Christmas in Darwin

 On December  20th, Alex and I flew to join Roy in Darwin for six weeks and as you have probably guessed, we had a great time.  But first we had to get there which turned out to be an adventure of 'firsts'.
First time to:
- be flying into a large airport which closed while we were inflight due to severe thunderstorms in the area
- after circling said airport for 30 minutes, finally being diverted to a nearby smaller airport
- having to take a 2 hour bus ride back to closed airport
- missing an International flight
- having to spend a night and next morning in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport

Are we having fun yet?

 - couldn't thank the American Airlines counter woman enough when she worked some magic to find us a flight since we had heard discouraging rumors that all the flights to Australia were completely booked.
- layover in Tokoyo/Narika airport
- about a 40 hour + trip to Australia

 Christmas day in the Southern Hemisphere is summertime, so it was very warm and we went where ?  To the beach of course! 
 and later enjoyed a delicious Aussie holiday dessert: Pavlova

Pavlova

We had fun showing Alex some local sights.

Florence Falls in Litchfield National Park

Frangipani

lighning storm from our patio

 This is a young Forest kingfisher that we found in a parking lot, so we brought him home and turned him over to a wildlife rescue center the next day. 

dingo

Add caption

  When I was last in Darwin in August, it was very dry and brown, so it was a nice change to see everything all green. It was as though someone had laid a green carpet along the road and under the trees.
There are two seasons  in the Northern Territory, the Dry (winter) and the Wet (summer).






We took a 2 hour drive South stopping in the tiny town of Pine Creek.  At dusk the large black fruit bats came out and it was like something out of the movies, there were thousands of them.  Good thing we all like bats. I also found out that shooting pool isn't as easy as it looks.

Hooded parrot

Our final destination was the huge Yellow Water Wetlands.

Jabiru

white bellied Sea Eagle

Mommy croc?

 

a croc nest

Another weekend Roy and I drove South again to see the town of Katherine. This statute honors the Australian Stockman and is modeled after Sabu Peter Sing, gentle humble man, Sabu’s outstanding skills as bushman, horseman, stockman and cattleman were widely recognised and acclaimed. Born of the Wardaman tribe, Sabu epitomised different races and cultures.

 We spent the night at the Mataranka Homestead which is part of the Elsey National Park and home of the Mataranka Thermal pools. Croc safe because of the huge steel gate between the pool and the creek.  A delightful leisurely long float. 

s

 a statue of Jeannie and the"Maluka

' in town of Mataranka

Nearby was a replica of the Elsey homestead, home of the "We of the Never-Never" which is an autobiographical novel by Jeannie Gunn. Although published as a novel, it is an account of the author's experiences in 1902 at Elsey Station.





We also made some new friends. 

Yes, more bats.  Little Red Fruit bats.

Sulfur-crested cockatoo

 It wasn't all sight seeing.  We spent most of our time at home while Roy worked and I cooked him dinner, stocking his freezer with the leftovers.  This is Roy's project from the air.

We enjoyed seeing The Hobbit and Les Mis together. Alex explored Darwin on our scooter and I read the above mentioned, the Austrailian classic: We of the Never-Never. Of course I also had a sewing project. 

A little something for our home in Texas

Thanksgiving Family get together

artwork by Scout

 Recipe for a family Thanksgiving:
- One large house - 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, hot tub, 4 TV's, one large kitchen with a larger table, one ping pong table, 2 DVD players,
- One daughter and son-in-law driving from Virginia
- One daughter and son-in-law driving from Florida
- One college student son from Idaho on an airplane
- Two grandparents driving from Texas (good thing we enjoy road trips)
- 6 grandchildren, ages 9 to 1
- The Outer Banks of North Carolina
- tons of food, movies, books, puzzels, snacks and more snacks, lots of Diet Coke
- 4 computers, 5 I-Pads, numerous cell phones
- one mid-night power failure that thankfully only lasted several hours.  Non flush-able toilets and 5 children...... HELP!!!
Flavor with love, laughter and patience
Bake for one week with windy chilly weather.

view from our dining rooms window

Currituck Lighthouse

 Outer Banks Center for Outdoor Education.
Future Duck hunters?  Complete with a stuffed black lab just like Rio! 

 Remember those pillow I made in September? These smiles and happy kids made all the computer hassles well worth it.

 North Carolina Aquarium on nearby Roanoke Island

Doctoring a pretend sick sea turtle.

 After Thanksgiving dinner, we asked the kids what they were thankful for, and Zach said, "the hot tub!" Gotta love his honesty.

We sure love these wonderful silly kids!

Two wonderful amazing vigilant Moms

 We enjoyed one beautiful sunny day on the beach. 

Atlantic Ocean 1, Ellie 0

Katy

Alex

 We were excited to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial at nearby Kitty Hawk. The brothers flew that first airplane in 1903; truly amazing to think that just 18 years later, a team of Americans flew those new flaggled airplanes around the world! 

The famous latch hook rug project that everyone worked on

Uncle Alex and Gracie