Merry Christmas!

It was so nice to have our family together again! We even made it through the snow up to David and Kelli's, picking up my sister Heather along the way. Her car is still buried under a mountain of snow and ice.

I love Joe in this hat...

Alex decked out in all his new paintball gear.

I got Mia a Lite-Brite and she really liked it.

Olivia being silly in the winter wear I found in New Zealand.
Me and my little Sister, Heather.

Welcome Home Joe!

After 7 months at sea and barely being able to fly into PDX, Joe is finally home! No, Alex isn't taller than him now. Alex was just goofing off and wanted to pretend he was now taller than Joe. We have had a nice homecoming so far. We are all being extra nice and patient while we readjust to being together! Joe is enjoying eating all his favorite foods and watching his favorite shows that he missed while being gone. We've been sharing many stories and just catching up. I sure wish this weather would cooperate though. My poor baby sister has been trapped at her house up in NW PDX and won't be bale to get down here until it really thaws out.

We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas!

Fun in the Snow

Well, Alex and I have been stuck at home (I'm kinda chicken to drive) and so it was a welcome surprise when my good buddy Jamie and her VERY handsome boyfriend, Jake, and all the kids showed up to sled!

Alex and the kids played in the snow, sledding and throwing snowballs at each other! I can't believe I got this shot!

Thanks for breaking the monotony guys!

Snowy Day!

This is what I woke up to this morning....Normally, I would really be enjoying it but I feel like I have been cooped up in this house for a week already! I need to go to town!

Purple Belt for Alex!

Alex continues to progress in Taekwondo earning his Purple Belt. It was a little challenging for him as we were gone for 3 weeks and he wasn't able to practice much. I think he got stronger though with all the food he was eating! He had know problem with the board breaks!

Bungy!!!!

Alex and I did the Nevis Bungy Jump while we were in Queenstown! It is 440 feet off the ground, 3rd highest in the world! It was a blast! We loved it! I was nervous but excited too. I wouldn't look down while I walked out to the "meat tray", as they call it, or I think I would have become terrified. Alex has no fear - he just jumped! We tried to go skydiving the next day but the weather didn't cooperate. Funny thing, I was the oldest person jumping and Alex the youngest, out of 22 jumpers! We're going to have to go to China now if we want to jump the world's highest - 760 ft!

Christchurch and Franz Josef

Christchurch is a quaint city, very English. It's also a starting point for Antarctic teams heading down to the South Pole. We went to the Antarctic Center where you can go in the "ice room" and they simulate an Arctic storm. IT WAS SO FREAKING COLD! Alex thought it was great fun but I almost ran for the door! We took the TransAlpine train from Chch which was gorgeous. These little photos don't do it justice. The color of the water in the rivers is a beautiful turquoise color. I was told it is because of silica that comes from the glaciers. I can't get over it! Beautiful!

Franz Josef is a VERY small town mostly catering to glacier tours and adventure outings. We did the Helicopter ride and landed up on Fox Glacier. It was a PERFECT day for it. I guess it is sunny about 4 days a year here and we were there for 3 of them! Lucky! It was so cool to get to see the glaciers up close. I wanted to do the heli-hike but Joe wasn't having any of that. I later talked to a girl who had done it and was glad I hadn't as a guy from her group fell off the cliff! No major injuries but, yikes! I saw some other less glamorous pics of the tour too and the people were literally holding on to a rope while walking along a cliff - no thanks!Well, this may be my last post...we are doing our bungy jump today! 440 ft, 8.5 seconds of free fall! I'm terrified thinking about it! More to follow...hopefully!

Napier, New Zealand

Napier is a lovely coastal town. We've really enjoyed it here. We took a fun and interesting tour of the city yesterday in a vintage Buick. Our guide was born here and new all about the town and it's history. It was mostly destroyed in 1931 from an earthquake then rebuilt in the popular style of the time, what we now call Art Deco. The buildings were beautiful! Here is a little collage from around town. We also enjoyed the sunrise each morning (over the ocean!) from our window.

After Auckland, we went on to Rotorua. A very interesting town. It smells like rotten eggs! Yes, that's right. The whole area is a hot-bed of geothermal activity. We went to this place called Wai-O-Tapu and did a walk around all these amazing pools. This one is called Artist's Palette. I don't think my camera has captured all the amazing colors though.

This one is Champagne Pool with some crystals growing around the edge.

I wish I could upload a lot more pictures but they charge by the megabyte here for Interenet and it would cost a fortune!

Today we are in Napier. A quaint beach town on Hawke Bay. It's weird to see al the Christmas decorations up and have it be summer! This area is know for it's wine and I'm trying to figure out how I can get some home without lugging it around in my suitcase (which already weighs a TON).

I'll send more updates later...gotta eat (again!).

We made it to Auckland!

After a long flight (with a screaming kid in front of us that I wanted to strangle!) we made it to Auckland. Of course, Alex and I got colds right before we left so we haven't been operating at 100% but we are making the best of it. Auckland is a very cool city that I like a lot. This is the Sky Tower which is huge! It really stands out wherever you are. We went up to the top for dinner, right at sunset, in the revolving restaurant which was wonderful.

