Geneva bound...

This past weekend we took a break from getting ready for our move to Melbourne to fete our great friends who are embarking on an adventure to Geneva.  Going through this move with some great friends who are experiencing the same excitement, nervousness, and trials and tribulations has made the whole thing much easier to deal with.

The Crew

The Sams are leaving in about a month, so we all descended on Charlotte to wish them well.  Friday evening was all about hanging out, recalling good times, and planning for when we’ll visit the Sams for skiing and fun in Geneva.  Saturday was a big party in their honor, and it was so nice and such a great time!  We ate, drank, played cornhole, cowered inside to get away from the horrible storms, and ended the night huddled around a keg...

The Geneva Couple

Four Loco...who knew it was still on shelves?

Ending the night with a jig...

A great weekend, to be sure (and it will be weekends like this that we’ll surely miss while we’re in Melbourne), but we look forward to visiting the Sams in Geneva and planning their visit to the great city of Melbourne!

T'Bull's Times Two...

weekends in a row, that is.

We traveled to D-town over Memorial Day weekend to see the T'bull clan.  We had a great time with lots of time spent with the kiddos and the rest of the family.  We got to play on the playground, see a couple of soccer games, experience a Tornado Warning (!), including evacuating an open field when the siren went off, and hang out.  It was a great time...as evidenced below!

The following Thursday, the T'bull's came to see us in the ATL and help us get the house ready for our departure to Melbourne.  We also got to spend some time with some fam that lives in South Carolina.  A quick trip to downtown ATL with a visit to CNN and The World of Coke finished up the weekend...It was so great to see everyone before we leave for a bit!

The Melbourne Experience

So, a couple of weeks ago, Jeff and I were fortunate to go visit Melbourne to get a lay of the land and to check out some housing options.  Well, Jeff did all of that.  I worked.  Bummer.

Since I had spent some time in Australia in 2010, it was a great time for Jeff to explore Melbourne and get familiar with our new home.  He did a lot that week.  A lot of walking.  A lot of walking in the rain.  A lot of driving.  A lot of driving in the rain and hail.  A lot.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't really cooperating with us, and it rained EVERY DAY.   bleh.

We did get a chance to see some rental apartments and "units" (similar to a town home).  We still don't have a home, yet, but we definately know the areas of the city that we like and feel like we could live for a couple of years.  We likely won't go for a high-rise in the middle of the city, but we'll be sure to get the city experience :)

 It appears that Jeff had to walk on water to get this photo...Downtown Melbourne 

Kind of a cool pic

As we're preparing to move, we're really challenged with not knowing if we are going to move into a furnished or unfurnished apartment.  We know we aren't taking our furniture with us, but planning what to take is exceptionally hard when we don't know if we'll get a furnished or unfurnished place.  Pots and Pans...to take or not to take.  Sheets and towels...to take or not to take.  That is the question.

The Adventure Begins

So, we've started preparing for our new life in Australia, and we have spent countless hours filling out forms for visas, health insurance, taxes, and anything else that you can imagine...and we still have countless hours to go. We'll have to have our will drawn up, so if you want anything that we have, let us know now :)

During the time we have left here in the States (holy cow, only about 9 more weeks), we will attempt to keep you up to speed on where we are and what we're up to...though I assume that the closer we get to d-day (departure day), the less time we will have to blog. But we will attempt.

And so the adventure begins...