Christmas Concert, Old NZ Cars and a Summer Walk.

This weekend was beautiful. The kids were in a concert at church and they got awards as well. On Saturday a bunch of old cars came to the camp and Sam went down to take pics. They were neat. Also, Sunday afternoon it was almost hot outside and we decided to walk down to the kids school. They wanted to check on their garden plots. Their teacher/principal, Mrs. Watt decided that there should be huts for the kids to play in at playtime. Two weekends ago, at the work bee, Mrs. Watt had the volunteers put pallets together into huts. Then she gave the kids hammers, nails and the freedom to do what they wanted to the huts to make them their own. They did this during unsupervised playtime outside. They are cool!

It does not feel like Christmas time. The weather is hot and sunny, the grass is green and my gardens are full of strawberries, roses and weeds! We have yet to decorate too. Abby is adamant that we get a real Christmas tree, but they do not sell real trees here. Everyone either has fake ones or they walk in to a bush and hack down branches and stick them in a pail with rocks. We will soon get something together. Mom sent the kids advent calendars and a set of 4 snowman place mats. That is the extent of our decorating so far.

We have week of school left. Sam will go to school on the next Monday morning because Mrs. Watt wants a special morning with her kids that are leaving next year. He will miss her, she has been wonderful for Sam. Mrs. Watt is one of those teachers that every parent wants for her children. She is caring yet firm, and takes the time to really "get" the children. Right from the beginning she has been great for Sam and Abby.








Until next time,
Samantha

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Libby and James Young live around the corner up on Mountain Road. They stayed the night this Saturday night. Abby and Libby are good friends and Sammer and James are best buds. After tea the kids went out and did a photo scavenger hunt. The criteria was that they worked in partners, one partner had to be in the photos and they could not use our yard to take the pics. They had a list of 10 Pictures to take, here they are...
- 20 toes on a cattle stop
-a partner on a top bunk
- a partner in front of a cross
-a partner in a tree
- a partner in a box full of wood
-a partner at the halfway point on the slide
-a partner laying on a steep hill, upside-down
-a partner peeking around the climbing wall
-a partner in a pig pen
- a partner in mid air on the trampoline


Enjoy the pics! We did, they had fun...if you know Brian Cofell and Dan Richards, take note of Sam and James.. they are hilariously similar!




Until next time,
Samantha

December 1st

Today is December 1st and that means it is summer here in New Zealand. The weather man was not alerted to this information as the day was more like spring. I am not complaining! I have been hearing about the snow that fell last week in the Grand Bend area and am very glad to be here.

My dear friend Sharon Soldan taught me to count down the school days by how many Mondays were left. I have carried on with her tradition and am very happy to announce that I have 1 Monday left of school this year! I do not feel like I did back in Canada though, the end has crept up and it is nice that we are almost done. There has been a lot of things going on as things come to an end. They say "break up" here which means that things will end. So for instance, Dan and Sam had their hockey break up last week. I had my pottery break up last Thursday. Abby will have her ballet break up show next Thursday. Break up means that you bring a plate (filled with food) to share with everyone and you talk and some awards may be given. In the photos that follow you will see that Dano got a couple of awards this year for his hockey. He did really well.

The kids are preparing for their end of year musical, Snow Bright and the Seven Dorks. Abby is Snow Bright's dead mother in Angel form and Sammer is a narrator. We will try to video the production and burn it to DVD for the Grandparents. Sam got into St. Peter's College for next year. Orginially he did not get in but a space became available and we were happy to get the call. He has an orientation day this Friday afternoon. I will include pics below of him in the school uniform. A lady I work with gave us a bag of hand me down uniforms for Sam. He looks so spiffy in the uniform!

I have been offered a permanent contract with Gore High School. So next year I will be teaching four Year 9 classes and a Forward Thinking class. Forward Thinking is a new programme that Gore High has decided to let me pilot this year. I will not be teaching Foods next year which I will really miss. Foods would not fit into my timetable so Mr. Crosbie could not give it to me. I applied to be a Dean. Deans work in pairs, male and female, and they oversee a year group. I got the position of Dean for the Year 9's. I will work alongside a seasoned Mr. Hannah (who reminds me a lot of Uncle Ted). The Dean's job is to carry through each year until the year 9's leave school in 5 years time. I am excited about this job as I was wanting something a little different from classroom teaching. Before I came to Gore High I was never interested in the Managment side of things but here they allow for middle management positons such as Dean which I think I will like. This week I am out of the classroom preparing for next year's year 9's. I certainly feel valued at Gore High. The principal and my Head's of Departments are generous with their kind words, it is truly refreshing.

Dan's parents arrive Decemeber 21. We are so glad, and a little ovewhemled that family and friends come all this way to see us. Christmas will be different this year and having family will make it more familiar. The plan is to spend Christmas Day at the beach. If the weather cooperates, that is. Dano is working on an itinerary for Phil and Janet which includes a trip to the North Island, a train trip up the east coast, a few farm stays, a waterfall day, and all of our favourites in between. Camp Columba shuts down for 2 weeks over Christmas so it will be very relaxing. The four of us plan to do The Rail Trail while Phil and Janet are here so that they can be our support vehicle. Central Otago is beautiful during the summer, bursting with cherries and apricots. Every little village and crossroad has shops and cafes that P & J will love (maybe J will love them more than P).

Jo and John Gardyne gave us a trampoline yesterday. Our children have spent the last 2 days bouncing, squealing and playing in our backyard.



Until next time,
Samantha

Riverton for Dano's Birthday

We left Pukerau Friday afternoon to go to a "crib" in Riverton. A friend of mine at school has an Auntie Marylyn and Uncle Errol that rented us their crib. It was beautiful. The idea of doing more and having less is now second nature to us. Our efforts to celebrate Dan's birthday were spent organizing the crib, packing, then enjoying the weekend. He did get himself a Stunt Kite which was great fun for 20 minutes then plunged to its death. He also got a pair of jandals (flip flops) that have therapeutic massage bumps where the sole of your foot go. After an hour of wearing them the therapeutic massage bumps are equivalent to Chinese tourture. 

