0!!!!!!!!!!

it is saturday! and i landed in australia!
.... buttttt in brisbane - because there was too much fog in sydney to land so we got diverted and ended up being four hours delayed.
anyway when we FINALLY got to sydney - you can imagine by this point i was so excited i was almost peeing myself - i got off, took forever to go through customs, got my bags and then walked out of the terminal and saw dad and it was sooooo exciting! so after we hugged and started walking towards the exit door he stopped me and pulled out his phone and i was in the middle of saying 'please don't take a photo of me right now' and then i saw chloe! sneaky little thing was waiting behind the corner for us..
so you have probably all seen the video that boof uploaded on facebook.
then we got in the car and drove all the way to coffs harbour where i saw mum and it was super exciting because i missed her soooooo much (after we couldnt find the room to suprise her in becuase we all forgot the room number) and then we all had dinner and drinks and then went to bed where i fell asleep instantly.
so this will be my last post. i have really been looking forward to not blogging every night. after three hundred and eighty something posts it gets a tad boring.
but i'm in australia now anyway so you will know what happens from my facebook status or because i live really close to you now.
for the last time ever - good bye xo

1.

this day did not exist really.
next post. xo

2.

thursday morning -
serena i am mostly just finishing this up for you.. enjoy ;)
on thursday morning i got up early and so did the kids so they were ready before the bus was pulling up so we could say goodbye and i could give them their presents.
when they did get on the bus though it was kind of like i would be there in there afternoon so it wasn't as sad as expected..
so after i said goodbye to the kids and karen and they all left grace and i got ready and then picked up joanne (karens mum) and she took us out to breakfast - where i had the best eggs benedict ever - and then came to the airport with us because we didn't know how to get there going the back way.
got to the airport and checked in fine and then said goodbye to grace and joanne.
went through security, got to my lounge super early so i ended up putting my second shoulder bags contents all through my other wheelie bag so there wasn't any trouble getting on.
had my first three hour flight to chicago, got off and had to wait an hour for my next flight that was six hours long but i slept most of the time.
then another three hour wait at LAX which by the way doesn't have free wi-fi which is bloody ridiculous. so i sat there bored as all hell for three hours until we boarded.
i got an aisle seat, had individual screens and had a million movies and tv shows to choose from and the girl that was sitting next to me lives on dibar drive in tamworth - about three streets away from where we used to live, how crazy.
so after we ate dinner, i had some niquill and a "dream water" which promotes sleep and relaxation and my god, i slept for a straight six hours, no joke. it was brilliant.
then i was in and out of sleep for the rest of the flight.
next post. xo

3.

hey!
well i slept in through all the noise this morning - the kids have a couple of days off school - and didn't get up until 11:3-. and then when i did grace took the kids to the library so i had a nice quiet house to myself..
started my washing and sorted clothing so it was easier to pack then when grace and the kids came home we had lunch and then grace was my packing mentor - seriously, she is the best packer ever!
i have two 23kg check in bags, a 7kg rollie carry on and another shoulder bag as well as a handbag which i am hoping they dont see, because then i dont know what i will do..
anyway, the day went super quick and before i knew it i was showering, washed my hair, got ready and then went out for dinner with the girls after i said good bye to the neighbours.
cried when i left dinner - like a baby, went and got last minute cheap makeup from walgreens and some ear plugs for the plane because now all of a sudden i have super sensitive ears (like i wanted to cry when we were landing the other day).
came home and spoke to mum and now i am ready for my last ever sleep in america :(
goodnight. see you in three dayssssss! yeahhhhhhhh buddyyyyyyy!!!! xoxoxoxxoxoxo

4.

so this morning i am up when the sun gets up, it was horrible.
got ready, packed my stuff, then went downstairs to wait for my booked cab at 8am..
and at 8:20 it still wasnt there! it didnt come, so the hotel staff got another one and so he sped all the way there i ran in like a mad woman when we got there and i JUST made check in. jesus i was so scared i was going to miss my flight.
so anyway i did get on the flight, i am sick though - with the "contiki cough" - and my ears were blocked and still are, so i cant here anything properly.
then i finally got home at 4:30 this arvo and came home to hang out with the kids are grace..
had dinner and then we went to starbucks to see all the girls and lauren gave me a photo book which is signed by everyone and it is super cute.
now i am home (oh and nail-less :( because they were all broken and short and crappy so i ahve gotten rid of all of them and am starting ffrom scratch - sorry grandma) and i have had a shower and am about to go to bed..
i have alot of packing to do tomorrow. and i will try and upload photos too.
goodnight xo

