7/11 party 12/08/07...Together for the first Christmas party of the season. Great food, family and silly gifts. Mathew...fully involved, playing the game and loving it! It's his first Christmas...at least the first one that he may remember. 62 days until departure for New Zealand.

Where does the time go? It's already December 2 and there are only about two months until departure...of course we've been essentially packed for the past month. Be prepared! Christmas is fast approaching. Scored a WII at 0700 this AM. The Abominable Storeman is often sited at 0-dark-thirty...in inclement weather, lurking outside darkened stores, excited in anticipation of "the kill". The weather is extremely blustery and rain could arrive most any time. It's going be a lazy Sunday afternoon following an outing to purchase some unique and costly 7/11 Christmas gifts.

BEGINNINGS

For the time, this is about a trip to New Zealand, which is the homeland of my wife, Marie. Who can know the sacrifice required to leave one's home and country, travel to a strange land and marry someone known only for a short time? Anyway, this will be only the second trip taken purely for enjoyment and adventure and not associated with the sentinal family milestones or loss of loved ones. It is our goal to document this trip through photos and prose. We will depart in February and return in March of 2008. Stay tuned as we describe our preparation and the events of our trip.