Tauranga with the Youngs

We attended our cousin Joshua's christening in Tauranga. Mum and Dad are his Godparents.

 It was cool to have yet another lot of cousins to play with.

 And the big kids played poker.

We did get to do something cultural - we visited Te Puia in Rotorua.

 We saw some Maori carvings...

 ...some pounamu...

...some cultural dancing...

...and some awesome geysers!!

For the rest of the time in Tauranga, we just chilled by the sea.

Except for when we walked up Mt Maunganui.

With amazing views at the top!

And some fun when we got back down.

Family time with the Fakes

 For four nights, the Fakes rented this old homestead to chill out and spend family time together.

It was waaay out of nowhere, except for sheep.

The old farm houses had BIG rooms, here is where we slept with our cousin Scout.

We took most of our meals on the porch.

 A sunny day to venture down to the local river.

And some even braved the cold temperatures.

  Tennis was an activity enjoyed by most.

Or just hanging out with the cousins.

 

We managed a day out at the races. 

The highlight was, of course, getting your face painted!

 

 Happy 2014 from the FAKES!

 

Catching up with family at Christmas

So nice to be around family. 

 Big thanks to Uncle Tony and Aunty Jo for hosting!

Great to catch up with cousins too. And the warm weather certainly helped!

 Merry Christmas!! Santa got us some stuff in our stockings!

 Dad got something he wanted too! How did Santa know?

Heading Down Under for Christmas

At the airport, ready to head back to New Zealand for Christmas.

We'll be on the big airplane - the A380. It has two storeys!!

 

Getting comfy, ready for the 14 hr flight.

 

A stopover! Can you guess where we are?

 That's right! We are in Kualar Lumpur, at the Petronas Twin Towers.

And we got tickets to go up! The view from the 41st floor.

 There was a discovery centre in the building so we had a great time exploring.

Dad and Catherine in the wind generator - it is gusting 126.7km per hour - like Wellington on a windy day!!

Dad and Catherine having a mind-match. Trying to move a ball with your mind!