Here are the updates! There's not very many, just having fun and getting into normal life. Heath is going to Queensland University of Technology and I just got a job at Rebel Sport, which is a sporting goods store. I work in clothing, so I am learning all the Rugby and Australian Football teams! They also sell Lakers jerseys, which is a nice little piece of home in the store (even though I hate the Lakers).

Here is us bowling a few weeks ago with Chad and Irene (Heath's brother and his wife) and Miki, a Japanese student staying with Chad and Irene.
Celebrating David's 25th birthday at the drive-in movies.
This is David and my good friend Courtney who came to visit me in Australia! She has been here for two weeks and leaves tomorrow. I am so sad! It has been so fun having her here. We are on our way to the city for a night out on the town!
Aww..I love him!
On the bus on the way to the first rugby game of the season...also, mine and Courtney's first rugby game ever!
In the stands at the game....it was pretty eventful. There was a proposal at the beginning of the game; the Broncos (the team we're going for) beat the Cowboys (rival team) by 1 point; and then with a couple minutes left of the game, there was a man streaking across the field! It was pretty funny.


And for Courtney's last day, we went to church and then had a picnic at the botanical gardens in the city. I am going to miss Courtney when she leaves!

Cruise

I have never been on a cruise before and a couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to go on one! One of Heath's friends works for a cruise line they were able to get a ridiculously cheap deal...$200 for 7 days, so we couldn't pass it up! There were tons of Heath's friends there as well so it was a lot of fun!

The first day couple days, we were just out at sea. The first night, we went to the nightly show and then went to karaoke with all of our friends. I decided to get up and sing Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time". Bad idea!! All I knew was the chorus and the first verse so I was stumbling over words, and then the boat was rocking a lot so it was hard to stand still and I looked drunk! It was a lot of fun and everyone was cheering and laughing. When I finished the song, everyone was clapping and Heath came up and gave me a big kiss in front of everyone! It was a good finish to the song. After that, we all went out to clubbing at Club Oz on the boat, which was a lot of fun.

The next day, we stopped at Whitsundays. That day was also Australia day (similar to our 4th of July) so we got decked out in Australian flag swim suits, tattoos, and hats. We went to a lagoon and played games and hung out there. 

The next stop was Cairns, where the Great Barrier Reef is. My only regret is that we planned things better and made a point to go scuba dive and/or snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef but there wasn't that much planning and by the time we figured out what we wanted to do, we didn't have enough time. So we spend the first day at a lagoon laying out and swimming. At night, we went clubbing in Cairns with some of the entertainment crew from the ship. The next day, we rented a motorcycle and drove about 20 minutes to a place called the Crystal Cascades. It was similar to Slide Rock in Sedona; it had lots of natural water falls and water slides. We started at the top and let the current take us along this little creek. We ended up with some scraps and bruises but we ended up being okay. On the way back, we stopped to pet some horses (I wouldn't touch them, as you can see from the pictures) and while I was getting off the motorcycle, I burned my leg on the exhaust pipe! It hurt soooo bad! 

We made our way back into town and got back onto the boat, because it was leaving at 5:30pm that night. That night, the boat was rocking a lot, and everyone was feeling kind of sick. We ended up going to bed really early that night. The next day, everyone was feeling really sick and ready to be off the boat. 

There were entertainment shows every night, followed by lots of other activities like dancing. During the day, they had Wii Bowling tournaments, table tennis tournaments, golf, etc. The cruise was a lot of fun, but because I was so sick at the end, if I went on another cruise, I would only go for 5 days! 

My First Week in Australia

At the dog park

On our way to the dog park with Heath's nieces and nephew

Burleigh Beach

First tee off!

Golfing at the Gold Coast

Southbank Beach in Brisbane

Heath getting tips from "Males, Nails, and Sample Sales"

My first week in Australia has flown by quickly! We've been golfing, going to movies, beach, and hanging out with Heath's friends and family. Yes, I played 9 holes, Dad! You would be so proud!

Although I miss home, I like living here so far. I'm adapting to their cultural differences, such as their lingo, food, currency, etc. I've also started to follow tennis and cricket!

We've gone to a couple different beaches since I've been here; Burleigh Heads, Broad Beach, and Southbank. They are BEAUTIFUL! The sand is so soft and the beaches are so clean. Next week we'll be at the beach everyday because we're going on a 7 day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef and a few other tropical destinations. There are a lot of Heath's friends from YSA going so it should be a good time!

New Years, Lasik, 20th Birthday, and Last Days in America!

 

New Year's Eve was a very eventful evening! I went to a masquerade party with all my girlfriends. It was a blast! We danced, kissed boys at midnight, and then had a party at one of my good friend, Courtney's, house. While everyone was kissing at midnight, I was able to talk to Heath on the phone, so that was a highlight of the evening! 

On Friday, I was privileged (my sisters would say spoiled) to get Lasik eye correction! It was a very painful weekend, but well worth it!

Saturday was my birthday, and I pretty much laid around all day, received a nice present from Kim and Ethan, flowers from my parents, and then went to Kona Grill for dinner with my friends that night. By night time, my eyes were VERY sensitive, hence why I'm wearing my sunglasses at night, inside the restaurant!

So, the past few weeks have been kind of sentimental to me because

1. I no longer wear contacts or glasses (which I'm not too sentimental about). 

2. I am no longer a teenager.

3. I am moving to another country for 5 months...which brings me to my third point

4. I will be missing out on family and friend events :(

I will miss home, but I am so excited for this opportunity to travel, meet new people, and spend lots of time with Heath!

Trends

So I decided to be like everyone else and start a blog! Especially since I'll be moving half way around the world, this is an easy way to keep everyone updated on what I am doing!

So, yes, I am moving to Australia (which I'm sure most of you have read my mom's blog to find that out). It was kind of a last minute decision....I became really good friends with a boy who came to stay to visit America with my sister, Kim, and her husband, Ethan. Heath had never been here before and decided to come! Well, we became very good friends and he said I would have a place to stay in Brisbane with him if I wanted to go. Well, I've always wanted to travel and live somewhere for a semester so I thought, what the heck! So we bought the plane tickets and I leave January 14! Although I feel bad for breaking my mother's heart, I know she understands and supports my decision.

Also, these are just a few pictures from his trip to America :)