Matt’s first AFL Game

Hi all,

Just wanted to share with you, Matt had his first AFL game (Australian Rules Football), footy game for short, last night. It was actually the teams 2nd game but Matt started late so this was his first. If you don’t have the slightest inkling as to what in the earth is AFL then check out the following links they should give you a hint.

http://www.afl.com.au/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football

Anyways, Matt’s team put together an outstanding performance slaughtering the other team (92 – 6). At times during the game his team was scoring at will. FOr his first game Matt did an excellent job. His coach was please with his performance. Now I would have had great pictures to accompany this blog but unfortunately I left my camera at home. I managed to take a couple of pictures with my phone but that’s about as equal to a fisherman using one of those little kiddy rod & reels to go bass fishing. It might work but you sure are limited. Anyways, hopefully at his next game I will have something to share.

The family is doing well. Tori is rehearsing up a storm at school for a theater production to open in August. School is going great for them and work is moving along for Cathy and I. 

Getting ready to head out to a drive-in move theater tonight. Going to watch Dark Shadows and the Avengers. Already saw the Avengers (except Matt) so it should be a good time. Cathy heads off to a project sight tomorrow (Mother’s Day) for some training she is doing Monday and Wednesday. I get to play Mr Mom for most of the week.

Okay, to all the mom’s out there Happy Mother’s Day, and for those of us who have seen off our Mom’s to better place, wherever you are, Happy Mother’s Day.

Take Care, be safe, stay healthy and most of smile, for its a known fact that it takes more muscles to frown than smile.

From the Madore Gang

Back from New Zealand

Hello everyone,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the delay but the Madore Gang has made it back from New Zealand! All we can say is Oh My Goodness, what a beautiful and extraordinary place. From the morning after we landed til the time we boarded the plane to come home, we were completely enthralled by what we experienced. From what we envisioned, from watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to all that we were told from people who lived there, to those who visited, it was all and more.

It was a place where time stands still as if you expected a dinosaur to come busting out of the forest, to a place where you felt so small standing at the foot of such huge peaks. You felt amazed to stand on the beach with your left foot in the ocean while your right foot was inching up a mountainside. The waters were so affected by the impact of minerals being unearthed from erosion the colors made up half of the spectrum. Only the pictures will be able to tell the story.

We found ourselves travelling hills and dales, navigating gravel based roads, traversing narrow 2-lane roads where 2 passing smart cars would have difficulties and navigating the twists and turns of the hillside roads in search of whatever animal/adventure we could find. Of course that made everything that much more fulfilling. It turned out to be unbelievable 10 day adventure that has us plotting the time when we can return.

The people we met and places we visited all had their own uniqueness to them. From the  owners of the place we stayed at in Dunedin offering up a cool bag for us to use to bring lunches on our journeys, to the little old lady at the gas station back in Christchurch who invited us to use her own vacuum cleaner to clean out the 10 days worth of trash, gravel, leaves and let us not forget sheep droppings made it so much more special. There were places that I believe the only thing that marked the town was a sign post. In some places the only thing to get directions from was either a sheep or a cow. Just simply incredible.

If there was one downfall it was the destruction, demolition and desolation of Christchurch. The earthquake of 2011 has truely left its toll. From a city with such old architecture to see it crumbling just saddens your heart. However, the resolution of New Zealanders is simply awesome. Through the adversity these people shine and wear a smile as bright as the sun. Though the road they must travel will be long, by what we’ve seen they will persevere.

To any and all out there with the desire to visit New Zealand let just say you will be absolutely thrilled.

From the Madore Gang, please be safe, stay healthy and best of all smile!

Enjoy the pictures.

 

 

Hello from Down under!

 

Hi everyone,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick update to what the Madore gang has been doing these last few weeks. Tori, Matt and Lizzie finished up their first term (qtr) of school last Friday. They now have 2 weeks off before starting term 2. Work for Cathy and I is picking up. Projects are coming on board as fast as they can, just hope we can keep up the pace.

