Our Aussie Adventure

K&T's Farewell to Perth Tour

2009-07-23T18:54:00.016+10:00

It's hard to believe that our Aussie Adventure has already come to a close. 10 1/2 amazing months in Perth flew by quicker than either of us ever imagined it would. We never anticipated feeling so sad to leave this life, this place, and these people that have touched us and changed us forever. We have so much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to at home, but we can't help but feel sad as we think about what we're leaving behind. We unexpectedly fell in love with it here. We unexpectedly made beautiful, amazing friendships. We will unexpectedly, and whole heartedly miss the life that we built in Australia. We're coming home changed, with hearts full of memories that will always remind us of the joy and the blessing that we found down under.

Pictures from our week-long farewell tour:

The sweet ladies I workout with had a going-away lunch for me. They've been just like second mom's all year!

T & I went on a huge walk through King's Park...

DNA tower in King's Park

I think we might even miss the wind!

More of our walk through the park...

The kangaroo paws are back in bloom! Look closely - they even have black ones!

I love the kangaroo paws. They remind me of when we first moved here.

It had been raining for a week straight before today...

...but we were blessed with a gorgeous sunny morning, and a beautiful view of the city during our farewell walk through King's Park.

The kangaroo paws are in full bloom!

King's Park is one of the places we'll miss the most - we have loved living so close to this gorgeous park!

After our walk, we had brekky at our favorite little cafe, Bouchard.

My sports loving hubby. :)

We tried out a new restaurant for breakfast on Sunday morning - we were greeted with these funny looking green icy drinks.

I can't believe how adventurous of an eater he's become! The face shows worry, but at least he tried it! :)

Can you say, yum?!

Our final dinner with the bbq club and all the great friends we've made from Tyson's work.

One final trip to City Beach...

...a view that will most definitely be missed.

My wonderful honey took me out for a final date to a movie in GOLD CLASS! :)

Why have they not invented this in Texas???

Without a doubt, this is THE best way to watch a movie!

God was so kind and blessed us with one final gorgeous sunset!

And of course, I had to have one last delicious cappuccino at my favorite cafe in Subi, Spring Espresso!

Oh, how I will miss you, you beautiful cup of coffee! :)

Kim comes Down Under!

2009-07-17T18:38:00.005+10:00

Our sweet friends from our small group back home, Matt & Kim, were recently transferred to Singapore for a year. They left Katy in June, which meant that we wouldn't be able to see them for TWO years because they'd be gone once we finally moved home. Luckily, Singapore is only a 5 hour flight away from Perth, and Matt was kind enough to let his beautiful wife come and visit me so we'd be able to cram two years worth of fun into 4 short days! We had a blast together, and it was such a blessing to be able to spend some quality time with a special friend that I have truly missed. We took her to all of our "usual" tourist stops that we dragged our families to, but we also discovered a new one together...a cemetery where wild kangaroos come out to play in the afternoons! Her time here flew by, but it was full of fun, unforgettable memories! *I didn't take near enough pictures because we mainly used her camera...but you can see all of them on her blog here.

At our favorite Italian restaurant, Pronto.

Finding the Black Swans at Lake Monger

Of course, we had to see all of the Aussie wildlife at Caversham!

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop??

This kangaroo was flexing his biceps and trying to look SO buff for us.

You MUST feed a kangaroo when you're down under!

Kim & the Koalas

I'm almost a Kilpatrick Koala again!

Look at all of the wild kangaroos we found at the cemetery!

Just another reason why...

2009-07-16T18:07:00.010+10:00

I am SO in love with him.

Tyson has yet again spoiled me rotten. He gave me the best birthday present I could've asked for -- a homemade, delicious, out-of-this-world-yummy dinner that he planned and prepared and cooked ENTIRELY on his own! But we're not talking hamburger helper here. My husband pulled out all the stops for this one - apron and all - and made me gnocchi (FROM SCRATCH!!) with a tomato cream sauce (FROM SCRATCH!!). He didn't stop there - he then conquered our FAVORITE Aussie dessert - Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce. (yes, you guessed it, completely from scratch!) Sticky Date Pudding sounds anything but delicious, trust me, we thought the exact same thing when Meg & Paul first made it for us. But it's not actually pudding (as Americans, we tend to think of Jello Instant Pudding!) but a super-duper moist cake! Actually, it's heaven in a bowl. And I can most definitely say that my husband CAN COOK!! The entire meal was amazing and has earned him the name: CHEF BOYARTEE. He keeps making me fall in love with him over and over again and he made my 27th birthday a night to remember!

Getting started on the dough for the gnocchi...

Gnocchi is an italian dish - similar to pasta but it's actually made from potatoes! They look like tiny potato dumplings but taste like pasta and they are YUM.

Notice the precision as he rolls out the dough.

Preparing to cut the dough into pieces to form the gnocchi!

Now that's what I call focus. You can tell by the tongue.

Arranging his beautiful gnocchi dumplings on a tray before cooking them.

They're ready to cook!

And out they come...looking just perfect!

Oh my goodness - they're DIVINE!!!

And that's how it's done ! Homemade Gnocchi with a Creamy Tomato Sauce!

After all of that hard work, it's time to make dessert!

He even baked them in a water bath!!!

We haven't even tasted them but they look perfect!

Chef Boyartee carefully plating up his beautiful dessert...

...and now for the butterscotch sauce....

...and TA-DAAAA! A beautiful Sticky Date Pudding!

This is literally the BEST birthday cake I've EVER had.

Look at that face - he knows he nailed it!!!

Thank you, Chef Boyartee for such a special, unforgettable birthday! I LOVE YOU!

Goodbye New Zealand...

2009-07-14T14:39:00.002+10:00

After 10 glorious, fun-filled days in this gorgeous country, it was sadly time to say goodbye. And boy-oh-boy did we save the best for last! We spent our last day on a tour of Milford Sound....it was breathtaking to say the least! The roads to get to Milford Sound can be really dangerous in the winter and they require you to carry snow chains at all times. Since Tyson and I aren't quite well versed in snowy weather driving (let's face it - in Houston we'll never need to use snow chains!) we decided to be safe and take one of the many bus tours into the sounds. Once we arrived in Milford, we hopped on a boat for a 2 hour tour of Milford Sound...2 hours cruising on the brightest blue water by stunning snow-capped cliffs, beautiful waterfalls, and adorable wildlife was quite the Grand Finale for our trip! Despite the freezing cold weather, we were blessed with a crisp, sunny day as we sat on top of the boat and soaked in the serenity and beauty that is Milford Sound. As you might imagine, we took entirely too many pictures of the scenery - all of which look very similar to each other - but we just couldn't help it. They don't require much explaining - they speak for themselves. We hope you enjoy the pictures of our final day in Remarkable New Zealand!

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 9!

2009-07-13T16:31:00.013+10:00

We had so much fun on the Shotover Jet ride yesterday, so today, Tyson was ready to test out Queenstown's newest and funnest adrenaline rush - the Canyon Swing! Almost like bungy jumping, but after the free fall, you're connected to cables that allow you to swing over the canyon...and HOLY MOLY, was it ever a RUSH! I was quite happy just to spectate -- watching him plummet towards the bottom of a canyon was enough to make my heart skip a beat! And apparently one jump just wasn't enough for him...he loved it so much that he went back for a second jump and did a back flip into the canyon! Adrenaline junky? I think so.

*Pictures from my camera*

*Tyson's First Canyon Swing-The PinDrop*

*Tyson's Second Canyon Swing-The Back Flip*

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 8!

2009-07-02T18:40:00.005+10:00

We are officially in love with Queenstown after today! Don't let this city fool you - sure, it's surrounded by absolutely stunning beauty, but Queenstown is way more than just a pretty face. It's the adventure capital of the world, which makes it not only gorgeous to look at, but a thrill seekers paradise! It all started with the creation of bungy jumping, and has developed into a place where you can find a different adrenaline rush on every corner. Today, we wanted a piece of that action, so we chose one of their most famous attractions - the Shotover Jet. This jet boat races through the narrowest of canyons on the beautiful Shotover River, and sent my heart soaring each time we came within INCHES of the rocky canyon walls. Add 360 degree spins to the mix, and I'm pretty sure we've come across my dad's dream job. We tried to take a few pictures while we were on the boat, but between holding onto the railing and screaming our lungs out, you shouldn't be surprised to find that they're not quite up to par. It still gives you an idea of what a crazy fun day we had!

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 7!

2009-06-30T13:43:00.002+10:00

After all of the excitement from driving, walking on glaciers, lugeing, ferry boat riding, Lord of the Rings seeking, and so on, we decided that we deserved a day to: A) sleep-in past 7:00 and B) relax a little. So we awoke to a beautiful morning in Wanaka, had a picnic lunch on the lake, and then set off for our final destination of Queenstown. And it only took ONE hour to get there! :) Would you be surprised to know that this one hour was filled with towering snow-capped mountains, brilliant blue lakes, and valleys that stretch on for miles? I didn't think so! We took our time driving and stopped at all of the lookout points along the way. Once again, there wasn't a lack of "ooohing and aaawing" from the Thomases. We arrived in Queenstown at 2:00, and around 2:01 we knew we were going to love it there. It's quite a small city that has the lodgy feel and charm of a quaint winter ski-town. It sits nestled between snowy mountain ranges on gorgeous Lake Wakatipu. I was really excited about the hotel I had booked for us, and I tried to keep it a surprise from Tyson because it was by far the best hotel and most outstanding view we were going to have on this whole trip. Tripadvisor, you did not disappoint! Tyson and I both couldn't stop smiling as we stepped onto the balcony of our "apartment" and stared across Lake Wakatipu at The Remarkables; a mountain range clearly named after its beauty. This was one view that we could definitely get used to!

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 6!

