We are back in NZ after a wonderful month of visiting with family and friends, eating the most delicious meals, and enjoying the wintery weather of Canada. Our flights home felt incredibly long due to several lengthy layovers, and we were very happy to finally arrive in Vancouver. We were there for two days - just long enough to enjoy the familiarity of home, get a Christmas tree, and visit with my grandparents. Then we were off again to Ontario.
We had several delicious holiday dinners, and were happy we could be part of the annual "turkey picture" with Grammy Inez and the cousins.
We also spent a few days in Ottawa with our friends, who had graciously let us store all our belongings in their basement for the last year. We rented a truck and moved everything to Listowel, where the Gibsons are graciously letting us store everything in their basement for the next few years!
The rest of our time in Ontario was calmer. We spent a few days sorting and "shopping" through all our belongings, having fun seeing all the long-forgotten things we had packed away, and deciding what to bring back to NZ with us.
I also got to spend nearly five days with a dear friend and her family, and Steve got to visit more with his family and friends around Listowel.
We flew back to British Columbia for Christmas, where my family got to enjoy the first Christmas together in four years, and Steve got to experience his first Hoffmann Christmas!
It was crisp and cold, but sunny and beautiful weather for most of our time in BC. For many years, my family would do a day trip over the Christmas holidays to Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands off the coast of Vancouver. So, re-living our old tradition, we went again this year. We walked onto the ferry and hiked to Bluff Park for a picnic lunch overlooking a stunning view of the Gulf Islands. A bald eagle sat at the top of this tree the whole time we were there.
We were fortunate to have Steve's aunt join us (she lives just across the border in Washington state), and we all had fun exploring the forests, mosses, rocks, and beaches.
After Christmas, a few of us drove to Manning Park for a day of cross-country skiing. Steve and I used to go weekly during our winters in Ottawa, so we loved this chance to be in the snow again.
Our flight back to NZ was fine - the only real frustration was in Vancouver. Our flight went via San Francisco, so the recently added security measures for US-bound flights resulted in very long waits, delays, and last-minute baggage adjustments. At one point, after sitting on the plane for nearly an hour in the Vancouver terminal, waiting to leave, Steve looked at me and said "Where are we right now?" Thankfully, it went smoother from then on, and we were even allowed to keep all our containers of yummy Maple Syrup.
Now we are back in windy Wellington, where it hasn't quite warmed up to feel like summer yet, but the days are long and flowers are in bloom. As always, it was sad saying goodbye to our families, but we have much to look forward to this year, and we hope to make the most of our time here. We are so thankful that we were able to home for the past month, to enjoy a "real" winter - where it's cold outside and cozy warm inside - and most of all, for the chance to see our families.
Unfortunately the weather all week was terrible for astronomy - it was cloudy every night we were there. A couple of the afternoons were clear though, so my advisor decided to observe during the daytime. Using the telescope, the star we were after was bright enough to see against the bright blue sky (see the action shot above). 
This is a view of Lake Tekapo from a hiking trail that goes around the summit of Mt. John. The tall purple flowers in the foreground were all over the mountain.
At sunset one night we were treated to this rainbow against the mountains in the background.
And on my final morning there, cloud from the Canterbury plain to the east started flowing through a notch in the mountains. It was amazing to watch - like a slow motion waterfall.
