We finally got all settled into our new placeand have learned all its quirks (including the leaky toilet. And by leaky I mean out from the bottom of the bowl onto the floor that they tried to tell us it was just condensation gathering. But I have lived in Oregon long enough to know that guy was full of crap!) It is a 2 bedroom house, but considering our bed is more like a small spaceship, our bed and dressers dont fit into the same room. So it turned out more like our sleeping room and our dressing room across the hall. But we love it! It sits on a half acre of protected wooded land and in a great neighborhood (in that we live in the crappiest house on the block), but even better that we get lake rights to use Lake Oswego. view from our kitchen window
Valentines day weekend was great! We have never bought into the flowers/gifts/fancy dinner-ness of the day, so we play it down big time. We trade off who plans something (really meaning "who makes dinner") But this year Justin had the best idea that I think will be the tradition. On our first date we went to a whole-in-the-wall place in Huntington that had cheap burgers and corndogs, followed by watching the olympics games in Athens, where Justin fell asleep. (He didnt want to set the bar too high for himself...) Not that this place was any good, but little did he know I LOVE corndogs! So to celebrate, we went out to Hot dog on a stick at the local mall. YUMMY! The next day we went down to my aunts house in Salem. We finally got to go play doubles tennis again which was a blast! We had an amazing feast of BBQ ribs -complete with grandmas homemade BBQ sauce-, baked brie goodness, and a desert that was oh-so-good! I like to call it creamcheesy-lemony-blueberry delight! (Did I mention my aunt is an amazing chef??) It was excellent! 
And the weather here has been great! I think it only rained like 10 days in the whole month, which left the rest to be beautiful sunny and warm. Well, if you call 50 degrees warm. Koda and I typically go to the park every day before or after our walk. But since we only have one car, I drop off and pick up Justin almost everyday. I dont mind at all because here, the commute is only 20 minutes, and when there is realy bad traffic around 5, it only takes 30! I heart Portland! Here is our beautiful city at sunset taken while driving on top of a bridge. Now that I think about, probably not the best idea, but I thought it was so pretty. 
On January 26th my great grandpa passed away at the age of 99 1/2. He was such a wonderful man and mentor. I loved listening to his stories of life and love. He led such a fulfilled and interesting life. From serving in the army to med school and raising 5 wonderful children, it was such a celebration of his life. I have some great memories of chasing jack rabbits with him through mud, getting our shoes stuck, and spending hours on the front porch digging all the mud out. He always took the time to tell you how special you were to him and never did you have a conversation that wasnt full of laughter and jokes. He loved a good practical joke and had a great sense of humor. Never once did he complain about his aches and pains, and he always wanted you to think he was doing better than before. Last time I talked to him before we went to Australia, he told me he gained 30 lbs and was feeling much better. He had made it to great great grandpa status with my niece and just barely missed our little guy. I would have loved to have a picture of them together, but I know we will all be together again some day. May he rest in peace along side his beautiful wife Ruth and we are all so glad for their reunion. 
He was so surprised by his new kite board. 
Gisbourne, day at the beach, we met up with the twin brother of a missionary who served in our ward in Adelaide who is serving in Gisbourne. 
Justin had a 6 hour kite boarding lesson. 
We stopped in Napier, but kept going on to Taupo. My Aunt and Uncle did a jet boat ride, while Justin and I hung out because Im not allowed to go... something about dangerous for the baby or something, I wasnt really listening... 
Hike to a hot spring, a swim for justin in lake Taupo, and bunkbeds for our accomidations! 
Our last day, we ended in Raglan for one last surf day for Justin. It turned out to be really great, and he caught the longest wave I think I have ever seen! he was riding for like 30 sec and we could tell he was exhusted by the time it was done. But it was the best send off to a great trip!
Boat and Catamaran to one of the islands in Bay of Islands. We hiked up to the lookout of the island, and sailed back to the harbour.
Standup paddle boarding in Whatawhiwhi (pronounced fata-fee-fee). We found a beautiful cove, and met a great couple from England who was going to give Justin a kite boarding lesson, but the winds weren't right, so we paddle boarded instead. And enjoyed the best blueberry cake ever from the Reef Inn! 
Whiritoa
