Sanders Family Australian Adventures

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club here in Canberra. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership since 1982. Tonight we went to a Raiders game here  in Canberra.  I'd like to say a good time was had by all, but the girls were not too into the game, and the poor Raiders lost 14-42 to the Manly Sea Eagles.  It seems the Sanders attendance at the game was not great luck for them. We probably should have learned anything about rugby before we went to the game, but part of the point was to just experience an Australian sporting event.  The stadium didn't feel that big, but that being said, the only partially full stadium tonight had an attendance of 14,000 people, so it still fits a fair amount of people.   I think an advantage of a stadium this size is that there really aren't any bad seats.  We had a great view of the game, even though we unwittingly sat ourselv

This past weekend we took a trip 1.5 hours outside of Canberra to a farm stay on an animal sanctuary . I found this online when I was researching something else and booked it months ago.  The cottage itself did not look quite as nice as the pictures on the farm stay's website, but it was nice enough.  It had a kitchen, a bed for us, and set us bunk beds for the kids. It did not have furnace but a fireplace instead. It did a decent job of keeping us warm, but if I were to go back, I would do it when it is a bit warmer out. One thing less to manage. They advertised internet and satellite television, but neither one was working.  This is the second time we have had this happen when staying out in the country, so I am starting to no longer believe they have wifi in the remote areas of the country. All that being said, it was a great experience! Behind the farm stay cottage there is an enclosure with chickens, an alpaca named Panda, and a goat named Tilly - though Mike still thinks it&

The view from our balcony right before sunset For fall break, we somewhat hastily planned a trip to Fiji. I have to admit this is not a place I ever really even dreamed of visiting because it always felt SO FAR AWAY.  But the reality is that Fiji is not far from Australia. It was about 4 hours to Fiji from Sydney (and slightly longer back thanks to flying against the jet stream).  Most of our vacations in the past few years have involved lots of driving and lots of moving from place to place (there is just so much to see).  So much so, Lauren can barely remember a time when we stayed in a hotel for more than three days.  For this vacation, we decided to just go to a resort and stay there.   There are SO many choices in Fiji, it was hard to choose. Do you stay on the main island? Do you stay close to the airport, so you get right to the hotel right away, but maybe don't have as nice of a beach/water?  Or do you go further on the main island to nicer beaches but have a longer drive?

Fall in Canberra is quite nice. I am still adjusting to fall being in March and April.  By the time we get used to it, it will be time to move back home and re-adjust again.  Below are some things we did this fall that we wouldn't normally do in Maryland: Fall in Canberra brings with it the Canberra Balloon Spectacular. It is an annual event where balloonists come from across Australia.  Each morning, weather dependent, balloons launch from the Parliamentary triangle. This is a BIG deal here.  It is really cool to see balloons up in the air again.   For any readers who grew up with Shannon, this is not unlike the Balloon Fiesta that takes place in ABQ each fall. It is just at a much smaller scale.  Instead of hundreds of balloons, think tens of balloons. But in some ways it reminded me of the Balloon Fiesta when it was smaller.   We managed to get the kids up early the first day of the Balloon Spectacular and made it down to the Parliamentary triangle. Unfortunately, the weather w