A Mini Family Reunion

Friday

Mark has been working a lot of evening shifts lately, so yesterday afternoon was the first time Ro had seen him in days! Ro's always off to school by the time Mark gets up, and he's asleep by the time Mark gets home. Ro needed his daddy fix, so Mark took him over to Coronation Park after dinner for some guy time. A little rugby, some hide & seek, some tiggy, and some sort of leopard impersonation thing Ro made up...lol.

Laying a sand castle foundation at Pilot Bay this week

This rugger doesn't look too menacing

That's more like it!

We were up early this morning, thinking we had to meet Mark's parents at the airport at 7:25am, but their flight ended up being delayed nearly an hour. Fortunately, we checked the new arrival time online before leaving the apartment. We saw Norma as soon as we walked into the tiny airport; she laughed and exclaimed, "We're freezing and you're in shorts!" Ro clung to Sherry's leg when it came time for hugs, as he doesn't really know Mark's parents that well, and it's been 9 months since he's seen them. Carver was busy sorting out their rental car, and we all put our names on it as drivers in case they found negotiating New Zealand roads too much of a challenge. Ro helped Norma retrieve the bags from the small carousel, and we were on our way.

Signing our lives away

Sherry took Norma and Ro in our car to drop Ro off at school, which doesn't start until 9am here. Meanwhile, Mark played driver's ed teacher with Carver in the rental. Mark had forgotten just how unfamiliar driving on the left can be to someone who's not used to it. Just as we had done when we first started, Carver kept turning on the windshield wipers when he wanted to use his turn signal, and bumped a few curbs as it's tough to judge distance on your left. Passing the local college (i.e. high school) and intermediate school, Carver mentioned that he had seen football fields from the air, to which Mark replied, "No, those were rugby fields." "But there were no nets on the goals," Carver stated. Ahhh...much to learn, grasshopper. We all made it safe and sound to Ro's school, then drove home along Marine Parade, giving N&C their first view of the beach.

Mark's parents are staying at another apartment in The Anchorage, so after picking up the key from the front desk, we helped them settle in. Although on the same floor as us, you have to go down to the pool or lobby to walk between the North and South towers, and we finally understood why when we got into their room. Their place spans both sides of The Anchorage, giving them a view of the city to the east and Pilot Bay to the west, overlooking the pool.

N&C's view of Pilot Bay

Thankfully, N&C brought some comforts of home for us that are either unavailable or crazy expensive here: Mark's favorite deodorant (Mitchum unscented clear gel), reasonably priced boxer shorts for Mark and Ro, Johnson & Johnson Dento-Tape, and Crest toothpaste. The things you take for granted! And best of all, duty free Bombay Sapphire. They were eager to stretch their legs after the long red-eye flight from San Francisco, so we walked down Maunganui Road, through Drury Park and onto the Mt Maunganui Main Beach. We ventured to the tip of Moturiki Island to take in the great views of the ocean and Mauao. They likened the terrain to California's northern coast, although there's a much wider sandy beach here.

Norma, Carver, & Sherry on Moturiki Island

Same spot, looking in the other direction

We stopped for brunch at a cafe on Marine Parade; Sherry got the veggie frittata but everyone else had Eggs Benedict, which was very good. We thought briefly about taking a walk around Mauao, but Carver and Norma were pretty tired from their travels. As Carver put it, referring to their apartment, "I want to see how the remote works." For a different view, we walked back along Pilot Bay. It became abundantly clear to N&C that the temperature at The Mount varies widely with sun or shade, but most importantly with which street you're on. The streets parallel to the shore, like Maunganui Road, are relatively sheltered by the buildings and comfortably warm, but the wind whips through the waterfront roads and cross-streets, chilling you despite the sunshine...not unlike San Francisco as Norma observed. Thankfully no major hills, though, save Mauao.

After relaxing for a bit and freshening up, Sherry and Norma walked to Ro's school to help out with their Friday gardening. Mark and Carver drove over about an hour later to find the ladies working hard on a mosaic. Kathryn and Bill showed up just before the bell and Mark introduced them. Of course, conversation soon fell to Syria, since they lived there for 2.5 years and some of Norma's extended family is still there.

Didn't waste any time putting Mom to work

Jack & Ro tending their class garden

Deisha introduces herself to Carver

Once Carver drove us home (no curb checks this time), Sherry and Norma set off again for New World to pick up groceries while Mark and Carver watched Ro play in the apartment and caught up over some Waikato Draughts. Once the girls were back, we retreated to N&C's apartment for a while to leave Sherry in peace to prepare a delicious dinner of lamb racks and roasted veggies.

Carver nodding off, beer in hand

"Look, it's our deck, daddy!"

Ro making room for plenty of lollies tomorrow

Our lobby features live entertainment

As dinner approached, we gathered back in our apartment for hors d'oeuvres and gin & tonics. Afterwards, Ro was anxious to hit the spa tub downstairs before bed, so Mark took him down to give Sherry and N&C a chance to chat. After Mark and Ro dried off, Carver presented us with gifts he had given out on his 70th birthday back in April, at which he gave everyone some sort of jewelry. Ro and Mark received tie tacs (an airplane and the Caduceus, respectively), while Sherry got an ornate silver and onyx charm. They also gave us a beautiful brass nativity set to use at Christmas.

Everybody say Kiwi!

For dessert, we had tea and TimTams as Ro read his homework books to us at the table. We figure that he would only be a few months into kindergarten in the States, so he's well ahead for when we return home. We switched on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on the tele as we relaxed, but N&C were fading fast, so we said our goodbyes for the night and put Ro to bed. It seems strange to have family here in NZ since it's been so long we've seen them. If only we could talk all our friends and family into moving here, we'd stay! [Hint! Hint!]