I think the best part about going home is kind of obvious, it's seeing my family. Obviously we saw lots of everybody. Mum and dad were there to see us at the airport and we stayed in my old room, Heather and Jonno saw us for dinner on the first night. Helen and Danny flew down from their vacation with Sam and Rachel to see us too. It was the first time I had met Rachey and I have to say that cute little face completely melted her Uncle. She is so stinking cute. I even managed to score a long cuddle with her on one of the last nights we were there although I never got "lovey ears". You only get lovey ears if Rachel really likes you and is comfortable with you (its where she gently rubs your ears in her little hands) so I guess we have a little more bonding time to go.
Chris and Mel were also there to hang out with us and it was so great to see them. I know you are reading this and I have to tell you, I miss you both and hopefully will see you pretty soon. Jacqui and Roy and Uncle John also flew down for an extended weekend. I hadn't seen Jacqui or Uncle John for 5 or more years, and I have never met Roy so it was a real pleasure. Roy has a great sense of humor and obviously was meant to be a part of this family.
The party was also a great time to see some more F&F including Eugene, Uncle JB, Neil, Peta, U-Ian, A-Penny, U-Tim, A-Paige and the girls.
One of the things I miss the most are the huge family dinners where we all get together and just have the best time together. I'll write more about some of the things we did together later but Jenee and I are planning to visit again sometime in April or May 09. We'll see... :-)
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Mum and Dad's 60th Birthday Bash
Apart from visiting our family, the main event for this visit was to be present at Mum and Dad's 60th birthday party. I have to say this now, I find it hard to believe my parents are both 60, they really don't look or act it. I still think they are much younger at heart. That said, my dear sister Heather had been working and planning this party for many months and I have to say that she did such a beautiful job. The party was held at the Hilton International in Adelaide in what are known as the Balcony Rooms. So many people of Mum and Dad's closest friends an family were able to make it and it was really a pleasure to see all of them and to be able to introduce them to my wife.
I think part of the fun was dressing up for the night and I must say that my wife played second fiddle only to me. I looked awesome. When she read's this I am going to get sat on. In all seriousness, she was stunning. It was a very honoring night for M&D and we three kids each gave a little speech to M&D's guests to tell them how we loved them. It was really a very special night.
There is not much else I can say really, so I will let the pictures to the talking for me. There are two slide shows. One is of the family pictures that Heather had arranged into a slideshow put to music and the other slideshow is the pictures I took for the night. Enjoy.
Family Slideshow (147 Photos)
Mum and Dad's 60th (50 Photos)
I think part of the fun was dressing up for the night and I must say that my wife played second fiddle only to me. I looked awesome. When she read's this I am going to get sat on. In all seriousness, she was stunning. It was a very honoring night for M&D and we three kids each gave a little speech to M&D's guests to tell them how we loved them. It was really a very special night.
There is not much else I can say really, so I will let the pictures to the talking for me. There are two slide shows. One is of the family pictures that Heather had arranged into a slideshow put to music and the other slideshow is the pictures I took for the night. Enjoy.
Family Slideshow (147 Photos)
Mum and Dad's 60th (50 Photos)
Sorry...
... if you have been waiting for updates. Its been a weird week where I have actually not been able to concentrate or manage to get myself to focus on anything. I blame jetlag. I am much better now after some good sleep. Let the posts begin.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Stevens' vs. Air Travel
Well, I can't say that we had the most uneventful trip ever in terms of transport. It seems as though everytime that Jenee and I fly somewhere, other that between Florida and Texas, her bags are mysteriously lost and we have to wait at least a day for them to come. This trip was no exception.
As we were debarking the plane from Sydney there comes an anouncement over the PA. Would Mr. Nathan Stevens please see ground staff upon departing the plane. Jenee and I look at eachother and assume that Nathan is me. Sure enough, it was a message for us and it turned out that our bags hadn't even made it onto the plane, they were still stuck in LAX. What amazed us was that our plane from DFW was parked 2 spaces from our plane to SYD. Less than say 200m and yet BOTH of Jenee's bags didn't make it? Whatever... We are so used to it now that we have learned to pack spare clothes in our carry-on luggage to avoid this nuances.
