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

3 weeks left

Okay so we have been a bit slack over the last couple of weeks with our blog...sorry! We have been busy then sick and now are back on track! Love Sandra

Ok now that my mommy is feeling better she can help me write our blog.

We have been super busy over the last couple of weeks. My friend Briar was on school holiday so we got to play together almost everday for two weeks! Sometimes she spent the night here with me and other times I spent the night with her I even went to Christchurch with her for 3 days!! That was a lot of fun cause her mom, Ms Karen, took us to play all over...we even got to go swimming at an indoor pool. Briar has two really cute brothers named Oliver (Ollie for short) and Harper. I really had fun playing with them as well.

While Briar was here in Geraldine we got to have horseback riding lessons!! I had so much fun! I rode a horses named witch and cassie and also a pony named buttons. I learned a lot during my lessons like a sitting trot, a rising trot, and riding by myself. I also learned how to take care of horses like making their feeds, brushing them, learning how to tie a knot in order to tie the horse to the post (you have to take the bunny put it through the burrough, under the log, over the log, back through the burrow, and close the hutch door). I also learned that you always have to care for and love your horses and never tie a horse to a fence or something that moves ONLY to a fence post. My teachers name is Nancy, she is a great teacher!

Now let me tell you about some other trips we have taken. We went to a place called The McCaully Hut. It is a public (anyone can stay there and more then one group at a time)cabin out in the middle of the hills way off the road where you have to drive through riverbeds and dirt/rocky road to get there. It was a really really bumpy ride. When we got there my mom thought it was really gross and dirty even though the cabin itself was beautiful and the views were great. There were 6 men already staying there when we got there and old food all around not clean at all. Mom agreed to rough it out for the night cause i was so excited about sleeping on the top bunk of one of the many bunk beds in there. But she was kinds crazy and wouldn't touch anything. she also wouldn't eat off any dishes there. They did not have indoor plumbing so if you need to go to the bathroom you had to use a latrine (an outhouse of sorts) but the latrine was full of waste and not clean so mom wouldnt let me use that either so that left the cold snowy outdoors. After we had been there for a couple hours 7 more car loads arrived of people wanting to stay so Shaun decided to leave cause it was too full. Mommy couldnt be any happier but i was disappointed that i couldnt camp out there for a night. So when we left it was pitch black and very cold and icy. Shaun ended up getting stuck in the snow when we first took off. So he had to dig out the car in freezing cold temps until luckily some of the people at the hut saw our lights in the distance and came to rescue us. They towed us out and we went back home. It was an interesting adventure!

Now to an even more exciting trip. For moms birthday we took a train to the west coast to greymouth (we are on the east coast). It was really pretty. We rode through the mountains and over big bridges (which my mom was scared by). Once we got there we were so excited. We checked in and unpacked. It was warmer there then in geraldine so mommy had to shed a few layers before we went out to walk around the town. We went to a birthday dinner and then back home to get a good night sleep. The next day we went to a place called Shantytown which is an old mining town. I got to go gold mining and everything! After touring it we had a picnic on the beach were there are HUGE waves! It was so beautiful! We walked around a lot and then it was time to go back to the hotel and go to sleep. I got really sick that night and had a high fever so mommy took special care of me and by the time i woke up my fever was gone and we were ready to pack up and go home. We took the train back and then mommy got sick the next day so that is about it. We are caught up now. Well we are heading towards the end of our trip. We have three more weeks until we are back home and warm. Lets see what else we will do before coming home...miss you all and love you~Bella

Our weekend at Lake Tekapo

hi everyone! i want to tell you about my fun weekend at Lake Tekapo! On our way there the view was SO pretty! There were snow capped mountains and hills and lots of sheep and cows (mommy kept mooing and baaing at them as we passed...it was funny at first). Once we got there we went on a little walk not too long though because mommy kept complaining how cold it was...she was in 4 layers of pants and tops and coat and scarf and still cold! I was so excited about the snow all around that I immediately started making and throwing snowballs...at mommy cause she looked so silly. Shaun told mommy to stop whinging (whining) but mommy was too cold to listen! After our walk we went to our rental house and put on more clothes so mommy could be warmer for our walk to the outdoor skating rink. We payed for our skates and got onto the rink but not Shaun cause he doesn't skate at all. Mommy pooped out in about five minutes cause it was too hard to skate on the bad ice. No Zamboni to clean this ice which made it VERY hard to skate on, and the blades of the skates were dull so mommy got off quick cause it was hurting her legs and feet to try and stay upright on the ice...WIMP! I stayed on for around an hour while Mommy and Shaun ordered lunch and found a table by the fire. I had a HUGE blister on my toe so I had to get off the ice as well for the day. Everybody's lunch was delicious but mommy's. She ordered vegetable soup with a roll and what she got was pumpkin mush that looked like baby food and tasted just as bad! We all had a taste and eventually mommy gave up trying to eat it and ordered a sandwich like mine. We walked back to the house and mommy took a half hour nap while I watch some TV, then Shaun made us get up and we went to dinner at a pub. Guess what! I had chips for dinner that night. We were still rather full from lunch so we had a small tea. Chips are french fries back home and tea is dinner. We went back to the house and changed into our swimming suits...it was hard to convince mommy to do this since it was so cold but we finally got her changed. We walked back to the rink where there are hot pools outside. The hot pools were so hot that we couldn't tell how cold it was outside unless we jumped from pool to pool. The first pool made our feet feel like they had pins and needles in them cause we were so cold when we got in and it was so hot but then we got used to it. Then we moved to the second one. Mommy wouldn't let me get my hair wet so it wasn't all that much fun for me. We realized this pool was too hot so we went back to the first one. After awhile mommy said hold your nose and she dunked me into the water. She realized it was silly not to get our hair wet. From then on I had so much fun! Shaun played water games with me while mommy sat on the bench and watched. After about two hours mommy made us get out cause we looked like raisins! We went back to the house and took a nice warm shower and got ready for bed. The next day we drove to Lake Alexandrina (lake Alex for short) and walked around the snow. This was one of the places mommy went in January so we came back to see it in the winter. it was beautiful and I loved jumping around in the snow and climbing trees and crossing bridges over the brook. That as the end of our weekend adventure we had so much fun! We miss you all especially our family! Until next time (if we have a connection)...

