Great Barrier Reef

We rode on the Calypso II an hour out to the barrier reef. Eddy Reef is the closest reef to shore. The day was windy and cloudy, but under the water it was amazing.

Here are just a few of the creatures we saw.

There were plenty of giant clams! Taking underwater pictures is tricky. by the time you hold your breath and get close enough for a photo, you are already floating back to the top.

The colors look like little lights,

Just seeing the diverse types of coral was worth the trip.

Rosie was so tired on the boat ride back to shore!

The kids are hooked!

Reflecting on a special day..

We have an awesome Creator!

Flying to Cairns

At 4:30 am we hopped in a cab and headed to the airport. Destination-Cairns-then the Great Barrier Reef!

When we arrived in Cairns the heat and humidity was staggering. I felt like we had arrived in another country and I needed a different currency! This certainly was the rainforest. The drive to Mission Beach was lush and green. The roads were lined with banana tree and sugar cane farms. I was too tired to take any pictures.

Autumn

As most of you are enjoying Spring, we are heading into Autumn:) The weather here is so unpredictable, today it was 84 degrees! Last week we had the heat on and now we have the air conditioner on.

With Autumn comes the leaf clean up. I don't miss the leaf clean up. One year, in Iowa, we collected 90 bags of leaves! That was exhausting.. this year I will watch the leaves fall and enjoy it..

Before Church

The kids were soaking up a little sunshine in between Sabbath School and Church.

A little treat

John and I enjoyed a little treat of fresh squeezed orange juice and a poppy seed and orange muffin while Rosie was in school.

Passion fruit

All this beautiful fruit was from our friends' farm. Passion fruit, lemons, and olives.

I had never had passionfruit before. The seeds inside the rind are sweet and tangy!

12 Years

We have been married 12 years! Wow. Where did all that time go? We are happy to report that we still love each other and even still like each:) We certainly feel very blessed.

My honey honey.

We enjoyed a dinner alone with this beautiful view of the river and city.

Bell's Beach Ripcurl Pro

Sunday we headed to our favorite place (the beach)!

Bell's Beach is the site of the annual Ripcurl Pro Surf Competion. The winner walks away with $50,000 in prize money!

Sam riding the board.

Josh riding the board.

There were a lot of people watching the pro surfers.

Tom Currin, an American surfer who was the world champion 3 times in the late 80's. Watch how these guys can rip it up here.

Mark Occhilupo one of the superstars of surfing in the 80's.