Kookabura

This is the kookabura (you know, the one that sits in the old gum tree eating all the gum drops he can reach...) that was sitting on the clothes line in the backyard the morning we were leaving. Those things are loud little birds!!!

More Family Pics

Here's some pics of the family....

...Shaun and his sister Kylie

...Kylie and her daughter Georgia

...Kylie & Woody

...Mom supervising Shaun at the grill

....Dad brushing his teeth with the grill brush

Doyle's on The Beach

This is Doyle's on The Beach - a famous seafood restaurant in Doyle's Bay. I got to go here for a dinner and a lunch while I was in Sydney. The food was awesome and the sunset was GORGEOUS! See the sunset pic in my Sydney post below.

HOME!

We finally got home at 2am this morning. Our trip home started with a flight from Brisbane to Sydney. Easy and quick.



The flight from Sydney to Los Angeles was obviously long...and more bumpy that normal. Neither one of us really slept - it was awful. I watched four movies and read my book to try and make the 12.5 hours go by faster. Unfortunately when I got to LA I felt so dizzy, had a terrible headache and felt totally out of it.



Our flight to Washington, DC went much better and when we got there I felt a lot better. Guess it's a good thing I got some sleep on that flight.



Of course things were going too well so our last flight had to be delayed. Instead of getting home at 11:30pm, we left DC at 11:45pm. And then to top it off, one of Shaun's bags didn't make it all the way home. Go figure!



Once we got home and got into bed it was 2am and we didn't get up until 2pm this afternoon. Sad, I know but it was AWESOME sleep. After going to work for a few hours and futzing around tonight, I'm ready for bed again. I hate jet lag!



Well, on Thursday AM I'm off to San Diego for the Fed Cup - USA vs. Germany. That should be fun but I hope it warms up - it was COLD in LA when we were there for our layover.



It's nice to be home but I already miss the daylight (sunlight until almost 9pm) and the warm weather. And of course, it's always hard to leave family, especially when you only see them once a year. I look forward to our next trip and I know Shaun does too.

Australia Day, BBQs, Vegemite & Family

I finally got to see Shaun in Sydney - it was so nice to see him! We went and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge at twilight. It was amazing. Just a bummer that they don't let you take a camera up with you. Luckily we got a picture from them so I will post that when we get home. The view was gorgeous and it was magical being up there as the day turned into night.

The next day we made our way to Brisbane. James was playing a quarterfinal match against Roger Federer while we were flying. I got on the plane so sad because Roger broke James' first service game so he was already down 2-0. Luckily they had TVs on the plane and one of the channels had a little live score box to keep me updated. After 10 minutes of complimentary TV I made Shaun give me the credit card so I could pay $4 so I could know what was going on. Unfortunately, James lost so that was a bummer. Good thing we were meeting up with family.

Its been so nice to see Shaun's parents and his sister and her family. Georgia, his niece, was so excited to see us when we picked her up from preschool. We've had lots of barbecues and are adapting to the humidity that wasn't so obvious in Sydney and Melbourne.

We even went up to his Grandma's one day. She was so excited to have all us up there with her. The picture above is of all of us kids with her.

Yesterday was Australia Day so we all went to his sister's for a barbecue - it was a great way to spend the way. All the neighbors were barbecuing (It must be a rule that you have to BBQ on Australia Day) so the whole block smelled so good. Afterwards Shaun and I went to see JUNO at the movies. It was great - such a funny movie.

This morning we went and saw one of Shaun's friends, Michael, who Shaun has known since the 5th grade. His wife Melissa is a sweetheart and they have 3 GORGEOUS little girls - Chloe, Amy & Freya. I had so much fun. Chloe and Amy were little hams and loved my camera - I got the cutest photos. Freya is only 9 months old and such a happy baby and good little cuddler - I absolutely adored her. There is a family pic of them above. Aren't they a good looking family? :)

This afternoon we're supposed to meet up with another friend, Kurt, and his girlfriend Sophie. I love both of them - they are two great people. I think the plan is to go to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the museum, which I'm looking forward to.

Tonight is another BBQ with the family. Tomorrow morning we head home. :( It's all going so fast.

Well, Shaun is anxious to go and buy some Vegemite before we forget and then he doesn't have any at home. So, I better end this for now. I'm guessing my next update will be once I'm back in the states...

Tennis anyone?

Well, I made it to Melbourne. And I instantly realized I didn't like it as much as Sydney. I'm sure it's better than I'm giving it credit for but it just didn't grab me like Sydney did. Maybe it's the lack of the completely recognizable Opera House. :)

Regardless of my feelings about the city, the tennis has been AWESOME! My first night here I went to see Andy Roddick. He's the reason I first started enjoying watching tennis. His serve is unbelievable and he's just a talented player. He lost in five sets, which was disappointing but what bothered me more was his attitude. He acted like a toddler out there. Yelling at the umpire, treating the ball kids terribly and just being childish. It was embarrassing in many ways to be cheering so hard for such a brat but I couldn't turn my back on a USA player.

