The Absolutely Incredible End of an Era....

The last two weeks were our last fortnight with Sully before she moved back to Michigan. We were sooo unbelievably bummed to see her go but oh man did we make the most of our last days together!

Monday 3/11

After our craaazyyy Horror Nights at Universal, we slept in and went to Crave Cafe for a delicious brunch - it's a suuper trendy spot so we brought our hipster A-game haha. We had a chill day, did some grocery shopping, baked the most delicious cookies EVER (they had cornflakes, marshmallows, choc chips, & peanut butter chips, amazing! Here's a link to the recipe: http://www.shutterbean.com/2013/cornflake-marshmallow-cookies/#more-21389), and had a snacky dinner of meats and cheeses. We also went out for late-night manicures to get ready for the Marine Corps Ball on Wednesday!! So exciting! Han got dark blue, felt very edgy..

Tuesday 4/11

On Tuesday we headed out to San Diego! ROAD TRIP! Sully was a total legend and did all the driving and, with "Jealous" by Nick Jonas playing on repeat, we were there before we knew it! We spent the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo which was really fun. Definite highlights were the giraffes, Mary the (dancing, it was hilarious) Elephant, the most handsome lion ever, bears of all descriptions aaaand the cutest panda in the world!!

After the zoo we went to Lolita's Mexican restaurant for some killer California burritos and nachos, then met up with Luke and Greg for our first time Go Karting!! It. Was. Insane..! We did three races and really weren't amazing at it (especially Han) but it was so fun!! At one point there was a huuuge pileup which was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating and we were really stiff the next day, but we had a really great time!

After that we said bye to the boys and went to our hotel to get some beauty sleep before the ball the next day!

Wednesday 5/11

It was the day of the ball! We had some slight logistical challenges getting to the hotel/casino where it was taking place, but finally we got there and started to get ourselves ready! Sully did an amazing job of Han's hair & makeup, we both helped her coiffe to perfection, and some perfect red lippy sealed the deal! A few selfies, our classic smile, laugh, kiss trifecta, and we were ready to head down to the ballroom!

We had SUCH a fun night!! It was truly one of the best nights ever! The ceremony was quite moving and extremely patriotic, we felt quite honored really to be there for it. 

By the time we got to dinner we were starving and the meal didn't disappoint! Waldorf salad appetizer, stuffed chicken, steak, & veggies for a main, and a chocolate tart for dessert! We met some of Luke and Greg's higher-ups and everyone was so friendly - for a while Greg disappeared so it was just us three girls with Luke and he got some seeerious cred from his mates, which was kinda fun! Greg resurfaced after a little while and we took some legendary group pics with the official backdrop, love em! Luke and Greg were the best dates a girl could ask for, absolute gentlemen!

While Greg mingled, the three of us and Luke danced for hours! The crowd started thinning out till it was only us on the dance floor and we still didn't stop! The DJs played "Jealous" for us twice and around 11:00 we were gonna call it a night, we started to leave and everything, but Sully led the team in a legendary rally and we danced till they kicked us out at 12:00! We taught Luke our selfie series on the way out and went up to the room, on top of the world after such a fun night! 

We re-rallied (with the help of some comfy clothes) and went downstairs to try our luck at the slots! 

It was super fun! We obviously didn't win anything, but it was all in the spirit of things and it was really the perfectly hilarious way to end the night - especially with a little Ocean's 11 stunt to get away from this strange, drunken guy hovering around, very funny. We sang Jealous in the elevator and fell into bed happy as can be!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday we spent out at Mum and Q's hanging and relaxing after our busy few days! It was just what we all needed, their place is such a little paradise!

On Sunday the 15th we headed back into LA and had lunch at Aroma, Sully's favourite cafe, then went to an evening church service at Mosaic. Erwin spoke and the sermon was really great, very inspiring. It was also World Adoption Day, so we drew smiley faces on our hands in solidarity with that beautiful cause!

We had a yummy dessert at Alcove, one of our favourite cafés, then headed back to our apartment. 

Last week was a little less crazy cos Sully had to work on packing and organizing things for their departure, but we still managed to see each other every day! On Monday we had dinner with her and her mum, Angel, at a restaurant called On the Thirty - most amazing gourmet pizzas you could imagine and Mac & Cheese to die for!

Tuesday was probably our least successful day ever haha. We went to Urth Caffe (which took ages longer than expected between traffic and parking) for their amazing bread pudding. They were out of bread pudding (devastating) so we got a cream puff thing and another dessert to share - half an hour later, we've had our coffees and other cake, but no cream puff, so Han went in to ask and they'd given it to someone else! What?! Very disappointing.. Afterwards we went to LACMA as we'd planned and got there around 4:15- also stressful with traffic and parking. When Han went to the window to get tickets, the guy informed her that they start to close at 4:50 to be completely shut by 5:00! Seriously?! Bummer. We got to see what we'd really wanted to though, which were the beautiful streetlights. After many failed attempts, we finally got some good pics and called it a night! 

