“Try!” International Superstar Jett Jones Rucks Love Galore in NZ ~ September 11-25, 2011

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After 10 glorious days on Wendy’s Hill Top Farm, I said warm goodbyes and headed back down the long gravel road to the big city, where I caught a plane over to Auckland for the family part of the journey. Dan, my great rugby-playing little brother (little only in years!), and his lovely partner Kate, and their adorable little (really, little) squirt Jett have been bouncing with excitement about this trip to NZ for the Rugby World Cup for over a year. In fact, Dan has been dreaming of coming to NZ to watch its famous rugby since he was in high school (when he made it onto the front cover of Rugby USA magazine! (proud sisters can brag, Dan, it’s ok ;))).

So the first and smallest-print headline here is JONESES SEE RUGBY WORLD CUP IN NZ!!!!!!!! We’ve been to four live matches and enjoyed plenty others in lively pubs. The rugby has been thrilling – the Kiwis are a humble and strong crowd, but they and the world know their All Blacks are consistently the dominant rugby power in the world. In fact, the Kiwis are so steady and magnanimous that they often cheer for the US and other up-and-coming teams – they want to see the rest of the world love their signature sport as much as they do. We’ve seen the All Blacks in person twice, and a few other games as well. As Kate said, “We’re here for the All Blacks. When we see the US we say, ‘oh, good job guys!’ but it’s really the Blacks that we’re most excited for.” I got Jett his dangerous All Black’s onesie, and he also sports the fleece All Blacks booties and chewchie. We’ve been driving up and down the North Island from Auckland to Wellington and back in Dan & Kate’s camper van – Dan is a terrific driver on these windy green roads, watched over by stunning mountains, jagged lush green hills, and millions of sheep. They’ve been staying at camper parks, sometimes I camp alongside in my wonderful little orange tent, and sometimes I stay at nice hostels. Both Wellington and Auckland have beautiful waterfronts for running, hip coffee shops where I’ve been catching up on correspondence and enjoying endless delicious baked goods, and a pleasant relaxed culture. Thank you kiwis!

But the real headline here is that Jett – at four months now internationally famous for his adorableness, sense of humor, and rational personality – apparently managed to come up for air from the wild flurry of snuggles and kisses that his parents love on him long enough to persuade them to GET MARRIED!! !!!!! DAN & KATE ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!! (I’m glad this awesome team decided this on their own, because if they hadn’t I was planning on putting Dan into a headlock until he agreed to get his great lady Kate for super-certain.) In fact, they’re so much the let’s-have-fun-with-no-fuss type of folks who plan for spontaneous fun that they decided to GET MARRIED HERE WHILE THEY’RE IN NEW ZEALAND!!!!! IN FACT THEY’RE GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011!!!!!! (exclamation points are justified here, right??!!!!)! The folks back home allegedly got this news a bit before Team Jett headed off, but they kept it a good secret from me until they told me in person when they arrived!!!! Kate has a great dress, the ceremony will be at City Hall, I’m bringing champagne and cake and bowtie for Jett, then we’re going over to the Sky Tower right across the street for more celebration, and romping around the city just having fun for the rest of the day. Jett and I will be the witnesses, so we may need matching corsages. Here I thought I would be kind of the third wheel by camping in my little orange tent alongside their camper van, but now I find out I’ve booked myself on their honeymoon! ha! It’s ok, we’re all having fun and giving each other space. Here in Auckland Dan & Kate will get to stay at the fancy house of a friend’s friend (so they don’t have to go back to the campervan on their wedding night!), and I have a comfy bed in a gorgeous and pristinely revived old Victorian hostel, so we’re all quite happy. I can’t wait to pass out more stories soon about the final four days of the Jones Family Adventure in NZ. Love love love!!!!