Monday, May 26, 2008

Dan's New Position

So now that you have been updated on the activities of the past few months, let's take a minute to understand why we are transitioning back to the US. As we knew going into the assignment, it wouldn't be very long - expected to be 1-1.5 years. Therefore, when we were asked to transition back to the US by the June time frame, we knew it was pretty close to our early time frame estimates. We will be moving back to the Quad Cities where we left on January 1, 2001 (6 moves ago). Dan will be working at Deere & Company's World Headquarters. His position is Manager, Business Development and Strategic Planning for the Agricultural Division. Most of his focus will be on facilitating the division's strategy planning process through discussions and meetings with the Senior Managers of the Ag Division. Additionally, once the strategy is developed, he will work to execute a communication plan to roll out the information to the remainder of the division's employees worldwide. Although we don't expect significant amounts of constant travel, there will likely be some but very manageable. He is very excited about the opportunity. It will give him a lot of insight into how the top levels of the organization think, interact, and ultimately deploy a directional strategy.

The transition back will take place as follows:
1) We will depart Brisbane, Australia on Saturday 14 June and arrive into Cedar Rapids on that evening.
2) We will close on our new home in Le Claire on Friday 27 June.
3) The movers will deliver our goods from storage and our overseas goods will arrive about Monday 30 June.

The kids will then get the remainder of the summer off before jumping back into 1st and 3rd grade in the Pleasant Valley School District. Thanks to all who have faithfully read the blog throughout the past year. We hope that it was a great way for you to keep in touch with our activities and ultimately, it forced us to better document our activities. There will likely be a few more blogs just to wrap up the relocation.

See you all soon.

The Leibfrieds

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The Wait Is Over

To all who are faithful viewers, we are sorry that it has taken months for us to get a new post up. A lot has happened since the story below about Roger & Kathy's visit to Australia. Below will be a month by month recap with the highlights.

March
Dan went back to the US for a meeting that was planned for months. Just prior to leaving for the trip, he was asked to change up his travel plans to detour through Moline to discuss a new position. Now most of you know where this all ended up...so humor us for those that don't. Dan returned to the US, spent a few days with his brothers watching the NCAA tournament, spent Easter in Eastern Iowa and then started his work. He went to Raleigh, North Carolina for a two days of meetings and then travelled to Moline. While in Moline, Dan found out that we were moving back to the Quad Cities for a new position at the World Headquarters for John Deere. The next post will discuss his new position so stay with us. Dan then flew to Kansas City for meetings for a few days, then travelled to Des Moines, and finally to Cedar Rapids for departure back to Australia...however, this time he had 3 travellers with him.

April
Dan, Becky and Phil Fort, and Phil Hoeger departed on the 2nd of April for Australia and they finally arrived on the 4th. The time that we had waited for had finally come...the reuniting of the sisters (oh yeah - and the Phils). After a brief reunion, it was time to start the family vacation. The trip started with Angie, Dan, Becky, Phil, and Phil climbing the Story Bridge in Brisbane (http://www.storybridgeclimb.com.au/). It was a great experience and now Angie can say that she completed 2 of the 3 world's bridge climbs (only Auckland, New Zealand was omitted). The next day was spent exploring downtown via travel on the City Cat as well as a visit to the lookout point over the city. On Sunday, little Phil made his dreaded trip to the ocean at Mooloolaba beach...and he survived without any incidents with sharks. It was a great day with awesome waves for body surfing. Although no sharks, there was plenty of waves pounding our bodies as we tried to time them just right. A perfect end to a nice weekend.

The week started out with Dan returning to work and everyone else spending time in the city as well as a visit to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. This was an exciting time for the visitors as they were able to see the Kangaroos up close and feed/pet them. A rare spotting of Steve's son (Robert) was made at the Zoo that day. Tuesday ended with some mixed feelings as Dan was asked to fly back to the US within 5 days for a meeting in Moline. However, that didn't stop the fun for the remainder of the week. Dan had prebooked a high rise apartment on the 39th floor at the Gold Coast overlooking the ocean. Unfortunately, it was raining upon arrival and into the first day we were there. Outside of looking around, a family bowling outing happened...in the end the scores were horrible but the fun was outstanding. On Friday, we went to the beach in the morning and spent some more time in the surf. In the afternoon, Angie, Christian, Becky, and the Phils went to The Adverture Park and did a ropes obstacle course while Dan and Paige tried to do Horse Riding but it was booked. After the strenuous course, it was back to the Apartment at the Gold Coast. After checking out on Saturday, we made a trip to the south to Byron Bay which has a beautiful beach and is about as far east as you can get in Australia. Little Phil didn't venture into the water here as there is not a shark net to keep the attackers out and recent shark attacks had caused a young surfer to be attacked and ultimately not make it through the ordeal. Nonetheless, we had another great day in the Australian sun on the beach.

