Happy 2009!

Hello everyone - Happy New Year! Here's a little video to get us all in the mood:




Lots to catch up on, but I'll leave most of it to the photo slideshows. Andy and I had a fabulous Christmas vacation, which we spent in the city of Adelaide, touring the Barossa Valley wine region, and on Kangaroo Island, all of which are part of the state of South Australia. In 1-week's time we managed to stay in a hotel, a lighthouse hut, a private beach house, and a beach hostel. We saw amazing rock formations, colonies of fur seals, views from the top of Cape Borda Lighthouse, and a nighttime cannon firing! Here's that video (it's mostly dark and quiet, but wait for the end!):



Here's our Christmas getaway pictures:



We had a 1-day vacation catch-up day, and then Steve, Michelle, & Cami arrived right on time here in Melbourne on Dec. 28! The following 2 weeks were a whirlwind of travel (by numerous taxis, rental cars, planes, trains, boats, buses, monorails, and trams) filled with plans & pies, lists & laughs, reservations & 'roos, (okay - I'll stop with the clever alliteration, but only because I can't think of a 'w' word to go with wine)...New Year's Eve in Sydney, zoos, aquariums, tree-top walks, beaches, food, wine, cricket, and just a little bit of vomit - poor Cami's travels kinda caught up with her for a couple of days in Sydney, but she made a strong recovery. It was spectacular traveling and experiencing more of Australia with more family!



We are getting more and more excited for our permanent return to the US here in the next couple of months. We have moved our return flights via Honolulu up a month to April 4, and have decided to spend about a week in Hawaii, get organized in Portland for a few days, get Andy's truck and ourselves ready, and drive to Alaska to reunite with Buddy. I can't wait! More details as the dates get closer. We are also looking forward to another family guest next month - Andy's cousin Stacy is coming from Sioux Falls for a visit! The next couple of months are going to go very quick, I think, and Andy and I and Buddy will find ourselves back in our home before we know it.

Hope you are all well and surviving what we have heard has been quite the winter, especially in the Pacific Northwest. More soon-

Cheers!

Love, Christy