Sydney's Wildlife World

So yesterday was cold and rainy, so Shayli and I decided to head to the Taronga Zoo. Our day started out a bit rocky...we caught the ferry into the city and the boat literally felt like it was going to tip over and waves were crashing over the boat...then when we finally made it to the city we tried to catch the next ferry to the zoo, but the lady who I was trying to buy a ticket from said that we need at least 4 hours at the zoo and since it was already 1 o'clock & the zoo closed at 5, we we wouldn't have enough time (however, I talked with several people before I left and they said 2 hours is plenty at the zoo). Oh well! Luckily I knew that Sydney's wildlife world was another option to go to...so we walked there and they had a deal where you could buy two park passes for a cheaper price, so we bought a ticket to the wildlife world & to the aquarium! Wildlife world was SO much fun, and we had the best time taking pictures of the crazy animals and we even got to take pictures with Koalas!! They were the CUTEST Things...definitely my favorite animal now. They sleep with their head tucked in their arms because when it rains, the rain won't get in their face...they were so stinkin cute! Anyways, I also saw kangaroos and we even saw two kangaroos fight or box or whatever they do haha. After that we got a little lost on our way back to the ferry, but we eventually made it and got some dinner and gelato :)

      Oh man, but Sunday was the best day/night I've had. Shayli and I went to the live taping of the "Australian Idol Finale" show (like our "american idol") and it was taped at the Opera House! So we caught the ferry, had dinner at the opera house cafe, and watched the show from the outside and it was sooo amazing!! Michael Buble and Mika even performed! Anyways, there were several fireworks shows on the water and it felt like it was new years!! After the show, we caught the ferry back and decided to chill out at the Wharf Bar in Manly and talk...it was pretty funny because a guy dropped his glass and it shattered right under me and of course I screamed and yelled really loud. When one of the guys that worked there came to clean it up he tapped me asking, "Did you squeal?" I confidently responded, "Yep that was me!'' haha wow. Anyways, it was such a funny night and after we were sitting by ourselves for awhile, a group of guys came over to our table one by one and started talking to us...they were all pretty funny and were being ridiculous, so it was an entertaining night! Anyways, today was rainy again so I just ran some errands and went to the mall....tonight Shayli and I are gonna go to the movies...it's cheap night tuesday (movies are usually $17 but tonight it's "only" $10)...Then tomorrow I start nannying again! Haha I just went to the kitchen & Harvey (the 3 yr old)  told me "My love you Caitlyn!" (he says "my" whenever he refers to himself haha). Gotta love those little ones!

feeling hot hot hot!

So the weather here has finally been super hot...I just got back from a run and it's 100 degrees out..ouch. It was over 100 degrees the other day and today was super hot too! It's really humid too, so the heat hits you pretty fast...I still love it here though! Anyways, this past week has been so busy but really great! Saturday was a super busy day at the hardware store, so the time flew...then Saturday night was the work christmas party at an "RSL" in Dee why...they have RSL's in each town and they are pretty much big community centers...they have casinos, restaurants, bars, and people of all ages go out there at night. The work party was pretty fun...started out with bowling, then dinner, then a night out! While we were bowling the song "California girls" by the Beach Boys came on and I got super excited :) 

              On Monday I had a beach day and then went to a church connect group (kinda like a bible study) at night...here's the best part though..they had tim tams & I didn't eat any of them!! I know I know...I can't believe it either! Oh yeah, another exciting thing that I did this past week was book a little christmas trip for myself! The family is going on vacation for a week over christmas, so I have some time off and decided that I should take advantage of it. So I got on the internet and booked a flight to Byron Bay within 20 minutes! You could say I'm a bit spontaneous haha. Byron Bay is a sweet little beach town about 400 miles north from here. It's supposed to be pretty funky and looks like it's straight from the 70's...lots of hippies live there..so I guess I'd better whip out my tie-dye! Anyways, I'm pretty excited about that trip..I'll be there for a week over christmas...hopefully I meet some good people to spend Christmas day with! It will definitely be weird being away from home over the holidays, but don't worry, I'll be home for next years holidays! 

            Nannying has been going well, although it makes it more tiring when it's so hot out! I thought I would take Harvey down to Manly Beach and play at the park down there on Thursday...I was dying trying to push the pram (stroller) up the hills, but I kept thinking...okay, I'm going to have GREAT legs after this...I hope! We had fun though...played at the park, then I bought him an ice block (popsicle) as a special treat and we sat and watched the surfers for awhile (more for my enjoyment, but I made him excited about it too and we would cheer them on when they were trying to catch the waves). 

          Yesterday I had work all day long and it went by pretty fast because it was super busy! Oh and I saved a little girls life! No big deal :) Seriously though, I was at the cash register at work and a tiny little girl, probably 2 years old max goes running out the front into the parking lot by herself....the parking lot was super crazy too and there were cars driving all over the place so I immediately booked it out the door and scooped her up in my arms just as a car was backing up almost running her over....I held her close to me, but she didn't seem phased at all that she almost got hit. Her older sister (probably 3 or 4 years old) came running out too screaming at her sister "don't go outside!!" So I grabbed the older sister's hand and the three of us walked back into the store....the best part was the dad yelled at the "older" (3 or 4 year old) sister for not watching her little sister...oooh MEN. haha just kidding dad (I know you're reading this and I know you would've never done that!) 

