Stormy Weather

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Although we've had a couple of drizzly days while in New Zealand, we haven't yet had anything approaching what you'd call BAD weather...until today. Good thing we moved yesterday, eh? What can only be called torrents of rain have been blowing past our balcony all day. Apparently, there's a big sub-tropical storm moving through. Sherry made some delicious blueberry muffins for breakfast, then left Mark and Ro to entertain themselves while she ventured out in the squall to do some shopping.

View from our balcony of a cargo ship leaving port

Ro's cabin fever was reaching fever pitch by the time Sherry returned, so Ro convinced her to take him to the jacuzzi next to the pool - outdoors, mind you. Figuring she was going to get wet anyway, she reluctantly agreed; meanwhile, Mark set about trying to connect his computer to The Anchorage's wireless network. The lady at the front desk was obliging, but not all that helpful other than giving Mark the name of an IT professional who lives a few doors down the hall from us...unfortunately he wasn't home. After altering nearly every conceivable variable in the laptop's internet settings in a true "exercise in frustration," changing an IP address setting buried deep in the list of choices finally got us back online! Woo-Hoo! You don't realize how much you take something for granted until you don't have it anymore.

Although Ro had fun in the jacuzzi, it didn't give him a chance to burn off much energy, so Sherry took another one for the team, dressed herself and the little guy in rain gear, and headed for the beach to watch the surfers out to catch the epic storm waves.

Normally, the short walk to Marine Parade and the beach is just that - a walk. Today, the rain was coming in sheets head-on at a 45 degree angle, straight into your face. Mind you, it wasn't cold...a little cool, but not bad at all. There was no one else walking those four lonely blocks to the beach through a normally bustling downtown, prompting Ronan to ask Sherry, "Why are we the only ones walking, mama?" Once at the beach, however, there were other folks out beachcombing and a few hardcore surfer dudes out in the maelstrom. The tide was incredibly high, and the seaweed, shells, and jellies (Portuguese men-of-war!) strewn about were a true testament to the severe weather. Ronan insisted on jumping knee-high waves, and what little bit of dry fabric that was left on his shorts succumbed during these moments; but, amazingly he kept his raincoat dry. They hiked out to the overlook on Moturiki Island, passing more than a few other curious looky-loos out to watch the seawater surge impressively against the boulder outcroppings at the furthest point.

Ro weathering the storm. Motuotau Island in background

Leaving Moturiki, Ronan could not resist puddle-jumping some rather impressive pools of water located along the trail, thus sealing the deal and thoroughly water-logging him and his rain gear. Sherry encouraged him along with promises of a "fluffy" from the local coffee shop, which is just steamed milk with some flavoring, and the little guy trudged on toward their goal. Once back at the apartment, all was set right with a hot shower and dinner. Sherry (a reformed vegetarian) tried pan-frying chicken for the first time in her life, and although it was seasoned well, Ro exclaimed it was "chewy," or as Mark put it, "medium rare." Nothing a few extra minutes under the broiler couldn't fix, right? In Sherry's own words, "who figured a southern girl couldn't fry chicken?"

Ro splashing around on Moturiki Island

A soggy Ro & Sherry quarantined in the bathroom to dry off

Well We're Movin' On Up...Almost

Friday, February 27, 2009

Mark was working today, which left Sherry and Ro to move all of our belongings to The Anchorage Apartments in Mount Maunganui. As the economically and politically stranded Icelanders will still be in our future east-facing 4th-floor (top) apartment for a couple of weeks, The Anchorage is putting us in a south-facing 3rd-floor place. Although not quite as roomy as the one we'll be in later, it's still pretty sweet. Our balcony looks out on Coronation Park, a lawn bowling club, and the police station across the street. You can look down the street and see Pilot Bay. It's fully furnished, and Ro's got his own queen bed, which he was really excited about. There's even a multi-region DVD player, so we can finally watch all the movies we brought without tying up the laptop.

Ro chillin' in his new room

Sherry and Ro spent a couple of hours at the apartment's pool and hot tub, then picked up Mark from work. We dropped Sherry off at the grocery store to stock up on essentials for the new digs, while Mark took Ro to Blake Park. The jungle gym there was just okay, nothing like the gargantuan one at Memorial Park, but Ro found no shortage of things to climb. He would stand on a swing, scale the chain to the crossbar, climb on top, scoot along the bar like he was riding a horse, then slide down the support pole like a fireman! It's probably a good thing Sherry wasn't there, because if that didn't give her a heart attack, his climbing the uprights at the rugby field, then dropping from the crossbar probably would have. He also enjoyed pretending the rugby bleachers were pirate ships, he the captain of one and Mark the other, and busied himself collecting and plundering "pirate gold pieces" (beer bottle caps). Ro also wanted to play hide-and-seek, which appears to involve quite a bit of imagination and running when played on an open field...lol.

