Sydney, Australia

Sorry it's taken me a while to post anything...I haven't had much access to the internet, or had anything really worth writing about. I know everyone says they want to hear what's going on here, so I'm trying to do as many cool things and come up with as many stories as I can to make the reading worth all of your while.

The plane ride here was really, really long. Everyone told me how long it would be, but I mean it was really long. 4 flights and 2 days later, we finally got here. Houston to Honolulu, Honolulu to Guam, Guam to Cairns, Australia where we stayed the night and slept at a hotel for a few hours, and then Cairns to Sydney. We left on Saturday morning and got here around 5pm on Monday.... We crossed the interantional date line, so we lost a whole day. Luckily we had ice cream sundaes and cookies served about every hour to keep the kids entertained. I think I finally have all the lines and songs from High School Musical memorized after watching it about 4 times, and am going to be an expert at blackjack next time I go to Vegas from all the first class tv video games Elliot and I played on the plane.

It has been raining and overcast everyday since we got here. But we have still managed to explore Sydney and have fun. The first night we were here we went to the Sydney Opera House and saw Madama Butterfly....it was really good, the part I stayed awake for. I know, no one is surprised I fell asleep, but I promise it's not my fault. Opera is not the best combination the day after a 2 day flight to Australia. The next day we went on a tour of Sydney, this guy drove us around and told us all the history of the city and we got to see all different parts of Sydney which was really awesome. We are staying in a hotel on the water which is really cool because we get to see all the boats coming in. They have these ferries that will take you all over Sydney across the harbor, we went on one and went to a Wildlife park. We saw Kangaroos and Koalas there. I know is sounds touristy but they really were so cool to see. I think we went mostly for the kids but I had just as much fun as they did...I know not surprising.

Last night, we climbed the bridge. Incase you don't know, there's a huge bridge in Sydney that you can climb up and see the whole city. They put you in a harness and a wierd climbing suit outfit, hook you up to a headset so you can hear and attach a metal clamp thing to you so you don't fall off. The climb took about 2 hours and was really awesome. I have some pictures that I will upload as soon as I can.

Today we drove up to the Blue Mountains which is about 2 hours from Sydney. It's supposed to be beautiful up here, and I hope I get to see it if the rain ever clears... We are headed to the Outback tomorrow and then back to Sydney for a few days on the beaches before getting on the cruise. I don't have my computer with me right now so I have no pictures at the moment, but as soon as I get it I will post some pictures. Oh and for anyone else who is worried like my mom and Abianne...we are not near the fires so don't worry! But there was a shark attack on the beach we are going to in a few days. So i'll let you know later if I survive the Australian waters.


For those of you who are not entertained enough by my day to day activities, here is the adventure I came up with to make reading the blog a little more fun....this really did happen.

The first night at our hotel, I got stuck in the stairwell...I was going down to the pool, so of course since the nice hotel has fun bathrobes in the closet I decided I needed to wear one over my swim suit down to the pool. So, I head down the hall to the elevator in my bathrobe and when I couldn't get the elevator to work I just decided to walk down the stairs since the pool is only one floor below. Well, when you walk into the stairwell it locks but it doesnt tell you that from the outside so I walk down one floor and see a sign on the inside of the door that says "This door locks from the inside, if you get locked in use the phone to call and have someone come help you"... I pick up the phone, it rings and rings and no one answers. So I go down a few floors and find a door on the first floor that opens. And of course as I open it, the alarm starts ringing because its the emergency exit. It opens up to the street where there are restaurants and people walking by....not the ideal place to be seen in your bathrobe. So I run back up to the 5th floor and pick up the phone to try again...remember, all while the emergency bell is still ringing inside of the stairwell. Still no one is answering on the phone and for the first time I start to get worried I'm giong to get stuck in the stairwell. I start knocking on the door, hoping someone will hear me, and after about 10 knocks I decide pounding is a better alternative....5 minutes later someone finally heard me and opens the door to find me standing in my bathrobe with the emergency alarm blaring. I quickly said thank you and ran to the elevator. Turns out I just needed to put my key in the elevator to use it...

If I don't come home, I might be stuck in the stairwells of Australia.

I miss you all and will keep you updated as much as I can! Email me if you get a chance I want to hear what's going on back at home!