82 - 88

My mom's family got together Sunday for my cousin's profession of faith at her church. It was a great celebration and a chance to see the whole family. The pretty lady in this photo with me is my grandma Miller. She likes to tell everyone she meets about how she took care of me from the time I was six weeks old and now even though I'm older, I'm still her lambie pie. 

Monday meant a trip to the baby store to scope out Stacey's chosen baby crib. I wanted to see it in person and get measurements so I could plan for the bed skirt. The crib itself is so cute (they are getting it in white) and the bedding the store had on display reminded me of Amy Butler. 

I spotted this cake in display at Meijer and had to take a picture and tweet about it .. the "bunny trail" just looks like a poopy mess. I returned to Meijer a few days later and had to look again - but they changed the trail to use fondant instead of icing and it looked much less crappy. I like to think I was responsible for the change. 

The weather is getting nicer in Michigan, which means spending time outside whenever possible. My mom works from home so she's been taking her lunch outside and enjoying the nice weather. Buddy is enjoying the nice weather too! 

I went out to breakfast with my grandma and stopped into her house to visit. Scooter was very interested in my sandals while I was there. "Interested" isn't quite enough - he was in love with my sandal, rolling around and licking it like it was the best thing he'd ever had the pleasure of romping around with. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen, and all I can think is that there were remnants of Australia on the shoes that made Scooter go crazy. 

Bri and I decorated eggs this year using a new technique I saw in Martha's magazine. It wasn't as easy as she made it look, but nothing ever is when it comes to Martha. Overall the eggs turned out really cute and colorful, which made them easy to spot come Easter morning! 

Saturday night I went out with a couple friends from high school. I hate living so far away, but whenever we get together we are able to pick right up like we haven't spent a day apart. Matt took me to a nice Italian restaurant in East Grand Rapids and then we met Leann and Jacob at a bar called The Green Well. It is a LEED certified business with toilets like in Australia and a great wine selection. Plus the walls are painted a fantastic color green. If you are in town, be sure to check it out! 

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Sunday was our last day in Australia - Tom and Andy packed us up and took us to the airport. A few friends met us there to say a sad goodbye. Over the past two years we've made a lot of lifelong friends in Australia, and it's never goodbye, but rather, see you next year. 

After a 15 hour plane ride, we arrived in LA on Sunday. Yes, we time traveled, and got to enjoy Sunday twice. This photo is me and Curt in front of the Hollywood sign (trust me, it's back there, above my head.)

While in LA we played tourist - went to Hollywood, saw the stars, drove through Beverly Hills, and went to Pink's hot dog stand. Curt opted for a plain ol' chili cheese dog, but I had to try the Martha Stewart dog: 10" dog, relish, onions, bacon, tomatoes, sauerkraut, and sour cream. It was a good thing! 

Another photo of Curt stuffing his face, this time at famed In-N-Out Burger. It was my first time eating there, despite past trips to California. I'm not much of a burger person, but it was tasty and the fries and shake were good. That night we went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Scott Wolf was the main guest, along with Neon Trees and Matisyahu, who both performed. Overall a fun way to spend our last day in LA. 

March 24 marked my 24th birthday. I spent it alone, in airports and planes. The boys were on other flights because their trip was booked at a different time than mine. It wouldn't have been so terrible, except I ended up getting stuck in Denver for a long time. Something about no plane to take us .. eventually we got on a flight, but sadly, it was officially the worst birthday ever. 

It was great to be back in Michigan with our families. This barn was so cute with the bright blue sky behind it, I couldn't help but snap a photo. Call it a need for Americana after three months of all things Aussie. 

I got to my parents' house to find this contraption set up in the basement. My dad's baby plants, growing their way through the still-cold spring under that heat lamp. It was quite the rig, but my dad was very proud of it. 

It was so great to be home with family again. Curt went back down to Nashville right after we got back, so that meant lots of time with my sister. Enough time for an iPhone photo shoot. I think the only thing that makes us look like sisters is our teeth, but others seem to think we're practically twins. In fact, just that weekend, two of our uncles mixed us up. And not just the typical Brittney & Brianna name confusion - no, they had entire conversations with the wrong sister, haha! 

