Just Another Day

We saw some amazing sites today.

The Twelve Apostles

The Arch

London Bridge

Bay of Islands

One of the best parts of this trip is not really having an agenda. We don’t know where we’ll end up staying the night or what we might find along the way. Today we started out on the road early and made our first stop at a rain forest walk. It was just a quick jaunt but nice to get some fresh air.

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the camper we rented. The table actually has a leg that we could put it on, but it takes up a lot of the middle area that way, so we position it as a “coffee table” at the end of our spacious living room. It also doubles (along with some slabs of wood) as part of our bed at night. Once that’s set up, we arrange the blue cushions in a tetris like fashion, and voila – comfort city.

We left Portarlington yesterday morning after a quick breakfast and stop at the IGA for a few groceries. We didn’t have a specific destination in mind… just wanted to officially get on The Great Ocean Road.

We made a couple of stops before we decided to camp in Anglesea for the night. At Bell’s Beach we stopped to watch the surfers catching some huge waves. The weather was alternating between rain and sunshine, but in all it’s been pretty nice.

The campground we stayed at last night was right by the beach, and it’s VERY quiet!

I hope you’re enjoying your own adventures!

We arrived in Melbourne after about 20 hours of flying broken up by quick stops in L.A. and Auckland. After waiting for our luggage (yes, we packed for carry on but our bags exceeded Quatus’s 15 lb limit), we got a cab to Maui Rentals and picked up our sweet camper.

Bill is doing an amazing job of driving on the opposite side of the road, while sitting on the right side of the camper, in places we don’t really know where we’re going. I’m thankful to not have to worry about any of that nonsense!

Speaking of nonsense… we decided to drive as far as Geelong yesterday. It is just an hour or so away from Melbourne. We arrived there and decided to hunt down a little lunch after getting the camper settled in. We walked back to the park with our bellies full, and next on the list was showering. The facilities were decent, and it felt good to wash the “travel” off. So, at 3:30 we were both well fed and warm from our showers and we decided to grab our books and read for a bit. By 3:40 we were setting the alarm for an hour’s nap, and at 9:30 p.m. I was realizing that we had totally overslept!!!! Whoops, we’ll call yesterday a wash!

Today we chose Portarllington as our second destination. It”s a bit northeast of The Great Ocean Road, located right on the coast. Our camp site is right on the ocean… it’s quite beautiful here.

We walked around a bit, first out the pier and then towards town where we found a Celtic festival going on. There were lots of craft booths and food booths and music in the air.

This afternoon has been a bit rainy, so we’ve stayed bundled up in the camper watching a few episodes of 24. Bill’s busy working on making some stew right now. After dinner there will probably be some time for reading and then early to bed. At this pace, we’re certain to have a great trip. (But as always… Wish you were here!!!!)

I’m officially on summer vacation. I have been for a whole 3 1/2 hours, and it’s wonderful.

Tomorrow Bill and I are going traveling. I started packing for our 3 week excursion after work today… I’m not quite done. I have no idea when I became such a procrastinator on these things. I’m very anxious to have the transportation part of our trip over with, and then we will enjoy the freedom of not having a thing planned.

Laura, Kate, April, and Jesse were out last night. Jesse and April made dinner – yummy shishkabobs. Kate smiled and yawned, so of course I was infatuated. I’m going to miss that little one these next weeks, and I’m sad that I will likely miss Baby Glass’s birthday. It’s lucky we will have the rest of the summer to play!

Dad, Bill, Jesse, and Uncle Glenn seemed to have a good BWCA trip. It was a bit cold, but they all survived. Bill will jump into another trip a few days after we return home at the end of the month. (I’ll be in math training, so it’s a no-go for me.)

Now I need to finish picking up a bit so in hopes some family will come and stay at the house while we’re gone.

Happy summer, everyone!

“I don’t know where I’d be, without you here with me…”

I spent the weekend tiring my niece out. That’s a picture of a yawn, not a cry. Kate’s really not a cryer… yet, anyway. I suppose all babies come to cry at some point.

April and I sent our hubbies off to the BWCA with Dad and Uncle Glenn, so she and I had plans for hanging at the lake this weekend. Laura and Mike decided to come and stay a couple of nights, and even Mom and Grandma P, Stacy, and Dylan came to visit. It was a busy house yesterday!

Today we all headed over to my cousin Jordan’s graduation party. It’s hard to believe that he’s done with high school. I remember the day he was born, and we all headed to Ely to meet him! Jordan and Brennan have been like our little brothers, and we always enjoy the chance to see them and laugh with them.

After the party, April and I headed to Virginia. I was happy to find some clothes for the upcoming  trip and, of course, for a stop at Target. We made our way home, and somehow it became time to get ready for the school week. I’m consoled by the fact that it is my last week of the 2008 – 2009 school year. Whew.

Now the weather just needs to start acting like summer…

Kate Luise Cheney

6 lbs. / 19 inches

Born May 22, 2009 at 9:55 a.m.

Laura went into labor last night and Kate entered the world after a c-section this morning. She is BEAUTIFUL! Her little lungs didn’t want to work right away, and arrangements were made to ship her over to Duluth. Luckily, all cleared out and she was able to stay with her mommy and daddy in Grand Rapids. We got to go and meet Kate after school today.

Mommy and Kate were both doing well when we arrived!

Baby Kate seemed to like snuggling up next to Auntie April’s tummy. Maybe she can coax her cousin out! And of course it’s obvious that she already adores her grandpa and uncles! (We missed her visit Grandma Toots, but there’s no doubt she loves her Grandma, too! 🙂 )

She is so TINY and amazing. What an exciting time.

Today we had a shower for April and Baby Glass. After much thought, April decided that she’d prefer a small shower, and I thought it’d be fun to hold it out at the lake. Of course my mind started turning because I love playing hostess, and I wanted everything to be just right! It all went off without a hitch, and it was a very nice afternoon!

April is blessed to have a wonderful group of friends! Her college roommate, Nikki, drove up just for the occasion. And our dear friend, Amy, made the journey up to surprise April!

I spent yesterday getting things ready, and we put the final touches on this morning.

April got a lot of nice gifts, including this Elmo onsie from Dylan!

And now we continue to wait for the little ones…