Here are some shots from around town. The Sky Tower has plate glass you can look through - it is so high!

Joe is SO tan and SO skinny! Alex is SO pale next to him! And not much shorter than Joe now either! We've been enjoying hearing all of Joe's stories and just catching up. Although the two of them in out little hotel room are starting to drive me crazy now after 3 days! :-)

Fun Family Times!

The granddaughters were over for the night on Friday. I so enjoy having them over. Every year the girls and I decorate a gingerbread house. I hope this is something that we will always get to do and a tradition that the girls will always remember fondly doing with their Nana. I used to do it with Alex too when he was little so it was nice that he got to help some this year too as Mia was needing a nap...

David and Kelli stayed for dinner when they came to get the girls. Alex thought he was ready to take his big brother on in an arm wrestling match.....yeah, he got schooled! David gave him some really good pointers though!

Kevin & Hannah Come for a Visit!

Adrienne's other baby brother and his beautiful girlfriend came up to Oregon to see us. It was so fun having Kevin and Hannah here for Halloween (see their cute costumes). We went to a party at our friend's house then over to the Haunted House. I of course, did not go in (along with Heather) - too scary for me!

We spent a lovely afternoon at Silver Falls. I don't think I have ever been there in the Fall. It was so beautiful with all the leaves changing colors. I just love showing off this wonderful park that is so close to my house.

Look at this leaf I found! Huge! There were leaves everywhere! So pretty!

Kevin and HannahKevin wanted to take Hannah to Pacific City too. It was surprisingly a nice day over there! Their pictures made me and Alex wish we had gone too! Although I'm probably too lazy to climb all the way up to the top of that dune! If Hannah was pooped I would have never made it!

We had a lot of fun riding the tractor, climbing trees and exploring our property. These pictures are down by the creek and over on to our neighbors. It is just the most beautiful forest down there! I'm reminded how much I love my home and know that I will NEVER leave it! They're going to have to bury me down there next to little Sur :-(

This hollow tree has been a source of enjoyment since before Alex was born. It just looks like a little hobbit's hiding spot to me. Alex always looked in there when he was little to try and find a critter of some sort. Now HE wanted to crawl in there! Hannah got the creeps though (I would have too!)

It has been so fun having my baby brothers up for a visit. We all enjoyed spending time together and getting to know Hannah and Anne better. I sure we wish we all lived closer together....

Syren Update

Joe and David (his new crew mate) are in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. They plan to leave for northern New Zealand, Opua Marina on November 1st. They will then head down to Auckland. I can't wait to get down there!

Click on the image to get a better view. Download Earth to really zoom in. It is SO cool! I just love playing with it. Try it out - it's free. http://earth.google.com/

TKD Tournament

Making new friends...

Alex did really well at his first Taekwondo tournament! I was so proud of him! He got a 2nd in Form, 3rd in Weapons and a 1st in Sparring! All the boys and their parents were so nice. We both made new friends and hope to see them all again at the next tournament.

Alex is a Green Belt!

Alex and his proud mama! He got his green belt today. I can't seem to get my videos uploaded (AHH!) but will keep working on it.

Owen Roe, Yum!

My good buddy, Linda, and I stopped by my sister's new winery to do a little tasting and shopping. I love Owen Roe's wines! Delicious! Of course, we had to snap a few pics for the blog.

Girls Gone Wild - In Maui!

Oh, what a wonderful girl's trip to Maui we had! Tracy, Kristen, myself, Heather and Tina enjoyed the sun, drinks, food and so, so many laughs!
We arrived in Maui early enough to hit the beach and watch the sunset...

We took a drive around the top part of the island. Lot's of great views, yummy banana bread and this wonderful artist. I'm too lazy to go look up the name right now....

We met some of the local characters...

Tracy, Kristin and I went on a very fun snorkel cruise to Honolua Bay. It was a perfect day for sailing. We had a great time!

We had a huge pod of spinner dolphins entertaining us there and back. The babies jumping and flipping in the air were so cute!

Me and my baby sis, Heather, out on the town!

I never get tired of the Maui sunsets...

Ok, so here's the "wild" part of the trip...Kristin and I got tattoos! Kristin already has several so she's a pro. I was a bit nervous (a couple Ativan helped that). My artist was so great, very patient and funny and made my experience a great one! I already want to get another one when we go back to Maui!

Here's Kristin's...

Here's mine...I had a very vague idea of what I wanted and Tony just drew this on and I loved it! Thanks, Tony! Check them out at Skin Deep Tattoo....

Thanks, Betches, for a VERY memorable trip!

Ya Ya Night!

Oh, how I love the first Wednesday of the month! The Ya Ya's got into the Halloween spirit by coming in face paint or a mask. Four of us were kitties! Laura had a beautiful mask and leave it to Brenda to come as a goofy skeleton - too funny with her glasses!

MEOWWWWWW.......

Brenda cracks us up!Gotta get our silly photos!