Fun night with delicious food and great games...

As of now, everyone has eaten the kangaroo meat. Yes, we all did! Didn't tell the kids at all and just BBQed it with the regular steak and sausage, served it with chicken wings and salad.  I worried a bit earlier this week that Michaela wouldn't eat it because of the large size of the regular piece, so Chris purposely cut it into small pieces.  Without doubt, Michaela went straight for the small ones and ate it with her salad. Albert had it so quickly and Zack was not any slower.  I took pictures of them eating the meat but they weren't "smart" enough to figure out why.  Once they pretty much all had it, then we adults who knew the fact told them, and the kids really got confused with which type they had on their plates was the kangaroo meat. But we have to say that it is very tasty and tender, and didn't feel any difference than any other meat if we weren't told the truth anyway.

After dinner, we all gathered together for a game called "Dirty Minds" --- each item we had to guess has three hints that are pretty "dirty", but the solution is very simple and not easy to think. If you win, you can pick a card with a letter on it, and whoever gets the whole spelling cards of "Dirty" wins the game.  We sat outside the house in the backyard with the gas lamp on to get some warmth, everyone was so happy and relaxed and had a great time together.

Now the house is quiet again and we are ready to hit the bed.  Tomorrow morning we will probably head down to the beach for one more surf (if the wave is good and the weather is warm enough) and then we will head to Brisbane to catch up our flight.  Finally it is time to say goodbye to Australia, but one day we will come back, for sure.  Thanks guys and see ya all back home very soon.

They surely had no clue

Michaela eating her
kangaroo meat

Zack: Dude, you are eating
the kangaroo... Albert: So?
I am hungry!

Smell first, then eat  

It took Jarrell 19 mins and
a cup of water to swallow

We couldn't really figure out what
happened to Kenji after the Roo

Game time

hanging out with Hudson

Perfect day to wrap up our perfect trip!

First of all, a quick update of what the kids did yesterday with their families --- Albert had a great time in Dream World and real enjoyed some crazy rides; Michaela went to the Movie World (kind the equivalency of the Universal Studios) and she definitely wants to come back to Australia; Kenji took a nap and chased down a kangaroo in the backyard and figured out that he couldn't beat the Roo in running; and Zack and Jarrell played with kangaroos a little in their backyard and then went shopping.

We all had a bit hard time saying goodbye to all the host families. Told by our kids, some of the family members cried last night; some younger ones in the families wouldn't let our kids go out of the door this morning; and our kids for sure didn't want to leave at all.  Too bad that we can't stay any longer (blame the summer school then).

Wow, what a wonderful and memorable day we spent at the Australia Zoo! It was supposed to rain today but somehow the sun was out the entire time... We spent almost 6 hours at the zoo walking around, taking tons of pictures, and having fun. We finally made it, everything we had waited for --- watch the famous Croc show (Steve Erwin used to be on site whenever he was not on tour filming); feeding and taking pictures with the kangaroos; petting and holding koala bears (the one we took photos with is "April" and she is only 18 months); having the python with the boys; and picking up many souvenirs for families and friends. Well, I have to mention that everyone "drained" their wallets and nothing is left in any of them. I guess it is time for us to go home then... When we got off the shuttle in the zoo for the food court, Steve Erwin's son Robert ran pass us.  We didn't see his wife Terry and his daughter Bindi, but it was great to see his son (remember the little baby Steve Erwin held in front of the big croc years ago?). Everyone working at the zoo seems to share very much Steve Erwin's passion and love for animals, and we could definitely sense his presence around us.

A little funny story here again... we were walking into the kangaroo field to feed them, and Albert said "I kind want to feed a crocodile"... Then Zack said "then you will be going to the Paralympics".  Classic!

