Music

The nice people we're staying with gave us some "Merry Christmas" money, and the other day we went out and bought ourselves some presents. We ended up buying 4 CDs at Vintage Vinyl. I had just read the Entertainment Weekly article about Gwen Stephani, and I realized I did not have the No Doubt Tragic Kingdom album. I mean, what is wrong with me? I was in high school and college when that album was really big. I danced around to "Spiderwebs" I don't know how many times, and like many others (Travis included), I had part of that song on my dorm room answering machine. Some of those songs meant a lot to me back in the days of rollercoaster emotions and broken relationships. Oh, wait, I think I still have rollercoaster emotions at times, just as Travis. Anyway, I bought a used copy of that album.


And we got the new Avett Brothers EP which has a song on there we can really relate to at the moment:



"Some say with age that our purpose comes clear. I see the opposite happening here. Am I losing my mind, or am I growing backwards with time? For all I know, there's more I don't." It seems these days when people ask us questions, much of what we answer involves the words, "I don't know." But I think that's actually ok.


Travis also got the new Beck album and the first album by a new band with Jack White called, well, I don't remember what it's called. I guess it's not as catchy a name as "The White Stripes." It is just so fun to have some new music to listen to!

Back in St. Louis

Well, as most of you probably know by now, we are back in St. Louis. It was so stinkin cold when we first got back! But it was a bit warmer today. I even ventured outside to go running. It was actually quite nice. We are staying with the Walkers, and it has been very good to be here. We have our same cell phone numbers if anyone wants to call. It does not mean I'll answer, because I might be sleeping! My body is so confused! I will write something more exciting later, but thought I should at least put something on here. Oh, and it was great to see everyone we've seen so far. :)

Skytower

On Monday we visited the skytower with Peter and Margaret. They took us to the restaurant way up high that takes about one hour to revolve all the way around. It was really cool to be able to see the city from that angle. As you can see, these are some photos we took while rotating. This is the city we could be living in within a year. Crazy! While we were eating lunch, Travis also got some video footage of a couple of people bungee jumping off the skytower. We just happened to be where the platform was at the time. His stomach didn't feel too great after watching that.
















































I am standing on the glass panels they have on one level of the skytower. It was amazing to see all the way down to the ground. Travis even went so far as to stand on one, although he was holding on to a railing, and looked quite pale afterwards.
















Over all, Travis did surprisingly well being so far up in the air. He didn't hold on for dear life the entire time.

Piha Again

We went out to Piha beach again this Sunday after church, but this time talked some other people into going with us. :) It is such a beautiful beach, but the drive out is not that great. I got a bit carsick on the way out, so I drove on the way back, but then Travis was getting carsick. I think the drive was worth it though.


Travis and Jim brought their swim suits, but most of the rest of us didn't. Well, once most everyone else got in the water with their clothes on, I couldn't just sit on the shore and watch everyone else have a good time. So, I decided to get in as well. A few of us were swimming in jeans, and while I've done that before, I've never done it in the ocean. It is a strange feeling. It was fun though. There were some huge waves! I feared for my life a couple of times. I think this was actually one of the most fun times I had while we were in New Zealand. Thanks everyone for heading out to the beach with us!


I forgot how gross it is to continually get salt water in the mouth. I think I've taken Lake Michigan for granted. I'm sorry Lake Michigan! And we had to watch out for some weird looking jelly fish on the beach. Gross!

Thanksgiving

I almost forgot about Thanks- giving, being here where it is not a national holiday. But Kaarli reminded me of it in an email, so we ended up celebrating. I even bought a turkey, but had no clue how to cook it. Thankfully, I talked to Margie, and she set me straight. Then I talked to my dad about the stuffing, so I got all the tips I needed. It did kind of gross me out to stuff it, but at least I didn't have to clean all the organs out of it. :)


Here is our turkey! I did sew it up, but it came apart while it was cooking. The one leg was kind of funny, so it looked really weird, but it tasted great. It was kind of small because they were pretty expensive.


We had Peter and Margaret over because they celebrated a few Thanks- givings while they spent time in the states. We had Bonnette over because, well, she's Bonnette, and she's become a great friend here! Bonnette made pumpkin pie, because I hate it, so I was not about to make it for anyone. I made one of my favorite pies, a recipe I got from Rosalie, cholocate chip cookie pie. Yum!


Also, we had Leah and Symon join us, because Leah's an American, and Symon is her Kiwi fiance. I met Leah through Laura, our old neighbor and friend. They knew each other in Seattle. It is a small world!