The best of times!

Finally, the big update!

I was lucky enough to have a couple of fabulous days before I got sick and I spent those days in Melbourne, Australia. We landed in Melbourne on my birthday and had a blast exploring the city. Melbourne is absolutely amazing and so full of life! I absolutely loved it and it made me think of New York -- very metropolitan. I wish we had had time to check out the museums! But back to my birthday... we found a super massive shopping mall (perfect!) and found a nice restaurant that served me a perfect birthday steak and au gratin potatoes. It was so wonderful! Katy and I then went to a movie and called it a night.

The next morning we woke up ready to go to the Melbourne Zoo. We navigated our way there through the city's extensive bus system and had a wonderful time. Ben and I wanted to give Katy something really special and memorable for her birthday. Katy LOVES elephants and the Melbourne Zoo offered a special behind-the-scenes with the elephants tour, so that's what we decided to get her. She was so surprised and really loved it! It was such a neat experience. We learned a lot about the elephants and got to play with them and pet them. It was pretty incredible.

After the zoo, we did a little shopping and then headed back to our hotel to get ready for the Britney Spears concert. That was my birthday present to myself... yes, I am a Britney fan. We had SO much fun! The concert was excellent and I'm pretty sure we danced off all of the junk food we ate at the zoo. We really had a blast and I'm so thankful for those two days I got in Australia. As you can probably guess, the next day was when I fell ill and the day after that I was hospitalized, so that was the extent of my pleasurable Australian experience.

The next week was spent in the hospital of course. I had a check up today with my doctor here and I seem to be getting better. My bloodwork is a little wonky though and if it remains that way tomorrow, I'll be put on medication to help. Fingers crossed that I'm fine tomorrow because I'm already on so many meds at the moment that I don't want to add more! But that's enough of that... back to the fun stuff: pictures!

Here I am at the Melbourne Zoo petting an elephant! How cool is that?!

Katy's turn! (Sorry the picture quality for those photos is poor... it's actually a photo of a photo.)

Katy with an elephant tooth!

This elephant is pregnant and due very soon. It will be only the second elephant born into captivity in Australia! Did you know that elephants are pregnant for nearly two years?! I'm going to remember that if I have another pregnancy where I start getting impatient...

Katy & Numoi

Here's a video of Katy & Numoi playing.

Me & Numoi.

Petting Numoi.

Numoi handing me a toy.

The zookeeper with Melbourne Zoo's cutest American tourists! Look at his smile!

Me posing with Numoi's banner!


Here's a short video we took of the concert. We were SO close to the stage... it was AWESOME!

Counting down to the circus beginning! 1 second left...

Katy & I way excited during the concert!

After the concert... sad it was over. See the stage? Awesome seats!

Me after the concert with the gorgeous city of Melbourne behind me!

Katy with gorgeous Melbourne behind her!

Sisters!

And for those needing a Caroline fix (and who doesn't, right?) here are a few pictures of her from before our trip:

She has discovered my stilettos. She has fabulous taste. At first I was hesitant to let her walk in them because I didn't want her to hurt herself, but she's a pro.

Those are 4 inch stilettos by the way. I have another pair that are 5 1/2 inches tall and I'm terrified she'll find those next. (Those shoes make me 6 feet tall and I love them... and the fact that I have a super tall husband who I still look short next to in them!)

Bentley, Caroline and her Teddy Bear, Bo.

Bentley, Caroline and Bo again.

And to end on a very happy note, our countdown ticker for Benjamin coming home hit the double digits this week! It's just a guesstimate for when he'll actually be home, but it's fun to track the progress we're making towards homecoming. :) Considering we started at 192 days, being in the double digits feels wonderful and time seems to be flying by.