So Amanda is here now and the kids are loving it! It's been good to spend time with her and enjoy being in New Zealand. We went to Arrowtown this week and visiting the old Chinese gold mining huts and the museum. Loved eating at the little french cafe and kids loved going to the sweet shop! Today Amanda and I and the kids rode a steamboat across lake Wakatipu and visited a family farm where we got to pet lambs, sheep and scottish highland cattle. Kids loved the lambs! We also got to watch a sheep being shorn (not the whole sheep due to weather...) and the wool spinning.
Drew is still going on about his snowcat ride that daddy took him on. We enjoyed going up to Snow Park and doing some sledding on these cool little french sleds.
It's been a busy week and we are hoping to do "Puzzle World" and we are planning to go to Milford Sound on Thursday.
Life is going to seem mundane when Amanda goes home and we have to start winding down on this crazy last two months. Heading home should be an adventure!
Well, back to Johnny Depp (Amanda and I are watching Chocolat!)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
So we have been here for a whole month now! Seems to have gone by pretty quickly. Definately starting to get summer fever though, ready to be done with the cold and back into the heat! :-)Maggie and Drew have been doing good. Potty training is coming along...rather slowly but he does a bit better every day.
Maggie is still spending time with her friend Portia, in fact her and her mom will be here in a couple hours to make gingerbread cookies! They are quite a nice family and its been fun to hang out with them on occasian. Maggie is excited because she is having her first sleepover with Portia on Saturday. (provided that all goes well and Portia decides to spend the whole night!)
Amanda gets here in two days so thats quite exciting. We have a lot to show her and do with her. Kids are very very excited to see her. Poor Drew keeps saying that Grandpa is coming with her! :-) Sorry I think everyone is second best to Grandpa. But when I tell him its just Amanda he seems happy enough, talks about Amanda reading books to him!
They have been having Queenstown's Winter Festival over the last week. Thats been quite fun. Kids have enjoyed parades, teddy bear picnics, and other fun things. Maggie's favorite was last night when they have a Masquerade Parade. There were lots of people that made masks and walked in the Parade. Her friend Portia had made a mask and her and her family walked in the parade. We went down to watch and somehow ended up walking in the Parade with them! Which made Maggie very proud! Drew and daddy stayed home cause Doug had to work and Drew needed some quality time away from Maggie. :-)
This weekend we will probably just chill out with Amanda and let her have time to get over jet lag! We are planning to take a trip to Milford Sound with her since that is a must do in New Zealand. If Doug has time we may be taking a short trip to Stewarts Island this month yet as well. Doug's buddy's parents have a B&B there that we could stay at for free. We will see if he has time though, been working pretty hard trying to make sure he gets done before we leave. There has been talk of him having to stay a bit longer but I am hoping and praying that won't happen - otherwise it means a trip home by myself with two munchkins! (Anyone want to come to New Zealand to fly home with me?? can't pay your ticket though...) :-)
We were sad this last week to miss Annette and Jonathan's wedding and seeing all the family. But glad our empty house was availabe to be used!
Well, I should probably get a few things done with the precious time I have while kids are napping!
Maggie is still spending time with her friend Portia, in fact her and her mom will be here in a couple hours to make gingerbread cookies! They are quite a nice family and its been fun to hang out with them on occasian. Maggie is excited because she is having her first sleepover with Portia on Saturday. (provided that all goes well and Portia decides to spend the whole night!)
Amanda gets here in two days so thats quite exciting. We have a lot to show her and do with her. Kids are very very excited to see her. Poor Drew keeps saying that Grandpa is coming with her! :-) Sorry I think everyone is second best to Grandpa. But when I tell him its just Amanda he seems happy enough, talks about Amanda reading books to him!
