Manly Beach

Well, we have now officially been here for one week! I can already feel that time is going to go by fast while we are here so we better enjoy it. Todd doesn't officially start class until next week so we are trying to make the most of our time before he has homework. Today was a little overcast which was a nice break since it has been so hot in our apartment over the weekend. We did some laundry (which is different since we had to hang up our clothes to dry-no dryer here!) and then decided to head out to the beach. It was quite the trek with Jett. I think he might be teething again...or he is really behind on sleep because he was grumpy the entire day. I know that all the pictures make it look like he is happy but we really had to entertain him the entire day. I really hope we get whatever is bothering him sorted out soon.

We decided to visit Manly Beach. It took us two trains to get to the harbor at Circular Quay and from there we took a ferry to the beach. It was awesome to view Sydney from the water. It really is a beautiful place. Even though we had stunning view from the moving boat Jett still had to be entertained!

The beach was beautiful but not the ideal place for a baby to nap! Haha! Are you catching on to a theme of the day? Jett was more than a handful! Not only are we trying to figure Sydney out...but we are trying to do it with a baby! It makes it quite a different experience. We are learning new tricks with him everyday though so it should be a breeze for us in no time, right? :-) But I do have to mention that Jett is NOT the typical baby. He has SO much energy. He is moving constantly and will not sit still unless he is sleeping. He is so much fun...I just wish I also had as much energy as he does.
Todd and Jett at Manly Beach (I think Jett is trying to flex). Todd and I are hoping that we get some good tans while we are here...we are so white! I don't think Jett will though since we lather him up with sunscreen wherever we go. I really wanted to get Jett a cute beach hat but whenever we try them on he just tears them off...even the ones that have a little chin strap. Oh well.

We tried to dig a nice little place in the sand for Jett to sleep but it didn't work.

He finally gave in on the ferry ride home.

Todd snapped this pic on the ferry. We are so excited to call this place our home for a short while. We are in the learning and exploring process right now and it really is an adventure every day. One lesson we learned is not to take the train at peak hours (8 am or 5 pm) in the city. The trains are PACKED. I had to stand up and hold Jett while he was whining while surrounded by all these business men and women who did not seem friendly at all and it was not a pleasant experience. Lol...won't do that again! We also spent way to much money on some asian food tonight that turned out to be really gross. HA. I guess we just need to learn to laugh at ourselves and try not to be stressed out when things don't go as planned. I'm working on that.

On a different note we were able to go to church yesterday! It turns out that the ward we are in just got combined with another smaller ward that is about a half hour drive away. It is located in Greenwich and I believe it is one of the oldest ward houses in Australia. We were able to catch a ride with a lady in our ward and it was such a luxury for us to ride in an air conditioned car! Everyone in the ward is very friendly. Everyone was so happy to be there and to meet new people. Since it was their first Sunday with the combined wards they had a little meal in the chapel afterwards so people could chat and get to know each other. They served soup and for dessert they had tons of cakes! Almost everyone stayed after and for a long time too! We talked to lots of different people and I'm excited to get to know them better. Life is good here in Australia!

Getting Around

Every day we've been setting out to find different things and learn how to get there. Sometimes it's just about finding a place that sells chicken 'n chips, and sometimes it's about the more important places. Orientation and enrolment started right away this week, so finding the path to school was a high priority. The University of Sydney is fairly large, and has a mixture of old classic buildings as well as more modern (and some are downright funky) buildings. But the oldest part of campus, the "Main Quadrangle" is what makes it famous. And it really is a cool building.
The university is the oldest in Australia, and uses some kind of sandstone for the walls. It has a bunch of gargoyles and the main hall looked like the one in Harry Potter. Expelliarmus!

Jett's too cool for school.

