Where has 2009 gone?

Well here we are... mid-October and I keep thinking where has 2009 gone?  Let's take a look...


2009... where has it gone?  That's pretty easy, we moved from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Perth, Australia in February.  I've had somewhat of a difficult time adjusting to the move, but I am managing.  We love our new house and the people in Perth are kind.  I've joined the American Women's Club of Perth.  The women are very friendly and I've met some ladies that I've become very close to. 


In April, we were thrilled to discover that we were pregnant.  I was very blessed to not have much difficulty getting pregnant and didn't have a day of morning sickness! April came upon us fast, as we were able to have our first visitor.  My close friend from Ohio, Kelly, came for a visit.  We went on a girls trip to Sydney and Cairns.  We had a fantastic time and made a lot of great memories.  My favorite memories were of the Sydney Opera House and the Blue Mountains.  Just amazing....  She then was able to spend a week here in Perth.  We showed her Swan Valley, Fremantle, Rottnest Island and other local attractions. 



Just as the guest bedroom was beginning to collect dust, our next visitors arrived.  We met a fabulous couple while living in KL, Karen and Floyd.  We were lucky enough to have them come and visit us.  We decided to head South to Margaret River, Bunbury and other small local towns in the area.  Unfortunately, Zoe hadn't made it out of quarrentine yet, so they weren't able to see her.  In the midst of hosting Karen and Floyd, we took a quick trip to Sydney to help celebrate our friends hen/hens night.  We met up with the Batmans and of course staying with tradition, had a blast.  I, nor Greg's wife Mel, could drink because we were both pregnant, but laughed quite a bit at our drunk hubbys when they returned home late from the bachelor party... hammered.



June quickly arrived and with it so did my parents.  They finally decided to make the long journey to our side of the world.  Since they booked their trip when we were still living in Malaysia, I took a flight to KL to meet them for a few days and show them around our old stomping grounds.  The only hitch to the trip was that my mom had broken her ankle a few weeks before arriving. So we had to take it slow and at times wheel her around in a wheelchair.  I think they really enjoyed seeing the different culture but the hot and humid temperature didn't fair well.  We tried to warn them!!! LOL  During our time in  KL, I took them to the Elephant Sanctuary, Petronas Twin Towers, Chinatown, and other local areas and restaurants.  We were lucky enough to stay with Karen and Floyd... and my parents just loved it.  My mom went bonkers in Chinatown... don't get in the way of a woman and thousands of rip-off purses!  I think they were just stunned to see live elephants at the Elephant Sanctuary.  We made a day out of seeing unique animals at the Deer Park and then at the elephant park, they  fed them and were able to take a short ride on them . As always, time went too quickly and before we knew it it was time to return to Perth. Once we arrived to Perth, Steve and I celebrated our ONE year ANNIVERSARY!  Wow, how the time flew by... it also happened to be Father's day.  The four of us decided to go to dinner to celebrate.  As a gift to ourselves and my parents wanting to see as much of Asia as possible, we planned a trip to Bali (Indonesia).  We left that Monday and were gone for 4 days.  We stayed in our own private villas that Steve and I had previously stayed in during our first visit to Bali.  They are just amazing and absolutely beautiful.  It was nice b/c on this trip Steve and I wanted to try a few things that we didn't do on our first trip.  My parents, Steve and I went to Monkey Forest, a volcano, Kata beach, and Ubud.  The people are so friendly and welcoming.  My parents were just in awww with the price of trinkets, food and how the culture was.  I think they really enjoyed themselves. I know that Steve and I did.  In their final week of the visit, we returned home to Perth were we did some day trips to surrounding towns.  We, of course, went to Swan Valley for wine, the Pinnacle (amazing rock formations), Kings Park, the Wildlife park and Fremantle markets.  It seemed like the 3 weeks they were here just went by so quickly.  I hope it was a trip they will never forget.