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We played a lot of Monopoly - it's a good, quiet way to spend a few hours. Until we got into fights about money and properties and someone threatens to quit the game. But that's just the way it goes sometimes, isn't it?

Say it with me - "Awww..." Baby Mali was born at the Melbourne Zoo when we first arrived in Australia and it was my goal to see her before we left. She was adorable, sweet and playful, tiny yet still huge. And without a doubt the most popular elephant around (until that other one came back from the dead at the Sydney zoo .. but he was ugly.)

This is a planning sketch for the Tula Pink nursery. I planned and planned, even emailed Tula herself, and it all turned out great! 

We visited Philip Island one last time to say goodbye to our friends there and catch a few more rays. I believe this either Smiths Beach or YCW .. not sure, but still beautiful! 

After an unfortunate encounter with Macca's hot tub, I was covered in spots. And I mean covered, head to toe - my legs, my stomach, my - ahem - everything. It was painful and disgusting and soothed by hot compresses all night long.

March 19 marked the last Australian show of the tour - Youth Alive. It was a great crowd, a bunch of friends came out, and the boys had a great time wrapping everything up. 

Saturday was one last hoo-rah, but not for us. It was Kristin's 21st and she had a huge party to celebrate. It was a great party, like, MTV Sweet Sixteen worthy. We had a lot of fun, and got to say goodbye to a ton of friends who were also at the party. 

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*Okay, to get caught up really quickly, I'm going to post weekly updates to present day. Then we'll see what happens from there.*

Sunday we flew from Sydney to Melbourne, where the guys played at church that night. We were all so tired! Curt and I didn't sleep the night before because we were in Sydney really late for the BSB concert and then had a very early morning flight. We slept a little on the plane, but I'm pretty sure soon after I snapped this picture, I passed out on the church pews. These were new shoes I got at Cotton On in Sydney - me feet were so tan they practically matched the color of the shoes.

I happily finished a new sock. I love the pattern, but am not so happy with the fabric this knit into. Too scratchy for my liking, but they will make a hearty winter sock.

Jason got his new iPhone and needed a case to keep it safe. I would typically sew one, but this crochet version worked just fine. 

Jason joined me in making Thank You cards for our host families in Sydney. He was very proud with his end result, which he designed and built all by himself! 

For one of my cards, I recreated a previous card to say "Thanks." I still love, love, love this design and I'm going to need some flower punches of my own very soon. 

Take a guess - what do you think this picture is? No, not a tennis court. No, not something else you thought of. It's the bathroom floor - where my eyeshadow fell of the counter and shattered. Don't you hate it when that happens?!

The boys played Frisbee. A lot. Like, constantly. And look at that concentration! I can only imagine that he caught that one. And look at Jenny's blossoming garden in the background - all those veggies and herbs, it was beautiful! 

60

I'm just going to put it out there:

We went to a Backstreet Boys concert. 

Curt knows a guy on the tour, which happened to be stopping through Sydney the same time we were. A few emails and five free tickets later, we were sixth row, center, singing along like teens of the early 2000's. It was fun, funny, embarrassing, and a great way to celebrate Jason's birthday.

And PS- Nick is still taking himself seriously. Very, very seriously. 

59

Jason, on the eve of his 30th birthday, modeling an excellent handlebar mustache he'd been working on for weeks. It was so gross.

It was on hold, but now I'm back

Despite the lack of posts, I have been taking pictures everyday. We are finally getting internet at our house next week, so I will be slowly updating this blog to get back to present day. Sorry to make you wait so long, and thanks for coming back! Keep an eye out next week for updates :-)

58

Not much to say about this one except I made a really ugly face and I'm regretting posting about it... 

The guy on the right is James - middle child of the family we are staying with. He's studying to be a composer and he's a fun guy to hang out with. He's interested in American culture so tonight Curt and I told him about the wonders of Lucky Charms and the Wendy's Frosty. We've also discussed public health care and uniforms in schools but the food chat was most interesting. 

