New Page

Ok all, the wait is over.  The new page is up and the flickr account works.
Just put, sweetasdownunder.blogspot.com in the web address  and you will be brought to our new site.

For those of you who are confused, up top in the white, should look like this-

http://sweetasdownunder.blogspot.com

Got it Mom and Dad?

Ok, so we start again.

Under construction

Hello all, Merry Christmas. I hope you are all able to dig out from the storm. We miss snow. Can't tell you enough how different it feels here.

We had a Christmas party here this weekend. It helped get the spirit going. Our neighbors and friends together helped us feel like we have a little community here.

So the site is under construction. We lost our Flickr site. Truth be told, the pictures were our favorite part of this, your too probably. I am working on it, but we may have to change blog addresses. More to come on this.

We are heading for a 4 day camping/biking trip for Christmas. We will be out of touch for a while.

Have a wonderful holiday, we will be thinking of you.

Chris and Amie

This One's to You

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

As the Christmas holidays come upon us, Chris and I find ourselves reminiscing about our friends and family more and more. Our skype conversations have become more frequent, and we catch ourselves looking at old pictures while feeling a little tug in the heart. We would like to dedicate this page to all of you who have been so supportive (except Mattie O)of us in all our endeavors throughout our lives.

I would like to thank my mom for her diligence at checking to see how I am. I would like to thank my Dad for giving me that National Geographic Magazine so I could get some great ideas of where to travel around the world! To Mr and Mrs Heatherton-Thanks for being so supportive in the BIG Move, the storage, paperwork.....Kerri, Adam, Stella and Leo- Keep those great pictures coming! We miss you guys! To My Monkey- Emma- for letting me go on this trip and Kate, Doug and Ellie- thanks for putting up with my beggar dog! To my Bakie friends-It's almost vacation! Hang on! Hate to tell you, but I have summer break right now-again! Love it! When are you coming to visit???? To my dog walking buddies- Sue, Becky and Cynthia-Miss our walks and taco salad =( My sister, Dan, Koa, Kai and Kimo- Miss you tons! Thanks for all the skype chats! And a BIG congratulations to Liz-She is expecting! And it's a girl! Finally! hehe! And my brother and his family- Miss you guys! The Lord of the Rings sights are nothing without you! Sue, Jan, Sarah-I wish I were climbing Livermore Road with you! I'll have to wait until June! What's up with that? Miss you! Happy skiing! John- I promise, we will ride next year! Doris- well, thanks for everything! Melanie-Keep catching those waves for me! Auntie- Save a clean waist to chest high wave for me and you! Stevo, Uncle Jimmy and the crew- Miss you! Take care of Howie for us! And a big thanks to all that have made our lives what it is today. We miss and cherish our friends and family so much!

Amie has set a tone here so I guess I should continue with it. Merry Christmas to all the Heatherton and Beck clan out their. I love emails and comments. Oddly enough traveling half way around the world has kept me in better touch than when I lived in the states. Special Merry Christmas to my Cousin Rick. I know this one will be especially hard. Amie sends our prayers regularly.

Kate Heatherton, I will miss your wedding, but I am their in spirit. I am the one dancing with no shirt on. We will catch up when I get back.

Merry Christmas to my Yellow pod and everyone at Concord Hosp.

Ok, we will go do some fun stuff over Christmas so we have more exciting news to report.

A vist from Brad

Hello all. Christmas is closing in. 4 people emailed Amie to show her the snow that you all recently had. I am jealous. It is not the same getting excited about Christmas when the weather is getting warmer and the days longer. It is 20 minutes of 9 and the sun is still out. Our spirits were just lifted as a trailer with a brass band just stopped outside our house. They played 3 holiday tunes for us, very nice. Our town is very cute and New Zealand definitely gets in the spirit. Just hard for us northerners.

Amie and I had a great week. We had our first house guests. Steve Elgert and his daughter Cate stayed with us on Wednessday. Steve was my professor in residency and then a colleague. He and Cate were in the midst of exploring New Zealand and stopped in for a visit. It was great to have folks to entertain. I hope their trip went well. They were dealing with a lot of rain. Yes, the rain was back for a week, but has now cleared.

The weekend was more laid back this week. We had our first Mountain bike ride together. Amie's bike was finally ready, so Saturday we went for a great ride. Unfortunately the ride caused us to get side tracked and we missed the opportunity to head up for a concert in Waitomo Caves. The choral group that our friend, Martha, is in was being taped singing carols in the caves. Would likely have been a very interesting experience, but, no luck.

