Heaven by Ryan

This morning I did not want to get up. All of us except Kylie did not get enough sleep because of all of the city noises. So my dad decided that we needed to find a better hotel far away from the city. After an hour of schoolwork we packed our suitcases and got in the car. We drove through the mountains (which were like a jungle) to get there. When we arrived we were not expecting much but it looked like heaven. It was thirteen acres of fruit trees with a stream running in the back. A really nice elderly couple showed us our cottage and also told us we could look around as we pleased. It was amazing! Most of the fruit trees had ripe fruit on them. They also told us that there are fresh water eels in the stream. We went to a nice restaurant then came back to the cottage and had plums that we picked for dessert. Today was a fun day.

People Are Falling Off The Building by Ryan

This morning we got up and had a small breakfast. We had to catch up on our schoolwork so we spent the whole morning doing that. After lunch we went to the famous Sky Tower in Auckland (which is a huge observation tower). We spent a while looking at the different features of the city. Then we saw someone falling off the building! It was a bungee jumper. We watched several others do it then it was time to go back to the apartment. I took a shower while my parents went to the grocery store. It took us about thirty minutes to find a good restaurant for dinner but it was worth it. Today was fun.

Photos!

Kylie Day 2

Kylie Day 1

A Long Ride by Ryan

We said our goodbyes to the dogs and hopped into the taxi. It drove us to the airport where we got on our plane that would take us to Australia . The plane was the biggest plane I've ever been on. The first thirty minutes on the plane were terrifying. There was a small storm in the area so the plane shook back and forth a lot. At one point lightning struck close to the plane and I freaked out. They served us dinner, then I watched some movies and went to sleep. An hour after I woke up they served us breakfast. I watched some more movies until we arrived. After we got through customs we found our baggage and got a taxi. When we arrived at the apartment the first thing we did was take a nap for an hour. After the refreshing nap we decided to walk in the city. We found a sushi train restaurant (which is a sushi place were several different sushi chefs make different rolls and put them on a conveyer belt that goes around the room) and decided to eat there. It was surprisingly good. After that we walked down the road a while until we found the ferris wheel tour (which is basically a ferris wheel that tells you the highlights of the city while it goes up and down). We rode it and learned about the city. After exploring a park nearby we decided to have dinner and go home. The next morning we got up and had a quick breakfast. Then it was time to leave to go to the koala sanctuary. We had to ride a boat down the river an hour to get there. Once we got there we got to hold a koala. After lunch we also got to feed kangaroos and pet emus. After holding a snake it was time to go home. The rest of the evening we did schoolwork and then went back to the sushi train for dinner. When we got up the next morning it was time to go to New Zealand. After a three hour flight we arrived in Auckland. We got our rental car and drove to our hotel. We unpacked and my parents went to the small grocery store at the corner. After a nice dinner we walked back to our hotel to get some shuteye.

Adventure III Day 1

Hello from Brisbane, Australia!  I have a great blog all ready to go from Kylie (I know she has quite the fan club) but our internet here is not cooperating.
We arrived early this morning after a 17 hour flight.  Kylie slept like a champ.  Ryan, Tim and I each only had a couple hours of sleep.  Ryan was hosed because cokes don't quite pack the punch that double espresso shots, coffee or macha tea do!  We will all sleep great tonight....
We are off to a koala and kangaroo sanctuary that Erin and her fiancee Matt told us about.  Very excited to "cuddle" with koalas and socialize with roos!
It is Thurs 9:11pm here and 5:11am at home.  Good night and, hopefully, we will have some photos up soon!