Raglan by the sea

Bryan is on holiday this week, which is a bonus! On Tuesday we loaded up the car and headed to their beach house in Raglan! The weather was beautiful, though a bit breezy. We went to the harbor and got fresh fish for dinner that night, which was a real treat! We spent Tuesday and Wednesday night there, and planned to come home on Thursday. Sadly, Wednesday was quite cool and windy - so much so that we ate dinner inside, instead of our on the deck. But, it was still quite relaxing - lovely walks on the ocean beach, searching for sea glass on Moonlight Bay ( we found some!) and relaxing/visiting on the deck with a G&T! John joined us for the afternoon/evening on Wednesday, and that was great as well.
Thursday morning, as usual, dawned clear, warm and sunny! And we loaded up the car and left, but we came home to the same wonderful weather in Hamilton, so all was well.

The view of the Raglan bay from Bryan and Peter's deck. The tide is in, but at low tide the water receeds considerably, and boats end up high and dry!

The ocean beach at Raglan. Note the black sand!

Walking along the beach. It was quite windy and we were walking into the wind. It was much easier walking back, as we had quite a tail wind!

More beautiful beach!

Pahutakawa tree - New Zealands Christmas tree - in full bloom near the wharf in Raglan.

Pahutakawa blooms - they are very similar to our bottle brush blooms.

Seagulls all in a row! This was taken at the wharf, as we were getting fresh fish - salmon and gurnard - very yummy!

Bryan stopped at a garden center to buy a plant and Lee snapped this picture of a very patient dog, waiting for his owner. As you can see, he's sitting in the drivers seat!

Our first few days in New Zealand

January 9th - arrived in Auckland right on time, and Bryan and Peter were there to meet us. The lucky sevens worked beautifully, as we were not only given seat assignments when we checked in, but even got to sit together! A bonus!
The flight was uneventful, just really, really long! We both dozed off and on, but didn't really sleep. The crew was fabulous - very friendly and attentive. We were both very impressed by the level of service.

After we gathered our luggage and got through immigration and customs, we headed off to Hamilton. Bryan and Peter had moved into a new home in town in August, so we were going to a new location. Their home is huge and just beautiful! We have our own master suite with our own bathroom and garden off the french doors - we may never leave!

We had some coffee and breakfast, then we all took a much needed nap! Bryan and Peter had been up at 3:00 am to come and fetch us, so they were ready to catch up on some sleep as well.
In the afternoon we took a lovely walk around Hamilton Lake, which was a great way to ward off jet lag. The weather was cloudy, but nice and warm, and it was great to be outside.

We all slept very well on Saturday night, and we're all on this time zone, and ready to enjoy New Zealand and all of our friends here.

This is the view from our master suite! Bryan has been very busy establishing his garden, as they moved in to a "blank canvas". There was nothing planted before at all, and in a very short time has created a beautiful garden, all around the grounds.

A view from the walk around the lake. There were lots of sail boats out that day.

We spotted a coot sitting on it's nest as we were admiring the water lillies. She was concerned that we had stopped and were looking at her, and Dad quickly swam in to distract us.

The water lillies were in full bloom, and just beautiful!

Huge lilly pads!
View across the lake - lillies blooming, and homes right on the lake.

Lucky #7?

As you know, we'll be leaving on Thursday, January 7th, for our annual trip to New Zealand. At least, we hope that we will! Flying on a pass is always a gamble, and after our experience in trying to get to Australia, we're not taking anything for granted!

However - we'll be flying on the 7th, on Air New Zealand flight #7, which leaves at 7:00 pm! Sounds like a jackpot to me! And, if we need more luck, the aircraft we'll be flying on is a Boeing 777!

So, we're hoping that all of these 7's will bring us good luck, and we'll get on Thursday's flight. Stay tuned - we'll let you know what happens!

Moss Beach

We went for a walk on New Year's Eve, as there was a record low tide - minus 1.6. That created lots of tide pools, and exposed lots of the rock formations that make up the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. There were lots of people taking advantage of the low tides to view the marine life up close.
We continued our walk around the neighborhood, and got a picture of the century cactus in front of a house, that have sent up very exuberant bloom stalks! They look like asparagus for Paul Bunyan!