5.

monday - we left memphis and drove to jackson mississippi, just a lunch stop, and then kept driving to new orleans tennessee. did a little driving tour and then got to our motel where we had a whole two hours and fifteen minutes to get ready..
so we got ready and then walked down to the river for our dinner cruise. really good food, really good drinks, old people music.. but still, it was good.
then we got off there and went to bourbon street - the heart of the french quarter - and i almost, almost! didnt get in with my id.. he questioned me about my birthday and everything.. dear god i thought i was going to have a heart attack. but all was good, and i got in.
then we went to a mechenical bull bar which was pretty sleazy - the girls were taking their tops off and it was super trashy..
went to a few other bars, then i got lost with sam and lee and turns out we walked in the complete opposite direction of our hotel and so we stopped at an ihop for breakfast at four in the morning, god it was good.
went to sleep at 5am, and then my alarm went off at 6am. kill me.
next post. xo

6.

Woke up this morning with a massive hangover and went to Graceland to see all Elvis' stuff and where he is buried. It was really cool. Then to a studio where him and jonny cash both recorded and then another stop where matin luther king jr was killed.
Got back to the hotel and had fifteen minutes before we went to a baseball game where we had our own private deck with all you can eat food. Left there at about 3 after the 4th inning and went to the rock and soul museum, brought a shot glass and the. Came home to wash my hair and now I'm not going out (like 90% of us tonight) and going to bed early. Goodnight xo

7.

Saturday -
Woke up nice and early and got on the bus after breakfast. We drove allllllll day long to get to memphis. Had a few stops, a vending machine packet of biscuits got stuck so I had to pay double to get it out as that was about all during the day. Once we got here though we had 25minutes I get completely ready to go out - 25 minutes! It was intense. So once we got ready we walked to a place for dinner and two 1 litre cocktails.
Finished there and walked down beale street which is where rock and soul music was born. Went to coyote ugly bar which was no where near as good as the movie. Ten to another bar, to a club where some guy bit my arm and now I have a gigantic bruise. Then at about 4:30am we came home. xo

8.

Friday -
Slept in until 9am and then got ready to walk to the sixth floor museum which is for JFK and you call actually see exactly where he was shot and stand where the shooter stood to shoot him from the window.. It was really interesting.
Then we left and had a panini for lunch at a little corner cafe. Went back to the hotel while the people that wanted to go on the cowboys stadium tour did that and I was going to nap but a friend called and so that don't happen. Then I git ready for the rodeo, almost missed the bus (it was actually driving away) to get to fortworth which is where the rodeo was.
Picked up the others from the stadium on the way and got to fortworth about half a hour later. The place was sooooo cool. It was just like a town from a country movie. Got a shot glass and a t shirt and then had a few drinks at the biggest honky tonk in America which was awesome and then over to an outdoor food place for beef ribs and gigantic strawberry margaritas. Went to the rodeo which was awesome! Such a good night. Then back on the bus to drive back in to Dallas and we went to bed instead of going out. Oh and I spoke to mum and dad too. xo

9.

Thursday's Post -
We lament amarillo and drive to Dallas. Apart from a few rest stops I slept the whole entire time..
Once we got to Dallas and put our stuff in our craptastic rooms (I slept on pull out sofa) I ha a shower and washed my hair because we had a spare couple of hours and then got ready to go out.
First we went to 'gators' which is supposed to be Australian but the most Aussie thing about it was us sitting in there.. So we had a make your own fajitas for dinner then we went to the haunted mansion which was good but the one at lake compounce during Halloween was way better!
Then back to 'gators' for karaoke and a heap of cocktails which were delicious. Left there at about 2am and went to some club which we got into for free.
Stopped at a hotdog stand before we got home and then slept.
Post again tonight for yesterday's and today's - got to get on the bus now. xo

10.