On Sunday, Christian completed his first kids Triatholon consisting of a 100 meter swim, a 3 kilometer bike ride, and a 100 meter run. He loved it and did awesome. Dan departed for America on this day as well and didn't return until after the remainder of the family had departed. On Monday and Tuesday, the day was spent hiking in the rainforest in popular spots where Dan and Christian had explored months earlier. It was a great experience for Becky and the Phils. Additionally, a lunch at Mt. Coot-tha lead to an insight that little Phil wasn't prepared for...Dan had paid for most of his food prior to the departure whenever we went out...however, Angie didn't pick up his tab at this event. He causually leaned to her and said "What would Dan say about this?" It didn't sway one of the most giving women in the world. She let her brother pickup his $30 bill consisting of a nacho lunch with a drink. Welcome to our world Phil. On Wednesday, it was time for Angie and the kids to say goodbye to the visitors knowing full well that it would only be a short time before the reunion happens again.

An additional activity for the April timeframe was Christian's rugby. He is playing Rugby Union in a league for Juniors and he is picking up the game very quickly. After the first official game, Christian commented how all of the opposing kids were much shorter than his team...the words to his dad on the phone were..."They were like a bunch of Grade One-ers." Since he is a Grade Three-er, they towered over them. Additionally, he had his first experience playing against a girl in a competitive contact sport. He said that he was afraid to tackle her and made this comment to his mother. Angie being the competitor that she is said "If her parents let her play and she wants to play, you tackle her just like the others." Amazingly, Dan said the same to Christian when he heard the story. Overall, he loves Rugby and his skills are advancing. Hopefully he will be able to transfer his tackling skills to the gridiron sport of American Football.

May
Angie celebrated her 33rd birthday on May 2nd with little fanfare. On the weekend, we had a Brazilian lunch with some friends from Brazil. If you ever have the chance to eat in this fashion, we would suggest that you fast for atleast 7 days prior. The appetizers, meat, beans, rice, and the after drinks will definitely leaving you feeling more full than you can ever imagine. We also spent time getting housing items in order preparing for our departure back to the US.

On the 7th of May, Dan departed again for Moline for an extended trip to work on job transition items as wells complete important personal objectives like buying Angie a home and a vehicle. Fortunately, he was successful in these objectives. Now I am sure that some of you are wondering if Dan has lost his mind buying a home for Angie without her even putting her eyes on it (except for pictures). However, when you see the home pictures below, you will soon know why he wasn't concerned about the decision. Angie can't wait to utilize the entertaining space in the house and Dan can't wait for Angie to truely put her stamp of approval on the decision. Closing date is scheduled for 27 June and move in will be on 30 June. The new address on that day will be:

607 Slatestone Circle
Le Claire, IA 52753

With respect to the remainder of the transition plan, Dan will arrive back in Australia on Monday 26 May and will spend a couple of weeks in the office prior to our final departure as a family back to the US on Saturday 14 June. The kids are excited and Angie is excited. After what will be just less than a year away from home, everyone but Dan will be looking forward to the flight back as he has become a permanent fixture on the airplane...one could say he was the "Number 1" frequent flyer between March and June...that's what he says anyway.




Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Dan, Ang, Christian, and Paige






PS - JD (the dog) will be rejoining the family in June if he will have us back. The jury is still out on that one.






Saturday, March 22, 2008

What We Have Been Doing

After Mom and Roger left we were on the ground running. Paige had 3 birthday parties in one weekend and Christian had a footy game that he and Dan went to. I had a Les Mills class which will allow me to teach body pump. You can Google that if you want to know what that is. Since I was gone getting my ass kicked all weekend, that meant Dan had to take care of the kids and be super Dad again.

Since both of the kids had birthday parties on Friday, I was off and running, arranging for rides and pick ups. Dan had his turn on Saturday which was really funny. He started off with piano for Paige at 9:30, then off to the first birthday party. After that party he was straight off to the next party which lasted until 5. We met at our friends house for a quick pick up of Paige by me. Dan and Christian were off to a rugby game with our good friends Daniel and Hugh. To all of you how knew the old Dan you can't believe how awesome he has been doing. I'm telling you Dad of the year.


In closing, we got through the weekend. I was able to walk after the classes I took and with prayer from my friends and family I passed the class and am able to teach after I get all my paper work into the company. The cool thing about this program is that I will be able to teach all over the world. With my husband you know that is a good deal for me.