Ro meticulously arranging his pirate treasure

Ro scaling the swingset at Blake Park

On his way to the crossbar

Ro with another park-goer's dog

Sherry treated us to a home-cooked steak dinner, then we put Ro to bed and enjoyed a quiet evening talking and drinking wine on the deck, watching the cargo cranes at the port spin in the distance.

Ro & Sherry on the deck of our new pad. Pilot Bay in background

Happy Birthday, MacGyver!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Our last full day at the Colonial Court Motel in Tauranga. It's been a good home for the last month, and we've been treated like family, but the cramped quarters, tiny fridge, and lack of an oven, dishwasher, and clothes dryer make Sherry eager to move to our new place in Mount Maunganui. We picked up our new car yesterday, and bought Sherry a (used) mountain bike today. The bike's got a little rust on it, but the tires and brakes are in good shape, and it was only NZ$100. We put in an order for a trailer attachment for Ro so Sherry can take him to school on the bike. The primary school he'll be attending is only a block from the beach, so she'll take the easy ride along the boardwalk to get there. While he was in Kindy today, she went for a jog around The Mount...it'll be nice when we live just a few blocks away from it.

Our new-to-us 2002 Camry. Only 44k kms!

Mark resorted to showing Ronan the video game Morrowind on his computer yesterday as a distraction (so Sherry could have some peace) and he was immediately hooked despite not understanding most of it. Sherry's not too enthused about the medieval-style violence in the game, but game-playing privileges have rapidly risen to the top of the bargaining-chip list when it comes to persuading Ronan. Even though the weather was gorgeous today, Ro and Luke were enraptured with fighting rats and slaughterfish on the laptop, and we had to pry them off to go play outside...lol.


For the unfamiliar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrowind

Luke & Ro bouncing a reclining Aidan on the trampoline

Fast friends: Ro (4), Luke (5), and Aidan (8)

The title of today's blog refers to Mark's brother, who's currently in Kazakhstan with his wife and son as they adopt a daughter. Their blog is at: http://findingourdaughter.blogspot.com/

Oh, What A Feeling!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

We finally found a car! At the last minute, as we were going to test-drive another one, we decided to check out one last dealer. They had a really clean, low-mileage 2002 Toyota Camry, for only about US$500 more than the 1998 Corolla we almost bought. The car has been in Tauranga basically it's whole life, so it's never seen salt or snow. We take delivery on it tomorrow, and not a moment too soon, as the hospital is only paying for our rental for another two days.

Ro had his first day of kindergarten ("Kindy") yesterday! Here, Kindy is the equivalent of pre-school back home. Kids start "real" school on the day they turn five years old, so there are always new kids filtering into the first-year class. On Ro's birthday, he'll start attending Mount Maunganui primary, which is easy biking distance from our future digs. Now we just have to get a bike.

See link: http://www.mtprimary.co.nz/webcontent14.htm

(Note the school-issue boogie boards)

His mission, should he choose to accept it: kindergarten. This pic will self-destruct in 5 seconds. Scroll faster!

Ro "pumping iron" at Kindy in preparation for primary school

Our little monkey on the bars

Even though he'll only be at the Kindy a few weeks, Ro was getting pretty restless hanging out with Sherry all the time, so we think the socialization will be great for him. It also works out great for us, since it tires him out! We were even able to enjoy leisurely outdoor lunches today and yesterday and do a little window shopping at The Mount and in downtown Tauranga. There seems to be plenty of good Turkish, Mediterranean, and Indian cuisine here and we're not complaining. There's a few Chinese "smorgasbord" restaurants, which serve everything from stir-fry to lamb to fish-and-chips. We've only seen one Mexican place, and it looked pretty sketchy - it was down an alley, and we're not quite sure what they were selling.

Sherry enjoying lunch al fresco at Astrolabe

http://www.astrolabe.co.nz/

Sherry & Ro after his first day at Kindy

Sherry trying to coax Ro out of the avocado tree and into a bath

Just Tramping About...