The crib was right on the water, we slept to the sound of waves, woke to beautiful beach and played amongst the waves, the crabs and the flounders. We biked out to the end of Riverton's beach and Abby made it, although many Riverton-ites were probably wondering what her problem was. On Sunday Caroline and Richard (Uncle Errol's sister) arrived at the door in search of the flounder net. They invited us down to the spot where they were going floundering. It was wonderful, we learned so much. The two men suited up in wet suits and dragged the net along the bottom of the river. They walked slowly and then got back to shore with flounder in the net. On the last time they were dragging the net the tide began coming in and Richard got into some trouble. We could hear him making a grunting sound, one of exhaustion. The men had let go of the net and began swimming back to shore. Caroline was out in the water knee deep trying to talk to Richard. By his sounds we knew he was in trouble. He went under twice then cried out a weak "help". Dano ran in, swam to Richard and began pulling him out of the river. Abby was clung to me, Sammer had gone out into the water as far as he could...we all held our breaths. The men got to their feet and Richard thanked Dan as he would have gone under, he thought he was going to drown. What a good lesson for the kids. We are so proud of our hero, and Sammy promises never to bellyache again about having to take swimming lessons. They came back to the crib and taught us how to clean and fillet the flounder. Dano says this was one of his best birthdays.


Until next time,
Samantha

The ocean, Halloween and a bike ride.

It was pointed out to me tonight by my beautiful wife that she has written the last 8 posts for our blog. She suggested that maybe I should write this one in case anyone was wondering if she had finally gotten rid of me ... she hasn't.

Last weekend was Labour Day Weekend in New Zealand making it a long weekend. We had the Monday off. We spent Saturday in Invercargill doing some shopping. We found lots of treasures at Savemart - the Kiwi version of Value Village. The best find of the day was a brand new pair of Saucony running shoes for Samantha for $8.99. We also finally bought a bed. We've been sleeping on a double bed that was graciously supplied to us on arrival. It's been alright but not great. We expect our new queen size to arrive next week - I'm looking forward to a little extra space. Sunday was all about gardening. We planted a cucumber patch, some sweet corn and a strip of tomato plants. Samantha is planning to make salsa, relish and dill pickles from these. There are no dill pickles in the stores here and the relish is gerken - not sweet. If all goes well we may have some fresh veggies to share with my folks in January. Monday we headed to the ocean, Porpoise Bay to be exact. The kids packed their wet suits and we packed the cameras - still and video. We got to the beach, set up our chairs and Samantha got the camera out. It was at this point that she discovered that I had forgot to get the battery out of the charger. Oops! I did have our Flip video camera though so we got lots of video footage only to later discover that it is broken and we can't transfer footage to the computer right now. Luckily we ran into a guy that I play hockey with, Zee. He was at the beach with his wife and son and they let us use their camera to snap a few pics. You'll see them below. It was a great day at the ocean and on the way home we stopped at McLean Falls, a really spectacular waterfall about 1 hour from our house. I'd love to show pictures of that but you know the story.

So this weekend was Halloween.  We knew well beforehand that it is not a big deal here.  Some Kiwi's actually resent the fact that it happens at all because they feel like New Zealand is being Americanized with such a consumeristic "holiday".  This being the case we didn't go trick or treating.  Our church hosted an Angels and Heroes party as an alternative to trick or treating on Friday night.  Abby dressed as an angel and Sam created a costume for a character he called Super Aqua Man.  It was an enjoyable evening but not what we are used to.  Samantha and Abby were surprised to feel homesick during this time.  Sometimes the feeling creeps up on us when we least expect it.  

You'll see from the next set of pictures that we went biking this weekend as well.  We found some really nice mountain bike trails at the Sandy Point Recreation Reserve near Invercargill.  It is a big area, over 2000 hectares, that was set aside for recreational pursuits.  It has many walking tracks, a mountain bike area and everything from rowing clubs to stock car racing to horse riding tracks.  One of the pictures below is of the sign that lists everything that is there, what a wonderful idea and great use of land.  One of our reasons for heading there today is that we are planning to ride the Central Otago Rail Trail in January, a 3 or 4 day bike ride, and we need to build up our saddle time before then.  We also wanted to test how Samantha' s knee would hold up and to see if Abby could get her head around the idea.  The good news is that Samantha's knee did okay - starting and stopping wasn't great but once she was rolling it was pain free.  The bad news is that Abby had difficulty wrapping her head around the biking, as you will see from the pictures.  We still have some work to do with her before we head out for 4 days. It's not that she can't bike, she just doesn't like to.  She hasn't every since she once wiped out in front of Samantha and got run over.  We may need to get her some kind of therapy.  We'll keep you posted on her progress.  

Good weekend

We had a good weekend. The kids are in such a wonderful place these days. They enjoy hanging around each other lately, exploring, playing and talking. This weekend the weather was beautiful the kids spent a lot of time at the trampolines, walking around the camp, playing with new Hot Wheels and building a fort. It is truly a pleasure to watch them grow and daily we think about how this move to NZ has been positive for them.

After church Sunday Dano and I put together a few cots and bunkbeds for a large group coming to the camp. Then we puttered around, weeding a rose flowerbed beside the house. It was nice. I included pics of the long flowerbed in front of the house.

PowerBall is a lotto here in NZ. We never play the lottery but this Powerball was 30 million. We did not win the 30 mil, but we did come home with $103, that is better than a kick in the pants.

