Happy Chinese Lunar New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

We just finished a 2 week long Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, and Melbourne was full of festivities. Though Debbie doesn't have the means, nor skills for that matter, to cook the traditional and yummy foods her mom makes during the New Year period, she and Whit have compromised by eating an abundance of Chinese suppers and snacks. Debbie is also enjoying being able to say "Happy New Year" a month later and not get any strange looks.

Southbank, turned Chinese market for the weekend, selling everything from fresh sugarcane juice to incense sticks and fortune telling. I'll only take the former, pls.


This was truly a hilarious sight- there was petting zoo set up with animals from the Chinese zodiac and kids were running around inside trying to pick up chickens to proudly display to their parents. Meanwhile the parents were cringing at what the kids were stepping in. Not too sure where the lama looking animal animal fits in to the zodiac ...

Gates of Chinatown! It was so crowded that day, it really felt like we were in China!

Melbourne- we're baaaack!

After I frustrating housing search in Sydney we have moved back to our beloved city of Melbourne. We packed up an SUV, full to the brim (all Debbie's fault), and drove from Sydney to Melbourne this weekend. It's not very common that people drive from one city to another, hence the Sydney to Mel route (& vice versa), being one of the most frequently flown routes in the world (per Whit, per Qantas).

We survived the estimated 10+ hour drive and even made it back to Mel in time to watch the Australian Open women's final in Fed Square with the crowd. We enjoyed a nice summer evening, picnic dinner, and cheering for both players. It's good to be back!

Guess who added an extra 870 km to this new SUV?

We're baaack! And it feels gooood! :)

What a great evening for tennis watching in Fed Square!

The match, as seen from the large screen in Fed Square. It was almost as good as being at the real thing- only 1 km away!

Happy Birthday, Whit!

Whitney Paul Keuer turned double 3's on January 24th. Happy 33rd Birthday to my favorite mate! :)

The birthday paparrazi strikes, right outside the bathroom!

Australian Open!

It came and went so quickly, a lovely weekend in Melbourne visiting friends, poking around town, and best of all, going to the Australian Open!
Going to the Open for Debbie is like Whit going to the National Championship Game (only when UT is playing, ofcourse). So you can imagine our excitement about seeing 2 night matches in Rod Laver Arena last Sat. night. with great seat (thanks Uncle Bain!)
We saw 2 Aussies play, both losing. The highlight was seeing Nadal. Debbie lost count with the number of proposals that were yelled out to him in between serves (none from her, thank you!). Whit observed how quiet, almost library like, it is during play. We both liked clapping in a steady beat with the crowd when challenges were made. The weather was quite pleasant and we had a great time!

Nadal, post match

The Australian Open billboard seen through out the city. The "Fed Express" looks a bit violent, eh?

Rod Laver Arena- so many times we have ran past it along the river. Today is the day we make it inside!

Look who's playing tonight!

Let the match begin!

Nadal vs. Tomic

We love the blue courts!

Our great seats- only 13 rows up!

More tennis the next day, in Federation Square this time

Chesty Cough

After being blessed with a free upgrade to business for the 14+ hr. flight back to Sydney, Debbie is convinced that she caught the flu-like cold she currently has from the woman next to her on the airplane. "Was it still worth it?" you ask ... sure was! (See photos below for proof.)
Debbie has been trying out different meds this week, including one named "Chesty Cough." Don't let the catchy name deceive you- its taste is vile, not "great berry flavored" as the packaging mistakenly claims.
We continue to observe unique Aussie terms while living here, and chesty cough definitely makes the list, along with "tasty cheese" (a mild while monterey jack/cheddar) and "brekky" (common term for breakfast). Notice any similarities?

If Debbie doesn't get better soon she may have to up the dosage to chesty cough's stronger cousin- "chesty forte." (Yes, that is the real name on the box.) Let's hope that doesn't happen!

The one and only- Chesty Cough (If you say it quickly it sounds like a German something or another - "Czety Kof")

Debbie's 3 new friends for the week

Now this is what we call flying!

Whit, taking a full advantage of the seat turned bed and back massager built in!

Aussie Keuer's, Part II

Happy New Year to all!

Our biggest news so far in 2011 is that we are moving back to Australia for another few months! Whit was asked to extend his time on his current case, located in Sydney. We feel so privileged to have the opportunity to return to a country we love and to experience living in a different city. Debbie is thrilled about going to the Australian Open in a few weeks. Whit is thrilled that Debbie gets to go to the Open and an easy Christmas present was fulfilled. :)

Packing is underway as we leave this week. More to come, including Christmas photos.