Hey..
Sorry it's late.
Yesterday we left Albuquerque and went to Santa Fe for punch which was nothing like I expected - it was so old and cute. Then after we had some real Mexican for lunch we got back on the bus and drove to a random truck stop for a break and then again at the Catalac ranch which is like ten cars tuck in the ground face down and you an spray paint them so that was cool.
Then we finally got to Amarillo, got ready and then came over to the big Texan steak ranch for dinner - pretty crap steak but beat bread rolls I have ever eaten! Had a few beers, beat the boys at the shooting things game cause I'm just the best..
Then we got limos down to the bikey bar and got super drunk. The drinks were sooooo cheap!
And then we walked home at 2am.
xo

11.

Just an amendment to yesterday - we left Arizona drove through Utah and stayed in Colorado.
So this morning we left Cortez in Colorado after we had breakfast in the lobby.
Jill downloaded one tree hill last night so we watched that on the bus on the way to Durango, and it was sooooo good! The last ever ever ever episode! So sad.
When we got to Durango we switched onto a dinky bus that smells just like the farm ute at poppy's house and drove over to New Mexico where we did adventure jeep driving! It was fairly cool if you disregard the fact that our driver couldn't even turn the jeep on to begin with and always needed guidance to get either up or down big huge rocks. But overall it was very "adventurous".. Would i do it again? No, it wasn't worth $60. And I got the worst sunburn ever!
So after that we had lunch at pizza hit which still has the salad bar and eveything which was good. Then back on the bus to drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico. On the way we watched the shittest movie I have ever seen and I was asleep half the time.. It was one of those old fake shooting wild west movies..
So once we got to our hotel we had about an hour to hang out before dinner all together down in the resteraunt for for drinks (they didnt even id us tonight) so i got a contiki cocktail hich is like 5 different alcohols, and 10% juice.. Nice and strong. And then salmon for dinner and carrier cake desert. Oh and I made a playlist on my iPod to play on the bus tomorrow because we are all sick of the shitty stud on whosever iPod was plugge in today.. And it was Sam's birthday so she had a cake and she had tI blow the candles out like 7 times because they kept re lighting themselves! haha
Anyway im going to bed now.
Goodnight xo

12.

Hey!
Well we left the grand canyon this morning at 9am after breakfast and we headed towards Utah from Arizona. We stopped at some little American Indian place along the way and I got a real dream catcher and then we stopped some other place in the middle of the desert for lunch.
Then we were at monument valley which is absolutely awesome! I took lots of photos too so you can all see.. Because it was nothing like I expected it to be.
Then we got to Cortez at the hotel at about 6pm, got changed and then all went on the bus down to dinner - had a pull apart beef sandwich which was just plain craptastic.
Came back to the room and washed my filthy hair and now I am in bed listening to some others in our group party next door.. We were told not to party in our rooms tonight and go to the pub if we wanted to drink so I can not wait until management comes down and kicks all their arses haha
Goodnight xo

13.

Sunday! Happy Easter!
Well we were at the grand canyon this morning and after we had breakfast we did a 45 minute helicopter ride over the grand canyon which was absolutely amazing! The million photos I took don't do it justice at all..
Then we got back to where we are staying, got our laundry and got the shuttle to the laundromat where we ate our Easter bunnies that we brought at Walmart yesterday. Oh and my jacket lost a button.. Not sure if it was in the washer or dryer but it could have quite possibly been last night when I was super drunk. And just to clarify - the room I didn't sleep in was Jill and Meg's from my group, not some ransoms.
Finished our washing, brought a chicken and some bread and we made chicken sandwiches for lunch and then dumped our washing and went for a stroll along the rim of the canyon.
Came back and that's when I caught up on my blogs before we went to the canyon again with the group for sunset which was really nice.
Came back and had dinner, got one tree hill half way loaded an then the wifi dropped out and now we have to wait until tomorrow night, so disappointed.
Going to bed now. xo

14.