The python snake was scary (well, at least to Michaela and I) but it was cool to see the boys holding it. Indeed, they worked so hard the entire week before they could get their dream come true, right? But the highlight has to be koala bear April, even though it costs us $20 each for a photo shoot (the money goes to the Steve Erwin Zoo Foundation to keep it open anyway, so it made us feel good)... Originally just me in line doing the photo shoot, then Michaela came along for it (well, Gail... I told her that you won't be having a problem with her paying $20 for this once-in-a-lifetime photo); then each of the boys came after because they just couldn't pass this opportunity and they all wanted to cuddle the koala bear.  We were the loud tourists at the place counting the money in our wallets to make sure we still had enough for this.  Hahaha... They allowed us to use our own cameras after their shot, so I (who is a great photographer) took the greatest photos for each one.  I nearly took over the lady photographer on site.  Heehee... So make sure you check your swimmers' camera (except Zack because he didn't even bring a camera) for the photos I took for them.  I took so many pictures with my camera and my battery died at the end just as we walked out of the zoo.  Perfect timing though...

Per the boys' request, we had to stop by McDonalds one more time for the 50-cent ice cream cones.  In reality, this is the only item they could still afford with their money in the wallet.  Now we are back in Chris' house and waiting for the big BBQ (kangaroo meat comes in soon, but feel bad now after feeding these adorable animals). We will party at the house tonight and be ready for our trip home tomorrow.  I don't know if I will have enough time to write another one tomorrow morning, so just in case I don't, thanks very much for sharing our trip every day and we are excited to return to the island.  We miss you a lot, and we can't wait to share more stories as soon as we are back.  From me personally, I want to thank all the Moms and Dads who supported these kids to get on this trip. I know we made your $$$ worth it and experience memorable.  I know these kids appreciate very very very much, as they spent lots of time in the gift shop today finding good gifts for their families.  As we say one more time here... G'Day and G'Night...  

Farewell at the pool

Steve Erwin used to do this show 

A nice group pic with his car

We fed so much food to these ROOS

Enjoying a mother with a baby
in the pouch

He wouldn't let the boys go

The koala bear next to us
at the Food Court

Agro is the largest croc the zoo has

Where is Kenji?

The boys' dream picture

Well, how high can you go?

Crikey!

Glad we experienced and
shared Steve Erwin's passion

More McDonalds' ice cream

His name is Charlie and
he is in action

Where is Albert, the Croc?

Final Day in Caloundra...

I don't know when I started to loose the ability to sleep in, but for sure know that I still want to be able to sleep in whenever I can. Set my alarm clock at 8 am for this mooring, then I woke up at 3:29 am for the first time and got up at 6 am.  Oh well... at least it is quiet and I get to sit down and do work on my computer.

Chris and I will drive to the pool at 9 am to pick up the kids (and their luggages) and then we will head to the zoo.  They will have to say goodbye to their host families today because we won't see them again tomorrow before our departure.  Last Sunday when we arrived, I was so ready to give these kids away after three days in Sydney (hahaha) and I wonder now after the whole week hanging out with their host families, are them ready to return or still wish to spend more time? Too bad that we can't stay longer, but they are all friends on Facebook now, so they will be in touch with each other anyway. Some of the Aussie parents have been asking Chris about going to Hawaii next year to train with us, and I told the parents that when they visit us, we will host them just as they did to us.

I will try to take a group picture with everyone (swimmers, host parents... whoever will be at the pool for the final farewell) and a lot of pictures at the Zoo today for our next blog.  Maybe the boys can re-do their dance video in front of the croc cage or while holding a koala bear or when the python snake is on their shoulders? I know it will be a fun day, and hope the weather holds up nicely because yesterday it was really cold.

