A weekend full of snowmobiles, ice fishing and drinks

So the last weekend we went up to Saskia's host family cabin 3 hours north at Cross lake. During the weekend we hang out had a few drinks, played pictionary, got offered cheese and crackers, went snowmobiling and went ice fishing. Although I sucked at ice fishing it was still different to experience it. Saskia was on fire and got three and Lindsey (host family) caught 3.  We spent a good 3-4 hours on the snowmobiles, riding over the lakes, along the side of the road and through bush trails. AMAZING...

Oh don't forget dissecting the fish

Claire Au pair, a year in America: The crazy winters of Minnesota

Claire Au pair, a year in America: The crazy winters of Minnesota: "So most of you are aware of the crazy, close to unbearable winters of MN. Work wise its not my favorite season as its too cold to ..."

The crazy winters of Minnesota

So most of you are aware of the crazy, close to unbearable winters of MN. Work wise its not my favorite season as its too cold to go outside and enjoy doing anything. The last few days have been dreadful and going out to get the post is about all I can handle. Although the work side of things is not the best, I enjoy all the snow activities I can do. Such as, Snow sledding, snow tubing, ski mobiles and skating.

Well this post was not really about much but I wanted to show you just what I put up with.

-24°C | °F

Current: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: E at 3 km/h
Humidity: 72%

Fri

-14°C | -18°C

Sat

-14°C | -19°C

Sun

-11°C | -13°C

Mon

-6°C | -11°C

Who would you turn gay for?

Yes I said it, who would I turn gay for? For Australian's you would know its one question Rove asks on his talk show to all the famous people he has on there. Although he has yet to meet this famous body I know who would be the answer to that question. From when I can remember I have loved this person and enjoyed her talent. Its not only music I turn on and blast the volume but its something I can sometimes relate to. The lyrics to all her songs are meaningful and every song sends a message. Her last song hit me in a way no other song has hit me before, she just has music where you can sit and listen and enjoy. Ever since I have come to America her new songs have meant more to me then ever and her lyrics have sometimes hit home. She is not only awesome with her vocals but gives a fantastic performance on stage.

Ok Ok its time to give everyone an answer to my question.. in just a minute..

You may ask why now have i decided to post this, but its because her new song recently came out and it means so much to me.

ok ok

I would turn gay for P!NK !!!

Now you tell me who would you turn gay for?

At the little gym

For the last 8 weeks Addie and I went to a little gym class and today all her troubles n bumps paid off because she graduated. We spent weeks doing forward rolls, wheelbarrow, walking on the beam and swinging on the bars. She built a lot of self esteem and became very independent to the point she wanted to walk on the high beam alone.

All the kids were awarded with a medal and a thank you card. Here is the video of Addie receiving her medal and a photo of her class

Rang Rangs to do while in America list

Walking over the lake

One of many Twins games

Movie cups

• Bon Fire= tick
• Roast Marshmallows= tick
• Drink from Movie cups= tick
• Ride on a ski mobile= tick
• Skate on real ice lake=
• Drive on an ice lake= tick
• Walk over Cedar Lake= tick
• Go to all stores at Mall of America=
• Go skiing=
• Collect all 50 quarters= tick
• Be in 2 states at once= tick
• Go on a jet ski=
• Go to a cabin up north= tick
• Photo with Hooters girls=
• Get a photo with someone famous= tick
• Snow tubing= tick
• Get a tattoo in LA= tick
• Go to a real ranch=
• Go to a Minnesota Twins game= tick
• Go to a American Football game= tick
• Go to a Minnesota Timberwolves game= tick
• Go to a Ice Hockey game=
• Makes smores= tick
• Kiss an American boy= tick
• Go to a musical on Broadway= tick

Mall of America

So most of you know the Mall of America and one lucky thing about being in Minnesota is that the big well known mall is right on my doorstep. Due to the crazy weather and Emily (South African) having a endless amount of free passes to the rides/adventure park in the mall (yes i know in the mall) we spend a fair bit of time there, weather its to shop or to be like were 15 again and go on the rides and yes sometimes we do take the kids there and allow them to have some fun too.

There is pretty much a ride there for everyone and my favorite is the log chute. Im sure you all know what it is, go up a rollercoaster of water in a log "boat" and fly down at a speed and splash into the water. But of course the best bit for me is sitting in the back and watching the person in front getting soaked hahahahahaha..

