Game Day.

We started the day off with a drive to Taylor and Ethan’s boss’ house for breakfast.

Jonsey (their boss) made us a feast…eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, and juice! Kym (Jonsey’s wife) even made Ethan a cake to celebrate his belated birthday :)

We were picking up my dresser (aka “wardrobe” in Australian) from Jonesy’s house too. I made the boys do all the heavy lifting and move it into my room.

Had to drive into the city to watch the boys play…

Boys tied in their soccer game. Ethan’s nickname on the team is “Tex” (I’m assuming it’s because he’s from Texas)

Taylor’s nickname is “Swift.” I thought it was because he was a fast runner, but it didn’thit me until halfway through the game that it COULD be because his name is Taylor…like Taylor Swift, the pop/country singer!

It got cold towards the end of the game, so I bought myself a cup of coffee. And in case you were wondering, Starbucks isn’t really that expensive when I just paid $3.50 for this itty bitty cup

Kids love me. I don’t know the reason, but they do. While watching the boys play a three year old boy named Loke started playing a game of peek-a-boo with me, and then his two four year old sisters, Olivia and Tilly, joined in on the fun too.

As we wer leaving the game we got pulled over by the cops, for doing absolutely nothing wrong! They made Ethan take a breathalyzer and all he’d had to drink was water…the game had literally just ended and we were pulling out of the parking lot, so Ethan passed the test with flying colors!

We hungout at their teammate Ally’s house before heading into the city for my first night out.

After leaving Ally’s we went out in “the valley.” We had decided to bar hop, and have a single drink at each stop before moving onto the next. My Conway people will appreciate the second picture below :)

Before we went home stopped at the casino to win some money. I’m not the gambling type, but Ethan left $20 up, and his friend Reesby left $100 up!

We made it home around 5:30am, just in time for the UEFA Champions League game with the two Madrid teams playing! None of us made it through the whole game, and we woke up like this…

And then Ally moved around 7am to get a bit more comfy...

I think I got a good, uhhh, one hour of sleep in before my dad called me via FaceTime...

We finally got up and moving around around 10:30am and then headed to Mooloolaba Beach!

XO - Cristin

First Night in Town...

Bowling is always fun when you are playing next to Australian senior citizens who are there just to have a good time; the men were bowling and their wives were sitting in the booths, having a few drinks, watching them. And to top it off, they thought we were all really good! When in all actuality, I was lucky to break one hundred…

I definitely improved over the course of the two games :) 

XO - Cristin 

So This Is What It’s Like Living With Two Boys…

I made it safely to Brisbane! The only thing that had me worried was the fact that I was “smuggling” in tobacco for Ethan. It’s cheap in Oklahoma and that was the only thing they told me I needed to bring…typical boys. Since I got in at 5am this morning, Ethan and I got to see a beautiful sunrise on the way to the house! Taylor unfortuanately was already at work :(

The house is great. It’s been redone since the last time GoogleMaps surveyed and took pictures of the area. My mom and I had done the whole Google Earth images thing the other day to find the house and see what’s around it…let’s just say the picture of what the house used to look like didn’t exactly make my mom feel at ease about where I was going to be living…but it’s nice now! And so is the neighborhood.

We have a washing machine, but no dryer…so we get to dry our clothes on a clothesline in the backyard!

I’m the only one who didn’t end up with a mirror in my rom…and I’m the girl!

This is our fridge…beer, and eggs.

But I decorated the fridge! I told ZuZu (the Cangelosi’s oldest) that the picture she colored for me would be the first thing I hung up at the new house.

They label their wine based on how good it tastes: “not bad” and “pretty good.” Wouldn’t those be the same basically? Or does “pretty good” taste better than “not bad”???

Boys don't understand that there is a difference between drinking wine from a glass and drinking wine from a plastic cup...

I am constantly outnumbered. I can't figure out why the boys don't want to watch "Say Yes to the Dress" with me!? Instead, we watch ESPN. All.The.Time. Even if it's of a soccer game that happened TWELVE YEARS AGO!

If the radio's on, it's a constant concert/karaoke sesh. And, on a final note, everything is a competition.

XO - Cristin 

Meet Me in Brisbane. In 16 Hours...

Annndd here's my plane. Holy smokes, that's HUGE! Double decker, what?! Please let me get a good seat, in my own row, so I can stretch out (and zone out) for the next sixteen hours by myself. Unless of course, I'm next to a handsome Aussie who can tell me all about the land down under...I'd settle for that. I'm about to not be in America. Crazy!

My flight leaves tonight, Wednesday, May 21st at 9:55pm, and it's a straight shot to Brisbane where I'll arrive at 5:00am on Friday, May 23.

