humpty dumpty...

...sat on a wall
humpty dumpty had a great fall
all the kings horses and all the kings men
can't know how to put him together :)

That is what I overheard Destiny saying last night as she played in her bedroom! I LOVE the last line! She makes me smile!

Today is a rainy day here (in fact, it's been rainy all week). It looks like we will be missing out on the paint and play in the park today, but we plan on going to the U.S. Embassy today for a Australian arts and crafts show. I'm hoping to find some great gifts for people! Then it's off to get my drivers license (watch out Aussies...here I come!) and get the vehicle registration updated and it seems like there is something else on the TO-DO, but I forget for now :)

I hear there is SNOW in the Midwest! I Hope every one is staying warm and happy!

Destiny did a GIANT puzzle that she got from her Grandma Sally and Auntie Sam (Matt's mom and sister). She had such a blast putting it together and was happy to lay down by it and take a picture!

Instead of an Aussie word of the day, I'm going to share with you an Aussie food of the day! These bananas are wax tipped bananas...they call them red tipped bananas and they are more expensive than regular bananas. My crew here goes through over a dozen bananas a week, so I thought we would try these puppies out. They were so good and then we researched them and decided we like the concept behind them too!

Here's the website: www.eco-banana.com.au

There is a video on there that explains them. So interesting. We typically get bananas in our box from the farm too (speaking of, we get our box from the farm today, it's like Christmas for me...each week it's a surprise and I get to plan my meals according to what's in the box)

This is a picture of LOVELINESS. Carrot Cake Clif Bars are one of my favorite snacks in the states. When I found them on Drugstore.com, I was SOOOO happy! We ordered some other things too like deodorant, shampoo, etc. It was great to get our box! They even threw in a couple of free-bes! Why order things like this online? Because some of those items are SO expensive here in Australia. I paid over 20 dollars for a bottle of sun screen and Matt paid nearly 30 dollars for lotion when he first arrived. WOW!

Some of you lovely people have been asking what you can send our way for Christmas. Matt brought home a flyer with a description of what you can and cannot send to Australia.

Here are the main things NOT to send:

1. Meat and meat products

2. Dairy and egg products

3. Fruit and vegetables

4. Handicrafts (such as souvenirs, artefacts and good made with unprocessed animal products such as rawhide, feathers, teeth, and bones. Dried flower arrangements or pot pourri, anything with straw, seeds, pine cones, bark, or moss)

5. Plants, seeds, soil

6. Dried plant material such as pasta, tea, pop corn or nuts

There ya have it...they make it pretty easy. If you have any questions don't hesitate to email me and ask!

I better get off for the day! The girls and I are planning to DECORATE for Christmas, drink hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music! Sound like a blast? It's going to be :)

Enjoy today!

Swimming with the Dolphins :)

Good morning!

As promised, here are the pictures from the beaches!

Miss Destiny

Matt and the girls and the OCEAN!!!

Matt and Addi. Isn't the view spectacular!?!?!

Me at Bawley Point

This is the second beach we went to near Dolphin Point. We found the perfect spot to set up camp!

Destiny loved digging for treasures!

and jumping as the waves came close to her! Destiny is our little ocean princess!

Destiny and Dusty checking out the water.

We had an amazing moment while we were at the ocean. The type of moment that is nearly impossible to capture on film so you can only hope that your mental picture of it lasts forever. There were 5 or so dolphins swimming near us for about 20 minutes. It was amazing to watch them jump and play in the waves. So amazing! (In the picture there are 2 dolphins (dark spots) above the big wave and a little to the left.

Addi had fun burying Destiny in the sand.

No words :)

The girls watching two little boys play with a dead fish.

Addi wasn't very fond of the water, but really enjoyed playing in the sand!

Sweet Addi Sue!

This is Bateman's Bay. Destiny loves splashing in the waves!

Addi and mommy.

Addi loved discovering seaweed, shells and whatever else she could get her hands on.

On of Destiny's treasures that she dug up.

We were happy to get home after our trip. We had a great time, but it's nice to come back to such a nice house!

We are having a couple of relaxing days before the week gets super busy for us. I hope your week is relaxing too!

Aussie word o' the day: truck = semi (truck) What we would call a truck or utility vehicle in the U.S. is called a "ute" here and semi trucks are called "trucks" here. Interesting eh?

