The Year Halloween Did Not Come

Sadly we did not celebrate Halloween this year. Not by choice. Here in New Zealand Halloween is no big deal and no one does anything for it. Believe me, we asked around. One person even told us it was in November, so you know they have no idea it’s anything special. I was going to get some Halloween treats for the kids since we weren’t trick-or-treating, but they didn’t have any of those either. Guess I should have figured. Instead we got our “fix” by looking at my Halloween board on Pinterest. LOL! We also looked at pictures of our cousins in their costumes. And that was about it. Oh well. On the plus side, I didn’t have to spend a small fortune on Halloween costumes. Here’s a picture of our Halloween decorations I threw up by the front door before we left. I thought we could at least enjoy them for 2 weeks. 

NZ Aquarium

Checked out the aquarium today & decided to get a pass. I can go once a week to mix things up a bit.

Shine Falls

Yesterday we hiked to Shine Falls. It was about an hour drive from our house to the starting point. And then you hike about an hour to the falls & of course an hour back. It was a great hike & the falls were awesome. But we did learn that we will not be able to go on any hikes longer than this which is a big bummer because there are LOTS of longer hikes. Carrying Perry is one issue. And then there’s Davis. He did ok in the beginning. Well for about 30 minutes. Then he wanted us to carry him. We got him to walk for most of the way there. But on the way back there was no negotiating and he ended up on Lane’s shoulders.  Elliot on the other hand, can hang. She did really good. And Perry did awesome as well. Not a peep from her.

Here we are at the beginning. You have to hike through a field full of sheep.

Look at this gal. All smiles.

We made it!

Shine falls is a horse tail waterfall. It is 190 ft tall with a big wading pool at the bottom. If it were warmer we would have been able to go into the wading pool.

 Once we got there we ate a snack & checked things out. When we were ready to head back it started to rain. And it got heavier & heavier! We booked it back & made it in about 20-30 minutes. By the time we reached our car, we were soaked!

By the time we reached our car, we were soaked!

The Daily Grind

If you think we’re off hiking or seeing volcanoes every day, you are wrong. Lane does have to work while he’s here. And they are normal 10 hour shifts. He’s worked the past 2 days & still has 3 more days to work before he’s off again. So what do we do while he’s gone all day? Not too much. He takes the car. We usually hang around the house until Perry goes down for her morning nap. And once she’s up it’s time for lunch. We like to eat out on the balcony. The kids think that’s the greatest. After lunch it’s naps for the bigger kids (and fingers crossed for Perry too). They get up about 2pm. And that’s when we attempt to venture out. There’s a really nice park about a 15 minute walk from our apartment that we like to go to. So far the only issue has been the wind. It is SO windy here! It makes it really cold to where I don’t want to leave the house. But I don’t want to stay inside all day either. That has been a challenge. 

 And if you think we’re exempt from getting sick, you’re wrong there too. Last night Perry woke up at 11pm with Croup. We didn’t sleep at all. The next morning, we all went to the hospital with Lane to have her treated. They are very informal there. Maybe it’s because they know Lane works there. Who knows. We told the nurse what she had. She went to get some medicine, gave it to her & that was pretty much it. I guess I really couldn’t ask for more. The nurses were so nice. The one working with us pushed the stroller all the way out to my car! What?! Perry is doing a little better now. She just has a runny nose & every time she sneezes, it’s a mess!