Ray & Marcia in Melbourne!

Hi all.
Sorry about the picture quality - I took it on my mobile phone camera.
My parents arrived right on time Thursday morning, and then it only took them about an hour and a half to get through customs (we're blaming the Rice-a-Roni). My crying (a combination of excitement/happiness/relief/3 months of sadness all mixed into one) was contained to a brief half minute or so, and then they had what I'm sure was a whirlwind of a day, as one's day usually is after traveling for over 24 hours in a row, sitting on a 15+ hour flight, and landing on the other side of the world from where you started. They got checked into their hotel, I introduced them to our apartment, and then we walked down to a local bakery for their first Aussie pie (recall from an earlier blog entry that Andy and I absolutely adore the fact that nearly anything you would like to eat can be found in perfected pie form down here). We all rested a bit at the hotel, they got unpacked, and we browsed travel books, pamphlets, and booklets trying to determine where we shall spent some of our time throughout their stay. So much to see - so little time!
We spent some time back here at the apartment, walked around a bit at the botanical gardens, and went out for a late dinner. I could have chatted the night away, but then I looked over and saw that my dad was literally falling asleep sitting up at the table; and I had the nerve to ask him, "Are you tired?" I'm sure they felt lucky that I had to go back to work today, so that they could actually get some rest!
It definitely seems somewhat unreal that we are in Australia together. I am so happy they are here.

Andy has been in Adelaide for a work conference since Wednesday, and will spend the weekend there exploring. He and our friend Ash are scheduled to do a swim with the dolphins on Saturday morning. I'll be excited to hear all about this from him.

I'm still subbing with that same 4th grade class, and it is going so well. I taught a lesson today on 'Hard Yakka' (Aussie lingo for hard work) which was a pretty funny experience for me. I don't know for sure who has learned more since I've been subbing in this class - me or the students!

Guess that's about all the news from Melbourne. With December just around the corner, Happy December to everyone! Love and missing you all. Cheers!

Love,
Christy