Our Footprints

Almost 4 Months Old!

2012-02-27T10:23:00.006+10:00

I absolutely love watching videos of Brielle. She is such a character and is very good at making us laugh. Both mine and Zach's parents took a lot of home videos of us growing up and those memories are so much fun to relive. I hope Brie will someday appreciate looking back and watching herself grow up!

| My Music Baby |

| My Jumping Baby |

| My Rolling Baby |

| Daddy Time |

Holidays have come and gone...

2012-01-05T03:11:00.010+10:00

...and how special they were with a new baby in town!! (I still think of her as a brand new baby, even though she is almost 9 weeks). Zach and I managed to be as busy as ever the last few weeks. Luckily, he was able to take 2 weeks off from work and focus on being with his family, which Brie and I loved! Since we have such a large family and people are spread out everywhere, we had about 5 Christmases total, in 4 different cities, and in about a span of a week. Talk about on the go!

We celebrated first in Lake Tahoe with my Mom (Mimi). Unfortunately, there is no snow up there yet this year (except for man-made). So, we weren't able to ski at Heavenly, but we still had a great time. Zach's family joined us for a couple of days and we spent our time watching movies, doing puzzles, shopping and ice skating.

Brie pooped after a long weekend in Tahoe!

Mimi and her Christmas dress

Then, onto the Milner Christmas in Yuba City. We spent a day out in the country where the boys rode dirt bikes and tractors, and Brie got her first ride on the Daihatsu. We had a huge breakfast together, opened presents, played Wii Dance, then relaxed most of the afternoon.

1st ride with MoMo

She loves baths...and MoMo loves to give them!

The next day, we left for San Diego at 5am. We made a quick detour to pick up my dad in Lincoln. He had foot surgery and needed to catch a ride down to San Diego. Him and Brie kept each other company in the backseat the whole way down! Driving to San Diego this time with a baby was really not a whole lot different. We stopped one or two extra times to feed and change her...but really, you wouldn't have even known there was a baby in the backseat. She was quiet and slept most of the time! Thanks girl. :) We arrived in San Diego late afternoon and spent the evening with the Christensen family - eating, catching up and sharing gifts. My grandparents did a really cool thing this year since the entire family was able to be together. For years, they have collected rare US coins and bills. They gave each person/couple a tin full of 12 different collector's items. As we opened each layer, we sang verses that they wrote to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas". It was really fun and a very unique way of passing down things that have been in the family for generations!

Where's Uncle Kev?

Smiling at Elka

Tuesday, Whitney and I took our girls to La Jolla and joined the thousands of other tourists that were there that day. It was beautiful! In fact, the weather averaged around 78 degrees for the entire week we were there - perfect! That night, we had a "Coming of Age" ceremony for our youngest cousin, Sarah. We have now done this for all 8 grandkids, starting with Andrew in 1996 in New Jersey. It's a time for the family to come together and affirm someone as they enter the early years of adulthood. The grandparents share the family heritage/history, aunts/uncles/cousins share encouraging words and Sarah shared goals for her life and what family means to her. It was really special!

Surrey biking in Coronado

We headed up to Carlsbad the next day for a Price/Baker Christmas family reunion. We met people we have never met before and sharing Brie was the highlight of our night! GGma and GGpa Price put on a really nice party with drinks, hors d'oeurves and lots of yummy desserts.

The next 2 days were pretty low-key, which we were in much need of! We hung out with friends and just enjoyed being with family. It was so great for me to see many of my college friends - I miss my girls!

---------------------

Complete explosion!! I felt so bad...I was just laying there with Brie and started to feel wet on my leg. I got up and this is what I found! Sorry, Brie - I didn't know you had a blowout!

Getting stripped down

All clean!

We started back up at work this week. This is Zach's slower time of the year, which keeps his schedule still pretty flexible. And I'm only doing one day a week for now...so nice to be able to stay home and enjoy my baby!

We hope everyone enjoyed their holidays with those you love most!

2011-12-06T07:57:00.005+10:00

Happy 1 month to our baby girl!! I now understand why people say time flies so fast when talking about their kids growing up. It really does, at least the first month has.

Brie is starting to smile (not sure if it's on purpose or directed towards anyone). We normally will see a very contented grin on her face after a nice long meal. She is a very good eater and would probably be happy eating most hours of the day. Whether awake or asleep, being held is her favorite thing. As I'm typing, I was finally able to lay her down without her waking up. Cross my fingers it will last maybe an hour so I can finish posting and get a shower in?? :) Brie has sucked her thumb two times, which she loved but for some reason can't always find it. I was happy when I saw this because I was a thumb-sucking baby/toddler as well!

Brie is the light of our days (and nights) and we couldn't be more in love with her. We are excited to show her off during the holidays. For Thanksgiving, we got together with 21 people on Zach's side. It was a very long, but fun day passing Brie around to all her relatives, eating great food and playing volleyball at the school gym next door to the Milner's. For Christmas, we are spending a few days in Tahoe with my mom and then a week in San Diego with my dad's side. It will be a lot of traveling, but thank God Brie loves to be in her car seat and will fall asleep anytime the car is moving!

We took her holiday card pictures this last week on our camera and I'm very happy with the result. Here is a sneak preview of one that we didn't use, but is still very cute!

Sleepy girl - I could stare at her all day!

Newborn Bliss

2011-11-10T11:39:00.011+10:00

Our Dear Brielle ~

You came into our lives one week ago today and words can't describe how much you already mean to us. We haven't done much else this week except stare at your pretty little face and take care of your every needs. You are such a calm and happy baby...that is, when your diaper is clean and your tummy is full! The facial expressions that you are making are hilarious and your personality is already shining through. We are so in love with you!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Birth Experience: Tuesday night, I woke up with strong contractions about 15 minutes apart and was hoping this was the real deal. Up until that point, I was having mild contractions for a few days, but knew those could last up to a few weeks and I could only hope it was really happening! As they got more intense and closer together, I concentrated on being in a deep relaxing state as I rocked in our glider, listened to music and kept hot pads on my back. It's amazing how being calm and in control has such an effect on contractions. I knew that if I let them get the best of me, it would be a very difficult and insufferable labor and delivery. It was important to me to be as serene as possible, not only for me but for Brielle's experience of being born.

Around 3am, I woke Zach up and told him it was time to get ready to go to the hospital. We both took showers, packed our bags and headed out around 4am. After checking in, I learned I was 3.5 cm dilated, so they kept us and we began the process of having a baby! I progressed well for the next few hours and around 9am, the contractions became unbearable as they came one after the other with very little relief. I was examined and was about 6.5 cm, which was a bit frustrating. I wasn't sure how I would get through the next few hours with that type of pain. Zach and I kept trying to keep my breathing under control, but I knew I wouldn't last. I requested an epidural, knowing that I wanted to enjoy the end of labor and be comfortable during the actual birth. After waiting another hour and a half for the anesthesiologist to arrive (longest 90 minutes of my life!!), I was finally able relax and catch my breath.

I labored for another three hours and was ready to push at 1pm. After a few rounds, the doc was called in and with one more push, our beautiful daughter was born!! I couldn't believe how easy it was (after I had the epidural, that is), and overall I think the entire experience was really wonderful. After having an hour to bond with Brielle and get her to start breastfeeding, I was moved to the recovery room and we were discharged Thursday afternoon.

It's been wonderful being home, lack of sleep and all!

Our Sweet Girl

First Bath

All Things Baby

2011-10-22T07:03:00.009+10:00

We're at the tail end of this pregnancy...15 days to go! The past few months have mostly been about getting ourselves baby-ready and wrapping our minds around the fact that EVERYTHING in our lives will change in a matter of moments. How can that be? Of course, we are thrilled, excited, anxious and all of those good emotions about having a baby, but a small part of me isn't exactly sure what the heck we're doing. But, I know we'll jump into our roles with no major problems and it will become such a natural thing that we will wonder what we did before kids.

I finished up working this past week and plan to go back in January. So, the next 2 weeks will be tackling getting meals made ahead of time and getting the house spick and span for the new little one. But first, we are spending the weekend in Lake Tahoe and soaking up our last bits of freedom and alone time! And...crossing our fingers that I don't go into labor up here. I'm showing early signs, but nothing to worry about!

Last month, I recruited Zach to take my pregnancy photos, mostly because I didn't feel up to getting all dressed up to see a professional photographer. I haven't even been able to find maternity jeans that fit right. So, I wear a lot of leggings and sweats, not the best look I want to remember. I think he did a pretty good job and our backyard is still beautiful, so it was the natural spot to capture my big belly.

My mom and mom-in-law threw us a family/couples shower earlier this month at Lake Wildwood. It was a really great day with all of our closest family and friends in the area. We ate some great BBQ grub, played volleyball and were very spoiled with wonderful gifts for Brielle.

I am completely in love with Brielle's nursery! We didn't want it too "girly" with all things pink, so we chose to keep it bright and clean with accents of a few different colors. I painted one wall with her name and a branch/bird/birdhouse picture and my mom made some beautiful green with white polk-a-dot curtains.

My mom working hard on sewing and ironing!

Zach working hard with the drill!

10 Sun Shiny Days in San Diego

2011-08-14T05:32:00.010+10:00

It was sooo good to be back. I love the feeling when we're driving 80 mph down I-5 through South Orange County and finally get to the 5 lanes pointing to San Diego. I've been making the drive to San Diego multiple times a year for 27 years and that has always been my favorite part - I just feel at home. The first three days, Zach and I kept saying to each other, "why did we move back to Yuba?" We couldn't figure it out, and I kept telling myself that the novelty of being back there would eventually wear off. But it only did a little and I really do miss it.

We started off the weekend seeing friends, shopping and golfing. My birthday and baby shower were on Saturday, which was a perfect combo! Amber Lay did such a fantastic job on the shower - it was so precious...my closest friends and family all met at Spreckels Park in Coronado where we ate sorbet, sat on quilts and painted onesies and booties and opened some lovely gifts! Baby Brielle is truly blessed with wonderful people in her life who already adore her.

The week continued on with many family gatherings and dinners. Zach had to fly back early, so my Mom, Kev, Shelly and I hung out most of the week. We attended the Mercury Insurance Open (formerly Acura Classic) at La Costa...which was SO great. I got to see many of my former co-workers and friends at the tournament. It was hard to just sit and enjoy a match without wanting to jump in and work!

My dad and Kevin got to skydive, which I was very jealous about. I would have been right up there with them if I wasn't pregnant. SkyDive San Diego was a great company to do it with - highly recommend!

Later in the week, Kevin and I joined Amber Lay and some friends and worked at a launch party event in downtown, which was a fun night. It was different being downtown at a party and being pregnant! I had my fill of virgin drinks, though, so it was OK and we got some pretty cool designs painted on our faces.

Dear San Diego...we'll see you again in December...this time with a month old baby!!

Our Weekend with Sweet Liv

2011-07-19T04:39:00.006+10:00

Zach and I babysat our 1-year old niece this past weekend...and it was fun, busy, eye-opening and tiring all at the same time! You can never be prepared enough for when your own baby arrives and this was a great test for us. We were awakened in the middle of the night, changed lots of diapers and loved every minute that we spent with her. It's always fun to spoil your nieces (and nephews someday) and give them back at the end of the weekend!

I've been around a lot of babies, toddlers and kids over the years and Liv's personality is one-of-a-kind. She is 95% happy and when she's not, there's a good reason and it's usually an easy fix. She loves to laugh, play hide-and-seek, run around and explore and sometimes even will cuddle!

We got pretty attached to her this weekend and it was hard giving her back, even though we live in the same town and I know we'll see her soon!

Independence Day {Weekend}

2011-07-08T03:08:00.009+10:00

5 Picture-Perfect Days Spent in Lake Tahoe = Magical!!

There is something so special about this part of the country. It completely rejuvenates me. I don't know if it's because of the tradition and comfort of coming here for the past 27 years or if it's the simple fresh air and beautiful surroundings, but I am truly in heaven when I'm at Tahoe.

My grandparents have a beautiful home on the South Shore Keys with quick access to the lake, tennis courts, pools, biking, hiking...you name it, it's there. I never just want to relax when I'm there because of all the activities available. And even though I'm 5 1/2 months pregnant, I still managed to hike, bike, play tennis, go boating and of course shop at the outlets! It was a busy weekend!

