The Final Weeks

After 3 years, our Australian adventure is coming to an end. We are now in the final few weeks. The movers come on May 7 and we fly out May 15. The closets are cleaned out and the suitcases are ready. All the electrical goods have to be sold becuase they won't work back in the US.

My little Toyota Yaris is sold - fingers crossed - the buyer is coming back tonight with the money. The usual last minute scramble...I left the overhead light on in the car by mistake. When I went to take photos of the car for the internet ad, the battery was flat. Luckily I have the auto service and they came out and sold me a new battery. The old one had reached the end of its life and couldn't just be jumped! Cha-Ching $AU 155. When you sell a car in Queensland, you have to provide a Roadworthy Certificate (provided by certified mechanic). Cha-Ching $AU 60. Well, then I needed 2 new tires. Cha-Ching $AU 200. We seem to have made a good choice with the Yaris though. Great little car. The phone has been ringing off the hook with people wanting to buy it. Even the mechanic that did the safety check on it was interested.

We have been waiting and waiting to go back to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. The weather has been so awful for weeks. The rain has been unbelievable! The dams are about 60% full and the water restrictions are being relaxed a bit more. Finally, last weekend was lovely and we headed over to take those last minute photos at Lone Pine. When we first arrived in Australia in 2006, we had some pictures taken near this board that shows how tall a kangaroo grows. I wanted to get a few shots to show how much Elliott has grown in 3 years. Elliott keeps insisting that he is as tall as Tim. However, with all Tim's big hair, it's hard to tell exactly. Nevertheless, Elliott seems to have grown as tall as an Eastern grey kangaroo. I am about the size of a common rock wallaroo.

It's hard to finally close this blog! I am going to publish the blog in a book form using Blurb.com. You can import your blog, photos and all, and have it made into a book. I'd like to get it sent off before we leave because all the spare photos are all on this computer, not on a laptop that we will carry with us. All you people who cried out for more photos...I see that now! I admit it - I needed more photos! I will keep that in mind for my next blog. Details to follow: something like Further Adventures of the Connor Family, or Repatriation of the Serial Ex-Pat.

Looking back over the 3 years, we have had a lot of interesting adventures. We got to see a lot of Australia, but there is still so much to see. A few places I'm sorry to have missed are the Kimberlies, the Bungle Bungles, and Lord Howe Island. I feel like we had a good balance of work, school and travel. Tim was busier than ever while we were here, but Elliott was so much less busy. The school was probably both a mix of good and bad. Elliott has made some very nice friends, but I do wonder what he has learned in his time here. There has been no academic pressure, no homework and no effort. The Australians do believe in letting the kids be kids as long as possible. I think that's why so many 20-30 year olds still live at home with their parents here. I hope when Elliott starts high school in the States, homework won't be too much of a shock for him! Elliott has learned to get around on the bus this year. He takes the city bus around to see friends and to and from school. I will miss public transport in Tucson. From what I can tell, there isn't much of it. It will be interesting to see what else we might miss.

It will be interesting to see how we go back in the US. We know a lot of people that have gone back, and re-entry seems a little bumpy. We are thinking it's definately for 4 years, then we'll play it by ear. We hope to retire in Tucson and stay there forever. But we have it in the back of our minds, that it's possible to head back off in the future...