smiled, and asked, "what makes me look American?" One of the girls said, "Oh by the way you are dressed, it is totally American." (I was wearing a nice navy dress from Talbots with nylons (yuck) and navy shoes, which I think looks very stylish)That got other girls going and one said, "Everything you wear, your style, your clothes, screams American." I simply smiled at them and said, "HELLO NEWS FLASH....I AM AMERICAN!" Gee, I'd hate to think what they thought of me if I was from Venus!...oh wait, according to some, women are from Venus. So this morning as I was getting ready for the day I had a thought for one of our activities. I'd take the young women to the local "shops" (aka: mall) and have them dress me in typical Aussie styles. I think they would have fun with this, and it would be a good laugh for all. I'll run it by them on Wednesday and see if they would like to play "dress up the American" if we end up doing this, I'll make sure to have the camera and get some shots of me dressed in Aussie fashion. Could be interesting! :)

The Great Ocean Road

One of the first day trips that we took when I arrived here was to the Great Ocean Road. It's a 300 Kilometer (186 miles) stretch of road that hugs Australia's south coast. The only thing seperating you and the Antarctic is the water! What an awesome thought! It is recognised as one of the world's most scenic drives. An American list of the top things to show your children before you die, said that the Great Ocean Road was a must see. And hopefully from these pictures you can see why. These are part of what is called the 12 Apostles. Sandstone monoliths that have been created and have stood the test of time. The ocean's salt water is starting to affect them, and we were told that one had practically fell down due to erosion.
The Great Ocean Road was built by over 3000 soldiers who returned after the first world war. They needed jobs, and were hired on to carve this ocean road as a memorial for the fallen soldiers that they had served with. It took them over 14 years to complete the project (all of which was done by hand, with pick axes and horse drawn carts. The soldiers lived in tent cities along the coast as they worked to finish the road. Funding came by way of tolls, another reason it took so long to complete the project.
There are several coastal town that dot the Great Ocean Road. Several have festivals throughout the year celebrating the rich heritage and the commerce that the road brought to their town.
There are several beautiful camping spots, surfing places and beaches along the journey. One of the most popular surf competitions is held in an obscure place just off the Great Ocean Road. I would have never picked the place out, unless Darran would have told me.
Here I am on the beach at Geelong. The second largest city in Victoria which you have to drive through to get to the Great Ocean Road. On the beach there they have these carved posts which dot the beach. This is what a typical Aussie life saver would be wearing if you were to be swimming on a controlled beach. We don't have life savers on the beach near our house, so I guess these posts will be the closest I get to a life saver!

Road Signs

Some of my favorite road signs that I have seen and collected pictures of along my travels in Oz. At last! A place on earth that lets me have my need for speed! Love that 100 mile speed limit sign....oh wait...we don't do miles here it's kilometers...so 100 km is only 60 miles per hour...No wonder it takes so long to get places!

I love Aussie road signs. They are so helpful! Like this one...I guess this is their version of a rest stop. Don't you just love the name powernap? Sounds good, I may just go take one right now! :)
Heaps of people travel around Australia, with their campers and so there are these road signs all over the place. These signs really are quite funny and very helpful, just in case you can't feel your eyes starting to burn from tiredness you can read these signs and think...are my eyes droopy?!?!?!?
They made this road sign just for me! A helpful little reminder that yes Jen....you are driving on the wrong side of the road! If you didn't already know, they drive on the wrong side of the road and in the wrong side of the car over here in Oz! Many people have been emailing asking how the driving is going, if I have gotten into an accidents yet, or if I've driven on the wrong side of the road. I am happy to report that I haven't driven on the wrong side of the road. I do have to remind myself sometimes to make sure that the steering wheel needs to be left of the center line, and then I'm okay! Actually driving in the wrong side of the car has taken me more time to get used to than driving on the opposite side of the road. Every once in a while (like yesterday) I go around the wrong side of the car (right side) to get in and be the passenger, when that is actually where the steering wheel is. We always have a good little laugh about it, and I try to cover it up like I know what I'm doing...but people know better! Life on the open road is great! This sign is a classic here! This one happens to be just down the road from us on the way to the beach. There is a big mob of kangaroos that lives in this open field area right before you get to the beach. They are every where (except when it's hot, then they are hiding in the shade of the near by gum trees and tea trees) It is so fun to be driving along and see these signs or the actual kangaroos and think...Jen you aren't in Utah anymore!

Social Club

This is my social club at Archies Creek. These lovely ladies (I think they are ladies) come up to our back fence every morning while I'm out working in the garden or hanging out the laundry. (A new favorite thing of mine! I love how in a matter if minutes the sunshine warms and dries the clothes. It's amazing! Simple pleasures I guess you could say!) Anyway... these girls whom I have named Bettie, Bertha and Louise are just so inquisitive that they want to know everything I am doing. It's fun to live in the country...such a different life to that in Utah, but oh so fun!

Melbourne

One of the first trips I took into Melbourne when I moved here was with my in-laws Pam and Russ. They wanted me to see the sights and wanted me to see how beautiful Melbourne is. Since we live about an hour and a half outside of the city, it's always exciting to go into Melbourne! And this day was no exception!!! Darran had a video job that weekend, so we left him behind and I went and played. What great tour guides they were!!! The first stop was the famous Rialto building. It is one of the highest buildings in Melbourne, with an observation deck, so like anyone who wants to get a feel of the big city, we went right to the top!
The Rialto building with the Yarra river. The river runs all through Melbourne

A view from the top looking down on the other buildings. Reminded me of being on the Empire State building in New York!

This is a view looking out toward the ocean...see it in the upper right hand corner? The water in the middle of the picture with the little island is actually the grand prix race track which is a huge event here! The Aussies love their race cars, motor bikes and horse races! Sport is a big thing to Aussies, and Melbourne is full of sporting events and places. The weekend we were in the city playing the world swimming championships were being held.

The Shrine of Remembrance, a monument to all the fallen soldiers who served in the wars and fought to keep their country free. It is set on a hill in the middle of the city, so as you stand at the top of the stairs by the pillars you can look over the city. It was an incredible place to visit! You can't tell from this picture but the walls are actually built like the pyramids...they start to taper in as you continue to the top. It really is a massive building!

The train station in down town. Trains are going in and out of this building at record speed. This is where all the people who commute to work from the little cities and towns into Melbourne catch the trains. It really is a sight to see! We had a wonderful day in the city and saw so many fun things! We did a lot of walking, sight seeing and sweating (it was near 100 the day we went) but what fun memories!!!!