This weekend Abby and I went to camp for a Mother Daughter bonding weekend. Friday after school we packed up bags and walked down the hill to Camp Columba's Mother Daughter weekend. We settled in cabin #2 and began the activities designed just for girls. The weekend consisted of yummy food, journaling, singing, dancing, make up, crafts and lots of time with just Abby and I. It was really nice.
We have three more weeks until our first two week holiday. Plans are in the works for the kids to go to camp here, as well as a 4 day biking trip from Clyde to Middlemarch. Once the holidays are complete we are excited to have our friend, babysitter and lifeguard from Lambton Centre come to stay with us. We are also buying wet suits as we plan to go to Porpoise Bay to swim with the Dolphins. A lady that I met at the camp this weekend had been to Porpoise Bay last weekend and they swam for hours with baby dolphins. That sounds cool to us, so we are going to spend this coming Saturday jammed in wet suits frolicking with baby marine mammals. We are hoping the weather continues to be warm and sunny.
Till next time.
Samantha
30 March 2008
24 March 2008
Easter Weekend
Samantha was kind enough to point out that she has written the last three posts so I will share with you how we spent our Easter weekend. The first thing to note is that Easter is a five day long weekend for both of us. Everyone in New Zealand gets a four day weekend but in Southland, our province, the Tuesday after Easter Monday is also when the provincial anniversary is celebrated by some. It is a floating statutory holiday that many people combine with the Easter weekend to take a mini-vacation before the weather turns cold.
Our weekend started with Sammy & Abby having some friends from school overnight. Sammy has a group of about 6 boys in his year that hang out and have fun together. He seems to have made a really good friend with a boy named Harry. They both share a love of Yu-gi-oh and a slightly quirky sense of humour. Abby invited Sophie & Libby the other 2 girls in her year. It seems that the more time the 3 of them spend together, the more at ease Abby feels. They had some good fun.
The next morning we headed out to Dunedin for a hockey tournament. I am on the men's team in Gore. We have ice time every Tuesday night for practice. That's taken some getting used to, I haven't taken part in a hockey practice in almost 20 years. I was ready for some game action. I wasn't ready for 4 games of hockey in 2 days. It didn't start off well for my team, we got creamed 15-0 by Dunedin's best. They were younger, faster and just plain better. We were stronger in our second game on Friday but still lost. The pictures in the slide show are from that game. As you'll see I didn't make out so well on one play. Samantha and the kids came along on Friday. The kids went skating on the curling rink and Samantha froze. Sammy & Abby loved being on the ice. Samantha was fighting off a cold and couldn't stay warm. They didn't come back for day two of the tournament so they didn't witness my team winning both games on Saturday. While in Dunedin I picked up a couple of bicycles for the kids. We had hoped to surprise them on Easter morning. That didn't work, they saw them in the back of the car and started riding them right away. They were thrilled. They have been patiently waiting to get bikes.
We woke up on Easter morning to find that the Easter Bunny did find us after all. In Canada, Easter is one of the big attendance days at churches. That's not the case here because so many people go away at Easter. Our church combined their service with 2 or 3 other churches. We were about to head in when we realized the start time was 1/2 hour earlier than normal. So we missed church and instead did a test run of the kids biking to school. It is literally a 6 minute bike ride. The kids rode and Samantha & I walked behind. It was a beautiful way to start the day. We enjoyed a video call with the Richards family after that. It was full of technical difficulties but it sure was comforting to see familiar faces. It was a pleasant surprise to see Grandma Burgess and Aunt Donna & Uncle Dave for the first time since we left.
Sunday afternoon we were invited to Robert & Stacey Young's house, who live 8 minutes up the road, for an Easter egg hunt and BBQ with some people from the area. You'll see from the pictures what a lovely place they have and the spectacular scenery that surrounds their farm. There were about 12 families there for the afternoon, around 20 kids and enough chocolate that they all took 30 eggs home. Just what we needed. When you go to a BBQ in NZ you take meat and salad or dessert, just like at home. But the amount of meat that is brought to a BBQ here is stunning. There must have been 10 different kinds of meat - hamburgers, sausages, venison, wieners, lamb, beef, chicken, bacon, fish, shrimp, pork and I am certain to be missing some. There were platters of meat everywhere. Before Samantha ate each piece of meat on her plate, she would hold it up and ask what it was. No one likes to eat mystery meat. It's a meat lover's paradise, these NZ BBQ's. Sammy & I were in heaven. Samantha made a 4-layered jello, which they call jelly, with whipped cream mixed in. This was a concoction that the people in attendance had never before witnessed. It was the subject of much discussion which somehow led to Samantha explaining the concept of jello shooters to them. They seemed to think she should bring those next time. We were there from 2:30 until 10:00 p.m. It was a great way to meet more neighbours and feel part of the community. Sammy ended up staying the night with James, another boy in his year.
