Finally an update!

Sorry to have gone radio silent. By the end of this post you will be probably be glad I did since not all that much has been happening so this could be boring! This past weekend was pretty low key. First of all it was supposed to pour all weekend so I didn't really plan much. As one of my Auckland colleagues pointed out though--a forecast of rain all weekend is code for sunny and blue skies. And lo and behold she was right--I guess the forcasters here aren't known for their accuracy.

Josh was working "days" on Friday and Saturday and all I have to say is thank goodness that is the only time he will be doing that while we're here. Working "days" on the weekend means working from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM so basically Liam and I didn't see him all weekend. Boo! Liam and I decided to pass the time by heading to Kelly Tarltons, a place here that has an aquarium and an Antarctic habitat for penguins (Liam's fav animal of late--he was so diappointed that they weren't on display at the zoo that I had to make sure we saw them somewhere!). Liam loved it and you really do get to see the penguins up close and personal from these little "snowcat" machines that you take through the exhibit. The real adventure for me though was my attempt to take the bus there. I still haven't really figured the transportation system here yet. I knew I could take the 756 from a stop by our house but I didn't know I apparently had to flag it down. As I sat there trying to study the bus timetables on the bus stop sign (which I also have not figured out how to interpret) I hear a bus go by and looky there--as I see the back of the bus I notice the number is 756. Then I read on the sign "must signal bus to stop". Apparently my standing at the stop with a kid and a stroller was not enough of a "signal". As I mentioned, I didn't really understand the time tables but it sure looked to me like the next bus may not come for an hour (likely a misinterpretation but I was too worried to wait and see). Fortunately, I knew that a free shuttle left from the Sky Tower to Kelly Tarltons so up the hill we trekked (in the opposite direction from the direction we would ultimately be heading of course). Anyway--we did get there eventually but I opted to not even try the bus home since I knew the walk back was only about a 5K (along the waterfront!) and it was nice enough day. Along the way we got to play at a small beach and check out a cool playground. Plus we discovered a mini-golf course that Liam is very excited about trying out in the future! Being able to walk everywhere is absolutely one of the things I love about this place! Here are a few pics from the day:

Checkin' out the fish at Kelly Tarltons

View of Auckland from Kelly Tarltons

At the beach

Picking the best seashell

Going down the slide for the umpteenth time

Other than that--it has been pretty much the same here. The excitement will be starting soon though--Mimi (aka my mom) gets here Friday! Then we head out Saturday to the South Island (we will be staying in Queenstown) for some real adventure so I will be sure to add lots of posts and pics of that!