The seasons are slowly changing but yet you would never know it. Summer temps are still hanging around for this part of the neighborhood. I am sure they will start to cool down nicely fairly soon.

We’ve been somewhat busy lately bouncing the kids around town to friends, parties, ice skating, you name it. So 2 Sundays ago we called a halt to everything and took a ride into the countryside. It is absolutely amazing what you can find. I’ll let some of the pictures explain the incredible scenery we came across.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antarctic Beech Tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, as we have explained previously Australians have a way with “BIG”.

 

That is one big egg! I 'd hate to see the size of the chicken that laid this one...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course let us not be done with that, the other night we were visited by the following and on the following night his brother showed up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, enough for now. But before I leave you I want to let you know that indeed there are still dinosaurs that roam the face of the earth. We found these on our trip 2 Sundays ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I close, we wish everyone a wonderful Easter, we will be thinking of you all as we traverse the countryside of the South Island of New Zealand. Oops, not sure if I should have let that slip…..

Please be safe, stay healthy and most of smile, its the one thing no matter how you look at it, its never wrong!

Love to all,]

The Madore Gang.

Hello Again

Hi all, Gidday from Down Under,

The Madore Gang is alive and well here in Australia. We are trudging along with the pace of the crowds working, going to school, doing many of the mind numbing repetitive activities like grocery shopping, doctor appts, etc. and anything else that needs tending to. Huh, living in Australia not much different than in the US, just a lot less people doing it.

However, we are enjoying life and life is good and should be that way no matter where you are.

I must apologize for not getting back in to the writing as often as I should, plus the pictures that I promised. But as with all good things they just get lost in the hustle and bustle of things. Just have to try harder I guess.

Okay, a quick note to say we are still here. Please put those who have recently suffered a great tragedy in your thoughts and prayers. And if possible, lend a helping hand.

To all our friends and family, please be safe, stay healthy and most of all smile.

The Madore Gang 

Summer is Winding Down!

Yeah thats right! As most of you start to unthaw from this years winter chill, we here in the southern side of the equator start looking towards the winter months. Of course as many of you already know winters here in Brisbane are a far cry from hardcore as you can get. Especially with daytime temps hovering around 70 F (20/21 C) and nighttime temps dipping down to about 45/50 F (10/12 C) doesn’t seem to much to complain about, of course we aren’t.

Everyone is doing well. Kids are adjusting to the new school year. Tori and Matt getting the HW piled high and Lizzie fitting nicely into her new class. Cathy and I still puttering along with work.

Took the opportunity to go watch a professional soccer game tonight (Saturday) the Brisbane Roar hosted the Melbourne Victory. And because we attended the game we were treated to a hometown victory 3-2. (HAHA) Other than a Cricket Match I believe we have taken part in most of the major sports here in the Brisbane area. Not too sure about Cricket, much like a game of baseball it can be a bit monotonous. But who knows, might have to just tough one out. Of course with the new seasons of AFL, and Rugby leagues starting up it probably won’t sit too high on the wanna-see list.

Oh well, thought I would drop a quick line before heading off to bed.

Everyone please be safe, stay healthy and most of all smile.

Love to all

The Madore Clan!

It’s Raining Again!

Hello there from Rain Soaked Australia,

It is our hope that this blog update finds everyone healthy and in good spirits. We would like to send a prayer of good health and comfort to Cathy’s Grandmother in Vicksburg. Granny we hope you start feeling better soon and that the doctors can correct whats causing the problem.

We are all doing well. The kids have started back to school this past week and we are now with 3 kids at the senior school. Tori is now in 11th, Matt is in 10th and Lizzie in 6th. WOW!

