Australia Day in the USA!

From one thing to the next! After the departure of our visitors, it was time to finalise the preparations for Australia Day; food and decorations etc. One thing I couldn't find was a raw beef sausages. They have cooked franks but they're not the same. So we had breakfast sausages which don't quite cut it but they sufficed. And the guys did the cooking!

Another thing I made was chocolate crackles. The problem here is you can't get copha. However, I was able to substitute by mixing 2 parts lard and 1 part coconut oil; and they worked!

And I also made lamingtons and anzac biscuits! A real treat!

We celebrated it on Saturday (25/1), in the evening at the Cornerstone gym in Lynden with about 50 people including kids. It was a great evening; we had snaggers, onions, hamburgers and sausauge rolls with salads for dinner, and pavlova, trifle and lamingtons for dessert. And Wendy made a 'you beaut' Aussie cake! It was a winner!

And the gym was where the cricket was. We had a great evening and by all accounts, everyone enjoyed it too. Apparently, 'across the border' is organising it next year, so we'll see if we can make it an annual tradition!

I'll let the photos speak for themselves!

To all the Aussies out there: we hope you had a great Australia Day! 

What a great country it is! And above all, we give thanks to God and the freedom we have to serve Him. 

Thanks for looking!

Ali and Megan head to Australia

So Anthea left on Tuesday and on Wednesday it was Ali and Megan's turn to head to Australia. We are really thankful for the opportunity to have Anthea visit us for four weeks, and then Ali and Megan for 5 days during that time! Very special!

It was very quiet after returning from the airport. After a house full of young people, it is going to take a bit of adjusting to return back to our own family again! One part of me would have loved to jump on the plane and head back home and join in all the family get-togethers! But life continues here. And the wedding is planned for August, DV, in Ontario, so we have something to look forward to!!

The weather here has been glorious! Cool mornings but the afternoons turn out like spring! Blue skies and lots of sunshine. Apparently, that's not normal for this time of the year either! But we won't complain!

Thursday evening, Jaclyn and Stefan had their basketball games again. Jaclyn's team won and Stefan lost by just 3 points! Well done guys!

Here's Stefan's team scoring a basket. He is number 22 and he just threw the ball to Ethan who scored.

This weekend we are having a Aussie celebration with the Aussies in the valley. So far, we have 60 people coming including kids! Sausages rolls are made, chocolate crackles are ready and Anzac biscuits baked. Looking forward to snaggers and a burger and pavlova for dessert! Bonza mate!

And that's it for now! Thanks for looking!

Ali and Megan, Boeing Tour and Anthea goes to Aus

Since the last post, it has been an exciting week! Little brother Ali (I know, he's taller than me), and his fiancé arrived in Abbotsford on Friday and it was so good to catchup with him and meet Megan! It's almost been two years since we said goodbye to Ali, and he hasn't changed a bit! 

And it didn't take for the little girls to give hugs and cuddles!

On Saturday, Steve, the three oldest and Ali and Megan went to Mt Baker. The weather was perfect, 10 deg C and clear blue skies. They had a great day! When they came home, a few young people came over and we had pizza dinner. Later, Arnold Selles came as well.

Sunday during the day we had family time. In the evening Henry and Corrie Klos came over and Megan discovered Corrie was her second cousin! Small world!

Monday we went to the Boeing Future of Flight in Everett. It was amazing. The tour took us right into the construction plant of the Boeing 747, 777 and 787's! Incredible the sheer size and magnitude of these huge birds being built right here under one roof! Lots of facts and history. And if it ain't Boeing, we're not going!! Unfortunately we couldn't take photos, but these came from a book.

One of the engines

Captain's speaking: Ready for takeoff!

The building on the left is the plant and on the right are the paint shops

It was a really nice day! We could even watch them take completed planes (minus the paint job) for test flights on the runway built for that purpose. 

There was also a viewing platform and Mt Baker was very clear and spectacular!

Ali and Megan with Bill Boeing

To end the day, Ali and Megan shouted us dinner at Maccas.

And Tuesday we had to say goodbye to Anthea as she heads back to Australia. She was here for 4 weeks but the time just flew by! She made some good friends and Taleesha especially will miss her. And so will we :( But she has plans to move over half way this year so it won't be forever.....!
She has since arrived safely and is back to dealing with warm weather! 

Last Thursday, Erika and myself made a big batch of sausage rolls ready for our Australia Day celebrations! The pastry sheets are huge which makes it quite easy for making the rolls. And they turned out delicious!

And Anthea got to practise her braiding skills on the little girls!

The klomp at the Dutch Windmill!

On Thursday evening both Jaclyn and Stefan had basketball games. They did well. Jaclyn even scored a basket!

I'll finish the blog here, and continue part 2 in the next blog.

Enjoy!