Australia/New Zealand

This is our adopted son, Hogan.  We let him stay in Kuranda because he likes it there. :-)

The sexiest man in snorkeling gear ever. :-) The Aviator got to see some fantastic fishies and reef!!

In a semi submersible something or other at the Reef.  This made me sea sick for the third time that day. Lame.  :-)

Day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef on a day with high sea and severe wind warnings= Caitlin throwing up 3 times!!! :-(

On our way out to the Reef, our boat stopped at Green Island.  Usually it's a beautiful, tropical oasis. The day we were there, it was rainy, windy, and coldy.  :-)

While we were in Cairns, we went horseback riding.  It was FANTASTIC!  I was glad to get to ride one more time before the baby comes in the Spring.  The Aviator is a natural!

Breakfast in the Southern Hemisphere made me SO happy! This was the Aviator's brekky before horseback riding.  This has followed us home as we now grill/roast a tomato and have beans and poached eggs with brekky! SO good!

First train ride in Sydney Australia.  We are so used to how clean the trains are in Japan, that we were really disappointed when the seat we chose had McDonald's trash and a banana peel on the floor underneath. :-( You might even be able to see the tasteful glass etching done on the window there.

Coffee.  Espresso.  What more can I say?  This presentation is the norm in Australia and New Zealand from what we experienced.  As you know, the Aviator and I are rather excitable when it comes to coffee so this was quite a treat! :-)

After a VERY long day of walking all around Sydney, I needed to take a break.  We plopped down on a park bench right across from the Sydney Opera House in the middle of a beautiful park.  That 20 minute rest saved my life, I think...

We took lots and lots of 'long arms' on this trip so it was nice when we could find a stranger with a nice camera of their own to snap a photo for us on our camera.  You'd be very amused by what some people think is a good picture! Ha ha!

The sun FINALLY came out while we were in Sydney so we took the opportunity to hit Bondi beach! It was so beautiful! The water was nice and cold.  :-) Look at how clear it is though!!!

Nothing like a rejuvenating day at the beach with the love of your life! :-)

In one of the many public parks, we stumbled upon this HUGE chess game in the middle of the park! The Aviator kicked my butt once and then this kind old man offered to give the Aviator a taste of that medicine! It was awesome!  The Aviator definitely met his match that day!

After spending one week in Australia, we hopped on over to Auckland, New Zealand.  Our first stop while in Auckland was Waiheke Island.  It was beautiful!  They have a Live Music Museum that we were both really excited to visit!  The piano pictured above belonged to a famous pianist and was left in Auckland by him when he had to leave on short notice a while ago.  It's VERY old and VERY beautiful!  The best part about this museum is that you are allowed to play the instruments! 

After the museum and lunch, we headed down to the beach.  While we were there, this dog adopted us to play with her! I was trying to just take a picture of the Aviator with the water in front of him but this mutt had other  plans! 

After visiting Auckland we hopped down to the South island and visited Nelson where my lovely cousin and her adorable family live!  This is the view from the cottage we stayed in at Harris Hill Cottages.  Sue and Mike Harris are absolute sweet hearts! 

Tom.  We love this dog. :-)

Tallest rosemary plant I've ever seen in my life!! It smelled AMAZING! ;-)

How would you like to wake up to this face every morning? Beautiful!

The Aviator and I really wanted to get in to the skies, for different reasons of course!  His reason was for fun and my reason was for reliving one of my favorite memories together! This is a panoramic view from the cockpit.  We were able to have my fantastic cousin Meghan join us for the flight! It was breathtaking! 

Boulder Lake

Coastal cliffs.  

The Centre of New Zealand! :-)

3+ years, 5 addresses, 3 states, 2 countries...

Three years ago, I had just arrived back in Phoenix with the Aviator and we had decided, only hours earlier, that we would be married.  The picture below was taken in Penticton, B.C. Canada.  At this point in our Canada adventure, neither one of us noticed the tugging on our hearts that would eventually become so strong they would be impossible to ignore.  At the time of this picture, we had flown 11.4 hours with 2 stops in between, from Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix.  We knew one thing at this point.  TIRED.  :-)

As time passed on this adventure, things became very clear to both of us.  We are Soul Mates.  I don't know how many people even believe in such a thing.  I do believe that this man was created to be my husband and that's that!

So fast forward three years.  What an adventure we've been on!  The trip to Canada was just the start!  The following photo is from our latest vacation to Australia and New Zealand.  This was from the New Zealand-half of the trip.  It was so fun to have the Aviator flying in a little plane again!  My wonderful cousin, Meghan, was able to join us.  It was fantastic!

So here we are, after landing on the grass.  It was a cool feeling standing next to that airplane with my husband.  And now my hair is longer than his! Ha ha! :-)