The kids spent Sunday evening playing and building a fort in the forest behind the house. Abby took us on a tour, acting like a tour guide. She is so Type A! In role, she bossed us around, told us how to get to the fort, ordered Sam around...it was hilarious.

Back to school tomorrow, the kids have a short week. They get a Teacher Only day on Friday and then Monday is Labour Weekend which is a holiday for all Kiwis. As I sit here, Dan and I are chuckling, there are dairy cows the live across the field and past the pond. They have been barking/moaning/yelling all day. The sound is so bizarre. I should try to record some footage of these strange sounding cows.

Until next time,
Samantha

Friday Nights

Friday nights are glorious. The kids get off the bus at 3:45pm, I get home from school a few minutes after that. The kids and I make supper together, tonight we made burritos. Sam and Abby play with and feed the bunnies and practice music. When Dan gets home we sit down for chow. It stays light until 8:30ish so the evening seems to last forever. After supper we went for a walk around the camp, the kids trampolined, Dan and I strolled. Here are some photos of our night.



The kids started taking swimming lessons this week. Abby's instructor is a Teacher Aide at my school, her name is Sally. She is a beautiful lady. Sam had a "fill in" instructor his first night so we have yet to meet Fiona. Here are some photos of the kids at swimming lessons.



Until next time,
Samantha

Spring Holidays 2008

This past week we have been on school holidays. It has been quiet and relaxing. The kids have spent a lot of time outside. The weather is getting warmer and the sun is out from 6am - 9pm. Our family celebrated Thanksgiving with a chicken, the biggest we could find. It seems that turkeys do not come out until Christmas time, even at a butcher shop! We went to church, swam at the pool and then Dano and I had to do our two hour time slot at the ice rink, so the kids skated too. When we came home we got our Thanksgiving supper ready. It was a gorgeous day.
We are back to school tomorrow. There are 9 weeks until we are finished this school year to enjoy summer/Christmas holidays. We will be off from Dec 12 - Feb 7. Dan's parents are coming to stay with us over the Christmas holidays. We are so fortunate to have family visit us.
Until next time,
Samantha

Mark, Kris and Emma's Visit

We were lucky to have Dan's brother, sister in law and niece come to New Zealand for a visit. We showed them a few of our favourite spots, although Milford Sound did not work out for them due to a mud slide blocking the road, then gale winds on the west coast prevented the tours from running. Ah well, they will have to come back!!! The house seems very quiet tonight. Here are some photos of things we did while they were here. Enjoy
Until next time,
Samantha

Whanau

Mark, Kris and Emma have arrived to New Zealand. They brought with them a bag with stuff from home. Reena and Kris put together many special things that we do not have here. Sherrif Lemon pie filling, Victoria Secrets Underwear, Maple Syrup, Kraft Dinner, Nike Running shoes, Betty Crocker cake mixes, clothes for the kids and so much more. Thanks ladies!
The "other" Richards family have been seeing some of our favourite sights while we finished up working before our holdiays. The Youngs, Stacey and Robert are friends or ours here that are sheep farmers. Mark, Kris and Emma spent a morning lambing with Robert. They have also been to other friends, the Gardyne's who have a farm not too far from us as well. They made it to the ocean seeing part of the Catlins, which was one of our favourite sights.
I have booked the Gore High Mini Bus to transport all seven of us around this weekend. We are heading out early tomorrow morning to see Alexandra and Queenstown. Pictures will follow. It is really nice having guests again.

The knee surgery went well, I guess. I had a spinal and was awake for the procedure and watched the whole thing on the TV beside me. Dr. Leuker is an American working in Invercargill. He filled my knee with water and many bits of cartilage came out. He knew that there was damage in there. Originally he thought the meniscus was torn and was prepared to trim and remove, however the meniscus was not too bad. He was surprised to find a long line gauged out of the cartilage directly in the top bone of the knee where all the weight gets put. He had no explanation of how this could happen. Also the backside of my knee cap looks like a cheese grater has been scraping it. These unexplainable injuries are irreparable and "I will have to live with years of swelling, arthritis..then eventually a knee replacement." To that I say... DAMN IT! Aging is shitty!

Until next time,
Samantha

Abby's Ballet Assessment

This past Saturday Abby and two of her classmates took their Primary Ballet Assessment. When we left Canada Abby was working in her Primary Ballet. When we got to New Zealand she started learning the Primary work here, it was a little different but she got it. Her teacher, Mrs. Ainge felt that she was ready for the exam but it was too late to enter her in for the RAD exams. Mrs. Ainge arranged to have assessments for the girls with a local examiner. It went very well. It brought back memories of Holly and I at Florence's, nervous and giddy.

September 18, 2008

Dan's brother Mark, his wife Kris and daughter Emma left Dresden today to travel to Australia then to New Zealand. We are very glad to have visitors again. Tonight we will be organizing beds, washing sheets, creating a menu and planning a combined belated birthday for all three cousins. M,E,K will fly into NZ this coming Tuesday. Abby and I will go to pick them up at the airport. We have a few things planned while they are here, Mark will be flying back to Canada 5 days after he arrives and the girls will stay on into our school holidays. They are bringing "stuff" with them...Cheez Whiz, Maple Syrup, Sherrif Lemon Pie mix, Dove Soap, Degree Deodorant and the list goes on. These are all items that New Zealand does not have. I can't wait!

At Pukerau Primary the classes only go up to Year 6. Sam is in Year 6 now and his group of mates will move on. The options are St. Peter's College, a Catholic school that goes from Year 7 - Year 13; Longford, a public intermediate school of Year 7 and Year 8 classes and that is really it. Blue Mountain College, a public school the has Year 7 - Year 13 would be a hour bus ride both ways. Sam's was keen on going to St. Peter's College as his friends are going there and it is a small school. As we are not Catholic we had to interview for a few Non-Preferential spaces. Sam did not get a spot. So we are keeping our minds open, looking into Longford and what is meant to be will, will be. Sammer comes home everyday dirt ground into his pants, bruises in strange spots, bottoms of his feet black...he and his friends play Bullrush. As I can understand it...they kick off their shoes (thus the black feet) and then they pummel each other (bruises and dirty clothes). He loves it.

