Farewell Brisbane

November came and went all too quickly, but not before Kiki’s birthday!

Kiki’s birthday was great. He blew out his own candles on his cakes, and even got his very own scooter. Now he can be just like Ai-Vy... no more fighting!

Next, we welcomed Talisa! We hurried off to the airport and there she was, full of smiles and lovely conversation for all of us.
She didn’t even have jet lag. We had been waiting for her arrival for quite some time so it was really wonderful to finally meet her in person.

Immediately after Talisa’s arrival, we were off with a bang. I took her into the city to introduce her to some of my friends, and the following day we all went to Ai-Vy’s dance lesson.
The next few days were filled with lots of fun activities- Dream World, Water World, Ai-Vy’s dance lessons and recitals, Currumbin Beach, and to finalize my time with the family we went to Fraser Island.

Fraser Island is a place that both Young and Stephanie knew I wanted to go to since I had arrived in Brisbane, but I wasn't able to make it there during my time. They both organized some time off of work so we could all go as a family, which I was ecstatic about.

We packed our things to leave, and within a few hours we arrived at Rainbow Beach. I have never seen such a beautiful beach in my life. It gets its name due to the minerals in the sand which makes it look rainbow colored.

At the beach we tried to do some sand boarding, and swam. We stayed the night in Hervey Bay, and took a ferry to Fraser Island in the morning. We went four wheel driving in the sand, swam, and we even saw dingoes!

After some goodbyes at the airport and lots of tears from me, I was off to Melbourne to finish off my Visa and do some more traveling. I’m very sad to leave the family behind but I know they have a wonderful new au-pair to take it from here!

There isn't a day that goes by that I don’t think about them, and it’s safe to say that my memories and experience with them will last a lifetime.
Anyone who enters this family is lucky and has some great adventures ahead of them.

Thank you, Young and Stephanie, for taking me in and showing me your part of the world.

October in Oz

Ahhh, October has come, and it marks 3 months for me in Australia. It's getting warmer and warmer here each day, which means the pool is almost ready for us. I can't wait to teach Ai-Vy to swim!

We started off this month by going camping at the beautiful property that Young and Stephanie's friend's parents live on (are you following :) ??). There were endless acres of land... fruit trees, beautiful gardens, walking paths, and lakes. We settled by one of the lakes where everyone enjoyed canoeing, swimming, and fishing.

Young even caught an eel! Disgusting, I know! He put it on the barbie but there was no way I was trying it. Noooo thank you, we had enough wonderful food to eat as it was! We had wine, bread, fresh salads, pastas, fruit from the land, and not to mention the very tasty cheese that was made there on the property... yummm. I also tried Jackfruit for the first time... I had never seen, heard, or tasted it before. It didn't even taste like fruit, more like lollies.

I learned during this camping trip that Kien-Nhu is deathly afraid of bugs! HA HA, I hate to admit it, but it's the funniest thing I have ever seen when they come near him. It's so hard not to laugh but he is truly terrified. What a rough life for KiKi!
Soon he will have to adjust, as Young thinks it's hilarious to put fake spiders around the house and scare me. Look out, Talisa and Maureen.. you're next! I hear stories that the real spiders that come in the summer time are just as big...... :p

I have enjoyed spending some time with Stephanie in the kitchen. We don't always know what it is that we would like to cook or bake but it's always fun to see and taste the end product. I will soon cook something for dinner that is popular in my country, and I will leave them with a couple of recipes to add to their cookbook. The Australian and American culture is very similar in a lot of ways, so I am very fortunate to have an opportunity to learn more about the French culture here.
With such an open family, it's a great and comfortable way to experience and accept our differences/similarities.

I have tried the "Teach me French" program on my computer but find it's a bit difficult to determine the pauses between words. Ai-Vy has taught me a few words.. One night at bath time she thought it was hilarious to have me repeat a word in French, and later I learned it meant "fart"... thanks Ai-Vy! First she wants to eat my brains, now this!

Kien-Nhu and Ai-Vy have really become my little buddies. I can always look to them when I need a smile. I have determined that Ai-Vy is the leader, and Kien-Nhu will always be one step behind her. He always watches and repeats her. KiKi and I are working on how to say "finished" instead of "fishy", and how to say "Please" instead of making a whiny noise.
Ai-Vy still says "Chicken Muggets" instead of nuggets. Hilarious! She loves to sing songs, especially Christmas carols. I am very proud of her for mastering "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Ba Ba Blacksheep" recently.

We have walked to school with the dogs and learned to look both ways before crossing the roads, gone to Southbank to see the events of Riverfire, the arcade, bird watching, and collected snails. We went to the library, picked flowers, and swam at the lagoon. And of course one of their favorites is getting chips at McDonalds :)

I went to Currumbin last week for a surfing lesson with my friends Naomi and Ashlee. I stood up on the board a couple of times but it was very difficult and didn't stay up long. We are planning to go camping and horseback riding at the end of the month, and I will also get to explore Tamborine Mountain finally.

We look forward to welcoming Talisa very soon. One more month until she is here!

How rude of me!

How rude of me not to introduce myself! Let's start over ;)

Hello all!! My name is Jordan. I'm 23, and I'm from Portland, Oregon which is the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Oregon is known for it's truly breathtaking and diverse scenery.

