Sliding Date?

As time ticks on it becomes perfectly clear that having a set date is not really all that important to anyone in this process. Nevermind the fact that we have close up our house, pack our belongings, and move our family and life to the opposite side of the globe! Apparently the visa process has just been started and it takes 4-6wks for that and then we make flight arrangments after that. That will pretty much put us into July and if that's the case, we won't be leaving until July 25th or 26th. Why so late? There is a VERY important wedding that we need to attend on July 23rd and how terrible would it be to miss it by a mere 2 weeks. So, those that have not been accepting that we are leaving before July 23rd (you know who you are)...your wish may have come true! And we are SUPER excited for a weekend in A.C. before heading out. We'll keep you posted.
On another note, did you know that it costs $600 to send a 50lb. box to Australia? Or $50 to send a 12"x12"x5-1/2" package? What do you even fit in a box shaped like that? Looks like we are only bringing what can fit in our suitcases. Granted we have a maximum of 12 suitcases (50 lbs each) we can bring with us but who wants to lug all of that around an airport? We are going to try and keep it to 8. Is that possible?