Abby has become a different girl in the mornings. She used to wake up with a snarl, and continue to snarl, growl and yell before she left for school. It was most unpleasant. The last three weeks have been the opposite. I am so glad these phases kids go through come to an end. Thank God!!!! Something has changed and she is happy, pleasant and lovely now. She is getting ready to do her Ballet assessment this Saturday. She keeps telling me that she loves dance but she is nervous about the assessment. I am sure she will do well.

Things are going really well, the weather is starting to turn warm. New Zealand has the most amazing fresh breezes. I love the wind. Their trees, plants and vegetation are beautiful. We are in contact with many people from home and I love hearing updates.

Until next time,
Samantha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kim and Cathy .....and Karen is 40!

September is Spring!

That is right, the seasons change at the first of the month and September first marks the beginning of SPRING. Magically the weather knew to change on that day. The nights remain cool, we burn coal some nights depending on how cold we feel. The days have been sunny and warm, about 60 - 70 degrees. Father's Day in NZ is September 7th and they kids and I came up with a few things that Dan needs that will be part of doing more. Firstly, we made him breakfast and then spent the day in an arena. Dano needed socks and hair jel so he got those items. What the kids really wanted to get their dad was lawn chairs and a fire pit. They have been dying to have campfires here. We have this part of our yard that we call The Space Between, which is a Dave Matthews tune, true...but we refer to the interesting little part of yard out the side of our house, you will see pics of this space where the kids are sitting around the fire. Since I am a dreamer, I have imagined what this space will look like in a two week time period and it includes wood chips, picnic table, raspberry bushes, plants and a small waterfall pond. A girl can dream, right?



Abby is taking ballet, tap (with me as her teacher) and she will begin jazz this week. I am loving the fact that she shuffle ball changes all over the house and down the grocery store aisles, it reminds me of Holly and I when we were kids. She is loving school, doing extremely well with maths. Abby got an award at an assembly for outstanding work in Maths. Mrs. Watt has been away this term on what they call, OE (Overseas Experience). Abby is really looking forward to her returning.



Sam too is looking forward to Mrs Watt returning to Pukerau Primary. Their school only goes up to Year 6 so Sam will have to go to another school next year. We had an interview at St Peter's College that goes from Year 7 to Year 13. We should hear this week if he got in or not. Sam played in his last hockey tournament of the year. As he began playing hockey in Forest last Sept. and he has been playing the entire year we are ready for a break from the arenas!! Well, maybe me more that the rest of the family.



Staffing is happening at my school. Mr Crosbie, my principal has been organizing who teaches what next year. Everyday last week he spoke of me doing a different mixture of classes. I am still not sure what will get set in stone but I do know that every time he talks to me I feel valuable, wanted in many areas and appreciated. It is refreshing and makes me glad to have made this move. Tap dancing is going well. I thank Mom and Dad for putting Holly and I into dance because this skill and knowledge is coming in real handy. Florence was an excellent teacher as I can remember every single dance from so many years ago. I am glad she accepted nothing but perfection because now I hear myself sounding like her.



The last couple of weeks have been good. Dano and I talk about coming home but not in a crazy homesick kind of way. The simple things like having no dryer, driving older cars, having second hand everything, having less and doing more will be part of our return for sure. Homesickness has not be an issue lately, we have been enjoying the weather, the routines and the simple things in life. As well, we have talked to, emailed, MSNed and Facebook chatted with many of our friends and family so we feel connected. Mark, Kris and Emma will be arriving Sept 23 and we are looking forward to visitors again. Things like Victoria's Secrets underwear, Cheese Whiz, Kraft Dinner, Kernels Dill Pickle Seasoning, Pepto Bismol, Zantac and Men's Degree Deodorant are all coveted items which will be making the trip across the world! We have much of our favourite NZ scenery to show MEK when they get here. It will be nice to have family here.
Until next time,
Samantha

Samantha was featured in the paper

Each week Gore High School has a page in the local paper. A part of the page is dedicated to an interview with a new teacher. This week was Samantha's turn. Click here to see the full article.

A little catch up

So it's been a couple of weeks since our last post. I think that's my fault. I was supposed to put something up last weekend after our return from Christchurch. My apologies for taking so long.

Last week we spent 5 days in Christchurch. I was playing in the National Senior No Checking Hockey tournament and Samantha was observing the Inquiry Learning Skills Program at two schools there. Christchurch was probably the most "North American" like city we've been in since we arrived. We went to our first mall in New Zealand - it even had a K-MArt.

Samantha was very impressed with one of the schools that she visited - it was unlike any school she had ever seen. It reminded her of Fame. I wasn't so impressed with the way the hockey tournament went. The Southern Team was older, slower and hadn't ever played together before this tournament. The other two teams had been training for months. The refereeing at the tournament was also horrific. Three of our four games had refs that didn't have a clue what to call or when to call it. They also dispensed 10 minute misconducts at will. When the ref blows his whistle and you have no clue what the call is going to be, it is very tough to enjoy the game. We didn't win a game but the game that we got beat the worst was the most enjoyable because we had a decent ref.

You'll see from the pictures that we also went to a Build-a-Bear store while there. Sammy has been wanting to make a bear for years. We made this part of his birthday present and suggested that this may be his last stuffed animal.

This past weekend we had a quiet weekend at home. It has been beautiful spring weather and we enjoyed most of the day working around the house.

We are counting down the days until our next visitors arrive - Mark, Kris and Emma are here in 3 weeks. We can't wait.