The pics do not do justice to some of the terrain we rode. We actually ran into the trail builders. They were getting the area ready for a 6hr ride that is coming up. They did great work. Steep runs with varied options. However, their idea of an easy run is debatable. The pictures of Amie sitting in the woods will testify to that.

Sunday, Amie had her prayers answered. The wind was right and the waves were about 2feet, or waist high. She had a great day on her new board. It is amazing how well she can surf when not fearing for her life.

Ok, fairly boring, but everything is new for us and feels like it is blog worthy. Uncle Jim and Aunty will appreciate that Brad was in town Saturday night. NO harm done, but an experience as always. As for the the rest of you, we wish you an early Merry Christmas.

Thanks to my parents who sent over a load of goods including my watch. Also, a great picture of Babs. You look great lady.

Have a great week.

Chris and Amie.

Hope Thanksgiving went well...

Amie and I spent our first Thanksgiving together this year, but on two different days. How is that possible you might ask? WELL.... see I believe that the last Thursday of November is Thanksgiving. Therefore Thursday was Thankgiving. Amie, however, believes that since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, it was not Thanksgiving until Friday, Thursday in America. So, depending on who you agree with will determine how our Thanksgiving went.

Thursday was fairly miserable. We both worked, which felt odd. We then drove 4.5 hrs to Raglan. We ate Turkey on tortilla chips on the way for dinner. We arrived at our campsite at 9:45, settled in (had a beer) and proceeded towards sleep. Unfortunately our air mattress, new four weeks ago, had a hole in it. I lost it, Amie kept a cool head, patched it and off to sleep we went at 11pm. Exhausted!

Friday, that was different. We awoke to a beautiful day. I cooked up some eggs and sausage on our camp stove, made some coffee and packed up. We headed down the road about 5km and pulled up to Manu bay. Big swell had come in overnight. 3-6 feet at 14-16 seconds, for you none surfers (BIG) and clean with light onshore winds. So, not perfect, but good. Amie was still in shock from our last couple of times out. This was evident by her expression when looking at the surf. I am quickly learning that she is not one to pushed, so I suggested we take a look up the coast. Whale bay was suppose to be more gentle. The pic in the upper right hand corner was our view of Whale bay, the tiny black dots, those are grown med. Not a smaller or more gentle wave.

I was determined to surf, but I was almost as equally determined to find surf Amie would enjoy, so our hunt continued. The local beach break was beach pound, one look from Amie and I knew this was not an option.

What to do, well Amie took a breath and opted for Manu bay.

I hope the pictures do it some justice. This point break was fantastic. We watched some great surfers blow right by us. Truth is between the two of us we only caught, 4 waves. But they were great. Amie's confidence is way up. She can go out and knows how to avoid all the large waves and then works her way in for the little ones. I have not learned that lesson.

I sat out with the big boys watching them catch wave after wave, until it happened. That magical set that took everyone in. The rides are long, so before they had a change to get back out another set was in. A huge wave was all mine. I turned and paddled, got to my feet, hesitated and BLAME. That was all she wrote. I fell off the biggest wave I have ever paddled for, then it ran me over. That was the bad news. The good news is that same wave cleaned house, everyone that was trying to get back out got stopped in their tracks. So, I quickly made up for my mistake. The next wave was a little smaller and I was in a little better postion. Thats when I caught the wave of our trip so far.

After about 2.5 hrs in the water we packed up the car and headed to Auckland. Pearl Jam concert was next. Many of you may not be fans, but this show was amazing. The band played for 2.5-3hrs. They mixed the songs old to new. They rocked. They played so long that the stadium put the lights on the field, but they kept playing. I feel I have grown up with band and The performance was one of the best I had seen. Amie even liked the show. I could say more about it, but I do not want to bore you.

Ok, so Friday was the better day by far, but I still do not think that was Thanksgiving. I might put a poll up. All you in Favor of Thursday say "I", those for Friday... actually I know everyone will agree with me.

Saturday was a long trip home. But it ended with a nice surprise. I have been emailing with a fellow surfer from Hampton, Ken Linsman. I knew he was going to be in our area, but we thought our paths would not cross. However, on our way home from Auckland we had to check the surf. We pulled into on of the more mellow spots and there was Ken and his son Kyle and his friend Tom. Just getting out of the water. After a few cordial greetings and then I suggested we check out a nicer wave. We headed to Greenmedows. A spot that has not worked well for us, but the wind was in the right direction for a change and the swell that was in Raglan the day before was also in our region.