What really turned things around, though, were In-N-Out burgers. Thank you lord!  

Wednesday was a chill day, we went to the Americana at Brand for pumpkin flavoured sprinkles cupcakes and a few deliciously cosy flannels and sweaters, success! We're loving the slightly cooler autumn weather. Han babysat in the afternoon and we went to Angel and Sully's for takeout for dinner and a bottle of champagne, lovely! 

Thursday and Friday we mostly just chilled out during the day, Han did some babysitting, and we went out to two amazing dinners with Sully! Thursday night for our last time just the three of us we went to Eveleigh and it was absolutely perfect! 

We truly couldn't have imagined a better last hurrah. We ate, drank, and talked for hours - still in denial that, in a couple days, we wouldn't be seeing each other for months..! 

Friday night's dinner had a bit of a lead up - true to style, we left getting the present we'd planned for Sully till the last minute! So after Han finished babysitting we raced over to Pier 1 for a beautiful picture frame and a jar for Sully to start saving to visit us - like the Paradise Falls jar we have to save for our trip - then to CVS to print out photos from the ball. We were so happy with how everything came together and glad we made the effort! We're gonna miss that gorgeous gal and now there's no question that she knows it :)

Dinner with Angel was absolutely lovely - made lovelier by a successful surprise we helped orchestrate! Luke drove from San Diego and met us at the restaurant and, despite our collective lack of any kind of poker face, Sully totally didn't expect it! Dinner was outta this world good - Luce has langoustines with pasta and Han had seafood risotto, then we all shared tiramisu and chocolate mousse for dessert, delish! 

We went back to Sully and Angel's together to sleep over before they left the next day.

Saturday was absolutely crazy!! It turned out that there was actually a TON of stuff to do for them to be ready to go! Eeeek! The two of us, Luke, Angel, and Sully set to work packing their cars up for the trip and getting rid of whatever wouldn't fit (a lot of which went in our car to take to a Girl Scouts garage sale, really killin it on positive karma points that day!) Finally after over 7 hours of carrying, packing, shoving, rearranging, sweat, tears, and laughter, everything was packed! We went to Aroma so they could get one last latte for the road and around 4:00, we said our goodbyes.. 

Even as they were diving away it still didn't seem real! Partially because we were so exhausted but also probably because it marked the end of an era. Most of the happiest, craziest, funniest memories we have of LA were times with Sully, and now that she's gone, that awesome chapter of our LA journey is over. We know she's on to bigger and better things, though, and we're confident that we are too! 

The last few days have involved a lot of catching up - on errands, TV, more errands, chores, and sleep. We've also been planning Q's birthday weekend and putting heaps of effort into a rather exciting theme, but shhh, it's a secret.... Tomorrow we'll finish birthday prep, a couple more errands, maybe treat ourselves to something yummy, and then on Friday the birthday weekend begins! Can't wait!! 

Yes, it's the end of an amazing era - but it's also the beginning of a new one and there's no doubt it'll be even better! 

"Clearly you've never been to Singapore" ;)

Yesterday was our first proper day in Singapore! We all got up early and went exploring.. We caught the MRT (coolest, fastest, and least smelly subway EVER) to these huge biodome gardens by the water and renewable energy mushroom looking things.

There were two garden domes: the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. They were pretty incredible, such beautiful nature in the middle of a city! Nan and Dad, gardener extraordinaires, were in their element - very fun day!

We went back to the apartment to rest for a bit before going out to the Night Safari at Singapore Zoo!! As a pre-show, two guys came out and did this intense fire breathing/eating (ahh!) show - very cool! 

Then we went into a little amphitheatre for a "creatures of the night" show. At one point they needed an audience volunteer and they chose Eddie!!

Then we met our personal tour guide, Nur, and hopped in a little buggie to traipse around the zoo! We saw heaps of animals!! A few experiences were particularly memorable though:

1) Bats - gahh!! Walking through an almost-pitch-black enclosure of free-flying bats was slightly terrifying! We could feel the wind rushing past our heads as they flew by!

2) Will can speak otter. Like, he was really talking to them!! He goes "ooh, they sound like me!" And starts making the most adorable, high-pitched squeaks and the otters squeaked back and started frantically looking around for him. Very Dory from Finding Nemo.

3) Daisy the Leopard. Our tour guide told us the most heartbreaking story - Daisy had a mate for 10 years and he just passed away. We asked what affect it had had and Nur said that she refused to eat for weeks and became wary of the keepers because she thought they'd killed her mate, so sad :( but she was absolutely beautiful, sleeping right up against the glass.

4) A hippo!! We saw this massive hippo, really close up, and he stared us right in the eye! 

5) Sick kid. Not memorable in the best way, Ed got really sick towards the end of the tour and we had to wind things up. It didn't spoil the night at all though, such a unique experience!!

