Photowalk

Wayne, Brent and I took part in Scott Kelby's Photowalk.  It was held in hundreds of cities around the world, each city limited to a group of 50 people.  So 50 of us met in Aotea Square in Auckland, and then for two hours we followed a set route and got as many good photos as we could.  It rained for part, but that made for some interesting shots!  It was a great way to see the city.

Dublin campaigns

I just got an email that some of the campaigns we worked on for the Dublin thing are up on the UK website: www.dublinclothing.com/NZ/welcome.asp .  My favorite is the one where I'm riding- go figure.  =)

Keri and Alloy Mangere Show

Our very first show!  It was a dream come true.  I was a little worried, because two days before, our grazing manager put Roy and his buddies out in a new paddock- with fresh spring grass.  So the day before the show, Roy was on high octane fuel, and was a little wired!  Luckily Nutritech makes a supplement with magnesium and toxin binders that helps calm horses down.  I fed him some in the morning and the night before, and he was so mellow on show day (although he does NOT like his face washed!)  He was such a gentleman- even though his buddy balked going into the trailer, he walked on without me.  They travelled like pros, and didn't worry at all at the show.  He was so mellow that I had trouble keeping him in canter!  I was also blessed to have some amazing support- three friends from the stables came along, as well as five friends from Wayne's cycling group and my amazing riding instructor.  I was blown away at their generosity to give up their day to come and see us.  It was a great day and now I've got the confidence to go and do more shows, and hopefully keep improving our results!

Keri and Roy (Alloy)

I just wanted to show you the latest photos of Roy and I (Keri). These are of our first lesson a couple of months ago with my amazing trainer, Bree Bowater. We've progressed quite a bit since then, but I don't have more photos yet! We're having lots of fun, really learning more about each other, and trusting each other more. We're in a more consistent working frame now, and now when Roy gets a little confused or it gets too hard, he just breaks into a canter rather than throwing in little bucks. It's so exciting to be progressing like we are! Isn't he handsome?

Ironman

As many of you know, Wayne did his Ironman on March 1, 2008 and he did it in 11 hours and 34 minutes, which is really good for a first timer! The days started out beautifully, with a clear sky and glassy water on Lake Taupo. Before the race started, a Maori group did the Haka to send them all off (which always gives you the chills) and led the swimmers off in their Waka (war boat). A helicopter was flying overhead to get aerial footage. He did his swim in 1.05, (after getting kicked in the head hard in the water) and transitioned very quickly. Then on to the bike- the weather turned rainy and windy, which was hard on the supporters let alone the competitors! We all had shirts on that said "Go Wayne you biscuit!" (because he always calls people biscuits if they've done well) and hats that said "Iron-Mate 08" with "Witness the fitness" on the back. It was so much fun, and we had about 15 of us there, running around all day trying to catch him somewhere on the course to cheer him on. He's been working toward this for 10 months. I was surprised at how emotional the whole thing was. When he finally crossed the finish line I (Keri) just burst into tears when I saw him- you're just hoping they'll do as well as they hoped and also hoping that the ambulance you can hear down the road is not for him! It was an amazing experience!

Sunshine Coast, Australia

We recently returned from a short four day trip to Australia. We flew in to Brisbane, had lunch with Wayne's cousin Kevin, went to an art gallery, and took off in our little rollerskate mobile to Noosa. Our friends Julie, Andrew, Alan and Kerry were there visiting as well, and our friends Matt and Sarah are living there. We had a run and a swim, and after hearing scary stories about the Huntsman spiders there (huge, they get to be the size of your hand and bigger)we went to bed (with Keri nervously scanning the walls). The next day we went to a big local market, which was so much fun- lots of artists, bakers, clothing designers, etc. In the afternoon we went on a boat cruise up and down the channel of Noosa. Alan and Andrew dropped us off in the middle of town, where we watched an amazing cycle race featuring many high profile cyclists including Robbie McEwen, who wins the green jersey in the Tour de France regularly. The next day was Wayne and Matt's triathlon, and the Noosa triathlon is the second largest in the world. It was a really hot day, but the boys were stars! Wayne came in 9 minutes after the winner in the run, so that was awesome! We spent the rest of the day on the beach. Wayne, who did the most work of anyone, spent the whole time in the sea while the rest of us dosed on the beach. The next day we all went out to breakfast and it was time for us to head back to Brisbane. We stopped in at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo on the way back. It was amazing! We had a great time!

Wintergardens

About a month ago we visited the Wintergardens at the Auckland domain. Lots of beautiful greenhouses, fountains and statues. We had a great time!