July rolled in and we had one more set of friends coming to visit.  Faith and Tim are our friends from Dallas. We have been truly blessed to have so many friends want to come and visit, this has defintely made the transition from KL to Perth a bit easier.  Faith and Tim arrived at the end of July and we didn't waste any time.  They were only going to be with us for a week, so we wanted to make the most of it.  We decided to go to Albany and Denmark which is a 5 hour drive from Perth.  I thought I was doing good by booking a farmstay house b/c it was roomier and more like a B and B.  However, because it was winter, I didn't realize that the house wouldn't have heat.  YIKES.... It was BITTER cold and we were forced to buy heaters at Target and huddle together to stay warm.  Nevertheless, we didn't let this get us down.  We had an amazing time from whale watching, seeing blow holes, going tasting at local wineries to tree top walking, it was jam packed with stuff to do and photo opportunities.  When we got back to Perth, they enjoyed a few days of down time, and prision time!  LOL  They decided to do the Fremantle Prison tour...and the pics look like they had a great time.  We were sad to see them go!



August came and went, no visitors, but busy with the pregnancy and trying to get back into a routine.  Steve's work load really bumped up and it seemed like he was working all the time.  He even went on the rig for almost 2 weeks.  It was nice to have some down time! 
Early September arrived and I left for a quick trip home to the US.  Our company agreed to ship some baby items over, YEAH, so we decided to go home for a quick shopping trip and to see friends and family.  While in Houston, my friends had a baby shower for our peanut.  It was so nice of them and how great it was to see everyone!  I surely miss all of our friends from Houston and can't wait to get back home for good!  At the shower, our peanut got lots of baby things that will make our transition to parents a whole lot easier.  Thanks guys!  Next, Steve flew in and we took some time to go and visit his parents in Copperas Cove, TX.  It was such a great visit.  We went to Austin and Salato.  What I didn't know was that Ilse had planned a surprise baby shower for us.  It was such a wonderful surprise.  I didn't have a clue.  About 30 people came, and it was so nice of all of them to welcome me into motherhood with open arms.  Everyone was so sweet and I know I had an absolutely wonderful time. Thanks Ilse, it really meant a lot to me!  After several more trips to Babies-r-Us, we were ready to ship the baby stuff back to Perth.  Unfortunately, our time in Houston was going quick, but we did manage to arrange time with Lorie and the Baxter's.  We had decided to go to Fogo d' Choa for dinner and to take out our wedding cake topper to kind of celebrate our one year anniversary (a few months late I know, but what are you going to do when you are in Australia and the cake is in Texas for that special day?  LOL)  The cake was actually delicious.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The following day we left to head back to Perth.  It was a rocky trip back, but we finally made it, 28 hours later!



This brings us to October...its gone by rather quickly and the pregnancy has been great thus far.  I was diagnosed with gestational diabete's which has caused me to go on a strict diet.  I've been working hard on it and have to take my sugar 4 times a day.  I don't think I've had this much salad in forever! LOL  I'm going to the OB every 2 weeks now and as of date she thinks that I'll be induced 2 weeks early.  I go for a 32 week scan next week and we should know more then.  Steve and I have been busy getting the baby's room ready.  The air shipment arrived and because of that we were able to put the crib together and put the other essentials away.  I've been having a bit of anxiety b/c we are going toa birthing/parenting class on Tues. for 3 weeks.  I'm the kind of person that less information is better, where Steve is more is better.  So with these classes, we are getting a well rounded education of what to expect, when and how.  It should be interesting.  Stay tuned, I'm sure in 7 weeks when our little one arrives that there may be a few intersting stories to tell! 







During our stay here in Perth, we have made some really good friends.  We do a lot of social activities with the Smith Family (Clint, Candi and their four kiddos... MacKenzie, Kennedy, Reid, Luke), Rob and Claire Goulding, The Sloan Family (Cam, Jacqui and their kids.... Brady and Cameron).  I've also made a few friends in the scrapbook world.  I enjoy scrapping each month with Bec and Christell.   These friends have really helped make Perth feel like home.  It wouldn't be the same withouth them.  We recently looked after the Smith children while Clint and Candi went to Sydney.  It was wonderful and gave us a small glimpse into parenthood.  What fun!  Take a look at some of the things we've done....



We welcome you to keep in touch with us and to see how this new and exciting chapter in life will turn out.  We are blessed to have friends and family like all of you in our lives.
Love,
Steve, Stephanie, "Peanut" and Zoe