Devastation.
Earthquakes shook the town of Christchurch nearly 3 years ago. Everywhere you look there is evidence of the massive damage caused by the quake – abandoned buildings & homes, empty lots, and construction equipment.

But there is also a lot of great things happening in the city. For those people that stuck around, it is evident they are trying to make the most out of a disastrous situation. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore before we had to catch our flight, but we did have a couple hours to look around this area of the city center where locals have used shipping containers as stores. Sounds a bit redneck at first, but it was actually a really cool, lively neighborhood. They had some really cute shops and cafés.

They also had a little market with artists selling their handiwork.

All in all, NZ can go down in the books as one of the best vacations ever. It was the right amount of fun and relaxation. The kids were troopers (and so was Jay). We didn’t have nearly enough time to see everything South Island has to offer. We just might have to come back if things work out.

Leaf Lake.
In other news, our house in davenport got rented out to a couple that lost their home and everything in it in a fire just before Christmas. They will be there at least 6 months with potential up to a year as they rebuild. I am so glad things have worked out, great for both us and them.

Goodbye Queenstown.
Ty loved Queenstown. So much that every time we started to head off to so something else he would say, “no! I don’t want to leave.” When we packed up the car this morning he got emotional, said he didn’t want to leave. I would like to think his fondness of the town was due to the fact that he recognizes the jaw dropping beauty of the place, or that he knew that the memories we made there would last forever. Likely, however, he knew that when vacation was over, so was the seemingly endless supply of ice cream shops.

Remarkables.
The majestic mountain range around the town are called The Remarkables. I couldn’t have come up with a more appropriate name. Bits of The Lord of the Rings were filmed in those mountains. Jay thinks that every movie should be filmed in New Zealand – and I agree.

Bungy.
On our way out of town we again drove by the original bungy jumping bridge, and this time I snapped a picture.

Rocks.
Along the side of the roads there are random piles of rocks in pretty much the middle of nowhere. I am kind of wishing we had pulled over and made one. Kind of a neat (and harmless) way to leave your mark on New Zealand.

Hitchhikers.
We saw lots of people hitch hiking their way around. It seems like a perfectly acceptable (and for some preferred) mode of transportation. Made me a little nervous, especially for the two younger gals about to stick out their thumb and hope for a safe free ride, but there must not be many psychos wandering through NZ.

Mountains.
There were more beautiful mountains. And sheep. We were considering driving up to Mt Cook but it was sort of cloudy, and a New Zealander from the office said it isn’t worth the extra travel time on a cloudy day. Besides the clouds, we were pushing our luck with Mr. Pukesalot in the backseat. We tried to keep him focused on the road ahead and stopped at little roadside parks quite often to give him some fresh air.

Poor kid inherited Nana’s weak tummy. Nothing a little bit of Cheese Twisties can’t cure…

Cherries.
We noticed something that looked like an entire field covered in tarp ahead and were wondering what the heck it was. Turns out it was an entire grove of cherry trees covered in netting to keep the birds out. Wow.

More Mountains.
Did I mention how beautiful the mountains are here? And the wildflowers? And the lakes the color of the ocean?

Brrr.
We walked down the road about 800 meters to have dinner at a little brew pub. It had a neat outdoor deck area that we had all to ourselves. It was chilly enough to have to wear our jackets, but not too bad. It was a yummy last supper in NZ. The boys were being silly.

And Lily wondered what this thing was she was wearing. She has managed to avoid colder weather her entire life.

Ty’s Favorite Bits.
When I ask Ty what his favorite thing about vacation was, he says “ice cream” or “milk”. Glad we travelled to a foreign country to make him happy. 🙂

Gold.
We drove to an adorable little town about 20 minutes from Queenstown Sunday morning. Arrowtown is an old gold mining town. Gold is still found in the creek that runs through town. We had an expert at Dudley’s Cottage show us how to find gold. Did you know gold is 19 times heavier than water? It will make its way to the bottom of the pan UNLESS you touch the water. The oils in your skin makes the gold float. Ty and I both found several flakes and got to take them home in a little flask. So fun!

Chinese Miners.
In 1865 Chinese miners were invited to come look for gold. There were around 3,500 Chinese that came to mine, and they were shunned by the European miners. They built their own little village. 2 of the original homes remain in surprisingly good condition, several others have been reconstructed. Ty loved going into all of the huts!

Walking.
We by no means can say that we did any sort of extreme hiking (or mild hiking, for that matter), but there were hills EVERYwhere. Ty’s little legs got tired, and we only had one stroller. When he needed a break, he hopped in the stroller and Lily got to snuggle up with dad in the Baby Bjorne. She can tell everyone that she frontpacked through New Zealand.

