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The Day Before We Pack for Australia

By Melissa Markham on September 15, 2009 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yep, here we are, getting down to the wire. In about 39 hours, we will begin our flight which will take us from Lynchburg, VA to Atlanta, GA to Los Angeles, CA and then to Sydney Australia. When we arrive in Sydney, it will be Saturday morning there and Friday evening here on the East Coast.

Tomorrow, our calendar is cleared so that we can pack. I don't think we will need the whole day to pack, but it is good to have that time for the unexpected...hopefully there will be less of the unexpected tomorrow than there was today.

We were up and left here at 8 am as Jack had an orthodontist appointment. On the way there, we dropped trash at the dumpster. Jack's appointment took a little longer because one of his brackets had come loose last week and so that had to be replaced. Then we headed to Lowe's to return some of the things I had purchased that we ended up not needing (extra floor tile, unopened box of nails, one piece of quarter round). Meanwhile, Daniel was at home in case the plumbers came to finish the work we had originally called them about (air in the lines - they are waiting for parts to arrive). Next we went to Joann's as I needed more green felt for the napkin rings the youth group is making for a craft sale. I was very pleased to find it was 50% off!

Then we headed home, got here around 10:30. I helped Daniel with loading 5 of the things of insulation he had purchased into my Xterra so he could make a trip back to Lowe's. Then I started calling around to see if I could find someone to install the insulation. I did, and Joe, from Nelligan's was here within about 30 minutes to see what needed to be done. I also prepared lunch for Katrina and did some laundry and wrote a check out to our neighbor for the work he had done. Jack comes in and tells me that the bracket they had replaced this morning had popped off of his tooth again... So I was on the phone with the orthodontist and they were able to fit us in at 3:45.

At 1:00, we were on the road. First stop, Evington Post Office, to mail an early birthday gift to my mother-in-law, then we went to piano. While the kids played, I read (love days when I don't have to run anywhere). After piano, we went to Joe Beans and chatted with our favorite server, Derek, and got our Joe Beans fix which is going to have to last us for 6 weeks!!!!! Then, off we went to the orthodontist. We got back home about 4:30. During the time we were gone, Daniel had to stay here and wait for our cell phone that we will use while in Australia and New Zealand to arrive (our sprint phones won't work there), he also had to wait for papers being overnighted from our accountant that had to go in the mail today. Once that arrived, he hopped in the Jeep and headed for the post office and then to Lowe's with the rest of the insulation we had purchased. (Yes, we purchased way too much, but it was what the Lowe's guy told us to get).

Came home, had dinner and then Daniel and I started to watch Scanners. We saw about 20 minutes before our neighbors stopped by to visit and say goodbye. We are going to miss them, and are happy to know that our critters and home will be in their very capable hands while we are gone.

I did dishes and we watched Warehouse 13 (love that show!).

So today flew by, all got accomplished that needed to be accomplished and we draw ever nearer to our big adventure!