Emerald Bay

Famous Tahoe Queen

Hiking to Eagle Falls - there is so much water this year in all the rivers and lakes and the falls were no exception! It was huge!

Lower Eagle Falls

Upper Falls

Not sure how this tree grew with its roots hanging out??

We hadn't seen my Uncle Dave & Aunt Michelle in about 2 years, so it was great to catch up and spend time with them. On Saturday, Zach and Dave went golfing in Genoa, Nevada while the rest of us hung around the beach. Sunday we caught the end of a jazz festival at Pope Beach and were glad we avoided the crowded beach that day!

We also had a fun time with cousins Jenn, Andy, Loie and Meelah. The girls are getting so big and at a fun age.

As I reflect on this past weekend and what it means for our country, I am reminded of how truly fortunate we are to live in a place where we have the freedoms we do. Even though times may be tough for a lot of people, we can still focus on the things that matter - a home, job, food on the table and most importantly each other.

Happy 4th!!!

High School Bound

2011-06-07T08:11:00.005+10:00

Zach's sister, Lizzie, just graduated from 8th grade last week and is headed for River Valley High in the fall. She is growing up so fast and it was really fun for us to be apart of her last year at Nuestro. She is such a leader and a great athlete - she'll do great in high school!

CONGRATULATIONS LIZZIE!

Final Product!

2011-06-07T07:47:00.008+10:00

This should be the last post about our yard...I'm sure it's not as exciting to everyone else as it is to us, so I promise this is the last one. The last step has been re-plastering and filling up the pool and after close to 30 hours of running the hose, it's almost full! Now, we just need our warm weather to come back to heat it up so I can float around in it all summer. That's going to be quite a lifesaver when I'm 7 months pregnant and trying to survive in 100 degree weather.

Here's a couple shots of the before and after from October of last year until now. It's been a lot of long hours and work, but we have enjoyed every stage of it and can now sit back and relax in our peaceful backyard!

Blue or Pink??

2011-05-31T12:18:00.007+10:00

Yesterday was the day that we had waited a long 4 months for. For all of you who have kids know exactly what that feeling is like. It's amazing how you go from knowing you have a baby inside (which is still surreal) to knowing what the sex is. You grow so much closer to it and can start connecting on a different level. I can only imagine what the next feeling will be like when we start talking to her and about her by name. That's probably when reality will hit! And then...the ultimate feeling of closeness and love when she is finally born and we can finally meet her, see her and hold her. Ahh...can't wait. I'm glad we're doing it in stages because I don't think I could find out the gender, decide on a name and meet the baby all in the same minute!

Zach and I made the trip to the ultrasound clinic on Friday afternoon and had to force ourselves to ask the doctor to not share the good news with us and instead write it on a piece of paper. During the first few minutes of the ultrasound, we were able to see/hear the heartbeat and watch the baby move like crazy up and down. Then, we closed our eyes while the tech zoomed in and worked his magic. He said he was very confident in his decision, so that was a relief!

Saturday we tried to keep busy doing yardwork and getting ready for our family party on Sunday. But, all I wanted to do was get into that envelope that had all the pictures in it! I knew I probably couldn't tell anyways - I'm not an expert and nobody would have known. But, I resisted and knew that I could wait a few more hours.

Sunday finally rolled around and we spent a great afternoon with our families eating, drinking and playing with the kids outside on our new grass. Once the cupcakes arrived, everyone gathered around (it felt like we were cutting into our wedding cake again) and Zach and I took a couple bites until we got to the center which was full of PINK food coloring! I couldn't believe it. I had a feeling the whole time that it was a girl - everything I would see in stores or online and all the planning I had done in my head always revolved around a girl. (Don't mind the blue dress in the pictures, I just bought it cause I liked it, not for the color) It was such a fun way to find out and what a blessing to have all our family in on it.

Cousins just wanna have fun!

Yummy & Beautiful Cupcakes

What is it??

So Happy

Cousins ~ due 1 week apart!!

Skyping with Uncle Bil, GGma and GGpa Price

Playing out in the shop yard

Mom - when can I get one of these?

*Pink*

2011-05-22T03:48:00.005+10:00

Oops...has a month and a half already gone by since I've posted something? Sorry Grandma! I know you're our most faithful follower and I promise to be better at updating you and everyone else on our life.

Well, let's see. We have been busier than we would like to be with work, soccer and softball leagues for Zach, family get togethers, baby planning, house projects, etc. But as usual, there are no complaints here. We are enjoying the warm weather and all that brings. Our yard is looking green and colorful and the vegetable plants have shot up!

I am now almost 16 weeks along and feeling pretty good. I have days where the nausea comes back, but for the most part I can control that with eating consistently. I was never a "snacker" before, just always ate my 3 meals a day and dessert at the end. So, it's weird to now have to eat mid morning and mid afternoon (and many times in between). I'm beginning to run out of ideas of things to eat because usually once I have them one time, they don't sound good again for quite a long time. I would have to say overall, I don't love being pregnant. I hate being uncomfortable, but I know 9 months is a small price to pay for finally having a child in the end!

We are going to find out the sex on Friday, May 27th and we are SO excited! Someone recently told me of a fun way to do a "gender reveal" (but I can't remember for the life of me who did, so if it was you please let me know so I can give you credit!). At our appt, we are going to tell the doctor to not tell us what it is and instead write it down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. Then, we're taking that to a friend who will make us 2 dozen cupcakes and inside put a little swirl of pink or blue food coloring, depending on what we're having. On Sunday, the 29th, we'll have a bunch of family over and all break open our cupcakes and find out at the same time what it will be! It'll be hard to wait those two days knowing that a couple people know and we don't, but it will be so fun to find out with everyone there. I have a hunch it's a girl and Zach thinks a boy (typical), so we will see!

Baby Bump @ 12 Weeks

Dirt Before

Grass After

We celebrated my nieces' birthdays on May 14th.

Elka is now 4 and Liv turned 1!

Hard to believe!

So Precious

2011-04-09T01:55:00.006+10:00

With this new baby on the way, sentimental and emotional moments are happening all around me. Before, when I would see a baby in passing or on TV, I would say, "oh, that's a cute baby" and not think much of it. But now, seeing a baby anywhere brings on a whole new meaning. That is someone's child that they carried for 9 months, birthed and now forever will have in their lives. Novel idea, right? It just had never hit me like that before.

Last week, my mom brought out my old baby book and calendar and it is probably one of the most sentimental, precious things in the world. She spent so much time documenting every stage of my development, every trip we took as a family in that first year and so many fun little tidbits that normally you would forget after 26 years. But, to have this information and see what kind of a baby I was is just so cool!

Apparently, I was a very good baby who slept well, ate well and didn't cause much trouble...that is, until I could finally walk! But, at least the baby part was easy-going and my mom appreciated that. Here are a few excerpts from it:

Monday, July 30 - "I was born today, 5 hours early and came out sucking my thumb!"

August 3 - "Came home from hospital today. Daddy, Andrew & Grandma Price came to get Mommy and me."

August 16 - "We left for Lake Tahoe this morning to visit the Price relatives. I slept the entire trip."

August 31 - "Tonight I sat in my swing for the 1st time. I always fall asleep when in there, I like to swing!"

September 7 - "Mommy sure is happy I started sleeping through the night this week. 4 nights in a row!"

September 17 - "I really am a happy baby. I have a smile for anyone who holds or talks to me. I love to smile and coo, too!"

October 22 - "I used to suck only my left thumb, but now I've started in on my right one, also. Mommy isn't sure which one I'm going to prefer."

December 6 - "I am still such a happy baby! Mommy says I hardly ever cry and I don't 'fuss' at all. She feels very fortunate to have such a doll!"

January 2 - "Last night we got home from San Diego after a wonderful Christmas. I am going to sleep in my big crib tonight for the 1st time."

January 12 - "I like to sit and watch Andrew while he plays and I love to laugh at him. He is fun and he loves to talk to me and holds me often."

February 14 - "My hair is finally beginning to come in - it's about 1/2 inch long and kind of sticks straight up - it's cute!"

February 24 - "Today after church, Daddy, Mommy, Andrew and I went on a bike ride. It was my 1st time and I rode on the back of Daddy's bike. We rode to the park and I loved it!"

March 5 - "Today Mommy took me to school to her Home Ec. class for Child Development. I got my diapers changed 4 times!"

April 2 - "Today I learned how to get back down after pulling up to stand at the coffee table, and I was so pleased, I practiced over and over."

April 29 - "My latest trick is to drop toys and watch Mommy pick them up. I have to make sure Mommy gets plenty of exercise!"

May 11 - "Today my right top center incisor tooth broke through. Now I have 6 teeth!"

June 27 - "I love to climb! Today I climbed into the small rocking chair, and was so very proud of myself! I also like to climb up to sit in Andrew's doggie chair. Then I stand up by myself to walk to Mama - 2 or 3 steps alone!"

July 12 - "Today my cousins came to Gma Price's house to swim with Andrew and me in San Diego. We had lunch and I just love going in the water!"

July 25 - "Mommy thinks I am getting to be a picky eater. I spit out what I don't like and drop a lot of food over the edge of the high chair if I don't want it. But I do love cheese!"

July 30 - "One year old today!"

I'll need to feature Zach's 1st year in the next post!

Taking Shape

2011-04-08T04:40:00.004+10:00

And no, this post isn't about me taking shape...although I feel like I'm already 5 months pregnant! I did finally have to go buy maternity pants this week because my jeans don't fit anymore. But, that conversation can be for another day...

We have been working on our yard every sunny chance we get and it is starting to look really good! The biggest job was getting the pool water (rainy swampy water) pumped out and cleaned. We've gotten the water out and are now working on disinfecting everything and re-plastering a few holes. Should be able to fill it up in the next couple of weeks! And let's just hope the rain holds off until then. And a big thanks to my MIL who got into the pool and cleaned out all the muck and gunk that was at the bottom. Couldn't have done it without her willingness to get dirty!

Leave it to the Milner boys to come up with a water pump contraption.

It's slowly going down!

And the icky part

Last week, my mom helped me plant some garden beds and pots...it was fun and so nice to add some color to our backyard. It's amazing what some pretty flowers can do for your mood. I love spending time outside now and the watering is keeping me pretty busy.

And finally, we were able to install our sprinkler system in the backyard. My dad came up to help Zach dig trenches and lay the PVC and we are SO excited to not have to hand water the backyard grass....well, there's no grass yet. But that will be planted soon!

Baby Milner!

2011-03-31T13:02:00.003+10:00

The word is out! I can finally write something about the exciting new things happening in our lives. We found out on March 1st that we are expecting our first little baby!! We had been trying for about 2 months and were both a little surprised that it happened so quickly. But, we are so happy and looking forward to meeting our new family member. I am 8 1/2 weeks along and counting down everyday until November 6th.

It was really fun telling our family. For some reason, I would get choked up and nervous about breaking the news, so Zach usually had to do the honors. It was fun seeing reactions - from loud cheering to tears to disbelief. Everyone is so happy to have a little Milner around and Zach and I are glad that we live close to family to see them enjoy our new baby.

Of course, with any hormonally-charged pregnant woman, my emotions and feelings have been all over the place. I can break out in tears on command, I'm nervous about what the future holds, but most of all, I am so excited to finally be having a baby. It's something that most girls dream about for years, but when it is actually happening...it's just a weird feeling, almost like it's not really happening. But then the morning sickness hits and soon I'll be showing and feeling the baby move, it will all hit home that this is really happening!

2011-02-28T14:01:00.005+10:00

web | www.amberlayevents.com

blog | www.alevents.blogspot.com

2011-02-19T11:02:00.004+10:00

Life for us right now is going pretty fast. Before we know it a new week is here. It's funny how things come in waves - but rest and relaxation seem to always come at the right time. Here's a recap from the last couple of weeks in the Milner family...

Zach's boss treated the office staff and their significant others to a beautiful and perfect day of skiing at Squaw Valley. And I mean, it was absolutely the perfect day. There was fresh powder, not a cloud in the sky with sunshine all day and hardly anyone on the lifts because it was a Monday. It's been really fun for me to get to know his co-workers, too. They are all really gracious and fun-loving people.

