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!