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Today while Mark was taking a pummelling on a short-staffed day at work, Sherry and Ro decided to take a little trek about one hour north of Tauranga on the Pacific Coast Highway to the little town of Waikino. In 1897, the Victoria Battery and the Waihi gold mine began operations, the largest of its type in the southern hemisphere. The Battery is where the quartz-locked gold was extracted, and operated twenty-four hours a day, until operations ceased in 1952. From the old Goldfields Railway Station, now the Waikino Visitor Center and Cafe, you can "tramp" a great distance, all the way to the Karangahake Gorge, about two hours one-way. We, however, decided to just tramp to the old Battery and Mining site, and see the Owharoa Falls, constituting an hour round trip walk, more reasonable for the little guy.

Ro getting a head start on the tramp

It began as most walks do, with Ro running the first five or ten minutes, then sandbagging to be held, while I encouraged him on, bribing him with food. He went through two PB&J's on the way, as well as a banana, and some brownies leftover from last night's dinner. And that was just TO the blasted falls.

Ro at the old Battery site

We did run into two rather red-eyed surfer dudes apparently taking a 4:20 (three hours early) on the small stretch of path that follows the main road. They were driving a very wonderfully cool car, and insisted that Ro have his photo taken with it. After hamming around, we continued on to the falls, and were not to be disappointed by their beauty.

Can anyone identify this car? Mark thought it vaguely resembled a Deux Chevaux, but that's not it

The Owharoa Falls were breathtaking, something one might find in Mexico. There was once a small (non-producing) gold mine north of the falls, as well as a township, but in 1896 the nearby town of Waikino overshadowed it, and nothing remains today of the settlement.

Ro lost in existential thought at Owharoa Falls

Once at the falls, Ro set about with great glee exploring, and we ended up meeting a wonderful couple from Nevada, with a huge old black lab (Tahoe) that reminded us a lot of Shadow. Ro kept tossing Tahoe his newly acquired bamboo walking stick, and Tahoe kept gratefully fetching it, easily Ro's favorite part of the day. We even found a short-finned fresh-water eel, native to New Zealand, right in the shallow pool where Ro had been splashing. (EEEEEKK!)

Alas, the day came to its close, and we headed back to Tauranga to meet Mark when he arrived home from work. Sherry is becoming better and better at disguising leftovers in our attempt to clear out the pantry before our move into the new pad. We also finished watching My Fair Lady, which we both love because it puts Ro right to sleep.

Animal Magnetism

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sorry we haven't posted in a few days, but Mark's been working the late shift, and what little free time he had was spent preparing a presentation for the Wednesday teaching conference at the hospital. Sherry and Ronan have been busying themselves at the pool, the park, and the beach. Rough, eh? Yesterday they took a foray to McLaren Falls about 20 minutes outside of town, and also checked out Marshall Falls nearby. There was an animal park there, but it was closed by the time they got there, so...

Ro in his favorite swimming hole above McLaren Falls

Today we all went to Marshall's Animal Park, a picturesque place with more varied and exotic animals than some lesser Stateside zoos. Most of the animals were of the domestic variety, but Ronan found them enthralling nonetheless. We bought Ro a bag of corn to feed the critters for NZ$2, and he was mugged in short order by a mob of ducks who quickly tagged him as an easy mark. Although he kept promising "only one more," he kept hemorrhaging corn kernels like a bad gambler chasing his losses and soon emptied the bag within 50 feet of the entrance. After buying another bag (which Sherry kept in her custody), we began our journey into the park. Ronan's favorite animal was the donkey "Krista", Sherry's was the golden pheasant (one of the prettiest birds we've ever seen), and Mark's was the wapiti (elk), which completely slimed Sherry's hand as she fed it, giving Mark a good laugh. There were plenty of sheep and goats, a beautiful Clydesdale, emus, peacocks, and even some Texas Longhorns. The ostriches seemed to have an affinity for shiny things, as one kept going for Mark's wedding ring. Having your hand pecked at by a full-grown ostrich feels similar to someone smacking it with a rubber mallet.

Ro turning up his empty bag of corn as he's cornered by still-hungry ducks

Ro feeding "Krista" the donkey

An ostrich trying to eat Mark's ring

Ro playing tug-of-war with some grass and a goat. The goat won

We had a picnic lunch at the base of the trailhead to Marshall Falls, along a quiet stream. The ducks there must have remembered Ronan from yesterday, as they wouldn't leave him alone. Our biggest surprise (and best laugh) of the day came when Ro was eating his sandwich, watching the ducks circle around his feet. The dominant, big, white duck suddenly jumped up at Ro (he was sitting on top of a picnic table, mind you), going for the sandwich that Ro was putting into his mouth. It missed the sandwich, but his beak nailed Ro's upper lip and cheek, causing Ro quite a fright! He was running scared from the ducks at that point, as if they were "it" and he was playing Tag...lol.

