Too Much Fun!

(Kitty) We already showed you how cool John looks on his new motorcycle. But we haven't told you what I think of the whole thing. Well, last month John decided he was comfortable enough to try having a passenger. We tooled up and down the alley the first time and I was pretty okay with it. That is, until one of our neighbors stopped to chat (motorcycle owners/lovers are very chatty with each other) and told me about the girl he'd seen the day before on the freeway. I won't go into details, but it certainly tamped down my enthusiasm for the day!

The next time we went out, we drove down residential streets for about 20-30 minutes. That was scarier, though I wasn't scared of riding - I was afraid of falling off! So we decided to buy a backrest (aka, sissy bar - but I hate that name! LOL!) for the rear seat so I could relax. (I'd been holding on so tight to John that both my legs and my arms/neck/shoulders were tense as could be!) The first time we drove with the backrest, we rode for about an hour and a half! (We saw a lot of Santa Monica that we'd never seen before, including a canal that's a nature preserve.) John kept asking me if I was okay, but I was having a great time. Later, he said he was a little worried because I no longer had a death grip on him. LOL! This past Saturday we even rode on the PCH - Pacific Coast Highway - for an hour. Riding 45-55 mph is a little scarier than the 35-45 on surface streets, but I was game for it. We finally turned around because I couldn't feel my bum anymore. LOL!

Now that we have the backrest, and I finally found some good boots that fit (Kevlar lined, can you believe it?), and yesterday I bought a great jacket that fits and looks good on me, we'll be riding a lot more. John found out about a restaurant that has "bike night" every Tuesday night - free parking for motorcycles and all you can eat ribs for $19.95. I can't wait to go! Plus, he's going to ride to church on his bike one Sunday coming up to make sure he's comfortable with the streets (we're not riding on the freeway yet), then we can ride it to church. They even have motorcycle parking there! We already ride it to the movie theatre, and for the first time, we don't have to circle for parking! It's awesome!

I'll post more pictures of me in my new jacket later, but here are some pics of us after brunch last Sunday. I was so happy, but you can't see my huge smile! It was too hot to ride in our black leather jackets, so we went home afterward. (We usually ride from 7-9am on Saturdays and Sundays.)

Wake Up! We're Back!

(Kitty) Holy cow! Until my friend Teri pointed it out, I had no idea it'd been 2 1/2 months since we last posted! Yikes! Sorry about that. All I can say is that we find life back in the States a bit more boring than in Aussie Land. :) Or at least it seems more boring to us. For the most part, we see our life as day after day of waiting, waiting, waiting. Still no "real" word about when we'll know about John's next job, but it seems as if it will be the autumn. (Meanwhile, he carries on at his current job in Santa Monica.)

Of course, once I decided I needed to think of something interesting to post here, stuff seemed to start happening! So I'll try to post once or twice a week and let you know some of the interesting stuff and show you any pictures we can take. For today, we'll share some great news about one of our dear friends!

Our friend Don Coleman graduated from Princeton Seminary and was ordained at our church, Bel Air Presbyterian, last Sunday. That was a great day! We got to see him for an hour or so, and his wife Bridgette and son Brennan we'll be able to see tomorrow for several hours. (Don had to go back to work at the church they're at now in Ohio.) We're proud and happy for Don - seems the church they're at now is full of great people - but I'm particularly happy for Bridgette because now she can be a full-time writer! Well, as much as a full-time mom can be! LOL! So I've been spending a little time every day this week thinking of things she needs to know, books she needs to read, people she needs to meet! Hopefully, I won't overwhelm her!

Below are pictures of Don's ordination. More catch-up stories coming up!