Australian Grammer

Muckin Around: Hanging out
Bloak: dude
Holiday: Vacation/ trip
Barbie: Bbq
Boot: Trunk of a car
Rubbish: Trash/ Garbage cans
Bonzer: Great/awesome
Way out: Exit
Give Way: Yield
Ta' : Thank you
Mate: friend
Good on ya: Good luck
G'day: Hello/ A greeting
'Avago: Try it/ Try it out
No worries: No problem/ Don't worry about it (used A LOT)
Maccas: Mc Donalds
Big W: Walmart
Nappie: Diaper
Serviette's: Napkins
Dammit: like our curseword, but socially acceptable here, so I am told
Trolly: Shopping cart
Bonnet: hood of car
Pram: Stroller
Bush Walk: Hike
Chips: French Fries
Crisps: Potatoe chips
Kangas: Kangaroos

Most questions shall be phrased as statements prepared for clarification, such as:
Going to Manly Beach, are you?
You are all students, are you?
Enjoying your Holiday, are you?

Many words will be shortened with an additional "ie" added at the end:
Housies: Housemates
Bickies: Biscuits
Expie: Expiration
Woolies: Woolworth's (a store)
Breckie: Breakfast

Austal-yer highlights

We have been having an awesome time here thus far. Some of the highlights of our trip are:
-Xander fell asleep on the plane before we took off & slept until 9 am- for a whopping total of 10 hours! He slpet on our laps & then when he tried to roll over got a little crabby since it was not super comfy so we made a little bed on the floor under our chairs...he loved that!
-Everyone is so cute when they speak...I just love it & have to keep myself from giggling ;) They all drop their "r's" to make that cute little drawl, but then oddly enough they add an "ar" at the end of many of their words...like they say they live in asutraliar (pronounced austral-yer) or they will add it to peolple's names like Amanda is amand-er...
-I got to attend 2 incredible worship services at Hillsong the very first day we were here. Brandon and I attended their chapel service which was awesome and then Tiff and I got to attend a woman's conference at Hillsong that night which was also incredible!
-Mmm...we just enjoyed some yummy Krispy Kreme doughnuts! My favorite!!! Could this country get any better?!?
-We enjoyed some fantastic "kanga steaks" last night...they were very good, but definitely wierd to think about eating kangaroo!
-Being the brunt of all the jokes...everything is the American's fault!
-Traditional meat pies downtown...I have been told it's comparable to the popularity of hot dogs in New York City...kinda tastes like beef stroganoff in a yummy pastry crust
-Mmm...milk tea- so yummy but so hard to describe (nothing like you think it is...i promise)
-Heading into Sydney today...pics to come!

Finally Down Under!

Yay! We're finally here...1 very long plan ride, an overstuffed car & 2 days later! Australia is many hours ahead of our California time zone, so when we left on Sunday night we traveled all through the night & finally arrived on Tuesday morning, hence skipping our "Monday" all together. The flight was dark until we were about an hour or so from landing since we were flying forward in time, which made a very wonderful atmosphere for sleeping! We were informed by many people on the flight that we have the best child ever, and that they have never seen a baby behave so well, especially on a plane. Even the flight attendants & frequent travelers were impressed. They also said they have never seen a baby sleep at all the "correct times." Needless to say, this was a huge answer to prayer- Thanks to all of you who have covered us in your prayers these past few days & weeks! BY the time Xander woke up we only had about 4 1/2 hours left on our flight, which seemed like nothing compared to the Looooooong international flight we had anticipated. Xander even fell asleep again for is morning nap, right on cue as we departed the plane & stood on several long lines to get through customs & baggage claim.

midnight yard sale?

We are having a yard sale tomorrow morning and have been organizing, pricing & setting up all day. While we were doing our last minute preparations this evening, a family stopped by on their walk around the neighborhood. They stayed for about 45 minutes, sifting through everything we had laid out in our garage, continuously veering over to the things we had already told them were not for sale. They finally left after bartering with Brandon for about 10 minutes, requesting a ridiculously low deal on a bike. They returned 5 minutes later with some money & the amount we were asking! Hooray!!! Our first sale...praise God and thanks for all those prayers & donations! Keep praying that our yard sale is successful!