There you will find our extensive coastline, lakes, rivers, mountains, valleys, deserts, and forests. Just depends on where you are.

Before I moved to Australia, I was working full time at a non-profit hospital in the Emergency Room as a Registrar. My job was a lot of things - exciting, stressful, and rewarding in more than one way as I met my current boyfriend there. Talk about working hard! ;)
So yes, it's true, I do have a boyfriend back at home and he's finishing his Paramedic schooling while i'm here (are you catching on about how we met yet??)

In my free time at home, I enjoyed hiking, photography, kayaking, going out, weekend getaways to the mountains, or just relaxing and watching movies. I'm pretty much up for whatever and will try anything once.

I decided to become an Au Pair because I love children and I love traveling, and I was really looking for a change in pace and culture. Here I am now, and it's safe to say that it has been an extremely awarding experience thus far. I look forward to many more days like the ones I have already spent :)

My first blog post!

Along with many other "firsts" in Australia, I can say that this is my first time ever posting a blog! I can admit that I am a bit technically challenged... but here goes finally.

I have been in Australia just a little over two months now. I began as an Au Pair for another family, but quickly realized that we were not the right fit for each other. My friend Amanda always talked about her friend Morgane's family and how wonderful they were, and it turns out that Morgane was looking for a replacement for herself as she was going back to France shortly. I asked Morgane to give me some information, and soon enough I met the family and things took off from there! Pretty good decision!! ;)

Young and Stephanie are both very active and encouraging. I realized that Ai-Vy may or may not be a zombie after she informed that she would like to "Eat my brains" on my first day with them. Kien-Nhu was a bit shy at first but he quickly warmed up to me.

Ai-Vy, Kien-Nhu and I enjoy going to the parks nearby. We try to go to new ones and do different activities. Sometimes we go just to play on the equipment, or just take a nice walk on the many easily accessible paths nearby. The kids also enjoy just having a quiet picnic outdoors with some books after daycare. I also take them with me to Chermside, the local shopping mall and they never fuss. They really are awesome kids, and are always happy to do things with me. Ai-Vy really enjoys baking cakes too.

We have already done a ton of fun things as a family together. On my first weekend here, we went to the beach at Surfer's Paradise and had a nice picnic lunch with some of Young and Stephanie's friends. The kids (and me too, not even going to lie) enjoyed finding massive amounts of seashells and sand boarding down the dunes.

After our fun weekend, it was time for me to buckle down and learn to drive a manual... LOOK OUT AUSTRALIA... I had already mastered driving on the left side of the road but I hadn't come this far in life yet with the manual. Both Morgane and Stephanie were extremely patient with me and I think I learned pretty quickly. Young might disagree. LOL.

Other "firsts" for me include eating a Kangaroo steak, compliments of Young. Tasted like steak with a bit of a fishy after taste... Bon Appétit!

I got down to my true Aussie roots one weekend at Springbrook National Park and walked BAREFOOT on the bushwalk (ouch)... after a few comments, strange looks, and pity for my poor feet, Young made me some truly natural "shoes" from the bush. See pic!

We have also gone to Noosa on a holiday with Morgane before she went home. We have also been to Currumbin Beach for the day for a picnic, swimming, and a nice walk.

On Mondays and Thursdays, Stephanie likes to take Chom Chom and Todd to Agility Training. So far I have had the chance to go once and it was really fun. Chom Chom and Todd hadn't gone to Agility for a long time but impressively still remembered everything. I learned a lot of cool techniques and moves so I look forward to doing the same with my dog when I go back home.

A week ago today, we went into the city to Young and Stephanie's citizenship ceremony. There was music, an Aboriginal performance, and of course a lot of talking but it truly was awesome to be part of such a special occasion for so many people. Afterwards, we went out for Indian food... ask Stephanie how much she liked it!!

True Aussies now!

This last Sunday, we all (including Chom Chom and Todd) went back to Currumbin Creek/Beach to celebrate Young and Stephanie's new citizenship. We had a fantastic BBQ, and I got to meet more of their friends. We spent the afternoon just chillin in the sun, and afterwards we all went paddle boarding/canoeing. It was my first time paddle boarding but definitely not the last. Aaah and I wasn't the only one that fell off the board ;)

Aside from all the activities with the family; I myself have traveled to Sydney, Noosa and the Australia Zoo, Byron Bay a few times, and Stradbroke Island. I have gone to a Footie match, whale watching, Dreamworld, Cirque Du Soleil, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, and abseiled the Kangaroo Cliffs. I have climbed in the middle of the night to the top of Mt Warning to catch the very first sunrise in all of Australia, visited the Glasshouse Mountains, and hiked the ridges of Mt Gravatt. I have enjoyed walking along Manly Bay, making BBQ's at Southbank, and exploring the bush on bike.

I have met wonderful people along the way from all over the world, and have made some lifelong friends for sure. It's truly been a wonderful experience, and I look forward to more!

Sand art @ Byron Bay

Aussie Sunset

Catching the sunrise at the top of Mt Warning

I hope to visit Lamington National Park, Fraser Island, Tamborine Mountain(I hear you can get a fabulous cheese and wine platter!), the Blue Mountains, The Whitsundays, Mt Moffatt, Melbourne, Alice Springs, and Uluru (Ayers Rock).

Stay tuned!!