Home!

We made it!!!  Woohoo!!!!  Dorothy hit the nail on the head when she clicked her heels together and said that there is no place like home.  Let me bring you all up to speed on what has been happening.

Moët.

Ania was crushed when she realized that our time in Sanctuary Cove had come to an end before she had a chance to say a proper goodbye.  Two years ago I was in desperate need of a massage, so I googled “massage hope island”, which led me to Ania’s adorable little massage therapy office.  One of my worries moving to Australia was whether or not I could find someone halfway as awesome as my QC masseuse, Janey.  Never fear, Ania is here! Not only did she work miracles to relieve the tension in my neck and back, she relieved the tension in my mind.  For 60-90 minutes each month (she never kept an eye on the time), she listened to me jabber on about this or that, and by the end of the hour(ish), I always felt 100% better.  When Emily came along with her stellar back, Ania spent even more time with the two of us, and has become a very dear friend to the both of us.  She brought her adorable twin daughters to the Novotel to have one last dinner with Em and I.  She came bearing gifts – some presents for the kids (waiting for Christmas to open them), and a bottle of Moët champagne for Em and I.  She was hoping that we could drink the bottle at dinner but got told no, so we found the last little remaining space in our suitcases and packed it in.  More to come on this…  Ania, we hope to see you and your girls on this side of the pond someday soon!

Airplanes.

After a restless “sleep”, we were finally on our way to the airport.  Amazingly, the next 24 hours were incredibly uneventful.  Long.  Super hella long.  But I will take super hella long over eventful any day of the week.  The check-in went well.  We were worried that a couple bags were pushing the weight limit, but the Qantas lady was really nice and helpful.  She gave us all Express passes to get us through the customs line in Sydney quicker, and didn’t give us any grief about our heavy bags.  The first flight to Sydney was quick and easy.  The layover was just the right amount of time to get us on the plane to Dallas.  

We had strong tailwinds so our flight time was reduced by 30-40 minutes – just about 14 hours in total.  The kids did so well on that flight.  Jay sat in between the two kids and I sat on the aisle across from Lily.  Ty slept for a few hours at the start and finish, and watched heaps of movies during the middle – content as ever, with zero drama.  Lily had a harder time getting comfortable, so she spent most of the trip in either Jay or my lap, but we didn’t mind the cuddles.  Emily was living the dream in Business Class – really glad we had enough points to upgrade her so that she could lie flat to keep her back from seizing up, otherwise we would have had to wheelchair her through the Dallas and Des Moines airports.  

My favorite moment on the flight was when we were coming in for the landing and for just a few seconds I could see the good old American flag flying at the end of the runway.  To the person that decided to put up that flag pole, thank you.  God bless the USA.

In Dallas we quickly found a table at a Mexican restaurant, ate chips and queso, drank fountain Pepsi with heaps of ice, and realized that we only need to order one kids meal for both the children.  The kids had a little play in the kids area, we all got freshened up, kids put on their trackies (sweatpants), and it was time to board our last flight.  We went from an A380 MASSIVE airplane, to a teensy tiny little regional jet to get us to Des Moines.  Lily fell asleep before we backed out of the parking spot and didn’t wake up until I woke her when it was time to get off the plane in Des Moines. 

Observation: I was surprised at how funny the Midwest accent sounded to me.  It has been a while since I have been around that many Midwesterners.  I used to think that we didn’t have an accent.  Now I can say with confidence that we do.  

We were nearly the last ones off the plane, then we had to make a potty stop, and then we headed to the baggage claim.  We knew that a few people were going to meet us at the airport, but whoa.  There were a lot of people there!!!  As soon as we saw the crowd, it felt like I couldn’t get to mom fast enough.  I managed (somehow) to hold back tears of joy while hugging everyone.  We were home.  God, it felt good.  We headed to baggage claim to pick up our seemingly endless amount of bags – enough for everyone to take one.  :). I have a million happy moments from the welcome crew, but probably my favorite was getting my arm caught in the hug between Emily and Ray.  It nearly broke.  Those two are best mates, and it was obvious to everyone how much they missed each other this year.  

