Sydney, Australia (Day 7-9)

Sydney, Australia (Days 8-10, Taronga Zoo on Day 9)

We wrapped up our trip in Sydney, and how can you go to Sydney and not go to the Opera House?

Harbor Bridge right before the show. 

Driving on the Harbor Bridge. There are quite a few toll roads in Australia (especially around Sydney), and we asked for an e-pass which automatically pays the tolls for you... but we're pretty sure they didn't give us one. Oops. Oh well, we tried!

Sydney Opera House

Inside the theater seeing the Ballet: Onegin

Leaving Sydney...

The guy behind me is pretty excited to be leaving too. 

Window seat: The only way to travel! The flights weren't that bad, we slept most of the way to Australia, Natalie didn't sleep as well on the way back, but I didn't have any problems. The hardest thing was getting used to the time difference, which means we went to bed at around 8:00 every night and got up way too early. 

Home with Spaz (Day 9...but really 10th day due to traveling and losing a day)

We got back home on Saturday Afternoon.  Spaz was very excited to see us and really enjoyed her souvenirs!!




Dallas driving on the left side of the car again for the first time.  It was weird!!

Dallas: Australian MRI Conference in Melbourne, Australia

TO BE UPDATED...

Happy Birthday Spaz!

 Spaz dressed up as Rainbow Brite and we themed the Costume Party around her.

 All the cute cousins and Aunt!

Our home

I thought it would be fun to give you an idea of what our house looks like these days!

Jason and Katie are living with us for the school year and it has been lots of fun.  Everyone is in school except me but I seem to have just as much homework as everyone else.  The only one not pictured is Dallas...but we all know he doesn't really study all that much anyway and he was taking the pictures!

Catch up Post

Right before school started we decided to take a quick trip out to San Diego before Natalie started her new job and I started taking classes. While we were there we went to Sea World, to see if it was as cool as we remembered from going there as kids.

It wasn't.

It was fun, but probably not something we'll be doing again soon.

Spaz, however, loved it. She got really excited looking at all the fish... and all the attention

She was really concerned about the giant turtle... Daddy, not so much.

I (Dallas) got to touch the dolphins a couple of times, Natalie didn't have the same luck. 

At the dolphin tank they have 2 sections of glass, so the dolphins can see you as well as you can see them.  I took Spaz over to one, and she got really excited every time a dolphin would swim past.  After about 15 minutes, one of the dolphins pulled a Shamu, and splashed a ton of water out of the pool... all over Spaz and me.  After about 5 minutes, she calmed down, so we went back to the wall, and the same dolphin splashed us again. Keeping a safer distance, we watched him splash the crowds 4 more times. He must have thought it was hilarious. 

We found an amazing hike.  There was even a waterfall at the end of the hike.  Spaz had a blast playing in the water!

Look at that face!

We went to Show Low for the Fourth and had fun hanging out with all the Fish's.

Natalie's grandmother passed away a few months after these were taken, this was the last time we got to see her in good health.

Cherry-pickin' Dallas

New House

I LOVE having a clothesline!

They are still a little young...  Cousins played dress-up with all my play clothes!

She was less than excited about playing dress up, here she is with her Cowboy Hat.

MMMMM.....Edible Chocolate Bowl.  We had fun making these, lets just say there was chocolate everywhere!!