2009-06-24T16:01:00.002+10:00

We couldn't possibly see the glaciers without actually walking on one of them...so today, we took a half-day walk/tour of Fox Glacier. It was SO awesome and an experience we will never, ever forget! It took quite an exhausting hike to get up the mountain and onto the glacier, but once on the ice, it was by far worth it. Every day the guides at the glacier company have to go onto the glacier and take turns "cutting" and carving out steps with their axes so they can take tour groups like ours all around the ice. It really was an amazing experience to be on top of a glacier - but it was even more amazing to crawl through it!!! T & I had such a fun time and we loved exploring the glacier! After our tour was over, we were on the road again and heading south to Lake Wanaka. Guess what? We stopped several times again for more pictures!!! Are you noticing a theme for this road trip!? We saw the beaches of the west coast (beautiful!!), drove through a rainforest, through snowy mountains, and came out at the most insanely gorgeous sight of the whole entire trip - Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka. Lake Hawea is again, that deep, brilliant aqua blue and is surrounded by sharp, stunning hills. I have never in my life seen a place that is so breathtaking. I can say that the sights we saw on the drive between Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka are literally the prettiest, most beautiful places I have ever seen in my (almost) 27 years of life. Hands-down, without a doubt. The bummer is, and this is a huge bummer, that my pictures don't even come close to capturing how truly gorgeous it is. They didn't turn out at all, and it's so unfortunate because I wanted to show all of you how pretty it was! Then again, I can't help but think that I'm just so blessed that I got to share such an awesome sight with such an outstanding man. The pictures will remain memories in our hearts forever.

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 5!

2009-06-24T15:37:00.003+10:00

Today we drove from the east coast to the west coast of NZ in a matter of 4 hours! That's quite a narrow country, huh!? We headed west from Christchurch and literally drove into the mountains! Luckily, we had awesome weather and no snow, so we felt very safe as we made our way on the twisting, winding road through Arthur's Pass on our way to see two of NZ's most famous glaciers. The coldest temperature on the gauge in the car measured in at -5 Celsius. Brrr! We of course had to make a few unexpected stops along the way. Who knew that you would find a lake in the mountains??! Plus, the way the fog settled in certain areas while driving through the mountains made it especially neat to look at! After we were out of the mountains, we drove by several stunning rivers. I'm talking about rivers that are the most brilliant color of aqua blue you've ever seen! They're all glacier-fed, which is the reason for the gorgeous aqua color you see in the pics. And they're everywhere!!!! We stopped for a little while at Franz Joseph glacier to check it out, and then carried on to Fox Glacier where we stayed for the night. Just outside of Fox, we saw what is quite possibly the MOST beautiful sight during our entire trip through NZ. Lake Matheson. We hiked for nearly an hour around this lake to find what can only be described as natural perfection. A perfect mirror image of Mount Cook (NZ's highest peak) is reflected onto the glass of this lake and it is SPECTACULAR. Untouched. Serene. Peaceful. Beautiful. Heavenly. These are all words that could describe the view. But, there aren't words to describe what it felt like to actually stand there and stare in jaw-dropping amazement at nature's beauty.

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 4!

2009-06-24T14:15:00.003+10:00

Today we set sail on a ferry from Wellington and said goodbye to the north island, and HELLO to the south island. Our 3 hour ferry boat ride started off quite rough...okay, very rough and I must admit that I was nearly seasick while crossing over main ocean. Keyword, nearly. Luckily, I was able to keep everything down and once we were out of the high seas and into the calm waters of the Marlborough Sounds, it was smooth sailing. The ferry boat was actually more like a cruise ship (complete with a theatre and everything!) but once we reached the sounds of the south island, we stayed out on the deck because it was positively breathtaking!! Sure, we just about froze to death up there - but the gorgeous view was worth every single chattering of teeth! I'm not sure if the pictures can even do it justice, but the water was perfectly still, the deepest color of aqua you can imagine, surrounded by greener-than-green hills that zig-zag for miles. Just another remarkable part of New Zealand that left us speechless. Once we docked, we hopped in our car and made our way down to the East coast of the South Island. We pulled over at one point because we saw a road crossing sign for SEALS...imagine that! We stopped on the shoulder, got out of the car, and there, just below us on the rocks were several beautiful fur seals just hanging out. It was awesome!!! Carrying on - we made our way into Christchurch where we stayed for the night. Christchurch is a very quaint city located on the Avon River and we really liked it here!

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 3!

2009-06-11T17:37:00.004+10:00

We woke up bright and early this morning to a sensational sunrise over Lake Rotorua. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to enjoy it as today was a day FULL of driving...so off we headed on a 6 hour drive to Wellington - the southern most city on the North Island. But this drive wasn't just a straight shot - we had several planned (and many more UNplanned) stops to make along the way. The first stop was at the Huka Falls. We had been there the day before, but it was such a dreary day that we wanted to try and see the falls again. Since we woke up to much more clear, prettier weather, we decided to give it another shot. The hour drive there was filled with bright blue skies and sunshine, so we knew it was the perfect day to see the falls. Only, when we got there, there was a HUGE cloud of fog hanging over them. No fog anywhere else, but straight on top of the falls! So unfortunately, our pictures don't even come close to showing off how beautiful they are! Moving on from the falls, we stopped off at Lake Taupo again...which was looking insanely pretty on such a nice day! After Lake Taupo, our roadtrip took us on a slight detour to walk the path to Mordor. (That's for you, Erik!) If you're unfamiliar with Mordor, you must not have seen The Lord of the Rings! Since all 3 of these movies were filmed in New Zealand, we of course HAD to try and find some of the famous landscapes during our trip. We drove through the Tongariro National Park to see the three volcanoes (Rupheau, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe) that were used as "Mt. Doom" in Mordor in the LOTR movies. Not only were we excited to see them because they were in the movies, but hello?! We couldn't wait to see real volcanoes! We were, however, unaware that they were expecting a snowstorm in the area. Needless to say, we drove from beautiful blue skies through rain (and saw an awesome rainbow!) and then into lots of snow, which definitely prevented the tops of the peaks from being seen. Darn! No real volcanoes this time. So, on we went to Wellington. We stopped several times along the way to take roadside pics...it's just plain unavoidable in this country. (Yes, Dad - I believe that even YOU might just be tempted to stop while driving through New Zealand!) We finally made it to Wellington and continued our quest to see more LOTR movie sites....when in Rome! (that's for my friend, Meg!) We found a river that the "fellowship" floated down, and also saw the park where Rivendell was filmed -- all of this knowledge I owe to my movie-loving honey! Whew - that was one FULL day! A little side note...we drove through nearly 4 seasons in this one day - beautiful sunshine, rain, falling leaves, snow and hail! That's definitely a first! Enjoy the pics!

Remarkable New Zealand - Day 2!

2009-06-10T17:25:00.003+10:00

Our second full day in New Zealand started with an exciting trip to Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland! (Doesn't that name just sound like fun!?) Wai-O-Tapu is basically a very large natural park that is FULL of all kinds of interesting geothermal activity. From boiling mud to erupting geysers to smoke blowing craters...we saw it all! (And smelled it all too - PEEUUH!) After our walk through the wonderland, we drove about an hour south of Rotorua to Lake Taupo. This is a beautiful and CRYSTAL clear lake that is famous for it's trout fishing. Nearby are the mighty and gorgeous Huka Falls. It was quite a rainy and dreary day, but still, the scenery was spectacular! We went to another geothermal park called "Craters of the Moon" and then we headed back to Rotorua. We put on some dry (and warm!) clothes because we were ready to head to the top of the mountain for some LUGING! I can't even begin to tell you how much FUN we had racing down the mountain on the luge! (which is basically a big sled with a handlebar and wheels!) It was cold and rainy, but that didn't even phase us because we were having such a blast! It was most definitely one of the highlights of our time in New Zealand!!!

In a word...BEAUTIFUL.

2009-06-09T18:18:00.003+10:00

We just got home from the vacation of a lifetime! We were blessed to spend 11 days driving our way through the stunningly beautiful country of New Zealand, and wow - there are hardly words to describe just how pretty it is! From Auckland on the North Island to Queenstown on the South Island, and everywhere in between - we simply fell in love with this country and the gorgeousness of it's constantly changing landscape. I wish so badly that these pictures could give you more than just an idea of what we saw - but unfortunately, they simply don't do it justice! We said more "oohh's and aaahh's" on this roadtrip than we ever have in our lives, and we've both decided that New Zealand is without a doubt the prettiest place we've ever seen.

After catching up on some sleep during our first night in Auckland, we headed South on a 4 hour drive towards Rotorua. On our way though, we made a stop off in Waitomo to see their famous Glowworm Caves. As soon as we were outside of the busy city of Auckland, our mouths started to drop at the scenery of the NZ countryside. It's not just simple rolling hills, instead, it's beautiful bright green sharply carved out hills, almost with deep crevices in between them. T and I are not quite up to date on our geography terms, but we both agreed that simply calling them hills does not do them justice! We arrived in Waitomo and went on a tour of their glowworm caves. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the cave bc it's harmful to the glowworms. We rode on a boat through pitch black caves staring up at what looked like the Milky Way! Only instead of stars, there were millions of shining bright glowworms! After the caves, we made a quick stop to visit the "Shearing Shed" in Waitomo, which is the only place in New Zealand where you can see Angora Rabbits! Have you ever seen one? We hadn't, and so you can imagine our surprise when we saw how HUGE and furry they are!! Seriously, we never knew that rabbits could get so big!! We watched them shear the fur off of one, which was really neat! And you can definitely see why people like to wear Angora - it's SO soft!

We were finally done with Waitomo and continued on our way to Rotorua. Of course, we made several unexpected stops along the way for pictures because it was just entirely too pretty to pass up! You'll find this was the theme of our trip to NZ! We arrived in Rotorua and quickly saw why it's so famous...it's an area of NZ known for it's geothermal activity, and there is a distinct smell of sulphur in the air (or, rotten eggs to be less scientific!) as well as natural hot springs & steam rising out of the ground everywhere! We got into town pretty late, so we had an early dinner and went to bed early before our day of exploring Rotorua. Enjoy the pics from our first full day in NZ! I'll try and get to the rest of our days quickly! (We did take nearly 1000 pics - so be prepared!)

Three AMAZING Years....