Starting Middle School!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its been a little over a year ago that Southeast Queensland, Brisbane and surrounding areas, suffered its worst flooding in nearly a century. As we entered summer, people looked forward with bated breath to the approaching rainy season. So much turmoil, government spending, investigations, pointing fingers came of that flooding. It still lingers so much that they are going to open another inquiry into the management of one of the larger dams to see if criminal charges can be brought against someone. Needless to say, this past week has put new awareness into the the thoughts of individuals with regards to flood waters. In the past several days, areas in the Southeast Queensland area have suffered some of the most torrential rainfall amounts one can imagine. In a span of 24  hours starting Tuesday afternoon there were rainfall totals anywhere from 10″ to 15″. And over the last several days some areas have had totals over 20″ or more. Most areas will surpass last years record rainfall amounts for January quite easily. Matter of Fact a few places will more than triple their totals. Some weather forecasters say we are still not done yet. I guess that is why they make umbrellas and boats for…. Given all the recent rains we are still managing to get out and around. A little wet but still going about business. Below are some photos or our drive to Byron Bay last Thursday (Australia Day), we didn’t anticipate what we came across.

 

Near Tweed Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rising Water Near Tweed Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rough Surface

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cars Being Diverted do to Water on the Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, I will try to get another update into the system soon. Need to put a slide show in the next update with pictures of our trip this past December.

Remember, please be safe, be healthy and most of all smile! It is probably one of the easiest things we can do!

The Madoregang

 

Back Home in Australia!

Hello to all,

Yes its been a awhile but it wasn’t without good intentions. The Madoregang was off on another one of their family adventures and this time it took us to 2 countries, four cities and a host of frequent flyer miles.

The last 3 weeks have been packed filled with excitement, old things, new things and some things not so good. We head off from Brisbane on December 16th to London. Of course getting there would take 2 plane rides and 22 hours of sore butts. When we landed in Singapore on the first leg, Cathy came down with a case of the trots (self-explanatory) which started the trip off on a sour note. We landed in London on Saturday the 17th at 5:30 in the morning and after clearing customs headed to the apartment we rented. The apartment was located in the West End section of London in close proximity to a lot of stuff to see. Let’s just say that no city in America can come close to the number of people and the wow factor that London has. London is a hustling, bustling city with a lot of locals and throw as many visitors on top and boom-yow baby, instant mad-house!

London was fabulous Harrods, 10 Downey Street, West Minister Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Scotland Yard, etc, etc, etc… We also took side trips to Rochester and Rochester Castle, White Cliffs of Dover, Dover Castle, Windsor Castle, Eton College, and Stonehenge. Lets say 4 days in London we were on the move. Of course we had to deal with Tori getting sick, Lizzie and myself at the end. Of course mine took hold and last 2 days in London, 4 Days in Venice and 2 Days in Florence. However, we still managed to get a bunch done.

We left London on Dec 22nd and headed to Venice Italy. Venice, lets just say is one of a kind. No cars, just boats. We thought about a Gondola ride but they have become extremely expensive, especially for 5 people. Needless to say there was a tremendous amount of stuff to see and do in Venice. The Old Churches (Santa Maria Glorioso dei Fieri & San Marco unbelievable), the buildings, statues and Piazzas are fabulous. Matt began his initiation into eating as much pizza as possible during our whole Italy trip. Lizzie end up suffering one full day of a stomach problem but was fine the next morning. I continually struggled with my issue and wasn’t as able to get around Venice as I would like. But we managed. We enjoyed a truely wonderful meal on the banks of the Grand Canal for Christmas. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

We left Venice and headed to Florence on the 26th. The apartment we stayed at would make most 5-star hotels look like a dump (our hats off to Tiziana for how she re-remodelled the place) awesome. When we arrived, again we hit the ground running. The Galleries of the Uffzi and the Accedemia were phenomenal. The churches of the Il Duomo, Santa Croce, and several others are something to behold. Statues are everywhere and the building the surround them are awesome. We took a side trip to Pisa to see the Tower and the church there.Lets just the say that the church (also called Il Duomo) is truely an experience to behold. New Years in Florence was spent listening to a symphony in the Piazza della Signoria and having fireworks, lit by the locals, exploding all around us. WOW!

New Years Day we head to our final city Rome. Lets just say unbelievable, there are few words to describe that which we visited, saw, and roamed across, amazing. I will have to spend another whole blog writing of just that portion alone. But to give you a taste, the Colosseum, the Forum, the Capital, St Peters, the Sistine Chapel, San Giovanni, The Trevi Fountain, Piazza San Popolo and more. And let us not forget our trip to Pompeii and our guides Pietro & Antonio made it even more enjoyable.