The only other soul known to us in all of Australia is one of my (Todd's) old friends from high school. Well, to be precise, we haven't spoken since high school, but before leaving to Australia, I found out that she lived in Sydney. We got to talking and she hooked us up with some sweet baby stuff to borrow, including a portable baby cott, a high chair, and a stroller. It was a life saver, so thanks Kim.
Jett made some good use out of the high chair the first night. Wait...what is he eating, anyway?
Today we set out on a different adventure, and Jett was ready for it. However, none of us were ready for the heat that set in late in the afternoon. We wanted to find the temple and also ask about what ward we belonged in. We had tried searching online, but the LDS Meetinghouse Locator kept on saying there was an error and wouldn't tell us to which ward we belonged. So, thinking that was good enough a reason, Christianne and I set out. With a little study, Christianne found out that we would need to catch a train and then a bus in order to get there - and we had never taken the bus. But we braved it anyway and got pretty close to where we wanted to go. However, we missed the stop closest to the temple and ended up having to walk extra in the tiring heat. By the time we got to the temple gates, we were sweating. Christianne joked how ironic it would be if the temple was closed as we arrived.

It was.

So, leaving Christianne and Jett in some shade, I set off to find someone - anyone who could tell us what ward we belonged to and maybe get some water. The Church owns quite a few buildings in the area, including temple accommodation, family history center, Australian church offices, family services center, etc. etc. As I passed each building, I noticed each one was closed, except for one more building I came up to: the Sydney Australia Mission Office. "Yes! Elders!!" I thought, and sure enough they were there. I ran back to Christianne and Jett, nearly passing them in my haste, and brought them back to the mission office. The Elders gave us some cold water and we all had a good time chatting about the Church in Sydney. We found out our ward, along with some other contacts on how to get there. Turns out the area we are staying got combined with another ward (hence the technical issues we were experiencing before.) Before finding our bus back to the train station, we managed to take some photos outside the Sydney Temple.

Jett is so glad to be there!

I mean REALLY glad! He is always so good about smiling.

Tomorrow we will go to our first church meetings in Australia. We got in contact with some ward members who offered to give us a ride over. We're excited to see what it's like.

Goodbyes and Sydney Arrival

Well as you might have guessed from the new look of our blog...we are now in Australia! We made it! But I have to start blogging about our journey from the beginning so forgive me for going back in time a little bit. Saturday was a very long day for us. We got up early and scrambled around trying to finish last minute packing. We ended up with 3 suitcases- one for each of us. Mine and Todd's were really HEAVY. Jett was probably the hardest to pack for though. Which outfits is he growing out of? Which toys would he most like to play with? How many outfits is he going to go through on the plane? How many diapers will get us through the next couple of days? How much formula?

Somehow we were able to finish getting everything ready though and then we had to say some goodbyes. I know we really are not going to be gone that long (10 months) but it was still hard to say goodbye to family and friends. We are now all by ourselves and we already miss you guys!


It was especially hard to say goodbye to my sister! We usually see each other every day so it wasn't an easy parting. LUCKILY we just found out that she will be coming to visit in just a few months! We really hope Aaron can come along with her as well so the whole gang can be together.
The flights turned out to be okay. On our flight to LA we had an empty seat next to us which was nice. Jett was pretty active so we needed the extra space. We got to LA and we had no idea where to go since we didn't have our boarding passes to Australia yet and we thought we would have to go through security again but luckily we found the right person to ask and we got a shuttle to our terminal and there was no hassle.

We flew V Australia from LAX to Sydney. We reserved bassinet seating which is basically a little basket that hooks onto the wall in front of you so that your baby can sleep. It took awhile for Jett to fall asleep at first but when he did he slept for a good portion of our 14 hour flight. We left LA at 8 so it was nice and dark on the plane and perfect for sleeping. Of course I wasn't able to sleep a ton on the plane but still this little basket SAVED our lives. Thank you to whoever thought of this. It was an interesting experience changing a blowout diaper on the plane but still, our flight was a lot better than I thought it would be!
When we finally arrived to Sydney it was Monday morning (we are a day ahead of the states). We were expecting customs to take a lot of time but it was really pretty quick. We took a cab to our hotel since we had so much stuff and we were a bit early for check in so we hung out in the dining area of the hotel for 3 hours until they had a room ready. This was probably my least favorite part of the journey since we were just so tired and just wanted a bed to sleep in. We also had no food at this point so Todd went across the street to a gas station and came back with a loaf of bread ($5!) and a candy bar (it was nasty-chocolate covered honeycomb). We really liked the bread though. It is super thick and fluffy.
Even though there were some stressful times during the trip, Jett kept his sweet little smile and kept us from getting too grumpy.
When we finally got into our room we took an hour and a half nap and then decided we better try and stay up to lessen jet lag. We walked to a nearby shopping area and got some fruit, water, power adapter, and some snacks. There is a huge Asian population here and there were lots of Asian food products in the store. We came across some snow fungus. I don't think I will be eating that any time soon...
While we were on our stroll we saw some flowers for sale and remembered that it was Valentines Day. We just laughed because we both weren't even thinking about it and didn't get each other anything since we were so busy.

