Sydney so far...

I've finally got some pictures up, so here's an update on the trip so far:

Getting ready for take-off: Me, Mom, and Mey in the Atlanta airport

A view of the harbor as we flew in--it was a bit of foggy/rainy day, but you can still see the famous opera house and harbor bridge (the large white streak in the water is a boat going by)

For whatever reason, we made a loop around the city before landing, so here's the bridge from the other side. You can sort of make out the opera house just back and to the right of the bridge.

I spent my first day here meeting the kids and resting. There are 3 of them: Ashley (age 6), and Blake and Maddison (twins, age 4). They're all really sweet and loving kids, and they definitely love playing and running around! On Saturday morning we had a chance to go to Ashley's school for their Spring Fair. It was really neat to get to meet her friends and see the school. Everything is outdoors--the classrooms open onto the sidewalk, the cafeteria is outside, and the only thing indoors are the school's offices and auditorium.

On the way to the fair: Ashley wouldn't let me take her picture, so this was the best I could do!

Maddy with her UGA bear that my Grammy and Poppy sent for them--she and Ashley have been carrying them around everywhere!

Blake digging into his "show bag" (or what we would probably call a goody bag)

Maddy and Blake enjoying their "lollies" (what Australians call candy). As you can see by the rain coats, it was another wet day, so we didn't get to do as much due to the weather.

Here's Chloe, the family's chihuahua. Needless to say, I was very excited to learn they had a dog since I'm already missing mine at home. Chloe is largely an outside dog (one too many potty accidents promptly relocated her) and spends much of her time being dragged around by Maddy.

Here's my room...not the best pic because there's a small hall when you first open the door, so its hard to get a good photo of the whole room. Its a bit larger than it looks here and has a pretty big closet, which is nice.

The view from my room--lots of houses! The hills are in the background (the dark blue just behind the trees) Kellyville, the suburb I'm in is in "the hills" district of Sydney, so there are lots of pretty views. This pic doesn't really do it justice!

Life is good so far, and I've enjoyed getting to know the family. Julie, who I'm working for, is really friendly and easy-going, and I think we're going to get along well. I've had a chance to meet some of the neighbors, as well as another Au Pair who's from Sweden. Hopefully I'll be able to get out and about soon...we may be planning a picnic in the city sometime this week. I'll keep you posted!