Jay and Karen Arrive!!

Jay and Karen got her Friday night and we have been running them ragged ever since they got here. Saturday we went downtown and, not discouraged by the clouds and intermittent rain, we toured the Opera House, did some shopping and ate lunch on The Rocks, took photos from the Harbour Bridge and generally had a great time.

Sunday we went to church where everyone was really excited to finally meet these strange Amercians they had heard so much about. Just like when we first visited, people went out of their way to get to know them a little even if they only see them the one time.

Sunday afternoon/evening we went to the NRL Grand Final. Totally awesome experience! The two top teams made it all the way to this championship game which is the NRL equivelent of the Super Bowl. We were all decked out in Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles garb and we sitting with Neil and Majella - good friends of ours from church. The game should have been very competitive, but Manly creamed Melbourne by a new record margin of victory - 40-0! There were some great plays, the atmosphere was awesome and even the newbies could follow the action. Jay and Karen agreed that David Williams of Manly looks astonishingly like Blake - hence he is our favorite player. Good time. Thanks to an ingenious plan developed by Paul when we went to the AU/NZ Rugby Test last month, we got out with no problems/traffic.

David Williams - Manly Sea Eagles

When we got home, Jay made some great burgers while I transferred his pics DVDs. Then we watched "Israel Dic 2 Photos". Let's just say Jay has taken a couple of photos. Disc 2 was a little over 1000. He has 4 disks now and 2 weeks here with us. Thanks goodness for digital technology!

Today, the rain should clear and we are going to wander the beaches. I'll get some pics up when I get a chance.

Jon