NZ Highlights

We had such a lovely holiday in New Zealand.  Here are a few of our favourite things.

 Getting blown away in Auckland.

 The amazing view of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables from our villa at the Heritage Queenstown.

 Seeing real kiwis at the wildlife sanctuary.

 Riding the gondola up over Queenstown.

 The Luge runs at the top of the gondola.

 TSS Earnslaw to the Walter Peak high country farm.

 Panning for gold in Arrowtown.

Beautiful, beautiful Queenstown. 

Over breakfast this morning:

Little Buddy:  Mom, did you know some "bygals" are round and have holes in them?

Me:  Bagels?  Yes, they are round with holes in them.

Little Buddy:  But not the Australian kind.  They don't have holes in them.  They're just round.

Translation:  Pikelets=Australian bagels (apparently)

Real bagels how we miss you . . . .

Milford Sound

Piled our family of 5 into this Cessna.

Sat, wide-eyed for 35 minutes as we flew between jagged snow-covered mountain tops, past glaciers, and over the most gorgeous turquoise water I have ever seen.

Cruised Milford Sound.

Got up close- really, really up close- with a beautiful waterfall.

Marveled at the stunning natural beauty all around us.

Flew back over rivers, lakes and more Remarkable mountains.

Landed in beautiful Queenstown knowing we had just experienced 

one of the most memorable holiday excursions ever.

Quite a good day indeed!

Left Behind

So we have embarked on our first holiday as a family of five.  I successfully packed up everything we would need for our week in New Zealand, we loaded everyone in the car and headed to the airport right on schedule.

We made it through check in with a trolley stacked 6 feet high with suitcases and car seats.  The friendly agent informed us that Air New Zealand would not gate check our stroller and we'd have to leave it at the oversized baggage check. 

So we trekked through the airport weighted down with 100 lbs of carry on baggage, toting the baby in his capsule, and pulling the Little Buddy on his trunkie.  At least the Little Princess was able to manage her bag on her own!

Finally, we pre-boarded and settled in for our quick 2.5 hour flight. 

About an hour into the flight, I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I realized that the Little Buddy's beloved giraffe blankies were sitting on the seat of our car in the Sydney airport.

I am officially out of the running for that Mother of the Year Award.

As expected, there were lots of tears when bed time rolled around and he realized he would have to sleep without his lovies.  We devised a makeshift one out of a baby blanket, but it's just not the same.  So, as a tribute to the giraffes, here are some photos of the Little Buddy and his lovies over the years.

 

 As a newborn

  

Baby Buddy

 

Toddler Buddy

 

Giraffe at Disneyland

Giraffe in Business Class

 

Giraffe on the Sydney Ferry

 

Giraffe in Shoal Bay

 

Giraffe on the way to the Great Barrier Reef

 Giraffe poolside on Hamilton Island

 

Giraffe comforting the middle child

 Sleepy giraffe

  

A giraffe cuddle

Giraffe jammies

This little boy is going to be very happy when they are reunited next week!

Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween 

from my two pirates and their parrot.

Customize a free collage *Yes, I made that parrot costume- and yes, he wore it for all of 10 minutes!

Sculpture By The Sea

My mom has been here for nearly three weeks helping me with the kids around the clock.  I couldn't let her come all this way and spend the entire time in my apartment doting on her darling grandchildren.  So when I saw that the annual Sculpture By The Sea was on we decided to head to Bondi and check it out.  We lucked out and had beautiful weather.  And we only had the baby with us so it was a nice relaxing morning together. 

It was a challenge to get some good photos

because I looked like this:

 Baby on the front, backpack on the back- a tricky balancing act!

 But here are some of our favourites:

Me and Mom enjoying our day out together!

Night Noodle Markets

There is always a festival going on somewhere in Sydney.  The latest was the Night Noodle Markets at Hyde Park.  Nana and I were feeling adventurous so we dragged all three kiddos down there to check it out.

It was packed!  A little too crowded for comfort- especially since we had a 10 week old in a pram (what was I thinking?).  The park was lined with food tents hawking all sorts of Asian goodies.  We found the shortest line and gobbled up some kind of tasty meat on a stick.  We also managed to find an ice cream tent and caught a glimpse of some Japanese dancers on the stage.

We quickly gave up on our adventure and headed back through the park.  On the way out we spotted Mr. Incredibubble.  He was incredible- check out the size of that bubble.  Definitely the highlight of the night as far as the kiddos were concerned.

Meat on a stick and giant bubbles- what more could a kid want?