Holiday in Australia

Let me just start out and say that Australia is one of the most amazing, beautiful places in the world! I've never been to a more extraordinary place before.

About a year my great friend Maggie called and said she was going to Australia for a bit. Well, I couldn't let her wander the country alone so I booked my ticket and headed "down under"! We were really lucky because my cousin Kim actually lives right by Sydney, Australia so we planned to stay with her for a few days and save some cash!

The flight is 14 hours from San Fran to Sydney...We left on Thursday night and got to Syndey Saturday morning at 6:30...Yeah, we lost a Friday! Anyways, when we landed it took us over an hour to get through customs. So you know how in America we have big German Shepards that sniff out drugs?? Well, in Australia they have these little beagles that sniff out fruit!! They're Fruit Beagles!! Apparently one of them liked the scent of Krispy Kreme donuts and sniffed me out, so I had to have EVERYTHING searched to make sure I didn't smuggle in an apple!

My cousin Kim and her little boy Quinn were at the airport to pick us up! We got to her house in Manly and relaxed for a bit. Kim refused to let us sleep because she said it would help with the jet lag. To wake us up she took us to a Koala Park! IT WAS SO FUN!! You could feed and play with kangaroos and then they brought out a koala that you could pet...Maggie was basically the kangaroo whisperer because they would always stand up on their back legs and eat the food...I tried that, but then I ended up getting bit! haha Later that night we went to a beach party that the club my cousin belonged to was hosting. We were so tired and it was only 9pm! We felt like old ladies! Anyways when we got back and got ready for bed I heard my cousin yelling to come see what was in Stewart's room ((her older son))...Seriously, I've never seen a bigger spider in my life! IT WAS HUGE!! Her husband John tried to suck it up with a vacumm, but the damn thing escaped! Eventually he got it and we could all sleep soundly...

The next morning Maggie & I got up at 5:30am to go to a local pub and watch the Rugby World Cup. It's amazing how many people were there and drunk already! I don't even remember who won, but it was great! We walked down the beach around 7:30am and went back to sleep! That day we just hung out at the beach and played in the nice, warm water! Later that night Stewart wanted to take us somewhere special so we had some Indian food! Some food was great! The rest not so much!

Anyways, the next 2 days we were going to explore Sydney. The downfall was I woke up feeling soooo sick! Kim drove us all around and even showed up where Nicole Kidman&Keith Urban live in Sydney. We stopped at the spot where you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and The Opera House...Well I got out of the car and made it a whole 5 minutes before I had to run over to the bushes and throw up! It was so gross! I never throw up, so it was just my luck the ONE time I'm in Australia I'm sick!! I was pissed...We went to a couple more spots, but I couldn't handle it anymore so when it was time to go pick up Stewart we left Maggie in Sydney and I went home with Kim...Now, if ANYONE knows Maggie knows that she's the most adventurous person out there, so she was totally fine being left in the city by herself. On our way home, I had to throw up AGAIN, except we were about to drive across a bridge so I had to lean out the car, throw up on the side of the street, and then run into a parking lot...So not fun!!

I spent the next two days laying at Kim's house wishing that someone would kill me. I hated being sick! I missed so many fun things too! We had bought tickets for the Opera House so my cousin's husband ended up meeting Maggie and coming back with her. We kept teasing them about their "first date"!! haha

The next day we flew up North to Airlie Beach, where we would go sailing on The Great Barrier Reef...I was still feeling sickly, but this was something I was NOT going to miss! The first day on the boat was amazing! We met so many people and went snorkeling like 3 times! Oh, did I mention that it was also my 21st Birthday!! I got a piece of cake and everyone sang to me...It was so funny when they were singing because they got to "Happy Birthday Dear..." and everyone stopped because they didn't know my name!

We were on the boat for two days and I was so sad to leave. The water was so amazing and we went to honestly the most beautiful beach in the world! Every time we got out of the water we had food and coffee waiting for us, and it was just so incredibly relaxing.

The last leg of our journey was to the beautiful Byron Bay! It was a little hippy town that was so chill and relaxed! We stayed there for 3 days and it was the best part of the trip! The first day it rained so we stayed in all day and watched episodes of Grey's Anatomy ((you know me, I can't go anywhere without it!)) The next day we went and explored...oh and I got another tattoo!! The whole time we stayed in this cool little hostel & met some great people!! I was scared to stay in a hostel because I thought it would be all trashy, but were booked our trip through a travel agency so they found us some nice ones!

So then our trip came to a close and we headed back to Sydney. Kim let us stay with her one more night before we had to fly home. Maggie's flight left a few hours before mine since she was flying to New Zealand, so she took a cab to the airport and I stayed and hung out with Kim. Kim dropped me off and then I flew home. I left Sydney at 3:30pm Thursday and got back to Salt Lake at 4:45pm on the same Thursday! Honestly, the LONGEST day of my life! It was a 43 hour day...Gotta love those time zone changes...

That was probably the best trip I've ever been on! I couldn't think of a better person to travel with other than Maggie! She was so fun and so great to go explore with! We would have been screwed without my cousin, Kim. She was amazing! THANKS KIM!!

Me&Maggie at the Salt Lake Airport before our flight!


Playing with Kangaroos at the Koala Park


Interesting, don't you think??


I told you it was a big ass spider!!


After we took this picture, I literally walked to the left and threw up...Gross I know...


I give you...SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA!


The boat we were on...The PowerPlay!!