• I basically lose a day, that's weird to think about. I'll never get that day back...what if May 22 would've been my birthday?! It's not, but what if? 
• When I get nervous I have to pee, I've gone to the bathroom three times in the last ten minutes...this better not keep up once I board the plane! How many people would I irritate going back and forth to the bathroom nonstop?! 
• I'm seeing all of these really cool adventurers waiting to board the plane, looking like their gonna be backpacking around Australia...and I realize that I packed not one, but TWO fifty pound bags full of stuff...even after being advised by my older, wiser, world-traveling sister on what to pack, and what not to, yet I still had that much stuff...oops! I need to join over-packers anonymous; you think that exists? 
• And on that same note, at what age am you considered too old to use your college athletics backpack to travel with? Am I at the age where I should be upgrading to those super cute, trendy "weekend bags" for a carry on? I've seen some really cute ones on Pinterest...
• There's also a woman in line stretching...should I be stretching in preparation for this flight!?

These are questions that a seven hour layover make me think about.

I also won't really be using my phone much while there, unless I'm on wifi. That's gonna be a different change of pace, no texting for me (I ain't tryna run my phone bill up).  This little "hiatus" will be good for me. I've been wanting to become less dependent on other people and social media. Now's a good time to start. So this should be fun, let's see if I last :)

I'm boarding. 16 hours 'til I get to Brisbane!

XO - Cristin

Annnddd I'm Off!

Oh.My.Gosh. Today’s the day. I can’t believe that I am on a plane headed to Australia!!! Well, Dallas/Fort Worth first, then a seven-hour layover, AND THEN to Brisbane. It’s all the same thoughreally, just makes for a long couple of days.

I’m surprisingly anxious about this whole trip; the past couple days I’ve had that weird excited/nervous/happy/sad feeling…you know the one, right? Or maybe it’s just me. It’s not like I’ve never been gone from home before; I mean, I did live in Conway for six years…so really, it’s gonna be just like I’m back at school: at UCA for the semester and then back for summer break. Except for the fact that I’m not…I’m 8,000 MILES AWAY from home, and there’s an ocean between us, instead of just 600 miles away and a straight shot from I-40.

My parents, sister (Caitlin), and two dogs (Daphne and Stoney) dropped me off at the airport this afternoon. You would’ve thought I was never coming back. After checking my luggage (which was almost sent to Sydney instead of Brisbane) Mom took multiple pictures to document my monumental trip, goodbyes were said (and then they were said again…and again), constant waves of goodbye were given, and then to top it off, just as I was taking my shoes off to go through security, my dad facetimed me…ha! I taught him that yesterday. He thinks he’s pretty funny.

It’s only four months that I’ll be gone, or is it? Lots of people are telling me I’ll never come back, and then there are the few who say I may just absolutely hate it. I’m hoping more for the former… My visa allows me to stay and work up to a year before having to come back and renew it J so we will see what happens. I really am excited to be headed out of the country though, no matter how long it is!

0 days ‘til I leave for Brisbane. 25 hours ‘til I actually get there!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6

XO - Cristin

And the Countdown Begins...TWO WEEKS, People!!!

The countdown has begun (even though it actually began the day I bought my plane ticket)...but, I mean, who's counting? This.Is.Crazy.

In one week I leave Conway for good; my apartment is all packed up except for the clothes I'm still trying to decide on packing for Australia, and a few other things that can fit in my car. Luckily, my parents and brother came up last weekend for my pinning ceremony and did all the heavy lifting of packing up my entire apartment into the trailer and taking it back to Amarillo. I packed. They loaded. and fortunately (for me) they got stuck wight he unpacking ;) It's weird thinking that I may never be coming back to Conway. This has been my home for the past six years. I spent my freshmen year in a small dorm room, but the last five years I have lived in the same apartment...which is now empty; nothing but a bed in the living room, a dresser, a couch, and white walls.

In two weeks I'll be leaving the country, by myself for the first time ever, and heading to Brisbane, Australia! Thankfully, I'll be meeting two friends (Taylor and Ethan) and as soon as I get there I'll be moving into our house, where I'll be living for the next four months. This is going to be the best four months, ever. I've already got a small list of things I want to do, and people who are coming to visit:

• Go to church at Hillsong United (I've always wanted to go here ever since learning about it at New Life Church in Conway all those years ago)
• My UCA softball teammate, Kelley, is coming to visit me :) (early June)
• Fly to Newcastle to see an old friend from UCA, Mitch Rueter, play basketball (June 27 - 29)
• Taylor's mom comes to visit! (June 28 - July 5)
• My sister Lindsay (and maybe her friend Andrew, and possibly the rest of my fam) are coming to visit me!!! (August 28 - September 7)
• Brisbane Festival...this could be fun? (September 6 - 27)

14 days 'til I leave.

XO - Cristin