Before I finish this blog, I want to send a big list of Aussie slangs.  My Aussie buddies gave me a lot of help last night and I didn't know that there is even an iPhone App for the slangs.  The list goes on and on, and I had to stop it at the end of one full page.  I think you should study and test your swimmers when they return to see how many they have learned from their Aussie families ---

dunny (toilet)
suit (a bag of fruit)
a big plate of meat (big feet)
Shila (girl)
Old Codger (old guy)
Fair suck off the sav, mate (come on, give us a go)
spit the dummy (get upset)
frighten the bulldog out of a butcher shop (ugly)
aukle biter (small child)
arvo (afternoon)
bikkie (biscuit)
barbie (BBQ)
bloke (man)
bolledy beauty (fantastic)
bonzer (great)
ripper mate (awesome)
how they hanging (how are you)
Bob's your uncle (it's alright)
sticky beak (nosey person)
hasn't got a brass raze (he is poor)
cark it (to die)
bludger (lazy)
choke a sickie (take a sick day)
come a guster (mistake)
esky (cooler)
mad as a cut snake (angry)
exy (expensive)
ridgey didge (for real)
doozey (something unpleasant)
true blue (genuine)
give it a burl (have a go)
hooroo (goodbye)
mongrel (bad person)
off to the quack (to the doctor)
come the raw prawn (lie)
servo (petrol station --- not to mention that petrol is the same as gas, as we say)

Well, there are so many more and I guess we will save them for the future trips we might take. Don't know yet where we will be next summer, but we know we will be moving forward with what we learn along the way and the passion/motivation/dedication/determination we carry in ourselves. Go Sun-shine!

Pretty much finished all trainings here... now moving on to have some fun!

Last workout was officially done as of this morning. It is a cold winter day, apparently the coldest for the last 45 years! It just started to rain a little now, but hope tomorrow it will be nice for our Zoo day. The kids are out with their host families and they are having a great time from my communication on text messaging with their hosting parents.

I, on the other hand, took a nice nap and now hanging out with Chris and his family, his parents and my former Aussie swimmers in the house.  A cup of hot tea is making me happy...

I will give you more updated when I have the kids back tomorrow and will try to take a group picture of all of them with their families when picking them up at the pool tomorrow morning.  Miss ya guys and chat later.

60 x 25 Fly... done!

The moment everyone has been waiting to get over with --- 60 x 25 Fly, finally done! Chris and I modified the interval a little so that it didn't hit the kids too much, so 30 on 30" and 30 on 40", but no rest and 60 all the way through. First 30 was challenging because the body and mind were in process adapting the load, plus short rest in between each one.  The second half was a bit better with more rest and the kids seemed to get on the autopilot pace.  Albert said "it is actually not that hard, really" and Michaela's first words as soon as she finished were "Sunny, can we do this again at home?" How can I not admire and be proud of these wonderful kids? Zack led pretty much all the way through, specially the second half --- average 10 strokes per 25, between 14"5 to 15"1; last 4 x 25 averaged 11 strokes;  last 25 14"2... Kenji had good stroke all the way through, Jarrell held it well without falling apart.  Tomorrow morning is all about sprint, a 30-min non-stop relay mixed teams with the Aussie kids. 

Swim resumes at 6 am tomorrow (so one extra hour of sleep for everyone) and then the kids are off to fun activities with their host families.  I think most of them are going to this amusement park called Dreamworld and apparently it is a really fun place with lots of cool rides.  Michaela has been waiting the entire week to go there.  I will be off to Mooloolaba again for some relaxation and catching up with friends, and then return to the house in the afternoon because two of my former UH athletes are coming for a visit.  

Even though we still have tomorrow to go, I have to say that mission well accomplished this trip and we will be ready to return with fresh mind, attitude, confidence and goals in our heads.  We look forward to bring everything we learned from here back home to everyone and we hope they are ready to start challenging themselves a bit as well, just like we did here.  

On a separate note, would you guys let me know who will be picking up who on Monday? I will call your cell phone when we land, and will stay at the curbside until everyone gets picked up.  Hayato and Claire: may I have a ride please to home with you guys?  Thanks very much and talk to you again tomorrow.  Hope not raining tomorrow, really cross the fingers and pray... The kids really deserve a fun day, so please let them... Miss you all very much! 

ready to set the pool
to 25-M

The Aussie girls just cannot walk
away from our boys

46th 25 Fly, Zack leading

Albert fell off the couch while
taking a nap today, but he didn't
even know. This is how tired they are.