expiration date 

we had to wake up really early (around 5am) to catch the bus to the airport. today, we’re flying to Auckland. the weather turned rather cold, so aina was totally bundled up. thank god she wasn’t cranky even though she had to wake up that early. and thank god that our hotel is right across from the bus station. making it easier to push a stroller with a toddler in it along with two big suitcases.

the bus ride was uneventful, but once we got to the airport, for some reasons, the crew managed to get us rather late. those Pacific Blue ground crews, they really took their time during the check in. we had two minutes to eat our breakfast… and, our bags are too heavy. so we had to pay extra $20 bucks. ugh.

as for the flight, once again, aina slept the whole flight to Auckland. i guess, we woke her up too early and she was pretty happy to sleep on my lap. i was pretty much asleep too. so, it was an easy flight.

i have to admit, that New Zealand custom is the nicest. they’re very friendly and, unlike most custom officials anywhere i’ve been, they like to make small talks. it makes us less nervous facing the custom.

we were picked up by nia and jessi, in nia’s little car. just like yesterday in Melbourne, aina totally opposed the idea of sitting in a car seat. she despises car seats. i guess, she’s just not used to sitting by herself in a car. she doesn’t mind the seatbelts and all, though. she just wants to sit on my lap.

oh, another thing: today, we found out that aina can get car-sick. she managed not to throw up in the car, but she kept saying that her tummy aches. so, i was rather relieved when we finally arrived and parked at the Empire apartments. this is the place where we are going to stay for the next week.

so, after many years, ari’s family is finally re-united. the mom and dad came from Jakarta. our family just arrived from Singapore. Jessi arrived this morning from Japan. and we are all here to attend Nia’s wedding here in New Zealand. hooray for family reunion!

we had our late lunch while catching up with the rest of the family. ari’s aunt and her children has also arrived a few days earlier. and the food was simple but yummy: thick yummy ham with nia’s homemade sambal. mmm… so good!

round 6pm or so, nia drove us to her house to pick up some stuff and meet her 5-month old husky named Mumu. her house is on the suburb of Auckland, about 45 minutes away from the center city. once again, aina wasn’t very happy with the car seat situation. but she got consolation right away when she finally met mumu. for aina, meeting mumu — who she’s been seeing and watching from pictures and videos on nia’s facebook account — is the sole reason for having this trip. not the wedding. just mumu.

mumu is big! well, big compare to koda. and she’s not even full-grown yet. surprisingly, despite a little accident where mumu jumped up to aina, and scratched her upper cheek, aina wasn’t scared at mumu at all. it’s weird, because aina would whine from a slight bump from koda, while she tolerates the scratch from mumu and continue playing with the husky. they hit it off straight away, aina likes to give food (in this case, chopped cheese), and mumu likes to eat it. perfect!

oh, by the way, today is my dad’s birthday, fenny’s birthday, and fenny + ramanda’s wedding anniversary! too bad we had to leave melbourne right on this day and cant’ join the festivities.

today’s photo is on flickr: 27 May 2009.