Jamberoo

Our week began fairly quietly. It was the first week of NSW school holidays and the children were excited to play with the neighbours for the last time before they moved away. The neighbours left for their new home on Wednesday. This meant that the kids did nothing but play and play and play all day Monday and Tuesday. I was still a little unwell both days as a result of overdoing it on the bike the previous week. Unfortunately that meant that we missed Rachel and Leah’s birthday party in Gosford on the 13th. Rachel had flown back from Melbourne for it, and the family had a wonderful night. (Rachel is having a sensational time living and studying dance in Melbourne).

Tuesday while the children played I continued my recovery. I spent the first three days of the week working steadily on my PhD. It’s wonderful when uni breaks are on! No students or classes means I get so much extra work done. For youth activities on Tuesday night we cleaned the chapel. I was really proud of the boys. They did an excellent job and worked hard despite their reluctance. I took the young man who whined about not doing the toilets to that very area and we worked together to make them sparkle. He saw it wasn’t THAT bad, and did a terrific job. Their attitude was excellent.

Wednesday we received news that the extension on our home loan has gone through. This means that we no longer owe any money to anyone except the bank! We’re pleased about this, although the increase in repayment is a little intimidating.

Thursday was the highlight of the week. We took the children to Jamberoo, an “action/theme” park about 40 minutes south of our home. The day was covered with an ocean of sunshine that drenched us all day. It was perfect. Jamberoo is set in picturesque surrounds and it could not have been a more perfect day. Mum and Dad came down with Mat and his four children: Jaxson, Paris, Phoenix, and Logan. The park was relatively uncrowded, and while the water was cold, the children had an amazing day.

We marveled at the independence of Chanel as she explored the park with one or two of her similarly aged cousins. We were thrilled at the courage of Ella as she attacked every waterslide with enthusiasm, regardless of the degree of fear it instilled in other children. We appreciated the tenderness of Abbie as she hesitated at every new ride she approached, only to recall one of our family mottos, “We try new things once”, and then tentatively gave it a go. At the end of every ride that had concerned her, Abbie would respond with a “That was fun!” followed by “Can we do it again?” We were only too happy to encourage her to ride as many attractions as often as possible.

Mum and Dad were an enormous help, maintaining their place at “home base” so the children could return, snack, tell stories, dry off and warm up before racing off to ride slides again. We appreciated their attendance so much. And Kylie had the forethought to pack an impressive spread for lunch. Eskies were allowed to be used, and we ate very well! Had we purchased meals there we would likely have spent three to four times what Kylie outlaid. So it was well prepared. I am grateful for a prudent and prepared wife.

One of the most amazing things was the ski-lift and toboggan sled ride. We caught a ski-lift to the top of the mountain. It was a LONG way up there, and the views were stunning – green fields everywhere, mountains surrounding the western side and the ocean encompassing the east. Then there was a LONG bobsled run all the way back down the mountain. Impressively, Jaxson and Chanel had a go at this well before any adults were there to supervise. We were amazed!

Our day ended as the sun descended, making the cool air a little too much for the children playing in the water. Chicko’s for dinner was superb!

Friday I was supposed to be back into the schoolwork. Instead I went for only my third surf since November. Finally some quality waves. It was only short, but it felt terrific. Kylie convinced me to mow the lawn rather than go to school as I only had a couple of hours before I needed to leave for Sydney. Kylie prevailed. I took care of things at home before racing off to Sydney to visit my Nanna Bunt in hospital. She hasn’t been doing so well lately. I was disappointed to only have about 15 minutes with her but was running late to get to the temple. It has been many months since I’ve attended the temple and it felt good to be there.

Dad and I left the temple and went to a lovely little Italian restaurant up the street for garlic prawns, pizza, and Mexicana veal. It was satisfying in every way and a terrific way to conclude the evening. Then I drove to the airport to pick up two wonderful friends for Kylie and Chanel: Luwana Holzworth and her daughter, Brittany. We arrived home at midnight, completely spent.

The remainder of the weekend Chanel and Brittany played, and Kylie and Luwana talked. They had a wonderful time reacquainting. Kylie took everyone (except me) on a hike around Mt. Keira. Plenty of leeches once again, and unfortunately another VERY big red-bellied black snake. We’ve decided not to do any more hikes on that track!

I arose earlier than I wanted to and rode my bike a very difficult 60km south to Berry. A church Young Men’s camp was on. We enjoyed a beautiful day, ran around and played a lot of sport (which my team won convincingly – I’m not competitive, I just like to win), and ate a terrible cold dinner around the blazing campfire. It sounds so good, and it was until the storm! A howling south-east wind coupled with lots of rain meant that I was awake most of the night. The weather was no better on Sunday as we huddled under a tarp together. Despite this we had some highlights.

Sacrament meeting was held at 11am with some reprieve from the rain. It was a good meeting, and it felt good to take bread and water and focus on Goodness in such unique and otherwise distracting circumstances. Later in the afternoon we had another meeting where all of the returned missionaries spoke briefly about their mission experiences. That was wonderfully uplifting. By that time I was turning into an icicle. I had not packed sufficient warm clothing and the weather was relentless. I managed to catch a ride home around 7pm. Kylie had saved me some of her roast chicken dinner. Amazing! My wife is thoughtful beyond words. The steaming roast potatoes made me feel like I was in heaven. And that amazing gravy… wow. A LONG shower warmed my bones, and I fell comfortably asleep before 8pm. A wonderful week.