October/November 2008 Update

Everything's going very well for us in Sydney.

We drove out to Hunter Valley for a weekend to enjoy the wineries, sample the delicious cheese and chocolate, and just relax. One night we went out to a local pub and met some characters who informed us of the parking laws in the Hunter. He said he had a lot of experience, with his many citiations and suspensions, and that one more mistake and they would take his license away...."I'm tellin' ya!"...A very knowledgeable guy indeed!

Kai's Aunt Astrid, who lives in New Zealand at the moment, stopped by Sydney for a few days on her way back to visit family in Germany. We had a great time catching up and showing her around Sydney! We went to the Korean BBQ place again. I love that place! It was really great to meet more of Kai's family. They are all very sweet, and I really enjoy being able to spend some time getting to know them. We will probably go to visit Astrid and her family in NZ early next year. Also, Kai's brother has just booked his flight to come out here in Jan/Feb next year....Very exciting!

We had a few friends over for a bbq for Halloween. I'm not sure what Kai was supposed to be exactly, but he reminded me a lot of Ron Burgandy. :) We tried to dress up Roxie with a doggie t-shirt and an over-sized bow tie, but she wasn't happy about it at all. In fact, she refused to move when it was on her, so we just took some photos of her tortured face and then took it off her. :)

The Melbourne Cup horse races were on 4/Nov (Election Day in the States). The plan was to become millionaires, but none of our horses were even close! Luckily I only bet $10. :) I was hoping that people would be distracted by the races and forget to annoy me about American politics, but that didn't happen. I'm just glad it's all over with now.

I finally finished my dive certification! It was up in Manly again. The water was still a bit cold, but it will all be worth it when we go diving at the Barrier Reef in Port Douglas over Christmas. We spent the rest of the day in Manly, hanging out at the cafes, and then later we went over to a friend's place for a bbq.

We also spent one weekend up on the northern beaches, where some of Kai's friends were having a party. We had a blast! We wanted to do some surfing, but the waves weren't really that great so we just laid on the beach instead.

We went to the horse races in Sydney last weekend with a few of my friends. Again, we didn't win millions....I don't understand what we're doing wrong! :) We had a good time anyways. Kai even won 80 bucks! Later that evening we went out in Newtown and Dave and Mario. We ate at a really great Turkish restaurant, then we went out to a couple of pubs. The next day, we paid for it, though. Luckily, the weather was really crappy so it was a perfect hangover recovery day! :)

Roxie did not like her summer haircut at all! She was literally pouting for weeks. But, it's getting so hot, and it really helps to keep the balls of hair from forming all around the house!

Kai is in his last few days of Movember. It's only a little mustache, but I think it's cute! I have to say, though, I'm really looking forward to the day that he shaves it off!

This weekend I'm planning to get the Christmas decorations out. I love this time of year! I'm going to post more photos in the next few days...