Sherry (laughing) comforting a crying, stunned Ronan after he was assaulted by a duck

The easy 10-minute hike to Marshall Falls wound through a beautiful sub-tropical forest, filled with the famous New Zealand "silver ferns." The falls were pretty but tiny compared to, say, the ones in Yosemite. Ro's favorite part of the hike was swinging on some vines along the trail, a la Tarzan. After the hike, we drove to McLaren Falls, a series of cascades amongst a large outcrop of boulders, with assorted pools between them that Ro loved splashing in. The big lagoon at the bottom was a splash-down site for teenagers jumping off the iron bridge above, which looked to be a good 60 feet above the water. We weren't there long when a summer rainstorm plowed through the area, and we called it a day.

Sherry & Mark at Marshall Falls. Ro took this pic!

Sherry & Ro getting drenched above McLaren Falls

Coming 'Round the Mountain

Sunday, February 15, 2009

We had initially wanted to climb Mount Maunganui today, since Mark hasn't done it yet. Ro wasn't in a climbing mood, however, and the thought of getting halfway up The Mount and having to carry him the rest of the way persuaded us to just stick to the loop trail around the base. It was a beautiful walk, about 3.4km, up and down along gently rolling slopes. And apart from a meltdown after stubbing his persistently damaged toe, Ro did pretty well. He took us on a little side trip to some tidepools among the rugged boulders on the northeast side of The Mount, and loved splashing in the water. Fatigue was starting to set in for the little guy near the end of our walk, but as luck would have it, he started running to impress two young Kiwi girls (looked about 4yo and 8yo) who were walking with their family on the path. We finished up our afternoon at the playground near Mount Drury, where we had to park the car earlier in the day because of the weekend crowds.

Sherry & Ro along the coast of Mount Maunganui. Note the sailboats

Sherry & Ro taking in the view from The Mount's loop trail

Ro enjoying a high-tech see-saw

Ro & Sherry enjoying the low-tech version

We tried the "takeaway" joints down the street from our motel tonight; Indian food for Sherry and Ro, and good ol' fish and chips for Mark. Ro wanted to stay up late to watch Alien vs Predator: Requiem since the commercial seemed cool to him, but that was instantly vetoed by Sherry, since she's the one who gets up with him when he has bad dreams.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Busy day today. We headed into Mount Maunganui this morning, along with what seemed like everyone else. There were two cruise ships in port, so there were lots of people milling about, mostly of the geriatric persuasion. Mark wanted to show Sherry & Ronan the leading candidate for their new place to live, and they both loved it. There was a friendly, young Icelandic couple living in the apartment now, but their visas have expired and they have to get out of the country. They were nice enough to let us in to show us the place, and it rocks! It's a relatively new building, and several doctors from the hospital live there. We noted a couple of their wives chilling in the hot tub as we toured the pool area. The apartment we're looking at is top-floor, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath, overlooking town, but with a view of The Mount from the deck. Fully furnished, only a block to the shops and restaurants along the main drag in Mount Maunganui, and half a block to the water on the harbour side of the peninsula. The surf is gentle for kids to play in, and there's an expansive palm-shaded lawn running along the beach for the adults to relax on. The cruise ships dump their passengers right there, so it's very scenic, with a decent-looking restaurant (used to be a yacht club) and an ice cream stand that we happily patronized. We finally got to try Hokey Pokey flavor ice cream, which was invented here in NZ (pronounced "en-zed" to the locals) and is quite tasty, reminding us a little of butterscotch. While we enjoyed our cones and walked along the fishing pier, we watched Maori teens diving off the docks into Pilot Bay, entertaining the crowds.

Apartment's link: http://www.anchorageapartments.co.nz/

Ro enjoying his ice cream with Maori teens diving into Pilot Bay behind him

Ro & Sherry strolling along Pilot Bay. Mount Maunganui in background

There is a nice park right across the street from the apartment building called Coronation Park. Alas, no jungle gym, as it seemed to have been designed more in an Oriental garden style, with a pond and ornate landscaping. Ro enjoyed watching the mama duck and her ducklings parade around, and dipping his toes in the water for tadpoles to nibble on. As he and Mark discovered, it's a great place to play hide-and-seek.

