A Long Layover in LA - Part 2

Spent the afternoon yesterday on the beach. First stop was Jody Maroni's for a Chicken Apple Sausage and Chili Cheese Fries, then we walked along the ocean till we found a spot on the beach. Then the burials began:

Who is that buried sand monster?

I see a vadamonster!

Where's the rest of him?

It was a nice way to spend the afternoon after the busyness of the morning. The men frolicked with the kids in the surf while the girlz lounged on the beach. My mother seemed amused by my phone call from the beach to let her know we had arrived ok.

I think the kids wore out the men.

A Long Layover in LA

So, as most know, we decided to spent two days relaxing in LA to help break up the big trip. Damn - are we smart! We had a GREAT first day - and already have some fun stories and pictures to share.

First up - leaving the airport. We had a heck of a time arranging for our rental vehicle - and Auntie M had trouble picking it up. So she showed up at the airport with her Honda FIT. Just to put it into perspective, her FIT makes our IMPREZA look big. *lol* So, we loaded up the kids into the FIT, left Hubby at the airport with the luggage and went off in search of the vehicle needed to hold all our bags for a couple of days.

The rental place was locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Spike belts, security guards, checkpoints. It was crazy. And we had to pay cash, up-front. And they wanted Social Security Numbers and credit checks. Clearly, they've had some trouble in the past. After an hour, we returned to the airport and thankfully, Hubby and luggage were still there. Then the fun really began.

So, we have no cell phones - we left those with our former employers. We have no GPS - well, we have a GPS, but Hubby deleted the US maps to make room for the Australian maps. We didn't even have one of those old fashioned paper maps on us. And I've only been to LA once. So we relied solely on following Auntie M from LAX to her home near Venice Beach. No problem - she drives a bright blue car. It can't be that hard to keep up with her. HA. We didn't even get off the airport property and she was GONE. Vanished. Taken an exit that was clearly VERY hidden!

So we found ourselves driving down Century Blvd with NO idea where we were or where we needed to go. And no cell phone to let Auntie M know where we were and what we were doing. We pulled over into the nearest gas station, bought a map, got change, called Uncle I to update Auntie M and found our way home. Thank goodness I paid attention in grade 10 geography!

PHOTOS ARE COMING!

Photos of our adventure so far are coming... just need my own computer to upload them. That said, if anyone sees a photo that they do NOT want posted, please just email or message me and I will remove it immediately.

Thanks!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

As many of my friends know, I was truly DREADING the flights. The Girl does not have a reputation for being particularly cooperative while traveling. On our last trip to LA, she was THAT child on the plane. Yup - she screamed for the entire last hour of the flight - all the way into the terminal even - and she was four years old. Sweet.

That said, we loaded up our 8 suitcases (we ended up purchasing 3 large duffle bags at Wal~Mart late Saturday evening), 4 carry-ons and various personal items into my friends van on Saturday night. She deserves a PLATINUM star for getting up at 4am to drive me and the bags to the airport. I love her and miss her already :( We also had a surprise visitor at the airport on a motorbike to see us off. I really think we might be missed a little while we're gone. ;)

The monsters were practically ANGELIC on the flights to TO and LA! I know - I can't believe it either, and I was THERE! Not a single temper tantrum on the plane, they carried their own carry-ons, and stayed close and in line during the very short time we had to get through customs. THANK GAWD. They did totally spontaneously combust once they decompressed in LA, but I can't blame them. It was a long day. I can only hope that they are as well behaved on the longest flight Tuesday night... Cross your fingers, toes, ankles etc....

Transporting all the luggage through the airport really wasn't THAT bad. I think even Hubby has to admit that. We just loaded them onto two carts and had the kids walk beside us with theirs. Another big relief.

So the moral of the story - the flight was great, the kids were good, and I'm sure we're crazy for doing this, but it's been fun so far!

The last few weeks..,

Well, I really wanted to update this before we left the country, but it just wasn't meant to be. The last two weeks have been a flurry of goodbye lunches, dinner parties, packing, arguing with hubby and beating the children (ok, so that last part was an exaggeration btw).

