so here’s the thing. i have attempted to compose a recap of my australia trip nothing short of a dozen times. i thought about simply posting 100 photos with descriptive captions and saying something clever like “a picture’s worth a 1,000 words, here’s 100,000 of them.” i thought about doing a play by play of each day’s itinerary complete with links to restaurants, bars, and other attractions. and i even thought about not posting anything at all. but kind of like the story of the three bears, each option was too this or too that. nothing seemed to be “just right.” so as i began to settle back into real life (or as i like to call it “life with toilet seat covers (because apparently americans are the only ones who take bathroom hygiene seriously)), i thought more honestly about how i wanted to relay my experience to the blogosphere. and i finally came to a conclusion: i’d split my vacation up into a few separate posts (kind of like chapters of a story), each one offering a collection of anecdotes and accompanying photos. sharing just enough to wet the appetites of those interested in my time away, while also practicing restraint -something i’m not used to doing, but something that i’m realizing is necessary with a trip as special as this one.

so with all of that said, i’m sorry in advance for the amount of photo bombing and story bombing i’m about to drop on all of you for the next week or so, but hopefully these are the posts you’ve been waiting two whole weeks for to read. if only to hear about how i fared in the australian sun (spoiler alert: it kind of got the best of me) and to see that photo of me holding a koala again (73, SEVENTY THREE likes on instagram! the most of any photo i’ve ever posted).

thank you to everyone who prayed for my travels and who sent sweet texts, emails, and instagram comments before, during, and after my trip. it was a joy to share some of my special moments with y’all as they were transpiring and i look forward to reliving some of my favorite memories with you, too.

(takes a deep breath) here goes nothing.

night one: we attempted the self timer but someone wasn’t ready. this happened a lot.