The move so far.

It's been almost two months since I packed up everything we owned, said goodbye to dear friends and family and followed my hubby to his home country of Australia.  We have had some amazing moments here and not all of them have been shared with everyone.  So here is a quick post to catch everyone up.
The Vow Renewal

November 26th 2011

The day was magical.  I woke to the sound of pouring rain, turned over to Joe and said "gum boots it is".  We had planned a day of celebration on the beach and it was raining.  Thankfully I had rented a hall just in case of bad weather (thank you Jen for the idea).  So having resigned ourselves to a day indoors, we got up and started getting ready for our big day... take two.

I was sitting having my hair and makeup done and a friend came in and told me to look outside, it was clearing.  The clouds lifted and the sun came out for the first time in a week.

Nothing that we had planned happened as it was supposed to, and still it was the most magical day ever.  Joe and I walked down the path to the beach hand in hand to "So Happy Together", and stood in front of our friends and family.  It was amazing to see everyone there, some sitting on quilts, some standing behind and all smiling.  We said our vows to eachother, had two wonderful readings and that was that.  It was so simple and perfect.  Amazing how everything can go wrong and turn out just right.

Amazing photography by Nigel Unsworth.  www.nigelunsworth.com.au 


The Honeymoon (take two)

Our trip to Fiji was serene.  If you need a place to relax and get away from it all, go to Matamanoa Island in Fiji.  It was like a summer camp in the 50's, like in Dirty Dancing, where they have scheduled activities and everyone knows your name.   Matamanoa is a tiny resort, only 26 rooms so it feels like you are all by yourself in paradise.  Everyone gets a personalized sign on their burre, and it is a rite of passage to mark that you have been on the island by climbing a rock wall as high as you can go and leaving your sign there.  Of course I took ours home, I love kitchy things like that!  It will be hung on the door to our first Aussie home.

The best thing about Matamona is that they have a first class dive shop there, so Joe was busy the whole time. Where was I? Reading by the pool of course.  ;)  But really, a place that can provide me with the down time I crave and keep Joe entertained with lots of activities is just perfect for us.

Night activities were the funniest, Fijian dancing, Kava drinking (like drinking out of a muddy river), and International Crab racing were some activities on offer.  International Crab racing was a hoot, there were 10 crabs each from a different country (although how Switzerland has hermit crabs I don't know) and to make it interesting, you had to buy a crab.  Winner takes half of the pot, 2nd place takes 30% and 3rd takes 20%.  Joe and I looked at the standings, and bought three crabs, one from Switzerland one from Japan and of course the USA crab.  Some Kiwi who was living in LA tried to get the USA crab but I just kept bidding higher.  He cost fifty Fijian dollars, but man was he worth it! Of course my lucky crab won and we got $173.00 taken off our bill.  Yeah!!! USA USA USA!!!!!

Fiji was amazing.  We loved every moment of it.