were spent in Mount Buller. we drove straight there from the airport, through the gorgeous, lush australian countryside. tons of farm animals just grazing, wild cockatoos flying everywhere… green hills that made me think of sound of music. 🙂 (this is jamie talking if you can’t tell:) ) it was crazy going from that horrendous LA heat to this. beauty. love the sight of untouched snow. so peaceful. i managed to take my first ski class. it went alright, i was a bit snappy at the instructor… skiing is supposed to be fun, but it is clearly a lot of hard work.. and if you know me, you know that i am not that athletic. i was whooped. but grateful i had the opportunity. so i only went that first day. the next few days were lounging around the cabin, watching movies, reading, relaxing. so nice. crazy that i didn’t have internet for those first days, and i was like in withdrawl– haha. chris had a blast on the slopes, he’s a natural. and he looked like a local up there, all cute in his snowgear. 🙂
so now we are in the city. i’m totally giddy to be here. ready for our adventures. i am a city girl, you know. 🙂
departure
Ladies and gentleman, flight QF94 will be departing from gate 23 in five minutes. please stow away your lives for the next 17 days. “departure.” Such finality to that word. not like leaving. or going away. “departure.” it feels more imposing than those other words. you leave for the day. You depart for, I don’t know, awhile. so that’s what we’ve done. we’ve stowed away our responsibilities, we’ve left it all behind and hopped on a plane that’s headed, literally, to the other side of the world.
ladies and gentleman, we have begun our descent. please stow away your worries, your concerns, those little nagging thoughts that creep into your bed at night. we will be arriving in Melbourne in 15 minutes. there’s the other side of the world, and the other side of a word. for inevitably, when we depart, we’re not long before arriving at a new destination. there’s something about being this far away that makes leaving it all behind a bit easier. we’ve realized we need to do this more. let go of stuff. live in the moment. enjoy each other. it shouldn’t take a trip around the world to figure this out, but hey, if that’s what it takes then it’s worth the flight.
ps- jamie here now, chris will be taking over with some of the writing. it is his profession, and he is much better at it than i am, so i will gladly step aside every now and then and just take photos. 🙂
leaving
our loves. today we hung all day. doing just normal family things. last minute errands, eating out for lunch, driving around town. kira and i got pedicures, the guys got jambas. it was normal. the kids played gameboys in the backseat. they fought. they made up. they sang. it was normal… but it wasn’t. while they fought, or did these everyday things, chris and i would look at each other, and sorta make that parental lovey look… like, awwww….. and bat our eyelashes at each other. we both knew that normally the fighting would drive us insane, that we would be grumpy from the heat… but we weren’t. we looked at it all like it’s the last time we would see/hear this stuff for 17 days. 17 days. it seems so short, but so long. why is that? how do i know that we will replay this day of normal, everyday stuff in our head for the next 17 days? it will go by fast. we will have an amazing time. we will miss them. they will have fun. caleb may miss me at night. but we will be okay.
we know that.
so long– next time you read from us, we will be down under. 🙂
HOT
seriously dragging here in california! HOT HOT HOT! we visited our good friend, dawn and family today. (love them. good friend visit for me and each of our kids) and when we got in our car to go home, my handy dandy temperature thing said it was 102. ack!!!! i do not do well in the heat! i get tired, dehydrated, grumpy. 🙂 my fair skinned boys turn all red and blotchy. and everyone complains. not nice. this is not our pool. and it’s not even from today. just a picture of our kids at one, to help me cool off. haha. crazy to think in a few days chris and i will be in australia— in the middle of winter. i will be bundled up in my jacket and uggs and scarf. this weekend we will be skiing! isn’t that crazy?! so– i am glad. to escape this dreaded heat that brings me such sorrow. 🙂 aren’t you glad this isn’t a whiney ‘i’m gonna miss my kids post?!’ heheeheee…… yes, heat makes me delirious. 🙂
camping…(sorta!)
this is how it went down. 830p we decide to camp out on my inlaws’ lawn. we have never taken the kids camping, so this was a big deal! chris gets it all set up with lots of pillows and blankets. we are all cozy and telling stories. cameron, being the little punctual boy he is, decides it’s time for bed at 1030. he wants all noise to stop. no talking. that is very hard for caleb…who is by now, just bouncing off the walls, totally excited. “so, let’s talk! what do you want to talk about?! i thought we were gonna talk!”… sitting sooo cutely indian styled with his little hands folded. he finally caves in to cameron, and we all fall asleep… or rather, drift in and out of sleep. chris would wake up and say, “what was that?” or “something’s touching the tent!” soo cute.