The next day I was able to see my favorite player -James Blake - from his player's box where his coach, mom, peeps from Nike and his trainer all sit. It was the greatest match. He was down 4-1 in the fourth and then won the set. And again in the fifth set he was down but came through to win the match. It was OUTSTANDING! I am usually a little frustrated with James because he seems to crack under pressure but he really held himself together and pulled through a tough match (he's never beaten the guy he played) and did so well.

On Sunday I caught the Bryan brothers' doubles match. They won, of course. It was great. They are always fun to watch. I showed up early to the match and watched the doubles match on prior to them - it was hysterical because one team tried to chest bump each other like Mike and Bob do and one of them ended up getting hurt. Dummies.

The last match I watched on-site was another one of James', which was today. He took out his opponent in 3 straight sets. I'm telling you, he's on fire. I was SOOOOOOOO excited. Unfortunately I'm not here on Wednesday to sit in his box and watch him play Roger Federer. SO SAD!!! :( But no fear, I will be glued to the TV. If James is going to beat Federer, it's going to be this week - he is playing his best ever.

Okay, enough tennis. I'm sorry.

I got burned today (at the tennis) and I put on sunscreen religiously every 40 minutes or so. I am going to have terrible tan lines once this stupid burn turns brown. I cannot believe I burned. I never burn. And I was wearing sunscreen. What the heck?!?!?

Today I met Shaun's Aunt Tami and her family - David (her husband) and the kids - Ben, Sam and Jessie. I was nervous meeting them without Shaun but they were great. I had such a nice time with them. We went to dinner and then went to the Casino to walk along the water and get ice creams. The kids are great - we had so much fun. I cannot wait to post the pictures - they are such hams! (that's a photo of us above)

Tomorrow I'm headed back to Sydney and finally get to see Shaun again. Woo hoo! We are going to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge at twilight. I'm really looking forward to it. Luckily, fingers crossed, the weather is supposed to be good because they do it rain or shine. God, I hope it's good weather.

On Wednesday we head to Brisbane to see Shaun's family. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and doing some laundry! :)

Well, I have to go. It's late and I have to get up early to catch my flight....

P.S. The pics of of Andy Roddick and Roger Federer. I didn't take any pics of James - I was too wrapped up in what was going on to remember to take any! LOL!

Welcome to Sydney!

I finally got here...yesterday. From door to door (remember, there was a LONG layover in LAX - about 12 hours AND includes my drive to the airport and from the airport to the hotel) it took me about 40 hours. I got to the hotel showered and then headed out to explore. The hotel is right near the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Circular Quay (pronounced KEY) where the Sydney Opera House sits.

Last night I hit the pillow early. My feet swelled so much on the plane and then walking around bothered them more. By 8pm I was sore, tired and looking for a good nights rest. Thankfully I got it and my ankles are almost back to their normal size. Swelling should be done away with - it's awful.

The weather has not been fabulous. It's been cloudy, cool and rainy. Total bummer. I cannot wait for Melbourne - they are having fantastically hot days. I cannot wait!

I was able to get a charger for my camera battery so while it's sunny I'm off to shoot some photos before I meet up with my clients to do a city tour and go to dinner at a restaurant on the beach in Watson's Bay. Now I just need to figure out how to download some pics so you have something to look at instead of just reading my lovely little posts. :)

Just put me on a plane!

Okay, I'm tired. I've been up for 23 hours - 10 of which have been spent in the LAX airport. I am FINALLY one hour from boarding my flight to Sydney. Thank goodness! It is frustrating because while I've sat here I've realized the things I am pretty sure I forgot and it makes me so mad. The charger for our camera (which has a lithium battery - of course it has to be something not easy to replace!) and the cord to download pictures from my camera to the computer. I'm sure there was/is more but I had to force myself to stop thinking about it because I felt myself getting surly. I know that all of this will be worth it when I land but getting there is hell right now. And I'm really mad at myself for interrogating Shaun to make sure he had everything he needed and I couldn't take care of myself. UGH!

Okay, enough ranting. I'm going to go walk laps in the terminal before I am stuck in a plane for 13 (or maybe more) hours.

My New Do

New year - new hairdo! We're off to Australia and I thought I should at least get my highlights fixed. In the process, I went also went shorter and got bangs (I haven't had those since I was in elementary school!). We'll see how well I adapt to them - good thing my hair grows fast if I decide I don't like them! :)

Here's pics of my before (from last night -not very good but you get the picture) and after. :)

Long lost family members

Today was pretty cool - I caught up with 5 cousins from my dad's side of the family that I haven't seen, or sadly talked to, in proably about 15 years. It's so crazy how you can lose touch with people and then so many years later find them through the miracle of the Internet. So to Steph, Kim, Angie, Tiona & Brooke - it's wonderful to have crossed paths with you again. You have all grown up so much but then again, I guess we all have!

So far the new year hasn't been too exciting. Shaun has been working A LOT but has tomorrow off. I can't remember the last time he's had a weekend day off when we've been in town so it's a real treat! With leaving for Australia this week we have a lot of laundry and packing to do so it won't be a total treat but we have a date with friends for dinner and a movie! :)

Until next time...hope you're warmer than we are - it was -15* (not including the wind chill) here last night!!!