Hi All .....just trying something a bit new with this. Just wanted to let you know what we have been upto over the last few weeks and how things are ticking along in the land of the long white cloud ...

The big news is that Sian turned finally 1 year old this week, so we had a little party at home, opened some of her presents and then headed out for the day for a picnic on the north shore. - and just on cue Sian took her first proper steps, so quite a momentous day really ...

The second bit of recent news is that we have finally gone and bought a house after months (could even be years!!) of looking. It's where we have always really wanted to live , it was just that nothing ever seemed to pop up in that area. So after a tense few weeks starting with 2 other buyers declaring an interest in the house , of winning through by bidding 500NZD more than the next people (90 quid !!), then finding out that there was no building consent for the original house lodged with the council to finally getting all the paperwork complete last Thursday we are now the happy owners of a 4 bedroom place in Woodlands park.

The house is located in the Waitakere Ranges - its bush near Titirangi which is about 1/2 hr west of central Auckland - so lots of walks in the forest for Reece. I had a look at some of the history of the place ....a bit spooky and if you are Scottish not what would have expected when you arrived many moons ago , as you will see from the snippets !!!

"The Waitakere Ranges were first called Te Wao Nui a Tiriwa, the great forest of Tiriwa. Tiriwa was the high chief of the Turehu, the first mysterious residents of the ranges. There is a belief that the Turehu were supernatural beings charged with magical powers and that the Maori descended from them. Some believe that Turehu still emerge in the dark of night or when swirling mists and fog covet the forest"

"Named for the fifth Earl of Cornwallis, the tiny coastal community formerly known as Karangahape was in 1840 earmarked as a town to rival that of Auckland. But the disputed land deed turned sour before the ship Brilliant landed after it's grueling 301day journey from Glasgow. - The exhausted cargo of Scottish immigrants arrived to the sight of uncut bush instead of a promised grid of streets. And the town of Cornwallis (2 mins from our house) was doomed before the first settler stepped ashore"

If you are interested in bit more about the area check out http://titirangi.net/index.html . As you can see from the piccies its a bit different from previous places we have lived

So the big news outof the way , thought I might share withsome of the other things we have been up to .... some firsts for us as well...starting with the first earthquake we have ever felt ( and I thought it just just deb shouting !!) . It registered 4.5 on the Richter scale and hit just east of Auckland out in the Ocean. It wasn't that major but it was enough to break some pots and crack up a few driveways !!!

The other piece was the comet ...... that came down our way last month. The first one we had ever seen properly ....It was really spectacular as you can see from the photo.

Anyway that's all for the first installment ..off to watch the England's v Israel match recorded from earlier - something tells me it will be a brief programme if what I heard on the radio was anything to go by - !!!

So, Ta Ta for now .............................. Phil , Debs , Sian & Reece : )