Still Alive!

Hi Everybody!

 

It's been a long time since the last update and a lot has been happening. The best news in the last 6 weeks is definitely the arrival of our nephew; Jensen Erik Gruber! He arrived on April 22nd at 10:38 p.m. (Ontario time), at 8 pounds 1oz. Thanks to the miracle of technology, we have had the chance to see the little guy in pictures, video and on Skype. He's extremely cute and we can't wait to hold him and play with him when we get home.

In other news, since our return from Tasmania, I have managed to get fairly steady work between teaching at Gymea Bay and Coogee as well as a few days in the day care just to fill the gaps. I had a full week with a grade 3 class at the end of April, but other than that, it's mostly been the day to day stuff. I have a couple of days lined up for this week, and then next week I start 5 weeks with a grade 4 class to finish off term two; something I have been looking forward to for quite some time now.

 

As for Leah, she is one exam and one assignment away from finishing off her third term of her degree! While it was only a 10 week term, there was an awful lot of work put into it between assignments and plans; but most of her time went into her school-based placement down in Miranda. All of that hard work was worth it in the end when she got her evaluation back from her supervisor as she achieved very high regards.

 

Even though we have been quite busy the last 6 weeks, we have still managed to enjoy our time in Sydney - spending time in the park, hanging out with our friends and also planning our next trip which beings on Tuesday! We are catching a flight up to the Gold Coast in Queensland on Tuesday, spending a couple of days in Surfer's Paradise before renting a car and making a few stops down the coast before coming back to Sydney. There are a few nice little towns along the coast with some tourist attractions along the way, so it should be a very nice few days of driving and most important - very relaxing!

 

The weather here has started to cool off quite a bit. Up until about May 12th, we were still having very sunny days and highs of 22-24 here in Sydney. But for the last week or so, the highs are about 18-21 with the odd rainy day every now and then. It still gets quite warm in the middle of the day with the sunshine, but there's a chill in the air on the way to the train/bus in the morning - so the "winter" jackets have come out of the closet.

 

We hope you are all enjoying the long weekend and that you've been keeping well. Stay tuned for a review of our trip up the coast.

Take care everybody!

 

Jeff and Leah

xoxo