It is wet here!

We are starting to settle into this new Missionary life. I am even getting more comfortable getting around. There are only a couple of freeways (Motorways) that run North and South, and none that run East and West since the island is long and narrow. It also seems like whenever we want to go on the main Motorway, it is crawling. Too many cars with only one person inside. They do have a light rail system but it doesn't go from here to the Mission Office in Takapuna (which is North Auckland). The problem is a large body of water called the Auckland Harbour that gets in the way, so mass transit is out of the question to get back and forth. By the way, Auckland is not only the name of the city centre, but also kind of like a state back home. Like we live in Papatoetoe, Auckland, New Zealand.

It is really beautiful out in the country when we do get out there. Lately we have been trying to schedule Flu shots for Missionaries so it has been hectic. When we are traveling around Auckland we sometimes have to stop and eat. When we were getting out of our car near one of the Missionaries flats, a person stopped his car and introduced himself as a member of the LDS Church and said hello. We asked where to get a bite to eat and he told us of the Paradise Restaurant. So we came all the way to New Zealand to have Indian food.

Sometimes when we are out it gets so crazy and we forget things. In this case Sister Bartlett forgot and left her purse on the back of the car. Luckily it caught on the bicycle rack and was drug along behind the car. I couldn't figure out why everyone was honking at us until one car pulled alongside us and said there was something dragging behind the car. Needless to say Sister Bartlett had to buy a new purse, luckily nothing was lost but her cell phone cover was very damaged.

It rains like crazy when it rains. About every week it forms a pond out behind our flat (apartment) and the ducks show up and swim around until it goes down. Believe it or not we have to conserve water because the high rainfall washes so much silt into their water systems their water treatment can't handle it anymore. What a paradox. We always have these large black birds that scavenge for food but when the lake forms we also get ducks, seagulls, and some other unidentified bird. Yes it is deep enough that the ducks swim in the pond.

When I fix a bike I take it for a little ride to make sure it shifts properly and that the brakes work. This is one of those pleasant days when the sun is shining. I am learning more and more about bikes as I fix them. The Bike Barn has been very helpful and often give us fenders they have taken off other bikes they have fixed because we are the only ones who use them.

It is a little bit different here than it is back in the US. First of all they don't refrigerate the eggs in the market. All of the eggs are brown which was unusual to Sister Bartlett. Hamburger is "mince", all the weights are kg (kilogram) and all the volumes are litres.

We were shopping the other day and there was a moving ramp in the shopping mall. We wondered how the shopping cart would do on the ramp. Surprisingly the card didn't roll down the ramp. There must have been some sort of braking system that worked in conjunction with the ramp. Amazing technology.

Sister Bartlett sure likes the store windows around Papatoetoe where we live. There is more Indian ware than Polynesian, at least in Papatoetoe downtown. This is actually in a mall with a Kmart and a Countdown grocery store.

They sure enjoy displaying items from Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. This statue at the airport states "borrowed from Middle-earth". We still haven't seen any of those sites. I think Hobbiton is the best site on the North Island.

We did have occasion to visit the Auckland Zoo for part of our Preparation day on Saturday. I really enjoyed how the zoo is designed. You really feel that you are in the wild with the animals, as you can see in the pictures. Some of them are really curious and do a little photo bombing.

Nothing like hanging with the Monkeys. Cute couple hey! I meant the Monkeys.

The giraffes were very curious and they like to stick their neck out.

We did actually see a baby giraffe but he is so small in the picture that you can't hardly see him.

The scariest part was being with the Tigers, but they were pretty tame. Isn't Photoshop wonderful.

Not everything is photoshopped. As we were in the Emu and Wallaby exhibit, the only thing separating us from the animals was that small wooden railing. When we first walked up the emu was standing so close you could pet it. Wanting a handout I presume.

For our son Jarom, mom just had to get a picture of the cute tiny penguins which are only about a foot tall. Much smaller that the ones he saw in Argentina.

For our grandchildren we did get a cool picture under their metal elephant, or as one of our grandsons say, "elfinet".

For some of our grandchildren we got a picture of this dragon. If you don't think it is real just look closely at the child about to be eaten. Our granddaughter Kate will have to tell you what variety of dragon this is. She is a dragon expert.

In closing I think that I did mention the flea bites that many Missionaries get while in New Zealand. They say it is not if you will get a flea bite but when you will get a flea bite. We looked online for some of the ways people say to keep them away. This one is for our Son-in-law Raymond from South Africa who extols the virtues of Vegemite or Marmite. Yes they say it is a deterrent to flea bites, so we are trying that. My own theory is that the Vitamin B in it deters the Fleas. It is also is made from yeast and others feel that is the deterrent. We will let you know. So far we have avoided the bites without it. We say farewell to all for now.