Christmas Down Under with the Moms

(Christmas Eve in front of our $25AUD Christmas tree, New Year's Eve at Finnigan's Place, Sue and Julie in front of Franz Josef Glacier in NZ, Sara in her punt in Christchurch, Julie feeding a sheep at the bed and breakfast in Greymouth, NZ)

Let me start out by saying how very proud we are of our moms for making the 24-hour trip over the international date line to spend Christmas, New Year's, and a little of January with us. Christmas was spent throwing a few "shrimp on the barbie", basking in the Australian summer sun while thinking of our frozen friends back in the U.S., and sharing a few laughs at Cash's expense.


After two weeks of time with us in Geelong (with the exception of Sara's trip to ride a camel and have canapes near Ayers Rock), Sara, Sue, and I flew over the Tasman to visit the Kiwis in New Zealand. As I have mentioned before, it is absolutely true what they say about there being more sheep than people (a comparison of 40 million to 4 million) in NZ. And now, after hearing the story of a sheep's life, I have vowed to not eat lamb any more. That may last until it is served up in a yummy way the next time I visit an Australian restaurant. In any case, I have made the proclamation that I will have two sheep, in addition to my 10 dogs (one, of course, being a sheep dog), when Mark and I finally buy our farm.


It is true what they say about New Zealand being one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is always tough to hone in and say, "This is absolutely the most beautiful place I have ever seen". But, among many candidates, NZ has to be close to the top of the list.