A Happy "Chrissy" in Aus

Although we were far away from home this Christmas Tara and I still had a great holiday. We were both able to talk to our families several times and felt like we were part of the celebrations. This is our house on Christmas Eve. We got sooo many cards, thank you to everybody!


We had a very busy couple of days. Christmas Eve service was at 11 so we didn't get home until late. Then it was up early Christmas morning to talk to our families, exchange presents, and get ready for our day on the farm all before 8:30 when our ride was coming to take us to church. The main service in Australia is Christmas morning. The church was packed, and we got to meet many of the visiting family members. After church it was off to the Birtles' (Grace and Terry) farm. Hong came too. She is doing her PhD in Canberra and wasn't able to go home to China for the holidays.





We had a delicious cold lunch. We didn't think there was any way we would be as full as a Turkey dinner but we were wrong. I was so stuffed. Australians are not immune to the charms of the Christmas Popper Crown. Hong thought we were nuts.

I finally got my hands on a piano to play some of my tried and true Christmas carols. I just know my brother is disappointed he missed out on hearing me play this year. I had a hard time remembering the notes but I did manage to get one song out.

What would a farm be without dogs. I was so glad to play with some puppies for the day.

Terry has three miniature ponies as well as lots of cattle. Tara is leading around Christmas it was his birthday. Tara did awesome until Christmas decided he liked the looks of the green grass.

It was too hot (30 degrees!) to go for a hike right after lunch so we waited until late afternoon. Grace and Terry have a huge place with no shortage of great views of the Australian country side.





Terry, Tara and I were gone for 2 1/2 hours. We just kept seeing one great view after another. At one look out we could see the city and parliament house more than 30 km away. And of course what would an Aussie Christmas be without kangaroos. We saw lots of them hoping across the hills.

A huge Thank you to Grace and Terry. They helped to make our Christmas one to remember. We really appreciate their kindness and generosity. We hope everyone at home had a Merry Christmas too.

To my Seeester- Merry Christmas!

Kelly (my sister) is really upset that this year I am RUINING HER TRADITIONS by being in Australia over Christmas. One tradition shared by Kelly and me is a ridiculous dance that we made up to Carol of the Bells as children- consisting of spontaneous choreography that we have made our parents sit through many times over the years.
Kelly sent me a Christmas card that played Carol of the Bells and said that Stacy would have to learn the dance in her place. Well she did, and here is the result. This was supposed to just be a test run for the camera angle- but it was so fantastically terrible that we decided to post it.

This is really for Kelly, but I am sure that it is something that many of you will enjoy. Kelly- I now expect you to teach Derrick the dance, and send a video of your performance before Christmas- I have just started a new tradition, so don't ruin it!

PS- Feel free to leave a critique of our dance in the comments... but please be kind!

A Taste of Canadian Christmas!

The Christmas lunch at church last week was the perfect opportunity to bust out some Christmas baking. I got all of mom's recipes- snowballs, macaroons, belgium cookies and gingersnaps.
Baking Canadian recipes in Australia presented some difficulites. They don't have shortening or molasses in grocery stores here. However we were able to research substitutions and the cookies all came out great! I also think we set a record for speed baking! We had a day of baking planned and then I started my job at subway. We ended up making all of the baking in less than 4 hours. You can see how much fun we had in the pictures below!

Deck The Halls

The first weekend of December brought some really cool weather. The colder weather put us in the Christmas Spirit and we decided that our house needed some decorations.

After a trip to the dollar store to get some supplies we were ready to go.

Tara was the creative genius behind our decorative choices. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a tree. Evergreens are in short supply here in Canberra and for anyone who has tried to get a tree home on the roof of their car just imagine what we would have gone through to get a tree home on the bus. So left with no other choice (unlike my parents who made the very poor decision to get a fake tree * sigh) we got this lovely 2$ tree. It had to be unfolded from the plastic package when we got it home. I didn't have high hopes for it but it turned out awesome.

Since our initial decorations we have added all the wonderful cards we have received to the display. Thank you very much to everybody for thinking of us.

Canberra Christmas Tree Lighting

Last week we went to the Christmas tree lighting in the city centre. It was really strange to see children running around in their shorts and summer dresses! It was a great family event- with children`s entertainers working the crowd and performing on stage.


It was also strange that there were no hot chocolate or apple cider booths- we got ice cream!

The christmas tree itself turned out to be fake. Dissapointing, since I am used to watching a living and huge tree being lit!

Back to my Roots... Literally!

Well, the blond was becoming a bit too much up keep. Dark brown roots come through pretty quick! Although, I must say the blond was starting to look pretty great!

So, I decided to go back to my natural hair colour- and this looked to be pretty close. Everlasting brown. Looks pretty brown right?

