New Zealand Trip, 30th April - 19th May 2010

After leaving Vancouver on 28th April and missing a day I arrived in New Zealand on the 30th April at 5.30am in the morning. I must admit a 14 hour straight flight is so much better than having to deal with connections through the States.

I had decided to stay in Auckland that night with Tobi and Mel, and go out for dinner with a few people. Now I have decided that even after such a long flight where you don't really sleep, sleeping during the day is not a good idea. While Tobi and Mel were at work I feel asleep on the couch and just could not wake up, after 3 hours of fighting to wake up I finally dragged myself of the couch to get ready for dinner. I had a well earned coffee to try and keep me awake. We headed down the road to a dodgy looking Chinese restaurant for dinner. It had been recommended to us and was extremely busy, generally a good sign. There was a slight mix up with the booking and they thought we were supposed to come last night, after a little shuffling around and waiting we were seated. Luckily we weren't disappointed, the meals were huge, hot and really nice. We stayed there for a few hours chatting the night away. Ah how I miss those kind of nights with friends. Great fun!! After dinner half of the people had to head off, so Tobi, Mel, Claire, Matt and I headed back to Tobi and Mel's for some drinks. Didn't take long for the alcohol to have a sleepy effect on me and I was fading fast. Claire and Matt headed off and we called it a night. This was the start of a great couple of weeks.

The next morning Tobi dropped me off at the bus for my $2 trip back to Tauranga. We did take the long way back taking about 4 hours, but it was nice to just sit back, relax and take in the scenery. I arrived in the afternoon to be greeted by Mum, Dad, Vanessa and to meet my niece Hannah for the first time. We all jumped in the car and headed home for a nice roast dinner, ah nothing beats home made roast dinners!! The next day was mostly a relaxing day to catch up on a bit of R & R. We once again had a roast for dinner that night as well, this time we were joined by Blair as well. I think I'm starting to get used to the roast dinners again already.

Monday 3rd of May I met up with Trina, Jamie and Alexis at McD's for a catch up and lunch. Brings back such memories going to that McD's (the one on 11th ave), it's great to keep kids occupied in the playground. It was a nice lunch and catch up, unfortunately for me they were all heading away to Christchurch for the week coming up. Until next time.

Tuesday I met up with Jo for a famous walk around the mount and lunch. Unfortunately we couldn't walk around the mount as it was closed for repairs, bummer. We decided to walk along the beach front towards the town, we headed through town and stopped for lunch at a nice cafe. After this we headed back along pilot bay to end up at Copenhagen cones. No trip home is complete without a Copenhagen cone, well a few other things as well, but who's counting? After this I headed around to Vanessa's to spend some time with her and Hannah.

The next two days we spend mostly at Vanessa's house or out and about with Vanessa and Hannah. So nice to be able to spend so much time with them. For the first time ever I was on holiday and kept myself busy but was actually allowed to relax for a change, I was starting to feel very refreshed.

On the 7th May Jacki and I headed over to Ohope for the night. I was starting to have withdrawals from going there. We headed over about lunch time, checked out some of the shops and got some dinner and goodies for the night. It was a very nice, relaxing evening. We hung out, ate dinner and played card/dice games all night, ah the good old times!! The next morning we slept in the headed out to the town again for some more shopping for engagement party decorations. The leisurely made our way home to Tauranga. That evening I talked with Cam for his birthday and we had another roast for dinner, this time it was lamb my favourite!!

The 9th was Mother's day and Jordan's Birthday party. We had a bit of a sleep in well I should rephrase and say I had a sleep in. When I got up mum was making some stuff for Jordan's birthday party. I gave her my mother's day gift then we sat down for a coffee. We headed around to Blair and Dee's house at about 1pm I believe. There were lots of kids there and adults of course. The best part was fairy bread, to tell you the truth though I can't for the life of me remember why I liked fairy bread, perhaps it was all the colours etc because really it doesn't taste that good. The rest of the stuff was pretty good though. Turns out the birthday boy was finishing off his nap so we hung around talking while waiting for him to wake up. We all had lunch and then it was time for the presents. Children are so cute, so theolder kids are handing the presents to Jordan and he is a bit shy so just looks at them. So the kids start opening the presents for him. The adults tell the kids the presents are for Jordan so they go and grab Jordan and put him in front of the presents then precede to continue opening them themselves, very cute. A very nice 1st birthday party.

After the party we headed home to have a nap before getting ready to head out for dinner. Man kids are so tiring :) We were going to meet Blair, Dee, Dee's parents and some others at the boat house for dinner. Such a nice place to go, cheap decent sized dinners and cheap drinks, what more could you wish for. It was a nice evening to end a great day. Happy Mother's Day mum!!