Party.

After I retrieved my arm, we got all of the bags and people loaded up and convoyed over to Jess and Jason’s house for a little welcome home party.  Pickle wraps, Caseys pizza, Ruffles with dip, Busch Light…yum. Kirk popped the cork on the bottle of Moët that made it without a scratch, and as we didn’t have enough champagne glasses, we all had a little bubbly in red solo cups.  Classy as…  The kids were not even a little bit timid about anyone or anything, they just settled right in to life at home.  I snuck away and took the best shower of my life and put on my new flannel pajamas (pre washed with love by Sherry).  You know you are home when you can party in your pjs.  The first night was pretty good for all of us, a bit of jet lag, but not terrible.

Cars.

 Jess woke us up at 8:00 the next morning (Wednesday).  Kirk and Sherry rode with Jay and I to Davenport to pick up our two new cars – a BMW X5 diesel for me, and a Subaru Outback for Em.  While Jay was filling out the paperwork, Sherry and I went to Verizon to get a phone for me.  Next up was lunch at Hooters.  OMG was that good…  Jay went to Neckers Jewelers to get a replacement wedding band figured out and went to the credit union to deposit some AUD.  We all met up at our home where we picked up a load of things we might need before we get everything moved into a new home – winter clothes, vacuum, snow shovel, etc.  we filled up 3 SUVs with stuff, had a lovely chat with Paul and Mary, said a quick hi to Gary, and off we went.  Despite the night driving, the jet lag, and the fact that I haven’t driven on the other side of the car and road for two years, we had no problems getting back to Jess’s house.

Kids.

Jess and Emily had watched the kids while we were in Davenport, and boy did they have fun.  They went to the coop where Jason works and got the VIP treatment.  They got to test moisture levels of corn, drive a semi, and unload.  They loved it.  They went to Walmart and rode around in style.  Em, bless her heart, went through almost all of the suitcases and organized them to figure out what we need for the next week, and what could store at Jess’s until we get to the rental home.   

    
    
 We finished the job when we got home and tried to go to sleep that night.  Ty did great.  He slept from 10:00-6:00.  Lily, and therefore the rest of us, weren’t so lucky.  She wanted absolutely nothing to do with sleeping.  Poor kid.  She eventually fell asleep around 1:00 or so, after my horrible attempts to tell her stories of the 3 Little Pigs and Goldilocks from my sleep-deprived brain.

Farm.

Em took the kids first thing in the morning to the farm.  Ty was patient, but persistent about getting on the road ASAP.  He needed to help papa do chores, you see. They had an awesome day.  Chores, “gator” rides, farm toys, goodies to eat.  Two happy kids.  

    

    
    
    
    
 Observation:  Ty is happy.  I mean REALLY happy.  He has had zero meltdowns, no crying, no whining, no drama.  He is happy as…  It is amazing to me that someone so young can recognize and appreciate what “home” really is.  He has missed the US for two years.  He talked frequently about what he wanted to do when we come back to the US.  It makes sense now.  He really and truly missed everything and everyone that makes a “home”.

Work.

Jay had a full day at the office on Thursday.  I went in at lunchtime to meet up with my new boss, find out where I will be sitting, get my new laptop, and meet a few people who I will be working with.  I have CRUNCHY ICE just a few steps from my desk.  I can literally see the crunchy ice machine from my desk.  Praise the lord for crunchy ice.  An endless supply.

I was hoping to get out of there a bit early, but my compute transfer took a while, so it was about 5:30 before I could head out.  While I was waiting for my computers, I tried updating the software in my new phone and it basically crashed on me, so I had to go to the mall to the Apple Store to get it fixed.  

Home.

Finally everything was sorted and I could go to the farm.  Mom had made the most delicious French Dip sandwiches I have ever eaten, followed up with a Klondike bar.  Even Ty ate it, and he rarely eats anything.  He ate Nana’s beef with juice for 3 days straight.  I was wiped out, so we all went to bed at about 10:30.  Lily woke up around midnight (which is when most of this blog was written), but thankfully fell back to sleep.

