We'll Be Home For Christmas...

And we did NOT pack lightly!!!

To say that we were excited to be going home for the holidays was an understatement. To say that we had a wonderful and easy travel experience to get home would be a BIG fat lie! We began our travel day at about 5:30 Saturday morning December 11th. Arrived at the airport at 9:00AM for our flight, only to be told that our noon flight was "delayed" until 9:00PM! That's right folks...a 9 hour delay. That is NO delay...that is a whole new flight. Back to our house in Brisbane we went, to wait out the "delay." Back to the aiport around 6:00PM to do the whole thing all over again.
Happy girls waiting for our 9:00PM flight out of Brisbane. Happy because of the new shoes on their feet. If there was any question that our girls have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers...that question was answered when he bought them the UGG's they just HAD to have at the airport. Winter shoes for Texas - check!
Kenyon is queen these days of the "model" pose. Showing off her new UGG's with a runway pose.
Our "home" for the 14 hour flight to LA. A double decker plane. We flew on the bottom deck.
Watching some Dora on the plane. The girls thought having their own TV's with multiple kids movies and tv shows was great! They handled the flight with flying colors. Mommy and daddy thought traveling economy for 14 hours with 2 kids was a BAD idea. Never again. Kenyon and Ashtyn got to lay down and sleep, while mommy and daddy tried to sleep sitting straight up, or leaning over and using our food trays as pillows. I believe it will be premium or business class seats from now on.
At the LA airport. Thanks to Qantas "delaying" our flight for 9 hours, we missed our connecting flight from LA to Houston. We spent the night at the Hilton in LA, and got up the next day to catch another flight from LA to Houston. The time difference was a little tough getting used to. We were all in bed in LA by 8:00 that night, only to be wide awake by 1:00AM. I am pretty sure that the rooms next to ours were wondering what kind of people allowed their kids to be running around the room at that time.
Crashed out for a "nap" at about 5:00AM Sunday morning in LA. Shortly after this photo we had to wake them up to dress them, so we could once again get to the airport for the last leg of our travels home.
Plane art work. There were no kids movies on the plane from LA to Houston. So we did artwork, coloring, reading books and snacking to make the time go by.
James driving our old truck. Yea...we were a little excited to have a truck at our disposal again. Maybe there was a little driving on the wrong side of the road...Had to get used to a different driver's side and a different side of the road again.

More napping. She slept almost the whole 2 hours from Houston to James' parents house.

James and Kenyon driving the golf cart at my dad's house.

MY FAMILY!!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!! I was SO happy to be able to get Cooper. He made the travels around Texas with us. I cried when I picked him up and cried even harder when I had to drop him off again.
Yea...not really sure what I am doing here. I think I am trying to get Cooper to walk with me. However I find it amusing that I am still in my morning workout clothes. Got in a run and a good lift, and then followed that up with some Shiner...pretty sure that workout was pointless, but the Shiner was worth every calorie.
Nothing like playing in the mud by the pond at grandma and grandpa's house. Glad she was wearing black pants.

That's my boy coming out of the pond after a swim.

Ashtyn's turn for a drive with daddy.

No, this is NOT a way to torture your children. Kenyon had a sticker in her foot...daddy was giving her a hand getting it out... and possibly trying to help her out of her pants!! :)

Tradition!!!! Decorating the old Chevy truck. This year it was the guys turn to decorate it. We take turns, girls one year, guys the next...we have made a little competition out of it.

The girls on daddy and grandpa's ALMOST finished creation. Grandpa put the truck up on lifts. James and grandpa then decorated the truck with lights, trees, and a wreath, and "fake" reins. The only thing missing at this time were the reindeer. They arrived a few days later to "pull" the truck. Very cute!

I am going to have to upload pictures of our Christmas travels in segments. We traveled over 2500 miles, and 8 cities in 30 days. Had everything to eat that was greasy, fried and cheesy. Drank more beer and margaritas than should be allowed. Managed to throw in some Texas Country music, a lot of shopping, and a little bit of weight gain! Overall our trip was a success and a happy time. Over 400 pictures taken. One thing we know for sure is that Texas will always be home, and we have the BEST friends and family around!

