Jarom and Katie

 We will be saying goodbye to a great couple Jarom and Katie.  He is our ward mission leader and she is the Young Women's President.  They have lived in Wellington for a couple of years and will be returning to the United States in about a week.  He has worked for WETA and was a production manager for the film The Avengers.  His contract for WETA will expire this week.

 Jarom is 6' 8" and so Don had to stand on a chair to be his height.

The ward will be having a farewell party for them this Saturday and then they leave the following Tuesday.  Because they can't take any cars or household items with them they have been frantically selling all of their possessions.  We wish them the best in their new adventures.

May 27, 2012

Lake Rotomanu

 The officials of New Plymouth wanted to build a bridge that would frame Mount Taranaki.  They say that on a clear day that if you stand at the end of the bridge that the mountain is centered right in front of you.  However it was so overcast that when we stood on the bridge we couldn't even see the mountain.  It is a strange looking bridge and probably was very expensive to build.

May 26, 2012

Tasman Sea Coast

View overlooking the Tasman Sea

May 26, 2012

Fernnery

 Inside of Pukekura Park there is a fernnery where they grow many varieties of plants and flowers.  These are just a few of the different flowers that we saw.

Cutest flower in the fernnery.

May 26, 2012

Pukekura Park

 Pukekura Park is located in New Plymouth and the beauty is stunning. Everything is so lush and green which is a little different than in St. George.  Everything grows whether you want it to or not.

 This bridge is use a lot for bridal pictures.  We especially liked the reflection in the water.

 This outdoor amphitheater is used for performances during the year.

 This cozy little restaurant is inside the park and we all ate our lunches on the tables located near the water.

 The couple in the middle are the Hirschi's and they always travel to meet with us for dinner but since they live in Inglewood (just outside of New Plymouth) we decided to visit them for our monthly dinner.  The couples from left to right are:  McVey's, Sheppard's, Chelsey's, Hirschi's, Overton's and Brazzeals.  The Brazzeals serve in the mission office in Wellington and they are scheduled to return to their home in St. George the end of August.  Hopefully, the visa will come through for their replacement.  Since January no visas have been issued to any missionary from the United States or Canada.

May 26, 2012

Cape Egmont Lighthouse

 New Zealand has numerous lighthouses because of its location to the ocean.  This lighthouse is unique because in the background in Mount Taranaki.  It was overcast so unfortunately the mountain is shaded by clouds.

 This is overlooking the Tasman Sea across from the lighthouse.

May 26, 2012

Court Houses

 This weekend we traveled to New Plymouth for dinner with the other senior couples.  Since we do the probate records for Wanganui Court next we decided to go and visit the courthouse.  The courthouse above is located in Wanganui which is about a 3 hour north of Wellington.

This courthouse is located in New Plymouth (which is about a 5 hour drive) and we could not get a good picture because of the After Disaster Truck.  Judging from the hoses going into the courthouse we assumed that there was some kind of water damage.

May 26, 2012

Farewell to Missionaries

It is always hard to say goodbye to the young missionaries.  These three missionaries are going home tomorrow.  They are from Tonga and went to the same high school (Liahona High School).  They entered the mission field at the same time and had to go home a little early because their visas were expiring.  Elder Masalu is the one that we know the best.  He served part of his mission in Wellington.  Elder Fukofuka was serving in Christchurch and Elder Tukuafu was serving in Hawkes Bay.  The missionaries from left to right are:  Elder Fukofuka, Elder Tukuafu and Elder Masalu.  In the picture also are the mission president and his wife (President and Sister Kezerian).

May 18, 2012

Petone Hike

Archives

 Three senior couples came to visit us in the archives.  Don is showing Elder and Sister Sheppard how the camera work.

Fiona (our helper at the archives) gave the Brazzeals, Sheppards and the Chelsey's a tour of the archives.  This is the third tour that we have taken and each time Fiona comes up with something new and exciting.  The last tour she showed us messages that have been found in bottles.  They have a whole book full of them.

May 14, 2012