No Mo'

John loved his mo' so much and was so happy just to comb through it each night with his mo' shaped comb and mirror. Sadly, Movember ended and it was time to shave.



And then came these lovely creations...





I am so happy Movember is now over.



Only 327 days until the mo' starts growing again. I'll enjoy those days. Thanks to everyone that donated to John's cause!

Movember Mo Bro

Welcome to Movember! This is a time of the year when men in the world go insane and grow the nastiest, dirtiest mo's they can think of. Really, men grow the staches to raise money for men's depression and prostate cancer. It's for a good cause, but John is only 2 weeks in and look at him! I think he is a Morgan Spurlock look-a-like. John is going to have a new mo each week, so stay tuned. I can guarantee it will be mo-tastic!

To The Dish

John and I made the most out of our Labour Day weekend and headed west! We rented a car and drove to the itty bitty little town of Parkes, NSW. We made it all in one piece which is surprising as the GPS died and I was having panic attacks as we were driving over the mountains. Nothing like a sheer drop off and driving on the other side of the road to make things a bit nerve wracking. And the "Stop, revive, survive" and the Driver Revivers really helped remind us do so. And we made it!

As soon as we checked in we headed to The Dish. For those of you who do not watch random Australian movies, it a radio telescope in the middle of a sheep paddock that transmitted the images of man walking on the moon to the TV. There was a really good movie on it and this was our inspiration for the entire trip. It is so strange driving up to it, because you can see it from very far away and there is nothing else around it except sheep. I know what everyone is thinking and yes, John and I are complete nerds. It was actually really amazing and The Dish actually started moving once we got there. It really was cool!

The next day we left the motel at 5am to head an hour north to the town of Dubbo to an open range zoo. We go there early to do a behind the scenes tour and then spent most of the day wandering through the zoo. They are well known for their Rhino breeding program and are increasing the numbers of rhinos all over the world. The Siamang monkeys were the best part and kept making these crazy noises and striking supermodel poses. The birds really did not like John and a magpie dive bombed him twice. So we thought it would be a good time to leave.

Halfway between Parkes and Dubbo is Peak Hill, a town with an old open cut gold mine. So of course we stopped and hiked to the top of the mine. The view was spectacular! I think we could see the Dish from there. After the hike, for $2, I panned for gold. I found 4 specks and am thinking about quitting my job and taking this up full time.

After we made it back to the motel, we ate at the only place open on Sunday night, Pizza Hut. It is universal. The next day we headed back to Sydney and went through the whole thing again with me freaking out. Again, amazing John didn't leave me in the mountains.

Overall, it was a really fun trip. We now we can drive (it only took us 8 months to get the nerve) so we will head out to more places soon.

Wow, it's been a long time.

I had no idea that it had been so long between posts. Sorry! I will do my best to fill you in on the Shelbournes Down Under.

We had a very Aussie 4th of July. The rest of the country did nothing and we had drinks at a rooftop with the latest expat, Maureen. She is a friend of Scott Shelbourne and is a fantastic addition to life down here. The three of us went whale watching and saw a humpback whale jump out of the water. It was truly an unreal experience. Something that all visitors should see when the whales are migrating. The rest of July was a bit quiet. Just getting settled in my new job and John was getting settled with his new role.

August was all about City2Surf, or at least it should have been. That is a 14km race from downtown Sydney to Bondi Beach. I ran more than I probably ever had before in my life. The Shelbourne's came to visit in mid-August and Dr. S and Brian ran the race with us. Carol is the only sane one I think to sit the race out! :) With Dr. S as my running buddy and Blair's American mix, we finished the race in under 2 hours. Not very fast, but I was still pretty excited! John and Brian definitely finished before us in 90 minutes. While the Shelbourne's were visiting we showed them the town and fed kangaroos. And we helped Dr. S find his Australian Smee's aka The Orient Hotel. Overall it was a great trip and both john and I were so sad to see them go.

Now we are getting ready for Run The Bridge. It is a much shorter race, only 9km and it is run through the Botanical Gardens and ends at the Opera House. I am actually looking forward to it. Then just a few short weekend trips in the spring to Melbourne and maybe Adelaide. Before we know it we will have to leave the summer weather and head to winter for Christmas. We are really looking forward to seeing a little snow.

Stay tuned and I will post some pictures from all of our adventures.

Just a couple of pictures from my nights out in Chicago with the ladies. Woo-hoo!

G'Day

It has been a crazy time. We had our first visitor at Hotel Shelbourne. My parents surprised my sister with a trip to see us for graduation. (And she has a job at the school where they filmed High School Musical) It was so great to see her and we walked all over Sydney. We went kayaking, snorkeling, and saw all the art museums in the area. When it was time for Blair go home, it was time for me as well.
I was all over the Midwest and here is how is all shook out:

• Kenosha - just in time to turn 27 and get strep throat all in the same day. Yuck!
• Kansas City - I was MOH for Maggie and it was so wonderful. She was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.
• Back to Kenosha - Carol came to see me for a few days and we had fun teaching her how to play Hand and Foot
• Minneapolis - My niece, Lily, turned 1 and I was there for all three of her yummy cakes.
• Burt Lake - A few peaceful days at the lake to see Grandma and relax.
• Chicago - to see friends and to say goodbye until Christmas.

It was a whirlwind, but I was able to see almost everyone. Randomly, John's company sent him to work in Chicago and our trips overlapped by about a week. Our trips went by too quickly and we can't wait to come home for the holidays.

I am now working at Deloitte Sydney and have started my first week. As always, the first week on the job is overwhelming, but I know it will all work out just fine.

It is winter now and it is definitely starting to get colder. Buildings are not as well insulated, so it seems cold all the time. (Cold is about 50-60 degrees) The days are like nice fall days and are great for walking around the city. One of the weirder things both John and I had a hard time getting used to was the length of the days. You just had the longest day of the year and we just had the shortest. You don't really notice it throughout the year, but we both experienced the extremes.

We miss everyone and check back often! (We have Internet now!)

We are still here

Sorry for the lapse between posts. Things have been kind of quiet around here so there was not much to share. We made a trip to IKEA, hopefully our last, to get a wardrobe and spent a whole day getting there and then putting it together. I love IKEA, but we have spent waaaay to much time there. Our crate arrived safely and the only thing that did not arrive was a painting Blair made of the Burt Lake cottage. We are trying to figure out how to claim that on insurance.

Last Friday was ANZAC Day which is similar to Veteran's Day and Memorial Day. The great thing about ANZAC Day is that there is a gambling game that is legal on this day only. Two Up is a game where you stand in a circle and one person holds a paddle and places two coins on it. Then the person flips the coins and people in the circle bet on whether the coins will land heads or tails. It is really fun, but it helps to have a few beers. It did get pretty heated where people were betting $50 on one flip. At one point we were up about $50, it didn't last long.

The next day we went to the races (another gambling day). It was a fancy pants kind of day. We got all dolled up and met John's friends for a champagne breakfast. Then we headed over to the Randwick Racecourse and it was beautiful. It was the first sunny day in over two weeks, I am not kidding. There were all sorts of famous people there, like Orlando Bloom and Hugh Jackman. I am so bummed out that I didn't get to see them. Once the races started, John and I lost all of our betting money, but it was still a really fun day.

Blair is coming to visit in about a week right after she graduates from Utah. And John's brother, Brian, picked a college (Wabash), so now we are looking forward to the Shelbournes visit sometime in August. Just remember the hotel is open for business and we are taking reservations. :)

I will be back in the Midwest from May19th-June10th and can't wait to see everyone.

Also, pictures are on the way from 2-up and the races.