First off Mark is away for work so its been just us girls. I have been walking the dogs waking up early in the morning which has been actually super easy to do and a good time for me to be with the Lord. So many mornings I get to experience his beautiful sunrise and even one morning I saw hot air balloons float above me. I have been listening to Eagle Brooks podcasts of past services and I have been so spiritually up lifted and finding so many new realizations!! Oh and lets hope I can lose weight to since I am going to be a bridesmaid in my best friend Joor's wedding in September!! She was my old boss as I worked for her catering company but soon she became my best friend!! I am so excited for her and Bruce and to be included in celebrating this special day for them! Viva Las Vegas baby (where they are getting married) Cant WAIT!
Okay so the first weekend.... we went to the Warribee Open Range Zoo. It was Carol the girls me and her sister Melanie! At this zoo you get on a bus and take a safari ride to see all the animals which was awesome cause we saw zebras, camels, rhinos, giraffes, hippos and so many more. Alicia had so much fun seeing all the different animals and making all the different animal noises that she knows. She is very good at a lions roar : ) We had lunch in the park and walked around to see the other animals. They had emu birds just walking around so basically I could almost touch one. kinda cool but I didnt know if they would bite.... After exploring the zoo which I love so much we went to the Warribee Mansion that was just around the corner. It was a beautiful building on the most beautiful grounds. Flowers, trees and grape vines : ) all over. There was a wedding that just happened and I told Carol if I meet an Aussie this is where I will get married! Dont worry mom I havent met one yet!! We had a coffee then ventured down to the beautiful rose garden which I fell in love with and it made me miss my passion so much. Alicia and I went from rose to rose seeing which one smelt the best! My friend who I went to high school with is studying up on the Gold Coast and he came down to Melbourne for the weekend so we met eachother and caught up over a beer at a bar underneath a bridge on the Yarra river. It was so good to see a familiar face and to laugh about old times. We then met up with some of my friends and also another guy who we went to high school with and who is studying her in melbourne! He lives only 10 minutes away from me!! It was a fun night as we went to a greek restaurant and had some tasty gyros then off to my favorite irish pub and had a few pints : ) I love all these new friends I am making and catching up with old friends seeing what they are doing with their lives just as they are seeing what I am doing with mine!
Me, Melanie & the girls waiting for the bus
Emu
Annabel & I
Seeing the Hippos. Fun girls day!
Last weekend I flew up to Sydney to see Christine my friend who I grew up with. She is studying up there for the semester! Let me just say we had such a FUN weekend : ) I caught the earliest flight on friday morning and finally after catching multiple trains I found Christine! It was a hot sunny beautiful day and after talking and saying how crazy it is that we are meeting up in Australia we headed downtown to go to the beach at Manly. To get there you need to take a ferry across the harbor which was so much fun! We caught some dangerous rays on the beach while I got covered in the sand from my tiny towel : ) we got Cophenhagens ice cream which they make homeade and it was delicious. Got ready for the night after having delicious thai food and then and hopped on the train to go to a bar/club called the Scary Canary. We met up with one of my friends who used to au pair in Melbourne but now lives in Sydney. We danced the night away while meeting people from all over the world! It started pouring rain when we were on the bus going back to the dorms and so in style we got a cab so we didnt have to walk from the bus stop. We were soaked by the time we go to the door. Saturday was St. Patricks day so we put on our green clothes and went downtown. Christine took me to the Paddys Market which is basically a mall with China town on the first floor. Basically a whole lot of stuff to be sold. We got a coffee and then realized it was much colder then we thought so both bought a blazer to wear for the night. We went to a bar and got a pint to start off St. Patricks days! I mean its always 5 o'clock somewhere right?! We asked this lady if she could take our picture and some of the guys she was with decided to jump in the picture to. We then met up with some of Christines friends and went to pregame at an apartment where there were all study abroad students from America. It was kind of nice to be with americans and not have to listen hard to what they say because I always find myself not understanding australian accents! We ventured on down to an area right by the harbor called the Rocks. Had some guinness and met lots of people. After going to several other places I was never so excited to go to bed! It was such a fun night and saw so many people out in green celebrating. Sunday we explored the whole day. It was a beautiful sunny day. We went to a cafe for lunch in the rocks which was delicious, stumbled into a museum and learned about the building of Sydney. Walked over to the Opera house and after 4 attempts from 4 different people FINALLY got a good picture of us and the harbor. Strolled through the botanical gardens which were beautiful and filled with people having picnicks, exercising and just hanging out. There were tropical birds flying all over and I have to say that is one thing I am going to miss about here is all the beautiful tropical birds. We hopped on the train and went to an area called kings cross looking for this gelato stand and it literally took us 45 minutes after we finally relied on our phone to get us there. We walked past these guys 5 times who were probably thinking what are these crazy girls doing. Oh and when we got to the gelato place there were 2 and we got the fancy gelato which was some weird designs but still tasty but then we realized that the gelato ice cream was right next door. It still bugs me cause all the other flavors that we could have gotten sounded so tasty. After we got on the ferry back to Manly to go and get dinner. We asked a lady on the ferry who was from Manly of a good restaurant and she suggested an Italian restaurant that was oh boy SO amazing. We eat the whole meal. We sat on the beach for a bit then got another ice cream : ) It was such a fun night and I couldnt have asked for a better weekend with a wonderful friend. I am so thankful for the relationships I have in my life and knowing that even tho we are so far apart that when we come together it will be like we talk everyday.
always using out top 10 sydney map!
Paddys Market/Chinatown
Our "boyfriends"
Our favorite place "the Rocks"
Opera House
My Tour Guide : )
Botanic Gardens
The Bridge
I am still recovering as this week I have been exhausted. It is getting cooler as we are heading into autumn. I am still up at 630 every morning walking the dogs and getting my dose of Bob Merrit : ) I bought my ticket home and I get to California on July 20th after my parents and I have our 2 week vacation!! Still do not really know where I am going to be moving after I get back. I am so at peace in not knowing that which if you know me is very very unusual. I am loving this comfort of knowing God is going to guide me to the right place and right job.
Italian Restaurant on Manly. Last Night in Sydney
Beautiful
Happy St. Pattys Day.
Scary Canary
Manly Beach
The Crew on St. Pattys Night
Lara Me and Tinni
Love Her
Cheers!
So a little family news.... My parents are moving to Plano Texas next weekend! I am so excited to go and visit them and hopefully meet a cowboy : ) My brother and his wife Katherine just found out they are pregnant and will have another addition to the family at the end of the year! I am so excited to have a 4th niece or nephew!! Holly's family will be traveling to India & Nepal the end of April. please keep them in your prayers!! I am doing a walk for cancer tomorrow with the church I found here! I am so excited to do it and have already raised 75$$ If you would like to donate please click the link, anything is so greatly appreciated!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and a wonderful spring break! Can't believe its already April next week and I have already been here for 3 months. They have flown by and I know these last 3 are going to go even faster. I am still so thankful everyday to be here and in awe of how much God is changing my heart.
Here is my favorite verse I read the other night and ironically I had this verse on the back of my door for the last 6 years! just a different version.
Matthew 6:34
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."
Love & Smiles E
Ps. If you would like to donate click the link then go to the donate tab. I am in the State of Victoria. relay 2012. click the next button. then on the left side it says sponsor a team or individual. click that. then again state of victoria relay 2012 then insert Kew Student Residence for team name and the race location is Hawthorn Boroondara. Click on the team name link and it will bring you to our team page. Click on my name and donate : ) Thank you SO MUCH
No comments:
Post a Comment