So we got home safely! Else I wouldn't be writing this :) Flight was long but quite good considering- no delays and barely a wait at each airport. Also, on our thirteen hour flight the plane was pretty empty so we managed to score three seats each to lie down and sleep. We were stoked!!!!
Very happy to see our families again who were waiting with open arms. The air hit me in the airport and I exclaimed, 'Wow it's hot here!' to which the reply was, 'It's only 25 degrees!'
So now we're catching up on our summer. Yesterday involved a trip to Rottnest to show around the Canadian boys who are now here and experiencing life on our side of the world. Sunburnt and sore from a day in the sun biking to various beaches. Loving life, and have already started planning our next trip - Ireland? South Africa? New Zealand? Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll hear from us then! :)
Love,
Elle, Lissa and Dani xxx
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Vancouvering it - minus Elle :(
Yep the big blogger herself has left, and i'm here to replace her with my charm and witty humour. We got to Vancouver on Saturday the 23rd. Amazed at a city overshadowed by these gorgeous mountains! Unfortunately it was foggy on the day we arrived so we didn't get a great view but every now and then through the clouds we could see the snow on the top. Very lush and green, big pine trees, rains a lot and many of the fields are flooded from all the rain. Danielle's Uncle Morris and Aunt Mary's place is out of the city after about an hour and half drive - in Abbotsford. It's a cute country area with lots of large farms nearby- we went and visited one with 2000 dairy cows. it uses a rotary to milk them- very interesting to see. The first SUnday here we went to the church in Yarrow and heard Rev Bouwman; bit of a blast from the past. After afternoon church we went to the Bouwman's for a lovely visit. Monday involved dropping off Elle at the airport and saying our soggy farewells. Lucky we could pop into Starbucks for an emotional last coffee together. After we'd successfully gotten rid of her (haha, jk elle ;)), we went to Ikea and had a looksy around and some cheap lunch. Came home with donuts for everyone from Tim Hortons as a peace offering for being gone the whole day. Then bit more sightseeing- we checked out these massive structures made out of stainless steel that some guy made- two big eagles and a huge Chinese snake as a symbol of yang. very cool. Tuesday we went skiing on Mt Baker!!! was heaps of fun- met up with Damo and Monica and the Bosvelds and went with them to the mountain which is just ove rthe US border. lucky we kept our green cards in our passports that enables us Australians quick access over the border! was heaps of fun but we were really unfit after all our lounging on holidays so got tired real quickly. Dani managed to successfully knee herself in the mouth resulting in a split lip and blood everywhere and all over the snow. She also managed to take down an entire fence at the bottom near the ski lifts (sorry mate, had to tell teh story). hilarious!
Had a good weekend hanging out with people- Friday we went to volleyball then a party. Saturday involved a lot of sleeping in, then cleaned the house for Aunt Mary and went tot he shop, and at night we went to someone's house and played a bit of cards. Sunday was busy- went to Marika's for her birthday, then after church went up the mountain as the day was clear and beautful! such a gorgeous view!!! made the mistake of touching the snow- have yet to have such a violent effect on my hands as this- they were entirely frozen and hurt soo bad. quickly went and jumped in a heated car while everyone else charged up the mountain as had to get the blood back into them. Hurt like crazy. Good fun four wheel driving up there though- massive ruts and dips in the roads so we got jostled around majorly. fun fun. stay cool and might fit in one more update before we leave for home on Wednesday!! :)
Lissa xx
Had a good weekend hanging out with people- Friday we went to volleyball then a party. Saturday involved a lot of sleeping in, then cleaned the house for Aunt Mary and went tot he shop, and at night we went to someone's house and played a bit of cards. Sunday was busy- went to Marika's for her birthday, then after church went up the mountain as the day was clear and beautful! such a gorgeous view!!! made the mistake of touching the snow- have yet to have such a violent effect on my hands as this- they were entirely frozen and hurt soo bad. quickly went and jumped in a heated car while everyone else charged up the mountain as had to get the blood back into them. Hurt like crazy. Good fun four wheel driving up there though- massive ruts and dips in the roads so we got jostled around majorly. fun fun. stay cool and might fit in one more update before we leave for home on Wednesday!! :)
Lissa xx
Monday, January 24, 2011
Last Days...
Believe it or not, we have been up to a lot since we left New York City.
