A Family Affair

As most of you know, I've been beside myself excited knowing that my mom was coming to visit us over Thanksgiving! Then...a few weeks ago, I got a great surprise when my dad got on the phone and said 'happen to have anymore room when mom comes to visit??' Not only was my favorite mom coming to visit, but my favorite dad was coming, too!!

All of that to say...they left home on Saturday, Nov. 17th and got here at 7:30am on Monday, Nov. 19th! Drew and I got to the airport about 45 minutes to early, but I hadn't slept at all the night before so there was no point in waiting at home! We sat at the arrivals area and I was tapping my toe so loudly apparently that Drew asked if I wanted to go ahead and stand up so I didn't run over him when they finally came through the doors :) As expected, they got through customs just fine and I ran to hug them when I finally saw them (mom cried, of course!) Drew had to go to work, so mom & dad enjoyed their first ride in the opposite side of the car going through some of the not-so-finer parts of Auckland.

MONDAY:
After we dropped Drew off, we headed home to drop off their stuff and regroup. Then it was off for some sightseeing! We drove through our area of town, down Quay St. along the water, then up to Mission Bay and St. Heliers...which is a very scenic coastal drive. We got to chat and catch up on a lot of things and it was nice for them to get to see things first-hand. Then we headed over to Parnell for lunch and dad, of course, had to stop in the Puma office and introduce himself before we headed to Mt. Eden to see the views of the city. Since we were starting to get worn down at that point, we headed home...dad was actually the one to take a nap while mom watched a movie and I addressed Christmas cards. In the interest of easing the folks into New Zealand culture, we got Sal's Pizza for dinner! I'm pretty sure that ended up being dad's favorite meal the whole time they were here :)

TUESDAY:
The next day, I drove them up to see Orewa Beach on our way to lunch and a wine tasting at Ransom Winery. It was slightly overcast but still nice enough and we were the only ones there! The wine was delicious and the platter of food was out of this world! They claimed it was for 3 people, but it was quite substantial!

That night we walked over to downtown to have dinner at Monsoon Poon--it never disappoints!

WEDNESDAY:
I took them to our grocery store, Countdown, so they could see what that is all about and so we could get some last-minute things for our Thanksgiving dinner. Afterwards, we drove up Takapuna to have lunch with my dear friend, Joan. Since the weather was so gorgeous, we walked up to the Taka Beach Cafe and sat outside to enjoy our scrumptious lunch! Since the weather was cooperating, we drove down into Devonport and I took them up to the top of Mt. Victoria for some more incredible views of Auckland.



That afternoon, we just relaxed and I made my first Thanksgiving dish of the week! That night for dinner, Drew & I treated mom & dad to a wonderful Italian dinner at Prego--no complaints there! Good way for Drew to kick off his long holiday weekend!

THURSDAY:
We woke up Thursday to our first Turkey Day outside of the United States. It was very disconcerting that it was a balmy 75 degrees here and that everyone else went about their days without any concern that us Americans were celebrating Thanksgiving! Dad and I ran to the store for a few more things and for a White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha...standard, really! Once everyone was up, the real baking and cooking began. First was the vanilla cheesecake pecan pie, then the turkey, followed by all the sides: green bean casserole, corn pudding, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy and even a can of cranberry sauce (just for Drew.) We opened a lovely bottle of champagne and enjoyed lots of food, desserts, and Christmas movies all day long.

Drew & I finally got to decorate our tree since we had been holding out since we bought the darn thing in September!

That night, we got ready and headed downtown to see the Broadway version of Mary Poppins at the Civic Theater--it was spectacular! Slightly different from the movie, but the actors were so talented!

FRIDAY:
With our bellies still full, we all slept in and then strolled over to downtown for a traditional NZ experience--the mall food court! Dad got to try some pick-your-own sushi with me while mom and Drew opted for McDonald's. (NOTE: we actually got mom to try some sushi!! It was teriyaki chicken sushi, but sushi all the same--we're so proud!) Then we hopped on the beautiful ferry ride over to Waiheke for some more wine tastings. We had a small group of only 10 people and a very funny tour guide and got to go to 3 wineries/vineyards:

1) Mudbrick

2) Goldie Room

3) Te Whau (pronounced 'tey faw')

That night, Erin & Scott met us at our place and we all piled into the Blue Beauty to head to Elliott Stables for dinner. This place is super cool in that it's like a gourmet food court--it's about 15 different restaurants that just have walk-up counters and then a bunch of tables in the middle. The food ranges from cajun to sushi to bruschetta to Mexican to crepes...but everyone can get what they want and enjoy sitting together!

SATURDAY:
We got up and headed down to Waitakere to show mom & dad Piha Beach. I was in the backseat which wasn't making for the smoothest ride, but the view was worth it! It was still pretty windy down on the beach, but mom & dad seemed to love it!

We drove from there to downtown and took mom & dad shopping up and down Queen St. When we made it to the top of the shopping area, we had lunch at Nando's Peri-Peri which is an awesome restaurant that does Portuguese chicken and sides.

That night we head over to our friend, Leah's, flat where her and her flatmate hosted a wonderful American 'Friendsgiving' with a great group of people. We brought along our Aussie friends, Amy & James, so they could experience the indulgence that is Thanksgiving for the first time! There was so much wonderful food, wine, and conversation---lots to be thankful for. (check out my last post for more details!)







SUNDAY:
With it being their last full day in Auckland, we got up and went to get pies and pastries for breakfast as French bakery down the road called Paneton. YUM! After a movie morning, we walked over to downtown to grab lunch and settle in the for annual Christmas parade. Farmer's (which is the big department store here) sponsors the parade and it goes through the 2 main streets downtown. It was...um...interesting...to say the least. Definitely made us miss the Macy's parade even more than usual!

On our walk home, we stopped at Wynyard Quarter and had some gelato by the water since it was, again, another beautiful day!

That night we had dinner at home and enjoyed our last night hanging out together.



MONDAY:
Mom & dad were the perfect guests and packed and cleaned even though I told them they didn't have to. We hung out and watched movies all morning and then walked over to meet Drew for lunch at Kermadec, which is a top-notch seafood restaurant right across from Prince's Wharf. We came home and they finished packing and then we had to venture off to the airport :( We all shed a few tears as we said goodbye, but it made it much easier knowing that Drew and I will be home in 3 WEEKS!!!!!

We had an absolutely wonderful time having both of my parents here. Just like with any visitors who have come or who may come in the future...we understand what a sacrifice of time and money it is to come all the way around the world to visit us, so we really are humbled and grateful for everyone who comes!

Now the countdown to going home for Christmas has officially begun--21 days left!

Cheers,