Sydney

I loved Sydney!  I wish I could have stayed there a bit longer (or forever) because there is so much to do and see.

Our first stop was in the Royal Botanic Gardens for a spectacular view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from a peninsula in the harbour.

Our next stop was Bondi Beach, which is a surfer's paradise.

The water was incredibly cold (although that didn't stop the surfers) but I think the ocean is so relaxing and I probably could have stayed there all day.

Next was a trip up the Sydney Tower for some amazing views of the city.

The afternoon ended with a private tour of the Sydney Opera House which is impressive, to say the least.  It was designed to look like a series of sails and there is a fascinating story about how it came to be built.

I spent the evening in an area of Sydney called "The Rocks" which is the site of the first European settlement in Australia.  Most of the original buildings were built by convict labor but many have since been torn down.  However, there are some historical pubs in the area (almost all claiming to be the oldest pub in Australia) and I went on a fun pub crawl with a guide and visited the Mercantile (pictured above), the Lord Nelson, and The Hero of Waterloo.

Note:  I am featured on the the Go Ahead travel blog!  Go here for my musings on this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia and New Zealand!

Another Football Saturday

It looks like I will be watching football every Saturday morning this fall! I have next Friday off and I was contemplating going out of town but then I remembered that Sean would have a game the next day and I don't want to miss it!  I don't know what it is but going to his games is so much fun!  I think it is because football is synonymous with fall and fall is my favorite time of year or maybe it is because Sean is getting to be so good at football!  Whatever the reason, my family was sitting on the sideline once again yesterday to see the Bountiful Braves take on the Cyprus Pirates.  Sean played both offense and defense in this game so he was on the field a lot!  The game was tied with two touchdowns apiece but Cyprus scored in the last few minutes to win.  It was a tough loss but Sean still gave me a smile at the end of the game!

We are so proud of our Number 98!

Homecoming 2016

This week has been Homecoming at HHS and my officers and I have been so busy!  This morning we had our annual assembly and it went so well!  I was so proud of my officers!

It has become tradition to have the leads from the upcoming musical sing the national anthem at the Homecoming Assembly.  This year the performing arts department is producing Fiddler on the Roof and I will definitely be seeing this show because they sounded amazing!

Our student body president opened the assembly.

A performance by the cheerleaders.

The ever popular spirit can made an appearance!

A performance by the Drill Team, the HHS Silhouettes.

The most popular game was the Mummy Wrap!  The team from the Theatre Council won!

Performance by Dance Co.

Announcing the Homecoming Royalty.

Our beautiful Homecoming Queen and her King (she is a lovely girl and she was absolutely thrilled when we told her that she had won).

My favorite part of the Homecoming Assembly is always when the football team performs the haka.  I saw this performed in New Zealand but I think ours is pretty amazing!  After school the officers decorated for the dance and then hosted a carnival featuring all of the clubs and organizations.  There was a huge crowd in attendance!

Then we had the Homecoming game against one of our fiercest rivals and we had one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen!

Aside from all of the fun traditional festivities, it was a great game!  Hunter ended up winning 33-13!

Sydney Harbour Cruise

After a few days in Cairns, we took an afternoon flight to Sydney.  After settling into our hotel, a few of us opted for a dinner cruise around Sydney Harbour.  In a trip full of magical moments, this is, perhaps, one of my very favorites.  I can't tell you how exhilarating it was to catch my first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge at nighttime when they were lit up!  Absolutely stunning!  It was an amazing, never-to-be-forgotten moment!  In addition to the view, the cruise was memorable because of my companions for the evening.  We had a lovely dinner, complete with entertainment, as we cruised the harbour and we caused quite the commotion.  We were singing, dancing, and requesting obscure pop songs!  I can't speak for anyone else but I was certainly excited by the prospect of exploring Sydney and I was definitely in high spirits.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!  I usually don't like to attract that much attention but it was just so much fun and everyone around us only encouraged our shenanigans, especially the singer!

 

I fell in love with Sydney after this spectacular cruise!