We all got a good sleep-in Monday and spent the day just relaxing around the house. The day started off a little grey but I'll take cloudy and 70 any day. Tomorrow we have a lunch date with another neighbour family and then it's back to work on Wednesday for a grueling three-day work week. I'm sure we'll manage. We are in the process of planning a trip to Queenstown in the middle of April that should include a family jet-boat ride and a bungee jump for me. Stay tuned for updates.
Our weekend started with Sammy & Abby having some friends from school overnight. Sammy has a group of about 6 boys in his year that hang out and have fun together. He seems to have made a really good friend with a boy named Harry. They both share a love of Yu-gi-oh and a slightly quirky sense of humour. Abby invited Sophie & Libby the other 2 girls in her year. It seems that the more time the 3 of them spend together, the more at ease Abby feels. They had some good fun.
The next morning we headed out to Dunedin for a hockey tournament. I am on the men's team in Gore. We have ice time every Tuesday night for practice. That's taken some getting used to, I haven't taken part in a hockey practice in almost 20 years. I was ready for some game action. I wasn't ready for 4 games of hockey in 2 days. It didn't start off well for my team, we got creamed 15-0 by Dunedin's best. They were younger, faster and just plain better. We were stronger in our second game on Friday but still lost. The pictures in the slide show are from that game. As you'll see I didn't make out so well on one play. Samantha and the kids came along on Friday. The kids went skating on the curling rink and Samantha froze. Sammy & Abby loved being on the ice. Samantha was fighting off a cold and couldn't stay warm. They didn't come back for day two of the tournament so they didn't witness my team winning both games on Saturday. While in Dunedin I picked up a couple of bicycles for the kids. We had hoped to surprise them on Easter morning. That didn't work, they saw them in the back of the car and started riding them right away. They were thrilled. They have been patiently waiting to get bikes.
We woke up on Easter morning to find that the Easter Bunny did find us after all. In Canada, Easter is one of the big attendance days at churches. That's not the case here because so many people go away at Easter. Our church combined their service with 2 or 3 other churches. We were about to head in when we realized the start time was 1/2 hour earlier than normal. So we missed church and instead did a test run of the kids biking to school. It is literally a 6 minute bike ride. The kids rode and Samantha & I walked behind. It was a beautiful way to start the day. We enjoyed a video call with the Richards family after that. It was full of technical difficulties but it sure was comforting to see familiar faces. It was a pleasant surprise to see Grandma Burgess and Aunt Donna & Uncle Dave for the first time since we left.
Sunday afternoon we were invited to Robert & Stacey Young's house, who live 8 minutes up the road, for an Easter egg hunt and BBQ with some people from the area. You'll see from the pictures what a lovely place they have and the spectacular scenery that surrounds their farm. There were about 12 families there for the afternoon, around 20 kids and enough chocolate that they all took 30 eggs home. Just what we needed. When you go to a BBQ in NZ you take meat and salad or dessert, just like at home. But the amount of meat that is brought to a BBQ here is stunning. There must have been 10 different kinds of meat - hamburgers, sausages, venison, wieners, lamb, beef, chicken, bacon, fish, shrimp, pork and I am certain to be missing some. There were platters of meat everywhere. Before Samantha ate each piece of meat on her plate, she would hold it up and ask what it was. No one likes to eat mystery meat. It's a meat lover's paradise, these NZ BBQ's. Sammy & I were in heaven. Samantha made a 4-layered jello, which they call jelly, with whipped cream mixed in. This was a concoction that the people in attendance had never before witnessed. It was the subject of much discussion which somehow led to Samantha explaining the concept of jello shooters to them. They seemed to think she should bring those next time. We were there from 2:30 until 10:00 p.m. It was a great way to meet more neighbours and feel part of the community. Sammy ended up staying the night with James, another boy in his year.
We all got a good sleep-in Monday and spent the day just relaxing around the house. The day started off a little grey but I'll take cloudy and 70 any day. Tomorrow we have a lunch date with another neighbour family and then it's back to work on Wednesday for a grueling three-day work week. I'm sure we'll manage. We are in the process of planning a trip to Queenstown in the middle of April that should include a family jet-boat ride and a bungee jump for me. Stay tuned for updates.