They have been having Queenstown's Winter Festival over the last week. Thats been quite fun. Kids have enjoyed parades, teddy bear picnics, and other fun things. Maggie's favorite was last night when they have a Masquerade Parade. There were lots of people that made masks and walked in the Parade. Her friend Portia had made a mask and her and her family walked in the parade. We went down to watch and somehow ended up walking in the Parade with them! Which made Maggie very proud! Drew and daddy stayed home cause Doug had to work and Drew needed some quality time away from Maggie. :-)
This weekend we will probably just chill out with Amanda and let her have time to get over jet lag! We are planning to take a trip to Milford Sound with her since that is a must do in New Zealand. If Doug has time we may be taking a short trip to Stewarts Island this month yet as well. Doug's buddy's parents have a B&B there that we could stay at for free. We will see if he has time though, been working pretty hard trying to make sure he gets done before we leave. There has been talk of him having to stay a bit longer but I am hoping and praying that won't happen - otherwise it means a trip home by myself with two munchkins! (Anyone want to come to New Zealand to fly home with me?? can't pay your ticket though...) :-)
We were sad this last week to miss Annette and Jonathan's wedding and seeing all the family. But glad our empty house was availabe to be used!
Well, I should probably get a few things done with the precious time I have while kids are napping!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Today Doug flew up to the North Island. We decided since he would be working the whole time and it would cost us quite a bit that I and the kids would stay in Queenstown. He will be back on Thursday so thats not too bad.
We had a good evening yesterday riding the Gondola and doing dinner on the mountain. Kids loved the ride and the view was absolutely gorgeous.
Kids have adjusted well and are enjoying the time here. Haven't had too much homesickness but they have been missing family. Andrew is constantly reminding me that he will get to ride on Grandpa's tractor when we get home. He keeps asking "ride on grandpa's orange tractor tomorrow?" and I tell him, not tomorrow and he says "when we get home?"
Maggie is enjoying the souvenier shopping the most I believe :-) Doug keeps reminding me we have to get everything home that we buy. My favorite so far are the sheepskin slippers I purchased! Warmest in the world I believe!
Doug had to laugh yesterday because while I was showering and getting ready Maggie was having a crisis. I don't even know what we told her she couldn't do but she wasn't very happy. She put her boots on, her hat on, got her purse and informed daddy she was going to run away. After I was ready I came out and asked her if she wanted to go to town with me and she said "well I was going to run away, but I guess I can come" :-) Glad at least at this point she is that easy to pacify.
Drew has an obsession with the New Zealand flag. He sees it everywhere and when he does he yells "New Zealand flag mommy!" At the souvenier shop he chose to buy a tiny New Zealand flag pin. Pretty sad, he probably doesn't even know what the American flag looks like!
Maggie has decided that she wants to come here to live when she grows up. I asked her how she will be a dolphin trainer in New Zealand and she said, well when I am done being a dolphin trainer I will move to New Zealand to sing on the stage.
Maggie rented Princess Diaries 2 which she now wants me to watch with her. Lovely :-) Whats funny is that when she rented it she said "I will get this for tonight because I dont want to rent it when daddy is home because that would be embarassing!" :-) Not exactly sure why!
Well guess I have to go be subjected to an hour and half of torture!
Cheers!
We had a good evening yesterday riding the Gondola and doing dinner on the mountain. Kids loved the ride and the view was absolutely gorgeous.
Kids have adjusted well and are enjoying the time here. Haven't had too much homesickness but they have been missing family. Andrew is constantly reminding me that he will get to ride on Grandpa's tractor when we get home. He keeps asking "ride on grandpa's orange tractor tomorrow?" and I tell him, not tomorrow and he says "when we get home?"
Maggie is enjoying the souvenier shopping the most I believe :-) Doug keeps reminding me we have to get everything home that we buy. My favorite so far are the sheepskin slippers I purchased! Warmest in the world I believe!
Doug had to laugh yesterday because while I was showering and getting ready Maggie was having a crisis. I don't even know what we told her she couldn't do but she wasn't very happy. She put her boots on, her hat on, got her purse and informed daddy she was going to run away. After I was ready I came out and asked her if she wanted to go to town with me and she said "well I was going to run away, but I guess I can come" :-) Glad at least at this point she is that easy to pacify.
Drew has an obsession with the New Zealand flag. He sees it everywhere and when he does he yells "New Zealand flag mommy!" At the souvenier shop he chose to buy a tiny New Zealand flag pin. Pretty sad, he probably doesn't even know what the American flag looks like!
Maggie has decided that she wants to come here to live when she grows up. I asked her how she will be a dolphin trainer in New Zealand and she said, well when I am done being a dolphin trainer I will move to New Zealand to sing on the stage.