57

Curt had to get his computer fixed by Apple today. His battery exploded [again] and it was messing up the track pad and keyboard. He was hoping they would just give him a new computer out of the goodness of their Apple hearts, but no such luck. They are replacing the battery and top part so it's in the shop for a couple days. In the meantime he's stuck using his iPhone and borrowing my computer. I'm afraid the whole situation made him a little grumpy. 

56

Today we visited the sight of the Sydney Olympics. It was really interesting to see all the stadiums and memorabilia. The picture above is the Olympic Cauldron where the flame is eventually displayed during the games. It's now a water fountain near the playground. No doubt a hit on a hot day, but it was too cold to play when we were there. 

They have a display outside the main stadium with the olympic torch, a section of the track, poles from track events, markings to show how far people long jumped, and a list of what I assume is people who helped or donated to building everything.

I told the guys I had to look for my dad's name. They thought it was because he did something for the olympics. I knew there had to be a John Wilson on the list... and boy was I right!

Four John Wilsons! But how do they know which one they are ... ?

55

We went out with the church's young adult group tonight to a pub where you grill your own steak. It took forever to grill ours (I really only trust my dad to get it well done enough for me) but in the end they were good and the fries there were delicious! 

Unfortunately there wasn't any A1 steak sauce. Oh, what I would have given to enjoy that steak with some A1...

54

We were treated to a chocolate cafe after church tonight and it was delicious! I had a dark hot chocolate served in a "hug mug" which is a delightful as it sounds. Curt and I split a cheesecake which was not as delightful as it sounds. There was something strange about the cheesecake itself - not tart or tangy like it should be - but all those swirls of chocolate were delicious.

53

We transferred to a new house tonight. The boys are staying with a family a couple street away while Curt and I are staying with the Moores. Dean is the pastor at Ryde Baptist Church where the band is playing this weekend. They have three kids, one dog, and three chickens. One of the chickens thinks she belongs in the house and will sneak in the doggy door when given the chance.

The room we are staying in had this colorful display of books that I noticed right away. They struck me as odd because they looked to be the size of the Harry Potter series, but the cover art was all wrong. A closer look proved they were indeed Harry Potter, just with different art and titles. Ever heard of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?

I happen to think these colorful versions are much better than the muddy colors of our editions and they spruce up any old book shelf with their bright binding.

52

Whenever Curt plays a show, he  prefers the stage be organized and free from cable clutter. The stage was a mess tonight - I really can't believe Curt let it go like that.

The show was for Baptist Youth Ministries in Narwee near Sydney. It was a huge crowd of area youth groups. They all gather a few times a year for regional meetings with music and a speaker. The night went really well and quite a few people said it was the best meeting yet. The band is hoping to stay connected with BYM and play more shows with them in the future.

51

We have been touring the beaches in the area. We are staying on Avalon, but we visited Palm Beach, Whale Beach, and a few other beaches I can't remember right now. This adorable little car was parked at one of the beaches and I thought it was the quintessential summer image.

50

We are staying with a family who lives right on the beach, the view is amazing and the people are great. Everyday they get a visit from a bunch of parrots looking for a meal, and today was no different. I think it's one of the coolest things about Australia - colorful parrots just flying around, painting the sky with their bright hues. They ate the crumbs and then flew away when they were all gone.

I especially love the little stripe of lime green on their necks. Wouldn't a quilt with these colors be brilliant?

49

Today we went into downtown Sydney and met up with a couple friends, Kevin from Canada and Bruiser from Melbourne. We met them both last year and have been on a few camps with them this year. They happened to be visiting Sydney so we got together and visited the Opera House. This picture was taken standing next to the Opera House with the Harbor Bridge in the background. The boys saw some people doing this pose and thought it would be funny to recreate it.

They are fun guys to hang out with and everyone had a great day.

48

We travelled from Melbourne to Sydney today. Got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, although it took us almost 2 hours to get checked in and to our gate. We got to the gate with about 20 minutes before boarding started, so we were all pleased with ourselves.