Last weekend was Zach's parents 27th wedding anniversary. They were married on Valentine's Day, so it makes for an easy-to-remember and festive anniversary each year. The kids (Zach and siblings) and I wanted to give them a really special and romantic dinner, so we planned an entire night of fine dining where we decorated their living room and served them a 3-course meal. It turned out so great and was really special for them. My mom even came down from Wildwood and played live background music with her cello! It was great.

Last weekend, Zach had the opportunity to visit a job site up in Crescent City, CA...which is on the coast and almost to the border of Oregon. I was able to join him and we had a nice Valentine's weekend driving up the coast and through the Redwoods. We stayed at Requa Bed and Breakfast in Klamath, which used to be a bustling fishing town in the early 1900's and is now a very small sleepy town. The B & B was quaint and rustic. Sunday night we had dinner on the Pier in Crescent City and woke up early Monday morning to drive about an hour to the meeting. After that, we took a back road tour of the Redwoods and began the drive back home. It was a quick 2-day trip, but great to get away and be out in nature.

Fun Weekend in the Sun!

2011-02-08T02:15:00.010+10:00

We have had about 4 days of beautiful sunny weather - it was MUCH needed after heavy days of fog and clouds. We took full advantage of it! My cousin Jenn and her girls came up to stay with us for the weekend. On Saturday, we watched Zach and Drew's basketball game, went to the park and visited the Milner's house where they have goats, a motocross track, trampoline, tree house and of course the famous Daihatsu rides! The girls loved it and did not want to leave. And what a gorgeous sunset it was that night!

Playing in the tree house

Zach showing off with some jumps!

Sunday we lounged around on our back porch and walked to a yellow mustard flower orchard that is a few houses down from us. The girls loved that too, except for the bees flying around.

Later that afternoon, we had a big Super Bowl party with lots of family and friends. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of that since I was trying to be a good hostess. :) We hope everyone else is having a good February!

Parenting

2011-01-19T03:19:00.006+10:00

Here's my take on parenting...now as most of you know, Zach and I do not have kids yet. So anything I say here could very well be thrown out the window once we experience the real deal. But at least for now, these are my observations and thoughts.

There are 3 kinds of parenting and like most things, they fall on a spectrum. On the far right side are parents who exhort a lot of authority and control over their kids. They are constantly telling them what to do, how to do it and when to do it. There is not much of a relationship because the child cannot relate to such an authority figure. There is a mutual love that is shared, but the child could also be living in constant fear that he is not measuring up to the parent's expectations.

The far left side of the spectrum are parents who could care less what their kids do or how they do it. They don't give any kind of direction or have any expectations. It's more of a "kids running the house" situation with little discipline or order. We all hear that kids need structure, but in this situation, they aren't getting much of it.

And of course, the middle of the spectrum is a balance between the two. It's a peer-to-peer type of relationship that still has the parent in an authority position. The child knows his boundaries, but also can talk to the parent about what's on his mind or share certain thoughts and feelings without the sense of being judged.

My parents were probably between the middle and far right spectrum. At times, I felt like I could talk to them about what I was going through (more when I was older), but for the most part - they exemplified an authority presence where I knew the boundaries and knew they couldn't be crossed - which is not a bad thing. That is the positive part of the far right spectrum. But I think there is a fine line where the child could mostly feel dictated or controlled and consequently, miss out on an open, honest and mutually giving relationship. The way I know my parents did everything in love is that when I turned 18, they didn't continue to have that authority hold on me. They offered their advice, but let me make my own decisions. That tells me that they were intentional and purposeful about the way they raised their kids, knowing that when we became adults, we would positively contribute to the world.

I just hope that when Zach and I are parents, we are able to lovingly present boundaries, but also have a healthy relationship where our kids can come to us without any fear of being judged and just have an ear to listen.

New Home = New Mailbox!

2011-01-08T08:44:00.004+10:00

Somehow in this New Year, I finally set aside time to paint a mailbox that I'm sure the mailman (and our mail) will appreciate more than anyone. Instead of a rusty, leaky box...our mail will now have a clean and dry home to hang out in until we come and rescue it. Oh yah, and it will boost our curb appeal and get us motivated to plant some pretty flowers when the weather warms up!

Napa!

2011-01-03T08:25:00.005+10:00

Zach and I took a quick getaway to Napa over New Year's weekend. We visited our favorite winery, Duckhorn, and shopped and dined til our hearts were content! It was a beautiful day out there on Friday as we drove through the Valley and enjoyed a relaxing evening of bringing in the New Year. We are excited for what is in store for us this year...we have some big dreams and hope to see them come true!

2011-01-03T07:30:00.010+10:00

The holidays have come and gone...much too fast this year...but we enjoyed every minute of spending it with the people we love!

Our "C" Grandparents drove up from San Diego. We hadn't seen them since we left for Australia, so it was so great to be with them in person. We spent the afternoon at Drew & Whit's house with my dad's side of the family.

"GGma" Christensen

"GGpa" Christensen

Grandma Patty

Grandpa

Crazy Girl

Getting a pushup ride from Uncle Zach

Are these potatoes done yet??

Christmas with Mimi!

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and best of wishes for a fulfilling New Year!

Introducing...Amber Lay Events!

2010-12-25T04:59:00.012+10:00

For about 3 years, my friend Amber and I have been talking about combining our experience and starting an event business in San Diego and/or the Yuba-Sutter area. She recently graduated from San Diego State and the timing is right for both of us to put more thought and energy into this venture. Our passion is to design and coordinate any type of event including weddings, corporate functions, private occasions or sporting events. Over many coffee and lunch get togethers, we have been creating our website, blog, and marketing materials. This past week, we also did a mock wedding table with just a few things we found around our homes.

~ Winter Ice Wonderland ~

It's been a fun two weeks and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are very much looking forward to it! Please spread the word if you or anyone you know would be interested in hiring an event coordinator!

Anticipation...

2010-11-23T04:27:00.002+10:00

I love the holidays. Other than summertime when there's sunshine and my birthday, the holiday months are my favorite. There's not one certain thing in particular, but rather a combination of things that make it special. Aromas like homemade cider and pumpkin spice lattes, pulling out the stored away decoarations, holiday parties, and gorgeous yellow, orange and red leaves falling to the ground are all things that I have seemed to be more appreciative of this year.

This is the first year in my life that I will celebrate Christmas in my hometown while I actually live here. Growing up, we packed up the car and drove to San Diego EVERY year without fail. When I lived in San Diego for 7.5 years, I would sometimes come back to Yuba City, but never felt like I lived here or had a home to belong to since most of my family had moved out of the area. Now...it's all different. Zach and I have created a home here this past month which I am proud of to share with family and friends for the holidays. Even though Yuba City was not my first choice of places to live, I have developed a new fondness for this town. To me, it seems like we've moved to a new place that I have never really lived in before...but it's nice because I know how to get around and where things are! But we really don't know many people here anymore which makes for new opportunities to meet people and experience new things. I am more than thrilled.

Zach's Take On...

2010-11-17T06:55:00.002+10:00

Zach has done it. He finally created his sports blog that he has been talking about for the last few months. Not many people know this, but his ultimate dream is to be a radio or TV sports announcer so he can talk about his first love all day long. But, a blog will have to suffice for now.

So...visit his site and be entertained by his thoughts! http://www.zachstakeon.blogspot.com/. I also have a link to it on the right-hand column of this blog. And if you're lucky enough (*cough* Drew), you just might someday be a guest writer!

All Moved In!

2010-11-13T06:56:00.007+10:00

Our first week in the new place has been great. In between working and coaching for both of us, we have found lots of time to unpack and get organized. We are almost done and finally picked up the last of our stored furniture yesterday. It's looking pretty good.

Early morning sunrise from our dining room window!

When we need a break from the house, we are having some fun with all the family that lives nearby. Last Saturday, we joined Drew, Whit, the girls and my cousin Jenn, Andy and their two daughters and headed to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. It was a great day, good weather and so fun to hang out with everyone and see my cousins after almost a year!

Here are some snapshots from the day...

Sweet Liv hardly made a sound all day!

Jenn, Whit and 3 of the 4 little girls

No, Drew's not checking fantasy - he's trying to see how long a dolphin can hold its breath

How many times did they ride this one?? I lost count.

My Love

Miss Navigator telling us where to go

Cousin Love!

Almost Done!

2010-11-01T05:16:00.009+10:00

The house is coming along nicely - a little slower than we would like, but that's just us being impatient. We've spent the last 2 weeks doing all kinds of things like painting, staining hardwood floors, ripping up carpet and replacing with new, scraping old popcorn off the ceilings...and soon, we'll be tackling the yard! We've also been slowly moving in our stuff from storage as each room gets done. The new move-in goal is this next weekend!

Here are some before pictures:

All of us hard at work:

New Job & New Home!

2010-10-22T12:52:00.004+10:00

We are so happy about how Zach's job has fallen into place. We both started applying and researching a lot of companies during our last month in Australia and Zach was able to setup an interview for the day we arrived back in Yuba City. After 2 more interviews with the owner, he sealed the deal and will now be working for North Star Construction and Engineering. It's a small company and most of their projects are located in Sacramento and the Bay Area. So, he's the project engineer and will be assisting the owner with all of the projects. They mostly do work for the state in various civil jobs...very similar to what he did in San Diego, but now will be on the construction side. It will be long hours, but a lot of the office work can be done at home, which will be nice.

Apart from interviewing, we have been remodeling and cleaning out a home that we will be renting from Zach's parents. Zach spent a good part of his childhood here, so it will be fun for him to live there again. It needs A LOT of work and this week we have been sanding and refinishing hardwood floors (discovered them under 15 year old carpet!), painting all the rooms, yardwork and general cleaning. We're hoping to move in by the end of the month!

Family Fun

2010-10-15T16:16:00.009+10:00

This past week has been wonderfully busy as Zach and I are job hunting, catching up with family and friends, and trying to find a place to call home, while still living out of a suitcase. After we arrived in LAX last week, we spent 5 days along the coast in Ojai and San Luis Obispo where we completed the city-to-sea 1/2 marathon. There were about 14 of us in the Messer family that ran which made it really fun. Zach was so impressive and pretty much sprinted to the finish line in 1 hour and 27 minutes. I slowly arrived at the finish line in 2 hours and 47 minutes, but was very happy that I actually walked/jogged over 13 miles. After the race, we drove 6 hours to finally reach home to Yuba City.

This week, Zach has had a couple of interviews with a construction / engineering firm and things are looking promising - we should know for sure by this Monday. I've committed to coaching my sister-in-laws 8th grade basketball team at her school. And of course, we have seen a lot of my little nieces, Elka & Liv. Life is fun!

Computer Whiz!

The Girls Giggling Away!

Sweet Home California

2010-10-07T18:36:00.003+10:00

30 hours of flying and hanging out in airports have brought us safely home to California. We left at 7am Tuesday morning and arrived at 1pm on Tuesday afternoon, the longest Tuesday of our life!

To sum it up:

264 days, 2 countries, 3 states, 4 house-sits with 4 dogs, 3 cats and 6 chooks, traveled 32,400 kilometers by plane - 8,692 kilometers by car/motorhome - 950 kilometers by train - 1,090 kilometers by bus, 3,500 pictures and videos, played 10 golf courses, and together we had 5 different jobs. We have absolutely no regrets. The incredible places we visited, people we met and things we did will always hold special places with us.

We thank everyone for following along with us and encouraging/supporting our adventure. Now onto more exciting things in our life - stay tuned!

North Island Roadtrip

2010-10-02T17:58:00.010+10:00

Our 5-day Britz campervan trip was so much fun, but also very tiring...probably because we drove over 2,000 kms in that short amount of time! Here's a rundown of what we did on the trip:

Day 1: Picked up Britz and drove about 3 hours south to the town of Rotorua. We stayed at an RV holiday park that night, which was perfect for us since they provide hookups, hot showers and usually a kitchen and internet. Our campervan was pretty small for the 3 of us, so not being crammed in there 24/7 was a lifesaver.

