Sophomore - Day 1

Yikes! I can't believe she's already a sophomore. It sounds so grown up, and Peter keeps reminding me that in 3 years she'll be off to college. I wish he'd stop doing that. I love the woman she is becoming & hanging out with her is one of my great joys.

Mallory, unlike Jillian, was not totally prepared for today. She was finishing the final part of her 2 summer assignments last night just before bed (she did not get her study habits from me)and has decided that shopping for school supplies AFTER the first day of school makes much more sense than BEFORE. And to top it off, she decided a couple of days ago to rearrange her room, and her "small disaster" (her words - not mine) is still in the clean-up stage.

One of the great things about Mallory is that she embraces most everything with such passion & excitement (even when rearranging her room), and this 1st day of school was no different . . . except I think the surprise of her new laptop made it even better.

Jilly's 1st day of Junior High

Lisa, Jilly, Lexie, Hilary & Morgan
Hilary, Morgan, Jilly & Lexie

Jilly & her cousin Lexie

Jilly & her BFF Lisa

There's something so great about the first day of school. I don't know if it's the new clothes, new school supplies, seeing old friends, a fresh start and/or the excitement & nerves for what lies ahead. It's a feeling like no other, and even though it wasn't my first day today, I had that great feeling this morning when I dropped Jillian off for her first day of junior high.

She had a hard time sleeping last night, and I could hear her taking big deep breaths in the car on the way to school. Jillian loves structure & order to EVERYTHING she does (check out her room & closet and you would see what I mean). All of her school supplies were labled, packed, checked & rechecked several times - days before school even started. Not knowing where her locker was, who she would eat with, who her teachers were and generally what to expect for an entire day was stressing her out. Once we got her locker organized, made sure she could unlock her locker and found her friends, all was good. When she & her friends walked off to the assembly with the other 400 plus 7th graders, she was happy and relaxed.

Hope she's still smiling when I pick her up at 2:33.

Australia 2009

Coolum Beach
Mallory's favorite place in the world (besides the mall) is the beach.
New Farm Park
Madie, Jilly, Callan & Mallory in one of the fabulous fig trees at the park.
Silly Mallory, swimming in the middle of winter!
Eleanor, Megan, Madie, Jilly & Mallory at the park. Love this one!
Dan, Jilly & Callan - buddies since they were 4 & in preschool.
Mallory, Madie, Jilly, Eleanor, Callan & Daniel in front of Freestyle Tout for afternoon tea on our last day in Brisbane.

Sticky Date Pudding - our favorite dessert at Freestyle & a perfect way to end our trip.

All good things must come to end . . . or so they say. Our short trip to Australia was awesome, and though I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, I was sad to leave. This was really a trip just to be with family and friends - lots of cups of coffee/tea & glasses of wine with great company.

australia = home

Coolum Beach

New Farm Park

It's a little strange (but in a really good way) to be back in Australia. Everything feels so different and yet so very familiar all at the same time - the feeling of being back home again. Spending time with Peter's family was great - quiet & relaxing before we hit Brisbane and were on the go. We saw all of Peter's siblings and the nephews, and one of his sisters stayed a bit longer and went to Coolum Beach with us. Mallory LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the beach & ocean in Australia and cried because she misses this place so much. Though I'm not a big fan of the sand, sitting on the beach while Jilly was digging in the sand next to me, was so peaceful and calming in a way that nothing else is.

We are now in Brisbane with our friends the Baddeleys & the Forrests, and it feels like we never left - except that all the kids are bigger. The day after we got here, Eric ended up in the hospital with 2 blood clots in his lungs. We picked up Madie & Callan, got meat pies & chips (french fries) & went to New Farm Park for the afternoon so that Jenny could be with Eric. Peter took Phil to the airport for his quick trip to Sydney, and Jan cooked dinner for Jenny & her kids & us. It's so much how we were part of each others' lives, and I love how it all just came together with no planning or effort. I was watching the 6 kids last night and was amazed at how they too fell back into a comfortable routine of being together - laughing, wrestling, arguing, talking, etc. God knew what he was doing when he put them in our lives.

Today Peter is at a meeting & having lunch with a friend; Madie & Callan are at school; Mallory, Jillian, Eleanor & Dan are at the EKKA (Queensland State Fair), and I'm having lunch with Jan & Jenny. Tonight we get to celebrate Callan's 12th birthday with tacos & s'mores (we even brought the graham crackers). I love being back!

Together Again

Christmas 2007 with the Forrests
December 2008 with the Baddeleys

Today we are leaving for our first family trip back to Australia since leaving in February 2007. The list of all the people we want to see, the things we want to do & the food we want to eat seems to grow longer each day. We will only be there for 10 days, so some things on the list will have to wait until the next trip.

I love being back in Colorado near my sisters, mom & family, but I do miss Australia. It was our home for 6 years, and in those 6 years, we had many "firsts" for our family - Jillian's first day of school, first tooth fairy visit (though the Christensen tooth fairy was really lame), first bikes, first school camps, first time camping as a family, best friends, piano lessons, Mallory's first pair of glasses, first go at field hockey, cricket & netball, Mallory's first solo trip overseas, etc. Leaving Australia was bittersweet - happy for our new life in Colorado to begin and sad to be closing a chapter in our family's life.

I am especially excited for this trip because: a. it's totally unexpected & not planned & b. we get to see the Baddeleys & the Forrests!!! These two families shared some of our greatest moments & our smallest moments, our highs & lows, celebrated birthdays & accomplishments, ate more lunches, dinners & afternoon teas togther than I can count and shared some amazing bottles of red, good beer & endless cups of coffee. They were an extension of our little family and made our life in Australia richer & fuller. I have missed being a part of their daily lives and am looking forward to all three families being together again.