To all our devoted fans out there, or those that just want to check in and make sure we are not about to return home any time soon, we have created a place that you can see all our adventures in boring detail.
I am aware that there are also some that are excitedly anticipating a series of photos that show the progressive slide into obesity that we will inevitably take as we settle into the wonderful american diet. To you I say- it will be totally worth it.

So, I will start with our departure.
We flew out of Adelaide at 6am on the 15th December. The Hansford bunch came, the Chicks, Laura R and Jude +Emory. Notably missing was Hayley and Farley who I believe were planning to come until it actually came to it and the warm bed won out over the cold dark 5 am morning.
In all fairness, we didn't expect anyone to come so it was a very nice show.
However there was a distinct lack of tears at the airport which does make me wonder if the crowd was just there to make sure we actually left the country.

Isabelle led the pack in heading off to the plane, quite anxious that we might miss the flight! The flight from Adelaide to Sydney was quite uneventful, except for the small lady like vomit that I did nearing the end of the flight. I think that it was more because Win and I had not slept more than 30minutes the night before the flight because we were packing and organising all the last minute things.
I think I was so sick with fatigue and stress that it manifested in a bit of airsickness.
We felt very blessed that when we checked in our luggage at the adelaide airport the lady had seen all the kids and bags and taken pity on us so she gave us free bus transfers for the sydney domestic to international airport service. (we were pretty excited when we found out that they would have cost us $33- you all know how we love a free bus ride).
It turned out to be a very good thing because the bus was a much safer option than the train for us with all the kids and bags.
We filled two luggage trolleys with our 6 suitcases and 10 handluggage bags!
We stopped at McDonalds for some breakfast and saw a few fresh missionaries working hard to get contacts in the mcDonalds line right behind me.
After 30 toilet stops we finally made it to the international area and stood in line for what seemed like eternity, then made it through customs and by the time we finally made it to the V Australia boarding gate we only just arrived as our flight was boarding. (we arrived in Sydney at 8am and our flight out was 1.15pm) so it had taken us 5 hours to get there??!! - when I said there were 30 toilets stops I was not kidding.

As soon as we got on the V Australia flight the kids were excited. Isabelle was in awe that they gave you free ear plugs, and she wanted to try them out straight away.
Isaiah was equally pleased with the eye patches and pillow.
Chelsea got straight into the video games and kids movies that were available on the backs of each seat. I had the twins in my row and Win had Chelsea and George. Apparently I picked the good two because mine slept most of the flight. George cried and complained and finally went to sleep in Win's arms but it meant that Win could not sleep the entire flight.
Different Air Hostesses would aske Isabelle where she was headed and she told one " I am going to America...... where they put cats in dryers". (Apparently Crystal's son once put a cat in the dryer when he was little and Isabelle had been told the account).
The flight attendent didn't know how to repond to that one, so she just smiled and nodded!
When we arrived in L.A. 13 hours later it was morning. We had to go through the long process of going through customs where we went through several different lines and it took an extraordinarily long time becuase we were in the "refugee and immigrating aliens" line (can you pick which one we were?!
There was a very kind staff member from V.Australia who helped carry our bags off the plane and then waited around for ages to help us collect our checked luggage and get it checked in so we would not have to carry it all the way across the LA airport. It was a really great help because it also meant they did not weigh it all again (we'd swapped bags around and we were not allowed as much weight for the next domestic flight) so his help was wonderful.

As we were walking outside in the smoggy polluted L.A. air between terminals Isabelle said
" This place smells like car=seat vomit"..... it was a pretty accurate description!
When we got to the gate for our Salt Lake City flight with Delta we looked around and spotted a fresh missionary heading to the MTC that Win struck up a conversation with, turned out he was from a tiny Tongan Island and this was his first time flying that day. He asked Win if he could be his sort of companion on the flight.
We also ate some cinna-bons scrolls while we waited. It was then that it felt like we were really heading to Utah, sitting next to a missionary heading to the MTC and eating Cinnamon scrolls!

Our flight to Utah was short and bumpy, both in turbulance and in toilet trips! Isabelle wet her pants unexpectedly and Chelsea announced- just as the pilot had announced that we were beginning our decent into SLC and he was expecting quite a bit of turbulance so we needed to make sure everyone was seated with belts tightly on- that she needed to urgently go to the toilet. URGENTLY. now, to explain, a few days before we left Adelaide she had a bit of an upset tummy and although she was mostly better she complained of stomach cramps the WHOLE trip, and walked doubled over through the airports. So when she said that she NEEDED to go there weren't a whole lot of options. So I asked the air hostess if we could go quickly and she said "if its an emergency". SO there we were in the tiny airplane loo as the plane hit lots of turbulance and the flight attendant was banging on the door to hurry things up....

We arrived in SLC and made some more toilet breaks where Isabelle managed to embarrass me in the womens toilets as she announced that people with dark skin look like they have fallen in mud- then moments later a black woman walked out of the cubicle behind us.

We met Win's Aunty Charlotte and then Crystal at the baggage collection area and we all climbed into their two large cars. The kids were in awe as they saw for the first time snow covering all the trees and plants.
We all went back to Crystal and Tim's house where we are staying. As we pulled into their street it was like out of the movies, with all the big beautiful american homes, covered in snow and with Christmas lights adorning every house.... Loberthel lights had nothing on their street.
Crystal's home is beautiful, the picture perfect home that you imagine. Huge, and warm with the most amazing Christmas decorations!
The kids were so excited that as soon as we had put our bags down they were getting in the snow gear that Crystal and Ida Mae had collected and running our into the now in the backyard. It was night time but that didn't stop them!
Tim had scouts around for a games and pizza night and so we felt like we were experiencing life in Utah right there in that first evening.
It was so nice to see teenage boys there doing good clean fun activities on a Wednesday night, by a fireplace with the snow outside. I was pretty excited for our kids right then. I thought "we are going to enjoy it here".


Crystal's boys; Alex and Daniel gave up their bedrooms for us to stay in. Daniel (who is 12) has a room full of reptiles and their food- chirping crickets!
There is a bearded dragon, a matador? and one of those cool bright green iguanas.
The kids were pretty excited to be sharing a room with the lizards although they were quite concerned when they couldn't find the matador lizard (who looks like a goanna) in the morning because they had been told that he does bite. He was hiding in his log.
Today the boys fed them a frozen baby mouse, which they thought was great, especially when the tail hung out of its mouth for awhile.
Well, I better end this very long post.