Enjoy today!

Back from our Holiday

Happy Football Day (in the states) It's just another (manic) Monday here :)

Today is a rainy day and I'm disappointed that my laundry mountain from vacation has to wait for another day. I'm hoping for sunshine tomorrow! As the girlies munch on yogurt and bananers I am typing out this blog for all of you to enjoy!

We headed out to the ocean on Friday! More specifically, we spent time at a cottage near Bawley Point and went to a dog-friendly beach near dolphin point and spent some time at Bateman's Bay. It was a lovely vacation!

Dusty rode in the back seat with the girlies! They had a blast back there :) We usually have SUVs so road tripping in a car was a bit crammed, but we rolled with it!

On our way to the cottage we made a stop off at a bakery. Destiny was so excited about the little tart she ordered...then she found out it was LEMON.

Matt and I munched meat and veggie pie and bacon cheese sausage roll. YUM! I'm telling you, the bakeries here are AMAZING! The one we stopped at was in a tiny town on the way. The type of town that you find in rural North Dakota or Wyoming. These towns have one main street with shops and such and the rest of the roads are practically unpaved.

I had my first taste of LAMINGTON. So delish! It's a sponge cake with chocolate and coconut on all sides of it! Are you ready to come visit yet? haha! On the way back from the cottage we stopped off at a different bakery and got some more yummy meat pies and a finger bun. So good. They were eaten before I could get pictures.

We started our trip with a little snack at the cottage for the girls.

Dusty enjoyed the deck at the cottage.

Here's the cabin and my car. This cabin was located on a wild flower reserve, however, the wild flowers aren't quite blooming yet. We did see a few and they were beautiful!

Destiny loved staying in the cottage. There were trees surrounding the road as we drove up to it and she called it the "jungle". The entire vacation she kept saying things about being in the jungle.

Matt and I in the "jungle"

Addi in the car after a session at the beach

For the most part we ate at the cabin because it had a full kitchen, but we did go for a meal out at the starfish deli in Bateman's Bay. The food was incredible! Matt had a Thai chicken pizza that was so tasty and I munched a Greek Salad that was to die for! We found out Addi loves feta cheese too! Who would have known!?!

We were too full for dessert at the restaurant so we got some moist carrot cake for take-away. Matt and I watched a movie and ate our desert as our girlies snored away in the next room!

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures from the beach! There are too many pictures to post in one day!

We had a lovely holiday, but it is so great to be home. Last night we just hung out as a family, watching movies and playing games. The girls had so much fun attacking me on the floor! It's so fun to be together as a family again :)

Aussie word o' the day: Take over lane = passing lane

As we were driving, I noticed the "passing lanes" were called "take-over lanes" on the highway. Take over sounds so much more official than "passing". I would say things like, "And Matt is coming around the inside to take over the white car", in an official race announcer voice!

I hope you all have a wonderful time today! Relax and enjoy some football or just some family time!

Enjoy today!

Addi's Favorite Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you are all have a fantastic day in the states!



Thanksgiving is officially Addi's favorite holiday! A holiday that revolves around food! She ate, drank, and was merry! In fact she's still in her turkey coma; slumbering away as I type.


This picture reminds me of the nursery rhyme:
There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good
She was very very good
But when she was bad
She was horrid!

Addi's piggy tails for Thanksgiving dinner. We all wore white ribbons (the tattoo on her arm) in honor of abused women in Australia.

Here are all the kids at the Thanksgiving celebration! We celebrated at Matt's boss's house. We had a traditional turkey dinner (with ham too). The food was so delicious!

The kid's table!

Addi enjoying her favorite holiday! She ate SO much HAM! She would run away, play a little bit, then come back for more!

Addi (mouth full) and mommy!

Some of the adults...Nick (who works in Matt's building) His wife, John (Matt's boss), Margret (the wife of the other guy who works in Matt's office; the one I have had prayer requests typed on here for) An update on that: They have confirmed that it is cancer so prayers are still very appreciated. Right now they are in the process of deciding if they will stay in Australia or head back to the states for treatment.

Jaime (Margret's husband, Matt's co-worker), Fran (Matt's boss's wife) and Nick again

It was so much fun to gather with other Americans and celebrate Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for.

I found out something interesting. The grocery stores do not carry turkeys here. You must go to a butcher and even then, they typically only carry them for special holidays such as Christmas. Fran had a tough time finding a turkey for our celebration.