Of course there is the shopping too but in my bid to rather save money for travel and not cloths i don't shop there so much any more. Although on my bucket list was to go to ALL the shops approx. 560 shops, I think i need to spend a few days just walking around to complete it :)

New years with a great group of friends

So I spent New Years eve at Lindsey Leopards (one of many nicknames I dish out) house, a girl I met playing kickball. We went in to late hours of the morning drinking, playing cards, drinking, playing beer pong, drinking, playing tippy cup, drinking and eating, oh also drinking. :) for many of us we had too much and paid for it the next day. The night was amazing and I spent it with my favorite people in America. Most of all I only have known for a few months but they have made such an impact on my time here. Although Saskia (my favorite German) couldn't make it in person until after midnight I had a photo of her the whole time so she was there.

At midnight Tony led the end of 2010 but counting us all down and we joined in and shared in a loud cheer for 2010.

I learnt a lot that night, that Im awesome at beer pong when drinking and that I had the best year ever.

Thanks to everyone who helped me chime in the new years and for my few other best buddies here you were there in spirit :) xx

My first white Christmas

So I went to Iowa with the family for Christmas and took the snow with me :), so Iowa is a whole lot of nothing (well where we stayed anyway) and there was not anything to do. I decided to venture to church on Christmas eve with  Shayla and her parents, very much the same as a service back home although I feel they sing a lot more. :) After church we went back to have Christmas eve dinner at Shayla's dads house, i then met the rest of the family. I got a Iowa jumper from the family and kept the tradition when I opened Christmas PJs on xmas eve...
On Christmas morning we all got up and went to Shayla's brothers house where he cooked the best omelette's in the world and we opened some more presents, later that day I saw the different side of the family and went for dinner to the Grandmas house where we opened more presents :)

All in all it was a good trip but its always good to be home with your family on Christmas. But i had my white Christmas and next time my wish would be to share it with family..

Playing kickball in the USA

So through a few Au pairs friends, one cold fall night I was down at the kickball grounds to watch. But no that didn't last long I ended up filling in, and in style might I add. I played in Ugg boots. So they threw me in the outfield and forgot about me until BAM I caught the first ball and claps and cheers all round. Then BAM I caught another one, and they were impressed, but little did I know that the pressure was going to be on and the winning ball was coming my way. Luckily I did it and I caught the winning ball, not to brag or nothing, but befor catching the ball i decided to get everyone on their toes and juggle it a little. Once catching the ball I was in the team. I only manged to play the last 3 games but since then I have made friendships and had some crazy nights i will never forget.. I love the kickball gang :)

First snow of the season

So in the last week the weather has been very undecisive. we started the week wearing just jumpers and pants n playing at the park for 2 hours without even complaining we couldnt no longer feel our fingers. and then the next day we had pants, boots, snow coats and beanies but only a cold wind to wear it in. and then to no ones surprise we woke up to a winter wonderland. the snow fell to be about 8-12 inches.
we started the day with walking the dogs with the snow falling on our faces. we then shovelled the driveway which turned into a snow ball fight... after that we built a snow man and one of my favourite firsts was driving in the snow. i had to drive 20 miles per hour which is about 35 ks. yes slow huh :) it was not as bad as i thought you just need to remember to stay where people have already driving... oh and i also seen Mr Plow from the simpsons :) i love the first snow fall :)

Halloween

Halloween was my favorite holiday in America so far. everyone gets into it so much all houses are decorated with Halloween things, people carve pumpkin, go apple picking and have hay rides... my experience with Halloween was dressing up and going out and seeing all the different costumes and also carving pumpkins.

on the Hallo's Eve we all got ready at my house and then went out downtown and seen all the different costumes, some consisted of mario and luigi, zombies, pirates, gladiators, robin hoods and of course the best of all mine and Saskia's we were Zombie Prisonors

 
  

on Halloween Saskia and myself went "trick or Treating" with her host kids and it was really cool to see the huge amount of kids walking around door knocking for candy... this really was one holiday that was just like the movies.



 we also won first prize for best dressed at our au pair meeting :)

Fall

Summer has come and gone and now its Fall or as we like to say it Autumn. I must admit its one of my favorite american seasons.. the weather is good not too cold and defiantly not hot.... the leaves falling around the street is amazing and so beautiful.. they way the leaves change color so quickly is breath taking.. the trees in my street ave gone from a bold green to a mixture of yellow, oranges, reds and pinks. its so nice when its a sunny day and you can see the leaves falling from the trees with the sun shining through

 h.