Love Izabella/Mommy

day four in New Zealand

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to tell you about our last four days in New Zealand. Well first, we got here on a cold Sunday morning around 9am. Shaun picked us up in Christchurch and it was cold and wet. On our way home it started snowing and it seemed like Christmas. So much so that mommy sang a couple of carols. It was really funny. We unpacked the moment we got home and I got to see my room. Its really beautiful and had lots of fun things for me to do and play with. (thank you Mrs. Gregan/Shaun's mom, and Miss Mandy/Shaun's sister) While mommy unpacked I had a nice hot bath in a super big bathtub with some bath toys. It was hard to climb out because it is SOOOOOO C-O-L-D! No heaters here just a big fire place to warm the house. It has taken some getting use to remembering to shut doors to keep the heat in but we have finally begun to feel warm :) After getting out of the bath I got dressed and played in my room for a little while while mommy finished unpacking. After our long flight we had quiet time to relax. I was so tired and cold that I curled up in a ball and fell asleep around 2 o'clock and didn't wake back up until 5 o'clock the next morning!!! Around 5/6 mommy found out I had a heating blanket and then I was warm warm warm!

Monday: In the morning (5AM) we got up. Shaun started the fire and we had breakfast. When it was light outside we went to the grocery store in Timaru (about 30 minutes away). It took a little while to pick out what we would all like to eat. Then Shaun had mommy drive home in her first driving lesson. She did ok as long as she didn't have to turn. :) Basically it was a day of errands and I was really tired still. We had dinner at Shaun's parents and I met them for the first time. I was yawning all night and fell asleep by the fire soon after dinner.

Tuesday: This was our first tourist experience. We went to the small town, Ashburton. I was lots of fun. I got to go shopping and chose to buy some colored clay. We had lunch there and Shaun bought a new tv because his died the day before. We were gone all morning and early afternoon then mommy drove us back home. (scary--hahaha) I played with my clay for hours until dinner. Mommy says I was super creative cause I made lots of fun boxes and shapes...even people! It was lots of fun. Mommy made us dinner and I was so tired that I went to bed right after again!

Wednesday: Shaun had to work today so it was just me and mom for the day. It was our first adventure in Geraldine. We walked to town (about 15 minute walk) and bought some post cards to send home...if you want a post card email mommy your address!! I made mommy go into lots of shops to look around. It was so interesting we even got to go into a hardware store which is my favorite! They had fishing rods and soccer/footballs, and balls for rugby. I am saving up to buy a ball cause they are expensinve here...if I save my weekly budget for a two weeks I will be able to get one. Then we went to Robbie's Cafe' where Mrs. Sharon's mom works. We had a delicious lunch there and took our chips to go for our walk home. Chips are what they call french fries here. They were super hot and yummy. You can even have different flavor salt sprinkled ont them like chicken flavor. YUMMY! We started on our way back home and stopped at the town museum for a look inside. The museum was so cool. This kind man showed us around. my favorite part was the old fashioned organ. He even let us play it. We had to pump the pedals lots of times and pull different knobs to make it work. On the way home we stopped at the park and played for an hour. I met a little boy named Alex who is almost 4. We played tag and did flips on the jungle gym bars. Mommy even hung upside down but she got scared and got stuck there for a few minutes. Then we came home and had quiet time for an hour while mommy took a nap on the couch. I have been reading lots here and am almost done with the second Percy Jackson book! Mommy didnt feel really good when she woke up but she got up anyways and pulled some clothes off the clothes line and did a load of laundry. While mommy made a list for dinner and got dressed for a run I heard some girls playing outside and decided to investigate. I met two girls named Helen and Amber. We played for about 10 minutes then they had to go home. Mom and I went on a run around town to the grocery store for tomatoes, onions and green peppers. We finished our run and mom and I hung the laundry on the clothes line outside. They don't have dryers here. It was fun learning to do it. Shaun's sister Mandy stopped by while I was playing in the yard and mommy was finishing hanging clothes. This was my first time meeting her. She is really really nice. When we came inside we talked for a little while then we split a wishbone. She won. Shaun got home from work and we made dinner. It was yummy. Spagetti and garlic bread. Then I went to bed. We get tired really early here!

Thursday: Its been a lazy day so far today. Writing our blog and now going to get dressed and start our day. Hope you are having lots of fun back home. Lots of stuff to do here in New Zealand so we are going to let you get back to what you are doing and we are going to set out on another adventure.

Love Mommy and Izzy

Getting Ready to go...

Dear Family and Friend's,
My mom and I are going to Geraldine, New Zealand for the entire summer. I can't wait to meet new friends. I am excited to see Shaun, and meet his family...especially his niece, Briar. We have lots of packing and cleaning to do before we leave in six weeks. I am excited about starting this blog with my mom in order to share our adventures together this summer. Stay tuned for our many activities and new experiences as we explore the south island of New Zealand. We will be starting our blog officially Monday, June 14th, 2010.