Chillin' in front of a sculpture in Coronation Park

Ro chatting with a new friend in Coronation Park. Note the faux-hawk

We hired a babysitter tonight so we could have a Valentine's evening out sans child. Her name is Maureen, and she's a very nice grandmother who's great with kids; we already knew her because she works as one of the housekeepers at the motel. She's a longtime friend of Kris and Tracy, and babysits for Luke and Aidan all the time. The only reason she was free tonight is because the other kids are staying with their grandparents in Omanu Beach. Trying to get out of the house tonight resulted in a few tears, however. The only way we could get Ro to eventually release his death-grip on Sherry's leg was to take him over to the innkeeper's house to distract him with Miss Muffet (the motel cat). As soon as he reached for the cat, we nearly stumbled over each other making a clean break for the car...lol. Of course, as soon as we were gone, Ro happily resumed playing and had a great time with Maureen.


For dinner, we went to a very nice place on The Strand called Wharf St. Restaurant, which Kris had recommended. Sherry's meat-eating horizons continue to expand beyond well-done steaks and bacon, as she got the venison hotpot pie, which was very good, but we both agreed Mark's braised lamb shank was even better; it simply melted in your mouth...mmmmm. As a former vegetarian, Sherry can't believe it, but she has actually started to like lamb (as long as she doesn't think about where it comes from)!

Restaurant's link: http://www.wharfstreet.co.nz/


Afterwards, we adjourned down the street to the Rialto theater, which serves beer and wine (just like the one in Raleigh), to see Slumdog Millionaire, which was excellent. Highly recommended. Of course, the motel room was a mess when we got back, but that means Ro had a good time. We'll definitely have to make use of Maureen's services again!

Splashing Around

Friday, February 13, 2009

Mark had to go into work for a little while to help out with some administrative duties, following up on x-ray reports and calling patients if the radiologists picked up any abnormalities that weren't seen by the ED doctor the first time around. Nothing too strenuous, and he was home after a couple of hours.

Sherry left Ronan and Mark at the pool while she went and got a pedicure and had what was left of her acrylic nails from the wedding removed, as they had started looking a bit shabby. The girl who did her nails was new, and had never given a pedicure before, so a 30 minute job took about two hours including the soak-off. To Sherry's disappointment, it didn't even include a leg massage like at the Vietnamese nail salon back home.

Ro is gradually getting over his fear of deep water, and will now swim through it with a protective float around him. There is also a large inflatable crocodile that he likes to play with, and he wanted Mark to ride on it with him. Mark, who can barely balance on the stupid thing by himself, let alone with another person, agreed to get on knowing that a soaking was in store for them both. Sure enough, after several comically exaggerated attempts at balancing the two of them on the unsteady float, they both plunged chaotically into the deep end. Mark made sure Ro's head stayed above water, but nonetheless, his yelps could probably have been heard for miles.

Ro getting ready to make a splash

Ronan has the knack for making the most innocuous toys dangerous. There is a metal swingset at the end of our building, and instead of just swinging on it, Ro has taken to scaling the support pole to reach as high as the crossbar, nearly causing Sherry a heart attack. She's getting more adventurous with her cooking, treating Mark to a grilled rack of lamb tonight. And if you can find Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir in the states, we recommend it.

Ro climbing to the top of the swingset. Note the Michael Jordan-esque tongue

The Hunt Continues

Thursday, February 12, 2009

A fairly uneventful day. Mark was on call, so we stuck close to home. He spent the day house hunting around Mount Maunganui and doing a little shopping, while Sherry and Ronan spent the day at the pool. Ro's getting quite the farmer's tan, since he always wears a "rashie" (rashguard swim shirt) and a hat in the sun. The neighborhoods on the peninsula can change from posh to less-than-desirable in just a couple blocks, so we have to see each listing first-hand. We're trying to decide if we'd rather sacrifice some space to be closer to the water, or live in a more suburban area.

Ro's newset pet, "Lu-Lu" (another praying mantis), has taken up residence in various places in Ro's bedroom, and had a "Wild Kingdom"-worthy face-off with a spider this morning.

"Lu-Lu" gets in a bug rumble

Sherry whipping up some tasty chicken carbonara

Ro shooting baskets with a Hoppity Hop

Another Grueling Day At The Beach

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Mark is on his administrative/relief week, which basically means he's the first person on call if another emergency doctor gets sick and can't come to work. The Kiwis aren't big on "toughing it out" when you're sick, apparently, since his work e-mail inbox is littered with messages every day about various doctors calling out sick. If he hasn't been called in by 3pm, though, he's pretty much in the clear for that day and can feel free to open a bottle of wine with Sherry or crack open a Steinlager...lol. It seems Kiwis in general aren't big on work, period...for Pete's sake, the MALL closes at 6pm, and the downtown business district is a ghost-town by 5pm. The nearest 24-hr grocery store is in Auckland, about 2.5 hours away.