Chicago

One of the requirements to being an au pair is completing 6 credits on various different courses to comply with your visa. so i decided to take a weekend course in Chicago which gave me 4 credits and was rather cheap. on Friday night we started off at my house with Laura, Saskia and Flo and myself. we watched Glee for a few hours and had dinner, and then Marie came to pick us up and we drove to Chicago, from Minneapolis it took about 6 1/2 hours. even though it was only about $3 all together I could not believe that we had to drive through 3 tolls in one state.. we left my house at about 1130 and arrived to Chicago at 6 am saturday morning. due to lack of sleep we slept in the car for 2 hours. then i need to sign in for my class and meet the rest of the au pairs from minnesota who came down the day before. we started class at 9 and finished at 1030 at night. was a long day and a drink was needed so Naures, Flo and myself skipped the movie and left early and went to the bar that was connected to the hotel was sooooo cheap $3 for drinks i was in heaven and then to make things awesome they had karaoke i was in heaven once again... we spent the whole night at the pub and hogging the karaoke... after that Naures and Myself went to a neighbourhood bar and i officially saw American Ghetto, trash club... it was rather funny but made us realise how good minneapolis is.. the next day we had class again at 9 and finished at 5... during the day we were able to have a few breaks which was much needed..when class finished at 5 we got in the car and headed home.. we left chicago about 530 and arrived in minneapolis at 1130pm.. the ride home was rather quick and the help of Glee and some "doof doof" music kept me sane... good weekend 

Take me out to the ball game

So just over 2 weeks ago Aunty Angela and Uncle Dino came over to the US, to travel a little and come and visit myself, it was a great several days and of course I did so much more with them being here as "tourists" then I would have in a normal week. We went to the sculpture garden which is famous for its over sized cherry water fountain, Mall of America (went there 3 times), go carting, out for some drinks (of course), played beer pong and bags, watched locals singing down by the lake (with an interesting dancer) and spotted squirrels, which they were so excited to see and i must admit so was I, yes still.. I think the thing we all enjoyed most was going to watch the Twins (Minnesota baseball) beat LA Dodgers.. over all the week was great and I know they enjoyed their lay back time here and the shopping..

The little things that make me laugh

These are times and phrases that only certain people will know and understand.. although some people might find them funny most of you wont.

At the Hookah bar with  about 15 Au Pairs.. the guy checks all our I.Ds.. and says to us wow you come from all over the world and I replied with... "Yes we are international Hookah Smokers"..

 
 Emilio and I arrived at the hotel and the maids were talking Spanish, as Emilio speaks Spanish i asked " were they speaking Spanish' Emilio "yes" Claire " what did they say" Emilio" dicndhs; habjs agjlas"  he just answered with a whole lot of nothing and it was funny and one of the hotel guys found it funny :)

Renee, Addie and myself went to Chilli's for lunch, Addie was sitting next to me and out of no where she was looking into space and then she turned and seen me and reacted in the funniest way.. she jumped almost out of her chair and then started to cry.. she wasn't expecting me to be there was rather funny..

The second time i visited Emilio and his host family, I was playing hide and seek with the 3 kids and Gabe the oldest one didnt know where to hide after about 3 times so he was in the play room and i walked in there to see him holding a magnet in front of his face, peeking at the sides of it to see if i was looking or not.. one of the funniest and cutest things ever seen..

In Vegas I cant recall the amount of times Emilio and I got offered tickets to see shows for free due to being a 'married couple" although we weren't we played along and tried to get free tickets.. we never managed to get them as we were not 25, although one time we got asked what our jobs were and i said an au pair Emilio didnt know what to say as her didnt want it to sound suspicious so he replied with.. "i work in a store" in an awkward voice :) and the she looked at him as if ok what store and he said "um... just a store"

Once again in Vegas, we found a casino that had a really good game and i seemed to win most of my money there.. you needed to get three or more of the same pictures in a row to win and one time i got 2 or something and Emilio replied with "you bitch Alice" and i burst out laughing and he didnt seem to realise why I was laughing and i replied with thi game is Wizard of Oz, therefor its not Alice its Dorothy :)

In the same Casino as before when the cocktails waitress walks past and in the most non enthusiastic voice i have ever heard she says COCKTAILS, me being the person I am copied her and in the same voice CUCKTAILS..... was super funny had to be there...

