Happy Camper!

Looks like Abby survived a week in the New Zealand Bush!  She was a little worried and nervous leaving the family behind, being on her own and going to a new place to do new things but she did it!  We are so proud of her and she said she had an amazing time. 

I went to her camp in the middle of the week as per a prior agreement we had before she left.  If she could make it half way through the week when we visited then she could make it the other half.  I also wanted to see where she was camping, what it was like and basically to make sure she was she was ok.  I missed her while she was gone.  When I got there she was in good spirits, gave us a tour and was ready to be off for her next adventure.

At camp they went on Bush walks, made Bivi huts (shelter out of trees and sticks), went to see glow worms, met a real Hermit (mountain man) living in the bush.  Saw a wallaby on a hike.  Learned how to canoe, cook her own meals and try a variety of new foods.  She also was the emcee at the camp talent show before the big disco/dance the last night. 

Off to camp!



;Dorm where they slept.

Top bunk was said to be a lot warmer.

Home from camp!

We are glad to have her safe back home with us as well as her new thicker accent she picked up even more from all the kids while she was with them for an entire week.

She had at one time told me she didn't want to leave camp because of all the fun stuff she was doing, learning and becoming.  I just smiled and agreed with her knowing exactly how she feels.

That was not in the brochure!

We've been here for a little over one month now and there are many things we've learned during our stay here so far.  Some I've had to learn the hard way and some just by observation.  Some came easily and some by desperation.  Here is a little of what we've learned and I'm sure there is more out there but for starters....

• McDonalds is universally the same no matter where you go.
• Roundabouts are fun.  I haven't seen a traffic light or stopsign in weeks.
• Don't put your laundry out to line dry the same time you decide to barbeque unless you like your clothes to smell like hamburgers the rest of the week.
• Shoes are options.  If the Principal of the elementary school or your Physicial doesn't wear them then that is a clear sign of how this country is run.
• Drive Through restaurants don't exist except in major cities.  Cafes and Fish and Chip shops however are dotted along every street.
• NZ has THE BEST ice cream in the world.  Popular flavors are Hokey Pokey and Orange and Chocolate Chip!

• The air smells so good and you can't even see the air like you can in Bakersfield.
• I miss Downy dryer sheets.
• Tortillas and any mexican food for that matter are just not the same.
• I am pro school uniforms!  I can start a soap box discussion on that topic any day.
• I can actually live without cable and a cell phone. GASP!
• I miss Sonic on an exhausting day.  Ok, on any day really.
• PUMP water (and most of all bottled water in NZ) comes from our little town of Putaruru.  Check a PUMP water bottle the next time you are at the store.
• Best treats in NZ are L & P soda and Golden Crunchie Candy Bar by Cadbury.

So if you have a trip planned for New Zealand or it's some place you would like to visit.  I hope these little bits of information will be words of advice well taken.  I didn't find them in any brochures I've been looking through.

First Day of School for T and Maddy

Today T and Maddy started their first day of school.  They get to go to preschool two days a week from 9-3 and here's the real kicker....it's for FREE.  Seriously, this country is so great.  I am not making this stuff up!  The government pays for it as an incentive to get kids to participate in an early learning program before they enter school.  I'm all for it.  I was worried that it was such a long day and that they would be worn out, hungry, tired and cranky.  Nope, they loved it.  They played hard, ate well, cleaned and participated with the class.  I think they just loved getting out to a new environment with new toys to play with.  So two full days of school plus the hour class at the elementary school, this is finally what it feels like to have all my kids in school.  There's that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow I've been dreaming of.  I have a long list of things I'd like to do already.  Serenity now.  Don't get me wrong, I will miss them but this is good for everyone for the time being.

How to Survive "The Bomb"

TGIF!  We LOVE the weekends around here.  That's when we pack our things and hit the road for another adventure.  To discover new sights, explore new terrain, learn something interesting, and just have fun.  This weekend we had some great plans until word of "The Bomb" started to spread.  It was a huge storm that was planned to hit Friday night and Saturday.  The weather men told people to stay in and they were cancelling events around parts of the North Island that were outdoors because of the rain and expected 90 pr/hr winds.  Telling people to prepare with torches (flashlights) and food on hand.  Oh great.  Now what?

We had already purchased tickets to the Chiefs vs. Blues Rugby match and there was no way we were going to miss it.  So Friday night we went to Hamilton and braved the weather with everyone else.  The storm hadn't really hit yet so it wasn't so bad.  Plus dad was a hero and got us front row seats in the covered seating area.  The next level below us would have been in the rain.  The Chiefs are a Rugby team from Hamilton so there were a lot of fans there.  They were giving out flags so of course my kids scored those!  It was a great game and the even kids said they had a lot of fun.  I had fun as well.  What woman couldn't when the entire game only lasts 80 min?  I'll take that over a football game any day!

 

The next day we went to a museum to see Maori artifacts and learn the history of the country.  It was pretty cool.  It was also a kid's museum so there were a lot of hands on things for them to do.  Good for my boys who feel a need to touch everything everywhere we go.

After the Museum we did a little shopping at the mall which is called "The Base".  Picked up a few things for Abby's camping trip next week and a few other things we can't get in our small city of Putaruru.  All in all it ended up being a great weekend.  Regardless of the "Bomb" that we got stuck in on and off here and there we made the best of it and still had fun.  I think we survived it alright. Although I think it wore some of these kids out pretty well.

Good Times at School

Do you pick up your kids from school or sit at the dinner table and ask how their day was?  How they did at school or if anything noteworthy happened at school that day?  Sometimes they may have a story to tell or if you have kids like mine they usually respond with "I can't remember, we didn't do anything today, nothing happened at all, or I just don't want to talk about it." 

