we're approved!

visa approved!!

more details to come.

A real update!

I just got off of the phone with the Australian visa office in Sydney. I spoke with our case officer (after three e-mails and two phone calls). She said that she just spoke with our HR woman at QDPI and will be sending her one final form that we need to sign and send back. Confusing? She said that once the signed form gets back to her, she believes our visa will be approved within two weeks. YES!

Let's just see how the weakest link in this visa chain (the contact person at QDPI) handles this. How long will it take her to get the form to us?

Cross your fingers...

Hitting both coasts

Nate and I have been running around all over the country for visits with family and friends before we leave. A couple of weeks ago, we stayed with his family for a week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina (Avon on Hatteras Island, to be exact). Lots of time in the Atlantic where there were jumping cow-nosed rays and dolphins.

Here we are on the east coast!

Great picture taken by Nate of my last boogie board ride until after December.

The Hardy Crew (showing off profiles)

This past weekend we drove down to Hermosa Beach to watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean before our life gets flipped upside-down and we see the sun RISE over the Pacific. Here with are with niece Caitlin (right before she wiped out in the waves).

The Lawson Beach Weekend 2008 Crew!

Then we went out to visit Muzzie and Jack at The Gardens. It was Muzzie's idea to do the Rockette kick. Obviously I am out of practice with my form.

My favorite picture from the weekend.
Still no word on the visa application. We heard this morning that our med exam results are being sent to the visa office today and shall arrive in 3-5 days. I've scoured the Internet discussion boards and deduced that it takes 7-10 days from when the visa office gets the medical information until final visa approval. So we're looking at a couple of more weeks until we can get a departure date.