Day 2: Woke up and drove about an hour to Lake Taupo. Kevin and I were set on bungy jumping and we found a great place that had a nice jump into a river, surrounded by a canyon. That sounded much better than jumping off a bridge with cars racing by above. I was a bit nervous at first, but knew once I paid the $100 that I couldn't turn back. Kev jumped first and did a regular dive head first and got dunked to his waist in the river. Next was my turn. After strapping in and walking to the edge of the platform, I was feeling pretty nervous. I took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes and dove off the edge to fall 150 feet! I wasn't heavy enough to touch the water, but it was still such a thrill. Kevin loved it so much he went a second time and jumped backwards. Crazy guy. I wasn't able to talk Zach into doing it - maybe someday he'll skydive with me.

Lake Taupo

So happy to be standing on land after the jump!

After recovering, we stopped by Huka Falls which was pretty interesting, then drove 6 hours down to Wellington, the southernmost city of the North Island. It was raining and we got there at dusk, so we weren't able to see much of the city at night. We stayed at another holiday park and enjoyed those hot showers again.

Huka Falls

Day 3: Walked around Wellington in the morning even though it was cold, windy and rainy. Welly seems like a nice town - pretty small compared to most major cities. Next stop was a golf course for the guys. We found an 18-hole course (really just someone's home/land) for $25 each and it ended up being in a beautiful setting - on 3 levels overlooking cliffs, sheep pastures and a river. I walked with them for a while and helped carry the 4 clubs that they had...and of course took a ton of pictures! At the end of the 18 holes, the only way to get back up to the top cliff was to take a home-made lift about 100 feet up. That was pretty unique!

"Bernie's Bomb" Lift

After golf, we drove as long as we could, which ended up being about 7 hours into the early morning. Coffee and Tim Tams got Zach and I through the drive while Kev was passed out on the back bed. After we couldn't go anymore, we stopped along the road and camped out for the night.

Day 4: Another early morning start - we drove through Auckland up to the Bay of Islands, which was about 4 hours away. I'm sure it would have been absolutely beautiful up there, but unfortunately we got caught in a storm and had rain and fog most of the way. We did see hot pink sheep though, which was pretty exciting.

Kevin and Zach found another golf course and putted around in the rain while I took a nap. After that, we headed to our final holiday park and made some yummy chicken tortilla soup for dinner.

Day 5: Drove 3 hours back to Auckland to drop Kevin off at the airport to fly home. Zach and I then killed about 3 hours around town enjoying our last moments in the camper. We dropped it off in the afternoon, then caught a shuttle to a little motel that we stayed at for the night.

We're now back in Auckland for the weekend staying with a family that Grammy and Papa met back in March. The down time has been really nice as we're preparing for our long flight back on Tuesday.

Scooters - Waiheke Island

2010-10-02T17:46:00.000+10:00

Auckland and Beyond

2010-09-30T17:50:00.008+10:00

Friday was a full travel day - Zach and I flew into Auckland on a different flight than Kev and Aaron, so we arrived about 6 hours before them. The hotel we stayed in was booked under the boys’ name (we were just crashing with them, so had to keep it undercover), so we couldn’t check in until they arrived later that night. We killed time by spending 3 hours in the airport sorting out our campervan hire. We waited too long to book our Christchurch flights and didn’t want to pay $300 each at the last minute, so we changed our camper rental to 5 days around the North Island. It all ended up working out fine, but took a lot of calling around to the different airlines and rental companies to find a solution. We then took a shuttle bus to downtown and waited for the boys to arrive. Our hotel room was really spacious and the perfect location in downtown Auckland. The next 3 days were jam-packed busy and we got to see and do a lot of fun things.

Saturday we walked around downtown to scope out things to do – we checked out the Sky Tower which consisted of a casino, restaurants, shopping and an observation deck that you could view the city and jump off of. We ate at a great Mexican restaurant (rare find here in NZ) and met the owners who were from Long Beach, CA and had started this restaurant chain in NZ. After that, we hustled over to the casino to watch the AFL finals game (Australian Rules Football). The two teams in the finals were from the Melbourne area and the boys had bet on the game, so we watched it on a big screen in the casino. It was really fun being there with the other fans and rooting on the St. Kilda Saints. The game was a nail-biter and the two teams ended up tying in the last minute. We weren’t sure how they would choose a winner, but heard that they would have to play another game the following week. So, hopefully St. Kilda will win this time and we can cash in a few dollars from our bet.

Sky Tower

Sunday was by far the best day in Auckland. We took a ferry out to Waiheke Island, which is about 30 minutes away and a fairly good sized island (about 20 kilometers long).

We all rented a scooter and drove around the island, saw some stunning views of the ocean and got up close and personal with cattle, sheep, emus, roosters and horses. For lunch we ate at a café overlooking the water, then hopped back on the scooters and cruised around for a few more hours. Every now and then we stopped at a beach to play footy and collect some seashells. It was so much fun and we really lucked out with some beautiful weather.

Monday morning Aaron packed up and we all headed to the airport. He flew back to California and Kev, Zach and I took a shuttle to our campervan rental. After signing our life away, we hopped in our hi-top 3-berth and hit the road. This camper is quite a bit smaller than the one Zach and I rented before. It does have a sink, stove, fridge and queen bed that we are all sharing, but doesn’t have a bathroom or TV like the other one. We are really roughing it out here. Our roadtrip has been successful so far…we'll update that trip with pictures over the weekend.

And we're flying home to California on Tuesday!!!

Melbourne

2010-09-27T06:14:00.004+10:00

We’ve been going strong this week seeing and doing everything we can. We are now in Auckland, New Zealand enjoying another great city and the chillier weather here. I’ll backtrack and try to highlight the things we’ve done this past week…

On Tuesday we all flew from Sydney to Melbourne for three days of fun in the city. We stayed at a hostel right in the center of downtown, which really paid off since our feet were killing from all the walking we were doing. Tuesday afternoon, I (Amber) met up with my friend Rose from Bond University, who I met when I studied abroad five years ago. We caught up over coffee, dinner and dessert – it was so good to see her and hear about her new husband, job and life. She is very generous and offered for us to use her car and eat dinner at her parents’ Iraqi restaurant anytime we wanted. We were happy to take her up on the offers!

Wednesday we drove the Great Ocean Road, which was completely worth the 10 hours that it took to get there and back. After 5 hours of windy roads, we reached the 12 Apostles in the late afternoon and spent about an hour exploring the area and seeing the magnificent ocean views. When we got back into town later that evening, we enjoyed a really nice Iraqi dinner at the Hana family restaurant. It was a new experience for the guys and they really enjoyed another food and culture.

On Thursday, we walked around the city and explored Fed Square, the Botanical Gardens, had an authentic Aussie BBQ (kangaroo, white bread, sausages, grilled onions and BBQ sauce), played pool at a pub on Lygon Street and ate again at the Hana’s restaurant.

It’s much different traveling with 3 guys, even though one is my husband. Our conversations revolve around sports, poker and beer. Here are some thoughts from the guys about the trip...

Aaron – This trip has been great. It’s been interesting learning about the different cultures. Sydney by far has been my favorite so far and I would love to visit there again in the future.

Kevin – Great trip so far, but I think the best is yet to come. My favorite day is going to be chilling at the Waiheke Island tomorrow.

Zach – Although I love my wife, it has been nice to hang out with guys and talk sports. It’s been so great having Kevin and Aaron join us for this trip down under.

Melbourne

Roadtrip to Great Ocean Road

12 Apostles

This is for Elka!

We'll update more about Auckland in a few days. Today we're picking up our campervan and driving around the North Island for 5 days. We weren't able to book a flight to Christchurch, so we decided to just stick with Northern NZ and hit all the hot spots. Bungy jumping tomorrow!!

Sydney Shots

2010-09-22T09:13:00.005+10:00

Rugby League Game (Panthers vs. Roosters)

Touring the City

Footy and surfing at Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach

G'day Mates

2010-09-20T08:37:00.003+10:00

It's been go-go-go the past two days for Zach, Aaron, Kevin and I. We are currently at McD's with our iPhones checking emails and getting fantasy football updates. So this post won't be too long cause I can't type fast on a phone. We've had so much fun here in Sydney and have been seeing all the sites and meeting lots of people. So far we've done ferry rides to Manly Beach and Darling Harbor, checked out the Opera House, Hyde Park, the Harbor Bridge and the Rocks. Also went to an NRL playoff rugby game and have been fine dining in the evenings. Our hotel is at king street wharf which is in the perfect location and close walking distance to most everything. It's Monday today and should be warm and sunny later on so we're headed out to Bondi Beach soon.

Tomorrow we're off to Melbourne for 3 more days of Aussie fun. Pictures to come!

Sweet Burma & Friends

2010-09-16T09:47:00.013+10:00

This might be our last post for a couple of weeks (unless we find cheap internet on our travels), so we wanted to talk about our wonderful new furry friend, Burma.

She is the oldest cat we have ever met (19 in human years, 93 in cat years) - but, you would never know. She is spunky, cuddly and all around lovely. Her routine every day is to wake us up around 6:30am by standing on one of our backs. She politely meows that she is ready for breakfast, but will wait and stare at us until we decide to finally roll out of bed around 7am. After breakfast, she patiently waits for the door to be opened so she can bathe in the sun on the front porch. After a few hours, she comes in for lunch, then proceeds to find any lap that she can lay on for her afternoon nap. After a hearty dinner which consists of kangaroo meat, she once again cuddles with one of us until we go to bed. She has a later bedtime and finally joins us around 10:30pm. She is smart. She first starts on Zach's side and cuddles with him. Then, finds her way between us where the warmth is and lets out a heavy sigh as she snuggles in between us. How can you turn that down?

A funny story about Burma - a few nights ago, she found her way to the end of the bed and got into the duvet cover that has an opening. She came back to the top of the bed (still under the covers) and apparently needed to go potty in the early morning. Well, she couldn't find her way back out of the covers and just couldn't hold it. So, at 4am, we were up changing the bed and getting her cleaned up. I think she was more embarassed than anything!

We will miss Burma as she has grown on us the past 5 weeks. We are so happy to have taken care of her.

For two days last week, we watched Cozy for a friend who went out of town. She is a very cute and cuddly dog who gives the best hugs to anyone. She had a lot of fun with us and basically ran around the farm chasing birds all day.

Zach and I finally saw our first python snake! We were finishing our last day of work at the cafe and were out on the deck applying the last coat of stain. We moved a large wooden barrel and underneath was a coiled up snake that was huge and long! We both scurried off to the edge of the deck and let the snake decide where it wanted to go. Of course, it chose to coil up right underneath the spot that I was staining. I had to stretch and reach across him for about an hour to finish the doors. I was a bit paranoid, but did a little sweet talking to it and luckily, it stayed put the whole time. I didn't have our camera with us, but it is similar to this one!

We also had some wallabies visit us right outside our back fence one evening. They have been coming closer and closer, but right when you try to go outside to take a picture, they hop away.

Well, that's it for the animals this week. On Saturday, we take the 2am train to meet Kevin & Aaron for 2 weeks of fun travels to Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand!!

TRI-CHALLENGE

2010-09-12T17:35:00.013+10:00

The tri-challenge was a very successful event and fun to be apart of. We checked into the volunteer booth at 8am and got our gear for the day which included water, fruit, a hat and a bright orange marshall vest. Our station was in the middle of a pasture behind someone's farm - so after checking in, we drove up the road to find our post and get settled in. The run portion of the race was last (after mountain biking and kayaking), so we had about 2 hours to kill before we saw our first runner. Zach and I played cards, read and chipped golf balls in the manure before the 1st place guy came running our way. We had our water cups ready and handed them out as runner after runner passed us. We tried to keep count as they passed, but eventually gave up. Towards the end, one guy was running without any shoes and I said, "Hey, you're shoeless!" and he said, "Don't even ask, mate!" Hmm...wonder what happened to him along the way.

After about 3 hours of passing out water, the last exhausted runner came by and then we packed up and headed to the sausage sizzle in town where they did the awards ceremony. There were some really great athletes who participated and then a lot of people who just do it every year for the sheer fun. Zach and I are doing our 1/2 marathon on October 10th in San Luis Obispo, CA and this race only makes us more excited! Or for me, excited that it will be over soon!

