You spent how much to bring your dogs????

The Girls A.K.A Adah and Abby

People are always amazed that we brought our dogs here.
Was is a pain? Yes!
Was there a ton of paperwork? Yes!
Was it scary? Yes!
Is it a pain having them here? Yes!
Was it expensive? You don't even want to know!! (5 digits)
Was it worth it; would you do it again? YES!

Look at these two, they own us! They were our first babies. I could never leave them.
They would never abandon us, so we will never abandon them.
We may never get a good nights sleep, but who cares!
LOOK AT THOSE BABIES!

These fur babies have got us through some tough and scary times and they have been with us through every milestone and every wonderful moment we have had.
I am pretty sure that the only living creature that can truly have unconditional love is a dog.

Australia, in my opinion, is not one of the most dog friendly countries in the world.
However,I completely understand why. When it comes to importing and exporting they have to be careful because they do not have certain diseases within their country (ex. rabies).
There are not a ton of places you can take your dog and many people do not allow their dogs inside. This is not a judgement in any way, just an observation :) Honestly, its almost better to leave your puppies outside because it cooler. Adah has become very fond of remain outside while I drop Xan off at school and hit the gym. It's her very own paradise out there.

Bringing our girls here has definitely proved to be a challenging at times especially because we have and still intend on traveling which means more, expensive boarding for them. At the end of the day though, no one will ever love them like we do.

Have a Fantastic Day!
BRE

Dinner with the Ladies.

While being here in OZ I have had the pleasure of meeting some amazing women. Last night a group of us went to dinner because one of our friends will be leaving next week to a new duty station and like every get together we have laughter infects us all. What makes this an event worth sharing is the fact that most of the laughter was due to the Aussie view of Americans. I am hoping that my American friend, Jackye and I were able to clear the air and misconcepts a little bit last night.

I am always amused in peoples perceptions of many aspects of life but this takes on a whole new meaning when it is you and your lifestyle, but I find more humor in it all than anything else. I am hoping I do not step on any toes here but I have to share some of the funnier things that come up in conversation ....

1. Yes, Turtle Man and Swamp People are for real, BUT that is not how ALL Southern  people are!!!

2. The "People of Walmart" website is real, but normal people shop at Walmart too.

3. New York is an actual state, NYC is a small part of it :)

4. Peanut Butter and Chocolate is an amazing combination, this is not weird! This is an Amercan staple alond with PB & J. Don't knock it til you ty it :)

5. Driving on the left-hand side on the right side of the road is not difficult... well, at least no more difficult than driving on the right-hand side of the left side of the road :)

6. YES! Americans LOVE to eat and we like LOTS of selection. Many traditions and gatherings revolve around food and I will be taking with me once I leave this amazing place Lamingtons, Sticky Date pudding and new appreciation for Tea!!


Much Love,
BRE

The Queen Slacker!

Yep! That's me .... the Queen Slacker! Maybe I should get a shirt made that says this, that way the whole world knows that the Queen Slacker has appeared.

So, I had the best intentions of becoming more consistent in my postings but then, life happened and my slacking "skills" took over. Then, this morning I got up, ran through my mini getting-up routine; get out of bed, go straight to the laundry room to start a load of laundry, head to kitchen to turn on coffee maker, unload dishwasher while waiting for Keurig to warm-up, get a coffee and head to the computer to check email and Facebook before Thing 1 and Thing 2 emerge from their slumbers and while in the middle of this task I came across a new blog, and that's when it hit me! I need to add my blog to my routine like this lady does (BTW.. her blog is titled, Life with 4 boys ...coffee please!) !!

Now I am sitting here in my kitchen with my coffee that I had to heat up in the microwave (gag) because the boys got up before I could finish my last task but I am determined to make a post today :) So with that being said here is what has been going on:

*We booked a cruise! Not just any cruise, we booked a 14 day New Zealand cruise and we leave a just a couple weeks. We are beyond excited!!

*We have not heard much about about our return next year, but we still have a bit of time before this happens.

*Xander is almost done with "Kindie" next year he is off to year 1. He is very excited.

*We are currently getting ready to say Farewell to many of the friends we have made here the past year :( Most people post in and out of places in December because of the holidays and the school year change. We are so sad :(

*Louden has just learned to ride on his big bike without training wheels. This has been very dramatic for mom and I am trying to embrace his "dare-devil" mentality. Not quite sure what God was thinking when he decided I should be the mother of boys but I know he has a plan :) Definitely Blessed!!!


As you can see not too much is going on but we are definitely looking forward to the holidays. Lot's of traveling and family time! Feeling beyond Blessed :)