2009-05-27T17:29:00.004+10:00

Happy Anniversary to K&T! It's hard to believe that three years ago today we became husband and wife and started our journey as The Thomases! They say time flies when you're having fun....being married to Tyson has never made that statement more real. To say our 3 years together have been fun, is an understatement...they've been positively outstanding! Our love for our Lord and for each other grows stronger with each day, and I can only imagine where He'll take us in the years to come. Our story has taken us on so many adventures already, but no matter where we go or what we see, my favorite place will always be right beside Tyson James Thomas. How lucky am I to spend the rest of my life with such a loving husband, amazing man and best friend?! We're off to New Zealand for the next 2 weeks for a beautiful, wintery, adventure packed vacation! I'll post pictures just as soon as we get back!

Our new hobby!

2009-05-25T12:01:00.003+10:00

Tyson and I have found a new hobby that we love....FUN RUNS! Most people might think we're crazy, or that fun & run should never be used in the same sentence, but after 2 fun runs in the past 3 weeks, we're hooked! We did a 7K on Mother's Day and a 10K just yesterday, and we both did amazingly well! I have to brag on my husband because he worked so hard - he finished the 7K in 32 minutes and the 10K in 48!!! Those are seriously GOOD times!

Here we are with our "medals" after the Mother's Day 7K fun run. We ran with our friends Pete & Alison, and Dani. (She does bootcamp with Tyson, Pete & Alison during the week)

Feeling great after our 7K! Ty finished in 32 minutes, K in 37!

I can only imagine what it would feel like in the Olympics! :)

Here we are after our phenomenal 10K!! T was amazing - he went above and beyond his already crazy goal of 50 minutes, with a stunning 48 mins!!! And I beat my goal of just under an hour with 53:50!!!

Our fun running buddies after the race - K&T, Pete, Alison & Dani.

The Great Barrier Reef - Day 5

2009-05-13T18:46:00.003+10:00

I am so sorry! Life has been busy lately and I can't believe how long it's taken me to post the last 3 days of our trip! I finally did it - I hope you enjoy!!

Our final day in tropical north Queensland was probably the most special to me. My grandpa used to work in Australia and Papua New Guinea when I was much younger - and while I remember hearing stories about the places he'd been and loving the souvenirs he brought back, I never really could appreciate them the way I would now. I would give anything to be able to speak to him and hear those stories again. I have a feeling that he's been following along with my very own Aussie Adventure from heaven and smiling as he watches me explore the country that he spent so much time in. I told my grandma in an email recently that Tyson and I were going to the Great Barrier Reef and she told me that my grandpa used to fly in and out of Cairns all the time and that his favorite thing of all was the Kuranda Scenic Railway. Which is quite ironic since I had just read about the railway and wrote it down as a "must do" on our trip. So on our last day in Cairns, we hopped on the Kuranda Railway for an hour and a half ride up the mountains and through the rainforest. I couldn't stop thinking of my grandpa and picturing him on the train while he was there. I can see why he loved it so much. It was such a neat experience - the train takes you way up into the mountains to this small, quaint, adorable town of Kuranda nestled right in the middle of the rainforest. The history and building of the railway is SO impressive - and I'm sure my grandpa loved that part too. I can't tell you how special it was to know that I was riding on the exact train, seeing the same beautiful mountains, staring at the same waterfalls, and loving the entire experience that my grandpa had fallen in love with so many years ago. After we had lunch in Kuranda we walked around and did some shopping/exploring and then we took a Skyrail back down to the bottom. I'm not sure if my grandpa rode on the Skyrail or just the train, but the sights from the skyrail were spectacular too! It was such a special day just knowing that my Grandpa had been there - and had seen and done the exact same things that I was seeing and doing. Even though he wasn't sitting right next to me, I feel like we experienced it together, and I loved being able to share it with him.

The Great Barrier Reef - Day 4

2009-05-13T18:22:00.002+10:00

We weren't completely satisfied with our crocodile searching experience, so today we went to Hartley's Extreme Crocodile Adventure to find some more! Hartley's is sort of like a zoo/wildlife park mainly focused on saltwater crocodiles. (almost like the zoo that the Crocodile Hunter started) They have received several of their crocs after they are caught in the wild because they have either attacked or endangered lives - especially if they've decided to make their "home" around places such as boat launching harbors or rivers where there are a lot of people around. Hartley's also has a separate crocodile farm where they breed and raise baby crocs for their skin & meat. It's quite an industry, and we learned that although it sounds cruel, it has actually prevented the hunting/poaching of crocs in the wild and brought them back from the verge of extinction since it eliminated the black market for their skin. Our favorite part of Hartley's was going on a boat ride around their lagoon and watching them feed a crocodile with chicken hanging off of a pole - it was awesome!!

The Great Barrier Reef - Day 3

2009-05-02T10:56:00.007+10:00

Finally it's here...the day we'd been waiting for! The Great Barrier Reef! We chose to go out to the reef with Wavelength, a company that only does snorkeling, and only allows a maximum of 30 people on their tours. It turned out to be the best decision we ever could've made! The boat left Port Douglas early in the morning on a stunningly beautiful day! The ocean was calm, the sun was out, and we were relaxing away on the hour and a half boat ride out to the reef. This was the first time that either of us have been so far out on the ocean that we couldn't see land! Our day on the reef was fantastic! First of all, we were blessed with out-of-the-ordinary beautiful weather for this time of the year (normally it's so rough that everyone gets seasick!), secondly, every creature we came across was friendly, and thirdly, let's remember that we were snorkeling at the GREAT BARRIER REEF. We went to 3 different parts of the reef, and the last one was our absolute favorite because it was the sea turtle cleaning station! The sea turtles travel to this particular spot to find these special fish that swim around them and eat all of the barnacles/algae off of their shells. Picture a car wash for turtles. Anyways, it was just amazing! The sea turtles were by far my favorite site of the whole day - but then again, Tyson did look pretty H-O-T is his stinger suit, so it's a toss up!

The Great Barrier Reef - Day 2

2009-05-01T19:42:00.003+10:00

Our second day in tropical North Queensland started with a drive north to the Daintree Rainforest. We went on a boat tour of the Daintree River searching from saltwater crocs -- and not only did we find a MASSIVE croc, but we also saw a snake, a green tree frog, a few smaller crocs and some interesting birds. Luckily, we all walked away safely. We continued our drive up through the rainforest making some stops along the way at a few of the beaches. We found some sort of scary huge lizard that looked like a Komoto Dragon! I stayed a nice distance away while Tyson followed it to snap some pictures. We also did a boardwalk walk through the rainforest too. Today was a day of firsts - seeing our first crocodile in the wild, our first time to see a Komoto Dragon lookalike, our first time to ever even BE in a rainforest, and our first time to eat Wattleseed ice cream!

The Great Barrier Reef - Day 1

2009-05-01T19:23:00.003+10:00

Tyson and I just returned from an AMAZING trip to tropical North Queensland. Just as all of our other adventures around Australia, this one definitely did not disappoint. We flew into Cairns and then drove up the coast about an hour and a half and stayed in the most precious little town of Port Douglas. This gave us the perfect "base" to explore the rainforest AND the outer part of the Great Barrier Reef! North Queensland has such a different landscape compared to Perth. It's covered in lush green mountains that scoop right down to the ocean. It truly is where the rainforest meets the reef, and was most definitely filled with fun and exciting sights for us to see! These pictures are from our first day there - I took most of them as we were driving from the airport to our hotel in Port Douglas because I was so in love with the green mountains. We spent the first day exploring around Port Douglas - it has some wonderful lookout points that allow you to see their famous "4 mile beach" with the mountains in the background. The beaches in North Queensland aren't nearly as pretty as the ones in Perth...but the scenery surrounding them is spectacular.

My FAVORITE Outback...

2009-04-30T19:35:00.002+10:00

God has been SO good and answered a huge prayer for us! As some of you may or may not know, Tyson and I are technically supposed to stay in Australia until September...which would mean that I would miss the start of the school year, and therefore miss out on a full-time teaching position at the best school in the world. We've been praying for a long time for direction and guidance on what we should do next year - and God has put it on both of our hearts that I should be teaching. We feel that even though that means we'll have to be apart for a little while, it's worth the sacrifice if I can teach full-time at OKE. God is so faithful and has once again, worked it out for us! As it turns out, the second grade team at OKE has to add another teacher for the 2009-2010 school year...and they want me to come back! I have officially accepted the position, which means that I'll basically get to pick up right where I left off. Australia is gorgeous and we have had such an amazing adventure here, but unfortunately, I love an Outback in Texas where I get to work with wonderful friends and precious students on a daily basis...my favorite Outback can only be found at OKE, and I'm so proud and simply blessed to call myself a "Koala" again!

Footy, fondue, and SINGSTAR!

2009-04-22T13:55:00.006+10:00

Paul & Meg have loved taking us under their "Aussie wings" and introducing us to all of our Australia firsts: sausage rolls, rocky road (the real candy, not the ice cream!), hot cross buns, scones, cow milking and the list could just keep on going. But on Sunday, they scored major friend points (especially with Tyson!) by taking us to our very first FOOTY GAME! Australia Rules Football (aka "footy") is a game unlike any other we've ever seen - kind of a combination of rugby, soccer and American football - only they wear no pads or helmets at all. And the people here go CRAZY for it! There are two teams in WA, and the better and more popular one is the West Coast Eagles. So naturally Paul & Meg came over to eagle us up before the game - they even bought Tyson his very own Eagles scarf! (All of the fans wear scarves with their team's colors for support)

Here we are heading into the Subiaco Oval - home to the West Coast Eagles.

The field is HUGE! There are 18 players from each team on the field at once!

From where we were sitting we could've easily caught one of balls from a goal...but none came our way today.

Yay Eagles!

A halftime footy game between little kids. Too precious to pass up!

And would you look at who our section was named after?!

The Eagles won! Smiles all around!

So after the victory we came back to our house and introduced Paul & Meg to Chicken Taco soup for dinner -- yum yum! And then Meg made us chocolate fondue for dessert!

How perfect is that!?

But the fun didn't stop there - it was time to break out SINGSTAR!

Meg & I LOVE this game, and although our husbands looked MUCH happier when they were playing Halo, we forced them to sing with us. :)

Team Thomas hoping for a win after singing "born to be wild".

Told you - we love it.

If we're sitting, it means we're focusing...