After bidding soggy farewells to our favourite Wieske family we hopped on a plane that took us to Edmonton. The Pilot nicely told us that it was to be -25 on arrival...ever had the feeling of snot freezing in your nose????? But being in Edmonton wasn;t the end of travelling. We hopped onto the skyshuttle which took us to the Greyhound Bus Port...(who with dismay took note of our 9 suitcases) and safely arrived in Westlock where Uncle James (I adopted the Moeskers) picked us up in Dan's cousin Gerry's truck. We stayed at the Breukelmans in Neerlandia. A beautiful place inthe middle of nowhere. A bit like Little House on the Praire. Needless to say I did almost fall down the three flights of stairs numerous times. We also visited Gerry's house (self built outa logs!!!!) before calling it a night.
The next morning, bright eyed and bushytailed, Lissa and I took off with the Moeskers and met some of the family: Aunt Wilma, Aunt Freida, Marion and her kids. We basically spent our days visiting family actually, but on the first day
WE SAW 2 MOOSE!!!
It has been the highlight of my trip.
But us girls had to cut our Neerlandia trip short and after visiting the Hutterites we were left to our own devices and back on the bus to Edmonton. Not that we minded after the hip high snow drifts and freezing cold. And in Edmonton we spent our days (AND OUR MONEY) entertaining ourselves in the big West Edmonton Mall!!
What a mall. Really all I can say.
My favourite part besides the shopping, was getting an antiques photo done! we all dressed up as ladies of teh Wild West, looking spiffy in long dresses, hats, gloves, parasols, fans etc etc. We looked amazing if I saw so myself.
And now, we are currrenly in warm vancouver. A lovely 9 degree cloudy day when we landed yesterday. The view from teh plane was amazing: all the beautiful mountain peaks through the clouds. And where we are staying (more of the Moesker family) is directly under neath a small mountain. Its gorgeous country...beautiful Creation. Today is Sunday and we had a very nice sermon by Rev Bouwman in Yarrow: an uplifting account of the Hymn of Praise in Isaiah 12. Looking forward to the sermon this afternoon.
But, sadly, it is my last day in Canada today. Tomorrow at the crack of dawn, Im up and ready to leave for the airport for a long flight to Hongkong, then Singapore and finally home. So this may or may not be my last post but never fear followers...Lissa has volunteered to take over!!
Three cheers for Lissa!!!!(nah seriously thanks Liss)
Much love from Vancouver!!
xxx
After bidding soggy farewells to our favourite Wieske family we hopped on a plane that took us to Edmonton. The Pilot nicely told us that it was to be -25 on arrival...ever had the feeling of snot freezing in your nose????? But being in Edmonton wasn;t the end of travelling. We hopped onto the skyshuttle which took us to the Greyhound Bus Port...(who with dismay took note of our 9 suitcases) and safely arrived in Westlock where Uncle James (I adopted the Moeskers) picked us up in Dan's cousin Gerry's truck. We stayed at the Breukelmans in Neerlandia. A beautiful place inthe middle of nowhere. A bit like Little House on the Praire. Needless to say I did almost fall down the three flights of stairs numerous times. We also visited Gerry's house (self built outa logs!!!!) before calling it a night.
The next morning, bright eyed and bushytailed, Lissa and I took off with the Moeskers and met some of the family: Aunt Wilma, Aunt Freida, Marion and her kids. We basically spent our days visiting family actually, but on the first day
WE SAW 2 MOOSE!!!
It has been the highlight of my trip.
But us girls had to cut our Neerlandia trip short and after visiting the Hutterites we were left to our own devices and back on the bus to Edmonton. Not that we minded after the hip high snow drifts and freezing cold. And in Edmonton we spent our days (AND OUR MONEY) entertaining ourselves in the big West Edmonton Mall!!
What a mall. Really all I can say.
My favourite part besides the shopping, was getting an antiques photo done! we all dressed up as ladies of teh Wild West, looking spiffy in long dresses, hats, gloves, parasols, fans etc etc. We looked amazing if I saw so myself.
And now, we are currrenly in warm vancouver. A lovely 9 degree cloudy day when we landed yesterday. The view from teh plane was amazing: all the beautiful mountain peaks through the clouds. And where we are staying (more of the Moesker family) is directly under neath a small mountain. Its gorgeous country...beautiful Creation. Today is Sunday and we had a very nice sermon by Rev Bouwman in Yarrow: an uplifting account of the Hymn of Praise in Isaiah 12. Looking forward to the sermon this afternoon.
