New Zealand

Welcome to New Zealand!!!

Arvid, Ryan and I arrived in New Zealand on April 10 (Brooklyn's 1st birthday!). Here we are at the airport!

We did SO many fun things, but I will have to spend lots of time chronicling everything. This will take some time. So let me start by adding a picture of the harbor in Auckland at the beginning of our trip...

That afternoon, we went to a maritime museum and had a great time. Later we took a ferry to an outlying town where we strolled the area, went to dinner, and browsed at a bookstore.

Among our many activities, Ryan did his first bungee jump. This was off a platform that jutted out from a cliff. He landed in the water - from his head to his waist (in that order).

In the close up, you can see the cliff and the platform - and, of course, his wetness!

Crazy kid, but he'd do it again!

Hooray for Scott!

Not only did Scott get his mission call, but he also changed my blog so the toolbars are in English instead of Chinese. So I can now READ how to sign in and post a new blog. YAY!!! And it's about time as I was tired of looking at those old pictures of my big glasses and frizzy hair.

Since the name of this post is about Scott, I will show you a picture of what he's been doing...

That's right: lounging on our balcony overlooking the South China Sea while sipping cool drinks with tropical umbrella decorations and chatting on the phone with Emily. Ah, the life!

On June 1, he starts work at the Consulate. He'll be working in CLO (Community Liaison Office) until June 26.

Here he is holding his mission call - right before opening it. If you haven't heard, he's been called to the Taiwan Taipei Mission (Mandarin speaking). He enters the Provo MTC on July 8. It'll be fun to have him serving in the same country (different mission) that David has been in for 2 years. David returns to Hong Kong on June 26 - we're on the countdown!

Past Birthdays

Ryan pulled out these old pictures, after being inspired by the old ones of me that Krista posted on her blog. I think Ryan mostly got a kick out of my old glasses (gag - thank goodness for LASIK!)

The first two are from my 30th birthday, Nov. 1988. Krista was 5 1/2 years old - and note the bunny ears I'm giving to my innocent little 4-year old, Erika. Incidentally, I spent the night at the hospital with 7-month old David. He was sick with croup and couldn't breathe. We had him on some breathing machine, where he spent most of the night. It was miserable for him. Poor little guy. I think the picture from my birthday that Krista has on her blog is from my 32nd or 33rd birthday (maybe 34?). We were in Price then - so 1990 or later.

The third one was taken in about 1988 - 29 years old. I'm holding David. I think Ryan chose this one as he was laughing at my glasses and my tie. Hey, that was cool back then (maybe not so much the glasses...)!

Disneyland: Mickey and Me!

Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse. He turned 80 the same day I turned 50. So what better way to celebrate? Arvid and I went to Disneyland where I wished Mickey a Happy Birthday. He gave me a big hug. Then when I said it was my birthday too, he proceeded to conduct the singing while I sang to the two of us. He gave me another big hug and kiss. Minnie, too. It was really fun. In the 2nd picture, both Mickey and Minnie are kissing my cheeks with their noses - it's hard to tell.

We then caught the Lion King Show, visited Tarzan's Treehouse and watched fireworks. We got there late, but bought annual passes, so we'll go back and visit other features another time. (We were also there a week ago, so got lots of rides and things in then, too.)

Kelly's 50th!

On November 18, I turned 50 years old! What a great 50 years it's been, too. I woke up to find 50 balloon, all numbered crowding the floors - flying around from the air conditioner blowing them.

All day long I'd go by a balloon, look at the number and remember something that happened when I was that age. It was SOOO fun. That was Ryan's doing and I loved it! In the evening we had a family party, complete with the Famous Lilly Chocolate Cake (what else?). I got "Enchanted" and "Mamma Mia" DVDs and an ipod stereo/radio alarm clock. Fun!

David update

David is serving his mission in Taiwan and is currently in the city of Gangshan. He is doing extremely well. He is a leader of several of the missionaries around him. He is humble, learning to really serve others and is doing so well all around. Attached are 2 pictures with him in them! We haven't gotten many of those. I'm also attaching another of his companion, Elder Shane Tisdale. I include it so you can note his living conditions, which are pretty good. You'll notice the "hole" in the wall, which is where an air conditioner unit could be. They don't have one and the window is open. So it's hot. They have about the same weather we have. When it stays in the upper 80's with about 80% humidity, it's pretty uncomfortable - thus they have shiny faces! But really, they look like they have really good living conditions.

And he has grown and changed - really mature. He says things like:

"We should not be teaching and testifying with our own words and then using the scriptures to back up what we say. It should be the other way around. 'The scriptures bring power and authority to your teaching, even in areas without a Christian background.' (from the missionary handbook, Preach My Gospel) "

We are very happy for him and really pleased with his progress. He finishes his mission in July, so is really making the most of his remaining months.

Fall 2008

I'm not sure the season can really be called "Fall" as we had the warmest (about 90 degrees) October on record (in over 100 years) but, nonetheless, it IS autumn. Here are some photos of our Halloween celebrations. We start by visiting the 9th floor.  This family really went all out. There were screaming witches, shrieking banshees, moving hands, blinking red eyes, etc. It was almost too much. But it was VERY Halloween-y. And very dark. I didn't really know what I was aiming my camera at, but my trusty flash captured it all. 

Then I took pictures of our entryway. Ryan thought our neighbors, who share the floor with us, were "fun" because they decorated, so we joined in. Corey, the woman who lives there, dressed as a witch, as I did. And at one point, 5 little girl witches all came to the doors at once, so we took a picture of all 7 of us witches. Fun! We even had some scary music downloaded and playing on our stereo. 

Ryan dressed in a large green sombrero and a big handlebar mustache. He looked very cool and I didn't get a picture! When he returned from the party he attended, the 'stache was gone. It fell and got stuck on the bottom of a girl's shoes and he refused to wear it after that. Imagine!