Ex-Cyclone Oswald

We have been having the most insane weather.  I don't know if you remember the 2011 flooding in Queensland, but apparently this weather will exceed those floods.  It's been raining for a couple of days now and yesterday afternoon it got really bad.  I'll start by saying that we're fine.  We are in a good area, in a strong, sturdy building that is only four years old and our power has been unaffected.  That being said, this weather is CRAZY.  Probably around 1 or 2pm yesterday the rain started intensifying and the wind really picked up.  At three or so one of our building managers came on the speakers and said the police had called and ordered all outdoor furniture to be brought in because there were wind gusts up to 150 kilometers/hour (90+ mph).  It raged all afternoon and continued all night.  This morning it was STILL raging and didn't let up until around 3pm.  Brooks and I were so excited that the rain stopped and even more excited to see the sky that for 1/2 a second I thought we should join all of the people across the street who had gone out for some fresh air.  Good thing we didn't because not two minutes later the clouds rolled back in, the sky turned gray and we were hit with round two.  Although it continues to rage, it doesn't seem to be any worse and it's believed that tomorrow the weather should clear out.  At that point we should be okay and the danger will be for those in areas where the flooding has occurred.  We live directly across the street from Burleigh Beach and that's been a focus for news teams.  Here are some pictures that have been snapped today from those who have been out and about.

This is just to give an idea of some of the flooding taking place.

 This is an easy walk from our place and usually

you can see the beach and a bunch of huge rocks.

 

 This is the same place getting pulverized by waves.  Check out
the inside of the building. (Click the picture to make it bigger.)

This area might look familiar from pictures, except usually 

it's grassy and not covered in foam from the waves.  You can 

see the park where Brooks plays under the blue tarps.

The next pictures are from the very brief time this afternoon when the rain stopped.

 I guarantee ALL of these people got SOAKED because round two came out of nowhere.

 This is a preface for the saddest pictures we saw.  Take note of the
swings because they might be all that's left of Brooks' park.

 The trees have fallen and knocked over the poles with the tarps.

 

But he's resilient.  He wants to take his plastic Black and Decker

tools over when the rain clears to start the rebuilding efforts.

mini-me...

Brooks wants to be JUST like Patrick when he dresses, in his mannerisms and expressions and anything else you can think of.  There have been times where he's been insistent on wearing something in particular or not wearing something and it all boils down to what Daddy is wearing.  It was so bad the other night that Patrick was icing his hurt wrist and, of course, Brooks needed to ice his wrist, too.  Patrick loves it and it really is sweet. 

classic...

When I go back to Brooks' room I never know what I'm going to find...

On this particular day he had gotten his sleeping bag out...

and filled it with his buddies who were ready for a nap.

the Bible bearer...

Our friends got married the weekend we got back from Dallas...

and Brooks was the Bible bearer.

He did such a great job...

and we had a wonderful time celebrating.

exciting times...

What did you say???

 There's what???

 I'm going to have HOW many siblings???

 We are SO excited to share our news:

The Terrell twins will be here in May.  Yay!!!

the U.S of A...

We went to Dallas back in October for a quick visit.  The first part of our trip wasn't captured because a certain husband took the memory card out of my camera and left it in Australia...oh well.  We got it fixed...

 We went to Kayla's soccer game...

and saw a beautiful Texas sunset.

Aunt Heather and Lily flew in town...

 and gave Brooks this awesome superhero cape.

Gigi and Papa Hugh also flew in so we took them to the pumpkin patch...

where there were slides...

 and hay rides...

 and mazes...

 

and cuddles from Gigi...

and cuddles from Daddy.

We took a family photo...

and Brooks played around.

Aunt Tiffany, Jude and Julia joined us...

and they explored the pumpkin house.

 We had so much fun seeing everybody...

 including my friend Jill...

and Grandma and Grandpa.

 The next day we went to another Fall Festival.  There was plinko...

and nail painting...

 and all kinds of games.  Then Daddy wanted Rudy's...

so we ate barbeque...

and played Big Buck Hunter.

Then Patrick and I flew to Laguna Beach, California...

and stayed in this cute hotel...

 that was right on the water.

 Before we knew it our trip was over and we headed back to the other side of the world.

shave...

Brooks LOVES shaving with Daddy...

Fraser Island...

We went to Fraser Island for Patrick's birthday; it's the largest sand island in the world and one of the world's top spots for whale watching.  It's in Queensland and about a five-hour drive north followed by an hour ferry ride over.  We didn't arrive until late afternoon so we just took it easy our first night.  However, the birthday morning we woke up early and boarded a 7:30am whale watching boat. 

We patiently waited for the whales...

and we not-so-patiently waited for the whales...

but then they came.

They were so close and so playful...

even the mothers with their calves.

 

It was a really neat experience, especially for Brooks...

who watched and watched...

until he just couldn't take it anymore.

 We went swimming back at the resort...

and Brooks did really well with his new floaties.

 The next morning we went to Lake McKenzie.

We were there early but it was still very pretty.

And once again, Brooks loved it.

We rented this Land Cruiser because only 4WD vehicles are allowed on the island...

because there are no roads.  Unless you count this.

 Patrick loved every second of it.

We drove to the famous Fraser Island shipwreck...

and Brooks kept saying...

"This is the coolest shipwreck I've ever seen!!!"

Ha...

 I'm pretty sure it's the only shipwreck any of us have seen.

 

Next up, hiking to Indian Heads.

We were almost to the top and he thought we had to be quiet...

and we were because the view was amazing.

 We hung out...

 snapped a few photos...

and headed to the final two spots on our drive...

 the Pinnacles...

and Eli Creek.  It was freezing.

The birthday trip was a great one and we 

enjoyed another Terrell family vacation.