Today we had a later start, recovering from the late night zoo adventure and sick child drama, and the two of us navigated our way to Orchard Road for a shopping extravaganza!! This street was unlike anything we've ever seen! A series of probably 20 huge, full-sized shopping centres! Gaahh!! So overwhelming and amazing, WOW! Everything from H&M and Cotton On to Cartier and Prada. Thanks to Nan, G'ma & G'pa, Uncle Matt, and Uncle Steve, we had Xmas money to spend guilt free, and we were outta cash before we knew it! We were stoked with our purchases though, nothin' like retail therapy..!

We came back and had a swim in the pool with Will. We were about to race and Will have us a stellar pep talk: "Do ya have your courage?" "Yes!" "Do ya have your kicking legs?" "Yes!" "Do ya have your umm.. paddling arms?" "Yes!" "Then leeeet's do this!!" Haha he's such a crack up!

Tonight we went out Octapas for paella, sangria, and churros, delish! 

The atmosphere in Clarke Quay at night is so buzzy, we felt great strutting down the main street in heels and new dresses! A wonderful and tiring day!

A Perfect End to a Perfect Trip!

Wow! We've had a busy few days with a lot to catch up on! On Thursday we went to the Canberra zoo and aquarium which was so much fun and very exciting!

We were there early and almost all of the animals were being interesting - which is a first in our zoo-going experience. We saw two gay lions getting it on (also a first...), a sun bear playing and trying to scratch an itch that it couldn't quite reach, King Julien from Madagascar, a big brown bear like chewy awwwww, and a lot of Aussie wildlife: dingos, kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats, and emus.

Will recently decided that chameleons, or "camouflage lizards," are his favourite animals. He spent the whole time in the aquarium pointing out the animals blending in, and told us: "I'm a pretty good camouflage spotter." 

We went to the zoo sausage sizzle and had the classic Aussie sausage sangers we've missed so much! Yum!

We had a quiet evening at home and delish salmon risotto for dinner.

Next day we had one very last surprise in store for grandpa... We'd secretly organised with grandma to come over for lunch and the surprise went perfectly! We saw uncle Matt too while we were over and it was lovely to catch up with all of them.

We had driven to their place and on the way back we got a little turned around, yikes! We went the wrong way and were trying to turn around when we found ourselves in the left lane (good) of two left lanes of oncoming traffic (eek! Not good!). Han did a quick reverse manoeuvre and got us back on track but it was slightly terrifying... 

When we got home Phe came over for one last visit. Eddie suggested that we show Phe the finished dance as a dress rehearsal before we perform for the whole fam on Saturday. Mid way through "I Would" by 1D, though, Eddie had a bit of a mishap!

It really was hilarious! Once we knew Ed wasn't hurt we all had a bit of a laugh and had another (more successful) crack at the dance. So here it is, the long awaited, umm, masterpiece...

--- eeeek! Just kidding! It won't upload right now so we'll try again later ---

The next day was Saturday, our last full day in Aus! We got up early to watch the kiddies at their swimming lessons - they did SO well and were absolutely adorable!

After that we went out for a coffee with our childhood friend Nick. It was so great to see him after about 8 years! We've all grown up but none of us have really changed all that much.

We had a lot to catch up on though, and it was awesome to hear all about Nick! He'd just come back from field training with ADFA, so he was considerably more badass than he was the last time we saw him!

Nick dropped us home in time to help get ready for a big Sunday roast with the whole fam. Lucy helped Eddie and Will ice/decorate cupcakes - this is the pose Han got when she asked for "nonchalant."

The lunch was perfect and it was great to catch up with the fam! Sue also brought a tin of our favourite shortbread over for us to take back to LA, so sweet of her! We've already started on it since getting back and it's seriously helping with the homesickness for Aus.

We got absolutely destroyed in the cricket that night, which was entirely depressing, and watched some of the Tour de France before packing our bags and going to sleep.

Yesterday - if it even counts as yesterday, so confusing - we had a yummy breakfast, watched Han's ballet recital dvd, and did early birthday prezzies before heading to the airport. We had a bittersweet goodbye, sad to leave after such a lovely visit but excited to head back to LA. Part of our b'day present was a countdown timer to our Chrissy holiday in Thailand, only 150 days until we see each other again!

The flight was entirely unpleasant :( neither of us slept and a baby a few seats away cried for all but, I don't know, about two hours, ugh. We made it, though, and knew Ollie and Wyatt would be at LAX to pick us up... They weren't. Haha we gave them a wake up call and they left soon after to come get us.

We made it back to the apartment and on the top of our to do list was catching up on The Bachelorette! Tonight is the second last episode and we're glad to be caught up! We're pretty into it...

We have a big day of unpacking, errands, grocery shopping, and laundry planned for today, so we'd best be off! It feels great to be back in sunny LA, the city of angels.