Hi guys,

I will warn Brian about the ride.  I have heard it's quiet bad.

I have taken to parking in your shady spot since it has become super dooper hot here.  My children are very thankful for not having melting hot car seats when they get in the car.

Also Kate and Ian did some super dooper bush trimming and Brian mowed the front again on Tues night.  The back has tons of weeds and I'll try to get over there to weed wack this week.

Enjoy your last month of your trip.  I know you still have lots of journey to undertake.  Be safe.

The main Wash. Post travel article was about taking 6monts to a year off and travelling.  I'll save it for you.

deb 

Aric,

Thanks for checking in and being active on the board!  I have more pics from Kapiti that I can send your parents.  Two of them include a what's what of the species that one could see on the island.  Can you send us their email address?

Cheers,

Sean

Hey Deb,

Oz is good, but I think it might pale in comparison to New Zealand!  We'll wait until the trip is finished here to make that call, as we still have a bunch of good things to do.  We'll probably dive the GBR in the next week or so.  We are really, really looking forward to it.  Didn't know you and Brian dive.

Thanks for taking a peek at the backyard.  There's not much to mow, as it is bricked in, but the weeds might be out of control.  If they can last another month, just leave them, but if neighborhood kids and pets are getting lost in the jungle, maybe you can whack it back a bit?  Thanks! 

Your Grand Canyon trip sounds great! I made it out there a bunch of years ago, but we didn't have time to get in and stay there.  I bet that is a really peaceful experience.     

We're stoked to hear that you and Brian had such a great time reconnecting with all adult time.  I'm guessing you were still tempted to read Brian a bed time story and give him a bath, but I bet you were able to break that cycle for six days.  ;)  Question is, when you got back, did you start discussing politics with Maggie and economics with Joshua?

Glad you liked the NZ pics.  I don't think we'll be ripped, but hopefully we'll keep losing a bit.  Portion sizes are already bigger in NZ and Australia, so we wont be in as much a shock as we would have coming straight from Southeast Asia.  I'm hoping not to return to any bad habits.  It is amazing, though, how lean most everyone is.  McDonalds is considered a rare convenience here, and most people we have spoken with have seen "Supersize Me."  It will be interesting to discuss how Americans are perceived overseas now as opposed to before 9/11.  Let's just say, we don't get the heartiest "welcome" from everyone out here.

Biking with Brian and company sounds great.  I really miss my bike and rides with Mike.  I am looking forward to getting back on my trusty steed once again.  Tell Brian to run the other way if Mike offers to take him to the "three sisters".  It isn't a visit to three cute little blondes.  It is a one hour ride with three knarly hill climbs, each one more lung bursting than the last one.

Have fun, Brian!  (insert maniacal laughter here).

We're back in a month!  See you soon!

Love,

Bev and Sean

Dear Rachel,

We are so sad we missed Nana's birthday celebration!  Your treats sound good.  I think we may have gone to the Crab Shanty for my birthday dinner a few years ago, too.  Thanks for taking such good care of Nana on her special day.

What rides did you go on at the amusement park?  You are lucky you got to go in a stroller.  Sometimes I don't want to walk, but Aunt Bev wont push me.  You are lucky someone would push you!

Yeah, it isn't fun getting sick while you are away, but your dad was lucky there was a pharmacist near by...and that she spoke English!  Is he okay now?

Glad you liked the pictures!  We come back at the end of June, and we'll see you just after the first week in July...maybe sooner!

We miss and love you.

Love,

Aunt Bev and Uncle Sean

See you soon! Au revoir!

Dear Rachel,

Since there are two posts from you, we'll post two back. Here is the first one:

Your Eiffel and Arc souvenirs sound great.  We can't wait to see them.  Do you know what "souvenir" means in French?

We sure bet you liked the pastries there!  Aren't markets fun?  We love going to the market for fresh delicious food everyday.  It is too bad there aren't more markets in the US.

Our socks and feet got so dirty in Thailand when we took our shoes off before we entered people's homes.  I even got a splinter once.  Ouch!  You'll have to show us your pink and blue shoes when we get home.  We went to see the very shoes that went to France.

Love you lots,

Aunt Bev and Uncle Sean

JJ,

Congratulations!  We can't wait to see you and meet Waylon.

Love,

Bev and Sean 

 PS:  What a cute surprise!

Dear Relnel,

Glad to hear Paris was a fantastic time.  The pics and email really conveyed your trip well.  We're so jealous that we're going to photoshop ourselves into your pics and post them to the blog.  Is that okay? :)

Welcome home!

Love,

Bev and Sean

I went to Nana & Grandpa's house yesterday because it was Nana's birthday celebration. On Tuesday the 29th it is Nana's real birthday.

We had strawberry shortcake in like a little cup for dessert and we went to the restaurant called Crab Shanty.

When we went to Paris we went to the big, huge, humongous amusement park. I got to ride in a stroller so that I didn't have to walk.

In the apartment that we stayed in in Paris, Daddy got a sore throat. I forget the name of the medicine that he took. We got the medicine at the pharmacy. The pharmacist spoke English to us and we spoke English to her.

We saw your pictures that you sent us. They were very funny and nice. I miss you very much. I know you are going to come back on the I don't know day.

See you soon! Au revoir!

Internet access has been sparse and SLOW.  We'll update this board with more juicy info soon and respond to everyone. 

Happy Memorial Day!

Cheers,

Bev and Sean

I loved that blurb from Deb Callsen "...We discovered we still like each other..."  That was hilarious.  I'm hoping that was a bit sarcastic of course.  :-)  Grand Canyon hike sounds awesome btw.

Ellen, I sympathize with the forever posting.  Ryleigh loves to try to write and send people letters and it definitely does wonders for developing ones patience.

Sean/Bev...Kapiti Island sounds super super cool!  My parents would absolutely love a place like that.  They have a life bird list and bird all the time.  They select vacation destinations with the primary priority of birding!  I've forwarded that writeup to them naturally.

JJ, congrats on the baby!

Aric

Hey Sean and Bev,

Hope you are enjoying Australia.  We had such a great trip there when we went.  Loved Cairnes and the GBR.  Amazing scuba diving and the Rain forest was cool.

Have no idea what your backyard looks like.  Never even crossed my mind to look.  Next time we mow we wander back there  and mow too. 

Brian and I just got back from Hiking to the bottom and back of the Grand Canyon.  Two nights at the bottom, slept under the stars and had a great day hike on Phantom Creek.   

No kids for 6 days.  AMAZING!!  We discovered we still like each other and have things to discuss that are not related to our children.  There is hope.

 Great pictures from New Zeland.  You guys are going to be so ripped when you return.  You will freak out the first time you see Americans again and get served huge portions in an American restuarant.  The light will come on and you'll understand the health state of our country.

 Mike and Fred found Brian a great road bike on craigs list so maybe you can all go on a bike ride when you return.

 Gotta get to work.

 Deb

Guess what we did?? we had a BABY! little Waylon Carter Muniz arrived 4 weeks early and took us by big big surprise!
here's pics:
http://metschanpictures.com/waylon/