TSS Earnslaw.
We caught the 2:00 boat ride to Walter Peak High County Farm. The ship was built in 1912 and was originally used to haul sheep across the ginormous lake. The ride was super smooth, glided across the water. Lily’s timing was less than ideal – she needed to eat right as the boat was departing. I try to be as private as possible when I feed her, but it wasn’t easy finding a spot away from people on the boat. The best I could do was near the back of the upper deck, which happened to be next to an old man playing the piano. I used my nursing cover, tried to relax, listened to the music, felt the cool breeze, and took in the amazing views.

The ship is powered by coal. The first night we arrived I thought a boat was on fire on the lake. Turns it was just the Earnslaw blowing smoke. Uncle Rickey would have loved it.

Ty showed me around the boat. It had a museum, a saloon, and he thought that it was fun to go to the bathroom on the boat.

Farm.
The farm was beautiful. It had adorable buildings, lush gardens, a cute old tour guide, and fun animals for the kids to feed and pet. The deer had HUGE racks. Ty thought they were Santa’s reindeer.

There were Highland cattle.

We had tea (of course). Ty and I tried our hands at skipping rocks – was wishing Court was there to teach Ty since she is the rock skipping champion of the world. The water was so clear. Beautiful.

I didn’t get any pictures if it, but the dogs were amazing. They were working dogs, super smart. They ran up the mountain to bring down half a dozen sheep. They listened to commands from our guide and picked up the cues while the guide was telling us all about the pups. So impressive! I think we will send Bandit there for training…

The sheep shearing show was pretty cool. I have seen lots of sheep being sheared in my life, but never quite like this. The guide set the sheep on his rear haunches and the sheep was so chill. She didn’t put up any fight, was like dead weight. I put some videos of the shearing on my Facebook page.

At the end the guide asked if anyone had any questions. Ty raised his hand but the guide didn’t see him. Afterwards I took Ty over to the guide. I was dying to know what question Ty had. He wanted to know if sheep take showers. Love him and his constantly cranking brain!

Red River Valley.
On the boat ride back, we sat next to the piano player again. This time there was an older couple and a bubbly Chinese lady that were singing along. The old man reminded me so much of my Papa. I kept looking at him and memories came flooding back. I was dancing with Lily when the pianist switched over to Papa’s favorite song – Red River Valley. The old man belted it out, just like Papa used to. And then I saw a rainbow between the mountains (not sure if you can see it in this picture). I got a bit misty-eyed, but loved every second of it. Nana and Papa would have loved this place.

Fergburger.
We were all starving when we got back to the mainland, and we thought we better not leave Queenstown without eating the famous Fergburger. After a 35 minute wait (short compared to every other time we walked by it), I thought it was delicious. Of course at that point I could have eaten shoe leather and thought it was gourmet.

After that we were all pretty well wiped out, so we went back to the condo to do laundry and relax. Heading back to Christchurch tomorrow, not sure if we will have Wi-Fi. Will blog when I can.

Heck of a View.

This is my view as I catch up on writing about all of the excitement from the past few days. What you can’t see in the picture is a yummy glass of New Zealand wine sitting on the table by my side (cheers to the Bach’s and Merrill’s in wine country!!). It is a bit chilly on the patio so I am snuggled up under a fleece blanky, listening to the neighbors belting out rockin’ tunes. Kids are in bed. Life is good.

Flight.
I had debated trying to find out if we could cancel everything because Ty hasn’t been feeling well and Lily had a cold/cough bit going on, but decided that this was a trip of a lifetime and we just needed to suck it up and go. The flight from Gold Coast airport to Christchurch, New Zealand was about 3.5 hours. I could tell Ty wasn’t feeling great, so we had all 3 barf bags ready to go, if needed. About an hour in he said he didn’t feel good, so for the remainder of the flight I held a barf bag up to his face. Most of the time I had Lily in my arms, also, so I felt like a rock star mama. Thankfully he only had one cough/gag but somehow managed to keep everything down. He fell asleep after that and slept through the landing. Lily, however, did not like the landing at all. Nor did any of the other 500 kids on the flight. I tried feeding her to relieve some ear pressure but it didn’t seem to help. She settled down after we landed. Ty woke up and felt good enough to walk off the plane. He was pretty excited to be in New Zealand and go to the first hotel. There is a 3 hour time difference between NZ and Hope Island, so we landed about 11:30 PM. On the way to the hotel we drove by a McDonalds sign. Since I hadn’t had supper I thought a quick Maccers meal would do me good. We turned into the street after the sign, and could not find the restaurant. We went completely around the block and could not find it. Um. What the heck? So random. No supper for me…

Chardonnay.
Our first hotel was the Chardonnay Motor Lodge. Kiwis love their motor lodges. It was about as you would imagine. We pulled in, grabbed our instructions off the lobby door (nobody was there to greet us) and parked in front of our room. Our room was fabulously decorated, complete with a pink bathroom and asbestos tile. But it had a little kitchenette and milk in the fridge for Ty (thank goodness!). There was a Queen size bed in the living room, and two twin beds in the bedroom. Ty was super excited to have Lily sleep in the cot in his room. It was a short night, but the beds were comfy.