Not so funny, but the numerous amounts of older people in wheelchair and with oxygen tanks connected to the chairs, and then in their baskets buckets and buckets of quarters they just won on the machine..

Naures, Alex, Martina and myself walking back to Alex's car, all the girls stop at alex's car an Naures walks to the next car, jumps at the handle and pulls it yelling "shotgun" we laughed and replied with thats not her car. ahahahahhahaa sooooo funny

When Addie first started to walk (yay shes walking) she would walk with chicken arms and loose her balance and stand on one foot and then boomp all of a sudden she lost it all together and is on the ground.. only to get back up and do it all again!!!

I was driving when I went to change the gears i realised it wasnt the gear stick it was the door handle... and then quickly remembered the gears are on my right now not my left!!
 

2 great weeks

On the 24th of July I flew into Las Vegas and met up with Emilio at the airport!!!  When then caught a shuttle bus to our hotel which was downtown L.V near the old strip which was interesting and we preferred it better to the strip! We stayed about 100 meters away from the Freemont experience (the old strip) which was about 300 meters of casinos door to door with a dome roof that at night lit up and had live T.V's. there was music on all night and many things to do and watch! The weather in Vegas was crazy! it was still 35c at 930 at night and the air was really hot and there was no breeze... we were very lucky to be close to the bus line that took us to the strip and was only a 20 minute drive... vegas was very much casino, casino, casino and once you had seen one casino you pretty much had seen them all.. although we spent alot of time trying to visit every casino (which didn't happen) and every casino we went into we would put a $1 bet on and as soon as we double or more we cashed out!!!! yes big spenders :) also whilst on the strip we went to the Wax museum which was one of my highlights in Vegas.. well worth the money!. they had a part called scream and it was one of the scariest/ best things i have done.. also going on the newyork newyork rollercoaster.. by myself :) after being able to drink on the streets and gambling all our money we got on a bus and headed for L.A.

Los Angeles
After four fun filled nights we got to downtown L.A and it was noting like we expected!!! it was very dirty and there was a numerous amount of homeless people.. our hotels was more like a hostel but thats what you get for going cheap and not looking into the area a bit more!!! due to the location there was not much we could do at night so we spent the nights in and the days our.. we pent 2 days in Hollywood where we met up with some friends from the training school, walked the walk of Fame, got a tattoo... just me... went on a star home and Hollywood sign tour.. half price for being australian although Emilio Lopez just looked and said nothing.. his attempt to be Australian was "cheers mate" hehehe did a good job...we also spent a day in Santa Monica were we walked the same pier that Hannah Montana ran down to not be late for Lilly's birthday (only some people would know).. we had a good time in LA but we were glad to get out of there..

Seattle
Seattle was so much fun.. we had a such a great time and it was good to be in a house... we stayed with emilio's host mums parents and they had a guest house we stayed in which was really nice.. we met up with another australian girl Jessica Canning who we also went to the training school with and enjoyed a day in seattle.. we went to the top of the columbia building 73 stories high and also went and seen some very popular tourist things in the city, the gum wall, first starbucks and the fisher market were they throw the fish.. we also spent a day in a little town called Poulsbo which was nice and very different from the big city and loads of people.. after spending a few days in seattle we caught a bus down to Battle Ground (emilios house) and spent the last 5 days there relaxing and having a car..

Battle Ground
We didnt do too much exciting things just relaxing going to the movies and playing basketball, we also went to the Clark County fair which was fun and interesting.. alot of farm animals and jousting competitions was definitely different to what I am use to.. the best thing was Emilio won me a stuffed doggy just like on the movies.. we went out on the saturday night dancing which was fun and much needed..

over all it was the best 2 weeks ever and am looking forward to doing it all again and for a month in February... much love to all and thanks to Emilio for the best 2 weeks ever xx
 