But, sadly, it is my last day in Canada today. Tomorrow at the crack of dawn, Im up and ready to leave for the airport for a long flight to Hongkong, then Singapore and finally home. So this may or may not be my last post but never fear followers...Lissa has volunteered to take over!!
Three cheers for Lissa!!!!(nah seriously thanks Liss)
Much love from Vancouver!!
xxx
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Last Coupla Days
So we headed to Toronto last week and visited the CN tower which was very cool despite seeing mostly clouds and the streets right below us. Thankfully we didn't fall through the glass floors but it was an odd feeling. We got lots of photos and even went on a simulated ride of a tree factory. Those poor logs go on a lot of rollercoasters to get where they need to go hey
From there we headed to the Steamwhistle Brewery and saw how beer was made which was pretty interesting but the weather was poor so after a dinner at Jack Astors we headed home and that was our big tour of Toronto :D
But these last couple of days we went to New York City! It is an amazing city, very busy and loud and dirty and COLD. Due to our delayed flight from snow, and a loooong subway trek of which i managed to over shoot our hotel, we were walking the streets and through Time Square with 6 girls and bout the same amount of suitcases :) Basically we just spent the evening buying souvenirs; went out for an amazing dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Maygan had finally recovered from our flight; we did a few wobbles and bounces in our landing hahaha. Our hotel was actually quite nice and NO BED BUGS :P
The second day after dragging ourselves out of bed we headed on the subway down to the Statue of Liberty. We caught the Straten Island ferry and tried to get some photos in front of the statue to no avail....we got some with the statue tiny in the distance. And it was very cold in NY but the sun was shining :) From there we went to the World Trade Centre site. it was....disquitening for want of a better word, to be in place where so many people died. I was trying to imagine it from all the things we had see on TV and it was pretty scary. Just seeing the space inthe sky where they used to be....but basically all we could see was the new construction around the area and the construction face. We bought some souveniers from the museum but moved on to Chinatown!!!
Chinatown made me feel like I was back in Egypt. People hassling you and grabbing you to sell their stuff. Kayla and Maygan and Ash were in their element with buying prada and gucci and louis vuitton bags and the rest of us just wandered. I fell alseep in Macas :) Seeing most of the day was gone we headed back to the hotel with all our products of sale and then walked the streets to buy tickets to BROADWAY!!! We ended up watching Mamma Mia which was amazing!!! So much fun and we had realy good seats as well. Before that we had wandered the freezing roads for a subway and finally found one 10 blocks from where we started. Seeing it was Friday night a lot of the shops were still open once the theatre was done so we had fun in Times Square. Even got on one of the big screens from Forever 21...was great being famous for 2 min haha.
Saturday we checked out Central Park and it was actually a lot of fun, I got in trouble for trying to create a snow fight haha but we got lots of photos. The horse and carts in the area were really cute as well but we decided to forgo a ride it being freeezing and expensive. We then slowly made our way back to the hotel shopping on Fifth Avenue. Maygan was succesful in Banana Republic. Finally realized that the tall building near our hotel was Empire State Building so took lots of photos. :) We decided to hang out at the hotel till our suburban arrvived to take us to the airport and that was that!!
After a good sermon from Rev Smith today Im not proceeding to pack ALL 3 of my suitcases because we leave for Edmonton tomorrow afternoon!!
Till then
xxxx
From there we headed to the Steamwhistle Brewery and saw how beer was made which was pretty interesting but the weather was poor so after a dinner at Jack Astors we headed home and that was our big tour of Toronto :D
But these last couple of days we went to New York City! It is an amazing city, very busy and loud and dirty and COLD. Due to our delayed flight from snow, and a loooong subway trek of which i managed to over shoot our hotel, we were walking the streets and through Time Square with 6 girls and bout the same amount of suitcases :) Basically we just spent the evening buying souvenirs; went out for an amazing dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Maygan had finally recovered from our flight; we did a few wobbles and bounces in our landing hahaha. Our hotel was actually quite nice and NO BED BUGS :P
The second day after dragging ourselves out of bed we headed on the subway down to the Statue of Liberty. We caught the Straten Island ferry and tried to get some photos in front of the statue to no avail....we got some with the statue tiny in the distance. And it was very cold in NY but the sun was shining :) From there we went to the World Trade Centre site. it was....disquitening for want of a better word, to be in place where so many people died. I was trying to imagine it from all the things we had see on TV and it was pretty scary. Just seeing the space inthe sky where they used to be....but basically all we could see was the new construction around the area and the construction face. We bought some souveniers from the museum but moved on to Chinatown!!!
