Puppy Power

We made a deal with my husband, if we move to Seattle, we will be getting a puppy.  Because we have so many little children coming through the house, temperament was very important.  It was quite a hunt, but we found a gorgeous golden retriever puppy from a breeder in Quincy, on the other side of the mountains.

 

Naming him caused big arguments, until I suggested Jar Jar Binks (we were getting him on May the Fourth!). So meet Binks.  He has been such a joy, really helping the kids to settle in to life here. 

 

He is growing at a tremendous rate, dwarfing his playmates at puppy playgroup. 

  

He has earned the nickname “silly doggie” at home because of all his antics!

A pretty moon

The moon is beautifully clear here.  Love watching it peek through the clouds.

So we have moved

November last year, about the time I was finishing my studies, I got an excited call from my husband.  He had been approached by Amazon to interview for a position.  Something we had not been expecting or had planned for.  (They had discovered his cv through LinkedIn.)  After a long process of interviews, he was offered a job in Seattle (yeah, the USA, way on the other side of the world).  Thanks to some wonderful friends who jumped in to help, we managed to get everything organised to move by the end of March.  On a beautiful Saturday morning, we said goodbye to our home and our friends.

With everything happening so fast, (job offer only came in end of January), there weren’t many flights available.  Lets just say that having 2 hours between connecting flights were not nearly enough.  We were sprinting between domestic and international lounges.  Thank goodness for my ThinkTank International camera roller bag.   It turns into a backpack, which made running a lot easier.  Somehow they never weighed it.  I suspect they couldn’t believe someone would be running with 20kgs on their back.  Sorry I never got a photo of how I packed it.  I had stuffed all our valuables in there as well as all my gear  (3 bodies, lots of lenses, flash, etc.).  The straps they use are brilliant, for once I didn’t end up with sore shoulders or back.  (It also fit easily as carry-on for all three different airlines we flew with.)  Thanks to Simon who helped me find the bag in time for our flight!

 

The flight to San Francisco wasn’t the most pleasant, but we survived.  Grateful that we landed early as the flights behind us were all sent to LAX due to computer problems at emigration, as well as  fog.  We spent three hours waiting in line before the systems were up and running again.  The kids spent the time sleeping on our bags.  Ironically, due to time differences, at that point it was earlier in the day than when we had left Melbourne.  The staff were really friendly and helpful, trying to make the best of an unpleasant situation.  The waiting passengers, not so much…

The flight for the last leg to Seattle had thankfully been delayed, otherwise we would probably have missed it and had to have stayed over as the flights were so fully booked.  Somehow, at this point, we also misplaced one of the kids’ jackets.  I don’t think we were very good company any more.  The pilot from Alaskan Airlines was really good, compared our previous two landings on this trip, the kids didn’t even realise we had touched down.

 

We arrived to a quiet airport, got our bags and our rental car and found our way to the corporate housing. (Yeah, it wasn’t quite that easy, but will blog about that part later.)

We arrived at the start of spring, with beautiful weather and bright colours everywhere.  This place is really gorgeous, adjusting is just taking some time.  If you have school-age kids, moving across in April is not ideal.

Easter at Fox Hollow Farm

We arrived in Seattle near Easter time.  My hubby surprised us with tickets to Fox Hollow Farm for an Easter hunt.  It was such a fun day!  The farm is beautiful with lots of animals and spaces for the kids to explore.

It was spring, with all the trees in full bloom.

 

And of course there was the giant Easter egg hunt…

The animals were gorgeous, quite happy to get a rub.

  

The peacock not so much!

Spring was a beautiful time to arrive in Seattle, not the most practical, but definitely a visual feast.

Our first Independence Day

I have been scarce for the last few months.  We had a big move.  My husband got an offer from Amazon that we decided to take, leading a move to the other side of the world, to Seattle, WA, USA.  Slowly getting everything sorted, so hopefully I will be sharing more about that soon. 

 

Friday we got to celebrate with the locals our first Independence Day.  It was so much fun!  We went to the family day in Bellevue and saw the most awesome fireworks.  Everything was quite well organised.  The bands were fantastic and the everyone seemed to be having a great time.

 

The band had everyone dancing.  This guy sure could sing!

The atmosphere was so relaxed, even with all the people there.  The food was good too, though we didn’t have the patience to join the long queue for dessert.

  

  

The fireworks were really spectacular.  The kids had a ball!

For a slideshow with more image, click here

Dancing

The local ballet school moved to new premises, so we decided to photograph the girls to create images for the walls.  We all had so much fun!  They were so enthusiastic through a long day of costume changes, poses and dancing.

It was fabulous seeing how gracefully these girls can move.

Can’t wait to share more!

Thank you to Dance ‘n Dreams for helping out with the costumes.

Waterguns!

Usually hubby and I give a joint gift to the kids.  This year, I broke with tradition and gave each of them a watergun.  It got them playing outside!  Hubby has a bigger one that holds more water, but the kids can shoot further. Four heavily soaked people in our household.

Accidents of course happen, but the two older brothers have learned how to make everything better in minutes.

 

She has the added advantage of having a really big shield…

 

It is awesome to see my family happy and having fun.  Nothing more special!

PS the spots on the photos are water.  Every now and then they forget the one with the camera should be neutral and not sprayed!  There wasn’t time to clean it before the next shot.