back in auckland

sare and kate caught a bit off guard by the flash in the smoldering incense filled club. We later learned that Bjork and Rage Against the Machine showed up for a little pre-performance partying.

meet crystal, the Parkinson's beautiful and wise old kitty

nice day at the beach

the three of us at the beach, on a beautiful day for the boogie boarding. So much fun! Kate says this is her favorite NZ place so far.

another video...

katers and Paul playin in the wind at the beach.

what a beautiful day by the shore!

blustery beach

we headed down to the beach to check out the storm, hoping to do a little boogie boarding in the big surf. Not going to happen! Huge swells, massive winds, and a sailboat that had been blown ashore.

p.pocket

For a night out on the town. We went to the 'Pony Club' and boogied to a couple bands and some dj's. P.W. forgot his rocker jeans at home and wore mine instead. Aw, the benefits of marrying someone the same size! Now if only we wore the same size shoes, then we would get into real trouble!

the pink and green flavored cocktails...
obviously not a plant to be messed with!

and then there were three....

does she look familiar? its Katie!~ my little sister, paul's sister in law! so weird to say that! She arrived on the 11th, after a whole days layover due to a missed connection. We have taken her up to kerikeri with us and are enjoying her company. It is so wonderful to have her here, and to be able to show her all the sights.
pauly is demonstrating, well, we cant remember what.

Wow and it was great on the BBQ!

Ok...so yesterday was Paul's Day. He loged into NFL.com and listen to his Seahawks manhandle the Cheifs, and then we went fly fishing. Today was my day. I went to get a haircut while Paul walked around downtown. What he wasn't telling me was that he bought some sea casting lures. So when we went to the beach later in the day, out of the truck ( sorry in new zealand its a boot) he pulled a casting rod he borrowed from Peter and his new little toys he bought in town. So much for my day. Well, I guess I can't complain that much, look how it turned out! 15 lb King Fish! Looks like a tuna, tastes like halibut! And wow was it great on the BBQ! Nice Day!

renee, sarah, and nigel the pirate

little Darren with Big Nermal

New Year's Eve Celebration

Paul and Darren looking festive, and taking the scrabble game very seriously. Paulie's hat was black felt, very Broke-Back, while Darren chose a tiara. They were an unstoppable force...obviously
Ingrid and sarah
Nigel and Ingrid
the infamous T, aka 'the mad hatter'
Darren and Renee @ midnight'''''''

beach time

renee and Darren enjoying the beach....and each other. he isn't strangling her, promisemosiac time, so many pretty rocks and shells at this beach. It is in a little protected cove. When you walk through the water your feet sink into the millions of tiny, smooth, perfectly rounded pebbles, kinda feels like sticking your hand in a big bowl of lentils. New Years day was fairly overcast, which was a welcomed break from all of the intense sun we have been having lately, although the temperature was still above 75d. The Kiwi's keep telling us that this beautiful weather is fairly unseasonable for January, and that they normally expect more rain. We both agree that we would love a little more rain...god are we from the pacific northwest or what?

bugs for the TVR's

ruins of a house built by one of the first NZ settlers to come from Englandthis is supposedly a NZ cicada..enormous and extremely loud. We were nervous that they would ban together and carry us away..We took these pics especially for Tucker and Maddie, after requests for more NZ critters.

cat people?

so, I am not sure how this happened, us posting pictures of cats, but we are. I think that we have sort of fallen in love with this little bugger. She will be hard to leave, that is so wierd for me to say, since I am SOO not a cat person, or am I?

fractured tailbone

adds to the rogue experience, right dad?

some of you may have heard through the grapevine that Sarah is a bit broken. The first day in kerikeri she ended up getting the 150pound German Shepard's lead wrapped around her legs and she went flying, landing directly on her tailbone in the gravel. I carried her around the house, away from the dog, and called the ambulance since she couldn't move and was in pretty bad shape. Twenty minutes later the volunteer ambulance drivers/nurses were lifting her on a stretcher and placating her pain with laughing gas. Turned out that she has hairline fractures in her tailbone. With that knowledge they can do....nothing. So its lots of Epsom salt baths, icing, and overall rest. This happened on the 21st of Dec. and she is slowly feeling better. much slower than she would like.

nermal

pauls new favorite thing...little nermal. he says she is the cat version of me, looks sweet but is really ornery and fiesty, then promptly cuddles and falls asleep. i am nothing like that :)

Darren and Renee supporting Paulie on his birthday with tons of New Zealand tourist garb. He got a t-shirt, hat and beenie! Score!

pw b-day

paulies birthday was dec.18th, but we forgot to post any pics of the lovely evening...this one does the job pauly fast asleep with Nermal, the kitten we are pet sitting.