The Bestest Hamster Ever

This evening Mimi the hamster breathed her last.  Through tear filled eyes, Sarah Jane carefully laid her in a small box.  We came back later to see the label she had added...

"Mimi was the bestest hamster I ever had. Everybody loved her"

Trip of a Lifetime!

As we were departing Shanghai and starting our 12 hour flight to New Zealand, Samantha and I looked at each other as the reality hit us that we were about to spend 10 days together in an RV driving around New Zealand...what were we thinking?!

Then we landed, went to the RV rental company and before I knew it I was driving a large RV on the wrong side of the road, with a manual transmission on small narrow mountain roads

...no pressure.  But we were off and it was the start to one of the best vacations ever!  A beautiful and amazing part of God's creation!

Apologies in advance if this post is too long and boring, but we wanted to try to share all the different scenery and activities.  The views changed constantly from beach to mountains to Hawaii-like water and cliffs to Oregon-like rocky shores...simply beautiful!

We started with a trip to one of the beaches so we could warm up after some bitter cold in Shanghai.

From there we drove to the Kauri forest which is home to giant trees, the one below was almost 50 ft. in diameter.

Next was a drive up the west coast of the north island...

Then on across to the east coast where we went dolphin watching the next day.

From there we drove south to Goat Island which has a marine reserve that is like snorkeling in an aquarium.

More driving and on to Rotorua for some white water rafting.  It was the first time for us, but now we're hooked quick and look forward to doing more of it.

Then we took a long drive south to catch a ferry to the South Island and more breath taking scenery.

Lots of ducks to feed at the campgrounds...

Fun times in the RV with "Queen Caroline"...

More breath-taking scenery...

A beautiful mountain lake...

A walk on the world's longest swing bridge...

Then a ride up and down the river on a jet boat, the driver would do 360 degree turns which thrilled the girls..

And to top it off, a ride back across the gorge on the "Flying Fox".

It's not everyday you see a sign for penguins crossing!

Next we went on down the coast to a place called "Pancake Rock"...

If you look closely you can see how the rocks look like flat pancakes stacked on top of each other...

The next morning was our last day and we ended it with a horseback ride in the mountains...

Feeding the animals...

A visit to a seal colony which was amazing, there were hundreds of seals living on the coast just off the road...

And finally a hike that ended at a gorgeous waterfall...

It was an awesome trip and we feel so blessed to be able to have experienced it and for the safety and great weather that God provided!

Sydney in Wonderland

The 5th and 6th grade classes at Concordia put on their annual drama this weekend.  Sydney played one of the parts of Alice in Alice in Wonderland.  She has been practicing since October and all of the hard work paid off!  The performances were awesome!  All of the children did a tremendous job!

I know we are biased, but Sydney's first scene had her on the stage with no props and just a few characters entering and exiting; she handled it like a pro!!  She took the talents that God gave her and used them to the fullest, it was amazing to see!  

The girl who played the mad Dutchess (in yellow) did an awesome job and one scene imparticular stuck with the girls.  Like any movie they watch, they memorized the lines immediately and so now Sarah Jane is going around the house reciting "I speak roughly to my boy (actually a baby pig) and beat him when he sneezes, for he only does it to annoy and eats the pepper when he pleases!"

Great Time in Texas

The decision to go home to Texas for Christmas this year was up in the air for a while.  Leaving Jonathan for two weeks would be so difficult and the trip is usually pretty tough on the girls.  However, the thought of not seeing family and friends until the summer was more than we could stand and we are so, so glad we made the trip!

We started out in Waco with Samantha's family and had a great time!  We spent one of our first days working cattle and driving them into the pens so we could move them to another pasture.  Things got pretty fast and furious as we worked to get the last few cows in.  Caroline was riding in one of the trucks with Dan and after they stopped she said "Wow...that was like a roller coaster!"

We opened gifts on the 23rd and the girls got a Flip video camera from Boom Pa.  Hopefully you'll be able to see some videos on the blog in the near future.

We weren't sure how it would go over, but we got Brock an Ipod nano.  Well, he absolutely loved it.  We had loaded it beforehand with about 300 songs (mostly old country & western) and so we ended up spending the rest of the evening two-steppin' in their kitchen.

Cole & Cort got Dan good! 

One of the real highlights was the chance for to Dan to go duck hunting with his nephews.  Cole and Dan went out a few mornings on their own and talked it up so much that by the last day Cort and Doug joined them.  It was cold, icy but an awesome time!

From there we went to Houston and had another fantastic week!

A bonus this time was the chance to see lots friends that we had not seen in a while!  The trip home went well, but it definitely took a few days for the girls to get over the jet lag!