Congrats Cam and Adelaide!!!

Congratulations Cam and Adelaide on your engagement!

True Blue Aussie

In the past few days, our friends have been treating us to some of the finest things Australia has to offer.  Graham brought home a King fish (thanks to Todd's three-prong chumming) which he and Chelsea prepared in true "Master Chef" fashion.

Then, our roomie, Fridge, styled us and took us to ANZ Stadium in Homebush for a rugby union game between the NSW Waratahs and the Queensland Reds.  Though we barely understand the game, Fridge was kind enough to explain some of it and we had a great time. We can't wait to cheer on the Tahs next time!

Sydney Harbor shows off

After living in Manly for two weeks, I (Kristina) finally made a visit to the Sydney harbor.  Todd and I went with Cam and his parents for a dinner cruise around the harbor on the Sydney Showboat where Adelaide dances in the evening show.

We saw all of the "must-sees" (the opera house, and the harbor bridge), and Cam's parents also clued us in to some of the lesser known points of interest.

Once the sun went down, dinner was finished and our boat began it's journey back to the dock, the evening show began.  Adelaide and the other performers did a really great job!  And, Todd is especially gratefully to Adelaide for choosing him out of the audience to go up on stage and attempt the can-can in front of the rest of us!  Unfortunately, no photography is allowed or I would have posted a photo of Todd stepping on Adelaide's feet :)

Fush & Chups

Before coming to Australia, all I heard was how great the fish & chips are: crispy, breaded crust covering a piece of fresh, fleshy, flaky tender fish with crispy, salted, warm fries.  After a few failed attempts at finding the alleged meal, we finally landed at the Manly Fish Market where Todd's friend Joe hooked us up with the best fish & chips meal we've ever had!

We've already been back to the Fish Market a second time and it definitely will not be our last!

Peanut's a "nutta"

While living with the Coghlan's, we have been enjoying the new addition to their family.

Her name is Peanut.  She is 5 weeks old and is both crazy (bounces off the walls while pouncing on anything that moves) and the sweetest thing.  She loves to sleep under the couch, curled up on someone's chest, or under my warm computer.

I love her.  And while Todd doesn't like to admit it (because he is jealous off all the attention she's getting) he loves her too.

Eat your heart out... or hang your butt out

Last weekend I (Kristina) was introduced to surf boat racing ("an iconic Australian sport") at the Ocean Thunder racing series.

The surf boat is a big, heavy, four-oared vessel with a pointed bow and stern but steered by a fifth guy called a sweep.  The infamous wedgie (see photo below) allows the rower to slide up and down on a fixed seat and more importantly, it gives Americans quite an unexpected view.

While at the race we watched and cheered for an infamous rower - Michael Dawes (Dawesey) on the Manly team.

From strength to strength

Before leaving Perth and heading east, we were able to cheer on Greg Mickle during his race in the Indian Ocean Classic (an Ironman-style event) where he ended up winning his age group!  (Todd thinks that Greg's win was partially due the great handing that Todd did during the surfski - run transition.  See photo.)  Congratulations again Greg!

We finished off the final hours of our stay with an American-style burger bbq and some great Aussie wine:

Thank you again Mickle family for opening up your home for the past two weeks.  We had a great time in Perth and we feel very fortunate to have been included in the extended Mickle family!

With a red-eye flight from Perth to Sydney, we've "gone from strength to strength" (one of our favorite Aussie sayings) and changed gears.  Now that we've settled into the Coghlan apartment in Manly with four sub-30 year olds (Cam, Adelaide, Caitlin, and Mitch), we'll be trying to keep up in a different way.

p.s. Jack we miss you too!