A mugwug baby with a mugwug face

Finn and Caden are great travelers, and it's especially neat and gratifying to see Caden helping his brother cope with the long drives and flights on our trip. For example, a few days ago, while we were driving north along the east coast of the South Island, Caden made up a rhyming story to entertain Finn. It was based on the story "The Pout Pout Fish," but Caden modified it to be about Finn, who we often refer to as a "mugwug," especially when he is being particularly mischievous. Here is the refrain of Caden's rhyme:

I'm a mugwug baby with a mugwug face,

And I'm spreading funny funnies all over the place.

Cute.

Cuuuute.

Cuuuuuuute.

The verses described our reactions to Finn's mischief, including Dada being annoyed at having to clean up a mess and Mama enjoying the cuteness.

It has been great fun to share some of Mama and Dada's favorite spots - and discover some new ones - with Caden, Finn, Nana, and Boopa. Nana and Boopa flew into Christchurch a day or so after we did and have been hugely helpful with Finn and Caden while Mama and Dada have been taking measurements at research sites around the island.

Now, we are back in Christchurch, where we will spend the next week. Today we went to the local farmers' market, which was fantastic and only a short walk from the house where we are staying.

At LAX watching the jets

Arrived in Auckland

Stacking games in our Christchurch flat

Checking out the tide pools in Kaikoura

Pancakes in Punakaiki

On a helicopter tour of Fox Glacier

Swing bridge at the Blue Pools near Haast Pass

Playground in Portobello

Little Blue Penguin

Overlooking Sandfly Bay

Helping collect mussels

Yellow-Eyed Penguins

Moeraki Boulders

Passion fruit ice cream

Farmers' market

Finn's new word

We are in New Zealand for six weeks, where Mama and Dada are teaching, giving seminars, and doing research. Caden has been blogging about our trip at http://cadensnzadventure.blogspot.com/. We just finished a nine-day research circuit of the South Island. Along the way, Finn learned a new word to describe what we are working on:

Hello, dog Takk!

Ama and Adad hitched up their cute red trailer and headed north this morning, after a fun weekend of cuteness, celebration, and exploring. Caden and Finn had both gotten used to having Takk, their big yellow lab, in the backyard. In fact, Finn was so excited about "dog Takk" that he would frequently wander over to the sliding glass door, knock on the glass, and call out "Hello, dog Takk!" And this evening, when Finn came home to find Ama, Adad, and Takk gone, he sadly looked out into the backyard, saying "dog Takk?".

Ama and Adad weren't our only visitors this past weekend. Auntie Sally decided to book a last-minute ticket and surprised Ama and Adad by hiding in Finn's cupboard and popping out while they were touring the house after their arrival on Friday. Hiding and snuggling in Finn's cupboard became something of a theme this weekend. 

The boys were especially keen to explore the red "jellybean" trailer parked in front of our house. 

On Saturday, we went to the farmers' market, swam in one of our neighborhood pools, and had a late birthday cake celebration for Sally. 

And on Sunday, we headed down to San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Beach for antiques, shopping, and a beach picnic. 

Finn stayed home from "school" yesterday with a cold, providing more snuggling opportunities. 

Just before Ama and Adad's arrival, we received a couple of packages that Finn was very interested in. The first was by design; after watching him turn the sink in his play kitchen into a basketball hoop, we decided that he would have fun with a real one in the garage playroom. We also got a new ladder to facilitate our painting project in the guest room. Of course, Finn decided that the ladder was a toy for him, too. 

He *loves* to climb. Next on the list: a climbing structure for Finn.