       Anyways, today I'll probably head to the beach and go for a swim, then tonight another local nanny (Shayli) and I are going to try to go to the "Australian Idol Finale" at the Opera House, so that should be fun! Hope everyone is doing well at home...if anyone feels the need to send me their thanksgiving leftovers (PUMPKIN PIE) I would mind it ;-) Love you all!

Spit to Manly Walk

It's friday!! I'm so thankful for that-I've had an amazing week but I'm definitely ready for some r&r. Anyways, let me update you on what's been exciting in my life this week...so Monday was a laid back day--I did the usual walk down to Manly and walked around, laid on the beach, did some reading, and of course, some people watching. Right when I was getting ready to head back home, Lee called me...let me remind you that Lee was my surf instructor, who I thought I totally embarrassed myself in front of, but apparently I didn't! Anyways, he invited me to go out with him and his friends last weekend but since I babysat all weekend pretty much I couldn't go...so we ended up just meeting up during the day on monday and sat and talked and he bought me a beer! It was such a gorgeous day and it was nice to talk to a local...he was giving me tips on what to do here so now I have a better idea of where to go on my days off and such. Even though he is a very good looking aussie surf instructor, no one should be worried because I don't see anything special, so No-I will not be moving here for good and marrying an aussie (if any of you know me well enough, you should know that I have been dating an amazing guy at home before I left for australia :) Hah anyways, enough boy talk. Let's get down to business.

           On Tuesday, I got invited to do the "spit to manly" walk with Ashley (the au pair that lived with my family before me). It was seriously the most beautiful walk I've ever done! It's about 6 miles of gorgeousness all along the coast, so the sights are absolutely breathtaking! Seriously...if you go on this little hike or "bushwalk" as they call it here, you will see some sweet sights and get stunning shots on your camera...all along the walk Ashley and I would just stop and stare in awe and were so thankful that God has created such an amazing place for us here. We ran into two local girls that were about our age and they actually just got home from nannying in Europe--it's such a small world I swear! Anyways, once we made it to Manly we decided to relax on the beach for a bit and eat some lunch...we were starving! Then, we got some ben and jerrys ice cream (okay, only I got ice cream haha go figure)...it was funny though because I was so excited about all the flavors and couldn't decide what to get...so the worker let me try pretty much every flavor and was cracking up at my indecisiveness & excitement over ice cream...he obviously doesn't know me very well haha. 

              Last night I had volleyball and we had a new player on our team...an Italian guy. I don't have anything against Italians, but this guy was SO rude! It was pretty funny though...he was nice enough, but kept bossing everyone around on our team and he really didn't know what he was even talking about. He could hit the ball super hard and had an awesome serve, but he would run all over the court and literally step in front of you in order to hit the ball...then he would tell you where to stand and what to do..finally I had enough of that nonsense. He told me "hey girl, move up closer to the middle" I firmly responded "no this is where I'm supposed to be." haha I think I totally shocked him because I think I was the first girl who stood up for herself...I even shocked myself..I would normally never talk back like that to someone I didn't know..but enough was enough! He was being rude to the other teams too...he would shout out "we are going to beat you" randomly during the game...oh man & he had a really thick Italian accent so the whole situation was just plain funny. What a night! Speaking of nights, I haven't been sleeping! I keep waking up at 3 am and can't go back to bed...but I've kind of been fighting a cold, so I think it may be from that (...or from the tim tams I eat right before bed..whoops!) Anyways, I work tomorrow at the hardware store...then tomorrow night we have a work Christmas party--it will be my first night out! Woohoo!! 

....Oh and by the way, the picture that I posted is of my two boys, Oscar (7 years) and Harvey (3 years)...I'm trying to take pictures of all the kids and framing them for the parents to give to them for Christmas. They are such cuties!

