Cristian and Chelsea: Roam Away// Australia-Arrival-Ballarat

Spending the whole day together with Cristian and Violet down in Ogden before our departure was perfect. We savored our last hours together wandering in the bright sunshine, spoiling Violet with a trip to the TreeHouse Museum, and snacking on speciality treats from 'Ye Old Cupcakes". Nothing became real until we said goodbye to our main man at the airport. I cried. I tried not to, but I did. Violet didn't know what was going on. And Cristian was feeling sick. After saying our farewells reality set in and all of us were suddenly ravenous. Nothing a good fix of Greek food couldn't solve and we were on our way. My goal for the traveling part of our trip was to be as calm and collected as possible. Go with the flow, don't get to uptight. Not worry so much. Of course I was stressing out about worrying about stressing out to much. Did you get that?

Anyway.

The flight portions of the trip were as perfect as could be, at least for Violet which was who I was most worried about. Traveling for 24 hours straight is no small feat for an adult, let alone my 1 1/2 year old. She was a champion to put it VERY lightly. She slept for 12 hours on our main flight from LAX to Melbourne Australia (a 16 hour flight). I did not sleep at all as every hour or so my arms would give out, or my shoulders would spasm from holding her THE ENTIRE FLIGHT. 3 days later (when I'm writing this) and my arms have yet to fully recover. If there was one indelible moment from the flight it was when Violet awoke after her 12 hour sleep and Ma handed her some trail mix. She sat for a few minutes chewing and relishing the nutty chocolate flavors then clamored back over onto my lap, got right up in my face, opened her mouth and sighed. Horrendous morning breath + half chewed trail mix + dark chocolate drool spilling over her lips is not something I will forget quickly.
At least I hope not.

After finding and munching at the nearest Fish n' Chip shop (of course!) we checked into our condo (which by the way is absolutely gorgeous)and headed to my Uncle Richard and Auntie Cheryl's house. Low 70's, shorts, and a family BBQ with some catching up was the perfect way to start off our adventure.
Violet had the most fascinating time sampling spicy cheeses on crackers, meeting their cat Nelly and dog Rommie, and feeding the maggies out on the deck with "Grumpy" (U.Richard). Stuffed full with grilled chicken, salad, cakes, and good company the jetlag was beginning to catch up and I was ever so anxious to speak to Cristian, so we headed back to the condo.

After tucking Violet into bed, which she had absolutely no objections to, I tried and failed for an hour to get a hold of Cristian. The result was me crying myself to sleep, it had been such a LONG trip and I was missing him so much. Also note this is the first time Cristian and I have been away from each other from our very first date. 21 days apart might kill me, but exposing Violet to my Austrailan family and taking photos to secure memories was very important to both of us. This may be the last time we get back and we couldn't pass up the opportunity. It was just an unhappy coincidence that Cristian had started setting himself up for his new job the week before we were leaving.

I did get a hold of Cristian the next day, and talking to him calmed me down and filled me with joy. He was so happy we had made it safely and is wondering what to do with himself because our home is so quiet now (he says). We both are counting down the days until we can be together as a family again.
Our mornings here have consisted of fresh fruit, taking the ducks some breakfast on the lake (we have 45 acres here), working out and watching Bananas in Pajamas ( a must!).
Yesterday we visted my Auntie Susan who has been locked in her facility because of a gastro virus going around. But it was good none-the-less to talk to her through the window and have her see Violet for the first time. We are hoping before we leave everyone gets better and she is able to have a cuddle with Violet and spend more time with us. We had another great day with my Aunt and Uncle going down to a farm to show Violet the pigs, chooks, goats, calves, and alpacas. We all shared a couple of meat pies and hot cross buns then headed back up to their house to chat and relax before we started making the preparations for tea.

Tea. Oh my goodness. It was delicious. Potatoe salad, fresh tomatoes and carrots, different soft drinks, and the star of the meal...swordfish. It was to die for. (and that means a lot because I'm not particularly a large fan of seafood). Everytime I see Violet having a good time, or we eat something delicious, or see something funny or new I can't help but think about Cristian and how the experience would be a hundred billion times better if he could be here with us.

Today we started our morning with a nice swim followed by milo and crumpets and now we're off to Skipton to see where my mum grew up.