What could go wrong...DID...but NO WORRIES!

Howdy to my friends and family!

I am still spending my days unpacking and setting up my house. It's looking a bit more like home and a little less hotelish! Yesterday, I went to the embassy and had some briefings. It is so good to be informed! I don't think I'll be completely ready to participate in much outside of the house until I have everything set up and organized.

After my briefings, I headed to Matt's work to see his office (the one where he has to have a retinal scan in order to enter...very secret agentish!) It was great to see where he is working. I may never go there again...it was the perfect opportunity to see the office with no munchkins in tow.

Everyone I have met here has been very friendly and helpful! What nice people there are in Australia! On top of being fabulously nice, they have that wonderful accent that makes my heart melt! It's great to be here!

Our bathroom is coming along. The nice men (with the Aussie accents) ripped out the tiles and now we are waiting for things to "dry". We will get new tiles and our shower should be ready for use in about another week! No worries though, we still have our other shower and HUGE tub! A funny aside: while we were on the embassy grounds, we ran into the men who were working on our shower, they were getting the grout off our tiles as we walked by!

Now, I must tell you the story of our transit from the U.S.

It all started by getting to the airport in Seattle. We had whiny wimpery kiddos who didn't want to cooperate. We returned the rental car (with no problems) then headed with two large carts FULL of luggage and the girls to check in! We got to the ticket booth and my mom thought she lost her packet full of her passport, ticket, and all other vital paperwork. We spent a few moments freaking out then I found it on top of one of the carts. (no worries, right?)

Next, we got to the plane and boarded. Right when we were all comfortable and situated, they announce that the plane is leaking fluid from the nose and we all have to get off. We waited in a long line to figure out what we would do next. We ended up getting tickets to Canada (on a tiny plane) where we were to catch a plane to Sydney leaving at 11:45 P.M. As we were headed through security in Canada, we found out my mom did not have a visa in order to enter Australia. She had to apply for a Visa while I tried to figure out our seating. They had booked us in all different rows and seats. Obviously Addi and Destiny cannot sit alone. They got me and the girls together, but mom was not able to sit anywhere near us! I could not even see her from my spot on the plane. In the end, it all worked out, we alternated sleeping; and when I say we, I mean the girls. Destiny would sleep for a bit, then Addi would, I would be "awake" with either of them when they were. (no worries though!) We landed in Sydney knowing full well that we had missed our flight to Canberra. A nice Aussie man even helped me carry my carry-ons from the plane to the customs area. After customs, we found our luggage and were prompty brought through to by-pass security (thanks to me being a diplomat woop woop!). We got tickets on the next plane out and arrived here in Canberra with a screaming Addi because her ears wouldn't pop! NO WORRIES! haha!

All that matters is that we got here safe and sound! My hands were too full to take many pictures so here are two pics from the adventure:

We had a lovely stay in Washington before the BIG PLANE FIASCO! Here is a pic of me and my Lili with all the lovely fall leaves!

Addi fell asleep on Auntie Lili before we headed to SeaTac Airport.

Destiny helped Auntie Lili make her morning coffee! While making the coffee she said "my Bekki is my Best Friend"...In Williston she would go with her Auntie Bekki to the Coffee Post and make her own little hot chocolate.

Addi and I with her cute apron from Auntie Dianne

We did a little trick-or-treating at Auntie Lili's house with Cousins Jordi and Mac

Here are the fall leaves! So beautiful in Washington this time of year.

Destiny zonked out on the couch after we arrived.

Hugs for Auntie Lili from Addisue!

The kids in their trick-or-treat gear...we have a ninja, dorothy, spider, and the tin man

Destiny as DorothyJordi as a spider

Emmie as a Vegas Princess...aka...girl dog

The girls cuddling with Uncle Nick

We took a special trip to Monica's Waterfront Bakery and loved every bite of it (I mean we loved every second of it :) hehe!

The old house is still there...we hung out in our old neighborhood for a bit. I had mixed feelings about being back there so we didn't hang out for too long.

The park at our old neighborhood in Bremerton

I got to visit Nick's new shop! He let me use a sand-blaster thing. It was pretty awesome!

The deer in Lili's yard makes another appearance in the bloggy! The girls just love playing with this deer!

Addi by the pumpkins.

Cousins Jordi and Korah!

Destiny and Jordi = Best friends! (reminds me of me and Lili!)

All of the girlies (it's so hard to leave...these girls have to stay BEST FRIENDS!)

Destiny's shirt: "Somebody loves me in Washington"

Lili's shirt: "Someone in Australia loves me"

It was so hard to leave Washington and North Dakota, but we are happy to be here and we needed to be together as a family again! It is good...I keep telling Matt (and myself) that I LOVE it here!

The Aussie word o' the day: shopping cart = trolley (and they swivel on all 4 wheels..it is so different than the shopping carts in the states, but I like them better because they aren't as hard on my wrists :)

Happy Anniversary to Grandpa and Grandma Brokaw! We hope you have a lovely day!

One more thing: Yesterday, the wife of one of Matt's co-workers, Margret is her name, found out she has a lesion on her brain. We would appreciate thoughts and prayers for her and her family. We just had dinner at their house the evening prior. They are a very nice family. She is originally from Minot, ND which is really neat too. Anyways, please send up a prayer for Margret today.

Enjoy today!