Carless. Not careless...Carless.

we are officially car-less.  talk about a weird feeling.  i think that this is the first time since the first semester of my freshman year of college that i don't have a car.  i mean, we have rental cars because we still have to work, but we don't own any cars.  we're moving out of the country in two weeks, of course we have to work {insert sarcasm here}.

when we went to sell them last night, we sure got a weird look from the dealer when we said, "we'd like to sell both of our cars today.  and, can you please arrange for someone to take us to the rental car place after we're done?"

goodbye, pilot.  it's likely not the last time i'll see you.  you've been good to us, and i'll probably want one of your siblings around when we come back.

goodbye, rsx.  i know jeff loved you, but i didn't.  i'm not so sad to see you go, and i hope we don't cross paths again.  love, me.

Paperwork...holy cow.

So, I like to think that we are pretty organized.  We keep track of all of our bills, we always know where our important papers are, and generally we have a good handle on things.

We were WRONG.  And, not even a little wrong.  We were A LOT WRONG.

This whole move has been eye-opening to the amount of paperwork and information we don't have at our fingertips.  We have spent countless hours gathering, scanning, and organizing our lives, and it is exhausting.  This picture is a great illustration of how we are living right now...I don't go anywhere without that blue folder.  God knows what would happen if I lost it...actually I think we wouldn't be allowed in Australia if I lost that folder.  Oh, and on top of it all, that folder and countless other "originals" have to be carried on to the plane with us (like I don't have enough stuff that I'm trying to jam into my luggage, now I have take a gigantic blue folder?).

The movers came last Thursday to assess the amount of "stuff" we want to bring, and his response was, "oh, that's not very much."  That was it.  That, and the "be sure to scrub your shoes to get any dirt and grass off of them, then dip them in bleach.  if not they may quarantine your belongings and try to charge you $250 PER PAIR to clean them."  So, Jeff and I sat in the driveway one night and scrubbed our shoes - I'm not sure his golf shoes have ever been so clean.  The neighbors probably think we're bonkers.

Someone wants to go to Australia with us...

We have luggage and random items hanging out all over our house...it is getting a bit annoying.  This is what our bedroom looks like right now, and I'm fairly certain that it will look like this until the moment we leave...ugh.

Luggage everywhere...

Next weekend we're looking forward to the Drain the Bar party and saying good-bye to our ATL friends...

Maryland Visit

Last weekend my parents were so sweet and threw us a going away party.  It was great to get up to Westminster and see everyone before we take off...

We got in late Friday night, and surprised my parents with their very own iPad2, so that they could Skype and Facetime with us in Australia.  My mom was a little hesitant at first, but we had a couple iPad lessons each day, and she is getting the hang of it.  It was so cool when she sent me an email this past week, asking what time we wanted to Skype :)

On Saturday, we got ready for everyone to come over, and the party was really nice.  We got to see folks that we hadn't seen in quite some time, eat great food, and just catch-up.  We had a great time!

Jeff and Will.i.am

Uncle Boobby and Jeff

The Claassen's

Uncle Eddie, Mom, Jimmy, and Dad

We met my mom's best friend (and my second mom) for breakfast on Sunday, since she wasn't able to come to the party on Saturday.  It was nice to see her and tell her all about Australia.

Laura, Jeff, Mom, Ms. Pat, Dad

Thanks so much for our party!  We love you guys and will see you soon (on Skype!)...

Jeff, Laura, Dad, Will.i.am, Mom

Babs' Baptism

So, we've (i've) been a slacker on the blog, so i'm going to try to update in a couple of posts...sorry for slackiness...

A couple of weeks ago, we were honored to stand-up as godparents for our friend's Lenny and Ericka's daughter, Veronica.  We got to their house on Saturday afternoon and spent some time with Lenny's dad and sister, in town from Delaware, and Jack Jack and Veronica.  Our little god-daughter is soooo stinking cute, not that we're biased or anything :)  We also got to celebrate Ericka's birthday, which was great timing!!

Jack Jack

On Sunday, we got Veronica dressed in her gown and we went into the service.  Veronica was the only one being baptized that Sunday, so it was almost like everyone was there just for here.  It was a really nice service.  After the service, we went to an awesome lunch, where Jeff threw coins to Jack Jack.  According to Mexican tradition, this will help her to grow up being even-tempered and happy.  Jeff actually threw coins from around the world, in hopes that she will travel the world, too!

Getting dressed!

The GODFATHER (and mother, and the priest, and Babs)

The Bartlett's

The Bartlett's

We are so honored to be Veronica's godparents and to be compadres (is that right?!)  We love you guys and hope to see you soon!

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.