and the count down continues...two weeks left

ok so we have had a rather busy weekend! We spent a lovely weekend in Christchurch with Shaun's sister and her family. This was one of my top three favorite memories that we have made while over. We woke up VERY EARLY due to a lively bunch of boys who wake up literally at the crack of dawn. This ment lots and lots of coffee for me :) I survived each day though without getting too worn out. Our first day we went on a gondala ride Bella had to do a LOT of convincing to get me on it, but in the end her excitement to show me the top of the hill and its sites won out and I got on. For those of you who are thinking a leisurely boat ride down a lazy river think again. It was like an enclosed ski lift taking you up the side of a large hill to overlook the city and surrounding areas. The leisure boatride is called punting here. The view at the top was magnificent and worth the anxiety of being high off the ground. From there we went to what is known as the Littleton Farmers Market. That was very interesting and I especially enjoyed walking through the stalls and seeing all of the old objects and tasting delicious samples of homebaked goods. We later went on a tram to tour Chrsitchurch which included stopping at the oldest historical Anglican church and walking around taking in the beautiful architechture and settings. The next day was spent walking through Christchurch's historic arts district and parks. It was a wonderful day and I truelly loved getting to know Karen, Tony, Briar, Ollie, and Harper even better!!(Shaun's sister, and her family) Now I will pass it onto Bella since she is the main event on this blog :) Love/Sandra

This weekend I pulled out my own tooth. It was the extra tooth that sometimes peaks through my lips when my mouth is closed. It was so happy that I was smiling the whole trip. The toothfairy came all the way from the United States, and gave me $5! Christchurch was so fun we got to a park and walk around. We played in trees that were so COOL! (We have pictures but will have to show them later because we can't upload them right now) There was one that was HUGE and there were pathways you could walk in it like a big maze. Another was a huge willow tree we got to climb and even mommy climbed with us. The last tree was not very big but there was a huge limb that was like a swing and you could climb on it and actually swing back and forth. (for the record it was a pretty big tree too it only seemed small cause the others were ginormous) When we got home we had a little while to play I was thinking in my head the whole time that it was the best day ever. I can't wait to go back next time we come to new Zealand.

Today was awesome! We went to Temuka Stock Sale. This is like a huge outdoor store that sells cattle. My favorite part about it was seeing the cows. There were big ones and baby ones. The calfs were my favorite. When we went up to look at them and I put my hand out some sucked on my fingers. It felt so soft like a horse licking you. It was gooey and sticky and slimy when I pulled my hand out. One didn't care about my fingers it went straight to my pants and started sucking and licking on my pant leg. Then we went to see the big cows. One cow was so big it filled up one whole pen. It was really stinky there cause they all poo and pee whenever they feel like it. We have starting our packing chores today and are getting ready to come back home. We are sad to leave New Zealand but excited to get back home!!

Love/bella