What's going on Down Under

Greetings to everyone. Here is my attempt at keeping everyone we love and cherish in the loop. We have been very busy as a family these last few months. It seems that the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" is now breaking through.
Michael has accepted a job here in Sydney CBD (Central Business District) which basically means right down in the heart of the city. It is aSenior Technical Consultant Position, with a presales/Business Development aspect to it. He is excited about it. His first day was today. He took the bus into the city and he wasn't too excited about that, but parking there is a hassle-and very expensive (think Manhattan). So, public transport is the way to go.

Blake and Kacie started school today! They are attending a school called Mona Vale Public. They wear tartan green/white uniforms with big floppy hats. The school has a "no hat-no play" policy. This is all very new for them. They are really taking it all in stride.

Last weekend we signed them up for "Nippers" which is basically a junior life guard type club. They are members of the Mona Vale Life Saving Club. They wear little bathing suits with the name of the club on their bottoms and do relay races which include swimming/running/wading/paddling surf boards etc. The club is a very social atmosphere. Th e families all meet there Friday night for drinks. There is a top deck you sit out on and have a few beers right there at the beach. The kids run around and the dinner is a good ol' Aussie "sausage sizzle." (a bbq with sausages for us Yankees! :) Then on Sunday, the parents gather at the beach at 9am with the kids all suited out in their cozzies -(bathing suits) and watch them have a blast. It is really fun. There were probably around 300 kids there last weekend. It is fun to watch and cheer them on.

As you can see, I have mentioned Mona Vale a few times. We are moving up that way on November 3rd. We are moving to a bordering town that sits right between the ocean and the bay called Bayview. It is a beautiful community. We are excited to be apart of it. It is about 30 minutes from the city of Sydney going northbound. There are beautiful parks, waterways, and lots of fun for you to all come and enjoy here. I hope I am talking some of you into it!!

It is hard to believe that we have only been here 3 weeks. We went all the way to Perth to catch up with Ian and Yvette last week and to check out a job. In the end we decided Sydney was where we needed to be. It was great to get another look at Perth though. There are many unspoilt places there that I wished I could show all of you.

Well, we are getting there with the settling in. There are still many things left to do to feel really settled. The move, finding a good church, getting Lauren involved with dancing--that is her passion right now! She talks about going to dance class all the time. She pretends to call people on the phone and even asks them to dance! It is cute.

Ok, so long post. Will write more soon. Love to you all--------xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
ps. the adventure continues.....