feeding the "koalabies" in Granite Gorge

Up on the Tablelands above Cairns, Queensland, Australia, these little guys - rock wallabies - run around "wild" but are obviously very accustomed to being fed by visitors. Feed is provided; I highly recommend this! Even Isaac loved it. The kids mixed up the words koala and wallaby to get their name for these adorable creatures: koalabees. :)

The girls had requested pink hair, so I sprayed some hairspray-like pink into their hair for the day. It made their hair feel and look disgusting, but they were happy and it washed out easily.

One more late-breaking quote

On David's plan to pacify a hypothetical ravenous wolf, thanks to an episode of Planet Earth and as a new fascination with predators of the world, wondering if they eat humans or not. This morning his question was about cheetahs; this afternoon:

"Mommy, do wolves eat people?"

"They don’t usually want to eat people. They want to eat animals.”

 

"But do wolves ever want to eat people?”

"If a wolf was STARVING, it might eat a person."

"What does starving mean?”

"It means, so hungry it’s about to die."

Without missing a beat, he held out his arms as though holding an offering and earnestly suggested, "If I gave the starving wolf a dead fox to eat, maybe he wouldn’t eat me.”

I tried not to laugh aloud. "Yup, I bet he wouldn’t eat you if you gave him a dead fox to eat instead.”

Brief pause, then: "But Mommy, how could I find a dead fox?"

Quint quotes mid-2017

Will: "Mommy, I’m not lovely and polite, because I’m not a girl. I’m just polite." 

Looking down at the monogram shirt his Grandpadad had made for him: "Mommy, this isn't my shirt! Look, it's Marcie's up letter. It's not my upside down letter!" 

And wanting an airplane Seth had: “They’re only for boys that wear black hair!"

Seth got two hand-me-down trucks from a friend. He named one of them “Tuna Sandwich” and one of them “Rice.” Which happens to be his very favorite thing to eat: Tuna ["sandwich"] on rice.

Seth calls Corn Flakes "acorns"

David: "Mom I want a water balloon with no water.  Just a balloon with string."

Grace: “Mommy!  My owie is all better!"

Mommy: “Really?  That’s great!"

Grace, delighted: “Yeah! Because Marcie didn’t slam the door on my finger again!"

Marcie: “I’m happy that we have a new dog that’s not dead."* 

*[Our original dog died several months ago.]

At our Aviation Department get-together two weeks ago; not great of the two girls but such is life in a family this big!

Watersliding at the birthday party

Thanks to Aunt/Mrs. Debbie (the kids' teacher last year and Friday-morning-hero our first year here) for being our photographer!

The kids wanted a helping hand at the beginning but got progressively more brave. Here Will looks on with some concern. He never actually did the slide; he preferred his water shooters from Grandpadad (below)

Spraying Isaac's friend Matthew

Marcie with friend Dilu (thank God for young legs!)

Gracie and Dilu

A cold Gracie clad in her new birthday dress

Mom and Seth

David and Mom

Will being hauled happily down the hill to home

Marcie goes it alone!

Dad is going a bit too fast for David's taste!

David is still slightly nervous, but at least he has his umbrella along for the ride (I'm not sure why he wanted it to go down the slide with them, but it's his party and he can ride how he wants to!)

Glamorous Grace with the dress and sunglasses she'd just opened as gifts. 

Gavin is a good sport, making his daughters very happy :)

Marcie chose to hold her own umbrella rather than asking Daddy to

Seth was the bravest boy on the waterslide!

More 5th birthday photos

School birthday "royalty" - Seth has blue frosting on his mouth, and you can see the pink frosting from the girls' cupcakes on the cement in front of Will

Opening presents

Waiting for the party to start! Unfortunately, our bright sunny day turned cold and overcast and windy. We couldn't even light the candles on the cake! But the kids enjoyed showing off their new umbrellas. 

My dad had these shirts made for the kids with their names on the front. The backs of their shirts read: Princess Marcie, Mighty Seth, Princess Gracie, Dynamic David, and Will Da' Beast :) (As our most physical child, the name suits!)

Helping slow Marcie down her first couple of times; afterwards she went as fast as she could by herself!

The cake I made (unprofessional but fun!)

Pretty girls and their pretty presents!

Wearing new dinosaur sweatshirts from Aunt Mickey - perfect after a cold afternoon water sliding and a warm bath!

The five are FIVE!

One exhausted but happy family praising God for five amazing years of His faithfulness:

More pictures to come when we've regained our strength and energy. It's been a FULL day!

The Jones family goes Down Under

After three years in PNG we decided it was time to be brave enough to take the whole family on an airplane again. They did GREAT, for which we thank and praise God! We’re so blessed to live so close to Australia, especially the far north tip of Queensland. We're extra super blessed that my parents joined us there! We’re also much more encouraged/confident about heading back to the US next summer for a year spent visiting friends, family, churches and getting recurrency helicopter training for Gavin. The kids did such a good job traveling!

Things the quints loved about the First World (in no particular order):

Riding on airplanes (which included riding escalators - Gracie says that was her favorite thing to do in Australia):

At our airport here in Ukarumpa (an arriving plane was exciting as we waited for our own to be ready for departure)
Left to right: Seth, Will, Marcie, David on Isaac's shoulders, Gracie

Seth on our mission's airplane (a Kodiak single engine turboprop)

Reading to the kids at the airport in Port Moresby as Gavin fills out paperwork: Gracie, Will, Seth, David, Marcie

Marcie and Gracie on the brief flight to Australia

Their grandparents (who met us at the airport in Cairns)!

Me hugging my dad, Gracie, Marcie looking on, David in foreground, Seth also watching the hug, Will, my mom, Isaac.

Grandma cuddling Seth and Gracie in the morning

POOLS (this one was heated as June/July is the Australian winter)!

Running on bridges and raised walkways, although the kids were at least willing to stop briefly for a photo, although Seth doesn't look thrilled with the idea.

At the Curtain Fig near Yungaburra on the Atherton Tablelands above Cairns

Ice cream - LOTS of flavors!

At the ice cream counter at Gallo Dairyland on the Tablelands

Cows - feeding them and watching them get milked

Marcie with a baby calf she fed

All six visiting with the cows waiting to be milked (look how tall Isaac is!): Seth, Gracie, Will, Marcie, David

Play Places and "bubble slushies" (frozen sodas) at MACDONALD'S!! Yes, I have to put it in all caps. :) I took the quints by myself one day for lunch and had a [very busy] blast! I'm looking forward to the First World for things like this!

Awesome parks

Seth with Marcie and Will above him in the "spider web"
at Muddy's Playground on the Esplanade in Cairns

Seth and Marcie at top, Will coming up below
(Seth is our biggest climber, he who needed physical
and occupational therapy at one time! Praise God)

Beaches!

Making "sand angles" while Gavin takes a picture (below)

Left to right: Gracie, Seth, Will, David, Marcie

An impromptu visit during a trip up the coast to Port Douglas - Will, Seth in my arms, Marcie

 (9) Mommy's, Grandpadad's and Grandmommy's favorite part of the Australian First World: All the fabulous COFFEE we could drink TOGETHER!

A funny sign in the children's area of a local restaurant

 MANY more photos to follow! You'll get sick of hearing from us. :)

Gratefully,
Carrie