Addie,s 1st bday

So on Saturday we had a party for Adelaide as she turned 1!!! we had some of my au pair friends over and Matt and Shayla's family and friends came over for the celebrations too!!! it was not a typical 1st birthday party but we had some things for the kids to do kiddy pool and toys and the adults had drinks and food :) i also made the birthday cake for her :)

today Wednesday the 21st is her actual birthday!!! she had to go to the doctors for her 1 year old needles and then came home for some presents!!! after her nap we had a lunch and then went to the lake to have a swim and had some icecream after!!! tonight were going out for dinner with the family and addie will get to open some more presents :)

Happy birthday baby xx

New Hampshire, Boston an Vermont

So this past week I went on a little vacation with my Matt, Shayla and Addie.. We flew to Boston on Tuesday and then drove up to New Hampshire!! once we got there i met Matt's aunt and uncle Dennis and Barbara! They ad a really nice house and live about 20 minutes away from civilization!!! They have an amazing view of one of the main skying mountains in Vermont and the house was surrounded by trees and mountains is was very nice and quiet!!! on Wednesday we drove over to Vermont and had a look at the old covered bridges and went to the farmers market and had some ice cream!!! on Thursday we drove over to a little town that had a bakery that made meat pies and i disappointed..

on Friday i caught the bus down to Boston and met up with some girls i met at the au pair school Coty and Edna!!! and on Saturday we went to watch the soccer game at Coty's friends house!! we then spent the day at the beach!!

 
Sunday 4th of July!!!! we went downtown Boston and walked along the Charles river where people had been camping out since 4am in the morning to get a good spot for the fireworks!!!! we went to the play ground for a while and then went out for lunch!!!!after that we went to the Boston gardens and walked along the historic red line to see all different pieces of American history!!!

i also went to CHEERS bar!!! the one from the TV series and took some photos!!

on Monday i went and met up with another Australian Aupair who had just moved to Boston and we went out for dinner and ice cream!!!

all and all this was a good holiday!!! i think i have seen enough of Boston :)

My two favorite Rangas

Before I arrived in Minneapolis i was informed that there would be a Nanny working with Addie for a month before i got there and her name was also Clare.. so I knew she would be just as cool as me!!

My first weekend in Minneapolis i just spent it at home and found out that Clare would be baby sitting so I had a chance to meet her.. we spent the night watching tv and talking about all the things we have in common..
Her name is Clare
Her mum's name is Anne
Her birthday is in January
We both play soccer
We both hate balloons 
We both nannied for the same family
and most importantly We both are Rangas!!

We exchanged numbers and ever since then her family and her have became my American family!!! I went with her to a Minnesota Wolves basketball game and thats when she found out what a ranga was... little did i know its only a term used in Australia... but know her whole family say it..

one weekend i went out with her and her sister and ever since then we are know the best rangas in the world and i love these girls soooo much...they have truley become part of my family and i will miss them so much when my time is up...

love you girls xoxoxoxoxoxox

so the year started off difficult as there was sooooo much snow and we were a bit houseband... but now the weather is much better and  now we have more things to do.. also Addie does not have to rely on me to pick her up as much now as she can crawl and walk when holding onto things... on Mondays we attend a music class for 0-2 year olds... we have met a lot of babies the same age and its a good thing to do on a regular basis.. we also spend a lot of time at the lake near our house and we have a little picnic and some play time with some friends...

Addie is now able to crawl up the stairs on her own and she points to her nose when u say where is ur nose.. she also knows how to wave when someone says hello/goodbye and she claps and follows actions...

 

Addie has started to show different facial expressions.. this one she likes to pull when a stranger talks to her so cute :)

Addie watching the Dolphin at the Zoo

Wisconsin and Isabelle's 20th

so this weekend started off with Isabelle's 20th birthday party!! we started off the night by going to Isabelle's house and having a few drinks and getting the party started!! after some drinks we went to Valentinos (an underage night club) in St Paul ( the twin city to minneapolis) and partied the night away!!! so this night club is for any one over 18 but under 21s cannot drink as it is the legal age in USA!!! the night went really well and it was a great way to spend a 20th birthday, but the next day I was paying for it as we drove to Wisconsin (the next state over)!!! it was only about a 30 minute drive but it felt longer then that!!!

