Two Birthdays and a Wedding

SORRY it has been SO long since I posted. I will do my best to rectify the let-down and sweaty anticipation with some great photos. As of today, January has come and gone, and as predicted and for the most part, 2010 is off to a great start. So I am due to finally sit down and clue you in on the evolution of this Paihian life.

There were a few birthdays..

cake for Clare

and kake for Karl!

Both delicious...yum! And the longer I stay here, the longer I discover how many of the things I love and cherish come to be connected with other things that I love and cherish. And New Zealand has turned out to present in so many of the equations.

New Zealand + Denny's = JOY!

New Zealand + Viennetta = HAPPINESS!

New Zealand + Disc Golf = FUN!

Over the weekend, I attended one of the most beautiful weddings I've never been invited to. Congratulations to Michele & Karl (not the Karl I know), who wed on January 30, 2010 in beautiful Otehei Bay, on Urupukapuka Island!

The blushing bride, riding in on a Harley!

 ...ready to take the plunge

The bridal boat

Wine stop!

Doesn't really need a caption, does it?

Found it! Kinda looks different in real-life, though.

Everybody... just as they are. Doesn't really get better than that...

... or does it ...???

A thousand oysters are worth a picture! And the FISH... YUM!!!

I would say this picture makes me hungry, but I am still full from this feast 2 days later :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Home-made cake!

 Beautiful Sunset

The wedding party

Their first dance... with many more to come.

Congratulations to this beautiful bride and groom. What a beautiful and fun-filled celebration.

And now it is February. I was supposed to leave Paihia today, but let's not dwell on that ;). What's important is that I am still living, still happy... still in Paihia. Redundant, I know!

So what next? Waitangi Day is coming up. Paihia is right next door to Waitangi, so it should be quite an event.

Waitangi Day commemorates a significant day in the history of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on 6 February to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date in 1840. 

Superbowl XLIV is also coming up (Feb. 8th here), and so are Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year (both on Feb. 14)! Needless to say (but still choosing to say), I am looking forward to another great month here in the Bay of Islands.

I have met many wonderful people, and many wonderful friends/relatives of wonderful people. They are the ones who make this place truly unique... and I am privileged and humbled because of them!