Enjoy the pics.

A birthday, some hockey and a bungy swing!

Friday night we celebrated Sam's 11th birthday. After school I picked up Da Vinci's pizza, meatlovers, Sam's favourite. We had a nice dinner and Sam opened presents from Abby, Holly, Scott, Hunter and Lillie and Grandma and Grandpa Horton. Aunt Ida, Uncle Lloyd and Brian and Robyn Cofell had sent cards to Sam as well. Thanks to everyone for sending wishes from home.
The weather forecast was calling for snow so we decided to drive up to QueenstownFriday night for Dano's hockey games and Sammer's birthday bungy jump. We finished our birthday "tea", packed, delivered Abby to Libby's house in exchange for James, Sam's friend. The drive to Q-town was smooth sailing and we arrived at the cabin in time for the boys to play with Sam's new birthday gift, Bakugan and Lego. Snow blanketed Queenstown while we slept and the morning was beautiful. Dan thought we ought to go early to the arena where he was scheduled to play two games of hockey. We got to the arena at 8:20am to find that no one else from Gore could get through, except the Smith family who came up the night before as well. Luckily the women's team needed players so Dano strapped on his bra and played for the women's team for the first game. With 3 games in total played and 7 hours later, we finally left the damn cold arena to head up the Gondola for Sam's birthday bungy jump.
The whole day Sam was in high spirits, ready for his jump. He and James had a wonderful day in the snow, playing outside the arena while I froze in the arena. We headed up the Gondola, Sam smiling the whole way, Dan and I kept waiting for him to change his mind. Sam is not much of a thrill seeker. Sam and James played with snow, drove video game race cars and hung out while we waited for his 6:30pm jump time. The Ledge offers two forms of thrill falling, bungy jumping and bungy swinging. Sam chose bungy jumping, we paid and filled out the paper work. Out at the ledge there is a waiting area where James and I looked on. Dan took Sam out to the jumping pod. Sam walked out looking calm as if the idea of launching himself off a mountain did not phase him. We were stunned at his calmness, this child was afraid to sleep on the top bunk at camp last year. Anyway, Sam got harnessed up, waited his turn. Dan returned to the viewing area so we could get pics and video proof of this milestone. A nice bungy worker named Ren, got Sammer ready to jump, all clicked in and bungied up. We had our cameras ready, waited holding our breaths. Previous jumpers waited to cheer on the Crazy Canadian kid. Then the tears came.
We watched as Sam wiped his face, shook his head and retreated away from the edge. Ren kept his arm around him and tried to coax him into doing the deed. Dan couldn"t take it anymore and ran back to offer some support. By the time Dano got to him he was in full cry, very adamant that he was not jumping. As both Sam and Dan made their way back to the viewing deck James was not sure what to think. At that point I took over. Perhaps my approach was not gentle and comforting, but it worked. Phrases like, "I know you are afraid, but get your head around this because you ARE doing this"....and "courage is when you are afraid of something and you fight through the fear and do what scares you"...and perhaps, "stop crying and suck it up!!!" (not proud of that one) After a few minutes Sam announces, "FINE, let's do this!" And with the force of the world behind him, he and I trudge our way out to Ren who is waiting for us. Sam maturely and clearly asked him if he can bungy swing instead of bungy jump. Ren says, "Of course, mate." Sam gets harnessed up, asks 150 questions, gets lowered into position, pleads with Ren to bring him back up to the platform, yells at Ren some more, offers Ren his allowance to bring him back up... and after 4 minutes of failed negotiations Ren tricks Sam into pulling the red cord (to bring yourself back up to the platform...) and Sam launches into full plummet. Everyone, viewers, workers, Ren, Me, Dan and Sam was silent for the first few seconds...the snow was so thick that Sam swung into darkness and blizzard conditions. When he was completely out of view we heard a "Whoo Hoo" and then everyone cheered. HE DID IT!!!!! I felt like crying for the little man, he was enjoying that what scared him. For the next few minutes strangers cheered for him, workers called to him, Dano and I hollered to him, James stood looking with wide eyes. Ren made his peace with Sammer for tricking him into pulling the pin, Sam was cold but glad he did it. He thanked Ren in the end. Dano and I are so proud of our boy! Enjoy the video, it is 7 minutes long but let it load, it is worth it. The audio is from a microphone in the bungy pod so it doesn't catch the negotiating between Ren and Sammer.
Until next time,
Samantha

Having less and doing more....