Love,

Whit & Deb

Good bye for now, Melbourne!

Our last night in the Bible House, and we both look at each other and comment how hard it is to leave Melbourne. 6 months have flown by as we grew to love this city more and more. We thank God for this unique opportunity here and will definitely be back!

Below are a few photos from our last week in Mel.

Picnic dinner along the Yarra River

Our church home in Melbourne- Cross Culture!

Can you spot the "K" that's been to every house we've lived in? We treat it like the traveling gnome. :)

Melbourne's Town Hall

Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

We've been on holiday for the past week in New Zealand and it's been very relaxing. Our first stop was Queenstown, the closest airport to the famous Milford Sound on the west coast of the South Island. (Milford will require a post itself!)

Queenstown is very much like Interlaken, Switzerland, but better. It's a gateway city that offers the best of both worlds in our opinion- beautiful scenery (lakeside town with surrounding "Remarkable" mountains), sport options galore (hiking, mountain biking, jet skiing, sailing, & you can bungee too!), and a quaint, modern town with good eats and church options. Did we mention that it's overall affordable as well? It's now our #1 choice for a holiday home, topping previous favorite (South Lake Tahoe). I mean, how cool would it be if our grandkids can one day say to their grammar school friends, "I'm going to visit grandma and grandpa this Christmas... in New Zealand!" :)

An Aussie Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving being an American Holiday, Thanksgiving dinners are quite rare here. So rare that when Debbie decided surprise Whit with a traditional turkey-day dinner, many items were absent from supermarkets (e.g. fresh cranberries, canned pumpkin). Nevertheless, the modified Thanksgiving dinner (e.g. turkey breast loaf instead of a whole bird- way easier to "carve" though) was a success with the stuffing being the biggest hit of all. :)

It was a rainy Thanksgiving evening- perfect for staying inside and eating! This photo was taken from our upstairs study during sun set.

Cherry Pickin' Fun!

I'm not talking a bout the basketball term, but the real thing! We went cherry picking this past weekend in the Mornington Peninsula. It was a lot of fun, but hard work (somebody had to taste test those cherries!) and very warm. We're thankful we're not farmers, but it was a good experience while it lasted. The real treat was afterwards- days of enjoying fresh picked cherries, yum!!

With Whit's height and the ladder, we were able to get the good cherries up high. Debbie played supervisor during this process.

Whit taking a squatting break- very typical of Asian farmers in the motherland.

Debbie picking cherries with one hand, and holding the camera in another!

Whit, taste testing- the biggest perk while picking these sweet little guys

Straight off the cherry trees!

2 kg later- done!! (Anymore and we would have been sick.)

"We traveled 'round Australia on Hwy No.1, we traveled 'round Australia just to have some fun, & then we went to Hobart & there we met someone . . ."

. . . and they said, "Come back soon!" :)

We did, indeed travel to Hobart earlier in November, but it was via plane, not the famous Hwy No. 1. The "someone" we met there was the Sypkes' family who graciously hosted us for the weekend. The weather was a bit crummy, but that didn't stop us from going to the Salamanca Market and the park. We had a great time playing with the kids indoors, and an even better time sharing good wine and food and talking with Sarah and Andrew. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, mates!

(Some of you might notice the title of this posting, as it's a part of the fun "Hwy No. 1" song I taught my kids last school year shortly after finding out we were moving to Australia. It's a very fun song by the Shenanigans that you can listen to part of it here from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/highway-number-one/id336866087?i=336866122 )

Too much fun! :)

Can you believe this little girl was our flower girl over 2 years ago?

Whit borrowing Daniel's scooter . . . the 5 yr. old had to give Whit a quick crash course in operating the breaks

Jumpin' Keuer's!

This last weekend we went to Manly Beach in Sydney to soak up the sun and experience a surf festival. We discovered the "sport" setting on our camera and took these fun jumping pics at the beach. It took us a few tries at first to get the timing right, but once we did, Whit turned paparazzi on Debbie!

So we really came for the surfing festivities, & the tandem surfing (above), but soon got distracted . . .

. . . with taking these action shots! Debbie's hair went crazy in the wind!

Look how much air Whit got! Who says white men can't jump? :) In fact, it looks like he almost hit that bird with his left hand!

Whit refers to this one as superman . . . I like to call it flying squirrel

We asked a guy on the beach to take a few for us . . . he tried 4 times, and this was the best one, and his first attempt, go figure.