From the international flight we proceed through customs to collect my bags and then head to the baggage desk only to be told that we actually werent meant to make it through customs as our connection to Adelaide was actually from the international terminal. So, we had to get stamped out of the country at the "special" customs desk, and then escorted back through the customs lines (where I am sure everyone was wondering what these poor people had done to get kicked out of Australia in less than 30 minutes) and headed to our new transfer point inside the international terminal.
The redeeming factor for Qantas was once we had arrived in Adelaide, and had a wonderful reunion with Mum and Dad, the very helpful lady at the baggage desk gave us both a Travellers Pack consisiting of toiletries and shorts and a t-shirt which are just a little shy of small and see-through so of course you cant actually wear them anywhere of use except in the privacy of your own bedroom...lol
The trip on the way home was actually more fun. Admitedly, since we were tired, stressed and emotional, some of the happenings seemed worse that actually were. Firstly in Adelaide, we arrived at the airport with plenty of time only to be beaten by a huge tour group. We stood inline for 40 minutes an only progressed a few steps. We ended up being called ahead and then the conter assistant took forever. We litteraly made our plane by a hairs breadth and only had a few moments to say our goodbyes which in someways was probably a good thing as I think we were all tearing up.
When we got to Melbourne, we quickly transfered to the international terminal. As we were proceeding through the entrance a cocky security guard stopped us and weighed our carry-on items. He then proceeded to tell us that they were overweight and we would have to check them. Back to the check-in lines and another long wait we checked my carry-on and headed back to the international gate. We were so mad because we had read all of our documents and nowhere was it stated that you could only have 15lbs / 7kg for your carry-on from Australia to America. We felt like there was an inconsistency, if not a double standard. Anyway, we got to our plane ok only to realize that we had checked the Tylenol-PM which helped us sleep on the plane. Awesome.
We were very grateful to arrive in LAX to find that all our luggage had made it and there were no further dramas. Reading back through this it seems like I have whined about the whole experience and it would be fair to say we were a little disgruntled if not annoyed but really we have nothing to complain about because the Lord kept us safe and that's all that really matters.
As we were debarking the plane from Sydney there comes an anouncement over the PA. Would Mr. Nathan Stevens please see ground staff upon departing the plane. Jenee and I look at eachother and assume that Nathan is me. Sure enough, it was a message for us and it turned out that our bags hadn't even made it onto the plane, they were still stuck in LAX. What amazed us was that our plane from DFW was parked 2 spaces from our plane to SYD. Less than say 200m and yet BOTH of Jenee's bags didn't make it? Whatever... We are so used to it now that we have learned to pack spare clothes in our carry-on luggage to avoid this nuances.
From the international flight we proceed through customs to collect my bags and then head to the baggage desk only to be told that we actually werent meant to make it through customs as our connection to Adelaide was actually from the international terminal. So, we had to get stamped out of the country at the "special" customs desk, and then escorted back through the customs lines (where I am sure everyone was wondering what these poor people had done to get kicked out of Australia in less than 30 minutes) and headed to our new transfer point inside the international terminal.
The redeeming factor for Qantas was once we had arrived in Adelaide, and had a wonderful reunion with Mum and Dad, the very helpful lady at the baggage desk gave us both a Travellers Pack consisiting of toiletries and shorts and a t-shirt which are just a little shy of small and see-through so of course you cant actually wear them anywhere of use except in the privacy of your own bedroom...lol
The trip on the way home was actually more fun. Admitedly, since we were tired, stressed and emotional, some of the happenings seemed worse that actually were. Firstly in Adelaide, we arrived at the airport with plenty of time only to be beaten by a huge tour group. We stood inline for 40 minutes an only progressed a few steps. We ended up being called ahead and then the conter assistant took forever. We litteraly made our plane by a hairs breadth and only had a few moments to say our goodbyes which in someways was probably a good thing as I think we were all tearing up.