~ Highlights from the Day ~

An Aussie-Style Safari

2010-09-05T11:17:00.010+10:00

There's a triathlon here in Gloucester next weekend and we have been signed up to man one of the stations during the run leg. Yesterday, we drove the course with the director of the race so we could see how it was laid out and where we would be stationed. It was quite a bumpy trip. We loaded up in Sam's 4x4 Land Cruiser and spent 2 hours driving through private pastures, forests and even a river. It really felt like a safari! We were with another lady who had just returned from Africa and she was telling us all about it, which made it seem more real. Too bad we didn't spot any lions or zebras...but it was still great to be out there with the cattle and birds!

For the race, the competitors bike 26k's, kayak 10k's and run 10k's back into town. They come from all over and there should be a total of about 250 participants. This is the 20th year that they've had it in Gloucester and the town council and residents are very supportive of it all. Should be fun!

Zach and I along for the ride with Sam & Ashleigh

MOOOOOVE Cows!

Driving through the river!

The Finished Product!

2010-09-03T09:29:00.006+10:00

The cafe cleanup is mostly complete...we labored for almost 20 hours this week and got it looking very clean and tidy! We might do a little more this weekend outside in the yard and put another coat of stain on the deck, but the inside is done.

I just have to post this picture. I'm usually not too afraid of huge spiders, but I didn't see this one coming. I carried this glass from the counter to the dishwasher, then realized once I set it down that a massive spider was on the back of it. My heart stopped and luckily, I held my scream in. Zach probably would have had a heart attack. Anyways, we found MANY of these spiders and more in our cleaning adventure at the cafe.

Last night, we were invited to a "neighborhood dinner" at a cafe in town that just opened. The owner lives near us and wanted us to try some food and fill up his restaurant on opening night. We went along with Zach's dairy farm boss and his family as well as the other neighbors around. I think they brought out one of everything on the menu, and by the end we were so stuffed! It was really fun meeting some more people and tasting some really yummy Italian pizza and pasta...my favorite was the pumpkin and feta pizza - interesting combination!

Work, Work, Work...and Celebrations

2010-08-31T09:22:00.006+10:00

We are very grateful to have some extra casual work this week. There's nothing like the feeling of living on your last dollar...but thankfully we got a call this week from the President of Rotary, who needed some laborers!

The Task: Cleaning and Organizing a Cafe/Art Gallery at a Bed & Breakfast.

The building has been sitting empty for about a year and is full of cobwebs, rat poo and dust. We'll probably put about 15 hours in this week and are going through every inch with warm water and bleach. It's a really cool looking place and will soon be leased out to somebody who wants to run it.

And...we celebrated two years of marriage yesterday! After Zach worked in the morning at the dairy farm, we had a quick lunch and headed over to spend 4 hours cleaning the cafe. Then, raced home to clean up and we enjoyed a nice dinner at the golf club restaurant. After not eating out for a while, you really savor and enjoy every minute of someone else cooking for you!

Thanks also to my mom who left us a stack of anniversary cards that she had collected and brought with her. And thanks to everyone else for the anniversary wishes! We love you all!

2010-08-27T14:35:00.007+10:00

I won't go into too much detail, but Zach has been pretty sick this week. He started feeling bad on Sunday and skipped work on Monday to stay in bed. It started with a high fever and the shaky achy feel - then turned into bad stomach cramps, head and neck aches and sweats at night. He's had no appetite this week, but somehow managed to work Tuesday-Friday (he's my hero!). Today he is feeling much better and back to normal. We think it's the water - so, he is now on a strict bottled water diet and that seems to be helping!

Zach's thoughts about the last week:

