Auckland, New Zealand

After a 5 hour flight from NY to LA and a 14 hour flight from LA to Auckland, we all arrived safe and sound. Tristan was amazing and slept for 10 of the 14 hours on the flight! As you can see, due to jet lag, he is giving the "what the heck is going on" face.

But it wasn't too long before he adjusted to the 16 hour time difference and was a happy boy once again.

Julia and Tricia, such beautiful sisters, were very excited to be down in NZ standing in front of the Sky Tower, the tallest free standing object in the southern hemisphere.

They weren't so excited, though, when we reached the top of the Sky Tower. Here, Tricia cringes away from crossing the plexiglass floor.
It was quite a long way down!
On our adventure we discovered that there are a great number of Asians in New Zealand and a plethora of sushi places. Tristan took a great liking to chop sticks.

And we spent plenty of time out in the sun so Tristan was sure to keep his hat on.
Once we were situated, it was time to get out and about, so we packed up our lunches and headed down to the docks.

Where should we go Julia and Tricia? What's that you say, to a dormant volcano? Great idea!

We boarded the ferry just a few blocks from our hotel and headed out to Rangitoto, one of Auckland's many dormant volcanoes that dot the landscape.

A daunting task for Mom, but Tristan was ready to hike all the way to the top.
After an hour and a half hike, we reached the top and gazed down into the overgrown crater of Rangitoto.
We enjoyed the view, reveled in our success, and then began our descent.
And on our way down we stopped at some lava caves to do a little impromptu spelunking.
Later that week we headed over to Waiheki Island where we stumbled across a great swing on the beach.
Tristan was a big fan.
"But why do we have to get out Mom?"
Because we have to eat. Tristan really likes to eat what we eat so we occasionally let him have a go at an apple or pear. By the way, he now has six teeth coming in!!! Three on top and three on bottom. Go T. Basil Go!
New Zealand was amazing and we all had a really great time. Oh yeah, and Tristan also began crawling while we were there! Wait until you see him next. He is growing so fast.
So now it is time to get some rest before heading off to Australia. We are so thankful everyday for our beautiful little boy.

Sleep little Tristan, for tomorrow holds another adventure.