Highway to Heaven.
We left Christchurch as soon as we got up and at ’em on Friday morning. We had a long drive ahead of us, which according to Google maps would take about 6 hours to get to Queenstown. We followed highway 1 among the eastern coast of South Island. The first part of the journey reminded us a bit of Wisconsin, with a strong English influence.

Sheep. Sheep. More sheep. Look, there’s a horse. More sheep.

Everything was so green and lush. All of the homes were neat and tidy, and they all had beautiful flower gardens. The trees along the highway were so different – I called them twisty trees (I am sure this is the technical name). The hedges were spectacular. I don’t know if I can properly explain how fascinating they are, and the pictures don’t do them justice. Between nearly all property lines were hedges that were probably 8 stories tall, all perfectly trimmed to be straight up along the sides and a completely level top. I kept hoping to see someone trimming theirs, I have no idea how they do it.

Ashburton.
Lily was hungry so we stopped in a little town called Ashburton. We parked the car next to this beautiful park that had a duck pond, walking path, and gorgeous flowers and trees. The boys stretched their legs and explored while I fed Lily. Such a quaint little town.

Random Left Turn.
The road so far was inland so we hadn’t seen the ocean yet. We drove a bit further down the road and finally saw the ocean. Wow. Not like anything I have seen before. Turquoise water, crashing waves, cliffs, black rocky beaches. I told Jay to turn left on a random road and we ended up at an abandoned rest area that had been “fenced” off. Lily was sound asleep in the car so we climbed through the squashed fence and went over to the edge of the world. Nana would have had a heart attack. We were on a cliff probably 100 feet above the black rocky beach and crashing waves. Jaw dropping. I have pictures on our good camera that I will post when we get home.

Another Lucky Left Turn.
The next stop was Oamaru, and it was time to feed Lily again. This was a coastal town, and I wanted to find a really good spot to park. Once again I told Jay to turn left on a random road. We found ourselves on the coolest road, felt like Europe, with old sandstone buildings on either side of the cobblestone road. As luck would have it, we parked the car overlooking a Penguin Refuge. As luck wouldn’t have it, there were no penguins on the beach. BUT, the view was incredible. The waves hit the sea wall and poured over the top. Jay and Ty went and played on an awesome park, and then we wandered through the “garages” as Ty called them. There was a neat bicycle shop with the old fashioned big wheel bicycles that you could take for a ride. Ty found a bike that we think Papa should make for him and Lily.

Puke.
Ty couldn’t make it the whole trip without puking. But like a rock star he caught all of it in a barf bag. Poor kid…

Mountains.
We entered a part of the country that felt a lot like Wyoming. Big. Beautiful. Barren. We drove for miles and miles and didn’t see any homes. And there was surprisingly not much traffic. The mountains were breathtaking. Indian paintbrush in purple and pink was all over everywhere. Kids asleep in the back seat. Jay and I just enjoyed the ride.

Wine Country.
The next area we drove through was wine country. I have never seen so many vineyards. I couldn’t wait to get to the hotel and pour a glass of local vino. Not sure if you can tell in this picture but there are vineyards on the hillside.

Queenstown.
Aka, heaven on Earth. It is no surprise that parts of The Lord of The Rings were filmed in this part of the world. Mountains, ginormous lake, perfection. We got into our condo and both kids were wiped out, so Jay went to the store for some essentials.

Saturday morning we got up and rode the gondola to the top of the mountain. The views from up top were amazing. We watched someone bungy jump off the mountain. New Zealand is where bungy originated – we drove by the first bridge on our way in. We watched the para-gliders coming down. I really wanted to do it, but since Lily relies on me 100% for survival Jay wouldn’t let me. Lame.

Jay and Ty went on the luge racetrack, which is like gravity-powered go-karts. They had such a great time they bought another ticket and passed 9 people on their way down (Ty’s goal was 10). They had a blast! Ty wanted some ice cream to cool off from their “smokin’ fast” racing. Twist my arm…

We wandered around town, went into a few shops, picked up some souvenirs for the kids. We ate lunch on a sidewalk cafe along the lake. Ty was fascinated by the shiatsu massages going on in the park so I had to get one. Twist my arm.

