We Made It!

At the end of the day, we felt accomplished and it had been a beautiful hike. We had a great time with Peter, Shelly, & Paul (all Kiwi's) talking about the biggest cultural differences we've noticed in New Zealand, sharing stories about our friends in "The Industry," and hearing of their overseas adventures. 

The Pinnacles

This was our highest point and those are the Pinnacles behind us. 

Swinging Bridges

I thought these swinging bridges were cool. This is Shelly, Mike's labmates girlfriend. She was telling me about how they remind her of Thailand. She's also visited Chang Mai. 

Coramandel

Hit another hike this weekend. Remember how I said it was so great that there were all these easy trails with big rewards, well, lets just say this one wasn't so easy. This is the hike I will tell my child they got to go on when they were 6 months in the womb! On our way over, we could see these peaks from the road and we were talking about what they're called: The Pinnacles. Although we didn't go to the tip top, we hiked for a good 2-3 hours and got to the warming hut. It was a beautiful day and we had an amazing time! 

Our Humble Abode

Some of you have been wanting to have a visual picture of where we're living, so here are a few shots to give you an idea. When we lived in LA, we thought our apartment was small, but we had no idea what small was! However, I do find our place to be quite efficient...I even have a washer/dryer & a dishwasher! Don't worry, we've got a plan for where we're going to put the baby! And, remember, moms & dads, you had a great time in the early years of marriage living in trailers, small apartments, & not even having enough money to buy a coke! These are the times we'll talk about with our kids, too! 

Son of a Roommate of a Cousin...

When moving to another country, any connection is a bonding connection. We met Matt through my cousin, Wes. I only just met Wes about 6 months ago through my cousin, Steve. And, I only met Steve about 2 years ago when a few of our other cousins told us we were both living in LA. Wes was renting a room from Matt's mom in Santa Monica and Matt had just moved to Auckland a few months before we did. Long story, I know. But, its been great to have a buddy here and we often all relate on topics of adapting to a new culture, while reminiscing about the not-so-typical culture itself, in LA. 

KiteKite Waterfall Hike

On Saturday, Mike & I headed out to the Waitakere's for another hike. We took our fellow Los Angelean, Matt, with us and the visitor's center pointed us to another great hike over near the beach at Piha. I've never been on so many easy hikes with such great rewards! After only hiking for 30 minutes or so, we got to this great waterfall called KiteKite. The benefits of hiking here this time of year are having the trail to yourself and plenty of rainfall to stoke this waterfall up! 

The Dam, The Moon, The Palms, The Hoodie

We considered how many people it would have taken to construct such a dam, which was apparently completed in 1927. And, how did they do it? No bull dozers, no power tractors...
Then Mike made me swear I'd put this shot of me in my little green hoodie on our blog since I was planning to put the one of him on with the fern frond. But, he did say he thought I was lovely. And, I knew he meant it. 

The Pony Waterfall

On the way to the hike Mike teased that if I was good there would be a waterfall and behind it there would be a treasure and a pony (he knows my utter every-girl love for horses!). The beauty of the spot was certainly a treasure, but I didn't really want to get wet to see if there was a pony back there...we'll just assume there was! 

My Scientist's Excitement!

This is the part where Mike started to get so preciously boyish, running here and there, snapping photos, pointing out things and telling me their scientific names, considering how God will even have colors we've never seen in heaven. I loved it! I love getting to see him thrilled.