down unda'

Well, we made it!

It's probably a very good thing that I have neither the energy nor the time to explain the full details of our trip to get here. It probably suffices to say that I hate JFK airport, we spent 59.5 hours traveling, and got here a day late. If you add to that scenario that for over 3 days, we didn't sleep for more than 10 mins at a time lived out of our backpacks (thank goodness I packed extra diapers and formula!), and couldn't shower - well, you can imagine that it wasn't the most pleasant time ever. I'm suprised anybody could stand to hug us when we got here - even I could smell me. And you know its bad when you can smell yourself. ;-)

However, we did get here, and Abby did fabulously. On the 5 hour flight to LA and on the 15 hour flight to Sydney (which followed a 10.5 hour layover...) Abby did wonderfully. She didn't cry on the planes, she went through her normal sleep and waking and eating routines and was just great. I couldn't have asked for things to go more smoothly for her. Now, after we got here, we had to take one more flight to Melbourne. A quick hour flight. And, at that point, Abby was Done. D.O.N.E - done. She cried as soon as we sat in our seats, continued to scream during the pre-take off time, during take off and for few mins after. Yeah. We got to be "those parents" Eventually, though, she conked out and slept for the entire flight and de-boarding. But, what can you do - she had totally earned her right to melt. And, honestly, we were too tired to care what anybody thought at that point. I am so glad it happened on that flight and not the one across the Pacific.

We met Kyle's realitives Kelsay and Ernie at the airport (as well as Kyra and Tony) and they have proven themselves to be the most generous, hospitable, and purly wonderful people on earth. If you think that's an exaggeration, you just haven't met them. They have gone above and beyond to make us feel so comfortable. They're absolutly perfect and I'm so so thankful that we were able to come meet them - and to let them meet Abby too. We've been nothing but spoiled rotton since we arrived.

The first night we arrived, we went with Kyra and Tony to an Aussie Rules Football game. If you don't know what this is - maybe you should just google it, cause I'm not sure I can really explain it. But, its like football and soccer and basketball and wrestling all in one. There are very few rules and it's just crazy. We got to watch a game where the underdogs beat the undefeated team in the last second of the game. It was very exciting and it was fun watching the local underdog supporters go crazy with enthusiasm. Even with our no sleep for 3 or 4 days, even I found that I was on my feet cheering for the underdogs. Aussies love their sports.

Today, we spent some time in Melbourne looking at the city. We saw the beach, had a lovely lunch at a cafe on the water, we went up to the skywalk where you can get amazing views. They say that the tower is the highest point in the southern hemisphere. Crazy, huh? We really enjoyed seeing the city and just being with everyone.

I apologize for no pictures at the moment. My camera actually ran out of battery before our day really started, but I haven't uploaded the ones I did get yet. Kyra took plenty for me and I got a few from each spot - so I'll add them to a later post.

What else? Abby has, so far, adjusted much better than I had anticipated. It's not been easy for her - but she is such a trooper and has really done very very well.

Tomorrow we're off to a bit of shopping and then to a game reserve to see the kangaroos and koalas. :) I'll update later (hopefully with some pictures)

All in all, I can't believe we're here and that things have gone so well (minus the airplane debacles) I told Kyle that this trip opens all kinds of doors for us - because once you've traveled here - where can't you go? I mean, a flight to Rome now sounds like a quick afternoon jaunt. Hopefully later, I can write a little more details about some of the flight adventures - there are several things I'd like to document.

For now, however, I'm exhausted, and its time for bed. Thanks for all the good wishes that were sent our way, they were muchly appreciated. G'night!