Maggie rented Princess Diaries 2 which she now wants me to watch with her. Lovely :-) Whats funny is that when she rented it she said "I will get this for tonight because I dont want to rent it when daddy is home because that would be embarassing!" :-) Not exactly sure why!
Well guess I have to go be subjected to an hour and half of torture!
Cheers!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Kiwi Bird Park
So today I took the kids to see the Kiwi birds at the conservatory. They are nocturnal so we had to go into the dark (which at first created problems for Drew but he got over it...) and we got to watch them eating. They are rather hilarious looking birds, fairly large with really long beaks. The one paced back and forth right in front of us - they are pretty funny with their huge feet. Not what I would call gracefull creatures. The park also consisted of various trails that ran throughout the woods that we could follow to cages and see other animals. We had walked all the trails and were looking at the ducks when I saw Drew edging a bit too close to the pond. I started to ask him to step back that he was getting to close and splash. He slipped right down the bank and into the pond flat on his bottom. The water was about up to his chest and he just sat there with a shocked expression and then burst into tears. I helped him out and we had to walk up to the building. We were the only guests at the conservatory at the time and the staff were very helpfull getting me towels and a bag for his wet clothes. Then giving us hot chocolate and snack on the house for Drew to warm up. I had to have Doug bring me extra clothes for Drew. :-) After it was all said and done he was quite proud to have fallen in the pond.
After all this they got to watch the show and got to pet an Australian Possum (which is actually a quite hideous creature.)
After a short trip to the library we went home. :-) Never a dull day with these kids...
We are settling into routine here and are finally sleeping in till a decent hour. Had dinner with Maggie's friend's family the other night and had quite a good time. It's definately nice that there is so much to do around here to fill our time so we don't all go crazy together in this apartment!
We are missing home and hoping that everything is going well there. Looking forward to summer again but really the cold hasn't been that bad. Today wasn't very cold and it was sunny (thank goodness since I had to haul a dripping wet boy up to the lodge...). We finally got our boxes this week so we all have proper winter gear!
Enjoying the scenery down here very much and the laid back environment. Finally learned how to grocery shop here - things are a bit different.
Guess I better get going, smelling my dinner in the oven! Miss you all!
After all this they got to watch the show and got to pet an Australian Possum (which is actually a quite hideous creature.)
After a short trip to the library we went home. :-) Never a dull day with these kids...
We are settling into routine here and are finally sleeping in till a decent hour. Had dinner with Maggie's friend's family the other night and had quite a good time. It's definately nice that there is so much to do around here to fill our time so we don't all go crazy together in this apartment!
We are missing home and hoping that everything is going well there. Looking forward to summer again but really the cold hasn't been that bad. Today wasn't very cold and it was sunny (thank goodness since I had to haul a dripping wet boy up to the lodge...). We finally got our boxes this week so we all have proper winter gear!
Enjoying the scenery down here very much and the laid back environment. Finally learned how to grocery shop here - things are a bit different.
Guess I better get going, smelling my dinner in the oven! Miss you all!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Starting second week
Monday June 8, 2009
We have been having a good time here. I found a play centre where the kids can go to just play. Maggie met a new friend there who we then met at the pool. The pool was awesome – has a nice little pool that isn’t very deep perfect for the kids. We are going to dinner tonight with her friend’s family. Nice to have some adult company! We have found multiple things to do around here, and I have yet to visit the conservatory and the underwater observatory yet. Today I am going to stay home and get some schoolwork done! I haven’t taken much time for that and am going to fall behind if I don’t watch it! The weather has been beautiful but cold. As long as we bundle up its quite pleasant outside.
Yesterday Doug took us to Milford Sound. It really was a breathtaking place. The mountains and the river – leading out to the Tasmanian sea. We took a boat ride there and the kids loved it! The views were just amazing, Doug took a lot of pictures and put some up on facebook. But even if you look at them you only get a glimpse of what it was like. You just can’t capture that in pictures! But it was definitely an experience we will remember. We would like to return once Amanda comes out to visit and spend some time there.
The kids are doing well but starting to miss home. Andrew is talking about Grandpa’s a lot. Yesterday he said he wants to go visit Amanda so she can read him some stories. He asked when he woke up this morning if we can go to grandpa’s today. Its kinda sad to tell him that we can’t. He said “I haven’t been to grandpas for long time” I told him when we get home he can go see them and that seems to be keeping him happy for now!
