Something New

Isn't it funny how the children want to wear something new straight away. We brought Matthew these Superman sunglasses but the next day it was raining with no sun to be seen. He wore them nearly all day inside instead even though he kept tripping over things.

Newport Aquarium

We are all on spring break at the moment. It is a study week for Mark and he is working hard on a paper and is also doing extra hours at the Recreation Centre. We did manage a whole day away yesterday though and had a wonderful day. We travelled nearly two hours to Newport which is east of Louisville. We had been told about the aquarium there and it was pretty neat. It took several hours to walk around and had lots to look at. As you can see from the photos a few things were quite hands on. One of the birds took a liking to Rachel's ear though and she wasn't so keen on them after that.

After visiting the aquarium we walked over the purple walking bridge which takes you from Newport, Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the same in Louisville. You can travel over the bridge and you are in Indiana, a new state. We sometimes go the movies at a $1 theatre in Indiana. With our trip to Mississippi we have now been in 7 different states. This photo is taken in Newport with Cincinnati across the Ohio River in the background.

The purple walking bridge.

Matthew pretending to be a statue.

Day at the Zoo

We received a wonderful gift from some friends, a years family pass to the zoo. We plan to go often and make the most of it. We went with a family from church over a week ago now on a beautiful spring day. It is a really neat zoo and it will make a great summer evenings outing. Anna-Marie took over control of the camera and got some great shots. She likes being on the other side of the camera.

Easter Egg Hunt

Today we had an Easter Egg Hunt at Village Manor. Village Manor was orginally 'Seminary Village' and was made up of seminary families but now it is very mixed and quite a mission field. It is good to take advantage of this especially at Easter and Christmas. There were over 2000 easter eggs which were actually plastic eggs with candy inside (the squirrels would quickly steal real ones) which we helped to fill. It was fun to be a part of it and there is another Easter Party planned for the children on Monday.

Joel's Birthday and Russell's Visit

Sorry that it has been so long since we have updated the blog. February held more studies for Mark and the school routine for the rest of the family. Joel turned 9 on the 22nd and spent the evening at Lazer Tag with a friend and a young couple that we have met who are heaps of fun, Ben and Chelsea. He had a great day and is certainly growing up, growing out of most of his clothes that he brought with him. Russell came a few days later and even though he arrived at about 11pm we woke the kids up and all went to the airport to pick him up. We were very excited about having a visitor from New Zealand. He got home well after midnight but still broke out the gifts from home. It was like Christmas all over again. Mum had sent many requested items and there were lots of surprises. We enjoyed our New Zealand lollies while they lasted and hopefully I have enough golden syrup until the next visitor! Russell spent some time with Mark at seminary during the week and thanks to the 'Parents Night Out' at seminary where they babysit seminary students children for $5, we had a lovely meal out. He also accompanied Mark and Joel into town on Saturday morning for a fun run and was even "lucky" enough to experience some snow that morning. It was so nice to have him stay and bring the support and prayers from those of you at Riverbend.

A New Niece

We are proud Uncle and Aunt and cousins to Amy Olive. Born on 14th February to Ben and Nicola, my younger sister, who lives with her husband in Switzerland. Isn't she beautiful!!

Art Lessons

Several months ago we met this wonderful family, Simon and Mandy and their two children Isaiah and Miles who they have adopted from Ethiopia. They have been very good to us and have looked after the children several times for us and Mandy, being very artistic, offered to take the children for art lessons. The children all really enjoy going to Mr Simon and Miss Mandy's for art and have done some really neat things. Isaiah and Miles are so cute, the girls fight over whose turn it is to hold them. I'm not sure if it is the art lessons or just being around this lovely family that they enjoy more.

Another Birthday

It seems that the only events going on in our lives at the moment are our birthdays. With Joel's coming up at the end of the month it will be four birthday posts in the last few months.

For my birthday Mark and I had a night away at a little town about an hour from Louisville called Bardstown. It was established in 1780 which makes it the second oldest town in Kentucky. We dined at a restaurant built in 1779 which was originally a western stagecoach stop, the oldest in America. A wonderful family who have four girls of their own looked after our children for us. We had a wonderfully refreshing time away and the children had a great time also.

Elizabethtown was on our way home which is also an old town made famous by the recent movie "Elizabethtown". It brought back memories of sitting in our Hastings, NZ, home watching the movie and trying to gain some insight into what life in Louisville might be like.