Adventure at Moreton Island

Today had to be one of the most adventureous days I've ever had. Most days in Australia have been fairly ordinary, same as at home with different weather and different scenery.  Dave's dad, Harold, came to visit for a week so we decided to go on a boat trip to snorkel around Moreton's Island. We headed out from Redcliffe Jetty with about 15 people and 3 crew. About 30 minutes out we spotted some dolphins. They came towards the boat to go for a "ride". When they move into place, the boat speeds up and the dolphins surf on the sides near the front. We had four at once and they looked like they were having SO much fun.

After the dolphins left, the crew pulled out the Net Boom. They throw a big heavy net behind the boat and those who wanted to get in the water put on a life jacket and climbed down onto the net. When everyone was in place, the boat would speed up. It was cool, refreshing and very salty.

At Moreton Island we put in anchor and had a lunch of prawns, chicken, salad and rolls. After lunch we jumped off the boat onto the island to play in the water and climb a big sand hill to see the view.

After getting back on board an hour later, we headed over to some old "wrecks" that were placed in the water to create a barrier. It was SNORKELING time!  We put on fins, snorkels and gloves.  The crew had us hold our goggles with one hand w/o the snorkel in place and then jump into the water. We practiced with the goggles and snorkel until we felt comfortable and then we headed out to explore the wrecks. Harold and I had a bit of a time relaxing and breathing only through our mouths.  Harold was getting tired so he headed to the boat and paddled around there. Dave and I stuck together and we went exploring. Big fish, little fish, blue fish, striped fish.  Cool!

What a fun day. I am ready to do it again!

Adventures in Bike Riding

Dave and I were in the house all day today because it was uncomfortably hot and muggy outside. We were waiting until about 4:00 for it to cool off so we could go for a bike ride.  Right about then it started raining  accompanied by some impressive thunder and lightening. It stormed for a while and then started to stop.  It was still lightly raining when we started off for the grocery store in Sandgate - about 1 1/2 miles away.
As we rode along the bay it started raining harder and there was still some thunder and lightening although it was further away. By the time we got to the store we were looking pretty bedraggled. We bought a few things and started for home. By this time it was dark and raining hard again. We loaded the groceries in our backpacks, put on our helmets, turned the bike lights on and headed for home.  I thought we wouldn't be able to see the road, but the steady lightening kept it pretty well lit. I tried not to flinch every time it thundered.  It didn't take long until we were back to home base.

Stormy Clouds

Brisbane Temple

We decided to go to the Brisbane temple Friday night and planned to arrive at 5:45. Since we don't have a car we rely on public transportation and I looked up the route on translink to get the information we would need. At 4:00 pm we walked to the bus stop. It was still very warm at that time of day. The bus was running late and we waited about 15 minutes. Luckily they held the train at Sandgate for the bus and we got right on the train. The train ride was 40 minutes into Fortitude Valley.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Fortitude Valley terminal. Dave had a kebab (chicken and veggies on a flatbread) and I had a strawberry smoothie. We found the next bus stop on Wickam street. It was noisy, dirty, smoky and we could smell mold from the recent floods. We waited about 20 minutes for bus 475. When we got off the bus at stop 8A we weren't sure which direction to go, so just started walking. Of course it was the wrong way, so we turned around.  We arrived at 5:50 only a few minutes from our plan.

The Brisbane temple is small but was filled with people from a variety of nationalities.  We recognized Jamie and Jill as the people we sat behind at Stake Conference last week and they kindly offered us a ride home. They had to take out the two child seats in the back seat but did so gladly. On the way out of the temple they recognized some people in the church building next to the temple. SO, we crashed an engagement party! We ate a few snacks and chatted with a few strangers.  No worries!

Low Tide

Dave is working in Brisbane again - Feb, Mar, April this time. We are living out of the city in the small town of Brighton on Moreton Bay. It has been hot and humid so we go for a walk/bike ride in the morning and evening and Dave works during the heat of the day. Here are some pictures of us out exploring "low tide".



    Dave chatting with a "net" fisherman.

                                 Enjoying the cool evening...

                                         and the full moon.

Jett's Birthday Celebration

Reading a book with Auntie Linda

                                            Pushing the B.O.B. in the backyard

                       4 Generations of Howells: Dave, Ben, Jett and Harold

                                                  Playing at Municipal Park

                                              
                                          

                                   Great-Grandma Hansen and Jett
                                            

Great Grandpa Hansen and Jett

                      Walking on the Geenbelt - Linda and Grandma Hansen

                                                   Birthday Cake!

                                                   Chillin in the Backyard

GRAD-U-ATION

                                    Bryson Sandwich

Bryson officially graduated from MountainView High School class of 2010.  Grandpa and Grandma Hansen, Grandpa Howell, Linda and John, Kristen, Sawyer and Megan were all in attendance. It wasn't too long of a ceremony considering it was the biggest graduating class in Idaho. Bryson was able to go to an all-nighter party on the BSU campus where he won $50, bowled and enjoyed some fun hypnotist entertainment.  Here are some  pictures of the Big Night.

                                 Bryson with cousin Sarah
                              

                         Grandma Hansen, Bryson, Grandpa Hansen

European Vacation/Bauma

Dave was asked to go to a huge construction/mining show held every three years in Munich called Bauma. We decided to take a few days before and go exploring as neither of us had been to Europe before. We arrived at 10:00 am and met Wen from Chicago getting off the plane. He helped us exchange our dollars for Euros and buy tickets for the train.  We took the S8 to Central Station and the U2 to Josephplatz. We met Rachel and she walked us to our apartment and gave us the key. After a nap we took the train back to Central Station and walked through the mall. We found a buffet on the top floor and ate some soup, salad and a potato quiche dish.  We were asleep by 9:00.

View out our window. You can see the little grocery store bottom right and the train station was about two blocks from the store. Very convenient location.

Little kitchen with the mini-fridge. We had apples, toast and cheese for breakfast.

Thursday we took the train to Marienplatz and saw Peterskirche. We waited in the central plaza to watch the clock tower and climbed a tower in the church to see a nice view of the city (through the fog).

                                         Clock tower in Marienplatz

                                    Climbing the tower

                         View of Munich