i woke up to some birdies tweeting at 630a… way too early in my opinion. but chris and i just talked and giggled about how funny we were to all of a sudden decide to camp on his parent’s lawn! how this was SUCH a big step for this little city family! how we are SO ready for camping on the beach next month. how the boys will TOTALLY remember this. how this was one of our sweetest moments EVER with these kids.
all snugged up in a tent. on the lawn. 🙂
savoring
trying to squeeze in as much quality time as we can before we go. (which is next wednesday) beach, zoo, barbeque, and even camping on the lawn. but mostly just lotsa snuggles and kisses… lotsa smelling. 🙂 there is something about the way our kids smell. from when they were babies till now. i can smell their hair, their neck, their hands…and be happy.
we are working on things to keep in touch with them. the blog, of course. checked our computer cameras and made sure they are set. gonna record mommy reading some bedtime stories. gonna write them each a separate letter. gonna have one on one with each of them before we go. gonna leave them some spending cash. 🙂 grandparents are sure to take them on many shopping sprees. 🙂 i’m sure kira will step to the plate and show grandparents the way caleb likes his PB&J’s made. i’m sure cam will give caleb snuggles at night. i’m sure caleb will be fine. i’m sure he’ll be fine. i’m sure he’ll be just fine.
celebrating
the man in the middle is my father in law. he turned 60. he is one of the most amazing men i have ever met in my life. he has the grace, compassion, and love of no other. he amazes me. and i am so proud to be part of his family. the boy on the right is my brother in law. he turned 16. a really awesome guitarist and water polo player. my dear husband on the left. love that guy too. he pretty much rocks my world. 🙂 we had a snazzy dinner party complete with slideshows the other night. it was good fun, good food, good company.
it’s kinda neat to go to these events, with all 3 of our kids, and be able to sit and enjoy it. i remember when they were still toddlers, and i would have to sorta wait on the sidelines… rocking them, soothing them, entertaining them…and missing out on bits of whatever was going on. but now, they can sit and be cool for a good few hours. proud of them. we are at good spot in our child rearing lives.
family visits
my sister in law and her family are coming today. we all will have a friend to play with.
she has 3 kids too. they live in WA so we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like. their youngest is this cute little boy, and my kids just think he’s the best. they get all kitchy-cooing around him… so adorable to see. especially from cameron- since kira and caleb both have someone their age to play with, cam tends to hang with the baby. i think that is so endearing…his tender side. it gets kinda crazy with 6 kids running around… but that’s what family visits are for! and as for my sister in law, she is super sweet and kind… a joy to be around. we will be enjoying ourselves this weekend.
happy fourth of july to you!
simple things
like sitting with our legs up on the couch while watching ‘The Incredibles’ together.
finding his Star Wars guys for him.
pushing him on the swing till my arm hurts.
logging him into his neopet account.
taking his sweet smelling self out of the bath.
making him his 3rd PB&J of the day.
reading him story after story.
these are a few of the many things i will miss when we are away. this morning chris was talking to caleb about our trip. about where he will be… how long we will be away. caleb was clueless. he has no idea how long 2.5 weeks are. the last time we went on a date, he said that he missed us so much after only being gone for 5 hours. i know he will be fine. he is in good hands. he will have his bestest buds with him. he will be FINE. WE will be having a great time…. but we will miss them ALL so much.
cammy
how well do we know our kids? i mean we know things about them. like that they leave remnants of toothpaste on the sink when they brush their teeth, or they prefer their toast without crust, or that they enjoy two and half scoops of ovaltine with their milk. but these things, they’re like shadows, or socks that you pick up when they’re gone. they’re not them. Cam just finished first grade, a year that marked the most time we’ve spent apart as mother and son. entire chunks of his day passed without me at his side. and you know what… he changed. he matured. grew up a little. learned a whole lotta new stuff. summer can drag, but despite this, i see it as my time to reconnect. get reacquainted with the little boy who’s going to be a little man before I know it. when I look at cam I see an athletic, creative, smart, snuggly, damn fine looking kid. and i love him.
watersix 