saturday - las vegas to grand canyon.
woke up and was still drunker than ever.
seriously. i dont even remember walking from the room i slept in to my room, showering, packing.. nothing. until i got down to the buffet breakfast where i ate the most delicious breakfast ever.
got on the bus and drove to a stop along route 66 where we got photos and then rohan one of the guys was so dehydrated that he fainted, three times, and we had to wait for an ambo to come and check him out.. so we were finally on our way and got to the grand canyon just in time for the last bit of the sunset.
used the wifi in the lobby to check facebook, had a little bit of dinner and then showered and went to bed by 10pm.
next day.. xo

15.

okay so now we are up to friday - and we were still in vegas.
i didnt get up until about 11, washed my hair in the best water pressurised shower ever, and then went and had chinese for brunch/lunch with lauren.
then we went to madam tussard's the wax museam to see all the celebrity wax figures and then after that we had to get ready again so we went back to the hotel and got dressed.
then lauren, jill, meg and i went to the sugar factory for dinner where we had the best cobb salad of my life, and we shared a fish bowl cocktail as well.
then we met the rest of the group at the V show which is like a comedy show and was the funniest thing i have ever seen, and we got hurricane cocktails there too, then we took the rest of our drinks with us while we walked down to where our stretch limos were waiting (because you can drink on the street in las vegas) and had free champagne on there. went downa nd got photos at the las vegas welcome sign, went back down the strip again and got dropped at 'pure' which is one of the top five clubs in the world. got into some bucks partys VIP section and drunk there alcohol (we were mixing our own drinks) which turned out to be a bad idea in the end.. because shortly after, after the two cops on the tour brought us a few shots, i don't remember a thing. complete blackout. so thats the end of that blog..
next day.. xo

16.

first day of the tour - LA to las vegas.
lauren and i got up and ready and then went and got a coffee from starbucks before meeting up with the rest of the group to fill out passport stuff.
there are 52 of us in the group so the bus is completely full. on the bus our tour guide ryan told us all this stuff and we established the i was the only, yes the ONLY, under age person on there. great.
so we got to vegas at about 10:30am, lauren and i went shopping and i brought a blur dress, light pink blush coloured silky top with cutouts on the back, a bag and some coral nail polish.
went back to the motel room (oh and lauren and i arn't roomies anymore, i am with a girl named carly from the UK who is actually 31 but looks about 20, its amazing!) and got ready to go out that night.
so we met the group downstairs looking hot as, and went on the bus with everyone else to an italian place for dinner which is where i scored my fake id - from ellen who also has blonde hair and blue eyes and it was good enough - so i ordered a couple of "contiki cocktails" which were delicious.
then we got back on the bus for a strip tour which is when on bus "broke down" and we went into a wedding chapel to wait for the bus to be "fixed" which is when elvis came out and started singing and dancing and then jill and rohan got maried! they dont know each other at all, they are just both on the tour and so it wasnt real real but they got married by elvis which was hilarious.
got back on the bus, which didnt actually brake down, and went to old las vegas for $1 margaritas!
back on the bus and we got dropped at "the moon" nightclub which is on the top floor of the palms and the roof opens up and you can see the night sky. and the bathrooms had THE most amazing view ever!
so we started drinking and doing shots, and jason gave lauren and i $100 just because, to buy drinks with, so that was fun. and i was super drunk but i do remember 90% of the night. so we went back to the hotel via maccas and the casino where we watched lucas lose his money playing blackjack. then to bed at about 5am.
next day.. xo

17.

hey!

yes all of these are late.. its because we haven't had wifi for the first three nights..

so anyway, lets begin with LA.

on wednesday morning i got up at 3:30am and grace drove me to the airport.

flew to philadelphia which was an hour flight and then to LA which was six hours. and whats worse than a six hour flight with no leg room? a six hour flight with no leg room and a kid behind you kicking your seat the whole time.

so i got to LA and got the shuttle from the airport to the train station and then walked about five blocks (in sweltering heat, and i had on winter clothes which was great) checked in to my fancy room and then i was going to go to universal studios for the rest of the day but because it was already 1pm and the receptionist said it closed at 6pm when its not summer i decided it would be a waste of money.

so i walked around downtown and looked at the markets, then got some sushi for dinner, had a shower and went to bed at 7:15.

about 45 minutes later my roomie turned up. her name is lauren and she is from australia too.

so i introduced myself looking like complete shit, and then went back to sleep.

next day.. xo

18.