Chinatown made me feel like I was back in Egypt. People hassling you and grabbing you to sell their stuff. Kayla and Maygan and Ash were in their element with buying prada and gucci and louis vuitton bags and the rest of us just wandered. I fell alseep in Macas :) Seeing most of the day was gone we headed back to the hotel with all our products of sale and then walked the streets to buy tickets to BROADWAY!!! We ended up watching Mamma Mia which was amazing!!! So much fun and we had realy good seats as well. Before that we had wandered the freezing roads for a subway and finally found one 10 blocks from where we started. Seeing it was Friday night a lot of the shops were still open once the theatre was done so we had fun in Times Square. Even got on one of the big screens from Forever 21...was great being famous for 2 min haha.
Saturday we checked out Central Park and it was actually a lot of fun, I got in trouble for trying to create a snow fight haha but we got lots of photos. The horse and carts in the area were really cute as well but we decided to forgo a ride it being freeezing and expensive. We then slowly made our way back to the hotel shopping on Fifth Avenue. Maygan was succesful in Banana Republic. Finally realized that the tall building near our hotel was Empire State Building so took lots of photos. :) We decided to hang out at the hotel till our suburban arrvived to take us to the airport and that was that!!
After a good sermon from Rev Smith today Im not proceeding to pack ALL 3 of my suitcases because we leave for Edmonton tomorrow afternoon!!
Till then
xxxx
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Chesley Lake-up north
Isnt it funny when we say up north we think of warm weather? Well i Do only for canadians in winter it means colder and snowier :) and Thats what we got.
We are in the cutest cottage on a lake covered in 1 foot of snow. Surrounding us is about 1 foot and a half of snow and most of the roads in this area aren't plowed so we literally trudge around (onomatopeia for ya there). On arriving we immediately sent aaron and jared to shovel the path for us.
I went for a walk and it was amazing to view God's beautiful creation under a layer of snow. Got some good photos..with the help of self timer because dan was reading and lissa was enjoying the warmth of the cottage considering shes sick.
Jared and Aaron went snowboarding.
Mr Wieske put me on the snow mobile
Snow mobiling is AMAZING. Undescribable to those who havn't done it. its like a cross between a motor bike, quad, jet ski etc and hoofing it through the snow makes it feel like your flying. Only colder.
Unfortunately for me and lissa we got bogged after been thrown into a snow bank (great adventure) but we dug our way out. In the dark. And the only one who was worried was Mama-Dawg namely Dani :)
After an amazing dinner of lasagne made by our brilliant cook Mrs Wieske we all headed to the hot tub. Ever been in one with snow surrounding you and the water in your hair freezing but your roasting in a 104 deg F tub. Its a good feeling. Made even better when me and dan and kate jumped out into the snow froze n then back into the tub. Good relaxing time before bed.
We all slept in this morning but then headed out for an afternoon of snow mobiling. We decided to stick to the lake today. Boys were reaching speedsof 130km and 90 miles but iwas impressed with my average of 100km and 70 miles haha. its a scary feeling and its hard to steer especially with the soft snow but God kept all of us safe.
We ran out of fuel and went through one melted driving belt but the day was worth it. Only my last ride i got snow down my pants and back so currently sitting in front of the fire before a dinner of croquettes nachos and crackers and cheese and everything else we have left over...
till later
xxxxx
We are in the cutest cottage on a lake covered in 1 foot of snow. Surrounding us is about 1 foot and a half of snow and most of the roads in this area aren't plowed so we literally trudge around (onomatopeia for ya there). On arriving we immediately sent aaron and jared to shovel the path for us.
I went for a walk and it was amazing to view God's beautiful creation under a layer of snow. Got some good photos..with the help of self timer because dan was reading and lissa was enjoying the warmth of the cottage considering shes sick.
Jared and Aaron went snowboarding.
Mr Wieske put me on the snow mobile
Snow mobiling is AMAZING. Undescribable to those who havn't done it. its like a cross between a motor bike, quad, jet ski etc and hoofing it through the snow makes it feel like your flying. Only colder.
Unfortunately for me and lissa we got bogged after been thrown into a snow bank (great adventure) but we dug our way out. In the dark. And the only one who was worried was Mama-Dawg namely Dani :)
After an amazing dinner of lasagne made by our brilliant cook Mrs Wieske we all headed to the hot tub. Ever been in one with snow surrounding you and the water in your hair freezing but your roasting in a 104 deg F tub. Its a good feeling. Made even better when me and dan and kate jumped out into the snow froze n then back into the tub. Good relaxing time before bed.
