Happy earthquake news, a long-belated video, and travel news

There was an earthquake last night, a 6.8, relatively close to Wellington (within 200 miles). So, we felt it here, but there was no damage. The town that was closest, Gisborne, had some buildings collapse, but no one was hurt. I wanted to point this out because apparently there's some international media covering it, and I don't want anyone freaking out. Everything is bon, people!

In non-earthquake news, about a month ago, we had people over for Thanksgiving dinner. Well, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as we all had to work on Thursday. But it was great. There were sixteen people at our house, which we accomodated by renting tables and chairs and dishes and silverware. We had a 23-pound turkey, which was awesome. In fact, all the food was amazing (it was kind of a pot-luck). Everyone agreed, it was the best Thanksgiving ever. But don't take my word for it; see the video!

It was also our friend Brenda's surprise baby shower (she's since given birth), hence the baby pinatas. The one that Kris and I made is the one that doesn't look quite so fetal. Oh, and also, you'll note the killer whales in the video. They happened to be swimming past our house after we ate, but before we had the pregnant woman smashing the baby pinatas. As I said, it was the best Thanksgiving ever.

In travel news, we'll be coming to California for ten days, arriving on December 23rd, and leaving on January 4th. After that, it's back to New Zealand until March, then a triumphant return to San Francisco. It will have been almost exactly two years since we left. I'll have more to say about the whole experience later, I'm sure, but Kris and I are both looking forward to coming home very much (even though we'll be sorely missing our friends here). That's the trouble with traveling: you are always going to miss someone when you leave.