Our love to all

Ange

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Sydney Update / MOM IS HERE

Since I left off, we have done a few more things. We tried to go to Manly beach, but it rained on us unfortunately. So we filled the rest of the day with walking across the harbor bridge (the flat part). Paige actually ran most of the way across. We took the ferry around the harbor and got to see the Opera House at all different angles. Believe me, Dan took all the different sides with the camera also. We have a dozen or more pictures of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.

On Wednesday, we took the kids to the Power House Museum and they played with some musical instruments and did some experiments. Dan was so kind to buy me a ticket to the Princess Diana exhibit. He took the kids and I took my time and enjoyed all the dresses, diamond tiaras, her wedding dress and so on. For those who know me, it was like a dream come true. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to take our chances and try Bondi Beach. We had an amazing time. The beach was amazing with its clear water and the great views of rocks and houses. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we got home.

Thurdsay has been the day we have all been looking forward to...Mom and Roger finally arrived safe and sound. Though they were tired, Dan made them walk all over Sydney. We did the tour of the inside of the Opera House and found out some interesting things. It was only opened in 1973, costing 100 million dollars with a budget of only 5 million to build. They had it paid for by 1975, 2 years after it was opened. This was funded by lottery tickets. They are very big with gambling over here. It is made completely out of conctrete with tiles on the outside. Even though it looks white it is actually a cream color. The outside is made of triple glazed tile.

Tomorrow is Friday so we will again do as much as possible. Then we are back to normal on Saturday returning to Brisbane. I will load my pictures then. Talk to you soon.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Sydney

Dan has taken us on another great vacation so far. We arrived in Sydney or "Cindy" as Paige calls it on Saturday. Like usual, we hit the ground running. He took us over to see the Circular Quay. We browsed around, had pizza at the Ship Inn which is a pizza place, and then we saw the Opera house and the Harbor Bridge that Dan and I will be climbing later.

Sunday we had to take planes, trains and buses to get to Hillsong church. Just kidding...it did take us a while though. We had to take a train ride and a bus ride. It was worth it to go to a famous church down here. Later that day, we also had a nice time walking through Hyde Park and going to the Sydney look out tower. I think it was a great way to get oriented to the city.

Today was a somewhat slow day. We took the kids to the Sydney Aquarium after a ride on the monorail through the city. Christian had to work on his homework and that was about it.

We will continue to update throughout the week and pictures will follow when we get back to Brisbane.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

What a Dad

This had been a great couple of weekends for the kids. Dan has spent the last couple of weekends with the kids. Last Sunday the 3rd of February Dan and Christian went to the movies with our friends Daniel and Hugh. They had a nice coffee afterwards and then decided to take Paige and the rest of Abrahams on a walk down on the floating walkway down town Brisbane. The kids had a great time. Their favorite part was when the boats went by and the walk way went up and down with the wakes.

This weekend Dan and Christian went on a great adventure down at Byron Bay New South Whales. They took off to get their partners in adventure (Daniel and Hugh Abrahams) at 5:30 in the morning. They spent a great day sea kayaking. Everyone agreed that this was very hard getting through the swells in the sea. Christian and Dan only dumped the kayak once on their last time coming into the shore. Afterwards they spent the rest of the day having some lunch and playing at the beach, a favorite pass time of everyone here. The day was absolutely beautiful....weather and bonding time. As usual Christian had only one criticism......he only wished he could have dived in the ocean a little bit more while he was kayaking....Dan wouldn't let him due to the recent SHARK ATTACKS at Byron Bay.

Check out my Slide Show!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Christian's Summer Adventure

Looking back at the pictures that I have taken, I can honestly say that Christian likes climbing trees. Dan and Christian did some quality bonding time over the summer. There were many Saturdays that Dan would ask Christian if he wanted to go for a hike and they would be off in a matter of 30 minutes with sunscreen and bug spray in hand. It has been fun to watch as they have grown through their hiking experiences. They would always come back and tell us what they saw and Christian would always tell us what they needed to bring for the next time he and Dad went out on a hike.

Christian is such a passionate child. He loves swimming as much as he likes the hikes with Dan. When we take him to the pool he is usually under the water more than he is on top. Usually he pops up and yells "Mom how long was that" and down he goes again. Through his swimming at school and swimming at lessons, he has really built up his speed in the pool as well challenging anybody to a swimming contest.

