i hate goodbyes..shhh, just go!

After a fun filled, perfect weather, no lines day at Knott's Berry Farm we headed back to LAX for a 11 pm direct flight to back to Sydney.  We had a whole lot of stuff.  I had one 18 gallon tub chuck full of FOOD! I went wild at Wal-mart.  Cereal, marshmallows, graham crackers, kool aid, candy like no body's business....food, food, food.  I went to my favorite craft stores in the states and got some things that I can't find here at all.  And then of course clothes...much cheaper and a huge selection in the US.  Anyway, so we gathered all of our goods and headed to the check in counter with 5 million people gawking at us as we walked by.

We have really loved living in Sydney, but we don't like being so far away from our families.  I hate the good bye part, the part when you don't know when you are going to see your family again. It's sad, but I am grateful for modern technology...Internet, phones and skype are life savers.  It connects you.

The kids didn't want to say goodbye.

Our flight went well.  The kids slept, some more than others, but they slept.  I think I slept a total of 15 minutes.  I had a row with Lucy and Jack and a young guy. I laid Lucy down on the chair flat and every hour she would wake up and punch the guy next to us, waking him up and scaring the heck out of him.  He was a good sport, but she honestly hot him at least 10 times.  I had about an inch of my seat because if I had Lucy laying flat then she stayed asleep so she pretty much hogged my seat, but it was worth it to have her sleeping. LOOOOOng flight but we made it home at 6:30 am. 

Customs kiffed a few of my things which was a bummer..boo, oh well.  

Our friend Wes picked us up at the airport which was super nice of him. He had to bring his trailer to get us and all of our mounds of stuff home.  I was bobbing my head the whole way home...JET LAG in a major way.

The Prepchuk kids were so cute and made little cards for our kids.

Amanda makes incredible cookies...no joke, they are divine! We ate this plate for breakfast!

Back to Australia and back to these nasty creatures.  Nope, didn't miss them one bit!

Just a quick thanks to everyone that made our trip so great!  Thanks to our parents for all that they did for us!  Our families were so fun!  Thanks to friends.  We saw a lot of people.  We are sad we didn't get to see everyone....next visit! We loved our 7 weeks, it was hard to leave but we have a billion pictures we can look at to remember all the fun.

Back to L.A. and Knott's Berry Farm

So we said goodbye to beautiful Monterey and headed down the highway back to where we started our seven week adventure....L.A.  My dad had a conference in San Diego so my parents drove down with us which was a life saver because it allowed us to stuff two cars full of our billions of bags.  We also got to spend a few more days together. It was like old time when we first left for Australia.  They dropped us at the airport in L.A. back in January 2009.

We stayed at a Marriott near Knott's Berry Farm but we didn't roll in until after midnight. Everyone was tired and in melt down mode.  We got two adjoining rooms and Rex happened to be the lucky one that got his own bed.  He felt like a king. :)

In the morning everyone was rejuvenated after pigging out on the continental breakfast {seriously my kids feel the need to sample EVERYTHING that is offered hahaha} and excited to go to Knott's Berry Farm.  

We hit the jackpot.  There were hardly any people at the park.  We never waited more than one minute for a ride.  Usually we could hop off a ride and hop back on or just stay on and go again.

{Rex's little face is so sad in this picture..I can't tell if he is nervous or just feeling like the only boy on the ride...because he is.}

There is his little grin.

I didn't realize my kids were matchy matchy until I saw the pic.  

Lu loved hugging the giant Indian every time we walked by.

My mom bought me a huge pickle because I love them so much. So salty and good.  The kiddos loved it to.

We watched a fun show with singing and dancing.

Lucy wanted to be on the stage.

Jack was a champ.  He went on the log ride.  He looks petrified and he is a bit, but he actually really loved it.

Log ride with Grandpa {i think they went at least 7 times}

                               I am holding Jack's hand as we go on the log ride one more time. :)

                                                             Lunch break at Panda Express

I love this cute picture of Liv sending a kiss to her daddy as she heads up the log ride one more time.

My mom and dad on the swing thing.  It was awesome, you could see the whole city from the top.

It was a success. 

They went on the rapids ride three times without getting off.

This pic gives you a good idea of how bare it was.  It was honestly so perfect.  The weather, the lines...perfect!

My two babies went on this crazy ride that lasted less than 15 seconds.  It went straight up and straight down SO fast!  They were so brave.  They went with Jared and my dad.

My 7 & 8 year old babies are on there!

One word....BIG

There were a lot of rides that Lucy wasn't tall enough for and she was pretty sad about it so Jared walked around and found some that she could ride.  When I walked by I saw them here and she had the biggest grin on her face.

Liv pretty much had the ride to herself.

My cute girls.

Lucy's lunchbox

Lucy is a snuggler.

I went on this crazy ride with my parents and we were laughing so hard we couldn't breath.

I have never heard the laugh that came out of my mom's mouth.  She was laughing so hard!

Coming off the ride a bit dizzy.

I love this picture.

It couldn't have been a more perfect day.  We loved it.  So if you are planning a Knott's Berry Farm trip go the middle of September.  It was so  great!

Ah, my final post is the goodbye post.  Maybe tomorrow! I need to go to bed.  It was a fun night of FHE full of chaos.  I am pooped!