Honeymoon in Byron Bay

We are FINALLY enjoying our long awaited honeymoon in beautiful Byron Bay and it could not be more perfect. The weather is gorgeous, the resort a dream and we are loving every minute of it. Starting the day with yoga sessions by the infinity pool, long lazy breakfasts, getting pampered in the spa, long walks on the beach, cruising around on our little bikes and generally just enjoying each other's company without work and without packing and relocation dramas. Baby is kicking happily and I feel so blessed.

As usual for Byron, the sunsets have been spectacular.
Today we went up to the lighthouse to see the sunset and wait for the full moon to rise over the ocean. It was really magical and oh so romantic :)

I do hope these pictures don't make you feel nauseous.

Bye-bye Wilson!

Very sadly, we had to give our little dog Wilson away before leaving to Canada, we do not think he would survive the different climate having lived in the sub tropics for ten years of his life. So he went back to his previous owners who are delighted to have their puppy back.



oh and yes, I have not been eating too many pies... this is indeed a pregnant belly :)

Leaving Australia...

It is incredible but after only 2.5 years we have packed up AGAIN to move to Canada where Craig has a new job with Rio. All change again!

Thankfully his company is paying for our relocation so the pain was limited but it was still very stressful and tiring to pack everything up, decide what goes with us and what stays in storage and wade through piles and piles of paperwork.



We are now heading off to Byron Bay for a week of pampering and relaxing in a lovely spa resort and going for walks on the beach before we leave for Montreal on 4 May 2010.

Aussie Open

This blog entry has been a looooong time coming but better late than never I wanted to post some pics of the Australian Open in January 2010.

As you can see my parents LOVED it - it was a fantastic day out, the atmosphere was amazing, the entire stadium was screaming as one, great experience!



We saw some amazing games, including the invincible Roger... flying as it seems



and the gorgeous Venus...

A new life in Montreal?

Most of you will have heard by now that we are leaving sunny Australia to start a new life in Canada/Montreal in May 2010. Craig has a fabulous new job over there and I will spend my energy on creating a new home and enjoying my pregnancy (baby is due in August). ALL CHANGE AGAIN!



I went over to Montreal in February to check out where we would want to live etc and it was absolutely freezing! As you can see, even the advertising pillars wear hoodies!!



I left sunny Brisbane at 35 degrees C and arrived in Montreal some 28 hrs later at minus 10 degrees!!! Brrrr! I almost died when I walked out the airport - I could not breathe!!! Thankfully Craig was waiting for me with a warm coat and I did not have to die!



This is the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral in the old town of Montreal. Entirely made of wood it is really quite special.

We are both looking forward to exploring a new country and lifestyle. And of course all the French food, very exciting! I am really happy that we will be so much closer to Europe (only 6 hrs flight instead of 25) and will be able to see friends and family more often. I finish work this week and will then be packing boxes and sorting through stuff to decide what comes with us, what goes into storage, and what goes to the tip! Wish me luck...

The great GREAT Ocean Road

When my parents were here in January we went on a trip to Melbourne for a week and I FINALLY got to see the famous Great Ocean Road. It was an unforgettable day, the landscapes are just spectacular! I took a thousand photos, it is just beautiful and we were so lucky with the weather!



We also went to the Australian Open for a day and watched some fantastic tennis. Mum was very excited.



This one is the famous London Bridge which used to be connected to the main land...



And of course the 12 Apostels (who are no longer 12).
It was a fantastic week with great food and lots to do - loved it!
Surely, if the weather would not be so crazy everybody would want to live in Melbourne, it is just the coolest city in Australia, I love it!

More wedding photos

We are getting more and more photos through from the photographer (Ben Schablon) and I just post my favourites. Very nice!!!



I know this must be the cheesiest picture of them all but I love it!

Our Wedding

I would prefer a beach wedding over anything else any time!!! It was just wonderful...

What a beautiful day for a wedding!

We did it! We got married on Saturday and had the most wonderful day. Sigh! It was so romantic and emotional, I will never forget it in my entire life.



