Thursday, March 17, 2011

Homeward (and Asia) Bound

We wrapped up 2010 with a trip back to the US to see our amazing family and friends! I can't think of anything more wonderful... except for a stopover in Thailand on the way back to Australia to ring in the new year! Yeah, that happened as well. Case in point, we had a wonderful Christmas vacation!


We left the summer heat (and rain- flooding post to follow) in Brisbane to return home and celebrate Christmas in the winter, like its intended. Santa, Christmas trees, egg nog and (fake) snow do not unify quite as well with the holiday season when its 105 degrees outside. Australia is smart to promote the surfing Santa. As soon as we stepped off the plane in Los Angeles, I made a b-line to starbucks and ordered an egg nog latte. Yummy. Don't judge, I only get it once a year (sometimes twice).

We spent our first days back in Texas hanging out with many of our amazing friends. Huge thanks to our wonderful friends who opened your homes to us, shared your cars with us, and allowed me to dance in your living room. Yes, this happened. And I love you gals even more because of it.

Doing what I do best. No, not singing. Close. Dancing.


Being an awesome dancer is hard work.

Outside of my amazing dancing spotshots, I did a terrible job with the camera throughout our Christmas time in the US. Lesson learned. Trust me, I'm more sad about it than anyone. Looks like I'll have to vividly detail out the remainder of our trip so you can create mental pictures of the fun times we had. Our fun (dancing) times in Dallas had to come to an end. Our families were calling. And some of our family members were calling us from London. A very snowy, snowed-in London. Jeff's mom and step dad were struck by terribly bad (or perhaps terribly awesome) luck and had to spend Christmas and the days surrounding in London. I pulled this picture from Mom S's facebook. Looks miserable. Only kidding Mom S. We missed you more than you'll ever know!

We were able to spend some wonderful, quality time with Jeff's grandparents. Sure do love and miss you both! We also shared several fantastic days and nights with Jeffs father, step mother, and siblings. We enjoyed every minute with all of you. Thank you for everything!


We departed one Texas town and journeyed to another. We arrived in New Braunfels on Christmas Eve, just in time to celebrate with my family. Again, we had such a wonderful time, and I miss and love you all more than you'll ever know. Fortunate for me, I was able score a couple photos of Jeff and our adorable niece, Caroline. Can you say Best Friends Forever and Ever. Uncle Jeffy & Caroline. It warmed my heart. Quite possibly the cutest combination of two individuals ever created. Personal opinion of course.


Merry Christmas. Now we're off to Thailand...