Holiday

We snuck away to the beach in Dunedin this weekend. It was perfect weather, perfect location, perfect fun, perfect family time, just perfect... We have found our new Dunedin tradition and what will help us survive living in the South Island.

We drove about 10 minutes and stayed right on the water. It was gorgeous weather! It was the perfect day to go to the beach. And we stayed at a gorgeous hotel on the water. We also loved watching the surf competition that was on that we could see from our balcony. Max is just made to live at the beach even though he freaks out at touching the water. Ha!

It was a much needed escape. We played in the sand, played at the park, watched heaps of surfing, lounged in the hotel, had fish & chips on our balcony, watched the rugby game live on TV, saw the sunrise, and saw one of our favourite All Blacks!!! (Ma'a Nonu...who Max recognised and has talked about non stop. He was fascinated that "Ma'a is a daddy." He was there with his wife and kids watching the surf too)

In the words of Max, "Oh what a day we had!"

So Big

Max loves playing at Liam's preschool. It's so cute to watch him. I love seeing him be so big.

We have been going to the Botanical Gardens by our house a lot lately. The weather has been sunny and semi warm. Max loves throwing rocks off the bridge and into the many fountains around the gardens. He is ALL boy. We have also gone to Starbucks heaps. And he never fails to make me laugh!

Where Are the White Eggs?

Dying Easter eggs. Simple. Fun. Memorable. Until I practically skip giddy with excitement into the egg aisle. Brown eggs. No white eggs. I look at Max. "We aren't in Kansas anymore Toto." "What mommy?" "Oh this is why no one knows what dying Easter eggs is. Silly American mommy fail." "Okay mommy. Dye Easter eggs!!!?!" "Yes dude. Let's see just how brown Easter eggs work. How bad could it be?" "Yay!! Eat Easter eggs?" "Great idea. Where's the chocolate?"

Fun Fact. Brown eggs can be dyed. They look a little pastel but the experience is the same. Max had some friends over and he had a blast dying the eggs and placing stickers on them. We put the kids in painting clothes just in case ironically they were messier eating chocolate! Finding the chocolate eggs we bought was the highlight though. He had 5 chocolate eggs eaten before I knew it.

Living in a different culture continues to give us the greatest stories. Lucky Max and future filled with two cultures and lots of crazy traditions.

10k

I did it!!! With the best support crew ever! I was super emotional at the start. Yep I cried. I haven't really conquered anything since having Max. I have accomplished things. Moves. New cities. Finding jobs. Blah blah blah. But working towards a goal & smashing it...haven't done that or felt that high.

It was awesome to see Sam and Max along the way. They cheered & smiled and took pictures. I always sped up when I saw them. Which was great because people kept passing me left and right at the beginning. I knew to focus on running my race but it was so hard to not watch everyone passing me. At 20 minutes I finally passed my first person. Whew. Then I saw Sam and Max again. Awesome! At 33 mins I found my grove. Then there was a hill. Bummer. But I knew at the top was the ocean.

Once I smelled the sea breeze I knew I could do it. The last bit was hard but I was ready after so many runs with Max in the stroller. The last 500 meters was a hill in the sand. Ugh. But I knew I would see the ocean at the top. And that I did! I felt my whole body relax seeing the ocean and ran my fastest towards the finish line. Sam videoed me coming across finish. I swear I was sprinting, but the video showed a different story. Hehehehe. But I did it! And I did my best time ever. I ran it in 62 mins. 6 miles in 62 mins is a great time for me! My goal was not stopping and coming in under 70 mins. Smashed it!

I don't think I could do a race without ending at the ocean. All that with with no ocean view is just pointless. Nor could i have done it without the encouragement of family and friends (thanks Amy, Ker, and Stac!! Micah, Jacob and Karis I pictured you cheering like in your video!) and especially Sam. He was amazing today. We have been so focused on school and his big endeavour that it was like nourishment to my soul to see him meeting me along the way and cheering so loudly. Melts my heart how blessed I am.

To end at the beach was perfect for our little family. Oh how we miss beach life. We enjoyed the experience so much. It's just who we are: beach family for life.

Max said it perfect when we got home: oh what a day we had. He cracks me up! Sam is off to study after taking a big break and giving up his precious study time this morning. Max and I? Well we are just going to hang out and do nothing!!

First Bus Trip

We have been talking about taking the bus into town for ages. This week we did it. Max is half me half Sam. Split down the middle. He was so excited, talked about it nonstop then was pretty cautious once he got on. Hhhmmm. Talking non stop, guess who that is? Cautious risk taker, guess who that is?

We had such a fun mommy max date. We went to the toy store, the rugby store, an American candy store, Starbucks & on lots of walks. Max kept saying "we on a date mommy?" I love my quality time kiddo!

We talked about rugby and our love of the sport. Rugby season is when I feel like I was born a kiwi. I am excited every week and can't wait to see our team(s). I still am loyal to the Chiefs where we used to live but fully embracing the rugby culture of Dunedin and cheer like crazy for the Highlanders. It makes me embrace the winter approaching because with winter comes rugby and with rugby comes getting caught up in another world full of cheering and family memories. I am reading Richie McCaw's new book (Arguably the greatest NZ rugby player) and loving it!

Max has now moved from just kicking and passing to drop kicking. Who is this kid? He just picked the ball up and did a perfect drop kick. He is a crazy visual learner. Saw it. Conquered it. Love him.

Church

Our Anna that we love is Max's teacher on the Sundays I don't work. He loves Anna!! She took these pictures of him this week and last.

He made a picture frame of himself and was happy to do a cheesy smile for Anna. And last week one if his little buddies had a birthday so they were eating yummy bday cupcakes.

He still feels unsure at first when I go but he talks about Anna all week and has SO
much fun while I'm gone. I love our church!