Frank and Lola Bacarella

Hi again everyone and Happy New year. We wanted to introduce you to the new additions to the Bacarella family...Frank and Lola (all Parrotheads are smiling at the moment). We got them this morning and they have fit right in to the family. They are 8 weeks old and, in stride, have taken quite a beating from the kids so far. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about these two rascals in 2009. Take care and be safe!

Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Hi again everyone,

Here are the latest pictures from Christmas day and Boxing Day. The weather was beautiful BOTH days! We had a BBQ breakfast on Christmas morning and then went to a picnic on Boxing Day. Santa was great to the kids and everyone had a good time. It's New Years Eve here at the moment and we have nothing planned really. We may go to the beach for fish n' chips, but that's about it. I may even be able to make it until midnight...we'll see.

Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone and look for more updates in 2009.

Merry Christmas 2008

Hi everyone,

Well, if you are reading this from the states then it probably sounds kind of silly, but too bad...it's Christmas here! Actually, I am writing this on Christmas Eve but that's okay. We had a great day today, waiting for Santa. We ended up going strawberry picking and had family over for pizza dinner. We have also been tracking where Santa has been...he was having cocoa in the north pole when Talor and Layla went to bed.

Anyway, Santa came early tonight due to the fact that the kids went to bed and are sleeping well. He came and had a beer with me (dad) and shot the breeze while putting the presents out. I took some photos to show everyone...this is what Talor and Layla will be waking up to in a couple of hours...pretty cool really.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone and have a great holiday. More updates to come soon.

Love,

The Bacarellas

A New Zealand Christmas

Hi again everyone,

Below are a few photos of our Kiwi Christmas happening at the moment. We went to the Blockhouse Bay Santa Parade where we ate ice cream and watched for Santa. We also put up our Christmas tree, which Talor loved to decorate and Layla loved to take apart. Overall, the weather has been pretty good and we are looking forward to Santa's arrival. Merry Christmas everyone!

Last week Friday was the last day of school for the year...what a relief. It was also the day that we drove to Lake Taupo to spend the weekend. A fellow English teacher wasn't able to use it until the following Monday, so she gave it to us for the weekend. It was right on the lake, it had a pool and two hot tubs, and the weather was fantastic the whole weekend! The kids absolutely loved the water and it was hard to get Talor out EVERYDAY!

There were also kayaks and other toys to use, so Talor and I took a bit of a paddle out to check out the boats that were anchored just off shore. Overall, we had a wonderful weekend and got lots and lots of sun. Now it's just time to enjoy the summer break!

Take care everyone and stay in touch when you can. Also, if you haven't already, dowload Skype in order to stay in touch, free of charge, online. It's great, and definitely worth it. Happy holidays...check this space as the holidays come closer...I'll try to update it a bit more often.

Talor Jonathon's 3rd Birthday

Hi everyone,

On November 25, 2008 Talor turned three years old. We celebrated his birthday a few days earlier (a shared party with Layla too) with friends and family and then had Nana, Grumpy, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Rowan over for dinner on the actual day. Talor got very spoiled and had a very good time. Thanks to everyone for their generosity towards both kids.

A few days after the kids' birthdays we spent an evening at the zoo. Every year they throw a big party and have Santa come in. There is live music and lots of games and treats. This year was the third year that we have attneded and we had a blast once again. The zoo continues to be one of Talor and Layla's most favorite places. Here are some highlights from the night.

Happy 3rd Birthday Talor Jonathon!

Hi again everyone,

On Tuesday we celebrated Talor's 3rd birthday. We had Nana, Grumpy, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Row over for dinner. He got a bunch of Chinese takeaways and opened lots and lots of presents.

Also, yesterday we received a great big parcel from Aunt Susan and Uncle Norbie from Michigan. Thank you so much for that...we (including mum and dad) love the gifts and appreciate it!

Enjoy the video!

Talor and Layla's Birthday Party

Hi everyone,

Here are some of the pictures and videos from Talor and Layla's party today. Shell's mom made the cakes...Layla didn't really dig into hers a ton...we really thought that there wouldn't be any left. Oh well. Enjoy!!

Happy 1st Birthday Layla Hope!