We are trying to tackle potty training while we are here – has its ups and downs. In the morning he is excited about it and goes potty a lot but then by lunchtime he gets tired of it! Doing a lot of laundry! J
Finally getting a sleeping schedule fixed up. No longer waking up at 5, usually 6:30 or 7 which I can handle!
Well I am going to go get busy to get some stuff done today. We are all missing home but having a wonderful time. So glad we have this opportunity.
We have been having a good time here. I found a play centre where the kids can go to just play. Maggie met a new friend there who we then met at the pool. The pool was awesome – has a nice little pool that isn’t very deep perfect for the kids. We are going to dinner tonight with her friend’s family. Nice to have some adult company! We have found multiple things to do around here, and I have yet to visit the conservatory and the underwater observatory yet. Today I am going to stay home and get some schoolwork done! I haven’t taken much time for that and am going to fall behind if I don’t watch it! The weather has been beautiful but cold. As long as we bundle up its quite pleasant outside.
Yesterday Doug took us to Milford Sound. It really was a breathtaking place. The mountains and the river – leading out to the Tasmanian sea. We took a boat ride there and the kids loved it! The views were just amazing, Doug took a lot of pictures and put some up on facebook. But even if you look at them you only get a glimpse of what it was like. You just can’t capture that in pictures! But it was definitely an experience we will remember. We would like to return once Amanda comes out to visit and spend some time there.
The kids are doing well but starting to miss home. Andrew is talking about Grandpa’s a lot. Yesterday he said he wants to go visit Amanda so she can read him some stories. He asked when he woke up this morning if we can go to grandpa’s today. Its kinda sad to tell him that we can’t. He said “I haven’t been to grandpas for long time” I told him when we get home he can go see them and that seems to be keeping him happy for now!
We are trying to tackle potty training while we are here – has its ups and downs. In the morning he is excited about it and goes potty a lot but then by lunchtime he gets tired of it! Doing a lot of laundry! J
Finally getting a sleeping schedule fixed up. No longer waking up at 5, usually 6:30 or 7 which I can handle!
Well I am going to go get busy to get some stuff done today. We are all missing home but having a wonderful time. So glad we have this opportunity.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
New Zealand
Monday, June 1 2009
So here we are in Queenstown. It is about 5:00 in the morning right now – we are dealing with the jet lag! Going to bed at 5:00 in the evening tends to make the kids get up early! But today we are going to try to get naps and make sure we don’t go to bed before 8:30 to get them adjusted.
The flights went well, the longest one was actually the easiest. The kids both slept well and there were TV/Movies on demand and we two whole rows to stretch out in so that helped! We arrived here in Queenstown at about noon yesterday. We were all very tired but after being brought to our apartment the kids woke up a bit!
We have a very nice apartment with two bedrooms. The kids were very excited to find that we have our own deck that continues on a pebbled area (perfect for Drew and his tractors) all of which is gated in. After getting settled in we decided to head out for something to eat and to get some groceries and etc… Doug took us to “the best pizza place in the world” in his opinion. After eating there I have to agree. In my opinion it wasn’t really pizza but something else entirely! The pizza we got reminded me a bit of the Tuscan bread you can get at Uno’s only a hundred times better! It was wonderful – I think we will all come home weighing a bit more than we did when we left! Maggie didn’t make it through dinner but fell asleep on the bench before the food came.
After eating we went to the grocery store and just got some basics and decided the rest could wait because it was difficult to carry around a sleeping 5 year old. We came back to the apartment and let her go to bed – we all turned in early.
The kids are discovering that things are a bit different here – Mags was fascinated that French fries are called chips and chips are called crisps. She did not like the tomato sauce – she said it was not like ketchup. I had to laugh yesterday because she was talking and already adapting somewhat of a kiwi accent. Her voice inflections on her questions were definitely different. I think she was doing it on purpose because then when I heard her playing with her dolls they were all talking with a somewhat kiwi accent!
