February 16 – 22, 2026

We have been so excited to have our first visitors from the States (that’s what they call the US here)! Our niece Kaitlin (Harrison) Holt and her hubby Nate Holt have been planning to come to New Zealand and Australia for over a month now and we’ve been super excited to host them here in Sydney for part of their trip! Even though we don’t feel like we’re “locals” yet – we have been making a list of places we’d like to take family and friends when/if they come to Sydney! 🙂

So, make your plans now and we can schedule you in! 🥰

Here’s how the week went:

Monday – We picked up Kaitlin and Nate at the airport, came back to our flat, had lunch then walked down to Circular Quay – where the Sydney Opera House, bridge and harbor are. We took a ferry to Manly Beach, put our feet in the water, then walked to Shelly Beach. It was a beautiful day! We saw water dragon lizards, stopped in a couple shops, then took the ferry back so Eric and I could attend our district council meeting.

going to manly beach

Tuesday – Eric and I drove to New Castle (2 hours away) to teach another zone preventative mental health/ life skill training. After our training we stopped at the Costco there in New Castle (it’s our favorite Costco so far) to get treats for the upcoming week’s events. Kaitlin and Nate went to Bondi beach while we were gone. We had an early dinner (Eric made asian stir fry – yum!) then we went downtown early to take pics, visit some shops, and eat crepes before we went to the Sydney Opera House to see the Hansel and Gretl opera. This was my first opera I’ve seen in English AND they had little displays around the theater that had subtitles, in case you didn’t understand what they were singing. The set and the story were great! It was a much “kinder” version of Hansel and Gretl than my parents/grandparents used to tell me when I was little! Ha ha

mental health training

Going to the opera

Wednesday – Nate and Kaitlin went with us to a zone training about an hour away. While we were teaching they found a yummy spot for breakfast. Afterwards, we all drove another hour and a half to the Blue Mountains Scenic World. The canyon park there (Blue Mountains) is twice as big as the Grand Canyon National Park. While there we had lunch then took the Skyway tram across a canyon. The tram had a glass bottom so you could see down as we traveled across – cool and freaky at the same time! When we arrived on the other side, we took a quick “hike” down to see a waterfall. The line to take the tram back was long. After we arrived again at the “home base” we took the railway – which is the steepest railway in the world at a 52 degree incline – to the bottom of the canyon and we explored the rainforest walking on a raised plank platform. Next time we go I definitely want to take some of the longer trails at the bottom but we ran out of time. To get back out of the canyon we rode a Cableway to the top. This was our first time in a rainforest and it was truly beautiful! Fortunately (or unfortunately), we didn’t see any animals in the rain forest but they did let us know that a big, poisonous black snake had been on the platform with a crowd right before we arrived, waiting to ride the tram – eek! An employee at the bottom told us that he had seen multiple large snakes, birds, and insects in his time working there. On our way back to Sydney we took a detour to Cattai Campground, famous for its high kangaroo population. We stopped for ice cream then took pictures of at least 100 kangaroos at the campground. It’s kind of crazy how they can all stop eating the grass and stare at you for an infinite amount of time. If you try to get too close to them, they run away. I kept thinking they’d be like a dog and walk over to let me pet it but that DIDN’T happen – ha ha!

training again!

The blue mountains

cattai campground

Thursday – Eric and I had our last zone training for the week. Kaitlin and Nate got a headstart on us at Paddy’s Market – a huge souvenir, fresh fruit/veggies/seafood and cute food booths. It’s definitely the place to go for low cost souvenirs! After our training, we met them there. They found all the souvenirs they wanted. We had dinner back at our flat then went to the temple that evening.

Paddy’s market 

Friday – Eric dropped Kaitlin and Nate off at the airport early in the morning. We helped with some lessons at the church then started decorating for a 50th birthday party for a friend in our group. Thankfully the missionaries helped put up all the “groovy” decorations and it looked great by 7:00 pm when the party was supposed to start. I started getting a bit nervous when the guest of honor didn’t arrive until 40 minutes later. It turned out to be a fun evening with music, dancing, games and snacks. A HUGE shout out to our missionaries (Hyde Park and Summer Hill) for all their help setting up, cleaning up AND being AWESOME party guests!

ruth’s birthday party

Saturday – Since we already took some “P-day” time this week with Kaitlin and Nate we decided to skip our normal Saturday p-day and attend lessons with the sisters. That evening we took some time to RELAX and get ready for Sunday! It had been a FUN, busy week and we were TIRED!

