That’s right boys and girls - we’re chucking the kids in the boot and heading back home for a few good weeks of family time, barbecue, shopping, and Disney…

We’re all very excited. Final agenda still to be worked out - but should be in Tampa on September 30 - October 10. From there it’s still a bit hazy - but will include a visit to Richmond, VA - possibly a football game, and maybe even a stop in the ATL.

Drop us a note if you want to get on the Walker Bus while we’re back!

Yes - it’s true. Ella entered the Talent Fest at her school with a couple of mates and made the finals. Below you’ll find the video which I can only hope you find half as amusing as me… that is - you’ll like the video half as much as me…. I mean, that I hope you still like me, but that you will enjoy the video as well - but maybe not quite as much as… I’ll stop now. For some more brand new pictures - take a look at www.ellaryan.com

The other little girls are April (left) and Angelina (right) - Keep a close eye on April for some extra special moves…

Enjoy!

Mr. Zach visited us from the great beyond, and has left a trail of bad chips, broken lights, and sad nieces.

It was great seeing him over the past couple of weeks, and I’m glad that someone from my family finaly got a chance to meet Tane in person. He’s really not that bad of a guy is he Zach? Ella thoroughly enjoyed her time spent with Uncle Zach, and I think Uncle Zach thoroughly enjoyed his time in New Zealand - so it was sad to see him go. On a positive note, we feel confident in knowing that Zach is now a solid All Blacks fan and will probably postpone any children of his own for at least another 10 years.

So what else has happened over these past few weeks? Well…the “Terrible Twos” are in full effect, Tane is growing up way too quickly, I had a bad run-in with a snowboard, and Jen has found the closest thing yet to Super Target. Oh yes - our lives are full of excitement! As far as Ella is concerned, Nursery Rhymes, Sesame Street, and Birthdays are what life is all about. Outside of her tantrums and 2 year-old destructive nature, she is really making life enjoyable. We’ve managed to capture some of these antics in a DVD we just finished putting together that covers the past 2 years. We’ve sent a bunch of copies home, so bug one of us or our folks if you want a copy.

While Zach was here we managed to get our first taste of snow - we actually had to stop overnight in a little town near Mt. Ruapehu (picture below) because the roads were all closed. Did make for some great pictures, but it also made us even more anxious for winter to be over!

Funny that Atlanta got much colder than it ever will here, but the lack of heat and constant dampness give make winter a not-so-fun time. As a result, we’ve been drinking more coffee and eating lots of fun new food like Pumpkin Chicken Casserole with Pom Poms - check it out!

It’s been busy at home and at work, but we’re still making it. Our friend Colleen is coming over for a couple of days next month, and we hope to see my folks and the Roses towards the end of the year - so it will be great to have family and friends around as the days get a bit warmer. Sometimes it’s still strage to think we’re on the other side of the world, but missing out on baby showers and beach trips brings it all back. It will probably be a bit before we can make it home, but we promise to take in any friendly face that wants to experience one of the most beautiful countries in the world! Drop us a note to let us know how you’re doing, and be sure to keep pulling for the All Blacks as they look to win another world championship! Until then…

Post Note: For those of you in the U.S. - you should try to make an effort to get to the Bele Chere festival in Asheville, NC this year (July 28 weekend). Absolutely the best music festival we’ve been to - and it is very laid back and family friendly. We may be making a personal appearance there next year - so go scope it out for us! http://belecherefestival.com/

Well ladies and gentlemen - I am here to announce that winter is officially here! This really is not such a good thing, as Kiwis have not yet realised (realized for you Americans) the value of something we like to call “Central Heating”. I realise the concept of Central Heating may be complicated to some, and hence we have come to find ourselves in a world of wood-burning stoves and oil heaters. I don’t think Jen and I even knew what a wood burning stove was until we moved here - but we have now come to love this wrought-iron pot-belly thing. There are certain rooms in the house that are now off-limits due to the chill - and we have quickly learned that sweaters, fleeces, and blankets are fine to wear at all times. The new weather does have a positive side to it - as it is just as cold outside as it is in our house - we have no excuse not to get out and see more of New Zealand - so that’s what we’ve done!

This shot is from a beautiful regional park called Tawharanui - again, we basically had the place to ourselves. Spent some time at a great outdoor market, and had the first of a couple of birthday celebrations for Ms. Ella. As of May 18th, Ella entered the infamous Terrible Twos! Not sure how this happens, but the tantrums and whining seem to double overnight. Ella has always been a pretty great kid, so the difference hasn’t been too bad. Birthday was a hit as we took her to the zoo to spend time with a variety of exotic animals, and came back for cupcake-ice cream cones, jello boats (courtesy of Bruce and Sue) and lots of presents.