My Birthday Cake!! SOOO YUMMY!!


Look at all those fish!


Wish I was back there....So gorgeous...words can't even describe


This is Maggie...eating Kangaroo....It tasted like steak!


A lookout over Byron Bay....LOVE IT!!


This hurt like hell!! But I still love it!


My great cousin Kim! Don't know what we would have done without her!


Me and Maggie!! BEST VACATION EVER!!

Argentina 2007

**Since I don't have anything do, I'm recounting my trips from the last 2 years**
About a year and a half ago my sister got married in Argentina, which meant VACATION TIME!! =] Oh and time for a wedding! haha

The flight from Dallas, TX to Buenos Aires was 11 hours!! I took a sleeping pill a few hours too late and didn't get much sleep on the flight. We finally landed and were greeted by Luciano's ENTIRE family! It was so great! They kissed us all and smiled at us ((since there was a bit of a language barrier)) and were just so nice to us. The first night we went to dinner with Luciano's family and the food was AMAZING! It was the longest dinner I've ever had, but it didn't feel like it. We sat and talked, and ate, and talked, and ate some more. Fabulous!

My Dad and I only stayed in Buenos Aires a few days, but we did get a bit of sightseeing in. We, along with my Mom and Step-Dad, took a boat tour down the river and saw some awesome houses. A few days later my Dad and I got on a big bus and headed to Tres Arroyos, where the actual wedding ceremony would be performed. The bus was awesome! Imagine the big First Class seats on airplanes and put them in a bus. They gave you blankets and there were curtains you could close so you could sleep (it was a night time bus).

We got to Luciano's parent's house and got a few more hours of sleep before heading to Claromeco, a little beach town about 45 mins away from his home town. We did a bit of shopping for the reception then headed to the beach town. Claromeco was great!! We stayed at a very tiny hotel ((the front desk guy didn't speak English so that was interesting)). The ocean was literally down the road and so nice and pretty. Plus it was still summer so it was way warm!

In Argentina you have to go to the court house and get married...You go to them, they don't come to you! Normally what happens is the couple gets married during the week then have a very big, traditional Catholic wedding. Well, it's Sydney&Luciano so they're NOT traditional! haha Well they got married in this old little court house on Friday afternoon. After some pictures we headed to a farm where Luciano's dad works. It was amazing! They harvest sunflower seeds so the whole place was surrounded! We went there and had a late lunch, again with AMAZING meat and food! and then had coffee. We rode horses and just enjoyed everything.

Everyone stayed in Claromeco that night because the next night was the reception. On Saturday, we went to the location and started to get things ready and do a practice run for the night. My "job" in the wedding was to read the ceremony in English while Luciano's brother, Pablo, read it in Spanish. Afterwards, we went to the beach!! =]
I loved the wedding! Sydney really wanted our Dad to walk her down the aisle and throw some American traditions into it. The ceremony was so great! Sydney looked gorgeous and the setting was amazing!

BUT nothing beats the reception!! All we did was eat, drink, and dance! My Dad and I were the first ones to leave, and we didn't leave until 5:30am!! Luciano's grandma made it longer than we did! haha Again, I couldn't understand what anyone was saying, but who needs to talk when you're dancing all the time! Both Sydney and Luciano got thrown a few feet into the air, and I think Luciano hit his head on the ceiling! hehe My ears were ringing for the next 3 days!! I couldn't hear anything for such a long time!!

Argentina is amazing!! It really irritates me because people say it's a 3rd world country that's full of poverty. Someone even asked Sydney if they had running water down there!! Dumb people...Argentina does have some problems with their economy, but what country doesn't?! It's a great place and I would recommend everyone go there sometime in their life!

My life thus far...

This is my week of boredom, so my newest hobby will be this blog!! Lucky, lucky you!! =]

Let's start at the beginning of time...okay, maybe not time, just since high school!

After graduating in May 2005, I moved to Salt Lake to start college at the UNIVERSITY OF UTAH! I finished college in 2 years and, at the age of 20, I got my Bachelors degree in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations...It sounds a lot cooler than it really is. I was trying to decide between Public Relations and Journalism, but you make more in PR so that's why I went with it!! That and it was the shortest major offered at the U. Probably not the best reason to chose a major, but hey it all worked out!



I really didn't appreciate life in college as much as I should have. All I had to worry about was going to class and taking tests. It was the simple life, and I was stupid and had to graduate early! Now all I think about are my bills and insurance and being productive at work...Being grown up is sooo overrated!!

I had the best job in the world when I was in college!! I got to watch the best little guys in the world, then when his mom had a baby, I got to watch the best 2 little boys!! I loved every single day I spent with them, and I cried so much when I decided to move and leave my little boys! I've seen them a few times since I've moved, but it's still not the same...



A few months after graduation, I decided I was done with Utah and wanted to see what else was out there...So I headed to Seattle!! My great cousin just had a baby so I decided to put my awesome nanny-skills to use...I didn't last very long up there ((a whole 3 months)) until I decided that Seattle just wasn't the place for me...As much as I love the rain, I realized that I love the sun a lot more!!





In March 2008 I packed up my Corolla AGAIN and headed south to sunny San Diego! I've been down here since then and life's been pretty good!! I spend a lot of time at the beach tanning&just walking around on the beach...It's been a hard few months, but I'm trying to deal with it. I miss my family&&friends sooo much it's honestly driving me crazy!!





Well, so far that's really all that's I've been up to...Don't worry, I'll write more!!