Merry Christmas from Wellington NZ

Merry Christmas!!! Well, ok, we are not that far ahead - it is actually still Christmas Eve here (I should point out that the NZ clock on this page is wrong we are 13 hours ahead) but I thought while I had a spare few minutes tonight I would write a quick hello and give you an update.

Things are going pretty well here and the house we are looking after is really good (we will post pics really soon so you can see), the couple we are house sitting for are really nice and they left us their car to use for the duration of our stay which has allowed us to do a big Christmas shop today - and lucky we had the car cos, would you believe, it is chucking it down here which is crazy cos yesterday was scorching. Barbecue on the beach tomorrow? Unfortunately we haven't had the West Coast of OZ type weather that we were hoping for so we have booked into a posh restaurant down the road so at least we don't have to cook or clean up. Thanks for the Christmas money Mum, that'll keep us well fed tomorrow and we will be thinking of you all at Aunt Joyce's - loved the photos by the way with cast on Aunt Joyce!

We are just chilling out just now looking forward to tomorrow and we do actually have some presents for each other would you believe - some good (New trainers + clothes) some that aren't really presents as we've had them a week(new mobile phones) and some that aren't really that exciting (we both shopped for each other with a $50 in New World which is a big supermarket - so at least getting a job hasn't went to our heads!! Can't burst the bank yet ;o)

At our house we are looking after Jack (the border collie) and Leo (the cat they forgot to tell us about) - both of whom are actually really pleasant animals and our first impression of Jack was a wee bit wrong he;s just a big baby looking for attention. Luckily my allergies haven't really surfaced and hopefully that's the way it will stay - antihistamines may well be a christmas pressie though.

Before I go here are a few things coming up that may be of interest:

a) We are booked up to see Billy Connolly on his Tour of NZ in February which is great - thanks Dad! I've always wanted to see B.C. live.

b) We are booked up to go to the Wellington Cup which is a big horseracing festival in January.

c) We are planning a big trip in January somewhere before school starts - it might even include a sky dive or something equally mental.

d) I go to immigration on the 6th of Jan to try and get my work visa - apparently it should be ok but isn't really 100% guaranteed on first application.

Ok, well we will hopefully be writing more tomorrow and will hopefully be able to post a christmas photo for you all to see with some photos of our new house and animals.

Merry Christmas.

Steph and Katie