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!

First things first - I now completely understand why airlines make you pay for a seat for your children after they turn 2. Our darling little 23 month old Ella was a veritable hurricaine on the flight over to Sydney. We went for walks, popped back and forth from Mommy and Daddy, and watched (thank God!) Winnie the Pooh on the in-flight entertainment system. Lesson learned - 2 year olds cannot sit on laps for more than 5 minutes at a time.

We flew over on Emirates airlines, which was actually great - good service, good food, and personal video screens for your entertaining pleasure. On the way back we flew Aerolinas - this was basically the opposite of Emirates in every which way, but they did give Ella her own seat - so for that reason I won’t knock them too badly.

So Sydney… Sydney was great! It was a bit of a working holiday for us, but all in all, we had a great time. Parts of Sydney reminded us of the nicer parts of New York, other parts reminded us of Orlando or Tampa, and parts of it even reminded us of London. Sydney basically has the best parts of big cities like NYC, but has the luxury of being surrounded by beautiful scenery, beaches, and bush.

Highlights of the trip included the outdoor Paddington markets, a ferry trip to a beachtown called Manly, the fabulous Sydney Zoo, the famous surf beach Bondi, Darling Harbour (a little like the Inner Harbour of Baltimore), the Sydney Aquarium, and of course - shopping trips to Target and Ikea. I think we managed to see almost everything we wanted in the short time we were there - the kids were a little bit of a wreck when we returned as we kept them out late most nights, but in the end it was worth it. Lots of great pictures of our trip can be found here!!!

The unexpected highlight of the week occurred at a place in Sydney called The Rocks - this is basically “Old Sydney”. There is a place there called Pancakes at The Rocks which everyone had recommended to us. Well - we got there about 9:00pm and the line was out the door. Kids were screaming, so we needed to find another option. Stumbled upon a German ale house called Lowenbrau complete with an authentic Oom-Pah-Pah Band. Let me just say - we never would have expected Ella to be a raving Oom-Pah-Pah fan - but guess what…that child lit up, and kept herself and the rest of the beer swinging patrons entertained throughout the evening.

So overall, it was a great trip, and we’re looking forward to the next visit. Honestly, it was great to get back home to New Zealand. Just got back from the Matakana markets which we visited with our friends Michael and Georgie, and we’re off to celebrate Ella’s 2nd birthday with about 10 other children at a place called Gymbaroo - wish us luck! Another week and our baby will be 2 - we cannot believe it’s been that long!

Keep in touch!