You just won....

  An all expense paid vacation to Australia! Airfare, lodging, and food included. Only catch, you have to be willing to move your family there for 12+ months. Ok well we didn't really 'win' anything but it kind of feels like we did. I joined Matt in Brisbane for a week to find a house. It was like a second honeymoon! And the calm before the storm :-) it was probably one of the most relaxing weeks I have had in years. we were lucky enough to hae the kids stayed with my family(probably not the most relaxing week for them.) People kept asking me if i was nervous- maybe just a little but not for the reasons you might think. I was nervous for my parents watching the kids!

 The flight was around 13 hours from LAX. That was more alone/quiet time than i had had in months! I sat next to some very nice people on the plane rides. Matt was waiting for me at the airport. We stayed at the Brisbane Mariott. Matt had planned a very busy weekend before the house hunting started. After a quick stop at the hotel to drop off my luggage we headed to Surfer's Paradise to spend the day at the beach. Matt informed me I had to stay awake the entire day, I really wanted a nap! Dinner with some of the friends Matt had made while working here in Brisbane and I was ready to crash. The next day we heaed to the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing! Flying in a small 12 seater plane, seeing the coastline from the air and landing on a grass runway on a tiny island just to get started. After a cruise around in the glass bottom boat it was time to jump into the water. Lady Elliot Island provided some unforgettable snorkeling. There were over a dozen Manta Rays swimming around the area, several sea turtles and hundreds of fish. The coral was really cool too. After lunch we spent the afternoon on the beach before heading back to Brisbane. We did some people watching at Jimmy's in the Queen Street Mall. Investigated a couple grocery stores to see what food cost here. And found the best pasta place, Ciccio's, right around the corner from the hotel. (They knew my order by the time we moved into our house.) The Pig & Whistle and the Plough Inn have some great atmosphere.
 

 

  House hunting went much better than we anticipated. I was really worried we wouldn't be able find a nice place close enough to Matt's and within walking distance to a school for MA&DB. After Day 1 we had seen several houses that would work for our family. The 1st one we saw was at the top of our list. Our agent did a nice job og sorting out the good from the bad before we actually went out looking. One day 2 we went back to house 1, then saw about 7 others. We had narrowed it down to 2 and put offers in on both. We had to make a decision. We liked each house for different reasons. What one had the other lacked. More traditional vs modern. lots of storage vs little. Across from the University of Queensland vs next to a bushland preserve. Flat street vs hills. CityCat vs bus. West vs East of city. Both would be about the same commute for Matt. In the end, the deciding factor were an amazing pool and being able to walk the kids to school. After a couple beers in the hotel bar we picked our #1. The modern house won! For the next day we walked around, rode the citycat and waited to hear if our application was accepted. Finally we got the good news- we got our first choice!

 And just like that, my wonderful week was over and it was time to head back to the States. I will have to say i made some new friends and it was one of the most relaxing weeks of my life. I left with a feeling of excitment for this amazxing experience we were about to have as a family!