All-in-all it was a remarkable journey. It is one of those trips, if we could inspire anyone else to take, it will truely change how you look at life. Awesome!

Okay, here are some pictures. I will explain more about some of them in the coming blogs.

 

Until then be safe, stay healthy and most of all smile.

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From the Madoregang.

Hello all, and no we have NOT fallen off the face of the earth!

Hi,

Apologizes for the delay in creating a post but the end of the school year is fast upon us, with school functions, parties and yes….Christmas, it getting crazier by the day. Everyone is doing well and staying healthy. We hope the same goes for everyone back in the states.
Life is good here, the seasons are changing and with that comes a host of fresh produce, Bananas, Mangos, Pineapples, Purple carrots, Avocados, you name it I think we can find it here.
Work….is work…. the expectations are great for the mining industry and it looks like there will be work for many years to come.
The kids are looking forward to the end of the school year. Tori will be moving on to year 11, Matt year 10 and Lizzie year 6. They will all be in the senior school. Their school Kelvin Grove State College goes K-12. Yes, colleges are schools with grades k thru year 12, otherwise they would be a primary or secondary school. All other schools after secondary are call universities. Funny!
We have had many exciting times since our last post and we will post that update soon, including pictures. Again, sorry for not staying up with the posts.
Okay, off to get some fabulous Greek Yogurt on the other side of the city before we have to run Tori to a birthday party some place out in the country.
We hope all of you are well. We will be thinking of you come this Thanksgiving day. Until next time, stay safe, be happy and most of all smile. It is the one thing that we can do that will drive everyone else crazy thinking are they “happy” or “up to no good.”
The Madore Gang

Sounds of Australia (or, Going to the Birds)

How ya going, mates? Along with “G’day”, this is a very popular way of saying hello and asking how you’ve been down here in Queensland Australia. Since this blog post is dedicated to the sounds of Australia, I thought I would share you with some of the things that make Australia, well.. sound like Australia. I’ve also heard “How ya travelin’?” from a few die hards, and it took me a few ticks (that’s seconds) to figure that one out. I reckon (a VERY popular way of starting a sentence down under, by the way) it’s not heard very much in the city now a days. What’s really interesting to note about Australians, is when they ask you “how ya going”, they really do want a truthful response. It’s not just words to acknowledge your presence. Very refreshing.

Anyway… the real reason for this posting is to share with you some recordings of the sounds of nature that we’ve come to know and love (for the most part) since being here (can you believe October will be ONE YEAR!).  We’ll start with the Aussie icon, the Kookaburra.

An Australian Icon - the Kookaburra

It laughs. It chortles. It guffaws. It wakes us up in the mornings and puts us to sleep at night. It’s the most singularly amazing sound I’ve heard from a bird. I’ve included a sound recording here for your listening pleasure. Alas, I wish it was one of our own recordings but I’m having technical difficulties getting our recordings loaded onto the blog. Right now you want to hear the kookaburra laughing, not me cursing with my new found Aussie slang (“arse” is my favorite, tee hee hee) so we’ll just use these nice recordings off the web…… Here you go luv:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/thelaughingkookaburra.htm (you’ll have to click on the “This is what a Kookaburra sounds like” link on the web page.

Next up is the charming Bell Bird.

What is that pinging noise???

It actually doesn’t sound like a bell ringing, more like sonar pinging. They are really cool to hear out in the rain forest but when you put dozens of them together, it can start to drive you batty:

http://home.iprimus.com.au/punkclown/Punkclown/Bellbird.htm

One day we were walking through a quiet stretch of woods and several of us ducked for cover. The Eastern Whipbird had sounded off and I swear it was like we were in some sort of Sci Fi movie.

Luke, use the force

You’ll see why we call it the laser bird:

http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/images/stories/birds/whipbird.mp3

A rare sight to see is the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo.

