The Rumor is True - Misty Turned 28!

Yes indeed the rumor is true, I turned 28 yesterday. I must admit I had mixed emotions about getting older, but all in all it was an awesome day made special for me by friends and family. I was lucky enough to have my birthday on the Sunday of a holiday weekend, so I got to do whatever I wanted. Yea!

The day started with a sleep in, and then Josh and I headed to the beach for the day. We started out with a yummy breakfast from Sidetrack Cafe overlooking the beach. Then we went for walk around the Mount, and after wandering through the carnival atmosphere of Mount Beach on a holiday weekend, we set up camp in the sun. The beach was full with a Surf Life Saving Competition going on and massive waves pounding the shore. Some friends met us there to enjoy the day as well.

After a day in the sun, and Josh baking me a birthday cake (The first thing he has baked since we were married), the day was made completed by "going out" with some girlfriends for dessert. This brought to our attention that we never "Go Out" and we really should more often, especially on summer nights! While the girls were playing, the Cole men went fishing to catch me my birthday trout. Believe it or not, when we returned home, Josh had caught me my fish. It was beautiful brown trout with red dots all over it. I'll post a picture of it when we get around to cooking it, just to keep the fishing theme alive on this blog.

Speaking of.....

fishing. What do you call a husband and wife going fishing?

Rod and Annette.

or two sisters at the beach?

Shelly and Sandy.

Or what about the guy who won the lottery?

Rich.

OK that's enough corny humour, just a taste of our fun night with the Coles last night. It's good to have Dad back from Hawaii.

One that got away....

Went fishing again tonight....hooked a huge brown trout, twice the size of the one i got the other night. Got it all the way up to the bank, Matty was about to net it, and it got away....gutted.

Nectarine Smoothies

Yummie Yum Yum! The other night while we were out to dinner at Josh's parents house, their neighbors dropped by and gave them all this fruit. They have fruit vans and apparently it needed to be eaten before they could get it sold. Of course this lead to us taking a bag of fruit home with us. Now I have never been a big nectarine eater, but Josh is. So I consented to try one. I have to admit, it was really good. So last night we concocted Nectarine Smoothies. We figured it was healthier than ice cream for dessert, so why not?

Here is the recipe if you want to try it.

Nectarine Smoothies - just put into a blender and blend
4 Nectarines
1 Banana
lots of ice
a bit of milk

Trout....Oh so good!

Hey folks!

Well we're back in NZ....after an amazing time in the USA! We had such a good time connecting with Misty's family in Texas and friends and family up in Kansas City. We feel rested and ready to go for the year! We arrived back in Tauranga, NZ on Saturday morning after 26 hours worth of travelling. We're glad to be back in our home, and settling into a routine again.

We've spent the last couple of days catching up with my family and a few friends. The new trend at the Cole's house is to have a late dinner as the sun is going down, and then to head up to the canal with fishing rods in hand for a leisurely spot of fishing for a few local trout. Last night in I pulled in a beautiful fat brown trout, 4lb's and 56cm long. Dad fell into the canal as he was trying to net the fish, which provided good entertainment for the Cole brothers. Good times all around, and a very nice piece of meat to show for our efforts.

Time is Ticking Away

It is amazing how fast time is flying by. It seems like we just arrived in the USA and in a couple days we will be leaving again. The first segment of our trip flew by, our week in Kansas City seemed all so short, and these last few days I am just hanging onto. We have met some cool people this trip which has been an unexpected blessing to. Seeing my brother was awesome and playing with my little niece for the first time was a treat. She is just too cute!

So, these last few days I am making it a point to soak up all the wonderful things about America that I miss when in New Zealand, like my family and good Italian food! Tomorrow we get to hang out with my Aunt and Uncle one last time which is truly bitter-sweet and then our last day here is totally dedicated to my parents. They are truly awesome and I'm going to miss them tonnes!

Freezing!

Well today has definately been the coldest day either of us have experienced in well over 2 years. Right now it is -11 deg C (11 F) outside and the weather channel says it feels like -18 C. I believe them! Just walking a few steps from the car to the House of Prayer was so cold it was painful. Of course this comes from someone who has spent most of the last few months in Fiji where its stinking hot! Lets just say we're looking forward to summer when we get home!

We had a great day today catching up with friends and spending time at the House of Prayer....Good times in KC. This really is a good place....and a good start to the year.

Happy New Year from KC

Hey folks! Well Happy New Year! We hope everyone has had a great time celebrating the turn of the year. We've been in Kansas City for the last 5 days or so visiting Chris, Pam and young Abby, Misty's brother, his wife and baby. We've also been hanging out at the One thing/TheCall conference, with about 18,000 other young adults from all over the States, which has been great. Yesturday, the last day of the year, we gathered for TheCall which was so encouraging to us to meet with so many young people in one place to bring in the new year with prayer and fasting and worship. It was an incredible experience.

We're having a great time catching up with friends and enjoying the International House of Prayer. We leave to drive back to Austin on the 4th.

Have a great year!