In The Moment

After a month hiatus, things are back into full gear.  We've had a lot going on with visitors in town, weekend trips, Ronnie flying back to Dallas for work, and prepping for a busy summer ahead!  R was even able to sneak away to San Diego for the weekend first with his dad and brother for some quality bonding time.  I know they had a great time checking out the beaches and the Cowboys game (even though they couldn't come home with the W). 

We are starting to feel the pressure now that we have LESS than a year left in Sydney.  I know our families have already started the countdown.  While we've grown so much over the past year, we also feel like a part of our lives has been on pause.  We can easily get distracted by dreaming of our future, which is exciting, but can't be everything.  That's why we have to constantly refocus ourselves to living in the moment.

Balmoral Beach days have become our favorite weekend hangout.

Since Teddy isn't allowed on the sand, we park ourselves on the grassy hill overlooking the beach.  We have found that we don't lay out in our swimmers as much as we would on vacation now that we live near the water.  Instead, we like to have picnics and find a shady spot!

Forgot to post about our 14K run, City2Surf, in late August.  After doing it alone last year, I knew R would enjoy joining in the fun of the day!  

While we aren't much of runners and didn't do any training, I'd say we ran about half the distance.  It was all a bit of fun for us and a chance to be amongst the crowd.  R was kind enough to stay at my pace (baby steps) and we embarrassingly proudly held hands across the finish line in true obsessive couples fashion.  

Instagram hits this month.

Spring has brought us outdoors for long walks and laying in the grass.

Sunday afternoon BBQ at our place with great company.  We loved the sunshine and a chance to be on the lawn after a chilly past couple of months.

I think Teddy agrees! He loves him some Jenny and Blake.  

Miss Isabella made her debut into the world last month and we stole some cuddles from her here, at 1 week old.  Doesn't she look like a doll?!  I just love this family photo of our friends, who are now glowing as proud parents and have transitioned so smoothly into their new role.  We couldn't be happier for this family of 3! 

By coincidence, we bought Bella a panda bear in Shanghai…and when we showed up to meet her, she was wearing this perfectly matching panda onesie!  

I always love an excuse to entertain, but rarely get to here in Sydney.  When Ronnie's coworkers from Dallas had a few nights in Sydney, we decided to have the whole office gang over to welcome them.

Bubbles, babies, and some bubbly!

Ronnie has been a loyal Sydney Swans member all season, so it was about time I made it out to one of the playoff games.  I was so happy that Rachel joined us, but it's a shame she had to go back to Dallas the next day!  She was such a trooper for getting the full Aussie experience. 

Full moons bring out the possums and dolphins I guess.  Walking home, this little guy in the tree (that my neighbor, Anne, feeds every night) was just hanging out waiting for something to happen.  Then, an hour later, a pod of at least ten dolphins goes swimming past the harbour in front of our apartment and under the bridge.  It was an unbelievable sight that is very rare (never seen anything like it in the entire year we've lived here) as there is constant boat traffic and commotion. 

Anne graciously invited me as her guest onboard Lady Hopetoun, a 1902 VIP steam launch who has seen many dignitaries during it's time.  We enjoyed a nice half day cruise around the harbour, learning about marine life and conservation.

The vessel was quite impressive, with its copper furnishings and restored wooden planks.  I couldn't believe the boat was still fully powered by a steam engine, with conductors constantly adding coal to the extremely hot boiler below deck.  

Next week, I can't wait to share some of my favorite moments with my girlfriends who were visiting.  We had a blast and I'm so happy they were able to experience Australia with us.  Also, I have about a million photos from last weekend's International Fleet Review celebration.  We lucked out with a prime viewing spot of all the warships, Prince Harry, and fireworks show.  More on that later, don't you worry!

In the mean time, we are off to New Zealand (the south island) for ten days to celebrate our three year wedding anniversary. Thanks for all of the kind words this week…we are feeling the love!