Tuesday Cam arrived from Auckland via Vancouver. The family were picking him up however I went to meet him as well. Unfortunately we were a bit late, Vanessa would blame the baby but I would blame Vanessa haha. Anyway we still got to say hello before Vanessa and I headed off to do some errands while Cam and the family went back to their house to catch up. I hung out with Vanessa and Hannah for the day and then meet up with Cam for a couple of hours before heading home.

Now no trip home is complete without a trip to the Hot Pools, this is a must. Cam picked me up from Mum and Dad's and we headed out for a swim, you never really appreciate somethings till you haven't had them in a while. What I'm trying to say is the swim was fantastic!! After the swim Cam dropped me back at home, I must say it felt like we were dating for the first time ever!! Was quite exciting but a heck of a lot easier I'm sure than the actual first time.

Thursday the 13th we headed over to Hamilton so that I could meet up with my work friends and Cam with his. We had organised to meet a places near each other for convenience. After waiting a while for my friends I was worried no one was going to turn up, it turns out a slightly later time suited everyone but I hadn't checked my email. Half an hour later and everyone was there, there were a lot more people than I was expecting which was nice. We had a great lunch and chat. Afterwards I went to find Cam but it turns out he wasn't at the restaurant, I met up with him, Ed and Simon at another pub for a few drinks. We departed from there and headed to the hospital so I could meet up with a few other friends that couldn't make it to lunch, it turned out to be perfect timing as it was shift change time so I got to see more people. Was great to see everyone again.

We headed over to Jacki's new pad to check it out, and to have a coffee before headed out for dinner with Kim, Quentin, Jacki, Cam and myself. I just love being able to meet up with people and it's like you haven't even been away from each other. The meal was amazing and the company was even better. Man I haven't laughed like that in such along time!! Such a great feeling, thanks guys for the great company and laughs!!

Friday we waited for the afternoon then the troops came in to help us decorate the hall, thanks to Cam's parents, my parent's, Vanessa, Jo, Jacki and Hannah, the hall looked fabulous. After all our work we decided dinner out was a good option. We decided to go to the club. It turned out to be a good group of about 12-14 of us. Once again such good cheap meals, along with cheap drinks and pool.

Saturday the 15th was our engagement party yay!! The day was a bit of a rainy day, but that didn't stop us. We spent most of the morning and afternoon taking food, drinks etc around to the hall in preparation. My Aunty came around and we all had a nice lunch together, before taking more stuff around to the hall. Once I had transported everything I had a little time to relax before getting ready for the night. We all mucked around and got ready before heading to the hall. Once it was dark, all the fairy lights were on and the hall was completely set up it looked very beautiful. People started arriving and we were very overwhelmed with the turn out. We are both so happy with how many people could turn up and celebrate this time with us. People who traveled from near and far, it was great to see everyone. I now see how at these times it is difficult to see and spend time with everyone, I can only imagine what it is like at the wedding, I guess we will find that one out. We had such an amazing night and are so grateful for all the special people we have in our lives.

Sunday a whole bunch of family and friends came around to my parents house for leftovers/BBQ lunch. It was great as this gave us an opportunity to catch up with all the people we hadn't really been able to see the night before, perfect. Definitely think this will be something we do after our wedding. Was good to be able to see everyone before we head back to Vancouver. This time was quickly starting to creep up on us. This evening we went around to Cam's house for dinner, once again, great company and a great meal.

Well our trip home was slowly coming to an end, I knew I wouldn't have much more time to spend with my family while back so on Monday I spent the day with Vanessa and Hannah. We meet up with Mum in Greerton for lunch at a really nice crepe place. The rest of the day was spent relaxing before going around to Mum and Dad's for another roast dinner. I know what your thinking, wow that's a lot of roast dinners, but really who ever gets sick of them? Especially home cooked ones. Plus it was the last one I was probably going to have for a while.

Tuesday morning I packed all my bags and waited around for Cam's and the family to come and pick me up to head to Auckland. We left before lunch time. I said goodbye to Mum and Dad at our house before heading on our trip. I think this was the easiest goodbye yet, as I knew I would be seeing them again in a months time. We all piled in the car and traveled up to Auckland. We arrived at Cam's Aunty and Uncles for lunch and to unpack our stuff. We hung around here for a little while before getting ready to head out for the evening. After picking Trudie up from work we arrived at the Garrison pub for dinner, then headed to Alley's graduation. What a fantastic achievement Alley, a diploma in Business!! Congratulations we are both proud of you!

Wednesday was leaving day, I guess it had to come at some point but always comes too fast.

We headed to the Auckland museum for the morning/early afternoon before having a picnic on the grass. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and was reasonable warm. What a nice way to finish off our trip. We headed to the airport to check in, as usual we were super early so hung out for a drink before heading through customs. Goodbyes at the airport never seem to get easier. We will be back before you know it.

Once again another great trip. So nice to head back to your own country for a holiday you don't have to worry about being a tourist and not knowing your way around. Think I'll be coming back here.

