Moving From America to Australia, Again

2014 has been full of planning and purging, baseball playoffs and play dates. New friendships will be turning into old ones... and as we move once again, new friends, and much- loved old friends, lurk in the distance.

Goodbyes, reflections, and regrets fill the air, even though this move to Sydney is all good, it feels almost neglectful to have lived in the San Francisco area almost 2.5 years, and have seen so little.

And I have lame excuses--  the endless hamster wheel of school, activities, sport teams, and laundry... and did I mention the laundry?  But at the end of the day, we did Cali wrong, like really, really wrong, and that's the unfortunate truth.

We put serious efforts into doing whatever we could during our 4.5 years in Sydney, because we knew our time there was finite.  And this move to San Francisco was supposed to permanent, and we were supposed to have plenty of time to "do it all"… but now-- it's done.  San Francisco is done.  We are gone, and it is over.

And we never made it to Lake Tahoe, or Sonoma, or Napa (or anywhere else we could have drank ourself silly on a day tour). We ignored opportunities to see Monterey, Carmel, Sacramento, Big Sur, Yosemite National Park, and The Pez Museum.

And now we are here, back in Sydney, land of kangaroos and didgeridoos.    The kids, now nine and ten years old, are back at their old school, wearing those cute Aussie school uniforms and "giving it a go", reverse-adjusting back to an all-boys school, and the kids who swear like sailors.

And here I am getting back up on that writing horse after a very long hiatus, because Sydney was not supposed to happen again.  It's all very strange, but I'm sure, that I must be back in Australia because I didn't fully get, what I was supposed to get, the first time around.

And this is what we've left behind...

Upon moving to America my boys were introduced to baseball-- and became completed obsessed. This is my nine year old making the first pitch of the season.

And my ten year old: Mr. All Baseball All the Time.



We tried to tour the It's It ice cream sandwich factory, but ended up with no tour, and just a bunch of ginormous ice cream sandwiches; you can see the disappointment on their faces.  Not.



Our dogs are in America with my mom until October due to changes in the Aussie quarantine laws; my nine year old refuses to look at photos of them, because it makes him cry.



My sister and the found autograph book she had signed when we were little.

Basketball clinic with the Harlem Globetrotters.



Luckily, a month before our move back to Sydney, the Florida grandparents came to San Fran and we took an all-day tour to celebrate my mom's birthday and see a few Bay Area highlights.



Makes me sad we didn't do more.  Broken record much?

Pier 39.




Very big trees in Muir Woods with grandparents




My husband got quality time with his dad during our time in America; it brings me tears. Literally.



At least we made it to Ghiradelli Square with a visiting Grandma.



And we ended our big San Fran tour at Scoma's Restaurant for my mom's birthday dinner; this is my mom and sister selfie-taking.  These are the times, and people, I will miss the most.



Goodbye San Fran; hello Sydney.  We are back-- older, possibly wiser, and full of sourdough bread.

Surprise: We Are Moving Back to Sydney!

"Well I didn't see that coming-- like a baby with a mustache."

- said by my 8 year old, when we told him about moving back to Sydney

So yes, it's official... we are moving back to Sydney!  I could not have imagined this would be happening!

And so it begins... The Re-Aussiefication of Us.

Kind of wishing I hadn't taken him to Taco Bell for the first time recently-- shoot!
He's going to be so mad when I tell him there's no running for the border in Sydney.

And San Francisco has been amazing, though it was sad that the boys' Aussies accents were gone within a couple weeks of our US return :( .

The kids played little league and were completely obsessed with baseball; not to mention the awesomeness of the Giants winning the World Series, and the 49ers going to the Superbowl the same year we moved here.  Ah-mazing.

I think the dogs will be super happy with this news--  they are Australian Labradoodles after all.   And if our luck wasn't already fantastic enough, they just changed the quarantine laws in Australia from approximately 30 days minimum to around 10 days!

Sometimes it just all goes smoothly, and you know it's really meant to be.

In my head, moving to Sydney a second time seems infinitely less daunting, and easier in every way imaginable. We have our old barbershop, dentists, doctors, school and favorite (or "favourite" as my kids will soon relearn) brekkie spots.

I am already adjusting my lingo-- we've recently brought back words like petrol and whinge in our house (that's Aussie for "gasoline" and "whine" for my Ameri-friends), and somehow the word "jumpers" was just too ingrained in us, and had never left.

This time I know what staples to stock up on and bring with us; and conversely, what products I can easily find at Aussie Woolworths, Coles, Bondi Junction, or the glorious Costco Australia.

Here we go... Australian Adventure Part Deux.

The boys at the Sydney Opera house, probably around 3 & 4 years old.

Our big 8 & 10 year olds now:  gorgeous, fun, smart, hard working, and last but not least-- adaptable. 

Full steam ahead.

Goodbye Australia

Over four years ago, we moved to Sydney, Australia with our two and three year old boys-- and a big container filled with "Ameri-stuff".