When we got to Melbourne, we quickly transfered to the international terminal. As we were proceeding through the entrance a cocky security guard stopped us and weighed our carry-on items. He then proceeded to tell us that they were overweight and we would have to check them. Back to the check-in lines and another long wait we checked my carry-on and headed back to the international gate. We were so mad because we had read all of our documents and nowhere was it stated that you could only have 15lbs / 7kg for your carry-on from Australia to America. We felt like there was an inconsistency, if not a double standard. Anyway, we got to our plane ok only to realize that we had checked the Tylenol-PM which helped us sleep on the plane. Awesome.
We were very grateful to arrive in LAX to find that all our luggage had made it and there were no further dramas. Reading back through this it seems like I have whined about the whole experience and it would be fair to say we were a little disgruntled if not annoyed but really we have nothing to complain about because the Lord kept us safe and that's all that really matters.
Back in Gainesville
Yup, here I am, back in good ol' humid Gainesville and it is Tuesday. As I sit here there are multiples of emotions running through my mind. I am happy, elated, tired, sad, lonely, joyous and excited all at the same time. Its really quite a funny feeling, actually. I will write more about our trip back to Australia over the next few days, but in short, we had a terrific time with my family and we are missing them dearly.
Jenee and I have had plenty of adventures and true to our travelling tradition, Jenee's bags even got lost by the airlines. I would have been back in Gainesville a few days ago but due to jetlag and a persistant tropical storm over Florida, we decided to delay coming back until Monday night.
It was great to see the apartment and cats who have been well loved and as a result put on a pound. They both are weighing in at 13lbs or 6kg. Last night was kind of traumatic for them because they are now on a diet, they got their nails clipped and got several threats of being trained to walk on a leash to walk off some of that weight.
Now, in good Nate fashion I have lots of photos to share and I have even gone through them on my computer so all I need to do is upload them as I get to them. So, mostly as a reminder for me, here are some of the posts to look forward to:
p.s. If you are reading this and I was meant to send you some photos, please send me an email to remind me.
Jenee and I have had plenty of adventures and true to our travelling tradition, Jenee's bags even got lost by the airlines. I would have been back in Gainesville a few days ago but due to jetlag and a persistant tropical storm over Florida, we decided to delay coming back until Monday night.
It was great to see the apartment and cats who have been well loved and as a result put on a pound. They both are weighing in at 13lbs or 6kg. Last night was kind of traumatic for them because they are now on a diet, they got their nails clipped and got several threats of being trained to walk on a leash to walk off some of that weight.
Now, in good Nate fashion I have lots of photos to share and I have even gone through them on my computer so all I need to do is upload them as I get to them. So, mostly as a reminder for me, here are some of the posts to look forward to:
- The Stevens' vs. Air Travel
- Mum and Dad's 60th Birthday Bash
- The Great Family Catch-Up
- The Adventures of The Stevens Family
- Future Plans
p.s. If you are reading this and I was meant to send you some photos, please send me an email to remind me.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
T - 48 Hours and Counting
Yup, its actually less than 48 hours until the Journey to Australia begins. I am so excited. I can't hardly wait to see everyone and give you all a hug and catch up. The fun for me starts on Tuesday morning at about 4am where I catch my flight to Dallas from Jacksonville. I then have the day in Dallas with Jenee where I am thinking Jenee has several things planned, one of which I am hoping is a nap (hopefully before 1pm, see below post).
After Dallas it's off to LA, then LA-SYD then Finally SYD-ADL. I did the rough numbers in my head and its about 1500 hours of travel time. Ok, its about 38 hours of travel time from Florida to Adelaide (Insert soft whimpering here). Lets hope I can actually sleep on the international flight cause normally I cant.