When we arrived we got some fuel and then went to find a place to get lunch!!! we ended up stopping at a place called The Orchard and sat in the sports bar!!! our server (named Phil) talked soooo much and in the short time we were there we found out sooooo much about him!! He asked us all where we came from due to our accents so we told him. When Tona told him she was from Chile he told us all about how he travled in South America and went all through Chile!!! but his response was very different when i told him i was from Perth!! his reply was "oh...really" i said back to him why do you say it like that it sounds like a bad thing!! he said no.. and then went on telling us about how he drunk with Aussie's at Oktoberfest!!! He asked us what our plans were while we were here and we said we didnt have much planned apart from going to the Crystal Caves!! he told us about Cady Cheese and from then we decided that was a place we would need to visit!

so after we finished our meals and payed for them we headed further into Wisconsin and went to the Cheese factory!! you are able to taste text what ever cheese you want and look in the looking window but we never got around to doing that!! so we tried a few different types of cheese's! the cheese we tried that was made the day befor tasted really nice but had a very weird texture to it, it was like eating a plastic eraser ( not that i have tried but imagine), then as the cheese aged the plastic texture of it went away.. the oldest cheese we had was one that had aged for 11 years!! we bought a few souvenirs and then went to check in at the American Inn Suites in Baldwin WI!!! the rooms were really nice but the first room the toilet didnt flush and there was no way we were going to spend a night in a room with out a flushing toilet so we moved to the next room!!!

That evening Tona and Renee drove into another city to get some t-shirts while i caught up on some much needed rest :) when they got back we went over to dairy queen and got some dinner!!! i got some chicken and chips and then that night we watched some movies and had a easy night!!

the next morning we woke up and got complimentary breakfast which was pretty shitty and then checked out!! we went and checked out some places around Baldwin and went to a lake called Pine Lake!!! so alot of places around Wisconsin is very country and this showed by all houses having barns in the backyards and down by the lake there were a few horses!

after the visit to the lake we went and had some lunch and then went to the Crystal Caves which was the main reason for the weekend away!  the Crystal Caves was really interesting and was like 43 degrees f which is like 5c and i was not dressed for that!! i cannot remember exactly but the girl was saying we were at least 70 stories underground at the lowest point of the cave! there was a few bats in the cave and we also got to be in total darkness at one point! it was good because it was only the three of us and the tour guide was about the same age as us! it was a great tour and a great weekend!

we finished the weekend off with a soccer game as my friends Clare's dad, cousin and 2 brothers were paying just inside Wisconsin :) was a good weekend

A visitor for the weekend

On Friday the 30th of april Emilio Came to visit for the weekend. He got in at 130 we picked him up from the airport and then went and showed him the Mall of America.. the largest mall in America.. we then caught the train home and that was the beginning of getting lost in the weekend.. we eventually got home and then went out to dinner at Crave.. After dinner Renee picked us up and we went to Clare's house... were Renee and Emilio met Clare, her mom and her dad, her cousin and uncle.. after playing a few card games and a few drinks we went to the Whisky Junction, where Emily's (clares sister) boyfrined Jessie and his band were playing a tribute band to Chicago... so the night consisted of lots of dancing and drinking... on the way home we got lost again...

saturday the 1st of may... we went downtown and had a look around and bought some stuff and got Jimmy Johns (like subway but you can get it without bread and a lettuce wrap) UNWRAP THE LOVE.. after jimmy johns we went back home and watched a movie before going out to dinner to chinese with Renee... after dinner we went to Emily's house as they were having a bonfire... although it took us 2 hours to get there when it should have taken 20 minutes as we got lost so many times...

sunday the 2nd of may... i had an au pair meeting at the festival of nations... it was better then i thought.. we got food from another country i had chinese and then we went around and got a stamp from each country and they wrote our names in their language.. i got Klara alot :)... after the meeting we went and played bowling for a few hours with Tona, Emilio and Renee.. we then went and had dinner and then i had to play a soccer game which we lost 5-3 due to the lack of people showing up...

monday the 3rd of may... i had music class with Addie so emilio and i walked with addie to music class.. came home had some lunch and put addie down for a nap.. shayla took emilio and i to the airport at 5 and then i had to say goodbye... it was a good weekend spent with good friends and i really enjoyed the company :)

My week in Texas

on Wednesday the 21st Shayla, Addie and Myself went to the airport and flew to Texas, Austin. first we stopped in Memphis Tennessee the home of Elvis. We arrived in Austin about 4 in the afternoon and got the rental car and then drove to our hotel in the city.
after settling into the hotel i went around and looked what was close.. that night shayla went out for tea and i had free happy hour down stairs while giving Addie dinner..
so everything in Texas is like they say bigger.. all the guys were walking around in cowboy hats, tight jeans, a buttoned up tucked in shirt and cowboy boots.
during the time in Texas i visited the Austin Children's Museum, the Story of Texas Museum a barbecue in the country and a few historical sites.. i also had to buy a cowboy hat as i wasnt going to Texas and not buying one...
Texas was very different to Minnesota.. it seems as a not so well off community there are a lot of little stalls on the side of the street and lots of food vans..
my stay in Texas was really good and it was good to see something different.