16 March 2008
March 12 - 16, 2008
This week was an unusual one with the kids being away at Camp Bannockburn. They left Tuesday morning and did not return until Friday afternoon. As it was Abby's 8th birthday we thought it would be nice to drive up and surprise her mid way through the week. My Deputy Principal told me to take Wed. afternoon off and to go and see the kids at camp. Kiwis are different that way, they really encourage things like that. I would not have even asked to go and see the kids during work hours back home. The drive from Pukerau to Cromwell was amazing, however we took the 19 year old Honda, who did not appreciate having to climb the hills. She now has a rumble that she did not have before we left on our 2 hour journey. This week we will take her in to make sure she gets the attention she needs to run another few years for us.
Once we got to the camp we snuck into the kitchen to put Abby's cake in the fridge. Mrs. Watt was doing a lesson with the class in the adjoining room on irrigation. Once she let the kids out for free time Abby ran right passed us. She quickly came back to us and told us to meet her in the girls cabin she needed to tell us something in private. After sitting us down and showing us her bunk, she told us that being at camp has made it so she has friends now. She was elated and so were we. We stayed until they went to bed that night and it was wonderful. The parents that were chaperoning the trip were all Dads of students and they were fun and good to the kids. Sam has come home a fan of Guns and Roses...if I hear "Take me down to paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, oh won't you please take me home, yeeahuh yeeahuh" I will scream! They had a great time and we feel that the learning over 4 days and 3 days was indescribable. The information they have about irrigation and sluicing machines and gold extraction and how they feel about their friend situation is a learning experience they will never forget.
Abby had a nice birthday, we gave her a digital camera and card making things. She is in the process of making thank you cards for people who sent her birthday presents. It is really cute. We are on Hannah Montana overload! Mom and Dad, Holly and Scott and Gerred and Nikki all gave her HM things and she LOVES them!
Pottery this week was good. I made a platter and pottery beads. They will need two weeks to dry properly. My pinch pots looked great and this week I get to glaze them. I had a go at the wheel and it was going really well. I had what looked like a pot. With one wrong move it no longer looked like a pot. My friend, Lisa got to work on the other wheel and she had Diane our teacher work with her. Lisa left the evening with a lovely gravy boat drying on the shelf. Perhaps the best part of the night came after pottery when Lisa and I stood on the corner of Coutts Rd and Robertson St. and chatted for another hour. I have picked up my own pottery wheel today as well as clay, so I will be able to practice at home now.
You will notice in the pictures below that we bought some second hand furniture for the living room. They are comfy, not beautiful and they clash horribly with our drapes. And I don't even care.
The weather continues to be nice. It was about 75 - 80 most of the weekend. Here in Southland, out of blue "southerlies" whip in bring high wind, rain and cool air with them. Then an a matter of minutes it is calm, warm and fresh outside again.
Till next time,
Samantha
Once we got to the camp we snuck into the kitchen to put Abby's cake in the fridge. Mrs. Watt was doing a lesson with the class in the adjoining room on irrigation. Once she let the kids out for free time Abby ran right passed us. She quickly came back to us and told us to meet her in the girls cabin she needed to tell us something in private. After sitting us down and showing us her bunk, she told us that being at camp has made it so she has friends now. She was elated and so were we. We stayed until they went to bed that night and it was wonderful. The parents that were chaperoning the trip were all Dads of students and they were fun and good to the kids. Sam has come home a fan of Guns and Roses...if I hear "Take me down to paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, oh won't you please take me home, yeeahuh yeeahuh" I will scream! They had a great time and we feel that the learning over 4 days and 3 days was indescribable. The information they have about irrigation and sluicing machines and gold extraction and how they feel about their friend situation is a learning experience they will never forget.
Abby had a nice birthday, we gave her a digital camera and card making things. She is in the process of making thank you cards for people who sent her birthday presents. It is really cute. We are on Hannah Montana overload! Mom and Dad, Holly and Scott and Gerred and Nikki all gave her HM things and she LOVES them!
Pottery this week was good. I made a platter and pottery beads. They will need two weeks to dry properly. My pinch pots looked great and this week I get to glaze them. I had a go at the wheel and it was going really well. I had what looked like a pot. With one wrong move it no longer looked like a pot. My friend, Lisa got to work on the other wheel and she had Diane our teacher work with her. Lisa left the evening with a lovely gravy boat drying on the shelf. Perhaps the best part of the night came after pottery when Lisa and I stood on the corner of Coutts Rd and Robertson St. and chatted for another hour. I have picked up my own pottery wheel today as well as clay, so I will be able to practice at home now.
