city photos

I have to agree with Stephanie's comment....the kids are just as happy in a small little apartment as they were in out big Texas house. We had fun living in the city for a month, riding the bus and chasing pigeons. They also liked that we spent as much time away from the apartment as possible. We went for lots of walks and did lots of exploring. I am certainly grateful for a good double stroller.

perspective

There is a large volcanic cone with a road to the top not far from where we are living. The view is amazing. We are surrounded by amazing views. These are just a view...more to come....

One of the many beaches with in a 5 min drive of our home.

On brezzy days you can find lots of sail boats on on the water. It makes me want to learn to sail..

The view of a couple of the small islands outside of Auckland harbor.



More sail boats...

The photo gives a good perspective of where we live. You can see Auckland on the far left (look for the tall buildings and the Sky Tower). On the far right in from of the bridge you can see another tall building. This is just around the corner from where we are living. In the foreground you can see some of the homes and shops in Devonport, where we go shopping and visit the library.

home again

We moved into our new place last Monday. We are loving it. We are living on a small little point just a ferry ride across from Auckland. The duplex we rented is small but is fully furnished and the lovely four year old who lives next door (with his parents) is gracious enough to share his ride on toys with our little ones. Max and Maya are so happy to have a yard to run around in, which in turn makes their mom very happy.
It has been nice to finally unpack our bags. After just five days we are already feeling very at home and starting to make friends in the community.

a couple snuggle photos....

For all the aunties, cousins, and grandmas out there that are missing Max and Maya....we send you some snuggles.

lake taupo

Our last destination on our way back up to Auckland was Lake Taupo. It is a large fresh water lake in an old caldera. It reminded me of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. It was beautiful. I wished we had more time to spend there but we only had one night.

wellington

We didn't spend much time in Wellington, but while we were driving around we saw some pretty amazing places.

palmerston north

Our first stop was Palmerston North. Our "hotel" in Palmy, The Camelot Motor Lodge, was about 4 times bigger than our apartment in the city. It was a two story condo with two bedrooms and a half bath upstairs. Down stairs it had a full kitchen living room, dinning room and a big bathroom with a spa tub. It also had a beautiful garden in the backyard. I was ready to move in.

Lonnie was busy working all day so the kids and I had lots of time to walk around and explore. We walked around the Victoria Espalade at the huge park. The kids loved all the attention they got from the ducks, that was until an over anxious duck grabbed bread from Max's hand a gave him a little bite.

The park also had a kids splash pool (or Paddle Pool in Kiwi). It was about the size of a normal pool but only about 1 /2 feet deep and filled with cool water and a couple fountains.


The park also had an impressive aviary. The babies were in awe of all the wonderful birds.

We also spent time at the big local library and walking around the square at the center of town. It was a great place for the kids and enjoyable for me too.

road trip

Lonnie was asked to go out of town for work last week and thankfully we were able to go with him. It was nice to see more of the country and the kids and I really enjoyed the drive. New Zealand really is amazingly beautiful. We saw green rolling hills. Blue lakes and lots of wonderful trees.

auckland museum

piha beach

Lonnie and I love to go for Sunday drives. Lonnie drives while I sit back and relax and enjoy the view. This past Sunday we picked a spot on the map about 45 mins away and jumped in the car with the kids. We were amazed at what we found.

The road was often a jungle covered tunnel and the views from the mountains were fabulous.

and then we came around the corner and saw this....

Piha beach...


the beach was covered in soft black sand.

It didn't take Max long to get wet.

We missed the World Junior Surfing Championship by a couple of hours but there were still plenty of surfers.