K & T adventure to SYDNEY!

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

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

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!