Unfortunately, my hair came out kinda purple! So, it was back to the drugstore for another bottle of brown hairdye!

The second bottle turned out to be a little too dark. I didn't see any brown in it, looked more like black to me! But as it starts to fade a bit I think its getting closer to my natural shade-and I can't see any roots coming in. This is what my head looks like today!

My short time as a blond was fun, but I am glad to be back as a brunette. Now its just waiting for my hair to grow out!

Tongan Celebration

On Friday night, Stacy and I went to a Tongan 'Aloha Night'. While Aloha is actually Hawaiian, the Tonga Islands are another string of islands, south of Samoa and close to Fiji. I had never heard of Tonga before we arrived here, but I am glad we have now! It was quite the party and an UNBELIEVABLE feast! They roasted a whole pig, and it was fantastic. There were heaps of salads and amazing seafood. The amount of food was also unbelievable, and they just kept it coming!

It was also an evening of dancing and singing. These kids are just teenagers, but their talent is unbelievable. After meeting a few Tongans, it is evident that they are born with music and rhythm in their souls. To hear them break effortlessly into 4 part harmony, or watch them feel the music and just start to move. It truly is incredible. The boys below are doing a traditional Tongan dance. Can you imagine the high school boys you know doing this?

While its not a traditional Tongan dance, the girls of the group did a very impressive Hula. The girl in the center is a born entertainer- with a Beyonce voice and a hip sway to match.

The girl below did a traditional solo Tongan dance wearing a traditional Tongan garment. It was very beautiful, and was much more subdued and intricate using mostly the hands and head to tell a story. As is also tradition, her skin is oiled so that people can show appreciation for the dance by sticking money on her skin. She was covered in bills and even a fifty when she finished.The woman below won for the best Aloha outfit. She acted as if she won an Oscar when they called her up. Stacy snapped this shot as she took to the dance floor after the youth were done. She saw the camera and posed- hamming it up! She was a hoot.

Mt Ainslie

After almost a week of rain Monday was a sunny day so Tara and I decided we should get out for a hike and enjoy the sunshine. We headed to the Mt. Ainslie Nature Reserve for a steep climb to the top.

There were lots of cool Australian vegetation along the way. This tree was huge and cool. Thus warranting a picture with Tara in front.

Many of the trees we have seen around Canberra are loosing their bark or seem to have no bark at all like the tree below. We discovered a sign along the trail that explained this was a natural part of their growth cycle. Mystery solved.

In 2002 (I think) Bush fires swept through Canberra. You can see the evidence of the fires on many of the trees. The stump I am sitting on used to be a solid trunk attached to the blackened part of the tree behind me.

As we got closer to the top the view just kept getting better and the path a little steeper. Tara stopped to enjoy the view.

These steps are the final leg of the trail before the look out at the top.

Canberra was a planned city from the beginning. Part of the design was to create 3 different axis on which to build the city around. You can see 2 of them in the picture. The land axis starts from where we were at the top runs down Anzac Drive (the red street in the background) and finishes at New Parliament off in the distance. You can just see the big flag pole. The lake is man made and provides the basis for the water axis.

We had a picnic lunch at the top and enjoyed a much easier walk down. We came upon a BIG male kangaroo and a joey as we were walking. They really are awesome animals. We also spotted a wallaby (looks like a tiny kangaroo with black fur) but he was too quick to get a picture.

Yummy and Iron Fortified!!!

I have suprised myself since we arrived in Australia. I thought that I was a pretty sub-par cook. But so far, my culinary adventures have been turning out quite well. Like last night's dinner! I have been on an iron supplement since we got to Australia, so I decided to try some really iron-rich meals and see if that helps me to feel any better. Below is my first attempt- Borlotti-Baked-Beef with spinach.

I expected that it would be pretty good for us- Borlotti beans, red meat and spinach all chock-full of vitamins and iron- but I didn't expect that it would actually taste AWESOME! The spinach has horseradish in it- i thought it was a strange combination- but it was so good!!! As you can tell by Stacy's glassy-eyed expression, she really enjoyed it too. We both wolfed it down and have definitely added the recipe to the our favourites.

Yay to me and my not-so-shabby culinary skillz! I am definitely looking for more recipes to try out. Please send us your favourite yummy recipe so we can give it a try!

Our First Christmas Decorations!

A surprise package arrived in the mail this week full of CHRISTMAS! More specifically some awesome Christmas art work created by my cousin Dylan and a card from Aunt Judy. Tara and I were so excited to get this unexpected delivery. We wasted no time putting up our new decorations in our house.

We both got a picture of our own. This one is Tara's.
This one is mine.

Dylan you did a great job, and we love the artwork. Thank you Dylan and Aunt Judy for getting our Christmas off to a great start.