Christmas 2009 - 24th Dec - 27th Dec

So this year we were very excited about Christmas time, there is just something about North America and how they celebrate Christmas, there are lots of lights all over the place and fun events to go to. Well not so much at Christmas time but prior to Christmas as you may have seen in the last blog.

I finished work at 7am on Christmas eve and Cam finished at lunch time which gave me a short time to have a sleep while Cam was working. He managed to get home a little earlier which was nice, we checked skype to see if any family were online, however being Christmas Day in New Zealand I think everyone was having a good time and no one was there to chat. It was a beautiful day in Vancouver, a little chilly however the sun was out so we made the most of it and headed down to False Creek on the waterfront and went for a walk. It was beautiful and there were plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine.

This evening we had been invited to Paula's house (a friend from work), to spend the evening with her family for dinner. After a quick chat with family we headed out to Paula's, with a Kiwi Pavlova in tow. Paula went and picked up Emily from work while Cam, Chris (Paula's husband) and their 2 girls watched some old fashioned Tom and Jerry, wow what a blast from the past. We feasted on roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, and veges accompanied by a few drinks. Not to forget doing the North American thing and opening a present from each other. It was such a great evening and nice to be surrounded by great company, especially with other family and friends so far away.

The next day of course was CHRISTMAS DAY!! We got up pretty early at 6.30am, well early considering we had no younger children around. It looked like it was going to be another beautiful day in Vancouver, actually the forecast for the rest of Christmas looked pretty good. We turned on all our Christmas lights and sat down to the Jordan family tradition of Croissants and orange juice, unfortunately we forgot to get out the eggnog we had bought, oh well maybe next year, still haven't tried it yet. Anyway next we sat down and opened up a few presents from santa before opening several more presents while skyping the McConnochie's. Our pile of wrapping paper looked quite impressive for 2 people, however as that pile got higher the present pile got lower :( Thank you everyone for all your gifts and not too mention the chocolate we received, I think we'll be eating this for several months, we pretty much have a one shelf in the fridge and one shelf in the cupboard full of Chocolate, not that I'm complaining YUM!!

We decided the weather outside was too nice to be sitting inside for the rest of the day so headed out ice skating, well I did some ice skating and Cam just watched/video'd the fun. This was probably my 2nd or 3rd time Ice skating and considering this I thought I did pretty well. I did have to hold on to the rail for several trips around, but never fell over so thats a bonus. Cam went to do some videoing somewhere else which gave me the opportunity to pick up some snow to surprise him with on the next trip round, ah don't think I ever get tired of snow fights. It was a bit busy to really feel comfortable but by the end I didn't have to hold onto the rail, until next time...

We were lucky enough to be invited around to Mel's (a person from work) house for Christmas dinner. She is from Ontario and invited a group of people who don't have family or know a lot of people in Vancouver around to her house for dinner. She had cooked up a huge turkey and veges and everyone bought something along to share. It was a huge feast!! there was soooo much stuff left over that Mel had to give stuff to everyone to take home. It was a beautiful meal and time to spend with new friends. Everyone headed off reasonably early, as some had to work the next morning. Cam and I didn't drink too much as we were off early to Whistler in the morning, how ever we did stick around to play some board games with Emily, Mel and another person who's name I forget. As always we were one of the last ones to leave but it wasn't too late after all. Overall a great first Christmas day in a different country.

We were wishing for a white Christmas in Vancouver however once we realised that wasn't going to happen we had to go and find the snow ourselves. We booked a night in Whistler and headed there early on Boxing Day morning. This was our first visit in Whistler in the Winter, the trip up there was just amazing. There was snow and icicles in the trees and the sun was shining, we couldn't have picked a better day to travel on the sea to sky highway. We took our snowboards with us but once we got to Whistler and had brunch it was already midday or so, price of a pass vs amount of time on the snow was the decision, we decided it was going to cost too much for the amount of time we were going to get so the snowboarding would have to wait till another time. A very tough decision to make.

We headed up to the tube park on the mountain instead. Imagine going flying down the mountain on a large plastic tube, kind of like a sea biscuit. It was awesome!! They push you from the top and you go down either straight or they make you spin around, the track is calved into the snow. I felt like a little kid again, great fun!! We headed back to our hotel after this for a nice swim in the spa pools, theres something about sitting in a spa, with snow surrounding the spa pool, where its freezing cold outside and your toasty and warm in the pool. The only downside is having to get out. Unfortunately we had to do this at some point, so thought we would head out for dinner, can't remember where we went but I'm sure it was nice anyway. Another great day.

From Whistler - Christmas 2009

Th 27th we just chilled, slept in and then went for brunch. We got the earlier bus back to Vancouver as Cam was going round to someones house from his work for a boys night of Ice Hockey and pizza. The Canucks won that night in a good game. The end to an awesome 4 days over Christmas, back to work for me tomorrow and more holidays for Cam.