Well, I am off to do some chores. See you soon!
After Dallas it's off to LA, then LA-SYD then Finally SYD-ADL. I did the rough numbers in my head and its about 1500 hours of travel time. Ok, its about 38 hours of travel time from Florida to Adelaide (Insert soft whimpering here). Lets hope I can actually sleep on the international flight cause normally I cant.
Well, I am off to do some chores. See you soon!
I Should Know Better (x4)
Yesterday was an overcast, rainy day here in Gainesville which put me in a chilaxed frame of mind (chilaxed = chill + relax, I think we picked it up in Colorado). Anyway, I spent the day tidying up around the apartment and adding CD's to iTunes so I would have ample music choice for the long flight to Australia.
It seems like it has been some time since I had a day I could go about at some kind of slow pace and so I soaked it all in. I didn't have a shower, I didn't shave, I alphbetized my CD's and I had pizza for lunch. Could it get any better?
Rob and Sarah invited me over for the afternoon and Rob and I sat and talked for a while, Sarah was putting Meredith down for a nap but the naughty rabbit fought the sleep till the last moment (so funny, we could her Meredith from the lounge and she wanted to PLAY). Later we had dinner and a few frames of Curling (yes the ice kind) on the Wii.
Now whats wrong about all of that? Well #1 with my sick desire for a sense of achievement everyday along with large energy reserves, when I lay down to go to sleep I found myself rather energized and mentally alert so I couldn't actually fall asleep. Mistake number two was having a piece of Key-Lime Pie at Rob and Sarahs at 9:30, followed by alot of water. Mistake number 3 was allowing myself to have a powernap while Rob and Sarah played their game of curling. Well now not only did I have huge energy reserves but the sugar from the pie had hit my blood stream and the water was slowly trickling into my bladder.So, as you can now tell, I wasnt going to fall asleep, not at 10:30, not at 11 even 12.
So, what do you do at a time like this? Well, you get up and watch TV. You have a shower, you check your email (of which I had none), watch some videos on your computer, stretch, catagorize the fridge, play with the cats and wash all the dishes. Finally at about 1:30 when I couldn't take it any longer I lay down and aparently fell asleep.
So what's the moral of the storey kids?
It seems like it has been some time since I had a day I could go about at some kind of slow pace and so I soaked it all in. I didn't have a shower, I didn't shave, I alphbetized my CD's and I had pizza for lunch. Could it get any better?
Rob and Sarah invited me over for the afternoon and Rob and I sat and talked for a while, Sarah was putting Meredith down for a nap but the naughty rabbit fought the sleep till the last moment (so funny, we could her Meredith from the lounge and she wanted to PLAY). Later we had dinner and a few frames of Curling (yes the ice kind) on the Wii.
Now whats wrong about all of that? Well #1 with my sick desire for a sense of achievement everyday along with large energy reserves, when I lay down to go to sleep I found myself rather energized and mentally alert so I couldn't actually fall asleep. Mistake number two was having a piece of Key-Lime Pie at Rob and Sarahs at 9:30, followed by alot of water. Mistake number 3 was allowing myself to have a powernap while Rob and Sarah played their game of curling. Well now not only did I have huge energy reserves but the sugar from the pie had hit my blood stream and the water was slowly trickling into my bladder.So, as you can now tell, I wasnt going to fall asleep, not at 10:30, not at 11 even 12.
So, what do you do at a time like this? Well, you get up and watch TV. You have a shower, you check your email (of which I had none), watch some videos on your computer, stretch, catagorize the fridge, play with the cats and wash all the dishes. Finally at about 1:30 when I couldn't take it any longer I lay down and aparently fell asleep.
So what's the moral of the storey kids?
- Dont powernap after 1pm
- Dont drink fluids after 8pm
- Dont eat anything after 8pm
- and dont be lazy all day, at least go for a walk...
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