It was raining all week and we were so worried that we would not be able to have a beach wedding after all. But the weather Gods were on our side and it cleared the day before the wedding and the day was just perfect with blue blue skies and little tufts of white clouds.


Dad walked me down the beach and it was the best moment ever to see Craig waiting there... looking at me with this funny look on his face. I wanted to laugh and cry at once.



The ceremony was very solemn and I could not wait for the moment I could FINALLY kiss my new hubbie - it was the sweetest kiss ever! What a relief!



And of course it was wonderful to have my parents here to be part of the celebration.

These are just a few photos David took to get you started. I will put some more together over the next couple of days. We had a wonderful day and I am very proud to be MRS Tanja Millis now! Yay!!!!!!

Getting married!

I am so excited, we are going to get married on 9 January 2010 and I picture a lovely sunny day on the beach, ceremony with toes in the sand and the sound of the waves... Cannot wait to finally be Craig's lawfully wedded wife :)
The reception will be in our home in Ashgrove and we are busy cleaning and decorating the house to the big day. SIGH!
My parents arrived last week and my mum is even more excited than me I think? Did not realise that was possible but its wonderful to have them here and celebrate Christmas together.
Obviously, I shall post photos as soon as I can - stay tuned!

Lots of love and happy Christmas wishes,
Tanja and Craigo xox

Getting romantique in the Blue Mountains

Can you believe it? Craig organised a lovely romantique weekend for us in the Blue Mountains, just North of Sydney. We stayed in a cute little loft cottage with a fireplace and spa and great view of the green green forest and it was just perfect!



I was very impressed with the Australian mountains, these are the first big valleys I have seen and I was blown away. It is stunning - beautiful colours, fantastic blue skies, waterfalls and crisp clean air, perfect for a day of bushwalking!



We saw the famous 3 Sisters of course and walked through the Wentworth falls valley, the National Pass and underhand route and over the Govett's leap the next day. Loved it! We had a very romantic weekend indeed...I really did not expect Craig to propose after all these years... but it made me oh so happy!!! FABULOUS!

My brother and family on hols in Oz

My brother and family came out to visit for their summer holidays to send 5 weeks in the Australian winter! It was wonderful to catch up and spend time with my nieces Kathie and Klara - they have grown up so much!
We spent a week of holidays in Cairns and Port Douglas exlored the Barrier Reef and building sand castles - it was great fun! And I am so proud of my little nieces to go diving on the big reef, very cool indeed!




Today we went to the Koala Sanctuary in Lone Pine to say good bye to all the famous Australian animals - a must do!

French dreams come true

I am so very very excited about our BEAUTIFUL new French Bedroom which finally arrived yesterday. Am loving it - tres romantique and we bought the world's most comfortable matress - heaven! Worth every penny I reckon!



Craig and Wilson always enjoy their bath time and I love to watch them. Very very sweet and Willie always gets out smelling like flowers :)



My brother and family arrive tomorrow morning - should be interesting! I have not really talked to them in almost two years!

Flooded in Ashgrove

Can you believe it?!?! After having a tree through the roof only a couple of months ago we have now moved into a new home with a cute little creek at the end of the garden and got completely flooded in last weeks deluge!

Amazing! Thankfully the main bit of the house is on stilts and we are safe and dry but everything that was stored under the house (lots of boxes, aircon, washing machine, garden tools etc) is destroyed and caked in mud. Lovely!

Donna and Tim Downunder

It was lovely to have Donna and Tim visit for a couple of days and we had a great time catching up on life and exploring things Australian...

I spent a blissful weekend with Donna at the beach in Byron while the boys flew down to Melbourne for some Formula 1 action.

As expected the time went way too quickly after months and months of anticipation but I hope hope hope they will come back next year!

Home sweet home

New home is coming together and we are very very happy here! Wilson is very upset he has to share his new territory with various Possums and we really hope he will get used to them soon. His constant growling is a bit annoying!!! And they are so cute! Look!!!