In total we had something like 14 bags that got checked, plus a backpack and other carry-ons for each of us. So I guess it was more like 20 bags altogether. Qantas was not as helpful as last year, and we ended up having to pay for some of the excess.

We boarded the plane and found that we were in the very back row of a very empty plane. It was a huge plane but probably only half full, most of those people being in the front. So we had the back half to ourselves, got settled, and survived the most turbulent take off any of us have experienced. A few of us, myself included, got queasy and had to reach for the barf bags just in case. Thankfully we didn't throw up, but it was the first time I thought I would spew on a plane.

After the rough start snacks and drinks were served. It's one of our favorite things about flying in Australia - despite the fact that it was an hour flight, we got free snacks, plus wine and beer. I had a nice chardonnay while the boys enjoyed VBs and Heinekens. The flight attendants took a liking to us and gave us extra snacks and drinks. Needless to say, when we got off that plane we were all happy, relaxed, and ready to embrace Sydney.

Our luggage all came through, no broken guitars, but one suitcase did lose the handle. Unfortunately it's a suitcase we borrowed from my parents (sorry Mom & Dad - forgot to mention that.) We are getting a new one to replace it, courtesy of the airline. I think it was about time for them to get some new luggage anyway....

47

There are these disgusting candies lollies here in Australia that look like M&Ms but don't be fooled - they lack the trademark "m" as well as the delicious chocolaty taste. 

Yet- we can't stop eating them.

46

Another night, another show. The band played a surprise show for a youth group at the camp in Adanac. It was a small but enthusiastic crowd. The show itself was quite scaled down, but everyone had a good time. Curt thought he would have to play a guitar for the whole show, but Bonte came to the rescue and brought up a keyboard for Curt to use. We spent the night at Adanac and finished watching the Mission Impossible trilogy, our third trilogy of the tour. (We've also watched the Bourne movies and Back to the Future 1-3).

45

The guys played a big concert tonight - Good Day in Warragul. There were two other bands - Simeon and San Salvador - plus a bunch of blow-up gladiator games, snow cones, and fairy floss aka cotton candy. It was quite the event and a really fun night. The kids were all really excited to hear the band and the night went off without a hitch.

44

I've been very busy working on cards while the boys are playing at different schools. I really love everything about this one - the colors, the flowers, the cute stripes at the bottom. And "Happy Day" is perfect for any occasion. Aside from a funeral. But I guess that just depends on whether you are a glass half- full or empty kind of person.

I'll be posting more picture of my cards at my other blog - so check back there in a couple days for them!

43

All right ladies - single man, up for grabs. 

Everyone said I needed to post a picture of our Aussie friend Dave. He's been helping the guys with their school shows this week and has been practically living at the Messer's with the rest of us. We've been over to his house quite a bit because they have a pool and tennis court, so we are all entertained for an afternoon. 

The guys are figuring out a way to make it work between my sister and Dave because they think she'd be the perfect lady for him. I think they decided she and Dave can get married and live in Peru... because that makes sense.

Thanks for all your help Dave, and FYI- we wouldn't mind having you for a brother-in-law :-)

42

Jenny gave me this little journal book to decorate and build with memories of our trip. This isn't the finished cover, but it gives you an idea. Since this photo, I added some sequins, ribbons, and a few other neat little touches. The inside will eventually be filled with photos of our trip. I'm going to try to get some developed while we are here so I can work on it here and have something to bring home and show everyone there. I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of mini-books now because they are such a cute, quick, and simple way to scrapbook memories without the commitment of a 12X12 page to fill. (These pages are 6X6.) It's small enough to carry around and show people, and the perfect size to throw on a shelf at home for display. 

41

Have you ever looked at someone's junk box. You know - the one with all the buttons and batteries and paperclips and string?

Grandmas have really good junk boxes full of old knick-knacks and antique buttons. They are like I-Spy books that you can touch and mingle through.

This is Jenny's box. I keep my odds and ends in jars so I can peruse them anytime I like. 

What's in your box?