Sunday – After church today was our “linger longer” then had the sister missionaries over for dinner! We had a great time with the sisters – with a fun activity at the end of dinner – sharing what Christ-like attributes we saw in our companions. It was awesome to end the Sunday on a high note, discussing each others’ gifts of the Spirit.

Somethings we’ve learned this week:

1. This week I experienced FOMO (fear of missing out) and feelings of sadness to miss out on attending our grandkids’ plays, sporting events, etc and being there for the passing of a bestie’s mom. ❤️‍🩹 Of course, it’s totally normal and OK to miss our family and friends – we love them! Thank goodness for Facetime, phone calls and texts! As we were talking to the young missionaries in a training, we reminded them how happy Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ are, that they have sacrificed 18 months to 2 years of their lives to serve Him full time in sharing the Good News of the Gospel with His children – helping gather Israel. It reminded me that this time away from our dear family and friends is also a sacrifice for us (and them). I love President Hickley’s quote when he said, “You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.” The prophet Joseph Smith also taught, “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” I am grateful to be here with Eric, to serve the Lord full time. Two years sounds like a long time to be away from our family and friends but I know the Lord will bless us, and them, as we continue to serve. 

2. Just show up! One thing that we’ve realized is so important in any community is SUPPORTING each other – welcoming new friends, introducing yourself, being genuinely interested in each other, remembering and asking about events in their lives, caring about each other, loving each other, noticing when someone is missing, letting them know they were missed, helping those who are struggling or are sick, smiling, sharing kindness, laughing, crying and mourning together. Sometimes this can look like just showing up for them – taking time out of our schedules to be there for them. All these gestures mean SOOO much and can make all the difference! I’m so grateful for our little church community SUPPORTS each other and SHOWS UP! ♥

Eric’s Interesting Australian Info.

Fun facts about sydney australia

G’day! Sydney is a city of stunning icons, hidden secrets, and a bit of a “wild” past. Here are some of the most fascinating facts about the Harbour City:

The Icons

• The “Coat Hanger”:  The Sydney Harbour Bridge earned its nickname due to its arch-based design. It is the world’s largest steel arch bridge, and it actually expands and contracts depending on the temperature—on a hot day, it can grow up to 18 centimetres.
• Peeling Oranges: Architect Jørn Utzon was inspired to create the Sydney Opera House shells while peeling an orange; if you combined all the sails, they would form a perfect sphere.
• Bulb Overload: Maintaining the Opera House is a massive job—roughly 15,500 light bulbs are replaced inside the venue every single year.

Natural Wonders

• The World’s Deepest Harbour: Sydney Harbour is the deepest natural harbour on Earth, holding an estimated 504 billion litres of water.
• Why the Blue Mountains are Blue: The haze over the nearby Blue Mountains isn’t just a trick of the light; it’s caused by tiny droplets of eucalyptus oil released from the trees, which scatter blue light across the valley.
• Beach Galore: Sydney has over 100 beaches. While Bondi Beach is the most famous, the city’s smallest is McKell Beach, which can only be reached by boat at low tide. 

History & Quirks

• Sin City: In the 1920s, Sydney was known as “Sin City” due to its underworld of crime, famously ruled by two rival female gang leaders, Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh.
• The Granny Smith Apple: This world-famous green apple was discovered by accident in Sydney’s Ryde district in 1868 when Maria Ann Smith tossed French crab apple cores onto a compost heap.
• The “Sydharb”: Australians have a quirky official unit of measurement for volume called a “Sydharb,” which is equal to the volume of water in Sydney Harbour (roughly 500 gigalitres).
• Underground Lake: There is a massive subterranean lake hidden beneath St James railway station, formed in disused tunnels that were once flooded.

Global Claims to Fame

• First to New Year: Because of its proximity to the International Date Line, Sydney is the first major city in the world to welcome the New Year.
• The World’s 3rd Largest Fish Market: The Sydney Fish Market is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and ranks third globally.