The kids finished school - and I finished my responsibilities with the Breakfast Program at school. Despite his difficulties with conforming to the rules at school, The Boy performed very well academically, even earning the Mathematics Award! The Girl has been a model student all year and received rave reviews from her teacher. We do have some items to work on in order to ensure she finished her "prep" year in Aus with a bang. For me, leaving the Breakfast Program was bittersweet. It was A LOT of work and a big commitment of time, but I made some dear friends whom I will miss. I will also miss the kids. Seeing their faces and the excitement when serving them makes it so worth all the effort it took to launch the program.

As for the dinner parties and lunches - WOW! If you ever want to find out if you're loved, just move out of country! ;) We were so lucky to have a dinner hosted by my Dad and his wife and had the opportunity to visit with many family members whom we don't get to see often. I also got to have a few "girlfriend" lunches, and a crazy Girlz Night Out (I'll let you try to figure out who has the new "Catwoman" nickname!). This leaves me with a query though: who am I going to get into trouble with in Brisbane? :( For the last party, we hosted as many friends as we could squeeze into our house for an Open House/BBQ. The turn out was phenomenal and I think it helped ease the sadness of leaving to be able to spend a great day with so many friends and family. A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who took the time to visit, write messages and post Facebook Status Updates. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would have the opportunity to call all of these people my friends, I would have NEVER believed you.

In the end, after a long, drawn out "discussion", we did end up bringing eight bags of luggage with us. Please believe me when I say this is not bragging, or me saying "I told you so". It's a pretty hollow victory. That said, Hubby and I both had to leave some "things" behind that we'd rather have with us, but we worked together to find a solution to fit what we needed. A SUGGESTION TO EVERYONE: Take some time to scale down your stuff NOW. Have a garage sale, donate to the Diabetes Clothesline (or other charity of your choice), pass items down to friends. It's way easier to simplify your life now, when you don't have to, as compared to having to do it at an emotional time (moving, death in the family etc). That said, it's time to go SHOPPING! :)

TWO WEEKS!!!!!

Holy cow? How did we get here? We are TWO weeks from our flight and the panic has now set in!


The debate over bags still rages on... Hubby wants to bring FIVE (up from his original four) and I want to bring EIGHT. Ok, I would settle for six, and that may be the final number. Have you ever tried to cram everything you need for a year into FIVE suitcases? It just can't be done - especially with two kids. Have I mentioned this before?


Progress on packing today though. My favouritest girlfriend (today, lol!) was over and helped. Sometimes it just takes having someone else there to help get an ADD/procrastinating girl motivated! We cleaned out the boy's room and moved the toys into the girl's room to make room for Nana to sleep. Laundry is almost completely caught up and the kids have no clothes left in their rooms. Yay me!


Gave up on finding a place to live before we move. We figure it will be easier to get real estate agents to call us back when we are in the same hemisphere. Funny that.

OK - enough playing - back to packing and cleaning... TTFN... until I have more news to share! And thanks for reading!

It's Coming so Quickly!

Damn! Where did the time go. It's already June 2nd and we leave for Brisbane in just over a month!

We fly out on July 5th... the flight takes us through TO-LA-Melbourne-Brisbane... We are looking forward to spending some time with Michelle and Izyk in LA before we head to our new home. Jody Marone's - here I come!

Accomodations in Brisbane are still in the works. We like the look of Milton/Paddington/Bulimba, so it's just a matter of finding a place to live in those areas. We have scoped out the schools and parks and other fun stuff - and are now getting anxious to get there and experience it! OH - and I have found a Target and IKEA close enough to do some serious shopping when we get there...

Packing has started... sort of. Hubby is convinced that we can pack everything we need for a year into four suitcases. (Yes, this is the same wonderful man who wanted to do our last move in laundry baskets.) So, we will be bringing our allotted EIGHT suitcases. :) That said, how do you fit your whole life in eight suitcases? For a shopaholic/scrapaholic/hoarder like myself, this is a real challenge. That, and the fact that our new 50" TV won't fit in any of our suitcases...

I am enjoying the purging part though. Every week for the last month, I have delivered two huge yard garbage bags of STUFF to the Diabetes Association for their fundraising efforts. See? I get to be philanthropical and earn brownie points with hubby... WIN WIN!

The kids are excited. I don't think they really know what we're going to be doing, or how long we'll be gone, but they will adjust. They love to webcam and can't wait to do so with their friends. The goodbyes may be a bit jolting for them, so we're working on keeping everything as positive as possible.

That's it for now... maybe I should get back to the piles of laundry and clutter. At this rate, I will not be ready by the 5th of July.