Since today is Wednesday, that means it was conference day for the med students and "house officers" (basically interns and junior residents), which means it's up to the consultants (attending physicians) to cover the ED, so Mark had to go in to help out for a half-shift. Nothing too exciting today. He enjoys his walks home to decompress, and it's only about 15 minutes through a quiet residential neighborhood.

Sherry and Ronan went to Tay Street Beach (another beach east of Mount Maunganui) today. They picked up a boogie board on the way "for Ronan" since he enjoyed "surfing" on Luke & Aidan's so much the other day. All the stores have since sold out of "kiddie" boards since it's late summer here, so they were left buying a $100 professional-quality board that's nearly as big as he is...lol.

Sherry swears sand is a superb sunscreen for Ronan, and his persistently Casper-white legs back up her theory

Sherry's beach bum cam view of Tay St Beach and Mount Maunganui

Ro showing off his new "surfboard"

While playing with Luke & Aidan upon returning home, Ro seemed to get in quite a bit of trouble, at least according to the other boys. Sherry and Mark were trying to eat dinner, and found themselves besieged by a constant barrage of tattling. "Ronan is climbing the avocado tree! Ronan is walking under the trampoline while Aidan is on it! Ronan is climbing up the slide! Ronan is climbing on top of the playhouse!" All things which were apparently against the house rules, so to speak. Later, as they were running inside after watching some road construction vehicles rumble past the motel, Ro stubbed his persistently damaged toe, and Aidan ran out to us screaming, "Ronan's toe is gushing blood!!!" Decidedly underwhelmed, knowing what to expect by this point, we merely indicated to Ro that he should walk back to our room via the outdoor route instead of tracking "the gushing blood" through their house. As we expected, it didn't even amount to a trickle, but we wish Teva made steel-toed sandals, as he seems to re-injure it every day, and will probably lose the nail at some point.

Ro's toes are taking a beating, but he refuses to wear shoes

We spent a quiet evening at home setting up our new cellphones and playing the video game system. Sherry, who claims she was video-game deprived as a kid, has developed a love-hate relationship with Tetris, and Ro has discovered an affinity for Contra. All together now...up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start!


For the uninitiated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami_Code

In The Swing Of Things

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Today was cloudy and intermittently rainy, so we stayed close to home. Ro and Mark went for a swim in the morning, while Sherry went for a jog. Mark tried in vain to encourage Ro to start the basics of swimming. He refused to put his face under to even blow bubbles, but he did finally scoot himself around the edge of the pool, holding onto the edge, which Mark considered a victory.

Ro enjoying scooting around the edge

Later on, Ro was getting restless indoors, it was raining too hard to do much outside, and his friends were at school. Sherry was at the store, so Mark broke down and hooked up the game he had brought to NZ for just such an occasion. Remember those cheap multi-video games-in-one controllers that plug directly into your TV? There were a bunch of mall kiosks selling them at Christmastime a few years back, and this one has a ton of old Nintendo games - mostly dregs, but a few gems including Contra, Tetris, and Super Mario Brothers. Ronan is naive to video games, but was a quick study.

Ro "waiting for Mark to die" so he can have his turn

We had spaghetti and homemade meatballs for dinner. Sherry discovered that the motel has a communal oven, so she was able to bake some brownies for dessert, which go great with a glass of Pinot Noir. Kris, the innkeeper, is quite the wine aficionado and gave us tips on some great NZ vineyards to check out while we're here. We finished up the evening playing on the swingset, where Mark taught Ro to finally swing himself, relieving us of pushing duties forever more. You could almost see the lightbulb go on over Ro's head. It was adorable!

Ro & Luke resting after an evening session at the pool

Ro relishing his first Ronan-powered swing

Alas, Ro's newly adopted pet, "Chin-Chin," appears at death's door. Ro found a praying mantis on his bedroom wall yesterday (remember we leave our windows open), and immediately claimed it for his own. He looks to have a broken hind leg, and after living in an old yogurt container for 24hrs, Sherry convinced Ro to release him into "the wild" (i.e. a hanging flower basket outside our door). At last look, Chin-Chin was lying sideways and not moving much.