We all slept in this morning but then headed out for an afternoon of snow mobiling. We decided to stick to the lake today. Boys were reaching speedsof 130km and 90 miles but iwas impressed with my average of 100km and 70 miles haha. its a scary feeling and its hard to steer especially with the soft snow but God kept all of us safe.
We ran out of fuel and went through one melted driving belt but the day was worth it. Only my last ride i got snow down my pants and back so currently sitting in front of the fire before a dinner of croquettes nachos and crackers and cheese and everything else we have left over...
till later
xxxxx
Monday, January 3, 2011
foshiz f350....landons rad truck (ute).."if you bash me ill bash you back"
so that random title was just created by various wieskes at 1130pm as im forced to update my blog.
HAPPY NEW YEAR followers (i dont think there are any)
and I hope all celebrated the birth of our Saviour and enjoyed it with family and friends.
us, as in me lissa and dan and i know that wasnt proper english but who cares, went with kayla and her friends to Niagara falls (for the second time you might realize) for new years. it was 8 degrees can you beleive it. only wore 2 layers. am still gobsmacked at this fact. anyway so after a tim hortons stop and fighting our way through mega crowds, we stood in a mud filled garden box and watched a 1 min display of fireworks (disappointing seeing you can actualy buy MORE fireworks then that from a fireworks store here in canada and even more disappointing after reading about 5 million dollars worth of fireworks in sydney. aussy knows how to party) But never fear the night was resurrected from depths of despair by grabbing a ride on the skywheel and getting amazing views of the falls at night. and then sat at kelseys and chilled. had nachos at 130am and some cocktails. good job.
cant beleive its 2011. am finding it hard to remember to write that in my diary every day lol.
Niagara falls are amazing by the way. at night they are all lit up and looks super pretty.
Family here gets presents for new years and so today (sunday) it was present time!!!!!!!!!!! got a good haul and my two besties got my super cool presents including scarf and beret and chocolates and necklaces and body lotionand a wallet and seriously i could go on all day. only i have a lump on my head from wacking the couch. good fun.
love presents.
after our 2 day heat wave of 10 degrees we've gone back to negative 7/8. not a big deal. snow flurries all day which looks cool only the snows not sticking. hoepfully wake up to snow. and hopefully calvin seriously gets working on the hot tub.(vinegar has been put in)
going to toronto hoepfully this week and a cottage up north to go snow mobiling.
landon has just accused me of having a mullet. ah well least its australian
xxxx
HAPPY NEW YEAR followers (i dont think there are any)
and I hope all celebrated the birth of our Saviour and enjoyed it with family and friends.
us, as in me lissa and dan and i know that wasnt proper english but who cares, went with kayla and her friends to Niagara falls (for the second time you might realize) for new years. it was 8 degrees can you beleive it. only wore 2 layers. am still gobsmacked at this fact. anyway so after a tim hortons stop and fighting our way through mega crowds, we stood in a mud filled garden box and watched a 1 min display of fireworks (disappointing seeing you can actualy buy MORE fireworks then that from a fireworks store here in canada and even more disappointing after reading about 5 million dollars worth of fireworks in sydney. aussy knows how to party) But never fear the night was resurrected from depths of despair by grabbing a ride on the skywheel and getting amazing views of the falls at night. and then sat at kelseys and chilled. had nachos at 130am and some cocktails. good job.
cant beleive its 2011. am finding it hard to remember to write that in my diary every day lol.
Niagara falls are amazing by the way. at night they are all lit up and looks super pretty.
Family here gets presents for new years and so today (sunday) it was present time!!!!!!!!!!! got a good haul and my two besties got my super cool presents including scarf and beret and chocolates and necklaces and body lotionand a wallet and seriously i could go on all day. only i have a lump on my head from wacking the couch. good fun.
love presents.
after our 2 day heat wave of 10 degrees we've gone back to negative 7/8. not a big deal. snow flurries all day which looks cool only the snows not sticking. hoepfully wake up to snow. and hopefully calvin seriously gets working on the hot tub.(vinegar has been put in)
going to toronto hoepfully this week and a cottage up north to go snow mobiling.
landon has just accused me of having a mullet. ah well least its australian
xxxx
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