Work was tough this past week because I was so weak from not eating anything. But everyday got better and today I am almost back to normal. This week I've been angle-grinding rust off large pieces of steel which will eventually be used as the frame for a 300 square-meter hay shed. It's better than shoveling you-know-what! Next week I'll finish up the grinding and start painting the pieces. Amber did a great job taking care of me - I'm so lucky to have a caring, nuturing wife like her. I kinda hope I get sick more often!

~~~~~~~~~

In between taking care of Zach, I was able to fit in some fun things this week. On Tuesday, I took a bus tour through the Manning Valley. There were about 20 of us and I was definitely the youngest - I think the next youngest was about 65. We bush-walked through Wingham Nature Reserve, which was home to very old Moreton Bay Fig trees and about 50,000 grey-headed flying fox (which are actually bats). You had to watch your step and definitely not look up with your mouth open! We drove up to Blue Knob Lookout, which had spectacular views of the Valley and coast. Then, we ended the day with a hike to Ellenborough Falls which is one of the longest single drop waterfalls in the Southern Hemisphere. The scenery was great and I mostly enjoyed all the history and stories that the guides told about the land. Very interesting!

The Bus Crew

100+ year old Moreton Bay Fig Tree

Bats everywhere you looked!

Only in Australia - a tree that can sting you

Zach and I both are floaters for the tennis club, so I got a call this week to play with the ladies comp league. I enjoyed meeting more local people and the competition was pretty good. With all these people we are meeting through rotary and tennis, we are starting to recognize people in town. Somehow, the small town becomes even smaller!

We are still trying to decide what to do for our anniversary this coming Monday. Hard to believe it's already been two years. We've asked our friends here which places are good for dinner and it turns out only one restaurant is even open on a Monday night...so I guess that makes our decision pretty easy!

Country Living

2010-08-20T15:51:00.006+10:00

It's still hard to believe we are living out here in this beautiful country...away from city lights, rush hour traffic and noise. All we hear now are the cockatoos coo-ing, the cows moo-ing and Burma meow-ing. It's such a peaceful and renewing place to be and we love all of the ways to be resourceful out here. Water for the entire land is supplied from the rain, where it collects in large tanks and pumps up to the house and yard. We eat fresh eggs and orange juice every morning and we collect firewood and snuggle up to warm fires at night. There's always something to do and I know Zach is glad to have a huge yard to chip around in. The weather has been great so far. A little rain and wind, but most days are sunny and 65-70 degrees. Spring is just around the corner!

It's been an adventurous week and I forgot to mention in the last blog about our night at the rotary meeting last week. Before Kaye and Grahame left for their trip, (by the way - they went to Africa, Italy and will cruise on a private Mediterranean yacht...not a bad vacation!) Grahame took us to his weekly meeting which has about 35 members from the community. Zach and I jumped right in and had quite a night. Australians love to joke about everything and of course we, as the visitors from California, were the butt of the jokes. They had us both go up to the front podium and give a short speech about our trip. We were even featured in the weekly bulletin!

Rotary Club of Gloucester Inc / Secretary - Rod Menzel
"We had the pleasure of meeting two young Californian House-Sitters who will be looking after the Stelzers' wine cellar while the owner is in Africa. Amber and Zach Milner gave a quick talk on their background and their reasons for doing what they are doing. Imagine leaving your job, coming to Oz for 9 months and then returning to the States to pick up careers again. Oh, to be young and resourceful again. I am sure we will see more of these two over the coming weeks."

Zach started working for the dairy farm on Monday. He clocked about 15 hours this week and is enjoying this very different type of work. He says, "I basically have been pressure-washing and shoveling crap out of the milking area and the calves playpin. Maybe I can start milking the cows next week. I'm just very happy to have a job right now." Here's a short video from down at the farm:

I have been busy with things around the house. I'm enjoying taking care of the garden, chooks and Burma. Here's a video about my activities:

Glorious Gloucester!

2010-08-12T10:44:00.019+10:00

It's been a whirlwind of a week (mostly for Karen & John), but things are finally settling down here at the farmhouse. K & J had a quick 3-day trip to New Zealand last week. They flew out Wednesday night (Aug. 4), arrived in Christchurch at 1 am, had a few hours to sleep at the airport and then flew to Queenstown Thursday morning. They spent 2 days with John's daughter, who works in the snowboard/skiing industry. On Friday afternoon, they were lucky enough to hit the slopes and ski a half-day. From what we understand, the ski "resorts" are very different from what we are used to and this one basically consisted of 3 runs/lifts at the top of one mountain. It took them an hour by bus to drive up the windy roads to get to the top, but I'm sure it was well worth it. The scenery looked breathtaking!

After an afternoon of skiing, they drove 8 hours in a motorhome (the same sweet relocation deal that we did) back to Christchurch, slept at the airport again for the night, then flew back to Sydney on Saturday morning. Zach and I were there to greet them at the airport, pick up our rental car and drive 4 hours to Gloucester. Poor Mom and John were absolutely pooped. And if that wasn't enough, we took them on a 3-hour detour through the Hunter Valley wine country and did some wine and cheese tastings. We couldn't pass that up!

Hunter Valley Wine Country

We finally arrived in Gloucester on Saturday evening and had time to relax and unwind - which were much needed because the next few days were packed full of activities and socializing. Kaye and Grahame (K n G), the owners of this house-sit, have a beautiful farmhouse on 250 acres, complete with dairy cattle, chooks, a fruit tree orchard, a winter vegetable garden, a pool and a beautiful cat named Burma. Zach and I are going to have so much fun here! The views are amazing and the neighbors are few and far between. Town is about a 10 minute drive away and you end up spending an hour getting a few things at the market because everyone knows everyone. But, more about the town of Gloucester later...

View of our backyard

On Sunday, K n G planned a beautiful paella lunch with some friends. We got to catch up with Doug and Valda (who we stayed with in January when Grammy & Papa were with us) as well as meet Jeff & Bev, who will be helping us out if we have any issues. We also agreed to watch their dog while they are away for a week in September.

Some other fun things we did while my mom was here...

~ Walked down to the river, explored our backyard and met the 6 chooks that will give us fresh eggs each morning ~

~ Drove to the coast and had fish and chips in the town of Forster (about an hour away) ~

~ Saw a close-up family of 12 wallabies (small kangaroos) ~

~ Hiked up the Barrington Tops mountain ~

K & J drove back down to Sydney on Tuesday night and flew home to California on Wednesday. Since then, Zach and I have been learning the ropes of the farm and trying to work on securing a job (or two). But for now, we're enjoying our free time in this beautiful part of the world.

Blue Mountains Getaway

2010-08-04T15:56:00.002+10:00

After welcoming home Ken and Thelma, we set out Sunday morning for the Blue Mountains. It was about a 2-hour train ride out west through the mountains. We rented a cute cottage called Victoria's Secret, located in the small town of Mount Victoria. Our street is at the highest elevation in the Blue Mountains - 1111 meters (3645 feet). The town has one general store, one pub and one empty hotel. We're thinking most places close down during the winter, because there is hardly any activity going on.

The first night we arrived, we cooked Karen & John a classic Aussie-style BBQ. It was complete with white bread, sausages, grilled onions, tomato sauce and BBQ sauce. I know John loved it, but Karen wasn't so sure. I think she'll stick with the regular American BBQ. It got pretty cold that night and even started to snow a bit, but it wasn't sticking to the ground. It was very strange to have such cold and snowy weather in August.

Monday was a beautiful day, so we hiked some local trails in Mount Victoria. We checked out Ferris Cave and Boronia Point, which had pretty incredible views of the mountains and valleys. We learned that, "the atmosphere is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, which, in combination with dust particles and water vapour, scatter short-wave length rays of light which are predominantly blue in color." Guess that explains the name!

Tuesday was another nice day, so we headed down 3 train stops to Katoomba, which is a much larger town with many trails, waterfalls and tourist things to do. On our way there, we met a local Aussie who shared his life story with pictures and commentary. We didn't catch his name, so we decided to call him Ferris. This man was very interesting and kept us entertained on the train ride down. Lucky for us, we saw him again on the train heading back up to Mount Victoria.

In Katoomba, we saw the Three Sisters and hiked through the Katoomba Falls region. It was quite a rainforest hike with more great views of the mountains. This was definitely the perfect activity for Karen & John since they both love the outdoors.

We put together a great video of our time in the Blue Mountains - check it out!

Zach and I decided to stay in the Blue Mountains an extra night because we just aren't ready to head back to Sydney yet. We got Karen & John sent off on the train today to fly out to New Zealand tonight. They will spend 3 days there, then we'll meet back up and drive to Gloucester together on Saturday.

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes - it was a great day!!

Family + Ber-day = Fun!!

2010-07-29T20:19:00.006+10:00

We woke up Wednesday morning to a downpour of rain and were able to successfully navigate through the heavy morning traffic to pick up my Mum and John at the airport. Welcome to Sydney!! They had a good flight and were rearing to go for the day. We gave them a quick tour of some of the outer suburbs and headed to our neighborhood to get settled in. We stocked up on groceries, played with Ollie and planned our next few days.

Thursday we set out on the ferry to Bundeena and hiked through the Royal National Park. Zach and I had done that a couple weeks back, but this time we found some unchartered territory and saw so much more of the coastline, cliffs and terrain. The rain held off until the afternoon when we were heading back, so we couldn't have asked for a better day!

Friday (my ber-day) was such a great day - probably one of the best birthdays ever. If you know my family, we make quite a big deal out of birthdays. My mom is so awesome - she collected a bunch of birthday cards from family and friends back home and when I woke up, they were all displayed on the kitchen table. I started to cry! It was SO good to hear from people back home. Zach cooked an awesome strawberry pancake breakfast and then we were off to the city! We took the train to downtown and pretty much saw every major tourist site around. We were busy! It was nice because Zach and I were able to see a lot of new things, too. When we were heading back home on the train, something had happened to the usual train line, so they re-routed about 3 trains worth of people into 1. Needless to say, it was a very crowded, hot and stuffy ride home, but we survived it.

Here's a little taste of how Karen & John are finding Australia and Zach's take on things:

John -- "This whole country is backwards. Cars are on the wrong side of the road, drivers on the wrong side of the car, the sun is in the wrong part of the sky, the zippers are backwards, people walk backwards...I just have no sense of direction. Even the toilets flush backwards...it's all physics, but I don't get it."

Karen -- "Amber and Zach are incredible tour guides. They take care of everything - trains and which platform to get on, all the directions and how to not get lost. They cook and feed us and take care of our every need. We do help with Ollie and walk him in the mornings. Sydney was amazing. It was hard to take it all in. The waterways, ferry rides, skyscrapers, the Bridge and incredible scenery were all just amazing. Celebrating Ber's birthday was so fun. Throughout the day, we ate antipasta salad, gelato, sushi and topped it off with burgers and beer. The cool weather is really nice when we're used to a hot summer right now. Next, we are looking forward to seeing the 3 sisters in the Blue Mountains. Hopefully we'll see some kangaroos there."

Zach -- "I was looking forward to Karen and John coming so I didn't have to walk Ollie anymore...and it has been great to sleep in! I've enjoyed getting to know John through all the different Australian beers. He can really hang with me and the best of the Aussies. And I've never seen Karen so quiet when we were on the train ride home last night. She was beat after the really long day...or maybe jet lag had finally set in. I'm glad my wife got to enjoy her birthday with her mom and that we can celebrate it for 2 days since today is her American birthday."

Now...off to the Blue Mountains tomorrow!!

Sydney Nightlife

2010-07-25T13:44:00.010+10:00

A night on the town with great friends, food and drinks was exactly what we needed! I was afraid our social skills were starting to suffer, but thanks to our new friends, Lachlan and Gemma, we are back in the game. (Gemma is the daughter of the house-sitting owners and Lachlan is her boyfriend - both are in the medical field).

We began our night by getting ready at Gemma & Lachlan's apartment. It was a challenge putting together an outfit from the selection of clothes from my suitcase, but I managed by doing a little shopping in Gemma's closet. Luckily, I had found a jacket at a Vinnie's thrift store a few weeks back that was presentable. I just needed to add a dress, some nice heels and a purse. We took a taxi to Surry Hills which is a very trendy area with great restaurants and pubs. "Non La" was the restaurant of choice and we enjoyed a fantastic Vietnamese family-style smorgasbord. It was delicious! Most of the restaurants here are BYO, so you can pair a nice wine with dinner without spending a fortune. Their friend, Mike, met up with us at the restaurant. He went to med school with Lachlan and is totally Zach's Australian twin! They look similar, both LOVE sports and are just fun-loving guys.

Lachlan - Gemma - Mike - Zach

After dinner, we walked to the Dolphin Pub to catch the tail end of the Australia vs. South Africa rugby union game. Apparently, this is another big deal which we had really no idea about. Rugby union is different than rugby league, so that's another "football" game that we learned and now I am definitely confused between union, league and AFL! It was a good game and Australia came out on top.

After the pub, we took another taxi to Darling Harbor and met some of their other friends at The Loft, a bar that had beautiful views of the harbor and a great atmosphere.

Thank you Gemma and Lachlan for showing us your favorite local spots!

We had heaps of fun!

Running is all mental.

2010-07-22T15:24:00.006+10:00

Even though I didn't pull off the 1/2 marathon, I am still proud of myself for running 10k's today. My deadline to run it was tomorrow (Friday) and I woke up this morning on Thursday and knew today was the day! I know I'm making this a big deal - people run 6+ miles everyday, but you have to understand and I have NEVER ran more than 5 miles in my life at one time. And that was at our annual school jog-a-thon when I was like 10 and had unending amounts of energy.

Zach was very supportive and started running with me, but then raced ahead and finished the same route a good 25 minutes before me. (Thanks, babe, for showing me up) But, he did have water, a banana and a power bar ready for me when I finally strolled in.

Surprisingly, it was actually pretty easy. And it really is all about the mental attitude! I knew I could do it and never doubted myself along the way, which was most of the battle. So I don't know what's next (except a week off of running)...and hopefully someday soon I can do a 1/2 marathon.

Royal National Park

2010-07-17T16:25:00.014+10:00

After a week of not doing a whole lot, we have packed in a weekend of fun. Friday we set out to the Royal National Park, which is just south of where we live. It was established in 1879 and is the world's second oldest national park. Who knew! I just learned that from google. Hah. Anyways...there are miles and miles of coastal trails, aboriginal rock carvings and camping spots and the only way to get there is to take a ferry from Cronulla to Bundeena, which is a small artsy town nestled in the park. We drove out to Cronulla and as we were looking for a parking spot, we realized we only had 10 minutes before the ferry left. If we missed this ferry, the next one wasn't for another hour and a half. Needless to say, the 1/2 marathon (now a 10K for me...I decided to set more reasonable goals) is finally paying off! We quickly found a spot in a neighborhood and booked it all the way to the ferry in T-7 minutes. After we boarded and caught our breath, we ended up sitting at the dock for about 10 minutes while the slow pokes found their way on board. Ugh!! We should have remembered that the way of life here is LAID BACK!! That should teach us not to be in such a hurry from now on.