She’s growing up quickly - but so is her little brother Tane! Well…maybe not that quickly. We just took Tane in for his 3 month check-up and he is in the 25th percentile for height, weight, and head-circumference. Contrast this with Ella who has been in the 80th percentile her whole life and we’re starting to wonder whose child this is! He is pretty cute though - and because he enjoys smiling at us and his big sister we figure we’ll keep him.

We’ve put up a bunch of new pictures from our latest trips - click here! - and Ella’s Birthday - click here! - so check them out and let us know how things are going back at home!

Talk to everyone soon!

2 out of 3 isn’t that bad is it? Furniture showed up a week ago, so our place now looks like a UPS depository. Thankfully, Jen’s folks showed up a couple days later and have helped rectify that problem in a couple key rooms. In general, most things were in great shape, and casualties seem minimal.

So while we continue to wait for the baby (due date is officially today), I thought I’d update everyone on our little Ella. Miss Ella has grown up overnight. She is now speaking in broken sentences, and repeating just about everything we say. New words in her vocabulary have included “Naked People”, “Library Books”, “Party Boat”, “Spicy!”, “No Mags!”, “Help by Daddy!”, “Poop on Potty” and our new favorite - “Big Girl Bed!”.

Maggie finally has the cone off of her head, and we are gradually becoming expert Petanque players. At some point in the near future I intend to take part in a little sport that seems to occur daily outside my office window - kite surfing! Just seems like a blast - I’ve already told Ella about it so she knows the motions and everything - very bright my girl!

One last small world story for the road - Jen and I finally found a good Mexican restaurant in NZ. There’s only 3 within driving distance, and we just randomly stumbled on this one - still not perfect, but very close. Anyway, turns out it’s owned by an American guy and his Kiwi wife.

So his wife sits down to start talking with us and she said - “Oh, you’re from the States! Our best friends are in the States! They live in a place called Cumming, Georgia - ever heard of that?” Apparently their best friends live about 5 minutes from our home in the States - now that’s just crazy.

Hope everyone is well - the weather is beautiful this way - so come and see us soon!

So - the countdown is on… Jen’s official due date for our new little arrival is February 11 - 3 weeks from today. Ella was 3 weeks early, so it could be any day now! Jen is more than ready to be done with this pregancy, however, I don’t think Ella will be as pleased.

In other news, the boat with all of our wordly possessions is still lost somewhere at sea. Latest estimates we have received will have our stuff here on February 7 - this is also the date that Jen’s parents arrive - quite a welcome don’t you think! So it’s everyone’s guess as to the order of Baby, Furniture, and Parents.

On the good news front, we have finally moved into our new house - check out pictures below! We have basically been camping in the house with a few things left for us by our landlord. Thankfully, ACNielsen has taken pity on us and has rented us some furniture to make life a little easier. Hoping we won’t need to rent a bunch of baby stuff - but you never know!

Speaking of babies - we need a name! We’ve got some ideas, but are far from settling on anything. We’ve asked Ella for suggestions, but don’t think that “Santa”, “Dora”, “Elmo”, or “Kiwi” will fly. We’re taking submissions, so please volunteer any names you think would make good American-Kiwi names.

So plenty going on in these parts. Weather has generally been great, although nights are still a bit chilly. It’s the anniversary of the city of Auckland next Monday, so there will be a huge celebration next weekend called the Harbour Festival. Should be fun - we’ll take some pictures for all to see.

Maggie has not had a good month. Yes - she has been released from her jail. However, she has not been so keen on the noises in our new house. You see, our house talks - constantly. For a dog that is scared of things like the blender, this is not a plus. To make things worse, she just had to have surgery for a ruptured blood vessel in her ear - oh yeah, she also has a bladder infection. So, she has no hair on one of her ears, she has to go to the bathroom about once an hour, and she has a giant cone looking thing on her head at all times. As if the stress hasn’t been enough - we’ll be introducing another little baby into her life of torment.

Just got Internet access in our home, so we’ll try to keep a bit more current - plenty more to come including Ella Speak Take 2 and Crazy New Zealand speak. I’ll leave you with one last thought - Jen is becoming a Kiwi - she’s eating Curry and Kiwi, hanging laundy to dry, and driving like a pro in the left lane - not sure, but I think she even said “No Worries” the other day. Things will never be the same.

Put up some new pics at www.EllaRyan.com - check them out when you get a chance!

Christmas in New Zealand is weird.

Basically - they are crazy for Christmas here. The decorations and shopping are similar. Santa Claus is alive and well (although at a recent Santa parade, he was too hungover so didn’t show up). There are more Christmas events than you can shake a Kauri stick at!

So far, Jen and I have attended or are planning to attend:

Christmas in the Park …….

Carols by the Sea

the Smales Farm Christmas Laser Light Show

Christmas at the Bruce Mason Center

Christmas at the Zoo

Christmas in the library

and a myriad of other Christmas activities!