You will notice in the pictures below that we bought some second hand furniture for the living room. They are comfy, not beautiful and they clash horribly with our drapes. And I don't even care.
The weather continues to be nice. It was about 75 - 80 most of the weekend. Here in Southland, out of blue "southerlies" whip in bring high wind, rain and cool air with them. Then an a matter of minutes it is calm, warm and fresh outside again.
Till next time,
Samantha
08 March 2008
A Beautiful Saturday...
We had a beautiful Saturday today. The weather was so nice...about 23, sunny and a light breeze with random gusts that would send your hat flying. Laundry was out, groceries were bought, beds were stripped and remade..life happened.
New Zealand is feeling less like a vacation now, rather a nicely paced, simpler life. Thank goodness for technology. We got to talk/type to Mark, Kris and Emma, Shawn and Tanya, Emily, Moe, Kristen, Erinn, Mrs. McLeish and Mom, Dad, Holly, Hunter, Lillie and Scott. As it is Abby's birthday this coming week, we did a video call to Holly's when Mom and Dad got there. They had sent her birthday presents early and then she opened them today...it was like we were all in the same room having her party. Again, thank goodness for technology.
Here are some pics from today and other days that we had on our camera.
New Zealand is feeling less like a vacation now, rather a nicely paced, simpler life. Thank goodness for technology. We got to talk/type to Mark, Kris and Emma, Shawn and Tanya, Emily, Moe, Kristen, Erinn, Mrs. McLeish and Mom, Dad, Holly, Hunter, Lillie and Scott. As it is Abby's birthday this coming week, we did a video call to Holly's when Mom and Dad got there. They had sent her birthday presents early and then she opened them today...it was like we were all in the same room having her party. Again, thank goodness for technology.
Here are some pics from today and other days that we had on our camera.
07 March 2008
I began a Pottery class this week. Gore High school runs Community Education classes in the evenings and Thursday evenings from 7-9pm I will go and become "one" with clay. Our first lesson was nice. I made 2 pinch pots by hand. They are not too shabby. Both Abby and Sam would like a cactus in their rooms and I figure these pinch pots will serve as cactus homes. The teacher demonstrated how to use the pottery wheel and she made 2 beautiful pots in a matter of minutes. I hope to learn to do the same. They say that working with clay is a stress reliever. I am not sure which was the best medicine, throwing clay or laughing with Lisa, a new friend.
There was a tea welcoming new families to Pukerau Primary School this week. With Reena's coleslaw in hand we arrived at the school to watch Sam run off with a group of boys who look and act like him. The boys played cricket and chummed around the school yard most of the time while Abby stayed a little closer. It seems the situations that the kids are experiencing are in reverse from home. It was Sam that struggled to be accepted, felt on the outside of the group and felt as if no one liked him in Forest. This is not the case with Sam now. Abby, unfortunately is experiencing a bit of difficulty with the girls at her school. She came from grade 2 back home to Year 4 here in NZ. So her peers were 6 and 7 year olds, Abby being the oldest with an early birthday. Now she is the youngest in the class, with peers 8 years to 11 years old. She has had to do some quick adjusting. As well, there are only 3 girls in year four and 3 girls at any age can be difficult. The tea was nice and it was good to meet other new people.
We have no heat. Autumn has arrived to New Zealand and the common method of heating homes is with coal burning boilers. We have a coal burning boiler in the basement but no coal, nor the know how. We have people offering to help us and we will need to take them up on their offers as the nights are getting a tad nippy. Dan is planning to get coal this week...then the fun begins. Dan has always been a fan of lighting things on fire, so this is right up his alley.
There was a tea welcoming new families to Pukerau Primary School this week. With Reena's coleslaw in hand we arrived at the school to watch Sam run off with a group of boys who look and act like him. The boys played cricket and chummed around the school yard most of the time while Abby stayed a little closer. It seems the situations that the kids are experiencing are in reverse from home. It was Sam that struggled to be accepted, felt on the outside of the group and felt as if no one liked him in Forest. This is not the case with Sam now. Abby, unfortunately is experiencing a bit of difficulty with the girls at her school. She came from grade 2 back home to Year 4 here in NZ. So her peers were 6 and 7 year olds, Abby being the oldest with an early birthday. Now she is the youngest in the class, with peers 8 years to 11 years old. She has had to do some quick adjusting. As well, there are only 3 girls in year four and 3 girls at any age can be difficult. The tea was nice and it was good to meet other new people.