Many good things have come out of this summer. As you can see he has found a friend in Hugh Abrahams. Hugh spent many days over this summer helping Christian conquer his Star Wars Lego game and going on trips together. Hugh invited Christian up to his grandparents for a couple of days in Bundaberg. They hit the beach early and swam all day. They also spent time feeding turtles and trying to catch fish. In turn, Dan took the boys to the Adventure Park Ropes Course.

Christian is a very active child and we definitely wouldn't want it any other way. Now he is beginning to look forward to the time that he will spend with his Mema Hoeger and Roger who are visiting in February.

Christian's Summer Adventure

Paige's Summer Recap

Paige had a great summer. It started with Paige getting to play Mary in the school Christmas program. Then she graduated from prep which was a sad thought that we were going to lose a very good prep teacher and my little girl was going to be in 1st grade. When school ended, we went to the Australian Zoo with Greg and Tonya Dardis. This is where Paige was feeding the baby animals. She really enjoys this sort of thing. Also, while Greg and Tonya were here visiting, we went to our favorite place in Australia...the Gold Coast. After a couple of days of swimming in the pool and playing at the park, Paige had enough and had to have a sleep on the beach. She does this frequently. When she has had enough, she will just fall asleep on the beach.

Some of the other things that we experienced were having Paige's 6th birthday and going to the Australian Outback Adventure. This is a dinner show with horses. She had picked this for her birthday shortly after arriving in Brisbane. We had New Years with friends. We wore tank tops, shorts and flip flops. Dan and I knew this was probably going to be the last one like this for a while. As you will see in a picture below, Paige had fun lighting sparklers with some of her girlfriends.

The rest of our time was spent at the pool. Paige has really improved with her swimming. She is almost as big of a fish as Christian. This is saying something since, when we arrived, she would barely put her head in the water. She has really grown. One of our last weekends before school started, Dan and I took Paige to Sea World, where she enjoyed the dolphin show and touching the different things of the ocean. They had a small amusement park at Sea World and she was big enough to go on all the rides by herself plus she took Dan and I on a few of the bigger water rides. It doesn't matter whether you are in America or Australia...the summers go by fast. Now Paige is off to 1st Grade to start the next adventure.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Fiji

Happy New Year everyone. Hope that everyone had a great holiday season. Our family took the biggest trip yet. We went to Fiji for 8 fun filled days. Our trip had a few bumps along the way but it was nothing that we couldn't handle. We were delayed in Sydney for a little bit due to some plane troubles the day before. This caused for a long line in customs, 2 hours of standing and no information about what was going on. I don't know how...I'd like to think it was Santa that enabled us to get on the outgoing flight that we were suppose to go on with an upgrade to business class. What luck!

The kids totally enjoyed the luxury that we stumbled into. I enjoyed the never ending glass of Sparkling and a good book. When we arrived in Fiji, the humidity was stifling. It took me a while until I could catch my breath. We waited for what seemed forever with 2 tired children for our luggage that never came. Off to the hotel we went with no luggage and the idea that our luggage would arrive in the morning. We arrived at the hotel at about 3 in the morning and fell into bed. The next morning we were up and ready to hit the pools after we bought some swimming suits and sunscreen. Let the vacation begin!

The first bag arrived at 9 PM that night and the next bag didn't arrive until 4 PM the next day. Dan was upset because he lost a half a day waiting for the luggage and phoning the airlines. The kids enjoyed kids club a lot. They made necklaces of shell, made baskets and collected flowers(Paige), played sports, did fishing and so on. It was nice for us because we had the morning and sometimes the afternoon to read and lounge by the pool. Showering was the most work that we had to do as well as walking up to supper.

After supper the kids would hit the disco for some dancing until 9 PM. Then off to bed for them. They were exhausted after a day of swimming and playing.

Our Christmas was very relaxing. The kids opened gifts from us on Christmas Eve night and eagerly awaited the arrival of Santa. Christmas eve was really nice at the hotel because they had movies for the kids which were suppose to be on the beach but, due to the weather, it was inside. That was still okay.

Our Christmas day we phoned homed and enjoyed talking to our families and hearing about all the snow that you received. We found it humorous that the more we talked to different people the snow went up from 6 inches to 10. It was like the fish kept getting bigger.

Our trip ended on the 26th of December or boxing day over here. It ended about the same way it began. We arrived at the airport in a torrential down pour at about 5 PM. Our flight was to leave at 8:40 PM and when 8:40 came and went we knew this was not a good sign. Our flight ended up being cancelled and we were given accommodations. We were finally able to fly home the next morning to celebrate Paige's 6th birthday.

Overall we had a wonder trip. We relaxed, read books and enjoyed each others company. Good bless everyone this new year. May it be prosperous and healthy.
Our love to all of you
Ange