The short 20 minute ferry ride had some spectacular views of the bay, the Pacific Ocean and of course, multi-million dollar homes on the cliffs. After getting off the ferry, we first found the information wall to figure out where to start the hike. It was a little confusing where to go, but we used our smarts and just set out towards the direction we thought would be good. After a nice long walk through a neighborhood, we found an opening down to the beach and walked along the sand for a while. Then...we found the actual trail! We enjoyed some awesome coastal hikes, bush walking and tree canopy forests...and the best thing is we didn't get lost or get bit/stung by anything! This is definitely something we will do again, probably with my mom and John when they come in just over a week!

Finding our way to the beach

Tide Pools with nothing in them

Yep, I got soaked on that splash

Pretty Wildflowers

Lunch Spot

This is for you, Mick!

Tree Forest Canopy

Friday night was our 3-course dinner night. Sorry to say the pictures did not do the meal justice and our plate-up wasn't great, so I didn't post pictures. But, looks are deceiving because it was really good! For the appetizer, we had baked brie and french bread - main course was an herb-crusted rack of lamb with lemon risotto and baby carrots - and dessert was a chocolate fondant with vanilla custard. Hmm-mm good!

Saturday has mostly been a relaxing day filled with walking Ollie, afternoon golf and an attempt at baking Lamingtons, a classic Australian dessert. Tomorrow we head to the city for the day with a forecast of 66 degrees, clear and sunny!

Coffee @ Peace

2010-07-14T15:33:00.004+10:00

Last Sunday, Zach and I set out to Sutherland (a nearby town) and first visited a small Presbyterian Church that had about 60 members...probably 95% of them over the age of 70. It was an experience! After the service, we chatted with a lady who went on and on about her life in Chile. She had a pretty heavy Chilean/Australian accent, so we only caught a few words and eventually had to excuse ourselves so we could head out to the next activity for the day which was a Coffee Festival at Peace Park. The Sutherland Council setup the event and had a bunch of coffee and food booths, a Japanese garden, cooking demonstrations, live bands and a reptile outback guy walking around with...well, reptiles. It was a really fun-filled afternoon with a good local vibe.

The rest of the week has been really low-key for us. It's been raining off and on, so we decided to continue on with our Best Picture list and watch some more movies. We have about 10 more to go and until yesterday, we had not been able to find them anywhere. So we visited the local video store, but weren't able to get a membership without a permanent address. It must be our American accent and good charm, because the nice lady working let us use her member card and rented 4 movies for us. She didn't even get our name or number to come hunt us down if we didn't return them in time. We've realized people here are quite trusting of one another...which really can come in handy! So, last night we saw Hurt Locker (2010) and today watched The English Patient (1997). Now, just 8 more to go!

Just the 2 of us

2010-07-08T10:54:00.002+10:00

OK, Zach's last post was pretty funny I have to admit...not sure where he gets the idea about going pro - I don't remember encouraging that. But, I do love seeing him do the things that make him happy. So, in order to keep myself busy in the afternoons, Ollie and I have come up with some fun outdoor games. Check 'em out.

I’m a lucky man…

2010-07-07T18:56:00.003+10:00

We have really been enjoying our time here in Australia; seeing another beautiful part of the world, having the time to be immersed in the culture, doing it all with each other and most importantly for having the opportunity to work on my golf game.

In Tannum Sands, we were only a few kilometers from the local golf course with the most unique driving range and a 15-hole course. Kinda weird but they do things a little different in Queensland. Then in Meadowbrook (Brisbane), I had a great opportunity to get a few private lessons for dirt-cheap. Luckily this was not one of those “you get what you pay for”, rather an exceptionally awesome opportunity and a great deal. I took full advantage to say the least.

Now we’re in Bangor (Sydney) and there is a local golf course that has a pretty cheap twilight (afternoon) rate and good practice facilities that I have been using most afternoons. Hopefully, I will be able to play a few more courses while in New South Wales.

I have never been so absorbed in golf. Granted, we have been in an increasing clingy relationship for the past three years since we were introduced by my then girlfriend, now wife, Amber. A few things I enjoy about golf are the personal challenges, each course’s unique features, the rare satisfied feeling, and the times spent outside in beautiful weather. Amber had no idea what that first birthday gift would start…I was hooked not only golf but her as well.

The most important thing I have learned in the past few months while on this holiday across Australia is that the same person who reluctantly lets me leave her for the afternoon loves me more than anything. She is incredibly supportive of my addiction (hasn’t enrolled me in rehab yet)! Amber always asks how things went, really listens when I tell her, and even gives her best advice. At the end of the day she is so supportive of me and I hope that someday if she picks up a ridiculously addicting hobby, I’ll be able to reciprocate the support and be happy about the fun and enjoyment she gets from it.

So, to show Amber how much I appreciate all she has done for me, I am going to give up my young career in civil engineering and pursue the higher paying, more time consuming professional golf career. I know she will continue to support me in my old hobby/new career.

Thanks Ber!

Celebrating the 4th

2010-07-05T12:54:00.004+10:00

It was a pretty quiet day compared to most of our 4th of July celebrations...I think we were the only Americans in the area. We did notice on the radio stations that the DJ's kept wishing everyone a happy 4th of July and they called it their "Independence Weekend." Totally stealing our holiday! haha.

We took a picnic lunch to a park near Botany Bay and it was a beautiful (but chilly) day! Botany Bay forks for miles and forms many different rivers/creeks/bay inlets, and there are large homes lining the waterways for miles. It reminds me a lot of the keys at South Lake Tahoe, which is where we usually go for the 4th, so we kinda felt at home! Sadly, no fireworks show.

I also wanted to show eveyone our fabulous view of downtown Sydney from our front porch.

Can you see it?

OK, zoom in a little and look closer.

OK, now you really can't miss it!! Not bad, huh?

Cooking Adventures

2010-07-02T21:22:00.006+10:00

I know this isn't a food blog, but I really can't resist posting some pictures of our yummy 3-course meal that we cooked tonight. I'm proud to say it has passed the "Milner Bistro" test and will be added to our array of foods to cook when we entertain for family and friends. Oh, and entrees over here are appetizers instead of main meals...just so it's not confusing.

The Menu

Entree ~ Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Bacon Chive Bitz

Main ~ Chili-Ginger Lobster with Lemon Risotto

Dessert ~ Cheesecake and Fresh Strawberries

And we paired the first two courses with a refreshing Wolf Blass Chardonnay.

Friday nights have become our 3-course nights. We spend all week brainstorming different dishes and do a bit of experimenting before cooking and plating the real deal. There is so much to learn about flavors, techniques and how ingredients mesh together - which can be frustrating and fascinating all at the same time. I am really into Jamie Oliver right now and have been enjoying his take on basic cooking with fresh ingredients. Zach and I were both lucky to grow up in cooking households which makes our daily inventions in the kitchen all the more creative! I'm sure there will be more mouth-watering dishes to post next week!

Making History...

2010-07-02T08:26:00.002+10:00

In our short time in Sydney, we have witnessed 2 major (well, one is major, the other not such a big deal) events in Australia's history. The first is the overthrow of the former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who served as PM since 2007. His ratings had steadily gone downhill since his election and it seems most people who were fans of him in the beginning are now very much opposed to his policies. The overthrow happened fairly quickly and did not involve a vote of the people or re-election (although one will take place in the coming months). In a matter of a day, Kevin Rudd was challenged and forced by his labor party to step down and Julia Gillard was sworn in as the leader of the Labor Party, as well as the Prime Minister of Australia. Julia is the first woman to hold this office, the first PM to never have been married and the first foreign-born PM since 1915 (she was born in Wales). A lot of firsts! She is dating a male hairdresser and there are constant jokes and stabs about her fiery red hair and unique personality.

So, the Labor Party here would be close to our Democrats and the Liberal Party is close to our Republicans...I think...it's confusing. But, it seems like there isn't a fine line between the two - within both parties are far right and far left wing policies. So, it's hard to compare them with American politics. Another interesting thing is the PM's can hold office for as long as they are elected, unlike our Presidents who are only allowed 2 terms. Ok, enough politics!

The other history-making thing is that Sydney experienced it's coldest weather in 61 years!! It dropped down to 4.3 degrees (Celsius) which is only about 40 degrees (Fahrenheit)...but still!! It's very cold for us, but we're surviving. Zach is enjoying a round of golf in the sun while I'm sipping my tea and trying finding a place to stay when my mom comes in July. It'll be here before we know it!

The Town of Bangor

2010-06-28T16:42:00.009+10:00

It's been almost a week since we arrived in Bangor for our new house-sit. We will be here for 5 1/2 weeks and plan to do some fun things, some of which include celebrating my birthday and having my mom and John come visit! The house here is beautiful and is located about 30 minutes south of Sydney. We're close to some good shops/malls, tennis courts and golf courses. Not that we plan on spending much time shopping or golfing, but it's good to know where they are!

We are sitting for a black lab named Ollie. He is about 6 years old, but has the energy of a young puppy. He's a well-behaved dog and has a sweet spirit (except when he gets really excited to go for a walk and uncontrollably bucks like a bronco). Zach has taken on a lot of the feeding this time around, so Ollie follows him EVERYWHERE. They are quickly becoming best friends.

So far this week, we've gotten to know the neighborhoods through our jogs and walks to the park. We have also been cooking every chance we get. Our favorite show right now is MasterChef Australia and we are inspired every night to try new things; so, we've been testing our culinary talents and so far have tried homemade pizza, homemade pasta carbonara, stuffed chicken, braised beef, and different salads and desserts. We're excited to try these new recipes on our family when we get home!

The weather here is much colder than in Queensland...usually in the 50's during the day and 40's at night. Luckily, we have an electric blanket on our bed that keeps us warm at night and we bundle up during the day. It's actually warmer to be outside during the day, so we take advantage of that and try to stay out in the sun!

Here's some pics so far from this week. We've managed to get to the golf course twice already for some putting/chipping practice. As you can see from the video, I have a ways to go on my swing. But, lucky for me, I have a pretty good coach.

Our House

Spinach-Artichoke & Tomato Pizza with Homemade Dough

Stuffed Chicken with Bacon & Avocado with Creamy Mash

Vibrant Rocket Salad

Holla

Watch out Kev I. and Bil - Zach's swing is looking good!

Watch out everyone else! You'll see me on the women's senior circuit soon!

Cruisin' in the Motorhome

2010-06-25T13:46:00.011+10:00

On Sunday, we picked up our motorhome, then had afternoon tea with Mark & Suzy after they arrived home from Melbourne. We said our good-byes to Jack and began the 45 minute drive to the Gold Coast.

The Euro Deluxe motorhome was awesome!! It was equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, flat screen TV and could sleep 6 people...definitely more room than we needed. It was a 6-speed diesel that sounded like a semi-truck and seemed to take 30 seconds just to get up to 10 kph. But, it took Zach just a few minutes to get used to it and then he was driving smooth!

Day 1 - We continued our souvenir shopping in Surfer's Paradise before walking around the esplanade and beach areas. It was getting dark, so we headed to Bond University to try and find a place to camp for the night. We drove into the campus and almost parked in a commuter lot, but decided we might find ourselves getting towed in the middle of the night. So, we found a nearby neighborhood to crash in for the night. We were pretty self-sufficient in our little home and cooked a nice chicken taco dinner and swooped some internet from a nearby house. In the morning, we walked around the campus and saw my old dorm and hangouts - Don's Tavern, Juicy Bits, the pool, gym and tennis courts. They have started a lot of new construction which made some of it unrecognizable, but for the most part, it was good 'ol Bond!

Day 2 - We headed out of the Gold Coast around noon and began a 4-hour drive down the coast. The highway along the coast is Pacific Hwy 1 - just like in California, so we felt right at home. First stop was Byron Bay, a colorful hippie town with a picturesque lighthouse that overlooks the bay and coastline. We attempted to drive the motorhome up the small mountain and through very narrow and pot-hole filled roads. Not sure the motorhome company would approve of this, but we were determined to get up there and see the views. We finally found our way to the top and hopped out to take some photos. As we got to the main viewing deck, we heard everyone oo-ing and ah-ing at the water. We discovered it was pods of whales swimming right along the coast below us...it was so cool!

We drove through a few more towns and decided to stop in Grafton, NSW which is basically a small trucker stop with one McDonald's. But, this wasn't just any McD's...it was an attractive 2-story building with a pond and fountain out front. We had no problem spending an hour there getting free internet and a .50 cent cone! That night, we stayed at a Bunnings Warehouse (Home Depot) parking lot. We woke up early the next morning and headed on our way.

Day 3: Tuesday we drove about 5.5 hours and found ourselves in Port Stephens, which is a beautiful country town right on the coast. It's a bit out of the way, but definitely worth the extra 30 minutes to get there. We stayed at an RV holiday park since we needed to charge up the battery and find a dump station. Shoal Bay was a great little park with all the amenities we needed. We had a nice lamb dinner, hot showers and played a little ping pong in the game room. (Just for the record Amber won 2 of the 3 games!)

Day 4: After about 3 hours of driving, we arrived in North Sydney but decided to take our time getting through the city. The roads got extremely narrow and the drivers got more agressive and fast. So, we just stood our ground and managed to squeeze through the city tunnels and come out to the south side where we dropped off the motorhome and waited for our new house-sitters to pick us up.

We are happy to report to our families that everything went very smooth (except for a few squabbles) and we had a really fun time exploring much of the coast. We are so happy we decided on this route instead of a train or plane...we really got a good Aussie road trip experience! Check out the video below for some more pics!

AFL Brisbane Lions

2010-06-24T13:49:00.012+10:00

We are a bit behind on blogging, so read the next few posts in portions if you don't have a lot of time! So much has happened in the last 5 days and we are now situated at our Sydney (Bangor) house-sit...more about that later. First, we'll start with the AFL game that we went to last Saturday with our new friends Joel & Jules. They picked us up in Meadowbrook and we had a quick bite at a cafe called 3 Monkeys in Brisbane's West End. After that, we headed to the stadium to stand in line for tickets to the night's match against Richmond (a Melbourne team). AFL is an interesting game - a mix between football, soccer and rugby with no pads and very few rules. Remember smear the queer when you were a kid? Well, this is a professional version of that!

Sadly, the lions lost their match but it was a great time had by all and an experience we wouldn't want to have missed. Thank you Joel & Jules for a GREAT night!!

Tour of Brissy!

2010-06-18T10:47:00.012+10:00

The 3rd largest city in Australia, a city of many bridges and a growing art and cultural scene...Brisbane was a very enjoyable city to explore. It is small enough to walk to all the major sights, but still has that large metropolitan city feel. We took the 25 minute train ride to South Bank Station and started our day by walking through the Parklands area, which is a long bougainvillea arbor path winding through gardens, parks and pool areas. The man-made pool area is pretty cool with a great view of the river and downtown. We saw a bunch of naked little toddlers running around and there's a nice white sandy beach area.

Grand Arbor

Shooting Water

Beach Lagoon Overlooking City

The Brisbane River winds through the city which is why there are SO many bridges (over 15 major ones to be exact)...so we definitely had our choice of where to cross to get to the main downtown city area. We walked across the Victoria Bridge and immediately came upon the Treasury Casino. We wanted to check it out and as we got to the entrance, the security guard informed us that we weren't allowed to enter because we had flip flops on. Whoops! Who knew any place in Australia had a dress code? We sure didn't.

View of the Parklands from the Bridge

