Christmas 2010

New Year's Day 2011 -
We had a beautiful view from our living room of snow on the mountain.

Here's a look at the extremely handsome men in the family -
Matt & Duncan, Bob, Gavin, Jeff, and Dad.

We share a glass of vino (or 2) in the kitchen with Sandy, Matt & Paige, Terrie & Bob, Dad & Mom. Thanks to Jeff for taking the picture.

Abby and Duncan hang out between playing with toys and
watching "Finding Nemo" = "Mamo"

Duncan watches "Mamo"

Abby LOVES Duncan and Bowen, and REALLY LOVES Bowen's squeaky toys!

Jeff got here the day after Christmas, and we hit The Range for some Mexican food, as leftovers don't last long around here - especially anything with green chili!

Aunt Sandy couldn't hug him and squeeze him and kiss him and love him enough!!!
(But she tried!)

Christmas Morning - Here's Bowen in his Christmas "outfit" looking very GQ and MUCH older than two-and-a-half months !

Duncan got "luggage" so he can pack up and come visit Grammy and Bobpa any time!

Paige and Bowen pose for Grammy!

Gavin returned from Australia the first part of December, so we were able to spend time with him for a very Merry Christmas!

Anne and Madison brought back some yummy goodies from a little bakery in Santa Fe on their way back from shopping while "the Boys" - Joe and Morgan - went skiing. Not really great ski conditions, but that didn't stop the fun!

Miguel came "home" for Christmas, so we had a little lunch get-together on December 23rd so we could spend some time with Char, Silas, and Miguel.

Thanksgiving in Austin 2010

Bowen Matthew Shoberg is 7 weeks old, born October 6, 2010. He is such a sweet, beautiful, happy baby. I got to hold him, and squeeze him, and hug him, and love him for FOUR days!!! Leaving them was so hard, but they will be with us in Placitas for Christmas in 3 weeks!! WOO-HOO!!! Can't wait!!!

He is so strong and alert!

It was such a beautiful day on Saturday that we took the kids to the park. Daddy and Duncan rolled around in the grass.

Grammy got her exercise chasing Duncan.

Here are Matt, Paige, Duncan, and Bowen on the site of their not-too-distant-future home in Rob Roy, a subdivision in Austin. It is a beautiful corner lot with lots of room for the kids to play.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with Paige's side of the family. The cousins really love Duncan, and he has such a good time playing with the big kids!

SUMMER VACATION 2010 to The LAND of OZ - New Castle, Australia

Sunset over Avoca Beach, July 3, 2010.

After 5 days in New Castle, we headed back to Sydney to catch our flight back home. Along the way, we stayed overnight in Avoca Beach. We hoped to see some of those whales we'd heard so much about, but, alas, we saw an amazing sunset instead.

We saw many lighthouses along the shore on our way to New Castle. We watched for whales, but they were too far out to see very well. We did see the "blow" so we knew they were out there somewhere.

We found a wonderful little Italian restaurant in the heart of New Castle called "Delucas." These very friendly people, Gino and is wife are the owners - he's also the cook; she's the waitress, greeter, seater and manager. We ate there several times, and took "the boys" to dinner.


We enjoyed meeting two of Gavin's three roommates, Joel and Tristan. His third roomie, Kieren, was off "on holiday," as it was winter break in the land of Oz.

WINE COUNTRY: The Hunter Valley

Getting there was half the battle - and the fun. The roads in Australia are not marked (!?) and the maps are not easy to read, AND our rental car was not equipped with a GPS (though we specifically requested one!) so we saw much of the country side - twice - on our way to wine-tasting. After the first few wineries, we didn't care, though. As they say down-unda': "No worries, mate!"

This is just a sample of the beautiful fields of grape vines - as far as the eye can see....

The Blue Mountains

Sunset over The Blue Mountains in Australia.

We saw some amazing scenery!

The Blue Mountains is like the Grand Canyon - IF the Grand Canyon was in a tropical jungle!!

Sydney, Australia

The Sydney Harbor Bridge

We stayed in an area of Sydney called "The Rocks" where there are many pubs, restaurants, shops, pubs, museums, walking tours, pubs, and other fun things to see and do. Sydney Harbor, The Harbor Bridge, and the Sydney Opera House (and quite a few pubs!) were all within walking distance of our hotel.

This is the world famous Sydney Opera House. The Rocks area of the city is the original settlement. It is very rustic and brimming with history and culture (and PUBS!).

BALI - Temples, temples, and MORE temples!!!

The Temple on the Lake

There are literally thousands of temples in Bali. It has a mix of Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and others, I'm sure, but the majority of the temples are Hindu. After seeing the first few hundred, we were a little ho-hum on the "temple tours."