Houses.

Jay and I spent all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday looking for a home.  We have ruled out 50 homes…ugh…  Too small, too expensive, too fancy, too boring, too small of yard, too far away, crappy bedroom layout (not kid friendly), too much work to fix, and on and on and on.  There wasn’t a single one that we both walked in and thought, yep, this is the one.  We kept a few homes on the short list, but are hoping that a few more come on the market after the holidays.  We talked to a builder and have a new home in mind as a backup plan, but prefer not to have to go that route as I don’t want to wait 6-8 months to get settled.  :(. We still have a little time, but need to make a decision in the next 2 weeks so that we don’t have to extend our rental or find another temporary home.

Leaf Lake.

Finally, someone has fallen in love with our home in Davenport.  After a few days of negotiations, we finally agreed on a price that makes everyone happy.  We have some paperwork and approvals to wait on, but things are coming together on the home sale side of things!  We have to have everything moved out of the home before 15 February.  It will go into storage until we settle on a new home.  Jay went to Davenport to meet the movers and get a few more things from the house.  His best friend, JR, surprised him with a 10:00 knock on the basement window.  Scared the crap out of him.  :). So glad he had a buddy to help get things taken care of.  

Rental.

Once again, we have packed up our things and loaded them into the cars.  We are moving into our rental home in the morning, and let me tell you, I cannot wait to get out of these flipping suitcases.  I need some organization in my life.  I am getting tired of saying “I have no idea where that is”.  Despite all of that, I would say that I have fared pretty well throughout this ordeal…so far…  We have told the kids we are moving into another holiday home for a couple months.  They have been troopers and have just rolled with everything. 

Thank you!!

I cannot put into words how thankful we are for everyone who has chipped in and helped us out over the past 2 weeks – watching and entertaining our kids, giving us a few beds to crash in, feeding us, doing our laundry, moving our things around, keeping our spirits up…  As overwhelming as all of this feels at times, all of you have made it manageable.  Thank you!!!  Just look how happy these kids are…

    
    
    
    
    
 Recollection.

I have had a lot of time to think about things during the last week or so.  Here are a few thoughts that I cut out of my first draft of my farewell speech simply due to time constraints, but didn’t want to delete.  

What have we learned about Australia over the past two years? People really do say “G’day mate” and “no worries”. There are, in fact, kangaroos hopping around on the side of the road. Supposedly there are koalas in trees, but I never saw one outside of Currumbin. The beaches really are that awesome. Thank god for the beaches because it gets smoking hot in the summer, yet many Aussies are super tough and don’t bother with air conditioning in their homes. Because the power bill is flipping ridiculously expensive. And when the air con breaks, good luck getting a tradie to come fix it. So while waiting for a tradie, you go to the pool or the beach with a pocket full of 100% waterproof Australian dollars. Yes, it really is waterproof.  

Did you know that when we first arrived in Australia, I wouldn’t put Lily down on the floor until I was certain that there were not any spiders or snakes lurking behind the chairs just waiting for a baby for dinner? I wouldn’t open my sliding glass doors for fear that something would sneak in and kill me. I still won’t walk through the grass barefoot, but I have lightened up quite a bit. And weird, we are all still alive.

Here are a few things that I never thought I would say or hear come out of Jay and my kids’ mouths.

Dad, I want a yabby pump for my birthday.

Be careful, the Sharks might bite my toes.

Mom! The sea turtle pooped out hundreds of eggs! Did you see it?!

I just got bit by an ant. And it hurts like a son of a gun.

That palm leaf almost landed on my head.

Look at the python under that walkway that just ate a wallaby.

OMG! There is a sea turtle swimming right below me!

Um Nicole, how did you manage to not notice that the tide had gone out while sitting on the boat? Oopsy!!!

Hey babe, my wedding ring slipped off my finger and went into the shark infested canal when I threw the crab back in.

Let’s go to the beach after we finish unwrapping Christmas presents.

So that pretty well brings you up to speed on where we are at in the process of repatriation.  I have left out all of the fun Christmas festivities from this blog – will post that separately.  G’day mates!