Snow Tubing

So i went snow tubing with Renee ( another Australian girl) she has been here a week longer then me and has 5 kids. We took the oldest ones Snow Tubing with their dad.

It was so much fun :)

For those of you who don't know what it is, You sit in a tire tube and slide down a hill. It's pretty cold and you need to make sure you wear you wet weather/ snow gear. I also had my "Cartman" hat :) but it kept my ears warm. We stayed there for about 4 hours and I was happy because they had an escalator to take you to the top of the hill. much fun its a must do again :) 

Canada "Ottawa" and Washington "Vancouver"

Posted by Claire Archdeacon on Wednesday, March 24, 2010

So i started my travels with travelling to Ottawa with Shayla (host mom) an Addie (host baby). We flew from Minneapolis to Newark and the to Ottawa. It was so pretty I felt as though i should have been in Italy or something. The weather was great and the sites where amazing. Shayla went over for a conference and so Addie and myself explored what was around us. The interior designer for our hotel went down with the Titanic so therefor he never got to see his finished product but it was amazing..

We got the Thursday night and Shayla went to a dinner so Addie and i stayed in and i got room service :) On Friday we went and explored he shops and had a look at all the beautiful buildings around us. We flew home on Saturday :)

On the 18th of March I went to Washington State and stayed with a friend Emilio, I met at the training school and have become pretty good friends with. I got there Thursday afternoon and met his host mom and Gigi his hot kid. She said i came to visit her :) We didn't do much Thursday just played with the kids. On Friday we went to the Battle Ground lake which was so beautiful and reminded me of something from back home :) Friday night we went out with a few of his friends to a bar/ grill where Renae's boyfriend works and we got to eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. I was pretty excited about that :)
Saturday Emilio went for his driving test and past and the we spent the afternoon in Portland which is in the state below. Some weird people around there but i was overall really nice.

So over all my 2 holidays have been great so far and the places have been pretty :)

p.s stopped in Dallas on my flight to Washington and that place is what u would expect. If u have ever seen Toddler and Tiaras, think of the moms heheh and thats what its like :)

My first few months

my first few months

Posted by Claire Archdeacon on Monday, March 22, 2010

Its been interesting and COLD..... we flew to LA and was a 13 hour flight which was not as bad as i thought... the plane was delayed a bit and therefore we had to "amazing race" it to the next flight LA-NY... we finally got to NY and then was a 1 hour car ride to LONG ISLAND.. we stayed there for a five days.. met other au pairs and went to training school which is a bit boring but good for people from different countries..The food was pretty average  and the rooms were freezing... i was alone for the first night and then shared a room with a German: Jasmin and a Japanese i think Alice. the Australian girls where the only ones there on the Sunday night apart from Nicole and Emma who got delayed and flown everyone before coming to the school on Monday night... almost 24 hours later...

School was really fun met some amazing people and people i know i will be friends for life with.. Argentina is my favorite.. Emilio, Melisa and Coty... they introduced me to Mate, looks like your drinking pot... but its their herbal tea.

on the Thursday we went to New York city which was freezing and rushed but was still amazing... we saw the Rockerfella centre, world trade centre, statue of liberty and many more things from movies... it also snowed in the morning and was the first time alot of us saw snow...

we stayed up late that night and talked with everyone and made the most of the last night there....

on Friday we flew out to our host families and it was good to finally get to a stable house proper food and not have to shower with your "FLIP FLOPS" on... pluggers or thongs...
  
the first few weeks with the family was good.... i was settling in with them really well and met some really nice people Clare and her family are the best.. they take me in on the weekends :)

the snow for the month of February was over whelming and made me not like it... it was hard to get out of the house and do anything therefor me and Adelaide stayed in alot...

well that was the end of January and all of February