Paradise

Our trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island has been absolutely wonderful. Since Green Island is a rain forest, we were a little worried about all the rain. Luckily, it rained at night and early in the morning, so our days were filled with sunshine! Since we forgot to buy an underwater case for our camera, our underwater pictures of the reef are not developed yet. Hopefully they will show at least a little bit of the amazing things we saw. The kids were fabulous at snorkeling and were even the last people back on the Reef King (our boat) when leaving. We swam with so many beautiful fish and even a couple of black tip reef sharks. You could hear Arik yelling under the water, "shark!, shark!". At first I thought he was in trouble, but eventually I just learned that he yelled each time he saw something that amazed him! The coral was so huge and beautiful and everywhere. Back at the island, the coral wasn't as large, but the fish were! We saw more sharks, swam with turtles and lagoon rays. Definitely a trip of a lifetime. Afterwards, I told Colby that staying on a small tropical island and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef was the best "40" birthday present I could ask for.... even with the kiddies along for the fun :)

Cute picture of Annika & Arik in their stinger suits. Even though they say the Box Jellies aren't out at the reef, we still wore them. It was also nice not to have to worry about sunscreen the whole time we were snorkeling.
Tanner windsurfing for the first time. He loved it!

Sunset on the beach! So beautiful. We had been snorkeling all day and were headed to dinner. My cute dress was compliments of Green Island Resort. The airlines lost my luggage and then the resort didn't get it to me when they said, so I got to shop in the gift shop for something to wear.
Officially the "Great Barrier Reef".

Green Island

Yesterday we arrived at beautiful Green Island.

It is a coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef. The island is quite small and one of the few islands with a rainforest. It is beautiful and relaxing here. Today we had the experience of a lifetime - snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. We took a boat from the island to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. It was so amazing. We saw so many fish, and even swam with a couple of sharks!! You could hear Arik yelling about it under the water :) One of the best days ever!

Surfers Paradise

I love the Gold Coast. The sand is like dust, it is so fine here. I think I am obsessed with warm weather, warm water and the beach. I just feel badly for Colby. While we play at the pool and on the beach, he is at work every day. At least we get to see him in the evenings. The kids are so relaxed and looking sunkissed and healthy again. Maybe we will be able to survive the "rainy season" back home.



This is a picture out our hotel window. So beautiful!

Wagga Wagga

Last weekend we had the chance to visit Colby's friend, Craig, on his farm near Wagga Wagga. We had such a great time and I don't think we saw a car for 2 days! The kids were a little nervous at first, but within a couple of hourse, they were running free all over the place. It is beautiful there, but does look surprisingly similar to Idaho. Thanks for a great time Craig!

Canberra

We are settled, once again, in beautiful Canberra. The first time I visited Canberra I was so disappointed that I wasn't on the coast of Australia. I love the beaches here with all the beautiful trees and flowers. Canberra is quite dry... hot and sunny, but not tropical. But each time I return to this city, I love it more and more. The city has such a fantastic design. There is Lake Burley Griffin in the center with the city and Parliament. There are biking and walking trails connecting each "neighborhood" together and it is all one gigantic circle. This is very confusing to me as I try to navigate my way around (I literally end up driving in circles!!). But there is a small community feel here that is so wonderful. Since we have visited so many sights in the past, I am letting the kids pick their favorite things to do and we are focusing on that (and relaxing) this trip. So far, they have wanted to go to Questacon, the science museum, the aviary, take a bike hire around Lake Burley Griffin and play at all their favorite parks.

Sydney, day 2

We woke up on Day 2 in Sydney to gray skies and light rain..... could not believe it, but yet, I could. We had such a gorgeous day at the beach, and I know that it always rains on Colby when we are on a family vacation. I am sure he is suppose to learn to love the rain (or something) but it is just not going to happen :) Luckily it was warm rain. We bought a little umbrella, and were still able to enjoy a fantastic day of riding the ferries through the Sydney Harbourand a great hike around Q Station out by the NorthHeadlands. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Australia 2011

Once again, we are back in beautiful Australia for a month of R & R!! I have to start by saying how truly blessed we are to have such a great opportunity. It is a wonderful country and we have been able to see and experience so many amazing things over the past 3 years.

We left Portland on a snowy and blustery day and arrived in

beautiful, sunny Sydney on Feb. 26, 2011. Since we have discovered how very important it is so stay busy and get right on schedule, we headed

straight for the beach!

This year we braved the busy and popular Bondi Beach.

There is actually a boardwalk of sorts

that connects a number of beaches so we took a walk and stopped at as many beaches as we could. Our favorites were Bronte, Bondi & Tamarama.

Such a beautiful day! We had a fantastic time and we all stayed awake and happy for the entire day.

Christmas

Soccer & Football

First Day of School

Manwaring Family Reunion

Summer 2010