Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone!  Here we are another year older :D I don't know what 2012 will bring for us, but am hoping it will be a healthy one. Last year wasn't the best health wise for me and I'm hoping that this year will be better.

Kim and I will be going to Florida for the month of March. Maybe I can find out what retirement is going to be like since it's only 3 years away.

Best wishes to everyone!

Graci

Thought I would just post a couple of pictures of Graci. She has grown up so fast. She's a little devil though. She truly is a Retriever. She brings us things all the time .... all her toys get piled up and she takes all the bedding out of her crate (which she doesn't use much now, except when we're not home). We can't leave anything lying around or she takes it and then walks back and forth in front of you, just far enough away that you can't get whatever it is she has. Tonight she had a Dr. Pepper can (empty thankfully) and then moved on to the remote. She's very funny!

These photos were taken during our walk on Christmas Day.

Graci Girl!

Wow I can hardly believe I haven't posted anything on here since Australia. I should have put up some photos of our new little girl. She is growing so fast. I can hardly believe it. She's cute .... but a little devil. She starts school next week. She's too old for Puppy School but is going for Obedience. Nobody likes a misbehaved dog. Wish me luck!

Australia!

I'm posting just a few of our 1100 photos from our trip. These are some of the highlights!

 This is "Grizzly". He was adorable! I have a photo of me holding him. He was so soft and cuddly!

 This little joey was actually hanging out of his Mama's pouch! Very cute!

 This is where the Daintree River which is in the Daintree Rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. It is a UNESCO Heritage site.

 Daintree Rainforest

Daintree Rainforest. It was hot and humid that day but not one single mosquito!

 Wallaby

 Snorkelling in Great Barrier Reef. That is me directly in the middle ... the one without the snorkel!

Great Barrier Reef

 In the Northern Territory (called the red centre ... no kidding). Beautiful red sand!

 Ian and Kim (the tourists) at Ayer's Rock (Uluru)

Ayer's Rock (Uluru) at Sunset

A mountain at The Olgas. Yes, I climbed up there and then back down or was it down and then back up.  :)

King's Canyon at Sunrise

Getting cozy in our swags for a night out under the stars. You can see more stars in Australian Outback than anywhere in the world. Absolutely stunning. A sight to never be forgotten.

Team Canada (from our Rock Tour ... 3 days in the Outback, sleeping under the stars, Ulura, the Olgas and King's Canyon). We were only missing one girl and she said she was from Quebec not Canada! We were not impressed!

"The Nobbies". This is the Bass Strait. Directly across from here would be Tasmania.

"The Nobbies" again. It was so beautiful here. Very windy day and the waves were beautiful.

At "The Nobbies" with Evan MacCallum (my nephew) and Jennie MacCallum (ex-sister-in-law, although I still call her my sister-in-law .... what is the right protocol on that anyway?)

Ian and I on our last day. Ian loves his Aussie Akubra Australian hat. Didn't take it off for days. :)

On the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House

Yup, we climbed all those stairs. All 1437 of them as well as  4 ladders which went up in the middle of traffic and then down(on our way day)  in traffic which included a train and guess who was on her way down when the train went by. Woohoo!

From the Sydney Harbour Bridge (I did not take this photo. You are not allowed to take anything with you. Wallets, watches,cameras, etc. are all locked away .... no chance of them falling onto the traffic below)

Sweet Graci!

The countdown is on 5 more weeks. June 17th is the big day when our little Graci Girl comes home. We are getting very excited. Now I need to start organizing for a new baby...

Merry Christmas!

I'm doing homework!

I'm busy doing homework. Lots going on around here ... in the future anway!!!

We are planning on getting a new addition to our family in the spring. I need to do my research on breeders now. I've already looked at one place and have another one scheduled for Friday. The mamas will be bred in December and 9 weeks later, hopefully, there will be enough babies for everyone that's reserved one. 8 or 9 weeks after that, she will get to come home. So we should be expecting her in May. Let's hope there is a female in the litter.

Before that, though, we have a BIG trip coming up!

 Kim and I are going Down Under!!! We are just about to start making plans now. We'll be going in April for about 3-4 weeks. Planning on doing lots of things there that I've not done before. Looking forward most to see Ian. There will be a bit of travelling around Australia.

In the meantime, the week before Christmas when everyone is running around being busy, busy, we are leaving town. We're heading to NYC for the weekend. I want to skate on the rink at the Rockefeller Centre as well as see the Christmas tree there. There will be so many lights around the city, I'm sure it will be beautiful. The windows at Macy's, Lord and Taylor, etc. will have all their beautiful displays. I hope it snows, just a little, while we are there.

Just wanted everyone to know, we are still alive and well here. Kim is still working full time. LOL! So much for retirement, not that I'm complaining. Matt is doing well in his studies. And me, of course, I'm still working .... only 1513 days until I retire... but who's counting? I am ... that's who!!! :)