The biggest problem with living in Australia (besides the Australians) is that we miss our friends and family a great deal. Every family member that we are close to live in the Northern Hemisphere...except one. And this past weekend that one 'Southie' paid us a visit. Steven Conniff, Nadia's cousin, was coming to Perth for business. He lives and works in Dubai, UAE with his wife Anca. Unfortunately, Anca couldn't make it but Steven made enough of an impression for two people. Steven flew in on Friday night on Emirates Air. If you know Steven then you know that he knows people everywhere. As he was settling in for his 10 hour flight from Dubai to Perth the planes Captain came on the intercom to give some flight details, as they are apt to do. As it turns out, Steven knew the Captain. So, he sent a note up to the cockpit and before he knew it, his friend Eric (the pilot) was sitting with him. Eric is originally from Edmonton but now flies for Emirates out of Dubai. He plays hockey with Steven in Dubai. After landing Steven and Eric went out on the town in Perth. We picked Steven up the next morning (although it was closer to afternoon) and he looked none the worse for wear. He is a veteran of the scene, after all. On Saturday, we basically just hung out at our place and then we went to the boys hockey game. Eric ended up taking the train and bus and meeting us the arena.
Steven (left) watching the game, Nadia and Eric (back) talking, Keva (right) on her iPod. Shortly after the 2nd period started the boys team went down to 9 skaters due to an injury and they ended up losing a 1 goal game. Otherwise, it was a good effort. At one point, Zaren was on the ice for a 12 minute shift. Every time he tried to go to the bench they told him to stay on. After the game we all went back to our place for dinner. Eric had a flight home on Sunday so we only got to spend a short time with him. However, it sounds like he flies into Perth on occasion so hopefully we'll be seeing more of Eric. He's a very nice guy even though he's from Edmonton and I'm hoping the pilot aura of 'cool' rubs off a little on me.
On Sunday, Steven and the Klamers went for a little hike and then down to the beach. The waves were far to large to go swimming on this day but it didn't stop Keva and Steven from trying to throw each other in. The boys were offering both moral support but were secretly hoping that Steven would throw Keva in.
After the beach we drove down to Fremantle for dinner (or supper- can't quite get it straight here). The food and wine was okay but the company was good. Shortly thereafter we said our goodbyes until next time. Hopefully, Steven will be able to visit again soon and bring Anca as well. We're fairly certain that we won't be able to get to Dubai anytime soon. Having Steven around was really nice but it certaintly reminded us of those that we miss. We're always ready to welcome loved ones but that doesn't mean you can stay with us ;)
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