Big Week in NZ

It was an eventful week here. I'm sure most everyone heard about the earthquake that rocked the city of Christchurch on the South Island. Luckily, there were no fatalities (quite surprising since the quake registered 7.1 on the Richter scale and caused an estimated 4+ billion in damage). We didn't feel a thing on the North Island, but Michelle and Chris, though quite a distance from Christchcurch when it happened, were woken from sleep in their hotel room by shaking beds, creaking walls, and doors slamming shut due to the tremors. They were in Christchurch only a couple of days before the big event, so narrowly missed all of the excitement. On the same day as the earthquake, also in the south island, a group of tourists crashed in a small plane during take off for their sky diving adventure and all sadly died. So, for a country that usually doesn't draw much international attention, making 2 headline stories in one day was a big deal, although neither story was one they were happy to tell.

Michelle and Chris on a hot air balloon ride over Christchurch (pre-quake)

Michelle and Chris arrived back in Auckland on Thursday for one night before their journey back to Canada. We had a nice evening celebrating Michelle's birthday and hearing about their amazing South Island travels. On Friday morning, we popped by Mount Eden for them to have one last spectacular view of Auckland before heading to the airport. It was a great visit - we were sad to see them go.

The view from Mt. Eden

On Sunday, Scott, Georgie and I decided to explore the north shore of Auckland. We drove to town of Devonport for brunch and a stroll through some of the lovely shops in the area. The cafe we chose was great, complete with a play area for the kids and a great (big) brekkie. Georgie had her first big girl breakfast out - a massive portion of delicious pancakes and berries. We meandered through some great shops before heading back to the south side of the city for the rest of the afternoon. All in all, a great day.

How's this for a generous kiddie portion?

Georgie devouring some reading material...

And finally, I took the plunge and quit FaceBook this week (this one's for you Scott and Chris). So if you were one of my FB friends prior to my retirement, please send pics and updates to my email account (millerpei@gmail.com) from now on.

MacAulay/Millspoon shot