Baby Jesus and the Donkey

Thursday morning was field trip day with Kenyon's pre school. In mom terms, this means an early start to a long day with 22 five year olds and their siblings! My morning started off with an early trip to the gym and then a marathon dash around the house trying to get 2 kiddos ready and out of the door. Both kids helped mom out by sleeping in and waking up 45 minutes before we needed to leave. Ashtyn, upon hearing that Kenyon was going to be riding the train downtown, then informed me "I no go school today. I ride train with sissy and friends!" That sounds sweet, however, imagine it being said in a high octane squeal with some kicking and screaming thrown in. I have learned a few lessons in my years of motherhood...my favorite these days is to pick my battles...I chose not to fight this battle, threw all us in the car and sped away to Kenyon's school so we could catch the train. Evidently, I did not speed fast enough. By the time we got there, they had left us. Picture me with a stroller, a purse and a lunch bag racing down the sidewalk to the train station with a 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old (shoeless) racing along side of me. FUN TIMES! We made the train and headed off the St. John's Cathedral for a lovely telling of the birth of Jesus.

Mykaela, Ashtyn and Kenyon having morning tea (snack) in Cathedral Park. Notice what Ashtyn is NOT wearing.

St. John's Cathedral (Anglican Cathedral of Brisbane). The Cathedral was built in 3 stages. Work began in 1906 and ended in 1910. The second stage began in 1947 and ended in 1965. The third stage began in 1989 and ended in 2009.

2 buildings down from the Cathedral is James's office! We met him for lunch and Christmas shopping after the field trip.

Sinead (a friend of Kenyon's) trying to get Ashtyn to go sit down. Looks like Ashtyn is really listening!

Kenyon, Neeve, and Sophie taking up the pre school's offering to baby Jesus.

Mary, Joseph and their donkey, looking for a place to sleep in Bethlehem. As you can see, there were a good number of kids here for the story. Amazingly enough, it was very quiet. UNTIL...Ashtyn realized there was a donkey and yelled " A DONKEY!!!!!! I WANT TO RIDE THE DONKEY!!!!!!!"

Listening to the story of the birth of Jesus.

You would think she was listening as well...Not really...She was very intently following the movements of the donkey.

This car was parked in the employee area of the parking lot of the Church. Not sure if this is the church accountant's vehicle or what. But the vanity plates on BMW X3 (sells between $68,000 - $85,000) were amusing to me.

Train ride home. Happy girls...I bribed them with lollies (suckers). On the way home we had a conversation about the story of Jesus. Kenyon said her favorite part of the story was the big bright star and baby Jesus (he was cute). Ashtyn's favorite part...the donkey. Ashtyn then asked me if she could meet baby Jesus because she wanted to ask him is she could ride his donkey. I think we need to do some talking about the meaning of the birth of Jesus.

Walking to the car from the train station. Notice what is still missing from Ashtyn's clothing ensemble?

All in all it was a good day. We got to eat lunch with daddy...something we never get to do during the week, and we all went Christmas shopping as well. Daddy got his Christmas present. Not really sure if it counts as a Christmas present when he did the research, shopping and paying for it...but he likes it!

Caloundra

Beach weather has arrived in Brisbane! I think all of us are a little excited. Warm weather and great beaches are just two of the things you think of when you hear Australia. Thanks to the time of year we moved, we have had limited time at the MANY beaches north and south within 30 minutes to 2 hours from our house.

This past Saturday we ventured an hour North to the town of Caloundra. Caloundra is the southern most community on the Sunshine Coast. We got a kick out of some of the names of the beaches...Bulcock Beach...Dicky Beach... Despite names of the beaches, a great day in the water was had by all.

A view of Bulcock Beach.

A view of the northern tip of Bribie Island from Bulcock Beach.

My handsome Kangaroo Jack!

After a morning swim, we stopped for a little lunch at a fish and chips restaurant with ice cream for dessert. As you can see, Ashtyn was a fan of her rainbow ice cream!

Kenyon, takes after her mommy and went straight for the chocolate!

Building sandcastles on the beach.

Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Model 2023?? I hope not, but I do like the pose :)

Running on the beach.

Can't quite outrun the water.

Happy Girl!

My 2 little fishes!