Visit with the Murphy's

On Christmas day we went to Cathi and Don's in Aldergrove, BC. All of the Murphy's had a fabulous Christmas! The kids were happy with all of their toys. The big boys got a big-screen TV and various video games. Don won the prize this year - his Christmas gift from Cathi was a Caribbean cruise, in June! They are both very excited about that.

We enjoyed lots of visiting, playing and coloring, as well as taking advantage of the after-Christmas sales. Don, Lee and Sean left home at 5:30 am on the 26th to go and score some bargains! Cathi and I chose a later time to do our shopping!

Cathi fixed lots of yummy dinners and desserts, so we ate well, as usual! Lee was able to assist Don with some of his computer projects, so that was good.

It was so good to spend time with the kids and grandkids! The little ones had sure changed since we saw them last.

Nathan spent this Christmas in Cordova, AK. It was his first Christmas away from home, but we talked to him frequently. Hopefully next year he'll be at home for Christmas.

Nicholas enjoying his Christmas toys.

Nick and Dylan

Playing outside, and on the run!

Jordyn on the run!

Patience and Harley playing.

Miss Harley. She's going to be a BIG dog!

Jordyn and a very complicated construction project!

Patience is building, too.

Teamwork!

We didn't get a picture of Sean! He was either downstairs playing video games, or, at his friend, Jeremy's, playing paintball! But he's doing well, enjoying the Christmas break from school, and has gotten really tall!

Everson

While we were visiting with Val and Dave, a huge flock of snow geese landed in the field next door. Lee bundled up, got his camera, and walked out to try and get some shots. I think that he did a great job.

Snow geese taking flight!

A close-up shot.
Dave's horse, Hef, was very interested in what Lee was doing. So, he got his picture taken, as well!

Christmas stockings on the mantel for the dogs! :)

Santa has come! Madi loved her bike - as soon as she saw it, she climbed right on, and walked it around the house! We tried teaching her to pedal, but it's going to take time.

Family Dinner - Everson

We finished off 2009 with a trip to the Pacific Northwest to spend the holidays with Valarie, Cathi and their families. The weather was very kind to us this year - no snow! Cold, clear days, with occasional sprinkles. Our flights into Bellingham were on time and uneventful - the perfect way to start a trip! However, we did have quite a bit of stress as we were waiting for our taxi outside of the BART station in San Bruno at 5:00 am - they never came!! Nor did they answer any of my many phone calls! We parked at BART, as long-term parking is quite reasonable there. But, they were on a Sunday schedule, and the first train to the airport didn't run until 9:00 am - doesn't work if you're trying to get on a 7:00 am flight! Fortunately, a mother and daughter did the same thing we did, and although their taxi was late, it finally came, and they graciously shared with us, even let us be dropped off first, as their flight was later than ours. And, they came from Montara - just two miles up the road! That was our Christmas miracle!

The first part of our trip was spent in Everson, with Val and Dave. And, another Christmas miracle: Cody was home for Christmas, for the first time in 3 years! It was great to visit with everyone in Everson, including Lindsay, Jake and Madi.

On Monday, Cathi, Don and the "littles" (Patience, Jordyn & Nick) came for dinner, which was great fun! And a good opportunity to take lots of pictures!

Madi quickly made friends with Uncle Cody, who she hadn't seen for over a year. Of course, he thought that she was just adorable!

We finished up last minute shopping, did lots of visiting and eating and just enjoyed hanging out together. On Christmas day, we went to Aldergrove, BC and spent the rest of our trip with the Murphys.

Lindsay, Valarie and Madi

Lindsay, Madi and Uncle Cody

Cody and Madi - BFF!

Yay!!!

Great-grandma (GG) and Madi, read a book.

Valarie, Madi amd Macy. Madi LOVES Macy, much to Macy's dismay! She's very good with Madi, though, and never snaps at her.

Madi tells Macy: "look at me!"

Cathi, Hailey, Jordyn and Patience having dinner.

Family picture! Valarie is behind the camera.

Family picture - Dave is behind the camera.

Family picture. Pat is behind the camera.

Family picture. Lee is behind the camera.

Family picture - Hailey is behind the camera.

Lee and Pat with the Murphy's.

Cody, Dave, Valarie and Hailey.

Lee and Pat with the Richeys

For Christmas, our wonderful children and grandchildren gave us a two night stay at the Lighthouse Inn at Point Cabrillo, located in Mendocino. We also got a gift certificate for dinner in Mendocino from Nathan. How lucky are we??