But when we stand up, we are SO into it. We might not sound perfect...but we certainly have fun! :)

Easter on the FARM! Part IV

2009-04-20T18:09:00.011+10:00

The last day on the farm was probably the most memorable for me! I am now a true farm girl. See the pictures to find out why!

This cow has been separated from her calf for a day and if you notice the size of her utter, she's ready to be milked.

And that's where I come in. Karis the Cow Milker. With a few tips from Meg's sweet mom, I was ready to go!

And I'm not quite sure what to think at first....

I have never in my life been this close to a cow...literally!

I started to get the hang of it and the milk was flowing!

Now THAT'S what I call fresh!

Meg was documenting this entire experience. Here was an onlooker she found watching from the fence!!

I am now totally loving this! Look - 2 hands!!

Another onlooker. This calf wants it's mom and the milk that's in my bucket! Is it wrong to be proud of myself for stealing from such a precious thing??

Just LOOK at all that MILK!! I have entered into a whole new area of my life. Farm Girl. And I love it!

After milking, we were nice and fed some of the cows who stayed around hoping for some grain.

And were they ever hungry!!!

Time to filter the milk before we....

DRINK IT!!! :) YUM, YUM! We're having it in an iced coffee here, but we BOTH (yes, huge props to my husband for trying new things!) tried it by itself and guess what?! Believe it or not, it tastes just like MILK! :)

This is where I learned my tough farm-girl ways. Beautiful Meg Middleton is ready to take me out on the tractor to feed some more cows.

Meg's super sweet dad did the driving for us though!

The minute they heard the tractor they came a runnin'!

It's amazing how they just know to come and get their hay....

The cows have now been milked AND fed...my work here is done. :)

It wasn't hard for Tyson & I to understand why Paul & Meg are such KIND people after we met both of their families. They learned from their parents for sure. They spoiled us as if we were their own children and gave us chocolate Easter bunnies.

The bunnies felt the need to nuzzle a bit.

Here we are with Paul's mom - the giver of these beautiful Easter bunnies!

K&T on a chocolate high after a simply perfect weekend with simply amazing friends.

Easter on the FARM! Part III

2009-04-20T17:38:00.008+10:00

And the fun in Margaret River just keeps coming! More pictures from Day 3 of our trip!

Easter Sunday started with church and then we were off to the Margaret River markets for some shopping!

A quick stop to see Boranup Forest on our way to the beach! Although we've since found out it's a myth, there were rumors that the Ewoks were filmed here! However, it looked just like somewhere that an Ewok would want to live.

The boys did not want to pose for us girls.

Silly doesn't even begin to describe them.

Finally! 3 nice smiles from our 3 handsome hubbies!

And now it's the girl's turn for a little fun! :)

3 amigas!

Hamelin Bay and the remains of a very old jetty!

Look at the stretch of beach behind Tyson...because that's where we were headed next! We took an offroad adventure to get to a beach back there!

And the adventure did not disappoint! We got slightly stuck in the sand...

...but a little teamwork, and we were good to go!

Tyson & Paul, being the thoughtful boys that they are, decided that they should do their part to help on the farm with a little "game management". AKA - Roo Shooting! Yes, you heard me. Those guns were used to "manage" the hundreds of kangaroos on the farm...now there is one less of them to tear up the fences & crops. I'll let you decide who was the shooter.

Easter on the FARM! Part II

2009-04-20T14:17:00.006+10:00

Here are some more fun pictures from Day 2 of our Easter in Margaret River!

We visited the Berry Farm for some free samples of their jams and wines! Is it just me or do the boys look super enthused to be there?

Tasting some strawberry wine!

Now he looks happier! The BEST part of the berry farm -- hot, fresh, delicious SCONES! Sooo YUMMY with fresh strawberry jam and cream!

Can't you tell by her face how heavenly they are?!

Dave & Pen seem to agree...hands-down deliciousness!

Here is T getting way too excited about American football! He found out that our Aussie friend, Paul, likes the Cowboys! As you can imagine, and if you know my husband, he was beyond thrilled!!

So T just couldn't resist giving Paul his very own Cowboys jersey! It suits him well, huh!?!

That afternoon we went to the beach for some sun and snorkeling!

T's ready for the fishies!

Dave & Tyson getting ready to check out the Margaret River marine life!

How handsome is he!?!

Sweet mommy-to-be Pen has grown just slightly since she bought her wetsuit - it didn't quite want to zip up!

But she got it on and now her and baby are ready to snorkel!

Triumphant Meg after struggling to get a wet suit on! Victory at last! :)

A trip to the farm just wouldn't be right without a campfire! And everyone knows you can't have a campfire without roasting marshmallows! But it appears that Aussie's don't know about s'mores! Of course, Tyson and I had to teach them about how to turn an ordinary roasted marshmallow into an ooey-gooey chocolaty sandwich!

Everyone wanted some more s'mores!! :) We knew they'd be a hit!

I love these girls. I am so lucky to have such beautifully sweet friends!

Easter on the FARM!

2009-04-16T14:33:00.018+10:00

Our super sweet friends, Paul & Meg, offered to take us and another couple from our small group, Dave & Pen, home with them for Easter...and let me just say right now that we had a blast! Without a doubt, an Easter weekend full of memories that we'll cherish forever. Paul & Meg are from a small town called Margaret River, about 3 hours south of Perth that is famous across Australia for it's wineries. Meg's family lives on a farm -- a true Aussie farm with cows, chickens, and kangaroos! God has blessed us immensely through this sweet couple - and both of their families welcomed us with open arms. It was home away from home, and like I said, an Easter we'll never forget!

Roadtrip!!

Right when we got to the farm Meg's parents suited me up for a ride on their new Ducati motorcycle!!

Lookin' snazzy on the Ducati! I was just a tad bit scared. :) But look, Mom! We wore helmets for safety!

Our first full day in Margaret River started with Meg & I going on a horseback ride through the farm and surrounding forest! Paul & Tyson went to church and missed out on all of the fun! (Don't worry - Meg and I made it to church on Easter Sunday! :) )

Sweet Meg! She used to work here as a guide giving tours through the forest...and today she was my very own personal tour guide! :)

She's a complete natural on a horse!

I, on the other hand, have not been on a horse in 15 years!!! Thanks to such expert tips from my guide, I made it through the morning without falling off! :)

Back at Meg's we had Hot Cross Buns. A hugely popular Aussie tradition on Good Friday. (Yes, they're real - I thought it was just a song - and they're delicious!!!!)

Then it was Tyson's turn for a spin on the Ducati.

Only we first had to find a helmet that fit right! :)

After a bit of a fashion show, he decided on the red one...

And they're off! Hold on T-man!

After lunch P&M took us to the local beaches - they're known for their good surf in Margaret River. And there were tons of surfers in the water catching big waves! It was awesome! :)

Dave & Pen drove down from Perth later that afternoon and we met up with them and headed out to feed some roos! (And llamas!)

Luckily, no one was spat on!

I couldn't help but take a picture of his goofy smile! It cracked us up!

These kangaroos were wild at one point - and a family friend of P&M took them in and they now stay and live on their property.

How precious is Pen!? And she's expecting a "joey" of her own in June!!

SO cute!

This literally NEVER gets old!

I love the roos - and feeding the semi-wild ones is WAY more fun (and sometimes a bit scary) than feeding the ones at the wildlife park.

After feeding the roos, we went for a drive around Meg's farm - there were 3 new calfs born just the other day! If you look close enough, I think the mom was definitely giving us an evil eye!

How sweet is she!?!

I just love this little one!

What a FUN day on the farm!!

Many more pictures from our Easter on the Farm to come soon!!! :)

Grill Master T!

2009-04-16T14:09:00.006+10:00

My adorable husband recently attended an all day Aussie BBQ School to add to his grillin' skills. He learned how to make pizzas on the barbie (as our friend Pete has done for us before!) and being the sweet man that he is, he decided to make one for dinner for us! He even made the dough from scratch! With much TLC & precision put into it, his first attempt at pizza on the barbie was simply magnifique!! :)

The dough thing was NOT easy...but well worth the effort!

Just look at his creation! He's very proud! :)

The engineer in him couldn't help but make an appearance! Everything was PERFECT.

And yum, yum, YUM! It was SOOO good! We can't wait to share his new creation with all of you at home! :)

Frank & Garla DOWN UNDER part III

2009-04-14T19:41:00.026+10:00

It's hard to believe that they've already come and gone. Tyson and I have learned the value of family time since living in Perth, and unfortunately, it's the kind of time that goes by entirely too fast. 12 days went by in the blink of an eye - and we cherished every second of it. Here are the final pictures from Frank & Garla's adventure down under!

About to catch the ferry over to Penguin Island - it was crazy windy!

We took a glass bottom boat over to see the Sea Lions

The littlest penguins in the world!

So cute, huh!?!

T-man used his bbqing skills and grilled steaks for dinner!

That's what I call one concentrating cook!

We couldn't pass up a day in the Swan Valley to sample some yummy wines!

At Oakover Wines

Garla and I figured it wouldn't be fair to leave Frank out - so we visited a brewery to quench his thirst!

Their "tasting" of beer was A LOT!

Cheers, mate!

We came across a car show on our way to the valley! Frank was in heaven.

Playing in the vines!

The best night ever - we went on a river dinner cruise around Perth!

My favorite memory!

The City of Lights did NOT disappoint!

It was such a fun way to have dinner!

A table reserved just for us!

A delicious dinner, cruising on the river by a beautiful city....

It's hard to get better than this!

Frank & Garla spoiled us rotten and even gave us the VIP treatment at the movies by taking us to the Gold Class theatre! It's like watching movies in "first class" and I'm going to find it very hard to go back to the plain old "economy" theaters after this experience!

This is the "lounge" where you wait for them to escort you to your seat in the theater!

Stylish Frank & Garla - thank you for such a special treat!

Does that not look like the BEST way to watch a movie or what?! Let me just tell you, it was my favorite trip to the movie theatre. EVER.

We cooked brekky in the park before we went to Caversham Wildlife Park

My hubby has mastered the art of brekky.

I just love that wombat!

The roos were HUNGRY today!

Can I please take one home, Tyson!?

Frank & Garla are definitely Aussie now!