When we were in the deciding stages of leaving our Canadian life (for a while) the idea of having less and doing more rolled off our tongues daily. We really felt like we needed to rid ourselves of the "stuff" as it seemed to bog us down. Now that we are here and living the Kiwi life we deliberately make choices not to accumulate stuff. It has been going well. There are a few things that we have bought, things we have needed. The days of wandering through WalMart and loading the cart with things that we liked, not needed, are long gone. It feels good.
Last week Dan came home with a 5 litre slow cooker, new, because a used slow cooker made me gag. We had been watching the sale prices and my sweet groom thought that $60 was the right price, so along with his weekly grocery shopping trip he returned with an appreciated surprise. The slow cooker makes our Tuesday and Thursday nights simpler with dance/hockey/rubgy/pottery. It is really nice that it is only two nights a week that we are busy.
Back home I was all about the way my house looked. I thought about matching plates, cutlery, sheets and bedding, a set of towels that matched the bathroom, sofas that looked good together, and the list goes on. I can say that that part of me has shut itself off here in NZ. Our house is tidy, uncluttered and very cottagy, which I am okay with. I do not feel the need to redecorate, paint or buy furniture that all matches. Our second hand furniture is functional, not hideous, but not pretty either.
Living with less is freeing. People ask mostly about living with no clothes dryer. It is good. When it is wet and cold, we use two drying racks that we have set up in front of large windows, one in Abby's room, one in our room. On beautiful days like today, we carry them to the porch and use our clothes line. Laundry rarely becomes an overwhelming mountain in the laundry room as we do a load each day so that we can hang it out in the morning. It feels kinda good not to be using all the energy as well.
The "doing more" part of our experience is not extreme, but certainly satisfying. During our week we play cards as a family (Phase 10 is our fav.), we build rabbit cages, weed gardens, bike, walk, hike and do the mundane jobs as a family. On weekends we tend to travel and explore new things together. Dan and I have been out together once while the kids were at school camp when we first got here. Back home, we felt like we needed "date night"...time away from the kids. It is different here, maybe because we do not feel rushed, tired and stressed here. Rather, we go and see new things and do new things together. Next weekend is Sammer's 11th birthday. Sam has asked a friend to go with us, he plans to bungy jump for his birthday. I hope he does, this is the kid that is afraid to swallow a pill and sleep on the top bunk....we'll see. If this new life has affected anyone of us in a positive way, it has been Sam. He has grown physically and emotionally here. I hope he does do the jump as it represent his new found self here.
My school is sending me to Christchurch to observe a new program that is being implemented in schools in NZ. Inquiry learning is the latest thing in education here, the Head of English and the Senior Management Team asked me to go and observe, learn and start the program at Gore High. So we get to go and see Christchurch where Dan will be playing for the Southern Men's Ice Hockey team at the national tournament that same weekend. (The Kiwi NHL..hee hee) We leave Tuesday Aug. 19 and return Sunday Aug. 24. While we are there we plan to do and see a lot. I am particularly looking forward to Hamner Springs, north of CC...soaking in the hot mineral springs for most of the day. The kids really want to go to a Build a Bear store, and we are needing to stock up on Body Shop and LUSH products. Going to a big city will be nice for those 5 days to see some familiar stores and restaurants. There is even three malls in Christchruch! We have not been in anything but small shops in 7 months.
Surgery for my right knee has been booked for September 26th. My knees have been sore and crunchy, making daily pain relief necessary. I am glad to get them done, however Mark, Kris and Emma arrive Sept 23, which might me a less then spectacular hostess. We are looking forward to them coming, counting down the days.
Today, the boys are 3 hours away in Naseby and Abby and I decided to stay home. We have a list of things to accomplish. We have two vegetable gardens that we are getting ready to plant. A bunny run to finish and, of course, laundry to hang out. The slow cooker is a roasting, the sun is a shining, a bike ride is on the list...life is good.

Until next time, Samantha.

Bungy Jumping

In the summer of 1991 I had two goals. One was to go parachuting the other to go bungy jumping. The last weekend in June of '91 I went parachuting and loved it. Two weeks later I was planning to go bungy jumping but there were a number of accidents and some deaths in the next couple of weeks at bungy jump sites across North America so I decided to wait. I didn't think I would wait 17 years but I did. When we ended up in NZ, the birthplace of bungy jumping, I decided that it was time to finally take the plunge.

On Saturday morning after Sam's rugby match we picked up the Canadian "gap year" student, Amanda - who has been working at Samantha's school for the past six months, and headed off to Queenstown. Amanda received a bungy jump as a parting gift from the school staff, she heads home to B.C. on Wednesday. Sam decided that he wanted to jump and we agreed that we would give that to him for his birthday. I would jump later when we were in Queenstown another time. As you'll notice from the pictures, Sam decided to wait to jump from another spot on his birthday and I jumped instead.

It was an incredible experience. The free fall seemed longer than I had imagined it would. It was definitely worth the wait. Enjoy the pictures and the video.

Pottery

I have always wanted to learn how to use a pottery wheel. When we arrived in NZ I learned of Adult Education classes offered at Gore High School. I signed up. Every Thursday night I go back to the school and spin the wheel. I love it and now I even have my own wheel at home. Here are some of my creations.

Night at the Disco

One really neat thing about parenting is getting to watch your children experience things for the first time. I know that there will be lots of firsts yet to come in Sam & Abby's lives but they don't come nearly as often these days as they did when they were younger, so when they happen now it's a real treat. On Friday night Samantha & I got the chance to witness our children at their first school "disco", that's what they call a school dance here. Every child in the school and their families were invited to the Pukerau Community Hall from 6-8 p.m. for the disco. There was a lot of talk at school in the weeks leading up to the disco. Some boys asked a girl to go with them, others didn't. Sammy didn't ask anyone and Abby didn't get asked.

Sam was excited about going. When he got home from school on Friday, which had been a pajama day, he dressed as his principal using Samantha's nightgown, his first worry was deciding which outfit to wear. He got that laid out and then waited to change until after dinner. A pretty good idea considering he still eats half of his meal with his hands and uses his pants as a napkin! After dinner he changed, put gel in his hair and perfumed himself with some of my Hugo Boss. He was ready for the ladies.

Abby was not so excited about going, in fact she was threatening to run away if we made her go. She had a change of heart at some point on Friday though and although not as excited as Sammy, she eagerly got herself ready. Shortly after 6 we loaded up and headed down. 3 minutes later we were there.

The kids rushed off inside to find their friends, Samantha went into the kitchen with the moms and I stayed outside with the dads who were cooking the chips. One thing that is a little weird for us is that the parents bring beer to school functions like this. There was a BBQ earlier in the year at the school and they had it there too. The night went really well. The kids had a lot of fun - Abby did a lot of dancing, Sam did a lot of moving, not sure it's really called dancing. It would seem that yet another of my shortcomings has been passed onto my son. I think maybe Sam and I can blame Grandpa Richards for our lack of rhythm. Samantha and I didn't do any dancing, just lots of watching and visiting with some of the other parents. It was a great way to start our weekend.

Note: The lighting wasn't great in the hall so the pics are not the best.

