Christmas at 29 °

You could have fooled us, but it is Christmas time! We had a quiet, yet lovely, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our eve was ridiculously productive and we felt very proud of ourselves, which I’ve summarized in this list:

The Christmas Eve of Accomplishment:

1. Solved the mystery of the dud cigarette lighter in our car

2. Made a massive breakfast of all my favorite things (OJ, pears, pancakes & bacon!)

The box did not lie when it said, "Makes 18" 

3. Cooked delicious stuffed mushrooms (Chris is the real chef!)

4. Concocted Christmascrack (which is not as easy as it sounds when the store doesn’t sell Chex, Golden Grahams, or corn syrup! Needless to say, it wasn’t nearly as good as Aunt Teri’s)

Hmmm... 

5. Did a load of laundry (how can it not be a good day with the smell of freshly laundered clothes!?) 

Christmas day was wonderful on a completely different level. 

Firstly, it was 29°… C! That is much different than F- it was about 85° F at 4pm! Whew! 

How could you still have a normal day after talking to these three?! 

Regardless of the heat, the beginning of the day seemed like any other- with the exception of opening the rest of the presents from our students and NZ friends. We spent our day relaxing and soaking in the great view. It wasn’t until we started Skyping family that it really felt like Christmas. Being passed around at the Curry’s celebration and then making our way through the Aplin/Pring party really put us in a great mood! Seeing everyone and getting a little taste of home was really what we needed to make the day special. These interactions jumpstarted our motivation and we decided to head to the beach and enjoy what was left of the day! Our beach endeavor brings us to list 2:

Christmas Sea Creature Fabulousness:

1.     11-legged starfish

2.     Heaps of mini starfish

3.     One big crab (which sometimes disappeared into sand plumes and it was terrifying!)

4.     A paua shell (they sell the whole shell in stores for $10+ but most the time they break it up and make jewelry out of it)

5.     Hermit crabs & winding snail trails everywhere

As for an update on our life plan, we have decided to return to The States after our trip to the South Island. This decision (not taken lightly) is a result of our desire to settle in somewhere and start a solid life together. I’ve written more on this, but I think I’ll wait to post it until we’re closer to the end of our travels.

We are currently working on our plan for the South Island. So far, it’s comprised of approximately 12 stops, glaciers, fjords, skydiving, a quake-stricken city, our tent, and so much more. We are trying to strike the perfect balance between planning and fluidity. Essentially, we’ve researched our route and possible places to stay & things to do! I’ll post a more detailed plan…once we have one!

We missed you all dearly on Christmas and we hope that you thoroughly enjoyed it! Stay safe and have fun on New Year’s Eve!! We’ll let you know how it is… seeing as we’ll be one of the first in the world to bring in the new year! J  

* Remember, you can click on the pictures and it should bring up a panel to view them all larger!* 

Now I leave you with two comics that Chris made- enjoy!!