Hales Family: April 2009

Kangaroo in David and Lucy's back yard

David picked us up about 10:30 on Wed. and we went shopping at the closest mall to their house, about 1/2 hour away. I got the kids each some things I thought they would like, then we went to the grocery store there and David got some things. We and he both bought cases of spiral macaroni for food storage. It was cheaper there than here and we had room in our suitcase to bring it home. When we got back to their place, I sat on the floor and played games with the girls while Bob was on the floor with David and Jotham playing cars. We also watched a new movie with them. That was fun. After the kids went to bed, we visited for a long time. It was 12:15 before we left; we were having such a good time that time just flew by.

Thursday morning, everyone came and picked us up and we went shopping again, which was fun. We had lunch at McDonald's where they had a playground which the kids greatly enjoyed. We spent part of the afternoon visiting at home and playing with the kids. While Lucy fixed a yummy supper, David took us to the Serpentine Dam. The last time I had gone to visit, they took me to Serpentine Falls, which was not too far away. We didn't go there this time, but did enjoy the vista around the dam. Jotham went with us and enjoyed walking around the area too.

Serpentine Lake

After dinner we had a nice FHE activity that fit in well with the Easter season. We discussed what it was like in the Americas right after all the destruction and how dark it was. Then we went out in the yard (where it was very dark) and the kids had to find some articles that had been put there a few minutes before. These things represented family members and how difficult it was to find them in the dark. They needed to find some different types of things as well and then join up together near one of the cars. We could all see how hard it must have been for those people to locate family members and get together again as a family after the destruction and before Jesus came. It was very good and the kids had a great time too. When we got back to the chalet, we packed to be ready for the morning so we could take our things with us as we were staying at David and Lucy's the last night we were there.

Friday morning, David came and picked us up and we checked out. Lucy was not feeling well and the kids decided to stay home with her. That morning sickness is sure nasty stuff!! Then David took us on a mission tour which we really loved. It was great to see some of the places where he served. We started in Armadale (which I think is where they go to church now, but I could be wrong on that) and took a picture of the chapel there.

Chapel in Armadale

Then we drove on for quite a while to a small town far from most everywhere else. It was called Northam. There are about 7000 people living there now, but when David was there, there were only 5000. At least it is nice to see that it has grown. When he was there, they met in a fire/ambulance building, but now they have a chapel. We saw a sign pointing to where you would be heading, but we never found it. There was only one sign, but who knows how many twists and turns???

Old Church Meeting House in Northam

As we drove around the area, we saw water pipes on top of the ground. Because it doesn't get that cold there, it is not a problem with freezing or anything like we would have in the Northeast. It was a very pretty hilly area. We had a nice picnic lunch which Lucy had packed for us while in Northam. Then we left and headed back towards Perth. David took us to the church building where he served and met Lucy. That was cool!! It is quite a large building to look at it from the outside.

Doubleview Chapel

David showed us the flat where he stayed as a missionary not too far from the chapel and the building where he and Lucy first lived when they moved back to Perth from the States.

David and Lucy's first home in Perth

After seeing and enjoying all these things, we stopped at a large fruit and veggie market called the Spud Shop and got some of their goodies. After dinner, we sat and visited and caught up with Lucy and the kid's day. We were in Alyssa's room that night and she slept with her parents for that one night. They have a mattress or 2 that they can move to other places if someone is sick, etc., so she had one of those to sleep on. We appreciated having her room. She seemed fine with that.

Saturday morning we packed first thing so that was done. After a yummy breakfast, we went for a bush walk not too far from their home. We drove to the area, then got out and walked around for probably 30-45 minutes. There was a marked path to follow, so if you did that, you couldn't really get lost.

Lucy and Jacinta on the walk

Bob, Alyssa, David, Jotham, Jacinta,

Lucy at a lookout on the walk

Bob and Alyssa on boardwalk

While David made both a chicken and a regular pizza for lunch, we played with the kids. They have a fun electric bubble maker and when you put the bubble soap in, it spits out bubbles all over. What fun!! Jotham loved trying to catch them and the girls kind of danced around in them. We had so much fun!

After lunch, David copied his pictures onto our flash drive and put our pictures on his computer, so we all have all the pictures we all took while together. Lucy made a great lamb roast for dinner. It was so good, but then, you all know how much I love lamb.

Sadly (because it was time to leave) we left for the airport around 9:30. Lucy stayed home with Jotham, who had already gone to bed, and Alyssa, who decided to stay home with her mom. Jacinta came with David. She and I sat in the back and chatted while on our way. Australia's security is different than ours in that they can come in and go with security with passengers and stay till they are ready to leave. Also, we didn't have to take our shoes off there to get through security. David and Jacinta came upstairs with us and we visited for almost an hour before it was time to get on the plane at 11:45. It was hard to leave them all because we had such a great time, but we were very grateful for the opportunity we had to go.

