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.

Alyssa, Jacinta, and Jotham, with a joey
Alyssa feeding a lamb with a bottle

Sheering a sheep

The huge pig!

Alyssa with a koala

Well, I will continue more details of our trip tomorrow. I have to get up early for seminary in the morning. Stay tuned.