Ella and Jen have thoroughly enjoyed this part of the Holiday season. Ella was particularly amusing at the Carols by the Sea where she felt it was necessary to go on stage to sing with all the people

The odd parts:

Everything has a Kiwi twist - reference the stories below. Also, it is almost summer here - yet, we still get to hear “White Christmas” and “Let it Snow” everywhere we go. Apparently, the Kiwi thing to do for Christmas is “go on Holiday” to a “Bach” on the beach. It’s basically beach week. The entire city clears out, and for a couple of weeks, it’s like MTV Spring Break at places like the Coromandel and Mt Maunganui.

So not to be left out, Jen and I will be taking Ella and Maggie on our own little holiday (just after Christmas) to a lovely place called Rotorua - once known as the Devil’s playground as it’s full of boiling mud pits, geysers, and other trecherous activities. We will keep you posted, but it should be nice getting out of the hotel for awhile and spending time with Mags and each other.

In other news - posted some links on the side to some new pictures we’ve posted as well as some amusing and useful Kiwi sites. If you hope to communicate with us when you visit, be sure to brush up on your Mauri!

Talk to everyone soon!

Straying from New Zealand for a moment - there is something else happening in our lives that is pretty amusing. Our lovely daughter Ella has started to get a little vocabulary of her own. Right now she is an animal sound specialist, a food extraordinaire, and a master of interjections. She has also developed a language of her very own (so smart our child) and uses it as often as possible with strangers and friends alike.

New favorite words include:

“Cool-Cur” = I would like to color

“Bubbles” = Please give me Rice Crispies and/or These bath bubbles are awesome!

“Baba” = Give me my pacifier or I might just die

“Rahhhh” = The sound a lion makes

“Cookie”=you guessed it…

“Mine!”=We get in trouble because we are supposed to share

“Ree Da Book”=Read the book - now, please!

“Gawack, Gawack” = Gawack, Gawack - please let us know if you figure this one out! This is also complete with hand motions.

“Hi..(nonsense)..Milk..(nonsense)..Bye”=typical telephone conversation

Ella continues to be a joy to us each day, and as long as she has had a good nap, other people think so as well. We’ll keep everyone posted as her language progresses as she is learning new words every single day. Maybe we’ll have Ella on to write a note as a special guest soon.

The problems with driving in New Zealand are not what you would think….

Sure, I still get confused when I see a 10 year old get out of the car on the “Driver’s side”. And yes - I still occassionally turn on windshield wipers when I try to use the turn signal. But, driving on the left side of the road is really not too bad.

2 things that are bad:

1. Roundabouts - no clue if this is how you spell this. Roundabouts basically do not exist in the U.S., so this has been quite a learning experience for Jen and I. Often, we will just sit at the entrance to a roundabout until either a) every single car is gone, or b) someone behind us starts honking. You see, the guy on your right always has the right of way - but the guy on his right (directly north of you) has right of way over him. So, if there is someone on your right, but someone else is coming from straight ahead, you basically pretend you are playing frogger with cars.

2. Right of way turns. So, you come to an intersection and want to turn left (remember - you are in the left lane), however, there is someone coming towards you who wants to turn right (same direction you’re going). One would think that you would have right of way as he will be cutting across the entire intersection to get to the same place. One would be wrong - basically, the rule of thumb is the biggest turn has the right of way. Yes - Kiwis view the world a bit differently.

Let me just say that we found our first big difference – PIZZA.

Seriously – what kind of crazy pizzas are these in New Zealand? First night here we went to a nice little joint up the road called Sago Just for kicks, here’s Sago’s pizza options:

1. NZ COAST TO COAST
Sago’s seafood catch with scallops, mussels, squid, prawns, salmon and aioli
2. THE MEATS
Smoked bacon, pancetta & sirloin, Kikorangi blue, salami, chorizo w Barbeque sauce
3. TENDER CHICKEN
Marinated chicken, spring onions, cranberry jam, charred capsicums, Aorangi brie
4. SMOKED CHICKEN
Smoked chicken with avocado, sweet chilli, capsicum chermoula, tomato and crispy noodle
5. LELE’S GAME
Pepperoni, venison salami, spring onion, pork belly, chorizo, cranberry sauce
6. COUNTRY
Woodfired rosemary potato, bacon w onion jam, fried egg and basil pesto
7. VEGETARIAN
Barbequed corn, pumpkin, zucchini and red bell pepper w sour cream & tomato salsa
8. QUATTRO STAGIONI
Tomato and oregano sauce, ham, venison, pepperoni, fresh tomato and prawns, garnished with olive oil and chives

Now you tell me what the hell you would have ordered!

And it’s not only Sago who has these crazy pizzas – it’s everywhere. You cannot eat a pizza in New Zealand unless there are a minimum of 5 completely unrelated items on it from each of the 5 New Zealand food groups: Seafood, Vegetable, Fried Egg, Chinese Food, and Cranberry Jam.