This week they had a different story to tell.  It helps that the school is so welcoming to let parents come on campus any old time to check out their kids, see how they are doing and join in any and all assemblies and events.  So hearing that there was going to be an awards ceremony (Abby tipped me off because she said she was getting one) I thought I'd show up.  I'm glad I did because Walker got an award for Math and Abby got three for Reading.

Three days later the kids participate in a class swim meet/swim demonstration.  My kids in a swim meet?  These are the same kids who just last summer were taking swim lessons learning how to hold their breath underwater and use arms and legs at the same time. 

Abby did pretty well.  She swam the freestyle and the backstroke.  Walker did the class demonstration for the younger classes and also swam the freestyle.  The best part was that while they were swimming the rest of the kids chanted their names to cheer them on.  I was surprised by that but happy to see that they have been accepted by all the other kids in school.  Being an American in a prominently Maori school, I had my worries.

Talmage also started his first week at their school.  They have an early start program for 4 1/2 yr olds to get them ready for school.  It's one day a week for 1 hr.  Hey, if it's free and it gives him something to do then why not?  He likes being at the same school as the other two and they all get out at the same time so the older ones think it's pretty cool to have him there as well.  They are nice enough to even let Maddox join them.  What a great school and people they are!

See, here's proof that good things happen at school even if the answer your child gives to the every day question of "Tell me about your day at school" is usually "huh?"  You just have to sneak around school and spy on them and see what they are up to.

The Other Side of Heaven

This weekend we did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We did some new stuff and saw some old things. Went new places and stayed around town. It was just a good fun weekend.

Friday we started by hiking and walking the Arapuni Swing Bridge with everyone. It was windy this time so it was a little scarier. It was still pretty cool to see.

Next we drove to Jones Landing. A lake close by that people swim, boat and camp at. We decided to barbeque dinner there. Mmmm it was good! The kids played around for a while and enjoyed the scenery. Really, NZ is just beautiful no matter what direction you look!

Saturday our little town of Putaruru was holding their annual Water Festival and A & P (Agriculture and Pasture) show. Basically it had a bunch of water slides, cow, horse and miniature horse judging, Axemen wood chopping contests, arts and crafts, fluid fashion show and of course food booths. It was pretty fun hanging out and with it being across the street from our house it was easy to just hop on over. Plus with the Mammoth Water slide begging the kids to take her for a ride well....

Must have been 6 stories high.

This kid gives it 2 thumbs up!

After that wild adventure and some time spent checking out these guys....

We got in the PMV and drove back to Mount Maunganui.  We played at the beach for the rest of the day.  The kids dug up water pools and played around until Walker wounded his toe with a sharp shell.  By then it was time for dinner.  Went to the other side of heaven where we "tried" to barbeque dinner. We had some nice chicken kabob's and sausages going. No more than 10 seconds after we had gotten them on the grill a seagull swooped down and got the sausages. They were all strung together so he got quite a full dinner that night.  Ugh! 

Dad cooking on the grill.

The other side of the Mountain.  More sail boats that beach front.

It started to get windy and cold so the kabobs never cooked right. 25 minutes later we threw in the (beach) towel and left. I'd have to say sometimes McDonald sure can hit the spot.

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?

Growing up in a family of 5 kids we were very close.  I don't just mean close like we got a long but that my parents had 5 kids in 7 years close.  With that we did a lot together and got in to a lot of mischief together.  Looking back now we have some great stories to tell.  After each story the phrase is uttered "man, we were weird kids."

One story we like to talk about was what I like to call "2 minutes in Heaven" although it was most likely to have been 30 seconds but to a 5 yr. old it could have very well felt like eternity.

Growing up, like any good LDS family we had our abundance of food storage stocked nicely in the basement storage room.  Each in its own category.  Grains, canned good, bottled fruits done the previous summer, meats, toiletries and household items.  Then there were shelves of the good stuff.  Packs of Jell-O, pudding, marshmallows, chocolate chips, spam (only the kind with the key on it for opening), and the life time supply of Jelly Bellies that the folks had won during their time on Family Feud.

Here's where it gets good.  (Might have the kids leave the room while you read this)  So the game goes like this.  All the kids stand outside the storage room while one person goes inside and shuts the door behind them.  You are given 30 seconds to eat as much food as you can in that amount of time before someone on the other side opens the door and yells "times up!"  My goal was to be the first one in to get the can of spam.  Not because I like spam it was because I liked opening the can with the fancy little key.  Then I just left the partialy opened can on the shelf.  Then we would tear in to marshmallows and chocolate chips.  We would open red cherry Jell-O packets and dip our fingers in licking them like lick-o-sticks.  Try to hide that evidence of red stained finger tips from the parents for the next 4 days!  All that delicous food to us was heaven!  Best game EVER.

It wasn't until about 4 years ago when we were telling this story again and my mom chimes in and says "WHAT?  You kids did that?  And this entire time we thought we had mice."  Well that made sense to us.  Avoiding the mouse traps added a new element of surprise and excitement to our game.

Bwzingzwrtzyaprza and flash forward to the past two weeks here.  I've notice a few empty chips sacks in the pantry.  Ritz packages left open and empty granola boxes left on the shelf.  Hmmm?  Who's been leaving trash in here?  Is it from the kids' lunch boxes?  Has Cordell been snacking before dinner and hasn't closed the packages?  Weird.  Then I walk in the kitchen after taking a shower where the boys were supposed to be watching a movie and I hear this noise in the pantry.  Ah HA!  I've found my little mouse! 

He's beat me at my own game!