Winter Holidays, Lake Hawea, Wanaka

I must say, Kiwis really know how to split up their school terms. I love having 2 weeks off after 10 weeks of school. So this holiday was in the coldest time of the the NZ year. The weather has been cooler, but not like those Canadian winters. Most days the temperature gets to about 8-9 degrees and the nights flirt with freezing. The fog greets us most mornings, but usually burns off by 10am. When the sun is out it is quite nice and we spend time outside most days. The kids ride their bikes down to Pukerau, we hang laundry and do some gardening. Mr.& Mrs. Kelly used to live at Camp Columba and they built the house we are living in 30 years ago. She was kind enough to come out today and help me prune the rose bushes that line our front flower bed, as they have been neglected since they have left the camp 10 years ago. It was a delightful visit. She is a vivacious lady who knows her gardening! I have a lot to learn about gardening here.

Last night we went to Robert and Stacey Young's house for "tea". Our kids and their kids go to school together. They have a Sam, who is 12 years, James 10 and Libby who is 8. Sam and James are friends. Abby and Libby are friends and weirdly have very similar nicknames. Abby= Gooby Libby= Goober. We had a great time, ate well and enjoyed a game of Bonanza.

We took a 3 night trip to Lake Hawea this holiday. The cottage we stayed in smelled just like the upstairs at Grandpas house. I experienced many moments that stopped me in my tracks and whisked me back to being a little girl watching Grandpa putting on shave cream with a wooden handled bristly brush, in his white undershirt and green farmer pants. The cottage was charming and wonderful. It was very relaxing and we spent a lot of time reading, hiking and soaking up the scenery. Wanaka is a neighbouring town and it was very nice to spend part of a day wandering it's streets. Just outside of Wanaka there is a business called Puzzling World where we spent an afternoon. They have a giant maze, a tilted room (which messed me up), a room of many faces and all sorts of strange things.

Dano leaves early tomorrow morning for a Christian Camping Training weekend. He flies to Hamilton (NZ) and will be staying at a camp called Totara Springs. It will be good for him to be amongst the camping community in NZ and get a feel for "their way". Me being selfish, I am having a hard time getting my head around single parenting for those days and keeping the homesickness "ache in your throat" feeling at bay. I will be fine.

The kids and I have been painting a large room in town that I will teach tap in on Thursdays after school. I have 3 classes already, ranging in age from adults to 7 year olds. I have a few of my high school students helping with the painting tomorrow, pictures to come.

I love the updates from everyone back home. It feels so good to get an email or pictures or snail mail cards/packages. Thank you to everyone that takes the time to do things like that. It really helps. Until next time, Samantha.

Winter in New Zealand

I have recovered (somewhat) from my previous post. I am still missing my family and all the things they are doing but I am okay. We have completed another term at school and we are off for a two week holiday. School is going well for me and for the kids. Abby is back taking ballet and playing the piano. Sammer is doing well at hockey, rugby and he is playing the guitar. For the next two weeks we will take a break from the routines we are establishing. I start teaching Tap after our two week break, I am especially looking forward to the ladies class that consists of about 10 teachers from school. I say that it is a ladies class but I think there may be a gentleman teacher as well.

Our holiday began with a trip to Queenstown today. We left the house at 6am to drive, what should have been a 2 hours trip, to head north. The weather was calling for heavy snow and gale winds, but heck, we are Canadians, we know how to handle winter driving right? The tyres (NZ spelling) here are not like Canadian tires and the Mazda had trouble and spun out leaving us stuck on the side of the road. 6 cars came along as we sat in our predicament and 6 cars stopped to offer help. Kiwis are good that way. A farmer pulled us out and we kept motoring along. Queenstown is beautiful and is very touristy. We took a Gondola ride up to a restaurant and lookout, it was amazing.

It is a little weird knowing that summer is happening at home. This weekend the Horton's are at Our Ponderosa and we had such a wonderful time last year, I can't help but wish I were there. I know that Mom and Dad, Ger, Nik and the boys, Hol, Scott, Hunter and Lil will be having a blast with Uncle Ted, Aunt Janet, Sharon, Doug, and boys, Cathy, Scott and kids. Abby will miss hanging with Sophie, they were so cute last year! Enjoy Ipperwash, I absolutely love it there.

I wanna go home....

Holly, Scott, Lillie and Hunter flew in to Detroit Friday night. Mom and Dad were waiting for them and brought them home. While talking with Holly last night she told me of plans to camp with the Hortons, sleep overs for Hunter and Owen, Wild Zone play days. I want to be there.

Holy Fog!

This morning we awoke the thickest fog we have ever seen. The buses would have been canceled, for sure, back home. The buses ran here in New Zealand. The drive to work was interesting, curvy roads and about 50 metre visibility. As the day went on the fog just sat there, not moving at all. By 4 o'clock the fog was thicker than in the morning. I actually felt a little claustrophobic like the fog was closing in around me on my drive home. I will take photos if the fog is still with us tomorrow.

We got an email telling us the Sammy had been chosen to try out for the Southland Pee Wee Hockey team. This team is a selected group of kids from a large area including Dunedin, Queenstown, Alexandrea, Gore and the Otago area. He is pretty excited to be chosen to try out. This Sunday is the try outs and we should know soon after whether he has made it or not. We'll keep you posted.

I met with a local dance teacher in Gore this week. She is wanting me to teach an intermediate Jazz class on Monday night. I will also be starting to teach Tap as well. My dance shoes are here with me, but I just have to get in touch with Florence for tap music. I am looking forward getting back into dancing. I am also loving that Abby is now wanting to take Ballet and Tap again! When we first got to NZ she wanted to take time off from dancing ( which made me cry) but things have changed and the dance bag has been dragged out, the shoes tried on, the leaps around the house are happening again....and I am happy!


