Taking the Plunge!

So after a suspenseful five or so years, I finally popped the question to Marcy, taking her up to the cliffs of Manly Beach in North Sydney, and with a small bottle of champagne in tow, told her how much I loved her, got down on one knee, and asked for her hand in marriage (fortunately she said yes!)

The popping of the question didn't completely take Marcy by surprise as I had previously asked for her father's permission when her parents were in Australia in June (fortunately he said yes, too!) but we've been waiting for the ring to be designed and shipped to us, which took longer than expected as the details around shipping it internationally became overly complicated, so we decided Marcy would pick up the actual ring when she goes home in September.

Therefore, I was left in a quandary of needing to propose sans actual engagement ring. So I did the next best thing and got her the finest 4 carat glass engagement ring the costume jewellery shop had to offer and place it in a ring box to make it official!

Afterwards, Marcy and I went to Otto Ristorante courtesy of Lois and Lee, who secretly hid a gift certificate in our apartment during their trip. The food, the company and the view were unbeatable. It was a great end to a perfect day!

Click here for a slideshow of pics from the proposal and dinner, or take a look at the slideshow below.

City 2 Surf

This weekend was the big City 2 Surf event in Sydney, Australia. It's fairly similar to San Francisco's Bay to breakers (minus the naked people and the bar floats). It's basically a 14k run/walk through the city which raises money for a number of charities. This year there were nearly 70,000 people who participated and Chris and I were two of those people. Chris has been training a little for the event and ran most of the way finishing the 14k in about 96 minutes! Yay Chris! Here's a quick map that shows the route. Click here.

I on the other hand didn't train at all, and walked the 14k, took pictures along the way and finished in 136 minutes. Always room to improve... Maybe next year i'll run it?



Anyways, here are a couple of pictures from the day, and of course a pic of me crossing the finish line above. That was a pic courtesy of Chris - who made me run the last part which he joined me in!

There's also a pic of team AGSM!

Congrats again to Kerri, Ann, Pedro, Lee, Gabriel and Colin!

Three Miller's and a Kiely... Down Under!

I know it's been ages since I last updated the blog. My only excuse is that we've had visitors here in the Land Down Under for the past 4 weeks. My parents came down to visit Chris and I and we did lots of exploring in the land of Kangaroos and Koalas! It was such a wonderful trip and it was so great to have them here to visit. Even the wildlife enjoyed their visit!



Below is a brief itinerary of their trip, and of course I will be posting more pictures. Please be patient though - for those of you who know my father - there are more pictures of the past 4 weeks than Chris and I have of the past 6 months. I will do my best to filter. 

Itinerary: 

Mom and Dad arrive in Sydney on June 14th. We spent about 5 days in Sydney where we went to the Taronga Zoo, saw the Opera House, explored different neighborhoods, ate great food and of course relaxed!

On the 19th, the 4 of us flew up to Cairnes (where the Great Barrier Reef is). From Cairnes, we drove upto Port Douglas where we rented a fabulous 3 bedroom house. It had a beautiful kitchen, washer/dryer and was in a great location. If anyone needs a good recommendation or place to stay... Let me know! Here's a quick look at the house...

We absolutely loved Port Douglas. It's a great little town with lots of shops and great restaurants. We of course spent a day out on the Great Barrier Reef and snorkeled. Chris SCUBA dived for part of the day and snorkeled with us for the rest. (We have some great underwater shots for you!)

Here's a fun one with us under water!



And of course one with mom!

We then went upto the Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation and did a great hike at the Mossman Gorge. We saw crocodiles in the wild, met a man who I think was Crocodile Dundee's twin brother and kept on running into people from our snorkeling trip the day prior. It was kind of nice having the "small town" environment! It was obvious we weren't in Sydney anymore. The question is, do you think people could tell we were tourists?



Here's a pic from our hike after Chris and I took a swim in beautiful fresh (freezing) water among the rainforest.



On all of our hikes, we were always on the lookout for wildlife... Some animals were easier to spot than others...

Chris and I flew back to Sydney and my parents proceeded to head to Adelaide (which is in Southern Australia). From Adelaide, my parents went to a little island just off the Australian coast called Kangaroo Island for 2 days. As you can imagine, they saw some kangaroos, penguins, koalas and lots of other wildlife. 



From Kangaroo Island, my parents drove along the coast from Adelaide to Melbourne and along the Great Ocean Road. For those of you who have a week to spare, I think this was one of the highlights of their trip. The Great Ocean Road is along the coast just outside of Melbourne and stretches along the oceans edge. 

Here's another snapshot along the Great Ocean Road.

The scenery was amazing, the wildlife was abundant and this is definitely a trip Chris and I are planning to do in the very near future!  Below is a video that my father captured of my mom and some kangaroos. There's a golf course along the Great Ocean Road that has thousands of Kangaroos hopping around. These kangaroos have been there for ages!



Here's how close they were able to get to a koala! (We've got another video of a Koala eating if anyone is interested). It was actually pretty rare for my parents to see/video a koala eating as they sleep about 20 hours a day. (Not my parents - the koalas).



After the drive along the coast, my parents met Chris and I in Melbourne. Unfortunately Chris had a huge exam on Monday, so he spent a lot of time studying while the Miller's explored Melbourne. We absolutely loved this city. The food was amazing, the people were down to earth and we loved the different characteristics of the neighborhoods. Melbourne - we will be back!!!



The four of us flew back to Sydney after a wonderful weekend in Melbourne and we spent the rest of my parents visit touring around. We did long walks from Bondi to Coogee, ate at phenomenal restaurants, cooked, went to the cinema, visited Manly and played lots of cards. 

Here's a couple pics from our Manly walk:



Right near Shelley Beach in Manly:



Our Bondi to Coogee walk:



We also did a little shopping at the markets. My mother and I are the IDEAL consumers incase you can't tell!

The very last weekend, my parents and I headed upto the Blue Mountains for the day. (This is where Chris and I went for Easter Weekend - there is another posting on that weekend). The Blue Mountains is kind of a mix between a small Yosemite or a tiny Grand Canyon. Below is a pic of us in front of the Three Sisters which is a famous landmark in the Blue Mountains. We had a quick trip up there, did a hike, had some lunch, my parents bought a beautiful piece of art and we headed back to Sydney!

It was truly an amazing trip and it was such a great experience for my parents. I don't think this is a trip they ever would have taken if we didn't live here. We may have even instilled the travel bug in them... They didn't even mind the 20 hour flight back!!! Who knows, maybe they'll be back visiting in a couple months ;)



I will upload the pics as soon as possible and will be sure to divide them up by location. Check back for updates soon!!!

Mom and Dad - we miss you already. Thank you again for a wonderful trip. It was so great spending time with you and I can't wait to see you again in September (and then maybe next year in Thailand?)