Long overdue update!

G'day all!

I'm so guilty of not writing on here lately, especially since it's been a crazy and fun last 2 months! Apologies for the wait ;)

So July, yes we celebrated Independence Day here with the Aussies! It was so cool to get together with Australian Navy officers to celebrate my American holiday! A large group of our friends on the base got together, and we had a mini potluck at the bar here. I brought bacon wrapped sausages, and mississippi caviar, and everyone else brought some other finger food. Most everyone was dressed up in their "American" attire, wearing our flag, colors, etc. They were totally into it, and I was very impressed and happy they were. Figure they know how important that day is to America, and knowing I'm here, they made the best of it all. What fun!

Soon after the 4th, my family here received some awesome news!! They are being relocated to AMERICA!!! They move to Quantico (by Washington D.C.) just after the New Year. They are very excited to move alllllll the way to America. Jasmine couldn't be happier about the move, she wants to go today! To her, America is where all the movies, shows and fashion comes from (true). She asks me questions all the time about how kids are in America, what we eat, do for fun, weather, etc. JJ gets it, and Anise is looking at it like she's going to the restaurant down the road...exciting, but doesn't get the whole scope of it, of course. I'm stoked for the family! I told them, they don't even know what they are in for! Definitely will make it out to see them over the 2-3 years they will be there. And, I'll obviously get to go see my cousins Lori, Gary and kids in Virginia Beach! So, we're all getting exciting for Christmas and that time already....great news!

I got to join the family for a week holiday on the Sunshine Coast, mid-July. I loved it! Knew nothing about this area, but it turned into such a simple, relaxing, good shopping and food holiday. It's about 2 hours north of Brisbane in Queensland (about 10 hours driving from JB). We actually stayed in a small town called Noosa. It reminded me of a very small and tropical Santa Barbara. Tons of cute boutiques, coffee shops, palm trees, beach, cool people and just all around fun! My luck though, when we arrived, I found my camera battery was dead :( Fiona took a lot of pictures, so I'll hopefully put up a few. It was nice to still be with the family, but on "holiday." Fiona and I really bonded through all the shopping, great times! We did stay a night in Brisbane to hang out with Fiona's brother, but didn't get to see too much of that. How cool is it though to say I went to the Sunshine Coast! Although, I still like our Sunshine CA Coast ;)

The latest big trip I have done is, I went up to Cairns and saw the Great Barrier Reef!! Cairns in in the northeastern Queensland part of Australia, where it's humid, humid, humid. My cousin Gordan's friend Chris was there from Scotland for work, so it was a nice excuse to get up there to meet him and see Cairns. I went up early on a Thursday morning, to enjoy a long weekend. This city, isn't really a city...but kinda is just because it's know for the starting point for a lot of Reef sightseeing and tours. Thursday, I pretty much covered the whole town and just shopped around and figuring out what to do the next few days. I stayed at a really cool hostel where they helped me make all my connections and tours. Friday, I took an old train about 2 hours up into the Daintree Rainforest to another smaller town called Kuranda. Very very, tropical and is supposed to be the oldest rainforest in the world. Kuranda had lots of hippy like shops, and lots of souveniers to gather. The only thing I bought was a scarf, thank goodness. I was already spending money on getting there, my flights up, accomodations, etc. Then, I took the skyrail back. This was like a floating ride at Disneyland it felt. Had my own little compartment, and it was very peacefull floating over the rainforest, and seeing the skyline of Cairns and out over the ocean. It was a great day, and I'm glad I discovered this!

Saturday, I took a very early shuttle up to Port Douglas (about 1.5 hours), to meet up with Chris and his friend to take a Reef Tour that day. Was all fun because Chris and I had never met before, but once we did, it was if we had all along. As soon as we get on the boat to head out to sea, we find that the boat ride is about 2 hours out. Not 20 minutes out, Chris and his friend Jason knew they were going to be sick :( Had a late night before, and the sea was definitely rough. Poor guys! Fortunately, I was good to go! I just joined up with everyone else, and became the Scuba Girl I've always wanted to be! I enjoyed one dive, with the oxygen tank, mask and all. It's pretty serious stuff, but once you get down and used to the feeling, it's absolutely awesome! Had a little problem with one of my ears and the equalibrium of the pressure, but I just took it slow and it wasn't a problem. I had a very nice instructor that helped me adjust, and show me around. We got about 25 minutes or so in the water, and omg, the fish and color is amazing! Was overcast mostly that day, so don't think I had the optimal climate, but even though...it was beautiful! Then I got 2 more scuba dives in, where I just floated and go to look around the reef. On the second dive, I saw a reef shark! Totally harmless, but it was about 12 feet or so from me....very cool. Saw amazing fish and sea life! After my last dive, I enjoyed chomping it up with the crew and just enjoyed jumping off the boat. Since my buddies were sick, I quickly made friends with the crew members who were really fun and cool! We then took shuttle back to Cairns that evening, and we were tired. I was still up for a good night, and Chris had some other friends in town, so we met up with them for dinner and drinks. Had a good time, and had a few brews with them, but nothing crazy. Sunday, I joined the guys again and just had lunch and toured around some more before my flight home. All is all, I had a fantastic trip to Cairns and am so glad I went. Kinda was a bummer my friends were sick and couldn't live up to the full potential...but it was still great and I got to do what I wanted to do! Definitely recommend going to see this Natural Wonder, the Great Barrier Reef. Truly amazing!

I just can't believe it is August 27th already. I'm officially half way through my job and time here in Australia..can you believe it!? Only about 16 weeks until I come home to CA. I have just booked tickets to New Zealand next month, so that's cool! Leaving Sept. 24th-Oct.1st. Have a few friends in Auckland that I'll meet up with, and see most of the north island. Very exciting! Spring officially starts next week, so things are starting to look up for weather. Although, like CA, Australia can't complain too much...pretty mild. August is the month of wind though, annoying! Only going to get better though! I'm also joining the family up to Mackay, another trip up to Queensland, mid-Oct. Fiona has her highschool reunion, so I'm going up to work one night and hang out the others. Hoping to take another day out on the reef, since the Whitsundays are right there. That's where all the official photos of the reef come from, and that's how we picture it. So, should be another fun and tropical trip. But really, that's all I left planned at the moment. Of course hope to see more of Sydney and the Snowy Mountains (east of Sydney), once the weather gets better. Obviously though, I'm just going to enjoy my time here in Jervis Bay once it gets closer to Christmas. Pretty spectacular here during the summer, and I'm so looking forward to it. We all think it's beautiful now, just wait! More pictures were also posted on FB, so hopefully you've seen those too!

Australia is treating me very well as you can see, and I'm still SO happy to be here. The girls and family and friends are doing great. Jasmine and Anise make me laugh everyday :) Also, in memory of our family friend Moe Jones, tell the people you love that you love them at every chance. Take nothing for granted and enjoy your life!! Very unfortunate and sad, but remind yourself to take care and appreciate everything you have. Missing everyone everday and love to you all!

Cheers!
Jani