They wanted the food so bad that they just couldn't wait for Frank to take it out of his hands!!

Our final dinner together - and once again, it was fantastic!

Minus a slight confusion on just how exactly Frank was supposed to eat his dessert! :)

Frank & Garla DOWN UNDER part II

2009-03-29T14:32:00.004+11:00

Our time with Tyson's parents is just flying by! We are SO blessed to have them here. Just look at how much fun we're having....

Sunsets at the beach!

It was a little chilly!! But well worth the views!

Tyson's famous brekky at the beach!

After a yummy brekky, we introduced them to the extreme fun of boogie boarding!

It was a PERFECT day for playing at the beach!

Too much fun!

Aren't they precious?!

Look at Garla catching a wave!

Frank's ready to hang loose...

Look at him go!

We went over to Rottnest Island for yet another gorgeous day at the beach!

Salmon Bay...isn't it breathtaking!?

Ah, paradise!

Ty & his dad enjoying an ice cold Corona!

This was a perfect day - we soaked up the sun and loved every second of our time on Rotto!

We even saw a Quokka!

Frank & Garla DOWN UNDER!

2009-03-26T10:47:00.008+11:00

Tyson's parents are here!!!!! We have already been having SO much fun with them! It is so special to share everything that we've been able to see and do with them. Here are some pictures from their adventure through the outback so far:

We immediately took them for a picnic at the beach!

The next day Tyson went to work, and I played "Tour Guide" and took Frank & Garla around to all of my favorite spots in Perth...this is the view from Applecross.

We went downtown to see all of the malls - here is quaint "London Court".

We met up with Tyson for lunch and then went to see King's Park - here is the view of the city from the park.

I think jet-lag was starting to set in for Frank!

T being silly. Are we surprised?

The war memorial at King's Park

And of course, how could we resist taking them to eat at one of our favorite restaurants on the beach!?! We were blessed with a GORGEOUS sunset!!!

It just never gets old!

It was a breathtaking sunset!! I think I get my love for the sky/sunset from my Grandma C - because I just can't get enough!

The next day we met up with Tyson for a lunch picnic at the beach!

He grilled us some delicious sandwiches - he's become quite the cooker in Australia!

After lunch we laid out on the beach and soaked up the sun. The weather was fantastic AND we had the beach all to ourselves!

Garla went for a stroll to test the water....it is BRRRRRY!

T with his sweet parents after a perfect Aussie arvo!

We stopped by Lake Monger on the way home from the beach to show them all of the black swans.

The next day we went up the coast a little farther to Scarborough beach for lunch & people watching!

And then we took Frank to his own slice of heaven...the Harley Davidson shop!

We still have so much more to do and I'll try to keep you updated before they have to head back home!

Symphony Under the Stars!

2009-03-18T10:17:00.005+11:00

After Tyson's brilliant performance in the triathlon, we had a relaxing day together and then met up with some of our new friends from church for a concert at the park. I'm not sure if I've blogged about our new small group or not, but praise the Lord for answering our prayers to get plugged in at church and find a group of people that we can connect with! We feel as though we've been blessed in abundance with all of these amazing friends coming into our lives. Anyways, back to the concert! It was a symphony orchestra playing the theme songs to popular movies like: James Bond, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, etc. Have I mentioned before how much Aussie's like to picnic?! Well, it is quickly becoming one of our very favorite Aussie traditions - especially on a night like this! We laid out on our picnic blanket under the stars listening to all of our favorite soundtracks...it was a night to remember!

A beautiful summer evening in Perth!

These people have definitely mastered the art of picnicing!

Our sweet friends! Meredith & Han (in front) and Pip & Simon.

More sweet friends! Meg & Paul - we've really connected with them and they're even taking us "home" with them for Easter!!

The sun was setting just behind the stage - gorgeous!

K&T! Doesn't he look fantastic after all of that hard work in the triathlon earlier!?

This was obviously not from the symphony - but I had to include it because we've introduced our Aussie friends Meg & Paul to Guitar Hero!! She loved it! :)

Go T-man, Go!!!

2009-03-16T20:33:00.008+11:00

My super strong and incredibly handsome husband competed in his first ever triathlon on Sunday! The triathlon was put on by Mustang for employees to race in as a way to raise money for charity. Employees in the company chose the participants they wanted to "put their money on" or "sponsor". So many people put money on Tyson that he actually raised the most of all the racers! He's been training for the triathlon for several months now, and I couldn't have been more PROUD of him!! He finished in 65 minutes and came in 3rd out of 8 other individual racers! I, being the proud and supportive wife that I am, drove around the course trying to find him and cheer on his super-cute-self whenever possible. Enjoy the pictures - I am so proud of this man.

Getting warmed-up.

Stretching out for the swim...and smiling too.

He's not even nervous! Or at least he hides it well!

It just wouldn't be Tyson without a hint of silliness.

Brrrr....

On your marks, get set....GO, baby, GO!!

16 laps total...I would've died after 1!

Perhaps the next Michael Phelps? Only a much, MUCH cuter version.

I found him on his bike through King's Park and pulled over to cheer for him...and snap some pics!

Up the hill he goes....at an incredible pace, might I say.

As I waited for him on another part of the course, I couldn't help but take some pictures of this beautiful city we live in!

It just never gets old!

A huge thank you to our friend, Pete for letting Tyson borrow his super speedy bike!

Trailing a non-triathlon competitor...who a few K's ahead I cheered on as well, thinking that he was actually part of the triathlon. Oops!

Pushing hard up the hill on what I decided to name "White Lightning".

And a thumbs-up finish for Tman!!!

WAY TO GO, T!!!! SO PROUD OF YOU!

The Mustang Triathletes!

K & T adventure to SYDNEY!

2009-03-10T20:05:00.005+11:00

Over the course of our adventure down under, we've seen MUCH of Western Australia and we've loved every bit of it. Unfortunately, once you leave Perth, most of WA is simply outback. So we decided it was finally time to get on a plane and see what we've been missing on the Eastern coast of Oz. And what better place to start than SYDNEY!

Day 1 & 2
We caught a very early flight out of Perth, and 4 hours later we landed in Sydney. A train ride from the airport to Circular Quay (the main ferry harbor and public transport hub) and a short walk and we arrived at our hotel. We immediately walked back to Circular Quay because that's where all of the action and main sights are. The Sydney Harbor is absolutely stunning - the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House quickly became favorites of ours to look at and take pictures of! (You'll notice that the majority of our pictures are of these two monuments - they just never get old!) We did some walking around the harbor and ended up at "The Rocks" which is a historical spot right next to the harbor where Sydney was first settled. Luckily it was a Saturday because they have an awesome outdoor market with all kinds of fun stalls to wander around and look at. Tman might not have enjoyed the shopping as much as I did, but we both still had fun. We were tired from the early morning trip, so we rested up at the hotel and then went out for a yummy Italian dinner...and an even BETTER dessert! (For those who don't know, I had been on a crazy strict diet for medical reasons, and this was my first taste of ANYTHING sweet in 3 weeks!!! Needless to say, you'll see plenty of pictures of me with yummy food that I had been craving!)
Day 2 in Sydney started with a trip to STARBUCKS (they don't have these in Perth, and so the last time I had Starbucks was literally 5 months ago -- it felt like home!) and then a bike tour of the city! Tyson and I were the only ones booked on the morning tour, so we basically had our own private bike tour. It was awesome! (Minus one flat tire for Karis, and one blown-out flip-flop for Tyson - he did half of the tour with bare feet!) We rode all over the city, including over the bridge to see the northern part of the city. After the 4 hour bike ride through Sydney, we had some lunch and then headed over to the Opera House. You can't go to the Sydney Opera House without seeing the inside, and the only way to do that (without buying way expensive tickets for a show!) is to take a guided tour. So of course, we took it. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures of several of the rooms, so we don't have many to share. Still though, we feel pretty lucky to say that we've not only seen, but been in the Sydney Opera House. The day ended with a gorgeous sunset on the harbor and looking at the bridge/opera house all lit up a night. Just beautiful!

Day 3
I love pancakes. They remind me of my family, they're delicious, and everything about them makes me happy. Since I had been craving pancakes for 3 weeks, and I have the sweetest husband in the world, Tyson made SURE that while we were in Sydney we had a yummy pancake breakfast. The best way to start Day 3 in Sydney, for sure! :) With full tummies and happy hearts, we headed off to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and climbed up to the top of one of the pylons. They've turned the inside of the pylon into a small "museum", telling the history behind the building of the bridge. We learned a lot! And of course, had amazing views of the harbor when we reached the top. After our fun at the bridge, we decided it was time to see one of Sydney's popular beaches. We took a 30 minute ferry ride out to Manly Beach - a hot spot for surfers and sun bathers. We wandered around Manly and found a 7-11 (they don't have them in Perth!!), got a slurpee, and sat and watched the surfers. Once back on the mainland, we headed out to see Darling Harbor - yet another gorgeous harbor filled with boats, shops and restaurants. Another fantastic dinner, a 30 cent McDonald's ice cream cone (yes, that's right, only 30 cents!!!) for dessert, and bed time for 2 very tired adventurers!

Day 4
Our last day in Sydney was actually spent exploring The Blue Mountains. We were on our way to pick up our rental car, and randomly stumbled across the filming of one of the main morning news shows in Australia that we watch every morning! There was hardly anyone standing outside watching, which shocked us since it's nearly impossible to get anywhere close to the filming of 'The Today Show" in NYC! After that excitement, we rented a car (but not just any car, a black convertible!!) and drove about an hour and a half away from the city to the gorgeous surrounds of The Blue Mountains. We hiked around and soaked in the beauty of the mountains & hills, and then we took a train ride (on the steepest train in the world) to the very bottom of the mountain where there used to be a mine. We wandered around the bottom of the mountain through the trees and then rode back up to the top on a sky cable. We made a stop at a local cafe for lunch - designed to look like we were eating inside of a forest (a very "natural" kind of place) and then we HAD to stop at the chocolate factory (super yum!) before heading back to the city. We certainly enjoyed pretending to be Richie Rich in our convertible for the day. We ended our trip to Sydney with the most delicious dinner of all! Maybe the food tasted so good because the views were amazing...or maybe the food was amazing too! Either way, the combination of the food and the view made for an outstandingly romantic evening and the perfect ending to yet another awesome adventure!

