Pass the Kiwi: Is it summer yet?!

Counting down the hours until we leave for Oz, 24, to be exact. I had a bit of a scare yesterday as Tyler texted me from work, "did you know we need a visitor's visa to enter Australia?" Ummm...NO I did not!! I started googling frantically, praying that there was a fast track option and that we would be able to get them by Saturday. We never buy cancellation insurance - I was worried. But thankfully, one online form and $40 later we had our Visas. Sounds like a government tourist trap to me. But at least we still get to go! The weather in Melbourne is hot and sunny. Unlike here which is rainy, windy and foggy...still. The locals say this is unseasonal. But I am really getting tired of all the rain and grey skies. I hope December is much better (especially when our visitors arrive)! On the plus side, Tyler says his elbows have never been softer (from the humidity). Ha! No dry skin here.

From a few weeks ago...that's hail, not snow!

There have been a few (but not many) nice days. If I wasn't afraid that I would fly into the middle of the ocean, this looks like fun!

A pond in the park full of beautiful lily pads.

We found out where all those Canadian geese are migrating to...

We haven't been able to use our golf memberships as much as we like with all the rain, but we still manage to get out about once a week. Tyler is much better than me, but I can beat him the odd hole ;) We suck at putting. Like, we are really bad. I think it's because the cows are always watching us...can you see them? But honestly, every time we play we laugh because the entire golf course is surrounded by farmland and the cows are always making such weird noises - so we will blame them for our lacklustre performances.

With the weather keeping us indoors more than we would like, we've been trying new things. We went to a sushi making workshop, which was actually a lot easier than I previously thought - it's all about the rice! This week we went to the local coffee roaster to learn different at-home coffee brewing methods and got to taste their new blends (all of which were delicious). Who knew all the different ways you could brew coffee without a traditional coffee machine! And, as part of garden week a few weeks ago, we went to an art installation called "the falling rose garden." The installation contained thousands of fresh roses tied to wires from the ceiling to create the "falling" effect. It was pretty spectacular, and smelled like heaven.

Tyler's work had their annual "holiday" party already. Instead of having a Christmas party like every other company does, they have an annual Halloween party. It was awesome. No really, it was probably the best work function we've ever been to. We heard from Tyler's co-workers that this party was legendary before we even left to come to New Zealand! It definitely lived up to its reputation. Dressing up is a must (we heard they will deny entry). The theme was a "haunted house" and the entire function space was decked out with spooky decor. There were zombies handing out punch, a flashmob dancing to thriller, and creepy unrecognizable people everywhere. Halloween party success!