We also picked up some dinner- Half of a roasted chicken on chips (fries). It was super good!
After dinner we accidentally fell asleep (it was only 7:30). We got up at about 5 the next day and got Todd ready to go and enroll at the University of Sydney. I stayed behind with Jett so he could take some naps. That morning Jett was all over the place. He is beginning to crawl! Something just clicked and now I have a feeling I am going to be a lot more busy keeping track of my little boy.
After Todd got back from doing his school stuff we hopped on a train and went to see the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. It was beautiful. We loved it and we felt a little more in place with all the tourists walking around!

Jett also got to try some gelato! He loved it.

Anyways, we love and miss you all back at the states! We love it here so far and we'll try and keep you updated on our adventures.

1.5 weeks 'til Australia!

You know when some things just feel right?

This does.

For nearly two years, Christianne and I have been contemplating our next big move. Finishing up at BYU brought some interesting choices, and the question that many people face upon graduation is, "What's next?" We knew we wanted two things: a baby and more schooling. A baby because, well- have you seen Jett?

We were ready to see if the time was right for our first addition to the family, and it was. But what about school?

Before graduating, I investigated a few schools with good public relations Masters programs. They initially came down to Purdue, University of North Carolina, or the University of Arizona. For awhile, I thought Purdue was it - but I wasn't completely settled on the idea.

That all changed when I walked into the academic advisement center to fill out my graduation forms. I picked up a large blue binder which contained scholarship information for undergraduates and graduates. I plunked down on the well-used but soft chair and opened it. As it was listed in alphabetical order, I started with "A". I read about AustraLearn, a US company that assists Americans to study in Australia. I shrugged at the thought, but the page yelled at me, calling me to think about the idea a bit longer.

I did.

I remember one day talking with some family about my prospective schools. We were at dinner with Hauni and Aaron, going over our short-term plans. Aaron encouraged me to go to UNC, primarily so he would have a reason to come out to a basketball game. When I muttered something about the University of Sydney having a good program, we all laughed. But then Hauni questioned, "well, why not?"

I thought about it a good while longer. Haven't stopped, really. I studied the school and went over the possibility again and again and again. I kept putting it to the test, and the idea passed every time.

So I thought I would just apply and see what happened. I didn't get my hopes up at all, but I was curious to see if I would even get in.

I did.

The months that followed got filled with more ideas, more searching for information, more preparation and more prayers. It was right. We are meant to go to Australia.

I do wonder, though, what would have happened if I started at the back of that blue binder, with letter "Z". Hmm?

The Christmas Story

My husband showed this video to me yesterday and I loved it. So cute. Merry Christmas!

Day 3

A picture of me and my friends.

I'm not the kind of girl that has tons of friends.  I'm a little quiet and keep to myself so it is hard for me to make good friends. But these are a few people that have come to be some of my very best friends.

Addi and Kat- I've known these girls forever. They are my best friends from High School. I got to catch up with them when I went home for Thanksgiving and it just reminded me how much I miss them!

Katherine Way-My Asian twin. We met each other one of the first days of college and we just clicked. We were together all the time freshman year and people always asked if we were sisters which is funny because she is half Chinese!

The gang. Hauni, Max, Aaron, Todd, and I. I know that technically they are family but I couldn't ask for better friends! Before Jett and Emma were born we hung out every single night. Now it is a little harder with the babies but we try to hang out when we can. I can't imagine not living close to them. :-(