New FRIENDS

2009-02-20T09:54:00.007+11:00

The Lord has definitely answered my prayers and sent me not just one, but SIX new friends and a true blessing in the form of the Smith Family! After feeling so lonely when my family left, it was really hard to focus on enjoying AU rather than wishing away the rest of our time here. I've been dragging my feet on getting involved and making friends - it's so hard to invest in relationships when I know that just as soon as they're formed, we'll be moving home again. But wow, does God know the desire of our hearts! I have wanted and even yearned for a special friend here. And little did I know that He already had that very friend, who just so happened to be praying the same prayer as me, picked out and on her way to Australia! I randomly met Candi at my gym when I overheard her say she was from Texas and I noticed her AGGIE ring...which of course meant that I had to go over and say hello to her! :) Well, God had put this friendship in motion long before that meeting (it's a long story - but it relates back to having the same friends in Texas - thanks Amanda and Jenn!) and so when we finally met, it was as though we already knew each other. Candi, Clint and their 4 adorable kiddos have become true friends and Tyson and I are so thankful for them! The kids have even said over and over that we're part of their family now. :) Which leads me to the pictures below...Tyson and I offered to babysit for Valentine's Day so that Clint & Candi could have a romantic night out together in Perth (they'd only been here for a week!)...and we had a blast with Mackenzie, Kennedy, Reid and Luke!

How cute are they!? Reid, Luke, Kennedy & Mackenzie.

We made ice cream sundaes! Yum-yum!!

Tyson and I are totally in with these kids - we bribed them with deliciousness!

Love the smile, Mackenzie!

The bowl is bigger than Luke!

I did warn Candi that there was a slight chance her kids might be really hyper when they got home! :)

We played Wii after sundaes - you know, to work off the calories.

Uncle Tyson, Luke and Reid talking Wii strategy.

I love this picture.

The gorgeous sunset that Candi & Clint were seeing on their date!

WOW! Look at all the colors!

Australia Day

2009-02-03T20:22:00.007+11:00

We won't be home for the 4th of July this year, instead, we were lucky enough to be down under to celebrate Australia Day with the Aussies. And WOW - do they take pride in celebrating their country! From painted faces to swimsuits to crazy hats and shirts and even attached to hundreds of cars - the Aussie flag was everywhere! We went to our friend's, Noha & Hammam's house to celebrate with an all day extreme bbq, Aussie style....with a diverse group consisting of: 2 Americans, 2 Egyptians, 1 Scottish and 4 English....not a single Aussie among us! After a full day of bbqing we went to King's Park for a SPECTACULAR fireworks show - and it was here that we finally joined with THOUSANDS of Aussies to celebrate this beautiful country!

How cute are we in our Aussie gear?! This was all Tyson's doing...he bought us matching shirts!

I made Australia shaped sugar cookies...and Tyson definitely enjoyed them.

Crikey, mate!! Where's Crocodile Dundee when you need him!?

As you may have figured out from our pictures, Pete is king of the grill. So Tyson has aptly named him "Grillmaster P"....check out the apron. Awesome.

Grillmaster P made a pizza on the barbecue!!! It was ridiculous. And by that, I mean delicious!

Pete & Alison sporting their Aussie pride!

T-man grilling some delicious bacon wrapped shrimp - his new specialty!

Lookout GQ!

Literally, thousands of people were at King's park to see the famous "skyworks" show.

I'm not joking - people were everywhere!!

We somehow managed to find a perfect spot amongst the crowd!

K&T down under!

Adrian, Tyson, Noha & Hammam ready to be "blown away" (get it?) by the fireworks show!

It was a beautiful night!

The city looked SO pretty!

Fireworks came from a barge in the middle of the river, and from on top of the buildings downtown! It was awesome!

Brekky & Boogie Boarding at the Beach!

2009-01-19T19:34:00.004+11:00

While we find ourselves missing home more than ever, we are trying to cherish everything we've come to love about living in Perth. One of our new favorites is a Saturday morning date to the beach for breakfast and boogie boarding! (And we usually try to make it back for more boogie boarding after church on Sunday afternoons too!) This has become a K&T tradition and we've added it to the list of things we'll miss most about living here!

Chef T has mastered the art of eggs, bacon and toast on the bbq's at the beach!

We look forward to our Saturday morning date all week long!

And of course on this Saturday morning it chose to be cloudy and even chilly outside! We didn't quite make it into the water with the sun hiding behind the clouds and all...but we totally broke out the dominoes and had just as much fun!

On our way home, we saw this car and couldn't help but think that both of our dad's would appreciate this picture!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-19T18:40:00.004+11:00

Tyson and I decided that New Years Eve was the perfect time to take another Aussie roadtrip. Especially since we knew that we'd probably be extremely lonely and sad sitting around our all-of-a-sudden empty again apartment. So, after driving my family to the airport on the 30th, we wiped away our tears (okay, MY tears) and headed North from Perth on New Years Eve. Once we left the Perth city limits, we found ourselves surrounded by the true Australia Outback! (And this Outback does not serve delicious steak and bread like the one we know at home all too well!) This was the first time since we've been in Australia that we've actually seen the barren, dry, dusty, yet surprisingly pretty landscape that IS the land down under. Talk about adventure! We drove for four hours through much of nothing but desert and twisted shrubs to the coastal town of Geraldton. And all along the way we prayed for no punctured tires and thanked the Lord for our mint condition Hyundai Accent! :) We settled into our hotel room and then drove around the city and explored some of the beaches close by before going out for a New Years Eve dinner. We ate at a quaint Italian restaurant where we had the best table in the house and spent our night talking about how fortunately blessed we were in 2008. And then, K&T brought in the New Year by playing dominoes on our balcony overlooking the gorgeous ocean! We certainly missed all of you more than you could ever possibly know. We'll never forget the start to 2009!

On New Years Day we woke up and drove 2 more hours through what looked like an even MORE intense and deserted Outback to Kalbarri. Kalbarri is a small town known for its huge National Park and its beautiful ocean cliffs and river gorges. We had a blast exploring this tiny town! Our favorite part was definitely the views of the ocean cliffs and all of the red rock that they were made from. We hiked through the Aussie Outback to see the river gorges in the National Park. Hello HEAT! It definitely felt like we were in the middle of the desert and we can now attest to the true intensity of the Aussie SUN! Unfortunately, the "river" was a bit dried up, which meant that the gorges did not look near as pretty as all of the pictures in the magazines I had seen when I planned our little hike. Oh well! It was still worth the adventure!

Family...God's greatest blessing.

2009-01-06T19:56:00.006+11:00

Tyson and I have said over and over again how blessed we are to be on this adventure together in Australia. We've seen and done so much more than we ever dreamed we would during our short time here. But, despite it's beauty, Australia lacks one thing that we have missed beyond measure....family. As it turns out, we happen to have the best families (Thomas, Casswell and Cross-Trainer) that two kids could ever hope for and so this means that for the past 13 weeks, our hearts have been craving something that just can't be found in Australia. (Yes, we've also been craving Pappasitos, Chick-fil-A and Blue Bell Ice Cream...but we can do without those for now!) I think we both realized how much we truly NEED our families - when it boils down to it, we love you so much we can't live without you! This is why there are hardly words to describe how special it was to finally see my family again. I spent the last 13 weeks counting down to the minute they would step off the plane. 13 weeks that seemed to drag on and on and on. I spent 13 weeks planning out exactly what I would have to show them and everything we would have to do during their 12 days here. 12 amazingly perfect and wonderfully special days that couldn't possibly be over already. I hardly breathed and they're already gone again. While the time went by in what literally felt like the blink of an eye, we made a lifetime of memories in those 12 days. It would take entirely too long to describe everything we did during their trip - but it was simply perfect just being together. I've decided to post a slideshow with some (over 200 - and that's just a small sample!!) of the pictures that we took during the Casswell's Christmas Vacation 2008. If you click on the slideshow it will take you to an album where you can view captions and make the pictures bigger. I'm sorry that I didn't blog at all over the holidays, but I wanted to soak up every second with my family. Tyson and I were thinking about all of you and we pray that each of you were blessed with a Merry Christmas and a magical New Year! We miss and love all of you so very much. 13 weeks of waiting is back again....we are beyond excited to see Tyson's family (hopefully!) in March!!

Christmas Baking

2008-12-15T11:10:00.004+11:00

I have the best husband in the world. Have I mentioned that before? Just in case I haven't, let me restate that this amazing man has brought me to live in Australia, on a year long vacation from work (have you seen the pictures?! we live in paradise!), where I just get to play and explore all day, while he works SO hard to provide and make a living for us. All that being said, this wonderful man even agreed to bake Christmas cookies with me today! That's right, T-man put on an apron and baked up some of the most delicious sugar cookies I've ever tasted! (Thank you SO much, Janice for the best recipe in the whole world!) I, of course, had to document this momentous occasion as it has never happened before....

Keep in mind that T is an engineer.... he is, to say the least, very meticulous in his work.

Take it out on the cookie dough, honey!

Are those not the best looking cookie cut-outs?!

Notice how he has maximized the amount of dough used in each roll out by carefully placing and spacing the cookie cutters.

Such concentration!

There's that handsome smile! I just LOVE the apron on you, T!

The end result?! A masterpiece that tasted like heaven in my mouth!!

Aussie Golf

2008-12-10T20:08:00.006+11:00

Tyson and a few friends played golf over the weekend. They weren't expecting any spectators, but these furry friends were all over the course! Maybe watching and waiting for a hole-in-one...

Or maybe they just like the feel of the green...but just look at all of them!

This roo looks like he has a beard growing! Maybe he was supporting Movember too?!!

Aww! Isn't he cute!?! I'm talking about Tyson, of course!

Click on the picture and look at the joey in it's mother's pouch!!

Just lazin' the day away on the golf course!

Tyson was friendly, as a true Texan should be!

T and James being silly. Isn't golf a serious game?

More roos!

This picture is amazing and also a bit disturbing at the same time! Look at the joey!!!!!

