Zoo, Footy, & Photos

I went to the zoo again with the family I nanny for.  I just have some cute pictures to share with you. First is a Koala that was too cute not to share.  

Second is this Kangaroo.  I feel like this picture can have many captions next to it.  The caption I used was:

 "This is how I feel this morning"

Then on Saturday it was a train trip into the city.  As a girl from Dallas, TX where public transport is non existent or way too creepy to even think about I am quite the pro on the trains now.  I take them once a week probably.  I am very thankful for public transport here that is for sure. This was a sign at Central Station in downtown Sydney.  I took a picture to text ash for which side to get out on.  This station has 25 platforms.  It is massive!  Some lady asked me where the food court was as I was looking at this sign for probably 5 minutes waiting for Ash to text back.  In my head I was like, Lady clearly I don't even know which way I am going since I am stopped staring at this sign.  But I responded with "Im not from here, maybe you should ask someone who is Australian"  Looking back that was probably a dumb response seeing as there is a large number of people in Sydney who are not Australian.  But oh well she went left, hopefully she got where she wanted to go. 

So then we met up and went to the footy game.  (Australian Football League).  Sydney Swans were playing Port Adelaide. (FYI Australia doesn't have the most intimidating sports team names - the swans...really?)  However, the game was actually so much fun.  I actually felt like I was in America before the game started with the massive stadium, lots of people, food stands, team spirit, etc.  But then the game started and it was definitely not like an American football game...it was WAYYYY better.  I could watch this game over NFL any day.  It was way more exciting.   I was engaged the whole time.  Besides the fact that I was asking Ash questions every 3 minutes. 

Basically Australian football is a mixture between football, soccer, and their own ideas thrown together into one.  The Sydney Swans won which was an upset so it was exciting to see the crowd.  

Ben & Leah.  Such legends.

Oh and sneak peak: we did engagement pictures this weekend.

Also I go home for a week in 3 days!!! And I am so pumped about it on so many levels! Except for the long flight. I am not excited for that. 

One of those weekends

This was just one of those dream weekends where you feel so blessed and thankful for everyone and everything around you.

The weekend started off with a bit of wedding dress shopping.  I am planning to get my dress in Dallas but might as well look while I am here.  

Then after that it was a birthday dinner out at the Potting Shed.  If you live in Sydney and havn't been there yet, you should go.  It was such a cool vibe.  Yes, I look like a giant in the picture below... can you spot the american?

Then Ash surprised me with another trip this weekend, it was to Melbourne this time.  We got there super early in the morning and went straight to a cool cafe and had coffee.  Then we went to church, the beach, shopping (H&M!!!), and walked around the city.  Melbourne is such an interesting city with lots of art, lights, graffiti, and other cool artsy things.  From what I have been told people in Melbourne love Melbourne and do lots to keep the vibe in the city the way it is. 

For example here is a waterfall that this guy put leaves in.

Then down to the beach.  I didn't get a good picture but down at the beach there was these rock fixtures and in between the rocks were baby penguins!

Catholic church - the architecture is amazing.

And we went to Vapiano!! It was just like America! I was a happy chappy!

We also got in a bit of sushi before we got on the plane back to Sydney! Ash and I are the best sushi combo eaters because we both get things the other person would like so we can share.  One of the many reasons I am marrying him. 

And then Monday was a holiday here in Australia so everyone was off work!  It's the Queens birthday. You are probably asking yourself what Queen?  Well the Queen of England of course.  Then you might be wondering well why is Australia celebrating the Queen of England?  Yes, I had the same question.  Well you see Australia is part of the Commonwealth which means the Queen of England actually holds some power over Australia.  Supposedly if she wanted to fire everyone in the Australian government she could.  Each Australian state has a governor who is appointed directly by the Queen on the advice of each of her respective state governments. Also did you know that Australia was founded as a place where English prisoners went to serve out the remainder of their sentence.  So yup all these Aussies come from Ex Cons.  Just kidding, kinda. 

Okay so there was a short Aussie history lesson for you...however I digress..

I would like to tell you another reason this weekend was so great...we went to COSTCO! And yes, it was just like America.  And it was great. We went to costco because we had to get ready for a party that Ash had put together for church.  The young adults connect groups (small group, bible study, community group, whatever you want to call it) had reached 800 people!  So they threw a Black Tie party! And by they I mean Ash and other volunteers that helped. So there was a lot of effort put into it.  

I mopped for the first time ever.  Yes, mom I mopped.  Then we set up tables, couches, prepped food, decorations, and everything.  But it was such a fun party and such an amazing night.  I am always stunned by how great Ash is at planning events.  Its really cool to see him in his element and doing something he is super talented at.  He just gets things done and has an eye for everything!  So anyone looking for an event planner in LA I have the perfect person for the job (but seriously).

We get dressed up sometimes and take lots of pictures.  

This is Leah.  Thanks for being my American friend here in Australia! Love doing life here with you!

Ben, Leah, me, and Ash.  (3 Americans and an Aussie)

Nate, Chloe, me, and Ash (3 Aussies and an American)

So there was my weekend.  It was pretty great if I do say so myself.  Love all the people in my life right now and I think I can honestly say I have never been happier.  

Best Fiance Award Goes to...

ASH! But more about that in a second...

First lets talk about this picture. To my SMU friends reading this...there is a Vapiano in Australia.  This made me so happy! This restaurant was right across the street from where I went to college and they gave students half price on some nights.  My track team and I went here all the time but then it shut down after two years and I have missed their pizza and pasta ever since!

But back to why Ash is the best fiancé...he surprised me with a trip to the Gold Coast this weekend! It is basically like a beach and theme park town.  The beaches are beautiful and the lifestyle there is a dream!! I could live there any day!  The picture below is a map of where the Gold Coast is in relation to Sydney.

 This is what the beaches look like.  It is just massive beaches all along the coast. It is beautiful to say the least.

Unfortunately for us it rained the entire time we were there and as we were walking around it poured down on us and we had to run back to the car.  But we still got drenched.  The picture below are the people we stayed with.  They are ash's friends from his old job.  They were such awesome people.  You know when you meet people and just instantly hope that you can do life with them everyday.  Yup, those were these people!  And their little boy Judah was adorable!

Thanks for such a great weekend! Ash always comes up with such amazing adventures!  Life with him is just so fun. So thankful I get to do life with him forever.  

Also we are getting some of our engagement pics back so here is a sneak peak! I love the bridge in the background here!