Qantas fed us well (both going and coming back). After eating, we slept quite a bit on the way to Brisbane since it was dark out. We were in Brisbane for several hours, then headed out for LAX. We were then on a 747 with TV screens on the back of each seat, so we watched documentaries, movies, or whatever we wanted between meals and sleeping. After going through customs in LA, we didn't have to wait too long and then we headed for JFK. We slept some during that time as well. We made good time and got in a little early. We were actually hoping to get into ROC early, but that sure didn't happen. They are doing construction at the airport with the runways I guess, so we sat on the plane and probably waited 45 minutes to an hour before taking off. They were nice and let people get up, go to the restroom, walk, or whatever within reason. They knew they wouldn't be moving soon, so it was not a problem.

When we got to Rochester, Sandy and Chris were there in vehicles to meet us. Our problem (again!) was that one suitcase was not with us. It was somewhere and the guy had no idea. We knew it got to LA because we had physically carried it through customs and set it down where it should have been to go onto our next flight to ROC. After waiting to learn that much, we headed out and got home around 11. Our suitcase arrived the next day. At least we got it, all intact, thank goodness.

Sorry it has taken me so long to finish, but I didn't seem to have much time at first, then I ran into trouble trying to figure out how to do some things on this thing, but I finally made it.

David with the kids on his motorbike

We are finally getting into the blogging world. I thought a nice place to start is with our wonderful trip to see David, Lucy, and family.

We left Rochester Airport on Good Friday, the first leg of a long airplane trip. After arriving at JFK, we found the terminal we would be flying from, then grabbed a lunch. We sat at that table and read for quite awhile before going to our gate. We were there till about 7:30 (from 12:50), so you see we had a long layover. However, it wasn't really long enough to go out on the town and do anything great. We were fortunate and able to check our luggage all the way through to Perth from Rochester, so we didn't have to pay the fee at Delta. That was great, saving us $30 each way (since we did the same thing coming home). We flew from JFK to LAX and all the rest of the way on Qantas, which we just love. They feed us well, treat us great, and generally make a long flight as pleasant as possible. From LAX, we went to Brisbane (BNE), then on to Perth, where we arrived at 11:45 Easter Sunday morning. We met up with David at Jandicot Airport, he finished his shift, which wasn't very long, then headed out. They got us a nice, rustic chalet to stay in for the most of the week, so we stopped there before going to their home. It was very cozy and gave both us and them some down time. During the afternoon, we caught up on conversation, played with the kids, and got acquainted with Jotham. He is a very cute, typically busy 2 year old boy. He and Alyssa play a lot together and are so cute to watch. Jacinta helps with him too. After dinner and dessert, we chatted some, then went back to the chalet about 8:30 as we were having trouble staying awake. That 30 hour or so flight was beginning to catch up with us, even though we slept some on the plane, between eating, watching movies and documentaries, and reading. Oh, every trip I always have a favorite movie. This time was no exception. I just loved Marley and Me, a comedy dog story. I loved it and almost watched it again coming home.

David had to work Monday, but that was the only day for the rest of the week while we were there. Lucy and the kids picked us up about 10, after she was feeling a little better. They have a very nice keyboard, so Bob played some just about every day. Alyssa played for us. She is enjoying her beginning playing and did well. Jacinta is a little more shy, so I didn't hear her play. She is well beyond beginning though. David is teaching the girls. We spent the day at their place, which is very nice. They have lots of space to spread out which is nice. The kids have a nice playroom just off the kitchen/dining/lounge area where they keep their toys. Still they can see their parents and vice versa, which keeps everyone happy. After David arrived home, we went for a little walk around their community and took pictures of their place and the general neighborhood. We played games on the floor with the kids for awhile later, then had supper. We were getting more aclimated to the time change (an even 12 hours), so stayed till 10:30 visiting. First Alyssa was sick in the morning, and then Jacinta was sick in the evening. No one else got it though. They weren't sick for too long, which was good.

David and Lucy's house

Their neighborhood

They all came to pick us up at 10:30 on Tuesday. We went to Whiteman Park, north of Perth. (They live well south of Perth.) It is almost 10,000 acres large. After our picnic lunch, we took a 20 minute train ride around the park. While the kids played at the playground, we walked around some of the shops that were there. Then we went to the wildlife park. We saw a wombat, joey, kangaroos, and other Australian wildlife, which we could pet. They had a farm show where we watched them sheer a sheep and gather sheep with the dogs. Alyssa was among some of the children who got to feed little lambs with bottles. That was really cute. All three got to "milk a cow" (one squirt). Jotham got to go in a petting zoo of rabbits and guinea pigs. (It was for children under 5 only.) We petted a donkey and a red deer, and saw a great big pig. It was huge! We saw lots of birds and we petted koalas, and all had our picture taken with a ranger holding a sleeping wombat in his lap. (Wombats are nocturnal animals.) After we got home, we spent the rest of the evening having dinner, playing with the kids, and having nice conversations.

Jacinta and Jotham with a white kangaroo.