So, we continued on and found ourselves walking through the Queen Street Mall which is full of shops and eateries. We found some tourist souvenir shops and did a little shopping for family back home. It's funny how each souvenir shop looks the same and has the same products...but if you go back and forth from one to another, you can figure out which has the least expensive kangaroo stuffed animal or aboriginal painted boomerang. We probably did look like crazy tourists going from one store to the next, then back to the first. Haha.

After exhausting ourselves shopping (not really), we took a latte break at a cafe called Coffee Hit. We sat for a while and people-watched in the King George Square area. We didn't see anything too interesting, so we continued on and walked down George Street towards the Botanical Gardens.

King George Square - City Hall

The gardens were nice, but not filled with flowers and trees like a lot of botanical gardens are...but it was still a very relaxing place and very busy with people walking/running on their lunch break. I was tempted to join the runners, but decided I better enjoy my snickerdoodle cookie first!

After finding our way out of the gardens, we caught a city cat ferry and decided to just ride on it until we had to head back to the train station (we had an off-peak ticket, so we had to be on the train by 3:29pm...or else:). We had a nice hour ride up and down the river and disembarked at South Bank to catch our train back home. It was a great day!

Really nice river house that I fell in love with!

2010-06-13T10:47:00.007+10:00

We've been keeping really busy these last few days and our time in Brisbane/Gold Coast is almost halfway over!

When we leave on Sunday, June 20th to head down to Sydney, we were originally going to fly, but wanted to see more of the country, so we thought about taking the train. But now...we have decided to rent a campervan and drive the 950 kilometers down the coast! We found a website that offers 90% discounts on campervans because they are looking for people to relocate the vehicles one-way. So, we rented a 6-passenger Euro Deluxe motorhome for 3 days!!

We'll take our time getting down to Sydney, stopping at the beach towns and sites along the way. It's the perfect way to explore the Pacific Coast! Check out this promo video to see how we'll be riding in style.

Here are the pictures of the park area where we walk Jack 2x a day. Early mornings are best as there is still frost on the grass and a beautiful layer of mist against the rising sun.

We had an unexpected offer to drive down to the Gold Coast with some of Suzy's friends - Jen & Steve. They had to make a trip down Saturday morning for a few hours and invited us to go along for the ride. We were so excited! We got dropped off in Surfer's Paradise and first went up to the Q1 Observatory Deck that overlooks the entire city and coastlines. I think it's the tallest building in that area and we could see for miles.

After spending a while trying to spot whales (no luck), counting the tennis courts and watching the 1-inch tall people on the beach, we set off towards Broadbeach which was about a 15 minute walk along the beach. After a PB & J lunch, we kept walking south towards Pacific Fair, a large shopping mall. It was fun walking through Surfer's which is just full of high-rise apartments and holiday units. We finally made it to the mall and as we were walking around, we saw Skye Craig signing autographs. She was a contestant on MasterChef Australia and got booted off last week. We love that show and it was so cool to see her in person!

This week we don't have too much planned yet - Zach will make it to the golf course a couple more times and we'll take a train into the city to see some more sights.

Happy Birthday today to my brother, Drew! Hope you have a great day and we love you!!

On the Road Again...

2010-06-11T10:54:00.006+10:00

After a long 6-hour train ride and a hopper tram to the suburb of Meadowbrook, we have made it to the south end of Queensland. We are situated about 30 minutes south of Brisbane in a very nice town. Suzy and Mark (the house-sitting owners) along with their dog, Jack, have a great home and neighborhood. Jack is a very sweet and well-trained English Cocker Spaniel and lives a very structured life. We get up with him at 6:30am for breakfast then take him on a 1-hour walk at 7am. In the evenings, we take him to the dog park for some socialization, then dinner at 6pm. We are very impressed with his training which Suzy has put a lot of time into. When we are walking and are about to cross the street, he sits and waits for our OK to go. And when we get home and walk through the front door, he waits (usually) until everyone else goes in before he does. It's so cute!

I have really enjoyed walking through the parks here. They are very well kept and full of ponds, birds and even a koala! I haven't spotted it yet, but I'm hoping to soon. The river flows along one side and there's a miniature horse in one of the pastures. It has a very country-like feeling. I'll take some pictures soon to post.

Before Suzy and Mark left, they took us to the Hyperdome which is a huge mall area. We got some groceries, but had to turn down any major shopping. We somehow accumulated a few things in Tannum and can't afford to buy anything more, nor do we have the luggage space!

Yesterday we walked to the golf course (about 30 minutes each way) and Zach did a bit of putting. The course seems pretty nice and is very decently priced, so I think I'll know where to find Zach this next week! He's planning on going to a clinic tonight to get some tips from the local pro.

Today (Friday), we're taking the bus back to the Hyperdome to meet up with friends of Zach's family. Long story short - Grammy & Papa stayed with the parents in Brisbane when they were here in February and have stayed in good contact. We are meeting his son and wife who are close to our age. They own a health food store at the mall and actually live pretty close to Meadowbrook, so we'll probably do a dinner in the city with them next week.

We're having a great time exploring this new area...and will update more in a few days!

Saying Good-Bye is Never Easy

2010-06-05T11:17:00.025+10:00

This has been a bittersweet week filled with good-byes, exchanging email addresses and taking that one last picture to remember each other by. We have made some great friends here who have taken us in and treated us like family. That's the true Aussie way and it has meant so much to us and our experience here! OK, enough being sappy. But seriously, we will miss the people, community and fun times we have had. So, here's a recap of the last couple weeks and the fun we have had...

STATE OF ORIGIN GAME - Basically this is the Super Bowl of Australia. The sport is Rugby League and the teams are Queensland vs. New South Wales....and the fans are die-hard! We got the full Queensland Maroon experience at our friend Mick's house. When we arrived, Zach was tossed a jersey and told he couldn't be there without wearing it! Luckily, I had already been informed to wear the color maroon and was safe. After a great BBQ, we rooted our team onto victory! It was a fun night and a great experience!

POSTIE JOB - Zach wrapped up his postie job this week. We had one rainy morning and he donned the cool postie rainsuit. It was pretty cute. And he started delivering to the other half of Tannum this week that included our house, so we setup a horn signal system so we could communicate throughout the morning. As he was driving by, 1 honk meant he was just saying "hi". 2 honks meant that he was home for good and needed the garage door opened. And 3 meant that he needed a snack and morning tea. It was pretty funny.

Video - Chasing the Postie!

GOOD-BYE FRIENDS - We had a BBQ with our church friends and I was in heaven when I got to hold little Ava who was born about 2 weeks ago.

And we had one last social tennis night down at the courts. They presented us with 2 bottles of Bundaberg Rum which is crafted locally and a favorite among everyone. Sorry Kev - we probably won't have any left for you and Aaron in September!

PIANO RECITAL - I had my last lesson with Kayla and we had a family recital at her house. She did such a great job and we had a lot of fun planning it! I will definitely miss her!

Playing a duet together

Playing a song she composed

ROCKY TENNIS TOURNAMENT - The Rockhampton Club put on a free tournament for all the local clubs, so we couldn't pass this one up! Zach played doubles with Mick on Saturday and did really well. The tournament grouped the teams by divisions, but not by age group. So, when I played mixed doubles on Sunday, my partner Steve and I got beat by two 13 year olds! But mind you, they were apart of the Australia national team and probably train 6 hours a day!

We finally finished our Aboriginal art that will go up somewhere in our apartment back home. Zach did most of it!

So...now we're packing and turning over the house to the next house-sitter. He arrived last night and we'll quickly get him up to speed before we board the train tomorrow for Brisbane!

A Day in Paradise!

2010-05-24T13:48:00.018+10:00

This past Saturday, Zach and I got up at 5am, put our bathing suits on and set out to see the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Musgrave Island. We had made reservations on the 'Spirit of 1770' catamaran that sailed out of the 1770 Harbor. We left the dock at 8am with about 100 other passengers and cruised for an hour and a half to the most gorgeous place we have ever seen!

The outer reef was a huge ring with all the coral inside and in the center of all that was a small island. The water was spectacular aqua and green colors and we could see a lot of the coral underneath the surface. We taxied through the reef until we reached a built-in pontoon which is where we docked for the day.

View as we were getting close to the island

Cruising through the reef

Pontoon where we docked for the day

They had a great setup which allowed the guests to wander from the boat to the pontoon to some smaller boats with glass bottoms for fish viewing. When we first arrived, they served morning tea with biscuits and cakes. We then suited up with our snorkeling gear and got right to seeing the coral and fish. The water was a bit chilly at first, but we quickly got used to it and enjoyed about an hour of snorkeling around. The deckhand guys were feeding a bunch of fish right where we were snorkeling, so they were all coming to the surface to eat. There were these 3 foot long skinny fish that would jump out of the water like rocks skipping. It was pretty cool.

Underwater Camera Shots!

After we snorkeled, we took a smaller boat to the island and had a 45 minute tour. This is where we learned more of the history of the island. We were told that over thousands of years, the island was formed due to coral buildup. The birds began to feed off the fish in that area and dropped seeds from the mainland onto the coral. Soon, Pisonia trees grew and created a small forest on the island. Birds and trees are about the only things that inhabit this island - there are no rodents or reptiles (just turtles in the water that come up to the shore to breed). And the "sand" is just dried pieces of broken coral.

We were strictly instructed not to remove any of the coral from the island or else we would get a hefty fine. But, you can't help it when the coral gets stuck in your toes!

View from the island looking out to the shuttle boat and the pontoon in the distance.

Once we arrived back at the pontoon, we ate a nice salad and seafood lunch while enjoying the gorgeous scenery around us. It was just so cool to be out in the ocean where we couldn't see any other land. It felt like we were just "floating" on the Great Barrier. On our second snorkeling outing, we went to a different area and saw a bunch of turtles and different types of fish. There was this one fish that was leopard print, but we couldn't get a good picture of it.

In the distance you can see the waves breaking onto the reef.

The main snorkeling area

Happy Couple

After we turned in our snorkeling gear, we baked in the sun for a while to warm up. Afternoon tea definitely helped with that, too! Once everyone was accounted for, we began our trek back to the mainland. It was such a relaxing and blissful day, we could have stayed out there forever!

Beautiful sunset back at 1770 when we got off the boat. We didn't want to go home!

The Countdown Begins...

2010-05-17T08:46:00.010+10:00

We are planning to fill our last 3 weeks in Tannum by spending time with friends and seeing more of the area (i.e. Great Barrier Reef!!).

Zach's postie job is still going well. He has managed to stay away from any vicious dogs and recently has only come away with a few good paper cuts. He had a lot of junk mail to deliver last week (this takes much more time because he has to go to every house instead of just the ones with mail), so we came up with a good folding system to get them all done in one day....which means I've been recruited to work from home to fold and stuff! But, it means having him home sooner to go and do fun activities, so I'm definitely not complaining.

This is as close as I'll get to being a postie - just sittin' on the bike in the driveway.

Folding and Stuffing...

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This past weekend was spent relaxing and watching Jessica Watson, the 16-year old from Queensland, sail into Sydney after a 7 month solo trip around the world. It was such an incredible feat for anyone to do, let alone a teenager. She had quite the welcoming home into the harbor as hundreds of boats followed her. Later that night, we went to a local rugby game for our friend Josh (the American from Colorado). Such a brutal game, so I hope Zach will just enjoy it from the sidelines. The Tannum/Boyne team won and it was fun to see the game played live.

Josh's wife Steph and their adorable son, Tristan.

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Sunday was Zach's big day as he got baptized at our church here. It's something he's wanted to do for a while and the timing worked out great to do it here. There were 2 other young people along with him, so after the service, the whole church headed to the parking lot to give their support and congrats. Afterwards, we enjoyed morning tea with everyone. We will definitely miss the friends we have made here!

Zach beforehand - the water was a bit chilly!

So proud of him!

Morning tea and a special cake for the 3 baptisees

After church, Zach and some of the guys decided to test their fitness with the beep test. Apparently, everyone here knows what it is, but we had never heard of it. Basically you have two cones 20 meters apart and you run back and forth while listening to this audio recording of beeps. Every minute, the beeps get faster until you are sprinting. There are 22 levels and Zach got to level 14. In order to join an Australian or British military force, males must score at least an 11. And the S League (top professional soccer league in Singapore) requires a 13 to be admitted to the club. So....all that to say that Zach is in REALLY good shape!!

Stretch it out

The 4 guys running together

Good job Zach - keep going!

Here she is!

2010-05-12T10:33:00.004+10:00

BABY LIV EDEN HAS ARRIVED!

2010-05-11T08:42:00.005+10:00

I just can't contain my excitement...Zach and I woke up this morning to emails and facebook updates about our beautiful niece born at 9:56am this morning. Congrats Drew & Whit!!! Here is the picture we have of her so far...she's beautiful!

Town of 1770 & Agnes Water ~ Day Trip

2010-05-08T22:04:00.009+10:00

Seventeen Seventy...such a funny name for a town. But what a great place it is! Not only is the history interesting, it is one of the most beautiful coastlines we have ever seen. First, for a short history lesson - Captain James Cook and his crew, aboard the Endeavor ship, made their second Australia landing here in May of 1770. Apparently the views weren't as spectacular as I thought, because they left early the next morning to continue on their voyage. 1770 and Agnes Water (sister town) are now regarded as the birthplace of Queensland.

After about an hour and a half drive, we arrived at Agnes Water and quickly discovered it is a big backpacker/caravan/camping destination. Everywhere we looked, we saw rented campervans that were brightly painted and heard lots of different foreign accents. A small shopping center made up the center of town as well as numerous hostel and backpacker shacks. We decided to spend the first couple of hours on the beach. After we started to feel the burn, we did a bit of rock climbing out to the tip of the cove and then had a nice peanut butter and jelly picnic lunch.

After lunch, we drove about 3 kilometers north to 1770. This town is much smaller (after Agnes, we didn't think you could get much smaller, but it's true). There was a beautiful park area and the water was a gorgeous aqua blue. Sand strips and sailboats filled the bay area. We first drove to the point of the peninsula, which reminded me of a mini version of Point Loma. From the top, we hiked down one side of the mountain and found a nice private beach with lots of rocks. We figured we would try our luck at fishing. Well, after 3 casts, the only nibbles we got were from small minnows. So, we hiked back to the top and went down to the other side of the mountain and found a much nicer private beach that I would have given anything to spend a few days on. It was pristine! The only problem was there was no way to get down there. (see pictures - you'll know which one I'm talking about)

After 1770, we drove back through Agnes and had a relaxing coffee and ice cream break at a local cafe. After feeling rejuvenated, we headed out of town so Zach could get a quick 9-hole golf round in. The course was extremely well-maintained and I actually had a great time, too! (I usually do, because I just get to drive the cart and relax) You'll see from the pictures that we had some kangaroo friends on the course as well. It was really cool to be so close to them! Luckily, they avoided any crushing drives from Zach. :)

We're now back home and gearing up for another week. It's funny how a part-time job changes our outlook on having our weekends free.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM, MO AND PATTY...

AND ALL THE OTHER MOMS!