We Made it

Well after twenty four hours after getting to the Houston airport we landed in Melbourne. Were we ready for our hotels. Grace and Haylee both let us know it. The flight from Houston to LA was horrible. I just about abandoned ship there at LAX. Haylee did well but Grace didn't sleep or stay still the entire flight. We overheard a guy in front of us rudely say, " aren't babies supposed to ride in coach." She crashed just as the plane touched down in LA. Everything went a lot smoother after that point. Mandy later told me she said a very heartfelt pray. Prayers are answered. Miracles do happen.

They slept through getting loaded in the stroller, pushed all through the airport, check in, security, and until we got on the plane. Grace fell asleep after dinner was served. She got up every once and a while to play. We got to know everyone around us really well because of her. Grace even introduced me to another ExxonMobil employee that knows my mom well. His office is 5 doors down from hers. Small world. When she wasn't walking around she was playing in her very own business class seat.

Haylee - the baby that didn't sleep the first 3 1/2 months of her life. Well she did GREAT! In the 15 hour flight she was out of her bassinet twice. It totaled to maybe an hour. She is doing so well. At the hotel they cried until we laid them down. They slept for 16 hours each. Poor girls.

Australia Bound

That's right. Mandy, the girls and I will all be moving to Melbourne Australia within the month. We have known about this for just over a month now. It didn't really sink in for me until yesterday. I've been in Melbourne on business. Scoping out congregations, places to live, and thinking about being over here perminantly on March 31 gave me a good reality check.

Is it far away or what? Right now Melbourne is 17 hours ahead of Houston time. After we both go through daylight savings that will change to a 15 hours difference. A flight here from LA is about 15 hours. You land in LA before you even took off in Melbourne.



Melbourne is beautiful. It is right on the Yarra river.

At night it is spectacular. For the last week I have been at the Langham Hotel on the left. The Esso building where I work is right behind it in the popular Southbank area. It must be ExxonMobil's nicest building with a built in atrium, in the most popular district in the city, and within 100 yards of the largest train station in town.

The Beaches are phenomenal. We will be going into winter but might be able go swimming before it gets too cold. The girls just got matching rash guards and bottoms. That's right, we'll have a set of pro-surfers before we come back.

Consider this an open invitation for family and friends to come and visit. There are so many nice places to visit. Ski resorts are within 3 hours during the winter and surfing is only 30 minutes away. It is a lot dryer here than Houston and as a result they actually have 4 seasons here. Luckily we won't get snow in Melbourne.