Australian Thanksgiving Weekend

On Friday night, Kara, Julie, and I went to Little Creatures, a local brewery and restaurant, for Katie's going away party.  Katie was the senior OT where we work, and is now moving to London.  She has been so helpful teaching us and answering our questions.  Everyone is really going to miss her! 

This Saturday, Julie, Kara, and I hosted the first Australian Thanksgiving.  We spent a couple days preparing the feast- Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry relish and fluff, and more pumpkin and apple pies.  Toby made the most delicious green bean salad and Jay made some homemade iceceram.  Our friends came over to help finish cooking, watch some American Football (which Toby so nicely downloaded), listen to Christmas music, and watch some cricket (which is a bit more Australian).  Everything turned out surprisingly well- we expected as least a slight disaster trying to cook in our strange oven.  We even ate at the exact time we originally estimated- 2:00pm! We had a wonderful feast and ate until we were way too full!  After eating, we all laid down for a traditional Thanksgiving rest.  We watched A Christmas Story- which none of the Aussies had seen before.  After our rest, we walked to a nearby park and played a little cricket.  It was quite fun, even though I am not the most athletically inclined :)   We were exhausted from the long day of festivities, and stayed in for the rest of the night.

Amy & Kara

Amy & Jay

Kara, Toby, & Julie

Delicious Thanksgiving meal

Julie, Joshua (Ben's bro), & Jill

 

 

 

Ben, Amy, & Toby

Pumpkin & Apple Pie with Jay's homemade icecream!

Amy learning cricket- the sun is playing tricks on my hair!

Jay, Kara, Julie, Jay, & Ben after playing cricket

Sunday morning, we work up early to catch a train to Cottesloe Beach.  We relaxed in the 85 degree weather, watching the waves crash on the shore.  There were lots of people having surfing lessons, competing in races, and dogs trying to swim.  Kara and I went on a long walk on the beach, enjoying the scenic views.  When we returned, Julie pointed out two dolphins swimming ~100 meters off the shore!  They swam very close to people who were snorkeling on the reef.  It was amazing and I wish I would have been out further in the water!  This afternoon, we hung out at home, worked on some reports for work, and went to church.  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! 

Cottesloe Beach

Kayak race on Cottesloe Beach

Enjoying the beach- sandy feet!