Hi everyone,

As many of you know, today is Layla's birthday and Tuesday is Talor's. The other day Shell was able to record Talor getting ready for the big day. We will get some more videos/pictures and get them on here either this afternoon or in the coming days. Enjoy!

Bacarella Updates

Hi everyone,

I know that it's been a while since we've uploaded new photos and videos, so here are some of the latest. Talor and Layla are turning 3 and 1 next weekend, and Layla is REALLY starting to walk more everyday. Click below to see a video of it happening today at the zoo.




As I said earlier, we went to the zoo today. It was Kashin's (one of the two elephants at the Auckland zoo) 40th birthday. They ended up painting the two elephants in all sorts of colors and then brought them to the band rotunda where they had a ton of waiting people. Kashin and Burma ate birthday cake and were sung "Happy Birthday" to. We stuck around for a while and below are some of the photos and a video of them coming into the area.

Not only did we get to celebrate Kashin's birthday today, but we were also able to see the new tiger cubs for the first time as well. We were just about to walk away and give up when I saw one of the cubs in the walkway between enclosures. We watched for a while, saw the cubs and their mom walk through the walkway and then were able to see them enter the enclosure and search for their food. It was VERY cool!

The following photos are just random ones. Talor was caught eating dirt from the garden and Shell wisely took a picture of it.

Grumpy came by a few weekends ago on his motorbike for a quick visit. Talor watches that bike every time we are at their house and he took advantage of the opportunity to hop on for a few pictures.

Lastly, a couple weeks ago we took Talor to the circus. We have seen it around the different areas in Auckland lately and Talor REALLY wanted to go. There were all sorts of acrobats and goofy things, but Talor loved the clowns most. We had a good time.

New Car

Hi everyone,

I know that it's been a while since we've posted an update, but we will be doing it again soon...I promise. For those of you that hadn't heard, the transmission on my old car went out while my mom and Jud were here and we weren't able to get a replacement...so we have got a new ride now. It's a Hyundai Lantra and we like it a lot. We got a good deal on it and after it gets some work done on it this weekend it should be a good car to have with our growing family. Talor spent quite a bit of time inside of it yesterday playing with the stick shift and pretending to drive...I think he likes it.

The kids' birthdays are coming up next weekend...if anyone can make it out on Sunday for the party you are more than welcome. We'll be sure to post pictures and an update on how it goes, so stay tuned. Have a good weekend.

Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Wow, look at this great costume I found on one of the blogs I follow

Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

She has amazing stuff and I love checking out her latest creations :)

Bacarella Garden 2008!!!

Well, here it is...the moment you have all been waiting for. This is Bacarella Garden 2008!! Just like last year, this year we will be planting everything inside pots and bags again. We had good success last year when we did that and are hoping for even more this year.

We have a few new items in our garden this year...one of which is garlic. We planted a bunch of these and it appears as though we've had some success. We'll find out just how much success we have had when we pick them on the longest day of the year (December 22 I believe). We also have some zucchini and squash in some of those pots. Already we have had more success with regards to spinach than we did last year. We have given the plants a bit more room and have eaten bunches of spinach and lettuce already. It's been nice to have both again this year. In the bottom right hand corner of one photo you can also see our attempt at watermelon...we'll keep you posted if those work.

Tomatoes and beans were pretty good for us last year and look to be doing well again this year. We have both roma and cherry tomatoes growing at the moment. We have also had some unexpected friends that seem to REALLY like our tomatoes. We think that some pumpkin seeds that were in our compost that we are using may be sprouting with our tomatoes...they seem to like each other so we'll let them stay together for now. Also, the beans that you see are from last year's crop. We dried them all out, stored them in paper bags and then replanted them again this year. It seems to be a good bath because every single seed that I planted has come up. Not bad!

Finally, our potatoes. We have three bags of potatoes at the moment that are growing as well as a big pot. We have been growing potatoes all year and enjoy them. They don't yield a ton, but each pot/bag will normally get us about 4-5 meals. We are hoping to have all of these four ready to be dug up and used for Christmas this year. That's the goal anyway.

Well, we hope you like the garden update. Check back again later to see how things progress!!