Well, we’re back on the Melbourne-side of the world. 7 hours behind, a day ahead of our Minnesota kin.

The quickest capture of life in our world is this:

1.
We applied and were successful for new visas in Australia. This means have some new travel and work options over the coming years that are exciting to us, both here and in the US. It’s likely we’ll be back in Melbourne again for a brief time, so book your tickets now for a visit!

2.
Kyle (my brother) is engaged to the lovely Katy. You can bet we’ll be home for a July 4th weekend wedding!

3.
We made a Hawaii detour! A true mini-vacation, we were in Oahu 5 days, 4 nights.

In hindsight, we should have probably spent our time eating and at relaxing at the beachside bar&restaurant instead of the sometimes agonizing process of navigating a new place and sightseeing on a tight schedule. But there were definite highlights, including:

Seeing wild humpback whales.

The story where our boat driver jumped in the water to get a closer look at 4 (supposedly harmless) sharks while we watched from the boat. (Can you spot the 2 sharks in the water?)

Eating Hawaiian shaved ice for lunch most days.

A hunt to find the filming locations from Lost — including the base-camp beach and the “Others” camp.

Driving the island tops off.

Watching Billabong Pipeline Surf Competition beachside.

A hotel with a view over Waikiki.

4.
We spent 4 lovely, FULL weeks at home with family and friends. Some really great moments included:

Christmas in winter temperatures and wardrobe

Meeting friends’ new babies for the first time

An epic bowling battle with each side of our family (playing for the best poker hand with the Johnsons, playing for pride with the Pitts’)

Saying farewell to friends off on a new journey in Portland

A gingerbread house competition. Our Scandinavian holiday in the mountains was beat out by the Jamaican bobsled team Olympics. (They won because they used more “edible” items).

5.
We went to Arizona for the first time. At the tail end of our trip, we spent some time with Cole’s family in Mesa, Phoenix and Scottsdale. Lots of great photo opportunities, board games, pool swims and thrift shopping were had. And more pictures of cacti than I care to admit. I couldn’t get over the cotton-candy colored homes and lawn ornaments.

6.
Back in Melbourne, we’ve been feeling the energy of the Australian Open and the bustle of summer – the city is alive and buzzing with tourists, full trams and lots of great outdoor spots to watch match play. We’re trying to savor the warm weather for as long as it lasts.

We’ve got some new energy for leg 3 of the Melbourne journey and will hope to update here a bit more frequently. See you in July!