Adventures Down Unda!!

Hey fam!!
Sooo i think I finally figured out this whole blog thing, but not completely yet. How do I put pictures up for you all to see?? I think I tried but it kept telling me that I couldnt so I got tired and just gave up.
But I am havin a blast here in Oz, as you can probably imagine. The weather is a beautiful 30-35 degrees, whatever that means in farenheit I think its like 85-90 and the water temp is warm enough to bathe in. Im in the Gold Coast right on the coast of Queensland and my school is right outside of Surfer's Paradise. Nuff said. Although I have only been surfing once seeing as I have yet to purchase a board over here, but it was amazing and I cant wait to get out there again. So far we have made lots of aussie friends with really cool accents and also friends from all over the world, germany, south africa, canada, oregon.
We have gone to lots of fun places like this place called Byron Bay which is gorgeous and the most easterly point in Australia, so the closest I can get to home! I have yet to see a kangaroo, but my eyes have been peeled since the minute I landed, and supposedly theyre all over the side of the road in the outback :(. But my school is about 5 Ks from the beach which I think is like 3 miles so its within running distance which I do often on my days off (I only have class mon-wed :):)).
My school is surrounded by rivers and waterways which are all over australia and apparently shark infested which I am reminded of by the dozens of fishermen that line the bridges. There are signs everywhere to never swim in the rivers eek! I also have yet to see a python or killer snake, although I did see a tyranasauros rex of a spider the other day and almost had a heart attack!! well, I will keep you all updated with my adventures and will figure out how to post these pics asap, I have some really cool ones. I love you all and miss you!

Kids, don't try this at home . . .

Well, I got out the Food Saver and gave it a go last night. It worked great on the mounds of ground beef I got at Costco. Then I got cocky and told Danielle I would vacuum seal her peanut butter and jelly sandwich for her lunch today. Greg and Yellie watched breathlessly as I cut my bag, inserted sandwich and let 'er rip . . .

only to have the machine suck the very life out of the sandwich and leave it looking like Sponge Bob with a bad case of acne! (The picture doesn't do it justice!)

We were laughing so hard we couldn't even speak for a bit. Who knew that the Food Saver not only preserves food--it entertains!

Happy 21st Birthday, Candyce!

Hurley family picture

Just got back from Kansas City. It was a sad occasion, but Greg did a wonderful job with the funeral. It was great to see all my siblings, and my dad even showed up. Thanks for all your prayer support and please keep Shannon and her children in your prayers.

No Dumb Bunny!

I got Greg out on Mt. Hood to try out his new snow shoes yesterday. We took Scout as usual, but she had a bit of a struggle with the deep snow. Her normal pattern is to continually run circles around us, "herding" us as we move up the trail. She quickly tired of struggling through the fresh powder and actually hit upon a brilliant plan. Scout discovered that she could "hitch" a ride on the back of Greg's snow shoes! So, he got a double work out and Scout got a free ride. Part of the way, at least!

This one's for Grandpa

really, the cats do like krispin. what you can't see in this picture is the fact that scout was terrorizing the cats in krispin's lap.

i love you all!

happyNew Year!

Blessed 2007 to all!
Greg and I are quite the partiers--were in bed by 10 last night (did we beat you, Bob?)
We were rudely awakened by a phone call at 11:30. Our neighbor informed us that giant mutant racoons were trying to dismember our cats underneath her deck. Greg thanked her for the information, wished her a happy new year, and we pulled the covers up over our heads.
At 11:45, our other neighbors got out their dynamite and the festivities began. We'd drugged Scout (our crazy Sheltie) earlier in the evening, but the effects were wearing off and she about went through the roof at the first "ka-boom".
She spent the next two hours in panic mode, panting and trembling and pacing in circles. I wondered if her doggie drugs would help me sleep!
But we all--cats included--survived the night and woke up to a rainy Portland morning and a new year.
But I'm sooooo excited about going to the Trailblazers game tonight :)