Spiders & Surfing

So this past week has been great! I managed to do one of my favorite things: SURF and see one of my least favorite things: SPIDER....ok I can handle regular spiders and I don't mind catching and killing them...but this spider isn't just any old spider, it's bigger than your hand, so let's call it a rodent...the Huntsman spider...look it up online. I don't think my heart has ever beated faster in my life, I couldn't even scream I was simply in shock. The thing is HUGE. Anyways, I was giving the kids a bath and all the sudden they look up at the wall and start screaming bloody murder, jump out of the bath and run out of the bathroom yelling spider...then they were running around the house naked and looking like they were going to pass out..it's pretty funny now that I think of it, but at the time it was anything but funny. Tim (the dad), said that they come out a lot when it's wet outside and that they climb on walls and ceilings and drop on people's heads. fabulous! Anyways, on a lighter note, I went surfing finally! I decided to do a private lesson, so I could really feel comfortable out in the water. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach...101 degrees! The lesson went really really well and Lee (my instructor) told me I was the best person he'd ever given a lesson to...but then again he said that most people that take lessons are foreigners that know nothing about surfing. I was kind of embarrassed though because my instructor was incredibly good looking and of course the first thing I do is get a really bad leg cramp in my calf when I'm in the water (from that stupid long run I did up all those stairs the day before)...so I start yelling ouch ouch ouch!! ..while holding my leg underwater...I think he thought I was drowning or something haha. Anyways, it was nice to not only go surfing, but talk to a local young aussie about australia and things to do here in Manly. After the lesson I walked around and saw a 7-11 so I got a coke slurpee...I used to love those things when I was going to school at cal poly! 

          ...Not only did I embarrass myself in front of the surf instructor, but also while at volleyball. I always get so excited when playing any sport and will randomly yell out crazy things. So at volleyball no one is very talkative while playing so I've been yelling a lot and calling the ball to get people into the game. Some of the things I yell though cause everyone to start busting up laughing...so last game I was serving and when I tossed the ball up it was a little off, so I yelled "Crap!!!!!" really really loud before I hit the ball. My whole team and the other team were hysterical. By the end of the night I lost my voice...hah I guess I need to shut my mouth next game.

Another really funny thing happened yesterday...I went to church in the morning with Jess, then we went out to lunch with Ruthie and Jessica, then I went to a birthday with Jess and when I was getting introduced to a girl there, Jess said "this is my friend Caitlyn" and the girl responded "Oh!!! So you're the Tim Tam girl!!" haha another embarrassing but hilarious moment. I almost spit out my drink at her and we were all laughing which turned into laughing so hard we were crying...so I'm known here to people as the Tim Tam girl....let me remind you that Tim Tams are the amazing cookies that they sell here...you drink them with tea and they melt in your mouth! Let's just say I have been going a little overboard with those things...which explains that the people here know me as the "tim tam girl" haha. 

Anyways, the family has been off and on getting sick and poor Julie (the mum) was really sick on Wednesday, so when the kids and I were walking home from school I decided to give them money so they could pick out flowers and buy them for her. They picked out Orange (her favorite color) daisies and she was SO thrilled when she got them--her and Tim have been pretty stressed out with work and everything lately, so I think it really meant a lot to her to see that the kids and I did something meaningful for her. 

     Oh wait before I forget, one more funny thing that happened this week...I worked on Saturday at the hardware store and right when I get there the owner (who is an older man, probably in his late 60's or early 70's) comes up to me and goes "good morning caitlyn! Was that really you in those pictures I saw??" I just blankly stared back at him in complete confusion, then he busts up laughing. Apparently he cracks jokes all day long! Once one of my coworkers explained to me how he is a hilarious old man his joke finally hit me and I began laughing really hard. 

     ...it was a really funny week/weekend and I still have today (monday) and tomorrow off! The sun is finally coming out again...it's been rainy the past few days. Hopefully I make it down to the beach again! 

One month!

Can you believe I've already been here one month?? I seriously can't...time has flown by!!! I've been having the best time! Although this past weekend was kind of a bummer because I was sick :( I totally missed Halloween (I fell asleep at 5 pm!) I got invited to go out in the city with Roxy and her friends, but unfortunately I didn't make it since I was feeling horrible...oh well! On Sunday I went down to the beach with Roxy and her friend met us there. It was such a gorgeous day and it was perfect because I was able to rest a lot on the beach and get better. Then, Sunday night I went to church with Jess and after church we went over to Ruthie's house (a girl that goes to church from Fiji) and we had tim-tams (the best cookies ever) and tea! They are the nicest girls and I am so thankful I've met them at church! Today was a good day...I worked all day at the hardware store! I attempted to go on a run this morning, and felt like I was going to die!! I ran for about 30 minutes out and was starting to get tired...then I realized that I would have to run back home hah whoops!! And of course I chose to go the way that had 100+ stairs...maybe I'll have buns of steel now?! Anyways, work was good today and I'm feeling pretty confident on the cash register now. It was so funny though because an aussie customer thought I was Scottish!! I was laughing so hard! Another funny thing that happened today was at dinner...I was at home eating with the kids and Mia (the 5 year old) told me, "I love you so much Caitlyn, that my heart stops! I think it just stopped again!" I couldn't help but laugh hysterically....and Harvey (the 3 year old) just started yelling "Ya, me love Caitlyn too!" They are the funniest little kids! Anyways, tomorrow I have completely off--wooohoo! I think it's supposed to be a gorgeous day tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to have a nice relaxing beach day...tomorrow is also the Melbourne cup here which is a huge deal apparently. It's the horse races they have here, and tons of people go out to lunch and drink all day and leave work early. I don't think I'll do anything special for it, but who knows! Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween (moreso than I did)! Love you all...I think my heart just stopped :)