September, more visitors, and school performance

In September we had a lot going on.  The kids' school was putting on a school performance that they do every 2 years.  There were costumes, singing, and lots of kiwi songs and hakas.

Sylvie and year 1 classes prepping for practice.  Sylvie, who doesn't like to where dresses, had a costume with a tutu.  She loved it and loved the dancing and singing.  She is has grown up so much and is not a shy kid at all!

And the weather started to perk up and be warmer.  Auckland gets a lot of rain, way more than Seattle.  It feels very tropical to us and looks that way too.

A walk down to the beach to hang out.  Super fun to have this right at our doorstep.

I feel like this could be turned into a painting it is so pretty.  The colors are so vivid here and I have to say, having more sunshine is really a big difference than being in the PNW.  I am loving the sun.

Ready for the performance.  She did really well and was not nervous at all.  She is a natural dancer and loved it.

And our little man turned into a tiger...almost a little like "Cats" the musical now that I look at it again.  The parents did a great job with the face paint and costumes.

And we were lucky enough to have visitors.  Uncle Doug and Auntie Daph were in town and stayed with us.  The last time we saw them was in Breda several years ago.  Doug was teaching Sylvie painting techniques.   We always have a great time with them and were happy they were able to drop in.  After only being in Auckland a couple of months we both feel that we are so much more social here.  I remind Campbell that life is a little less hectic and we have the time and energy.  It is also part of the culture here that it is a very warm and inviting place.  People get together often and regularly.  We are enjoying it.

And then Nana and JimBob came for a visit as well.  So we all had some time together to catch up.

We went down to the viaduct for a nice day in the sun.  The boat show was on so there were some extra yachts to look at.  There are some seriously large vessels and many great sailing ships.  In a couple years the America's Cup will be here.  We will be able to see the race from any beach in the city.  Looking forward to it.

Waiting for the pedestrian bridge to go down for a boat to pass.  Much like the bridges in Seattle!

Great city view with the Sky Tower in the background.

What you can't see is the circus performers in the background.  We happened to find jugglers, acrobats, and contortionist which was entertaining to watch.  This area is a revitalized area of the docks downtown.  The city changed an industrial are of the waterfront to a lively park with restaurants and bars.  And there is some gorgeous mixed use housing going up as well.  This area will be further developed for the America's cup.  Auckland has a great waterfront.

Day to paint our nails!  Sylvie isn't a dress kind of girl right now but she loves sparkles, pink, and painting our nails.

And even though we are not in the US, Campbell and I are voting with out absentee ballot for the November election.  Archie helped me mail my ballot.  It felt good to still be connected to Seattle and the US as well as show Archie that we all have a civic duty to be involved and informed.