Life is busy as usual.

These past few weeks have been so hectic. Trying to find a place to live, Justins birthday, moving into our new house, Great Grandpa's funeral, unpacking and getting ready for life in Portland. One day I will no longer have to mass update... one day. But for now, here it goes.

a really great grandpa

On January 26th my great grandpa passed away at the age of 99 1/2. He was such a wonderful man and mentor. I loved listening to his stories of life and love. He led such a fulfilled and interesting life. From serving in the army to med school and raising 5 wonderful children, it was such a celebration of his life. I have some great memories of chasing jack rabbits with him through mud, getting our shoes stuck, and spending hours on the front porch digging all the mud out. He always took the time to tell you how special you were to him and never did you have a conversation that wasnt full of laughter and jokes. He loved a good practical joke and had a great sense of humor. Never once did he complain about his aches and pains, and he always wanted you to think he was doing better than before. Last time I talked to him before we went to Australia, he told me he gained 30 lbs and was feeling much better. He had made it to great great grandpa status with my niece and just barely missed our little guy. I would have loved to have a picture of them together, but I know we will all be together again some day. May he rest in peace along side his beautiful wife Ruth and we are all so glad for their reunion.

It is so much fun when all the Armstrongs get together, but it is not nearly often enough.

justin playing with my cute niece.

english to oz dictionary

we joked that we needed to get a translation dictionary before we headed here so we could understand what on earth the Ozies were saying. here are some of my favorites so far.

• dodgie = kind of like sketchy or questionable. mostly used in sentences like "the weather is looking a bit dodgie" or "that part of town is a bit dodgie"
• Kiwi = those from New Zealand.
• Footy = football, but not American. this refers to Ausie Rules Football (AFL). its like rugby, soccer and football all into one. this is the main pro sport in OZ
• Rugby league/ rugby union- these are two different leagues with different rules, but i cant remember which is which, but dont confuse them because to people here they are so different.
• Football= soccer. simple.
• Mate- yea, they really say this all the time. "thats my mate", "thanks mate", "no worries mate", seriously all the time.
• brilliant- no translation neccesary, but they say this all the time! its great!
• Booking= a reservation. they are so common here. we have been turned down a few times because we didnt have a bookings and this was at little cafe type places.
• Tomato Sauce- justins favorite = Ketchup. and they certainly dont use it like we do back home. justin feels jipped when he has to ask for packets and they give him one.
• "easy as"= very simple. they say this all the time and i always get stuck waiting for them to finish. im like "easy as WHAT? finish the thought people!" in NZ they say "sweet as" and for the longest time i could not figure out why they were saying sweet ass, what could it possibly mean? now i know.
• heaps= alot, but i giggle everytime someone says it. it sounds so funny to me.
• Chips = not Lays, but french fries.

im sure ill have more, but this is a good start

life so far

life in oz is great. justin and i are spending so much time together. considering our lack of jobs, justins light school schedule, and our legs as our only transportation we hang out a ton. and i am loving it. we go play tennis whenever we want, walk to the beach, walk over to town with no hurry to get anywhere. we are so uused to life in the fast lane, its nice having it speed right past us as we watch together.

our little apartment is great. considering it wasnt originally furnished, we have been able to scrounge up lots of stuff to fill it. the wonderful lady we are renting from is letting us borrow all the major furniture we need. she also had some plates, bowls, cups, and a pot and pan. This wonderful family in our ward has let us borrow a tv and vcr. we have been so blessed by the people here. their generocity and pure love of helping others is a true example of love thy neighbor.

another great thing is that the food here is amazing. we have eaten out several times and never once had anything we didnt absolutely love. we have so many things on our list of places to try, and i fear we wont be able to get to them all. i have never been in a place where everything tasted good. its like heaven for my tastebuds.

in case you were wondering... yes opera and dr. phil have made it over to their tv. they also have an ER spin-off, deal or no deal, and the news/morning shows. and no i dont think the toilets rotate the other direction being this side of the equator.

overall, life is grand and we are loving the time we have here. we have been so blessed and know that our heavenly father has been watching out for us. we are so thankful to all the help he has given us, and daily see the impact in our lifes.