Surprise!

2008-12-08T23:01:00.005+11:00

Tyson came home from work on Friday to find a package had arrived for him! Who was this mystery box from?? He was so anxious to see what was inside...

He's still not quite sure who sent it...he only knows that it's someone who lives in Dallas (from the postmark)

Whoever sent it, they know him SO well! Look how excited this boy was to get an American football!! He's been dying to play catch ever since we got to Australia!

Not one, not two, but THREE cards! The AQUA one with "TyTy" on it gave away the anonymity of the sender, and he guessed that it was from his great friend (and fish camp co-chair partner) Lauren!

Another one of his very favorites that is not available down under!!

He's literally chomping at the bit to break into his favorite American goodies!! We are quite possibly the only household in Perth with Chester the Cheetah's delicious cheesy cheetos!

Perhaps the next Heisman trophy winner??

You should have seen him playing and running around our apartment...just like a little boy at Christmas!!!

Thank you SOOO much Lauren for spoiling TyTy rotten with all of these birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas goodies! What a super SWEET and very special surprise for this true-blue Texan!

Thanksgiving Weekend Getaway!

2008-12-03T20:29:00.005+11:00

This year was a year for firsts when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving! We planned a weekend road trip to the Margaret River area (famous for it's beautiful beaches and wineries) with our friends. We rented a house to stay in - literally called "The White House" - in the quaint beach town of Dunsborough. We had an absolutely wonderful weekend filled with memories, exploring and best of all, fun with friends! I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures of how we were fortunate enough to spend our Australian Thanksgiving!

After 3 hours in the car...we made it! The house is beautiful and the group (James, Adrian, Alison & Pete, Hammam & Noha, K&T ) is ready for a fab weekend together!

Is he not adorable with his mo (mustache that he grew out for the month of MOvember to promote men's health awareness in AU) and Aussie hat!!?!

The lovely ladies!

A toast to the brand new Auntie Alison! Her nephew, Joseph James, was born in Scotland just yesterday!

We played Catch Phrase after dinner and this crazy boy made it so much fun!

More games...how fun is Pictionary!?! Especially when you cannot draw whatsoever!

Saturday morning we woke up and had a scrumptious homemade brekky at the house, and then we set out for a day full of exploring! Our first stop, the Leeuwin Lighthouse!

It's beautiful!

We climbed to the top and we actually saw whales out in the distance blowing through their blow holes!! It's the season for migration and this coast is famous for the whales!

Ahhh...another lovely view! Does this ever get old??

A crazy looking Aussie plant of some sort...doesn't it just look like it belongs right in the Outback?

It's a Magie Eye! Can you spot the creature in this picture??

This is natural BEAUTY at it's BEST!

2008-12-03T19:13:00.008+11:00

Dunsborough is known for it's stunning beaches...now that we've been there, we can see exactly why. To put it simply, I was mesmerized. The pictures don't need explaining...I just wish that you could've seen it in person. Absolutely breathtaking.

Ngilgi Cave

2008-12-03T18:58:00.006+11:00

After an already exciting morning filled with lighthouses, whales and beaches, we decided to head underground take a tour through Ngilgi Cave. WOW! It was amazing!!! We wandered through tiny tunnels, deep down under the earth and here is what we saw....

The pictures really can't do justice to how incredible this cave was...

There were THOUSANDS of limestone stalactites!

Yikes! What if they fell?!

I tried not to think about that OR feeling claustrophobic as we walked through these narrow cave walls!

The guide told us that it takes 100 years for a stalactite to grow just ONE centimeter. Imagine how long these have been growing for!!!

Silly mustache man!

I felt like a true explorer!!

It was quite a workout walking around through there!

Could it be??? TyTy actually being serious and learning?? No way!

Tyson, Noha and Hammam ready to be done with the stairs and steps in the cave!

Knee Deep

2008-12-03T18:47:00.003+11:00

A trip to the Margaret River region would not be complete without a visit to at least one of their several hundred wineries! (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration - but there literally are TONS of them!) We stopped in at one called Knee Deep to test out their wines - and we were not disappointed! All of the tastings are free, which is just brilliant because then you figure out which ones you like and if you want to buy a bottle to take home. Then again, it might not be so brilliant for your wallet if you like all of them and want to buy a bottle of each! The vineyards in this area are so pretty and I just love looking out over field upon field of grapes!

I had the urge to pick some of those grapes...but I thought the lovely people at Knee Deep would probably not appreciate it.

A perfect picture posing spot for AFTER tasting their wines! :)

K & T

Busselton Jetty

2008-12-03T18:30:00.005+11:00

On our way home from Dunsborough, we stopped off in Busselton to see their infamously long wooden jetty. It stretches about 1.7 km out to sea! (for those who aren't familiar with kilometers, that's quite a long way!!) It took us about 25 mins to walk all the way to the end! Once you reach the end of the jetty, they've built a sort of "aquarium" that you can go down in to see all of the marine life that have made the jetty their home! It was fascinatingly beautiful, SO colorful, and something we probably would've never been able to see otherwise - especially since we can't scuba dive and the water was freezing!

Look at how far out the jetty stretches into the ocean! Now imagine that times 2 because it actually looks shorter than it really is!!

How cute is that?!

Better yet, how cute are we?!

Starting our hike to the end! I didn't mind because the whole time I was just staring at how beautiful the water is!

There were loads of fishermen and people jumping off to go swimming - they must not be affected by cold water like us Texans!

Maybe when it's warmer we'll come back and play in this all-to-inviting water!

Our new friend, Mr. Blowfish! He kept staring and smiling at us! We were obviously friendly looking since he didn't puff up. I wouldn't puff up either if I were a blowfish staring back and Tyson! :)

How neat that this jetty has provided a home for so many beautiful creatures! Maybe Nemo lives here?!

A school of fishies just swimming away! I also saw a bird swimming through the water trying to catch himself some breakfast!!!

After all that beauty, it's time to walk allll the way back to the shore!

We are THANKFUL...

2008-12-01T19:59:00.003+11:00

I think we can easily take for granted how much Thanksgiving, a simple holiday in the US but an ordinary day in any other country, actually means to us. This year, Tyson and I were lucky enough to be reminded of exactly that. We were reminded of how much we love our families, how thankful we are for them, and how special that one holiday truly is. We were reminded that Thanksgiving is more than a meal - it's a feeling, a memory and the deepest sense of family and fellowship. It's the smell of a roasting turkey that miraculously turns out delicious every single year, the buzz of familiar and happy voices all around the house, the sound of a football game on in the background. It's a hand-held blessing before the feast, reminiscing about previous Thanksgiving's as we eat, a mother's touch in every bite, and a nap next to your dad, sister or brother when you've eaten so much you just can't move. It's late night turkey sandwiches, football and movies, and of course, pumpkin pie. It's 25 Thanksgiving's that you've been surrounded by the love of your entire family and the tradition of the day. This year was Tyson and I's 26th Thanksgiving - and the first we've spent without any of those things that we so easily took for granted before. This year was the first year that mom wasn't there to do the cooking, dad wasn't there to cut the turkey, and football was nowhere to be found. Even though nearly every single thing about our Thanksgiving this year was different than what we're used to, there was one thing that remained the same. That we are thankful. More than ever, we are thankful for God's grace, thankful for the love of our incredibly amazing families, and thankful for the treasured friendships that we miss so very much. I am thankful for mom's across America that spend DAYS preparing a meal that brings families together and creates such special memories. Mom and sweet mom-in-law - have we ever thanked you for that? I tried to recreate what you do for us each Thanksgiving, and I was completely exhausted by the time we sat down to eat. I have never had such admiration and thankfulness in my heart for the hands that have prepared my 25 Thanksgiving dinners. This year, we are thankful that God brought us on this amazing adventure so that next year, we will truly appreciate each and every part of what makes Thanksgiving special. This year, Tyson and I feel blessed that we were able to sit at our little table in Perth, Australia over a delicious meal and give thanks for each other and for every single one of you.

To both of my moms - I can't possibly fill your shoes! But here I am, ready to try!

When my sweet husband got home from work he did the dishes while I finished cooking!

And then he carved our very first ham!

And, he set the table! What a precious man he is!

I might've overprepared for just the two of us, don't you think?

It wasn't quite the same as what we've been spoiled by in the past from our mom's, but I must admit, it came pretty close!

How could Tyson do Thanksgiving without the Cowboys you ask? He woke up at 6am the next day to watch it on the computer!

All decked out to support his boys!

A quick change and he's rooting for his Aggies! Some things will never ever change!

W.O.W - Women of the Wildnerness!

2008-11-25T20:41:00.008+11:00

God has blessed me with some absolutely sweet ladies that I met through the American Women's Club in Perth. They have taken me under their wing and have truly been an answer to my prayer for friends here. One of the ladies, Nancie, is even more of an adventurer than me and she LOVES to go exploring...she came up with the WOW group that goes on a hike/excursion during the week and today she took us to the Serpentine Falls. We had a blast hiking through the brush, across flowing waters in a beautiful "valley" that was nearly untouched! And to top it all off, we had a picnic lunch where we were joined by some very friendly and furry guests!

The falls! The water rushed down into a huge natural pool of water.

The brushy hillside surrounding us.

We would've gone swimming but the water was a tad too CHILLY!

The WOW ladies - look at that teamwork!

We hiked up the mountain right next to the falls...this is looking down!

And this is what we found just on the other side at the top of the falls!

Looking back at what we just hiked up.

So peaceful and serene!

We took extra special care (banging sticks on the ground) to make sure the snakes knew to stay away!

I could've stayed on this warm rock all day! Just give me a good book and I'm in heaven!

We were playing a fun game of dominos when I noticed something hopping towards us....

Kangaroo friends!!!! They were hungry and we just so happened to have some delicious peanuts to feed them!!

Isn't he precious?!

Eat up, little one!

TWO kangaroos to feed!! They were so friendly!

I was having WAY too much fun!

Mom and Joey after stopping by for some peanuts!!!

Santa Claus is coming to...Perth!

