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.