And in two weeks, we will leave this gorgeous, amazing city to move to San Francisco, California... another beautiful place where we will embark upon a brand new adventure. 

I have lots of things to say before we go, but for now I'm just going to reminisce in photos about our time here, and how our babies turned into big boys right before our eyes in Sydney, Australia... as professional mini-expats.


We're moving where???  Florida 2007.



The 40 foot container in our driveway in Florida, loading up!



The day after we arrived here, lying on the ground in the courtyard of the townhouse in Double Bay that we rented our first two years here.


Miss Kim, (our preschool teacher from Florida) and the little one, enjoying one of our first babycino's in Double Bay, in a cafe which was short-lived.



More babycino's at one of our regular spots- "21" on Knox Street in Double Bay.



Our first Australia Day in Sydney, in Hyde Park for the festivities.


Our older one, on the phone with Grandma (a.k.a "G-Unit") in Florida.  This picture literally makes me cry every time. :(



World Youth Day, Sydney Australia July 2008, it was total Jesus-mania.



Making "damper" bread at preschool, it took about 15 minutes for me to understand they were saying "damper bread"-- not "dampa braid".  Some things just have to be written down to be understood when there are accent issues.



The thing in our backyard that I loved.



I'd say about 80% of chips in Australia fall into the category of "meat flavour", that's Aussie for "flavor".



Enjoying an Easy-Way tea at Bondi Beach, and when we were there yesterday it appears the Easy Way had shut down... how unfortunate, though timely (for us).



The view from the zoo. (Taronga Zoo)



Primrose Park in Mosman, the cutest bike park in the world.



The little gourmet dining on risotto at Peron's in Double Bay.



The Family Fun Run over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (a.k.a The Coat Hanger).  Notice the leashes on our children, how sad... or for some-- funny.



Box construction fun free event at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt... so fun.



Visits from family were bittersweet, as we knew how much we'd miss them when they left. (G-Unit at the Opera House).



The boys climbed their first trees here, in costume of course for this child.



Those are the townhouses we lived in off to the left, and the brown building is "18 Footers Club" restaurant at the Double Bay Ferry Wharf... where we spent many a weekly date night.


 
A real, live Kookaburra on our fence at the next house we lived in here.  Aussies think the way I pronounce Kookaburra is hilarious... I agree.



Ball skills in the backyard, they are growing up so fast.



Painting in Sydney sun.



Honeysuckle or jasmine- who cares? Smells amazing and it's everywhere, this was on the oval of our old school.



The Rose Bay Sydney Seaplane with the gorgeous views we've enjoyed for the last 4.5 years.



The mini-train which does tours of Royal Botanic Gardens outside Opera House.



The Opera House in all it's Aussie glory.  I love this place.







Our little boy under a gorgeous sculpture at Sculpture by the Sea Bondi Beach a couple years ago.



Views from the Bondi cliffwalk.



Festival of the Winds at Bondi Beach, an awesome kite-flying festival.



Our favorite waitress from our regular spot, the iconic Dee Bee's in Double Bay; which after being there FOREVER mysteriously shut down a couple months ago-- again, clearly a sign our time here is coming to an end :(



Does it get more Aussie than the ANZ Bank?



Or Woolies.  Nice sky-writing?



The cupcakes our friends brought over for Australia Day one year.



The rarely-seen inside, of the Rose Bay Police Station.



An American flag our friends rescued, it was found in the park with burn marks on it.



The adorable house called "Clanalpine" that we rented in the Blue Mountains... what a great place!



We got a puppy.



Ruby the Australian Labradoodle.  Do you think she'll keep her Aussie accent?



We lost teeth.



The famous Coca-Cola sign in Kings Cross.



The painting which is ever-evolving we drive by all the time in Edgecliff.




The Dog Beach, also known as Ruby's Happy Place, below the Rose Bay Police Station.



The people beach, Bondi Beach.



The boys and Big Daddy at Bondi.



The St. George Open-Air Cinema, something we made sure not to miss every year!



This is a rental car-- and entertainment.



Our trip to Port Stephens, ah-mazing.



This is the cliffwalk about five minutes from our house-- it's just gorgeous.




Ruby's Diner, they're not very friendly there-- but they have a cool sign painted on the wall.


These are always cruising around town, I went on one once-- then hopped off five minutes later and never got back on.


And every Sunday after Yum Cha we got a little taste of home-- in the form of an Venti Iced Mocha :).



An eagles-eye view of Double Bay which I took from an apartment in Darling Point.  I lived here.




Sam the Puppy.  A year younger than Ruby.


Sam a few months later.


Our weekly Sunday outing to the CBD.

 
My big boys at the Bellevue Hill Fair, eating fairy floss-- which they will eventually find out is called "cotton candy"... probably right around the time they realize there is no fairy bread at birthday parties in America.

Sydney, we will miss your gorgeous accents, beautiful beaches, and well-balanced lifestyle.  Our children are more Aussie than American, so you will always be in our hearts, and have changed our family forever.