After lunch and naps in the stroller and baby Bjorne for both kids, we had one more little bowl of gelato. Ty got chocolate. Jay got mint. Ty didn’t love the chocolate. He did love the mint. So he looked at Jay all serious and said, “How about we switch.” Can’t say no to serious cuteness.

We came back to the condo to rest up, then went back to town for a Mexican dinner. It wasn’t quite like home, but so much better than the crappy “Mexican” food they have in Aussie.

Midnight.
We have been trying to stay on Aussie time so that the kids don’t suffer from bad jet lag. It is now after midnight here. The stars are amazing. They literally twinkle here. Time to sign off for the night.

Boxing Day.
The day after Christmas is a national holiday in Australia known as Boxing Day. I wasn’t sure if this was a reference to the sport, or feisty kangaroos, or something else, so I consulted my favorite source for information – Wikipedia. Boxing Day represents the day after Christmas when bosses traditionally give their servants presents in boxes.

Tiger.
We finished up our packing in the morning and went for a buggy ride. Ty wanted to go for a bike ride but didn’t make it too far. Thankfully this time we could strap it to the back of the buggy instead of making me ride it home. We explored some new buggy trails. We found a lake – trying to decide if I could get a kayak out on that (I lied in a previous post when I said I was over the kayak idea…). We also found a big community swimming pool that has a really good sized shallow end, picnic tables, outdoor kitchens (stove top and sink), bathrooms, the works. We will definitely go back there so Ty can play in the shallow area.

BBQ.
We stopped by the grocery store on our way home (thankfully it was open) and picked up stuff to grill burgers, veggies, and sweet corn. Jay and Ty tried the kangaroo – verdict wasn’t great. Jay had a few bites of his and then went for the other premium burger (normal beef has been a little sketch so we went for the pricey stuff this time). Ty ate a couple bites of his roo and didn’t complain about it. I was not at all interested in trying the roo. Figured it would taste like deer, and I am not a fan.

Quiet.
For the first time in a LONG time, I am the only person awake in our house. The bags are packed and sitting by the door, kiddos (and dad) are getting rested up, house is clean. Time for me to relax a bit before we catch our flight out to New Zealand! Our cell phones won’t work unless we find wi-fi, so updates may be limited. I am sure I will have lots to share when we get back in Australia.

Liar.
Ok, so I lied. I think I sat down for two minutes and then thought, I should put that laundry away, which led to I should iron Jay’s ginormous pile of wrinkly shirts. Just as I was thinking about how much he owed me, he surprised me by running out to “get gas” which was code for “getting storage units for the toy room”. I know it sounds like no big deal, but the toy room is the first thing I see when I come home and we just had toys piled up along the wall. Drove me slightly crazy. Have I mentioned how much I love my husband? 😉

Merry Christmas!!
Rule. No tears allowed. This blog is intended to be happy and cheerful! Yes, we are a long way from home on Christmas, which feels different and strange and if I let myself really think about it, a little sad. BUT, it is CHRISTMAS, the happiest day of the year. I am trying really hard to focus on the happy and not let too much sad come into my thoughts. I have a lot to be happy about. Watching Ty’s reactions to all of his “Chrissy prezzies” was a memory I will have forever. Seeing him get more and more confident on his new bike, to the point where he went a little too fast and crashed into the wall (pretty sure that repair job will cost $$), was worth it. Surprisingly, Lily’s reactions were really cute – she got genuinely excited about her new toys. We got to FaceTime with lots of people, which made us feel not quite so far away.

I wanted to go to the beach, but since Ty’s tummy still doesn’t seem quite right we are staying close to home. We went for a bike ride to the “park” which is really just a big grassy area, and threw boomerangs. Ty somehow managed to knock over my beer from about 30 yards away, and if you know about throwing boomerangs that is pretty impressive. He also thought one of the palm trees looked bored so he gave it his boomerang. Oopsy!
We took the “long” way home and about halfway home Ty decided he was too tired to ride his bike. So guess who rode it home? Yours truly! It was a little small…
On the way we came across some neighbors that were trying out their Christmas present. It was some sort of a remote controlled spy hover craft that had a camera on the bottom. One guy was watching the footage on his phone. The battery went dead on the controller when it was really high up in the sky. No worries. The spy copter had emergency auto landing. Ty and Jay were amazed! Ridiculous!

Naps.
When we got home, Ty crawled to his favorite corner in the toy room and just fell asleep. Christmas has worn him out!

