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!).