Drew was so excited when we got her yesterday but soon asked if he could go play at Grandpas – had to disappoint him. That’s going to take some getting used to for him! J
Thankfully today is a holiday here so Doug won’t be heading to work just yet – he is going to stay home and help us get settled – maybe help us finish our shopping. It’s very nice that downtown is a very short walk from the apartment which will be great for me when Doug is at work. I’ll come home with better muscles because we do live on a hill so pushing the stroller up could get strenuous! There is also a playground right down the road! The view from our apartment is beautiful, we overlook the town, the water, and the mountains!
For those that care are address is the following:
20 Beetham St,
Queenstown, Otago 9300 New Zealand
I’ll let you know the phone number once we know!
So here we are in Queenstown. It is about 5:00 in the morning right now – we are dealing with the jet lag! Going to bed at 5:00 in the evening tends to make the kids get up early! But today we are going to try to get naps and make sure we don’t go to bed before 8:30 to get them adjusted.
The flights went well, the longest one was actually the easiest. The kids both slept well and there were TV/Movies on demand and we two whole rows to stretch out in so that helped! We arrived here in Queenstown at about noon yesterday. We were all very tired but after being brought to our apartment the kids woke up a bit!
We have a very nice apartment with two bedrooms. The kids were very excited to find that we have our own deck that continues on a pebbled area (perfect for Drew and his tractors) all of which is gated in. After getting settled in we decided to head out for something to eat and to get some groceries and etc… Doug took us to “the best pizza place in the world” in his opinion. After eating there I have to agree. In my opinion it wasn’t really pizza but something else entirely! The pizza we got reminded me a bit of the Tuscan bread you can get at Uno’s only a hundred times better! It was wonderful – I think we will all come home weighing a bit more than we did when we left! Maggie didn’t make it through dinner but fell asleep on the bench before the food came.
After eating we went to the grocery store and just got some basics and decided the rest could wait because it was difficult to carry around a sleeping 5 year old. We came back to the apartment and let her go to bed – we all turned in early.
The kids are discovering that things are a bit different here – Mags was fascinated that French fries are called chips and chips are called crisps. She did not like the tomato sauce – she said it was not like ketchup. I had to laugh yesterday because she was talking and already adapting somewhat of a kiwi accent. Her voice inflections on her questions were definitely different. I think she was doing it on purpose because then when I heard her playing with her dolls they were all talking with a somewhat kiwi accent!
Drew was so excited when we got her yesterday but soon asked if he could go play at Grandpas – had to disappoint him. That’s going to take some getting used to for him! J
Thankfully today is a holiday here so Doug won’t be heading to work just yet – he is going to stay home and help us get settled – maybe help us finish our shopping. It’s very nice that downtown is a very short walk from the apartment which will be great for me when Doug is at work. I’ll come home with better muscles because we do live on a hill so pushing the stroller up could get strenuous! There is also a playground right down the road! The view from our apartment is beautiful, we overlook the town, the water, and the mountains!
For those that care are address is the following:
20 Beetham St,
Queenstown, Otago 9300 New Zealand
I’ll let you know the phone number once we know!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
So someone suggested I start a blog...I am starting one, not really sure how well I will keep it up but here goes.
The big plans for our summer is that we are leaving for New Zealand (Queenstown to be exact) on May 29th and staying most likely until August 1. We are looking forward to spending the time together as a family but are kind of sad to be missing summer and moving right back into winter.
Doug has a job there and the family is tagging along.
Drew is now in his terrible two's and into everything. Mag's is finishing off PreK and starting Kindergarten in the fall and is very excited about that.
I am kept pretty busy between kids, work (two days a week at the vet clinic) and school. Doug is, as always, busy with work.
I will try to keep this updated - not sure if anyone will even look at it though! :-)
The big plans for our summer is that we are leaving for New Zealand (Queenstown to be exact) on May 29th and staying most likely until August 1. We are looking forward to spending the time together as a family but are kind of sad to be missing summer and moving right back into winter.
Doug has a job there and the family is tagging along.
Drew is now in his terrible two's and into everything. Mag's is finishing off PreK and starting Kindergarten in the fall and is very excited about that.
I am kept pretty busy between kids, work (two days a week at the vet clinic) and school. Doug is, as always, busy with work.
I will try to keep this updated - not sure if anyone will even look at it though! :-)
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