There are some great pics that Amie took. A good session. Not as powerful as the boys from back home were looking for, but nice. Ken's son Kyle and his friend Tom can really surf. I think the great thing was that it was just us.

Sunday was more of the same. Surf was not as good, but we all had a good time. It was great to have a little crew around. Also, nice to be around folks from home. Made us realize again how much we miss you all.

Ok, that is my take on the weekend. A great time. No matter what day was Thanksgiving it was my best ever because it was my first of many with Amie. (Aaahhh, how sweet)

Hope you like the pics. I think Amie with have you own entry this week.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Well, here is- almost Thanksgiving and the days are getting longer and warmer. Chris and I have to remind ourselves every once in a while that the holidays are just around the corner. But wait- it's summer, no, it's Christmas....Oh, I don't know what's going on!!

So as you can tell, sometimes nothing is what it seems in New Zealand. Chris and I have compiled a list if differences from the US to New Zealand.

1. If you order bacon, you will get ham on your plate.
2. If you ask for a rubber, you will be handed an eraser.
3. If you go into the blokeswear store, you will find men's clothing.
4. If someone uses the word "drawers" in the conversation, they are referring to your underwear.
5. If you are driving down the highway and see the "100" sign, that would be KPH, NOT MPH.
6. You might say,"Sweet" if you see something you like, but in NZ, they would say,"Sweet as".
7. Don't tell the waitress how you want your hamburger cooked because everything is cooked well. (Heatherton made that mistake).
8. If someone gives you a lolly, you will get any type of candy.
9. To Steve, Jimmy and Christie-westerly winds are NOT GOOD when you live on the west coast!
10. If your crooked, you have an ailment.
11. Don't order take out; order "take-aways"
12. Math is known as "maths" and sports is known as "sport"

Chris and I have been very busy lately working away. We went out surfing last week to a place called Fitzroy and paddled out past the head-high barrels. We forgot the camera, but if we had it, you would have seen crazy waves, extreme NZ surfers and Amie getting crushed by the VERY LARGE waves. All in all, we had a great time surfing while watching the sun set on one side of the earth and the snow capped volcano poking out of the clouds on the other side. This place is pretty special! We hope you can come visit us! My friend, Becky, has already bought her plane ticket for February. Chris' friend, Dr. Steve Elgert, will be here in December. We are looking forward to our visitors and hope we have more on the way!

For Thanksgiving, we will be heading up to Auckland to see Pearl Jam in concert on Friday. Hopefully on Friday morning, we will surf the famous left-Raglan. I am not so sure though, because Chris tells me it might be pretty big that day. We are hoping to get some good pictures for you next weekend. We will miss everyone very much for Thanksgiving! We will be there in spirit and will be thinking about all our friends and family back home.

I Just want to give a quick shout out to my peeps at Bakie! I have been subbing lots and it is a great experience, but not the same as having my own classroom and fellow colleagues to chat with! Jo- thanks for all the great comments! Miss you guys!

We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving!

A typical week

We are late with our post. Sorry for those of you who hang on our every word. We have been busy.

No big trips. I guess we have settled in here in Hawera. We spent this weekend traveling the coast, surfing in bad conditions and trying out the new Mtn. bike trails.

First, on Thursday we visited a farm about 20min. outside of town. Beautiful land. A friend was showing Amie her horses. This particular friend also trains herding dogs. A great visit, some good pics to come. Amie now has a place to go ride. I will stay away from the horses.

The surf was poor. Funny though, even when poor we find a wave or two. Amie is on a new board and very excited. I saw her smile while surfing for the first time in a long time. It helped that the waves were not double overhead.

I went out and found the Mtn. Bike trails on Saturday. Damn Kiwi's, they do everything big. I took a few quick rides and then found an expert trail called "Jump Line". How bad could it be?

Well it was straight down, through thick brush. Single track the whole way. About 100 meters in, around a slight curve was a jump. A 4foot gap jump, no way to go but straight over it. Not that I had time to turn anyway. In Mid air it occurred to me, "this is the country that invented bungy jumping, I should have expected this." I landed it, but the corner that was at the landing did not go so smooth. Have you ever seen pictures of the rain forest? Thick brush everywhere, wet, lots of bugs. Yeah, that was where I landed. I don't even think I hit the ground. Welcome to New Zealand Mtn biking. Overall, great trails, lots of downhill.

Short blog this week. GOT to go to work. Amie says hello.

Have a great week. More pics later.