Both kids took super long naps, so Jay and I sat on the patio and listened to all of the Christmas parties around us. I fell asleep for a little cat nap. Such a beautiful day.

Swim.
Jay got tired of waiting for a pool buddy so he jumped in. When Ty woke up he hopped on his new armored jet ski. 🙂

So, no need to be sad. There are many people in this world that are in a much more depressing situation this Christmas, so let’s all be happy! I am so fortunate to have a beautiful family in a beautiful place to spend the holidays with.

Shopping.
A few of the stores I have been to that are similar to Best Buy/Home Depot have an interesting process for buying things. I ran to the electronics store over lunch yesterday, found what I was looking for, had a guy take me to a computer to negotiate the price and create an invoice, then we walked to the other side of the store to another computer so that I could pay. Not sure if it was designed as a control technique (which fails if the same guy that creates the invoice also collects the cash), or a way to track commissions, or if it is because all prices are negotiable and they need a way to ensure the cashier knows the agreed upon price. I keep forgetting that the price on the sticker isn’t necessarily what I have to pay, have probably been the sucker that pays way too much for things. No wonder everything is double the cost…they have to leave bargaining room in the list price. It has only taken me 2 months to figure that out….

Believe.
Ty is SO excited for Santa to come! He is fascinated by him. He has been asking 50 times a day when Santa is coming. The other night on our buggy ride he swore he saw Santa and Rudolph. Yesterday morning when Jay was home with the kids, Ty asked Jay 50 times when Santa was coming. Jay told him that Santa would be here in 2 sleeps. About an hour later Ty stripped down to his undies and said he was tired so he was going to sleep. Up the stairs he went. 10 minutes later he came downstairs and told Jay he was going to go to sleep. Up the stairs he went again. Ten minutes later he came downstairs and said, “Did Santa come?!?!” *love*

Sickmas Eve.
We haven’t actively looked for a church since we moved to Australia, but Ty has asked a couple times if we could go to church. What better time than Christmas Eve? It has been hard to get in the Christmas spirit with no snow and not many decorated homes. I figured a little Christmas church music would do the trick. So we all put on our “church clothes” and got ready to go. Today is Tuesday, and Ty hasn’t puked since Friday, but he was laying on the couch, and had that look in his eyes. He said he felt ok and he really wanted to go to church. I should have listened to my instincts, but how can I say no? We park the car, I unbuckle Ty, and he lays down in the grass. Um, not a good sign. And then he puked. Ah man! :(. So he finishes, poor kid can’t even stand up, and he says “I feel fine, can we go to church?” He then stood there and cried because we said we had to go home. :(. Hopefully that is the last of the puking…
Lily is also kind of a mess. Cough, runny nose. We could use a prayer or two for them to be healthy for our trip to New Zealand. A week driving around a mountainous island will be less awesome with 2 sick kids.

First.
One of the best things about being in Australia is that we get to do things first. We are pretty lucky to be one of the first stops on Santa’s route. Ty is really hoping Santa remembers to bring him a bike!

Ty.
Well shoot. Around 3:00 Friday afternoon Jay got a call from daycare that Ty wasn’t himself and said he didn’t feel good. Jay and I started packing up our things to go get him, and they called again to say he had puked. We rushed to pick him up. I decided that since we have been having all of these potty accidents and he now was vomiting, we better get him checked out by a doctor. I carried him into the clinic and as I was checking him in he was acting sickly again. Quickest way to get a kid seen by a doctor is for him to look like he’s about to puke.

He had a temp of about 101.3 and was clinging to me. We had a different doctor this time, a lady, who seemed much more competent. His ears, throat, chest all were good. She tested a urine sample for a urinary tract infection. The quick test was normal but she is sending it to a lab to make sure. Won’t have results until Monday, though.

As we were wrapping up, I asked him if anything else hurt and he said his back did. She pressed on his lower back and he winced. She said if he complains a lot about it tonight to take him to the hospital. Coincidentally, I have an appointment with the same doctor in the morning. She wants me to bring Ty back in for another look. As I was picking him up to leave, he puked, all over me and him and the carpeted floor (still think it is nasty that the doctors office has carpeted floors, for exactly this reason!).

He took some medicine to bring his fever down, and we sat on the cot for a bit until he felt like leaving. We have been taking it easy on the couch and in the toy room, giving him crackers and a little juice about every 20 minutes. He is majorly bummed because we were going to go on a buggy ride tonight to look at Christmas lights. And tomorrow we were going to have the Torrey’s over for dinner, but that isn’t looking good now. :(. We will see how he feels.

Sick kids are the worst. Sorry this wasn’t a fun blog post, mostly just writing to inform the grandmas. 😦