After a day at the beach, we made a pit stop for James at BCF (Boating Camping Fishing). It is the closest thing we could find that resembled an Academy. Why were we searching for this store? Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and even though there is no Thanksgiving celebration in Australia...we are celebrating anyway! This entails frying a turkey. Frying a turkey means buying a large pot and a propane burner. Lucky us...these items were located at BCF! While daddy was shopping, Ashtyn located a chair and made herself at home.

2 tired girls on the way home from our day in Caloundra. They could not be disturbed from their Barbie movie to take a photo for mommy.

Stay tuned...I think I am making it a mission to hit every beach in a 2 hour radius both north and south of our house. I have a feeling there will be more beach pictures to come.

BULA!!!!!

James and I were able to celebrate our 8th anniversary with a trip to Malolo Island, Fiji. Heaven on earth comes to mind when I think of the scenery we were able to see while we were there. Think of the pictures you have seen on post cards, calendars and movies...and yes, Fiji actually does look just like all of those. The main island of Denareu is very commercialized. That is where you can find the Hard Rock Cafe, and all the major Hotel chains. We stayed one night on Denareu and then made our way out to Malolo Island via boat transfer. We stayed five nights on Malolo at the LikuLiku Lagoon Resort. LikuLiku on has 45 bures (Fijian word for wood and straw hut), so at full capacity the resort only holds 90 people. LikuLiku (means Calm Lagoons or waters) was an ancient safe harbor for the canoes during times of tribal warfare. The members of the Yara Village lived at the site of our resort until around 1940, when they relocated to a different side of the island in order for the British army to protect them from the Japanese. We did a village tour to the Yara Village, took a tour, met some of the local villagers and took part in a Kava Ceremony. Kava is a drink made out of the kava root. The roots are pounded into a powder and mixed with water to form a drink that has mild sedative properties. The Fijians will often drink the kava drink during times of story telling and socializing. The drink has been known to bring a relaxing or numbing affect to its consumers. Both of our tongues went numb after just one drink. The drink itself reminded me of drinking muddy water. No taste and kind of pasty.

James and I did a little of everything on our trip. We kayaked and snorkeled daily. Snorkeling was as easy as walking out our bure, putting on our snorkel gear and walking right into the water. We hiked around our island along the trails, we did runs on the beach, we did a snorkel around Castaway Island, (Tom Hank's movie was named for this island. He actually filmed the movie on a island named Modriki, which we could see from our resort.) we went fishing (catching only 1 fish...a barracuda), we also took plenty of time to rest, relax, layout by the pool and the ocean and have massages. One of the MANY highlights was meeting Natalie Cook. She is an Australian Olympic Beach Volleyball player. She won the gold in the Sydney Games (2000). She is in training right now for the 2012 Olympics. She was in Fiji, training the employees at our resort for a Fiji wide Volleyball tournament. She was extremely nice and played a very fun game of beach volleyball with us against the Fijians. We called in Fiji vs. The World...and the Fijians won. It was such a wonderful trip. James and I fell in love with the location, the island, the views, and the people. If we ever disappear...you know where we headed!

This was on our bed when we first walked into our Bure.

These were our personal beach chairs, on our little section of beach, right outside our bure.

The view from our outdoor daybed. We did some drinking and reading from this daybed. Very peaceful.

Thanks to the remote control for our camera...we got a self portrait with our beach behind us. We were getting ready for dinner one night.

A view of the pool that looked out onto the ocean. Can't tell where the pool stops and the ocean begins.

Gin and Tonic's on the outdoor daybed.

The sunrise on the morning of our fishing trip.

James and his barracuda. We donated his catch to our captain. Evidently the Fijian's eat barracuda. Our captain was happy to have it.

Our new friends! Kate and Sherwood (Arizona), Natalie Cook, James, me, and Sarah Maxwell. Sarah is an Olympic beach volleyball player from Canada.

Getting ready for a hiney kicking!!!

Eel! We saw this guy hanging out taking an evening hunt. We were on our way to have some pre dinner drinks and saw him in the water.

One of the beautiful sunsets seen while having drinks before dinner.

On the trail!! Taken while we were hiking around the island. What you climb up, you must also climb down.

View of our pool while we were kayaking around the lagoon.

Looking down on our resort from our hike.

7:00PM nightly tiki torch lighting.

We took over 500 pictures on our trip. I am in the process of putting a digital photo album together. We will bring the album with us when we come home in December. I am still having dreams of our little vacation in paradise...until next time!