The Bryans

We were blessed Friday and Saturday by the arrival of our friends, Blair and Karen Bryan. They have been travelling to Australia and New Zealand with their four children: Austin, Elizabeth, Alexandra, and Coleton. Austin and Elizabeth are in college at Harding, Alexandra is 17, and Coleton is 13. They were stopping through Auckland for 2 days, and we had the opportunity to show them around a little bit and spend some time with them. They are a wonderful family and we love them dearly. They are one of the things we miss most about Charlotte. It has been a highlight for us to see them again.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was a beautiful day. After opening presents in the morning, we had a nice lunch with Pam and Kevin's friends Kevin and Karen Woolcott. Then we went over to the school grounds and played basketball, soccer, and had obstacle course races. Buster creamed us all at the obstacle course, even Mark.

Santa meets the Tooth Fairy

I know this is getting to be a bit of a theme, but every time I turn around, Hannah loses another tooth. She lost the latest one Christmas Eve, which meant the Tooth Fairy and Santa both visited our house last night. It actually was a reunion for them because they both visited our house last year, too, in honor of one of Emma's lost teeth.

Traditions here are slightly different. Santa usually brings the children's toys in a Santa Sack and leaves them at the foot of each child's bed. We use a less official version in the form of a pillowcase. They are given strict instructions to not look in their bags until everyone is awake and they all bring them in to Mom and Dad's bed and open them all together. Esther arrived in our room this morning around 3 AM. Fortunately she was coaxed back to sleep until her sisters came in around 6:30.

Later in the day we will all open our gifts from each other and have a picnic if the weather cooperates.

Pam and Kevin's 50th Wedding Anniversary

December 20th was the 50th wedding anniversary for Mark's parents. This was the primary reason for our family coming to New Zealand this year. We celebrated it at Remuera Golf Club with about 70 of his parents' closest friends and family. Mark's brother, Greg, was the emcee. It is really nice to have a brother that is comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Mark's sister, Julie, put together a slide show and also performed an eye and head dance. I've never seen anything like it before, but it was pretty cool. The girls were really good...in the beginning. They took it upon themselves to greet everyone as they came in and give them a little curtsey. Once the music started, they got a little out of control with their dancing. I wasn't sure whether I should have been embarrassed or entertained by them. It was a pretty late night and I know they were exhausted by the end of it all. At one point, they were all introduced one by one and when they got to Esther, no one could find her (which isn't unusual for Esther). It turns out, she had worn herself out dancing and curled up under a table and gone to sleep. It was a very memorable event and we are very glad we could be here for it.

Julie and Buzz and the Tooth Fairy Strikes Back

Julie and Buster arrived late last night. It's been great to see them. Buzzy is just a bigger version of what he was the last time we saw him. He has been smothered with little girls since he got here.

The tooth fairy also came last night. We had a double tooth fairy delivery with Emma and Hannah both losing a tooth on the same day.

North Head

After going to Devonport, we went to North Head. On the way there, we stopped at a park and watched a little cricket. North Head was beautiful and it was a beautiful day. We found a steep hill on North Head and had some cardboard rides down it. Our shorts will never be the same.

Devonport

We spent Saturday exploring Devonport and North Head. These are two dormant volcanoes on the North Shore of Auckland at the entrance to the Auckland Harbour. You can see them in the distance in the first picture. You get fantastic panoramas of the Auckland Harbour and city of Auckland from these points. The two mountains have old military fortifications loaded with tunnels and cannons to protect the city. They are no longer used for this purpose and it is open to the public to explore the fortresses. The island in the background is Rangitoto. It is a dormant volcano that dominates the landscape of the Auckland Harbour. The middle beach in the picture with the girls is Kohimarama, where we live. The city of Auckland has 1.3 million people. Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere is in the center of the city. You can bungee jump off the top of it or take a Sky Walk, which is a walk on a little sidewalk around the top of it. It is completely open and you are harnessed in so you don't fall. There once was a day that these things would have intersted me, but I am a mother now.

Esther's School Beach day

Friday, Esther's class spent the day at the beach. They played games and had fish and chips. Hannah's wondering why her class hasn't had a day at the beach. Tough luck, Hannah.

Later that day, we made a sand sculpture. In case you can't tell what it is, it is a turtle.

The Walking Bus

Yesterday, Emma's class went to the beach for a field trip. They started with a beach clean-up and finished with games and swimming. Mark, Mama, and Sarah came over and joined us for lunch.

We went to school on the walking bus. Basically, it is a supervised group of kids walking to school together. There are no school busses here. The kids all walk or are dropped off. The older kids can take city busses to school. It is pretty safe for them because everyone looks out for them. Starting next term, I will take a turn one day a week leading the walking bus. It is good exercise and it has provided us an opportunity to meet some more families that live close to us. I don't think much learning is getting done this time of year, but the girls and I are making friends, which is probably more important right now anyway.

Mama and Pa are home

Mama and Pa arrived home from Australia last night. They have been in Sydney taking care of our 12-year-old nephew/cousin Buster. We are very excited about seeing Buster and Aunt Julie (Mark's sister) in a few weeks. Aunt Julie is a dancer/choreographer in Contemporary Performance in Sydney. Buster is crazy about Basketball and is quite a salty guard from what I hear.

