Happy New Year from Australia!

We hope everyone of you had a wonderful new year holiday! Here's a little update on our end!

So here we are on Christmas morning on Main Street in old-town Louisville our way out-looking a little rough! We were both working on about 4 hours of sleep a night for the last few weeks trying to pull it all together for the holidays and this trip!!

It was a white Colorado Christmas so we sat on the runway on the plane for 5 hours before we took off! ugh. but jay and i were pretty hunkered in for a long time of traveling so it didn't phase us much. we still got to LA with enough time to meet Eliah & Ian & Dan Gibbs for an hour or so- they brought us Chinese take-out for a happy Christmas dinner!

then a 14 hour flight to Auckland- i slept most of the way and jay watched 4 movies. transfered the morning of the 28th and arrived in Sydney about 11am. We stepped out into the sunshine and the air smelled so sweet and humid. it was lovely. reminded me so much of the airport in Harlingen, TX going to visit Mimi & Bumpy when we were small. Paul, the groom, picked us up at the airport. Joshy (who now lives up north several hours of Brisbane, AUST) flew down to assist at the wedding and met us there at the airport!

The groom, Paul, picked us all up & took us on a little driving tour of the city and we got settled into the dorms at the college where we were staying. I loved it- such a different experience! Here was our view of Sydney from the school:

I think what struck us the most right from the get go was how loud Australia is! It really sounds like a full on rainforest with all the birds & insects-quite a cacophany!

The wedding went really well- albeit entirely too sunny. We went on a Harbor Cruise for the rehearsal dinner. very breezy and fun. Sydney Harbor is really gorgeous! The wedding the next day was held in the rose garden of St. Ignatius College (private boy's boarding school) where the groom has taught math for many years. Everything went off without a hitch. Jay is getting quite good at shooting and Joshy was a superb assistant. Totally on the ball! The next day they had arranged for a bus tour out to the Blue Mountains. Gorgeous. We saw piles of creamy cockatoos - very big and VERY noisy and also several groups of kangaroos. Roos are to Australians as deer are to Coloradoans.

We had a perfect view of the Sydney fireworks from the school balcony so rather than head down to the city which was sure to be a "shit fight" according to all the locals, Jay and I enjoyed a bottle of champagne and watched from afar! It was stunning and magical and impressive! 3 different locations several miles apart and all the fireworks were in synch!!
New Years Day: We spent the first day of the new year touring Sydney's botanical garden. I don't know why, but I am in heaven when photographing flowers. Here's one of my favorites!

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me that day was discovering the masses of HUGE bats in the gardens!!! They were so amazing- I was completely enraptured. And I took A LOT of photos!

and harbor walk (or "wog" as jay would say) all the way around to the world-renown opera house. We then flew out that night to north australia to meet up with joshy & steph in Mackay.

jan 2: the following day we had a 5 hour drive down to the town where Josh & Steph live. we stopped along the way to tour a cave! here is joshy & steph on the bridge outside the caves.

jan 3: The next day Josh & Steph had booked us for the Paradise Tour for our Christmas present- an environmental tour on a "lighter amphibious resupply cargo vessle " (LARC) which can travel on land & water.
We went out to the lighthouse on Bustard Head island and then did some sand boarding down sand dunes! The weather was perfect- warm & breezy and just a bit overcast. The water was tropical blue, delicious! When we got back we went for a scenic cliff walk and got to see a large pod of dolphins chilling out along the bay! so amazing! no good photos unfortunately.

emergency stop on the way home to appease Steph's craving for "crumbed sausages". movies that night. the boys saw "i am legend" (NOT recommended for anyone who loves dogs); girls saw "enchanted" (highly recommended to all of those who appreciate the disney classics! adorable)

jan 4: Stephanie's dad is Malasian and makes amazing noodles- and lives just a few blocks away from J&S. We invited ourselves over for brunch - loved seeing Vince & Trice again!

Then we had a long drive down to Brisbane. Pit stop for the boys to sample a "works burger" which had: eggs, bacon, tomato, cheese, onions, pickles, lettuce, beet root, pineapple, avocado, garlic sauce and then a huge beef burger from the famous Rock Hampton pastorals/ranches. Jay found us an amazing deal for the oh-so-fancy Hotel Sebel in downtown Brisbane. We spent the next day shopping in downtown Brisbane and walking through the Botanic Gardens downtown. As usual, I was as happy as a clam in the humid, tropical climate surrounded by lizards & flowers & people I love.

And tomorrow we're off to New Zealand!! hurrah!