It is fun to improvise and use different products than you are used to, however, it can also be frustrating at times.

My "squash" pie turned out VERY delicious! Matt's boss dubbed me the official pie maker of the group :)

I started this morning off with a lovely call to home just as the turkey was being set on the table at my mom and dad's house. It was so great to hear the voices of people who are so important to me.

Today we are off to the beach to enjoy a weekend get away at the ocean. We rented a cabin and we are SO excited! I'll be missing from the blog world for a couple of days. I'll be back with gorgeous pictures of our adventure!

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL you TURKEYS out there!

Enjoy today!

*Giving Thanks*

Happy Thanksgiving! (in OZ!)

Today we are celebrating with Matt's boss and his wife. Another family from Matt's work is joining in on the festivities! In this blog, I want to share with you what I am thankful for TODAY!

I am thankful that I so quickly found fun activities for the girls and I to attend and meet new people! Here are the pictures from yesterday's Paint and Play in the park:

Addi's first time painting...The blue was fun to paint with, the purple was fun to EAT! That's right, folks, my daughter ate paint...imagine the freak out session I displayed in front of all the new moms and kids we met! ugh!

Destiny painting away! She calls herself an "artist". So cute!

Destiny seems to think these rings are hula hoops! haha!

Addi, mowing the bark!

Addi at the dress up station. Destiny said, "Addi is a captain!"

Destiny dressed up as a "worker-mom". (notice the purse!) Addi pulling our wagon. People here look at us so strangely and almost like they are impressed when they see us walking down the street with the wagon. (I guess they don't have these here?!?!?). Some people don't know what to call the wagon and others say, "What a great way to get around!" One mom at the play group at the park said after her son had crawled in the wagon, "(insert son's name here), get out of that...long pause...THINGY!" haha! So strange!

P.S. I'm thankful for my "THINGY"...The wagon has been a great way to get the girls to and from their activities!

I am thankful for my laundry time. I have found that I LOVE hanging the clothes on the line. I get to stand out in the sun, all by myself, for 10 minutes per day. It's pure bliss!

Lucy (Destiny's dolly) and Baby Dear (Addi's dolly) had to hang to dry after their "bath". I hung them from their pony tails.

I'm thankful for my sweet, sweet, dirty little Addi! She has such a sweet spirit. She's my great little eater, lovey dovey, sweetheart of a girl. I love everything about her!

I'm thankful for good food! (there's another picture below of good food too!) Last night I created a wonderful meal that Matt would brag to his friends about! yippee! Can you tell what it is? Matt said it looks like something from iron chef.
On the same note as being thankful for good food, I am so thankful that we found a farm to provide our fruits, veggies, and milk! yum!

I am so very thankful for my lovely little Destiny (and Lucy too). She's my book loving, adventure seeking, super silly 3 year old princess! She's so much fun and I love her to bits!

I am never-endingly thankful for daddy Matt. He's a great guy! I am thankful that I met him, married him, and moved to the other side of the world with him! Matt is kind and loving and puts up with me! I love him!

I am thankful for my running partner :) My sweet Dusty Rose! My sun-loving, lazy old lady of a dog. She's great! I could not imagine life without her!

I am thankful for a husband who makes the bed for me on Thanksgiving :) woop woop...bonus points for Matty!

I am thankful for picture collages that end up looking a bit like the continent on which I live. I also love this collage because it's pictures of the girlies when they were babies and belly pics from when I was pregnant with each of the girls.

I am thankful for pies that turn out perfectly even though I had to use squash instead of pumpkin.

This one is crunchy caramel apple pie! I can't wait to dig in!

I am thankful for the community that we live near (Gungahlin) and the family services they provide. This is Destiny at library story time. She loves every minute of it!

I am thankful for a fun lunch out on the town with my little family.

more yummy food, that I am thankful for! an egg white omelet! YUM!

Last, but NOT least:

I am SO thankful for my FAMILY and close FRIENDS (who are just like family) I wish I could give you each a big hug and tell you how thankful I am for you! Being far away from all of you during the holidays is hard, but it makes me appreciate the times we have together that much more! Thank you, for being a HUGE part of my life and for loving me for who I am! You are all the best!

Have a VERY blessed Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Be thankful for today and ENJOY IT!