Merry Christmas

Here are Scott and the girls getting ready for church on Christmas Eve. We all went to the 7pm service and Karin had to stay and play her violin at the 9pm service. Scott and the girls went home to get ready for Santa.

We have had lots of projects over the Christmas season. Because Sophie is too small for Scott to put up his train he asked his Dad to put up his. Andy has had this train since he was 5 so it is quite a classic. Everyone had a great time running the train.

Carol recieve this puzzle at our white elephant exchange with our small bible study group. It was a 1000 piece puzzle and a challenge but we all had fun putting it together.

This was the next project. Our neighbors gave us this doll house that had been their daughters. It was is sorry shape and Andy repaired it and I painted it. The girls here in Tucson will get it soon.

Early Family Christmas

Jim, Heather, Cole & Mackenzie came over on Friday to celebrate an early Christmas. The girls are having a great time playing together, even Sophie joined in in her own way.

Mackenzie is getting ready to play Santa by passing out gifts.

It was a beautiful day and after we went to the 4th Avenue Fair, Jim took the kids in the pool, (au-natural for the kids).

Sophie enjoyed the family dinner with 4 generations but it was all too much for her not to take a nap.

Verde Valley Train

Today we all went on the Verde Valley Train ride. It goes up a canyon along the Verde River where there is no other access except by foot. We could either sit in the coach car or out in the open car. The girls loved it, especially when Santa came around.

Hike in Sedona

Moday the kids went to Palatki to see the Indian ruins and Andy and I went hiking with Reilly. We went on the Hotloops trail which was really a hard hike but worth the view when we got to the top of the Mesa. We could see all the way to Jerome and out toward Cottonwood.

Sedona with the kids

We are up in Sedona with Scott, Karin, Audrey and Sophie. As you can see by the way they are bundled up and the dark skies in the background it was a cold day with snow showers predicted. We were able to get in a hike before it started.

Craft Show in California

This weekend was our fall craft show in California. Sales were great and we had a good time seeing the kids and grandkids and also having a couple of dinners with good friends there. This is part of our display.

Home again...

We made it home Tuesday about noon. Just in time to see Scott off to Ohio, his flight left about 1:30. Karin picked us up which gave us a chance to see the grandkids. Sophie has really changed in the 3 weeks we were gone. Sitting up by herself and pulling herself up.

We managed to stay up until 8 pm and caught up on some sleep. Will try to catch up of things before we head off to California for our fall craft show on the 28th. It was a wonderful trip and can not believe that it went by so fast.

Sightseeing in Sydney

Today we took a tour of the Sydney Opera House which was very interesting. We then got on a ferry to Darling Harbor where we went into the Aquarium. They had underground viewing of shark and sting rays and also Barrier Reef fish. Then did the usual walk across the bridge and the climb to the top of one of the support pylons.

This is the view from the pylon. Tomorrow we leave for home. We leave here at 11:15am Tuesday and get back to LA at 6:45am Tuesday.

Blue Mountains

Today we took the train to Central Station and then out of town (2 hours) to the Blue Mountains. It was a perfect day and we walked all around the rim with great views. We had a shuttle bus pass so we could get on and off at different walks and views.

These are the three sisters....

Sydney, Australia

Today we flew to Sydney. this is the view from our balcony. The Opera House is just to the right of this photo. There was a great street market today and we got to shop along the streets.

Green Island - Great Barrier Reef

Friday was a beautiful day and we took the boat our to Green Island. We had a chance to swim, snorkle and generally relax. The water was very warm.

Rainforest Trek - Kuranda

On Thursday, it rained and of course we went to the rainforest. We took the train up to Kuranda. This railroad was built in the late 1800's by hand with 15 tunnels and many bridges. The ride was beautiful.

After spending the day in Kuranda we took the Skyrail down over the tops of the forest with two stops for viewing along the way.

Tjapukai Cultural Park

We are a little behind in our blog so I will try to catch up. On Tuesday we flew to Cairn's and the Great Barrier Reef. We have a great condo right on the beach. On Wed. we went to the Aboriginal park. It was very well done and very informative.

Christchurch to Australia

Pam & Dillis in the wind chill room.
After spending the night in Christchurch again we headed to the airport for our flight to Australia. We had time to take in the Antartic exhibit. It was really interesting and the blue penguins that are native to New Zealand were great.

Milford Sound

We left TeAnau this morning in the rain and it actually snowed going over the pass to Milford Sound. As you can see when we got to Milford Sound the sun had come out and it was beautiful. We took an early morning cruise and we were the only ones on the ship except for one other couple. It was like a private tour. It was just beautiful. This is Mitre Mountain.

Because of the rain early in the day the waterfalls were really running. The Sound is so deep and the sides so steep we could get up real close and personal.

We hiked up a trail and felt like we were in middle earth (Lord of the Rings).

TeAnau - Fiordlands

Here we are in TeAnau (gateway to Fiordlands) and on a farm again. We each have a little cabin with all the comforts of home and a beautiful view out to the lake.

Mt. Cook to Queenstown

This is Mt. Cook National Park. We made a side trip to get up close and personal with the Glaciers.

Pam and I at the lookout.

This is Queenstown. Our rooms were just up from the lake overlooking it.

Mackenzie Valley, Mt. Cook

This is our beautiful B & B (farmstay) outside of Fairlie. The grounds are in spring bloom and we got to feed the baby goats and the other farm animals.

This is Lake Tekapo on the way to Mt. Cook National Park.

Christchurch

We arrived in Christchurch today. As you have heard they had a 7.1 earthquake last month. Our B & B is fine and at first glance the city seems good. When you look closely and some of the older brick buildings are damaged. The are still having afterschocks of course. This is the cathedral and we climbed into the top of the tower.

Everything downtown is within walking distance and these pictures are of the beautiful botanical garden.

Kaikoura

Today we drove to Kaikoura, a beautiful beach town on the east coast. Andy and I went kayaking to see the fur seals. As you can see in the pictures below we were up close and personal. It was great fun to watch them groom themselves and swim right up to us.

South Island

We are staying at the Old Mill B & B and they had bikes for us to use in the wine fields.

This was the view from the ferry as we came into Picton.

On to Wellington

We left Rotorua this morning on our way to Wellington. We stopped by Huka Falls...quite amazing. In Wellington we took the cable car to the top of the mountain where we walked through the botanical gardens. It is a beautiful city...much like Hong Kong. We leave from here to take the ferry to the South Island.