After Dark

We finally made it into the city at night time. It's pretty awesome. We went with about 450 other college students on a harbour cruise last night. It was light out when we left, but dark when we got back to land. Here are a few pictures...

This is when we first got on the boat and headed out into the harbour. That crazy guy behind us is Larry. This is a great picture. Someone just off to the side is throwing him overboard. It was a short cruise for Larry. He spent more time swimming to shore than he did on the boat.

This is our buddy Josiah. He was teaching Amy and Stephen some crazy super dude move or something.

Here is the city. The picture is a bit blurry, but you can get an idea of what it's like.

Here's Amy and I on the boat as we passed the Opera House. It's an amazing building. I'm amazed everytime we're there.

This picture is nice, but you really need to be standing right there to appreciate the Opera House. It's really cool.

It was a fun night. It was cloudy, but the temperature was perfect. What a great way to relax.

Have an awesome rest of the week!

Ryan

Buckin' Bull

Hey everybody!

Every Thursday here we have Hillsong Men and Hillsong Women. It's pretty cool and I guess there are a couple thousand women that show up every week for Hillsong Women. I'm not 100% sure because I've never been in one of their services, but I have been in the men's services and there's usually two or three hundred guys that show up. This week was the last one for the year so it was a big "Welcome To Summer Party."

There was heaps of great activities set up like pool tables and pin ball machines. There were also four XBox 360's set up on large HD TV's. The best though, was the mechanical bull. It was pretty crazy, and the guy who could hold on the longest was given an iPod. A lot of guys held on for ten seconds or so, but one held on for thirty-eight seconds. Another guy smashed his face into the top of the bull's head. He was really hurt or anything, he was tough.

It was a great start to the weekend, and all of this marked the end of our school year. We have no more classed until early in February 2007. That's a long break, especially in this heat. I guess we'll just have to spend lots of time at the beach. Oh well, we've gotta do what we've gotta do.

We also had an American Thanksgiving dinner last night. Our friend Paula is American and her mom sent some decorations for her. The food was great! Amy made stuffing again. It was really good! Next up is Christmas dinner - I can't wait!

Anyway, we hope you all have an awesome weekend! We miss you all.

Ryan

Speaking Of Cars...

Hey. I hope you're all doing really good and getting ready for Christmas. It's totally insane... only another month. I can't believe it.

Anyway, we were walking through downtown Sydney, and passed this car dealership. We didn't stand around too long because we didn't want to breathe too hard on the window for fear of it breaking and falling on the car and us in turn having to buy the car, but I did snap a quick picture and thought you'd like to see what people around here actually drive...

Yes, it does say $299990. How crazy is that? I reckon there must be some hidden gadgets in this beast... kind of like in the James Bond movies or something. I think it might have retractable wings and maybe the ability to save little babies in runaway carriages. A good all around investment, that's what I say.

Ryan

We Are Blessed

God is so good to us! Amy and I have been praying for a car, and yesterday, one of the pastors from the church gave us his old one. How awesome is that? It's incredible! We're so excited! So, here it is...

It's a Mitsubishi Verada, and it's in really good shape. We took it for a test drive last night. It was so weird. Here in Australia we drive on the opposite side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car. The first few times I went to make a turn, I hit the wipers instead of the signal. They're opposite too. It'll take some getting used to, but I'm excited about it. What a blessing!

We live a ways from the school, and until now had to depend on the school shuttle or the public bus, which wasn't too bad, just a bit inconvenient at times. Having a car makes it much easier to come and go on our schedule. It's great! Now when you come for a visit we'll be able to pick you up at the airport and drive you around. So, come whenever you want.

Have an awesome day!

Ryan

Men's Conference

Hey. What an awesome weekend! We just had the 2006 Hillsong Men's Conference and it was so good. Along with Brian Houston, Casey Treat and Kevin Gerald were here.

They did some pretty crazy stuff. Men who volunteered were brought on stage and made to do a few tasks that would normally be done around the house... ironing and stuff like that... and then, after running around the auditorium, had to choose a part of their body and give themselves a quick wax job. It was so crazy. Three of the four guys ripped their shirts off and went to town. One guy took a great big strip off his chest right over the nipple. I'm surprised he still has a nipple.

There were also some pretty crazy stunts and outside there were some really great stuff set up. They definitely know how to put on a men's conference here. It was great.

Besides all of the fun stuff, there were times of awesome worship (which is also really fun) and the word was great as well. Over 4000 men in one place at one time worshipping together makes for a powerful conference. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Ryan

PS - I'd like to see some deer pictures. Micah emailed me his... what a nice deer.

Four Great Pictures

Hey. I just got some really great pictures emailed from home and thought I would post four of them here so the few of you who haven't seen them already would get to. There were so many good ones, but I just picked these four...

So, may I present to you, in the order of youngest to oldest, my niece and nephews...

This is Alexis in her little Halloween costume. I've got this picture as my desktop background right now. She's a cute little thing.

Here's Aidan. I'm not sure what he's thinking here, but he is definitely thinking something. Amy and I heard a kid about his age crying in the grocery store a couple weeks ago that sounded just like Aidan when he cries. I had a bit of a rough moment right about then.

Benjamin is looking so much older now. It's been only two and a half months since we left for Australia and I can't believe the difference. Here he is smiling a huge smile for the camera.

Last, but certainly not least is Gabe. He was smiling in most of the pictures, but I really like this one. It shows off his massive blue eyes. Gabe looks to be growing fast, and in this picture looks like he's been playing really hard.

Amy and I miss all four of them a lot, so girls, you'd better keep the pictures coming.

Ryan

PS - I've seen the goat!

Three Months And Counting

November 5th is three months past August 5th. Amy and I got married on August 5th. That means we've been married for 3 whole months.

This picture was taken when Dustin finally handed me the ring. It somehow ended up in Jamie's sock. We've had the ring professionally cleaned six times, but we still can't get the toe jam off of it. We've even let it soak in acid overnight, but it just won't come clean.

Anyway, I hope everyone has an awesome rest of the weekend. Talk to you soon.

Ryan

PS - If you're talking to Jamie, please tell him to wash his feet before this happens to someone else. Thanks.

Moose Steak Is Good

How's everybody doing? From what I hear and see online, the weather is getting pretty chilly back home. Well, I don't miss it at all. Amy and I miss you all, just not the weather. It's cloudy and breezy here right now, though, so maybe it's not much better today.

Well, I promised a good friend of mine that I would publicize one of his many great achievements so everyone on the planet could see just how mighty of a hunter he really is. Feel free to post a comment and congratulate Mr. John Nason on a successful moose hunt this 2006 season. I forgot to ask... John, did you shave the beard after the hunt, or is it sticking with you through deer season as well?

***ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS BEWARE - PICTURE OF DEAD MOOSE BELOW***

Congratulations John! I think that your next big hunt should be here in Australia. Ninety-Nine dollars can get you in on a big kangaroo hunt here. All the guns and ammo are supplied. They even supply the spotlight for those after dark adventures. It's perfectly legal here. How crazy is that?

Enjoy your moose steak. I'd tell you to send me some in the mail, but I'm not so sure it would arrive in an appetizing manor.

Ryan