We couldn´t have asked for a more beautiful place to spend New Years, or a better group of guys with whom to spend it. We will never forget this Christmas or New Years!

...and just how much fun can be determined from this picture! What a stud muffin, huh ladies?

Food and drinks on the lawn were quite a blast...

The sunset on New Years Eve in Australia was absolutely beautiful. The 4 of us spent the first part of the evening in a park overlooking the above scene. We watched the first set of fireworks explode over this beautiful scene. Next, we went to the other side of the bridge to experience one of the largest and wildest New Year´s crowds any of us had ever seen!

New York cabs are a little easier to hail...

As you can see, Jake was very interested in the culture and life of the indigenous Australian Aboriginese. He fit in quite nicely with their style of dress. You can´t even tell them apart in the above picture.

The Three Sisters are quite attractive. Interestingly enough, they look quite similar to the three pictured in the photo below, huh? They sit in what is known as Australia´s "Great Canyon." Next to the US Great Canyon, this one looks quite small. I will let someone else tell that to an Aussie, though.

Just when we had to say a tearful goodbye to the Jaeger´s after a wonderful 10 days, we were able to say hello to this motley crew. Jake and Scott came to spend their Christmas holiday with us...what nice Jewish boys! Here, we explored the Three Sisters rock formation in the picturesque Blue Mountain town of Katoomba.

And here is team "Aussie Beauties." They ran a stiff competition for team Jaeger in looks and ability. However, Karen stayed underwater most of the time causing it to be difficult to win the haroing race. Kidding...Karen did an amazing job and pretty much did all the work for this team.

Here is team Jaeger in true form! The powerhouse Ann is in the front with her first mate, Chris, in the back. They were quite professional seeing as they trained for this day of kayaking in the Alaskian waters earlier this year. What a team!

And, the one picture everyone is waiting for...the world famous Australian Opera House! It is as fantastic inside as it looks outside here. We enjoyed a lovely show of the Australian Pops Orchestra in one of the 3 halls inside this structure. It was amazing!

I bet you are wondering who the wonderful photographer is of this amazing Aussie Christmas excursion...it is no less than the professional and courageous Captain Chris Jaeger himself! When he is not exploring the underwater caverns of the Great Barrier Reef or chasing down wild Cassowaries in Daintree National Forest, he is recording family memories with his new Christmas present from his lovely wife. He is in true Aussie camouflage here.

Karen and Dave got cozy with some of the Outback natives. We were delighted to find that these particular Roos were nice and friendly - that is as long as we stuck to the ones tamed by the night zoo. We discovered that Australia has an avarage of 370 tourists die each year - and some of these are by wild kangaroo kickings! Glad Dave and Karen are so brave...(notice that Jennifer is no where to be seen...)

What beauties! We celebrated Christmas in Australia with Jennifer´s family. Here, Jennifer and Karen show their appreciation for Christmas dinner. Jennifer is watering at the mouth to eat meat that is safe...something that is not avaliable in South East Asia. Karen, well, she always looks like this at meal time. (Kidding)

Even though it was excruciatingly hot, it WAS Christmas time! It was hard to get into the Christmas spirit since the Indonesian style Christmas trees were very different than those of the States. This tree was more like a dead twig with ornaments than a douglas fir! However, it did our heart good to see Santa in red satin rather than wool.

One very popular thing to do in Bali is walk through the beautiful rice fields. Not only are they breathtaking and peaceful, they also are engeniously designed and occupy many of the farmer´s hours. As we walked, we had many farmers stop to share an Oreo cookies with us and offer up a slice of freshly cut coconut from their tree. We felt like we were in a novel or something!

From one beautiful place to another...here we are enjoying our gorgeous homestay in Bali, Indonesia. Looks picturesque, huh? It was until the owner of the house said, "You know, many Indonesians don´t like Americans..." Humm...Despite this, we never experienced any threat or harm while in Indonesia. It was simply delightful!