New pictures, thanks Britta!

Hi again everyone. School is back in full swing for the final term of the year and the weather is finally starting to warm up. I will get garden photos on here soon...I'm sure you can't wait. Strange, I know, but we are pretty excited about our garden again this year. We've already eaten a bunch of lettuce and spinach out of it...not to mention potatoes too.

Anyway, while my mom and Jud were here visiting we were able to have a teacher from my school (she is taking a photography class) take some pictures of us. We went to the Winter Gardens, near the museum in Auckland, and spent around an hour taking pictures. She dropped the disc off to me the other day, so I have decided to put some of them on the blog here. We hope you like them.

Seven more weeks of school... then let the fun begin!

See you next time Grandma and Grandpa

Well, the time has come. Grandma and Grandpa will be boarding a plane back to the states soon. We had a great time playing cards last night, going to lunch this afternoon and playing at the outside park. You guys are welcome back (as is everyone else for that matter) any time you want! It's been a fun two weeks and we look forward to seeing you again. We love you very much! Fly safe, and come back soon!

Grandparent's visit coming to and end

Well, today is Thursday here, and the last day for Talor and Layla's grandparents' visit. We have had a blast and will be sad to see them go. Although the weather hasn't been the best, we were able to accomplish ALMOST everything on our VERY long list of things to do. As I type, grandma is making us Sushi and we will go on our last 'tiki' tour after lunch.

I have updated a few photos from the last entry, so please scroll down and have a look around. We also hope that you have enjoyed the video of the elephants at the zoo. We'll try and get more videos on as the time goes by.

Grandparents visit from Michigan

Grandma and grandpa are here and staying very busy. I took them to school the other day, as well as to Bucklands Beach (east coast) and Piha beach (west coast). Grandma keeps saying that "Piha is the most incredible beach I have ever been to in my entire life!" I think she liked it. We will try and get to Karekare beach tomorrow as the BIG storm rolls in...that is the beach where "The Piano" was filmed, and it is extremely beautiful.

Piha during a storm

Piha on a nice day

Since arriving in New Zealand, grandma and grandpa have brought LOTS of gifts for Talor, Layla, Shell and me. My mom has been so nice, in fact, that she has given me a cold from the states as well. Mom has just slapped my head as I read this last line out loud to her.

This is our first attempt at loading video onto this blog. We went to the Auckland Zoo with Talor, Layla, grandma and grandpa. We spent around five hours or so there, and saw LOTS of animals...some of the animals even came out of their cages to see us. The video shows the elephants, Kashin and Burma, walking out of the trees and down the path right in front of us. It was very cool.

Grandma and grandpa have continued to grow on the kids. Last night they read quite a few stories to Talor before bed. That continued today before Talor's nap. They have also been on many walks across the road to the playground (outside park as Talor calls it) and to the dairy to buy a chocolate treat. Talor and Layla are both loving to have them around...as are we.

The weather has turned AWFUL! It is supposed to rain the rest of the week...not good, but we'll still have fun. We have pictures scheduled for Wednesday, and of course lots of good eating as well.

General Update

Hi everyone. We know that it's been a little while since we've last updated this, but it's been pretty busy around here lately. We are glad to say that my mom and Jud arrived here safely on Monday and are doing well (other than a small cold that mom has). So far, Talor and Layla have taken grandma and grandpa to the inside AND outside park. We have also taken them to the casino which was fun.


We are hoping to take them to the zoo soon, as well as the museum, my school, and a few beaches around the area. Talor and Layla have warmed up well to grandma and grandpa and are enjoying their visit.

The last two photos included in this update are some silly ones of the kids. Layla was playing with Mr. Potato Head and Talor found a big bar of chocolate in the cupboard and decided he would hide under the table and see what it tasted like. These guys definitely keep us on our toes.

Trip to the Zoo

Well since the weather was so beautiful on Monday Talor, Layla and I went to the zoo. I think it is probably one of Talors favourite places, he gets so excited when we are there and he runs from animal to animal commenting on them all. :)

I think we are going to try and go again with Daddy on the weekend. Here are some photos of our fun day

I think Layla found her hat ties more exciting than the animals!!



Talor almost to the top of the slide. . . . . . . . and now at the bottom! :)

Happy Fathers Day - New Zealand

Good morning everyone,

It's another beautiful Sunday morning here in Auckland. Layla has just gone down for a nap, Talor is watching Winnie the Pooh, Shell is making breakfast and a cake for me, and I'm typing this.

As the heading shows, it is indeed Fathers Day here. It was my turn to sleep in this morning, so that was a treat in itself...but the kids also got me a home brew kit and a new travel coffee mug. So sweet. We don't have anything planned really, but if the weather stays nice we'll have a fish n' chips dinner at Mission Bay with Shell's family. It's not supposed to stay nice, however, so if that's the case we'll go to Wagamama's (a Thai, Japanese, Chinese etc mix style of restaurant).

Yesterday was also a nice day here. It started when I got up with the kids and let Shell sleep. It was her turn. Talor had a hot chocolate and watched TV and then he, Layla and I played until Shell woke up. Later, the oil got changed in our cars and I went to the Auckland rugby game. It wasn't the best game, but the weather was nice and our team won.

Three more weeks until school holidays and my mom and Jud come...we're looking forward to that.

Well, that's about it for now...a big happy birthday to Tom in Texas. I don't know how old you are today, but we hope you are having a good birthday.

After uploading some photos off the camera just now, I noticed one that I hadn't seen before. Shell took it the other day when Layla was getting into books/recipes that she wasn't supposed to. It was too cute not to include.