2008-11-19T10:18:00.007+11:00

You better watch out, you better not cry or else Santa won't turn on the Christmas lights in Perth! I made T take me downtown on friday night for a date to see Santa and the Lord Mayor of Perth officially turn on the lights! Since they completely skip over Thanksgiving here, they've already jumped straight into Christmas and the decorations are up all over the city. The turning on of the lights was quite a celebration complete with a huge stage for dances, carol singers, magicians and of course...SANTA!

It's not quite what you'd see in Rockefeller plaza...but it's perfect for Perth!

Look at how many people turned up to see Santa! And notice how cute the post office looks decorated for Christmas!

He made it! I wonder if his reindeer get him to Perth faster than Emirates or Qantas??

Let there be light!!

Very festive! I love Christmas time! Especially because my family will be here to see all of this in 4 weeks!!!!

They're very "green" here in Australia, and I think that all of the lights they use are solar powered!

Ghostbusters!

2008-11-19T10:00:00.007+11:00

Last week Tyson, James and I decided to brave out the Fremantle Prison "torchlight" tour. (A torch being a flashlight!) The prison started back in the 1800's to hold convicts exported from England (those convicts actually had to build the prison with their own hands our of the limestone in the area) - and then it became a prison just for criminals from Western Australia where it housed several infamously scary and bad people! According to our tour guide, this prison is one of the most haunted buildings in WA and they constantly have reports of "funny" or "weird" things showing up in pictures...we decided to act as ghostbusters and check it out. While we didn't see any supernatural beings in these pictures, we did see several creepy rooms inside of the prison!

Enter if you dare!

Yikes! Maybe we did see a ghost after all?!

The main cell block

Ready to hunt for ghosts

Inside the cell block

They nearly made everyone pee their pants when someone screamed as loud as they could and then threw this dummy over the railing, landing just above our heads! (the tour guide had just told us about how they put those "suicide nets" up to prevent inmates from jumping to their death!) They had several "acts" like that along the way to make the tour more scary.

The kitchen. I don't think they made very yummy meals here at all.

Future CSI.

One of the solitary confinement cells.

The gullows!

One of the aboriginal inmates was allowed to paint in his cell as a form of "therapy" - this painting was amazing. I hoped the therapy worked!

More cells. I'm so glad we're not prisoners!

Meatball Mania

2008-11-12T19:32:00.004+11:00

Our sweet friends Pete & Alison invited us over for dinner last night. We had heard a rumor that Pete was quite the chef, so we were very excited at the chance to try his culinary masterpieces! I'll say this much...he does not mess around when it comes to food! He made us a TON (I'm not kidding when I say that...you should see how much food we had!) of delicious meatballs and pasta from scratch!! We could hardly move at the end of the night and we absolutely concur that Pete is a master chef! We also met another couple that recently got married and moved here from Cairo, Egypt - they were incredibly nice and have already said that they'll be hosting dinner at their house next! Yum-O!

The serious Chef and his meatball masterpiece!

I couldn't wait to dig in!!

Alison and James

Can you say YUM?!

The hungry group ready for some great Italiano!

In Australia they call this month "Movember" because all of the men (well, most of them) grow out their mustaches (Mo's) to support and raise money for men's prostate health awareness. These gents have been growing their mo's for 12 days now...I'd say Pete is definitely in the lead.

Searching for dolphins in Mandurah!

2008-11-10T19:20:00.005+11:00

On Saturday Tyson, James and I drove down to Mandurah (a small city on the coast about an hour south of Perth) for the day. Mandurah is known for it's canal system that spans off of the Indian ocean - they've built absolutely gorgeous and MASSIVE homes right on the banks of the canals. Mandurah is also known for it's friendly dolphin visitors in the canals and as you can imagine, I was more than ready to see Flipper! We went on a boat cruise of the canals which was a great boost of motivation as we stared at the million dollar homes wondering...what do these people do for a living?!! The cruise company couldn't guarantee that we'd see dolphins, but they said we'd be "extremely unlucky" not to. Apparently, lady luck was on our side because we ended up seeing 3 beautiful dolphins swimming their way out to sea! Amazing! I'm so sorry to say that we didn't get any pictures of them...it's quite hard to time it when they're moving so fast in and out of the water. We did make yet another memory that will last forever!

My boys ready to go cruisin' and find Flipper!

The boardwalk in Mandurah that our cruise left from.

Mandurah's boat marina

Dolphin Quay...a fun boardwalk with all kinds of shops/restaurants.

The start of the ridiculously beautiful parade of homes!

Maybe one day...

Wow! Can you imagine sitting in your living room, looking out of those huge windows and watching dolphins swim by?!

We still hadn't seen the dolphins yet...but we were happy just looking at all the different houses!

Stunning!

Heading to a fish 'n' chips lunch at Dolphin Quay

They don't mess around with their fish 'n' chips here! Look at all that food!! Crikey!

On our way back to Perth we did some exploring and this is what we found...

I love being an adventurer in Australia! :)

Let's go fly a kite...

2008-11-10T19:09:00.003+11:00

After our fun day in Mandurah, T and I drove out towards the beach for sunset. We've realized that all over Perth you find these massive wide open (and very nicely manicured!) fields/parks that are absolutely perfect for kite flying! We just happened to come across this one on our way to the beach, and decided that we should finally fly Tyson's birthday kite. It was a super windy afternoon, which made "The Quokka's" maiden flight a wonderful success! We had so much fun flying that we never quite made it to the beach!

Captain T preparing "The Quokka" for flight.

We have liftoff!

Tyson is a fantastic kite flyer!

Very focused too!

And looking handsome as ever!

I was trying to take a picture of the field/park and managed to get the kite in it too! I had to watch my head for the dive bombing Quokka!

Tyson taught me how to fly stunt kites when we first started dating over 4 years ago! I learned from the best! :)

Quiz Night!

2008-11-04T13:01:00.004+11:00

On Halloween we went to a "quiz night" that Mustang (Tyson's company) put on. It's such a neat idea...put a team together and play against others by answering the most random trivia questions imaginable while eating dinner and having drinks provided by the company! The "social committee" decorated the board room with Halloween decos and put on such a fun night for us! While we were by far the "youngest" team and felt as though we knew the answers to maybe three questions total (out of the 80 possible!) we actually walked away with the most prizes won by a team!! :) The prize we're most proud of was for BEST team name....Les Quizerrables!!

Here we are, Les Quizerrables! K, T, James, Pete and Michelle (she works with them)

YES! Best team name ever! And hello?! Best prize possible...Ferrero Rocher!

T-man won us another prize for being the first to answer a random question that was asked half-way through the quiz. He's so kind and offered to share the chocolatey champagne with the skeleton.

If you know my husband, you know that he's just slightly competitive. Notice how hard he's focusing on our answers and winning the "task at hand". If you know me, you know that I have an undeniable sweet tooth. Notice how hard I'm focusing on all of the chocolates. And notice Pete - he's focusing on drinking the chocolates out of the champagne bottle.

Perhaps the above picture depicts why this one looks the way it does....we got another prize, but this time it was for LAST place. We blame it on our youth. We might've lost the quiz, but we certainly had fun doing it!!

Happy Birthday, Tyson!

2008-11-03T17:20:00.010+11:00

I continually praise God for my amazing husband, and this weekend we were able to celebrate his 26th birthday! Tyson is such a precious gift to me and I love when his birthday comes around because it gives me another chance to try and show him just how special he is! I am so proud of him and everything he has become in his 26 years. Since we're away from all of our family and friends, I wanted to make his day extra special because I knew he'd be missing all of you back home!

We woke up and went out for brekkie at The Blue Duck. We had a table on the balcony overlooking the beach!

The birthday boy definitely enjoyed his brekkie...and the rest of mine!

A perfect place, and perfect way to start celebrating my hubby!

A sweet couple walking by offered to take our picture!

After brekkie, we met up with James, Pete & Allison to watch the Red Bull Air Race!

It was a beautiful (but HOT!) day to watch the planes race over the water!

This was near the landing strip

The Red Bull Air Race wouldn't be complete without the Red Bull tent.

Coming in for a landing!

The Red Bull Airplane! These pilots really are amazingly good! After watching the race and getting our fair share of the sun, we grabbed an Icee with James and then I took Tyson to pick out his own "Aussie Hat" as part of his present.

Didn't he pick a cute one?! We came home and he opened his presents....

Inside joke - but purrfect card!! :)

One thing we've come to miss in Australia is some of our favorite food! On any normal birthday, Tyson would not be quite this excited about getting a Butterfinger! But I actually found one here (which is a big deal) and could justify spending $3.50 for it since it was his birthday!

Again, you can't just go to any grocery store and find Pop-Tarts. I found them at a special candy store - even though they're literally 10 times the price you pay at Wal-Mart, it was totally worth it for his smile!

Last but not least, a brand new stunt kite! The very windy city of Perth is perfect for kite flying!

We drove to the beach to try out his kite...it was super windy and there were literally tons of kite surfers out!

Can you see all of them?! We didn't want to get tangled with anyone, so we decided to fly the kite on another day. We went home and got all snazzed up for T's birthday dinner!

I took him to Applecross since he hadn't gotten to see it yet...God blessed us with a picture perfect sunset!

Happy Birthday to the Most Handsome Boy around!

Blissful sunset.

We ate dinner at The Blue Water Grill - the windows literally look out at what you saw in the above pictures! Tyson LOVED his steak and fries! :) An outstanding birthday meal!

Yum! I had the chicken with roasted pumpkin and potatoes! Delish! After a fantastic meal, we went home for birthday cake!

I made him a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting - and he was a bit eager to dig in to it! All of that homemade pumpkin pureeing sure was worth it - because he absolutely, positively LOVED his birthday cake. I must say, it was quite amazing. All in all, we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate Tyson's 26 years! I think it will be a birthday we'll never forget!

On Sunday morning we tried out another church (which has a pastor from TEXAS!!) and then walked over to King's Park to catch some more of the air race. Check out all of the boats/yachts parked on the Swan River to watch!

Must be nice.

We found a tree that Tyson just HAD to take a picture of...

...because it belongs to Duke! (the family doberman) Who knew he had a tree just for him all the way in Perth?!

Later that night we took James back to Applecross for a bbq since he hadn't seen it before. Again, the view was spectacular.