Hey!
Sorry its late. I went to star bucks last night and when I got home I wanted tI sleep because I had to get up at 3:30am.
So yesterday, I slept in until 8:30am and then started packing for my trip! Went and got my hair done at 12 and I love it.. It's more golden now which is nice.
Then I went home for a quick shower, and went to meet Julia at Starbucks to say our last ever goodbyes. It was sad..
Went home and finished packing and then grace and I took the kids to Ben and Jerry's for free icecream day - the line was monsteroly long and the kids fought the whole time but it was still good. Went home and had fish for dinner which was delicious.
Then grace and I went to shop rite so I could buy sunscreen and face wash and then to my second last Starbucks with the girls. Where I had to say goodbye to mickaela and pauline as well :(
Well anyway I am going to enjoy the glorious LA weather now and go to the markets. Blog again in a few hours! Love ya xo

19.

hey.
into the teens! mum and dad, i will be seeing you sooooooon!
oh and guess what. i didn't set an alarm this morning. it was just beautiful. and i didnt even get the kids ready. its kinda strange not doing everything anymore.
today we dropped rach and G to school so their dinosaur projects wouldn't get ruined then went straight to the gym - my last ever session here.
worked out for an hour and a half, returned the redbox dvds, came home and showered, ate lunch and watched criminal minds.
then we decided we needed a half hour nap before the kids got home.. except just as i fell asleep the doorbell rang because the postie needed me to sign for a package. and then just as i fell asleep again harrison got home.
so i got up and helped out a bit then watched 'once upon a time' that i missed last night because of my extreme bed time.
grace made tacos for dinner, we ate, i played and won foozball against G and then escaped the basement before the boys tackled me to the ground.
and now i am waiting until 8 when gossip girl is on and i can eat my sorbet that i forgot about last night.
goodnight! xo

20.

... so we woke up this morning at about 11am, had some vegemite toast for breakfast, watched E news and i painted my nails clear.. and THEN the girls decided to peer preasure me into going to get a manicure, after they were painted..
so we went in and there was a 45 minute wait, so we went and sat in a maccas and had an iced coffee while we waited.
got our manicures done - mine a purple with chunky glittery sparkle nail polish over it and they look awesome. so now i have sexy nails for my trip on wednesday.
went and brought some sorbet from stop and shop and got a couple of redbox dvds as well.
came home and watched 'honey 2' which was really good except it was a bit too much like 'step up' for me. and then 'tower heist' which was reallllly good! heaps funny too.
ate our leftovers from last nights dinner and then showered.
now i am going to bed at 8:10pm.. earliest ever i think.
goodnight xo

21.

hey!
sorry for the late blog. i was busy attending to other things ;)
so yesterday - well, i can't really remember..
but i am quite sure that grace and i just bummed around the house, napped and thats about it, until 6 when we started getting ready for my going away dinner.
and i wore my hair in a side braid which turned out fantastic and it was my first one ever on my own hair.
and also, when i went to put in my left earring it wouldn't go through the hole. like seriously? i am nineteen and my bloody earring hole closed up? well anyway, i got the sucker through because i WAS going to wear my feather earrings haha i had to have a couple of breaks though and drink water in between because it was making me feel like i wanted to vomit.
so we took the awesome cake that grace made (i pretty much just oversaw the baking) and went to the mexican resteraunt that i made a reservation at for 7:30pm. so all nineteen of us showed up and our table wasn't ready until ten past freakin' eight! can you believe it.
so we finally ate, then the cake came out which everyone loved, and they sang happy birthday to me which was awkward lol
said goodbye, grace and i came home and then lauren came around and we had a good old night, playing cards, drinking moscato - a whole three litres and eating vodka gummie bears.
and we went to bed around 2:30am.
next post. xo