Day 268

I spent most of the morning in bed/on the couch as I'm feeling pretty crook and need to rest... but I needed to get out of the house for a little bit so I drove up to Borders (one of the major bookshops in the states) and got myself a few travel magazines (for inspiration) and another Bill Bryson novel, this one about his travels in Europe. Very excited to read this one!

Day 267

Jack, Em and Madi all take gymnastics on Saturday mornings/afternoons so that's where I spent most of my day. Kids are so funny in their "organized" classes at these ages...

Day 266

My bike in all of its glory... oh how I've missed thee.

Day 265

Only 100 days left in 2010!


The view out from the back deck... I've always loved our backyard at home.

Day 264

I just cannot take enough pictures of these kids! Lots of giggles and smiles...


This is what happens when your freezer needs to be defrosted and you go to pull out some adult beverages to make cocktails... Perhaps I will make this my next project?

Day 263

George and I went for a rather long and exhausting bike ride this morning (which in the end felt fabulous!!) and after our ride he was trying to read something to me... instead of investing in a pair of glasses this is my father's way to magnify things.


Just going for a cruise around the driveway... Jack, Avery and Madison (I love this mini vw bug).

Day 262

Simply having a little play outside after school... Madison is riding Emily's big bike now so we always have to be sure to have on a helmet while on our bikes!

Day 261

Before having to drive back to Cleveland, Stace and I spent the afternoon wandering around campus (pretending to be students again). There have been so many renovations done in the last 2 years so we wandered through the new main library and the new student union (which is huge and amazing and full of all wonderful things OSU). We took a little rest to hang out with Brutus in the lobby.

Day 260

Stace, me and Katie Spillane tailgating near the med campus... I also drove down to Columbus for the weekend to surprise half of the Oakland roomies.


I scored a ticket to the OSU vs OU game today with Miss Allie Jean which was so lovely!! I missed being in the shoe, it brought back so many memories (espcially after tailgating all morning)!


After the game we all met up at Lucky's for a few drinks and KTB and I finally got our reuniting moment.

Day 259

The remnants of the tornado that hit my closet over the last few days... aka I need to clean.


I drove Eric's new car to Columbus today to meet him and swap cars. This proved to be rather interesting as his car is a manual so I spent the morning practicing using the gears and such. I must admit it's quite fun!

Day 258

We spent the day car shopping for my brother Eric today since he's been driving my car while I was gone and now needs one of his own. This is his car of choice... a Scion Tc.

Day 257

You just cannot say no to this face...

Day 256

The beautiful little Morrill children whom I'd missed so much while gone!! And they're all a little older now... Jack is 7, Emily is 6, Avery is 18 mos and Madi is 3! (I'd also like to point out that I'm not objecting to this very warm/summery weather still gracing us in the northern hemisphere).

Day 255

"Groundhog Day."

I decided it was time to end my travels for a while and make the trek (26 hours) back to good ol' Ohio... flying back from Australia is quite interesting. Karl dropped me off around 530am in Canberra for a 630am flight to Brisbane, where I caught an 11am flight to LA which landed earlier than it had taken off... on the same day. This is the first sunset I witnessed on September 13.


I must admit it felt very good to see this upon arrival in LA... my whole trek ended around 630pm on the same day, except 26 hours after leaving Canberra.

Day 254

A pretty nice view of Bondi beach first thing in the morning... Shan and I stayed with her cousin just up the road. I guess this would be a good spot for brekkie ;)


I decided I wanted to get a tattoo to remind me of my travels and where best than in Sydney? I must admit it hurt but the tattoo artist was a good sport (and quite funny) and I made it through just fine.


The finished product... "Not all who wander are lost." The coolest part is that it's Shannon's handwriting so I'll always have a little piece of her with me!

Day 253

After brekkie with Shan and Karl (and his mate Brad, who was also in town visiting) we drove 3 hours to Sydney from Canberra for an impromptu visit to Shan's family.


And lucky enough, George and Jas were able to stop by for a quick visit!

Day 252

Today I (sadly) said goodbye to the family I was living with in Torquay and set off to visit Shannon and Karl in Canberra. Karl took me for a quick tour around the city and we stopped by parliament house... too bad we didn't see Julia!! (Julia Guillard is the new Prime Minister of Australia and their first woman PM).

Day 251

Boys and their pups... CJ is a border collie and Digby is a purebread beagle. It was a beautiful day for a play and a jump on the trampoline.

Day 250

Swimming lessons... which I am also lucky enough to partake in. The water in the Torquay pool feels like bath water it makes for a very nice (and fun) lesson for the kids.

Day 249

What day would be complete without painting?

Day 248

Darcy made wee's in the toilet today! Congratulations mate!

Day 247

Today the whole clan packed up and went for the long drive down the Great Ocean Road, from Torquay to Port Campbell. It was absolutely stunning (although the weather wasn't entirely amazing) to drive through Angelsea, Lorne, etc and to see the Twelve Apostles. Here is Loki admiring the view at Loch Ard Gorge.

Day 246

Fail. First one in a long time!!

Day 245

Darcy and Kai before kinder... it was an exciting day for Kai as I was the "parent helper" and he brought home the class treasure box.

Day 244

Sadly, our holiday in Noosa had to come to an end. I snapped a few shots of the house before we left!

Day 243

Another sunset from a walk through the bush...

Day 242

Today we went to the Australia Zoo which was the zoo Steve Irwin developed before he died. It was really amazing, full of crocodiles, snakes, elephants... any native australian animal or bird you are looking for is most likely here. Highlights of the day... holding a koala and...


... feeding the kangaroos!

Day 241

After a big day at the Coloundra markets and hanging at the beach, here was the highlight of anyone's day... the big pineapple.

Day 240

I caught this sunset on our way across the ferry for dinner... the colors are a little enhanced but it was so beautiful!

Day 239

A day at the beach...


Kai and Loki


Darcy

Day 238

Although today was rather dreary, we walked through the town of Noosa and the Noosa National Park which was very beautiful (with secluded beaches!). Loki and Kai decided to skip some rocks into the ocean.

Day 237

We left to go on a family trip to Noosa (Queensland) today, searching for sunshine and warm weather. After arriving to the house on Noosa's north shore, Loki, Kai and I played a bit of truth or dare. One of my dares was to put Kai's socks on my hands, quite silly!

Day 236

Well this certainly looks appealing when searching for dog food... good play on words, australia.