We have no heat. Autumn has arrived to New Zealand and the common method of heating homes is with coal burning boilers. We have a coal burning boiler in the basement but no coal, nor the know how. We have people offering to help us and we will need to take them up on their offers as the nights are getting a tad nippy. Dan is planning to get coal this week...then the fun begins. Dan has always been a fan of lighting things on fire, so this is right up his alley.
02 March 2008
A quiet week...
This week has been a quiet one. The kids had Athletics Day (track ad field day) at a neighbouring school. As you may have guessed I Sam's strengths lay in throwing things like shot put and discus. He is built like his father and would rather throw things rather than run or jump. Abby, on the other hand did really well in the running races. Down here they run races in bare feet. She loved that. Dan got to spend the day with them, meeting new parents and the kids' friends.
Sam and Abby are getting ready to go to camp with their class for the week of March 11th- 14th. This is the first time that Abby will celebrate her birthday with classmates. Normally her birthday falls on March Break. They are looking forward to camp. I am not sure what I will do each night without them home.
Starting this week I will be taking a Pottery class. The High School offers community education classes and I am looking forward to this new hobby. They have a pottery wheel, which is what I wanted to learn. I will include pics of my school as some of the students wanted to see what I see each day. My office is not much to speak of. It is a small, dusty little room that I dump my stuff. It is located at the farthest corner of the D Block...they sometimes refer to the D Block as No Man's Land. Thank goodness for my friend, Greg. He comes to visit me from time to time. Greg's wife, Lisa is taking pottery classes with me. They are are young couple with 3 children. Greg has just started his teaching career and I am glad he is at school. He was also in the Cheese Rolling race with Dan. (ahead of Dan)
There was a Teacher Only day this passed Friday. The education system is really into Bloom`s taxonomy. The day was spent at The Lodge, a nice Golf and Country Club. We were able to work with our departments, I got to work with the English Department, specifically with the Head of the Department, Lianne. She and I worked on a unit for The Raven, a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. It was wonderful. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed writing lesson plans. I left feeling inspired and like I can be creative in my lessons. A PA day that I left feeling creative and inspired...that has been a long time coming!
We have enjoyed a rainy, warm weekend. Autumn has arrived to New Zealand, our favourite season. We have done laundry, groceries, vacuuming, many emails and phone calls home. We have had a taste of what laundry in wet weather, without a dryer will be like. -two drying racks in front of windows loaded up with our skivvies- nothing fancy.
We are enjoying the comments and emails from everyone. There have only been a few moments of homesickness this week. Camping at the KOA this year with family, and the Ponderosa with The Hortons are two things that have been on my mind.
Sam and Abby are getting ready to go to camp with their class for the week of March 11th- 14th. This is the first time that Abby will celebrate her birthday with classmates. Normally her birthday falls on March Break. They are looking forward to camp. I am not sure what I will do each night without them home.
Starting this week I will be taking a Pottery class. The High School offers community education classes and I am looking forward to this new hobby. They have a pottery wheel, which is what I wanted to learn. I will include pics of my school as some of the students wanted to see what I see each day. My office is not much to speak of. It is a small, dusty little room that I dump my stuff. It is located at the farthest corner of the D Block...they sometimes refer to the D Block as No Man's Land. Thank goodness for my friend, Greg. He comes to visit me from time to time. Greg's wife, Lisa is taking pottery classes with me. They are are young couple with 3 children. Greg has just started his teaching career and I am glad he is at school. He was also in the Cheese Rolling race with Dan. (ahead of Dan)
There was a Teacher Only day this passed Friday. The education system is really into Bloom`s taxonomy. The day was spent at The Lodge, a nice Golf and Country Club. We were able to work with our departments, I got to work with the English Department, specifically with the Head of the Department, Lianne. She and I worked on a unit for The Raven, a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. It was wonderful. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed writing lesson plans. I left feeling inspired and like I can be creative in my lessons. A PA day that I left feeling creative and inspired...that has been a long time coming!
We have enjoyed a rainy, warm weekend. Autumn has arrived to New Zealand, our favourite season. We have done laundry, groceries, vacuuming, many emails and phone calls home. We have had a taste of what laundry in wet weather, without a dryer will be like. -two drying racks in front of windows loaded up with our skivvies- nothing fancy.
We are enjoying the comments and emails from everyone. There have only been a few moments of homesickness this week. Camping at the KOA this year with family, and the Ponderosa with The Hortons are two things that have been on my mind.
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