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo

http://birdsinbackyards.net/images/audio/calyptorhynchus-funereus.mp3

We were lucky enough to see several of these while driving around with my mom when she was here in January. It actually sounds quite prehistoric, and very eerie when echoing through the woods.

 

 

 

We see small flocks of these feisty birds winging their way over our house. They are called Galah’s and what an attitude they have!

http://birdsinbackyards.net/images/audio/cacatua-roseicapilla.mp3

It’s the cutest thing, all hot pink and grey and white. This one was giving Joel it’s best coy look. I love how the head is tilted to the side.

Aren't I Cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t actually have a recording of our last sound of nature to share with you. But we do tend to hear it quite frequently when we’re walking through the woods. It’s funny because the animal that illicits this sound isn’t really known for it’s strong vocal cords (I’m not even sure they have vocal cords…). But I’ll include it because, honestly, almost every time we see one we hear this high pitched SCREECH right next to us:

SPIDER!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are several more bird species that we hear (and see) quite frequently but in the interest of space and time, I’ll save them for another posting. We hope you enjoy hearing the sounds of Queensland, and that they bring you peace and joy. It’s certainly true for us.

All our thoughts and prayers are with you, wherever you are!

The Madore Gang

Life as Usual……

Hello all,

Yes, it’s been a few weeks since our last update and we apologize. It seems this thing called life sort of got in the way.

Since our last update we have experienced multiple festivals specifically the Teneriffe, and Medieval festivals. The Teneriffe celebrates the wool industry here in Queensland Australia. The festival is only a couple of years old. The Medieval Festival is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and is one of the largest in the world. Not sure of the numbers but I believe more than 100,000 attended last year. In the 2 days we went I could say that number is probably about right. There was a lot of people and it was large. There was so much to do and see that in 2 days we barely got it all in. It was amazing, Matt enjoyed it so much he wants to join one of the local reenactment groups.

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We had a visitor from the US for 2 weeks, a friend of Tori’s from back on Kwaj came from San Diego to visit. During her visit we took the opportunity to go on a whale watching trip, travel up to Noosa National Park and Eumundi Markets, and do a little travelling out west.

There are the usual events that take place during the normal work week with school, work, appts, etc. Of course this was slightly added to with Matt pulling a muscle or ligament in his back and I had a couple of flare-ups with the back issues that seemed to have been silent during the past few years. And let us not for get Lizzie (11) and Tori’s (15) birthdays, and Matts who will turn 14 next week.

Winter here has been great. We have struggled to find ways of dealing with the daytime temps of around 70 degrees or warmer and the nighttime temps of around 45-50. There have been a few days where it was somewhat chilly but they could be counted on one hand. It is very interesting to walk around the city and see one individual bundled up as if were sub-zero and the person walking right behind them in an outfit made for summer. It is just fascinating. The conversations regarding the winter temperatures are just as intriguing as well. Oh well, I guess if we stay for a couple of years we would be just like that as well. Oh wait, Cathy was like that on our ways to work bundled up and talking about how cold it was outside. She said she is becoming acclimated.

During the winter months the lack of rain is very evident. I believe we have seen less than a half an inch of rain during the last 8 to 10 weeks. Everything is beginning to show the effects and numerous wildfires have started up in and around Brisbane. It seems this area is quite notorious for the dry weather during the winter months. We would like to see rain, but not in the manner as we saw last summer.

Life here in Australia is becoming more normalized. We took note that it had been awhile since we last took off and did anything major. The weekends are becoming full and each of the kids seem to be heading off in different directions. Tori and Matt are finding quite a few friends and are now going on picnics, camping excursions, shopping trips, etc which is great. Lizzie has here own but due to the age most of the visits are regulated to the house. But that will soon change in the near future.

Okay, enough for now. Along with the pictures attached our hope is to get many of the other pictures over onto the website for everyone to view.

We hope that this update has found everyone well and in good spirits. Please continue to be safe, healthy and most of all smile.

From Australia

Joel and the rest of the Madore Gang