Mama took the girls out for an adventure at the beach this morning. Then they went to the library and then topped it off with a stop by the Dairy for an ice cream. They are sooooo glad to see their grandparents. We are really glad too.

Athletics Day

Since we are coming in at the end of the year, the girls are getting to do all the fun things that happen at the end of school. Yesterday was Athletics Day. Everyone dressed in their special sports clothing that is color coded according to their house. Their house is called Colenso and they are yellow. It was sort of like Field Day, but a little more competitive. They got to have different kinds of races and do high jump and long jump. Shoes are optional. Guess which option my kids took.

Don't Do That Again

I came outside when I heard one of my children say to her sisters, "Look, I can touch the power line." I found Esther 30 feet up in a tree near some power lines. She insisted that she knew they were dangerous and she wasn't going to touch them. The kids have been banished from the tree. The neighbor was watching from her deck, which was about the same height. She has lived there since Mark was a little boy. She asked me if it was Mark up in the tree. Now I know wher Esther gets it from!

I met an American lady up at the school. She had met Emma earlier and asked her where she was from. Emma told her "Lago Vista." That wasn't helpful to the lady, so she asked her where Lago Vista was near. Emma told her "Jonestown." That wasn't helpful either, considering Jonestown is smaller than Lago Vista. Eventually she got that it was near Austin. That was more helpful.

Here is a picture of Mark's parents' house. It is where we are staying while we are here. One of the pictures is taken from the deck, looking out to the Auckland harbor. The beach is just on the other side of the big tree. It's a pretty good beach for the kids.

The Lost Tooth

We are settled in and our internal clocks have adjusted. The best thing about being here is the daylight. It is light enough to be outside at 5:30 in the morning. The jet lag has helped us be early risers. Mark and I have been getting up early to do our exercise. This is a really good place to swim, cycle, and run. We are right on a 10K trail and road that goes along the Auckland waterfront. People here are outdoor exercise crazy. You see them everywhere, all the time. You wouldn't believe how many runners and cyclists I saw out at 5:30 this morning. The swimmers all came out about lunchtime, which is high tide.

The girls have adjusted to school. The kids love their accents. They are more popular here than they are used to being. We'll see how long that lasts. They have been assigned to a house, which is a four-way division of the whole school. Families are kept together in the same house. They use it for intraschool competition. The other day, when I gave all the girls their uniforms, Hannah wanted hers to smell nice so she started to go spray it with some body spray that she had stashed away somewhere. I told her she didn't need to do that. Then the next thing I heard was a spraying sound from the bathroom. It was Esther spraying her uniform with Glade so she would smell nice. Well, she has smelled like Glade for days. The girls only have one uniform, so they have to wear them a few days before they get cleaned.

Speaking of laundry, I'm doing it today. No one here dries their clothes in a dryer. Everyone, even the most expensive homes, have a clothes line in the back for drying their clothes. I really like it because I'm a little greenie at heart. I'm nothing compared to the Kiwis. The regular garbage container is tiny. On the other hand, the recycling container is twice the size of the regular container. They have figured out how to get people to recycle. I'm giving Emma the recycling job. She's a natural.

Last night Hannah lost a tooth. What do you know? The tooth fairy comes to New Zealand too. She brings a $2 NZ coin, which is about the same value right now as the US $1 coin. Let's just hope that the US $1 coin keeps gaining on the NZ $2 coin for a few more months.

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of school for Emma, Hannah, and Esther. They are coming in at the very end of the school year. The New Zealand school year starts in February and ends in December, so it is kind of like the kids are starting school the first week in May at home. Since Emma and Esther have February birthdays, they essentially move up a 1/2 grade. Emma is finishing Year 4, which is like finishing 3rd grade. Esther is finishing Year 1, which is like finishing Kindergarten. Since Hannah's birthday is in August, she is essentially moving back a 1/2 grade. She is finishing Year 2, which is like finishing 1st Grade. This is all very confusing, but I feel like I finally have my head around it. In a nutshell, Hannah is one of the youngest kids in her grade in the States, but in the middle of her class here. Emma and Esther are in the middle of their grades in the States, but one of the youngest in their classes here.

They go to the local Primary School called Kohi. It is a 10 minute walk from where we live, and they are expected to walk to school. They have to wear a special uniform with sandals and a cap. It is mandatory for the kids to wear their cap when they go outside. (The ozone hole is right over New Zealand and as a result, there is a high incidence of skin cancer. Everyone is very consciencious about covering up when they go outside). All the kids bring their lunch to school. There is no cafeteria. Everyone has their lunch outside on the grounds at the same time. Then they go play until lunch is over. When the kids go out to play sports or other things, they all take off their shoes and run around barefoot. I know our girls will love that. Mark said he didn't wear shoes until he was about 12. I'm not sure if he exaggerating or not.

When they got to school, they were each assigned a buddy that took them around and showed them the school. Esther was the first to be dropped off and had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face when I left her. I peeked in after I left, and she was running around with a smile on her face, playing with her buddy. You wouldn't believe it, but there is another Esther in her class. Hannah and Emma both seemed to do well when I left them. I know they had to be tired, but they all did really well and had a great attitude about everything.