I have included pics of Sammy sporting his new Red Wings shirt that Grandma Horton gave him. He may have missed rubbing the Stanley Cup win in Uncle Gerred's and Grandpa's face, but he was ecstatic to get a t-shirt in the mail.

There are also pics of the kids at Dolamore Park in the Hokonui Hills. We went to the park after church this weekend for a picnic lunch and some play. It is winter here, daffodils, pansies and primrose are blooming, the grass is green, the weather is usually around 60 - 65 degrees...I can handle this kind of winter (except the crazy fog).

Dad turns 60 tomorrow and it is really weird not being there to hang out with him in the backyard and celebrate our birthdays.

Moereki and Naseby for Hockey

This weekend started with gale winds Friday night. They began to whip around 4pm and continued right through the night until Saturday morning. Sam's rugby game was canceled as a result. I did not sleep much Friday as the sound of the wind was unbelievable (and I may have thought the roof was going to fly off). Melissa arrived back from Australia so we left earlier to go to Dunedin to pick her up. We traveled to Moereki just north of Dunedin to see the boulders. I have included pictures.
After we played in the ocean we headed inland to Naseby where Sam was playing in a hockey tournament on Sunday. Naseby is a little village snuggled at the base of Mt. Ida. Mt. Ida is amazing. We took many photos. Saturday night we had supper (tea, as NZers call it) at a Pub in Naseby then we hit the hay in our cabins. It was snowing as we went to bed. Naseby sits at 2000ft above sea level. Sam played two games of hockey Sunday and his team won both games. He got two penalties and a total of 4 goals between the games. The boys are really starting to pass well. The rink at which he played was an outdoor rink. It was really interesting, we had never been to an outdoor rink before.

Bluff

This weekend is when New Zealand celebrates the Queen's Birthday. They call it Queen's Birthday weekend, no fancy names here. What it means is that Monday is a holiday, making this a long weekend. It's nice that the school term is halved by a long weekend.

Our weekend started with two rugby matches on Saturday morning. Sam had a game in Edendale, about 25 minutes south of us and Abby had a game in Gore. Both of the kids teams won. Sam's team played their best match of the year. Sam loves it and is right in there pushing the pile and getting after it. He comes home covered in mud needing a shower. After Abby's games, you wouldn't even know if she played or not. She's out there on the field but so far does a lot of trotting after the play. It is strange to us that our more aggressive child is very meek during rugby. Saturday was a wet and drizzly day so we did some housework(and by we I mean Samantha), and hung around the house.

Sunday morning we headed to church in more drizzle but things had cleared up by the time we got home so we headed to Bluff. Bluff is the southern most town in New Zealand. It is a quaint little village with an incredible walking trail along the coast line. It feels like you are tip-toeing along the edge of the world. We headed out for Lookout Point, a 50 minute hike one-way. We thought that this would be a good test for Samantha's knee. She found it not too bad except for the downhill sections which caused some discomfort. Abby seemed to find the walk much more difficult than the rest of us. You would have thought she hadn't eaten or had anything to drink for days the way she carried on at one point. We were pretty sure that her legs were going to fall off as well. They didn't and Abby survived quite nicely. We made it to Lookout Point just as the sun was starting to set. It made for a spectacular view. On a clear day you would be able to see Stewart Island off the coast. We were able to see parts of it but most of it was clouded in. At some point we plan to spend some time on Stewart Island. It is accessible by ferry or helicopter. We headed back towards the car at a much quicker pace fearing that we would run out of daylight. We made it just in time. On the way back to the car we experienced thunder for the first time since our arrival. There was a storm coming across the Foveaux Strait and thunder rumbled out of the storm for a good 10 seconds. Samantha loved it. Enjoy the pictures.

Samantha's Favourite NZ Commercial

Samantha wanted to share this commercial with everyone. She has had a few students over the years that she has wanted to try this with. Her favourite part is the baby's reaction at the 19 second mark. Enjoy.

Reena turned 60 and I missed it!

My Mom turned 60 this past week, May 22nd. It feels a little weird not being home to make fun of her for being old! Hee hee Thank goodness for the internet and cheap phone cards because I got to talk to her 3 times that day. Happy birthday Reena! (Thanks Donna)

Dan and Sammy spent some of this weekend at the Father/Son camp here at Camp Columba. The highlight for Sam was shooting the paintball gun at his father and shooting the slug gun at targets. This was the first time Sam had ever seen real guns and thought it was cool. Should I be worried?

Both kids played rugby this weekend and both won their games. It was a rainy morning and the mud that covered the kids was astonishing.

The COAL learning continues. We had burned through the lignite coal quite quickly. So we began asking around to solve this mystery. There are 3 different kinds of coal in this area. Lignite, being the cheapest, that burn quickly and not vey hot. Kai, which is the next up in price and burns hotter than Lignite. Ohai (pronounced like Ohio with no O at the end) is the most expensive and burns the hottest. We bought two feed bags of Ohai at The Warehouse, it was on sale and we wanted to see the difference. It really burns hotter! The radiators and the pipes were creaking with heat, and the floors were warm where the pipes ran beneath the floor boards. After this discovery we are now mixing our coal. We went to the mine and got both lignite and ohai and we burn it together. This will make it so we will use less and it should last a longer time.

I am hoping to go back to work this Wednesday. I am walking without any pain, stairs and forward bent knee steps, like lunging motion are still a problem. My knee feels unstable and does give out now too. I see an ortho surgeon in June and will make plans to fix this ligament tear. the school has been wonderful, they are working on giving me a classroom so that the students will travel to me and there will be minimal stairs and less pounding on the knee hiking from one end of the building to the other between classes.

I picked the kids up from school this past Monday and drove to Invercargill. I had arranged as a surprise to pick bunnies for the kids. They were very surprised. I love their reactions, it is so indicative of their personalities. Abby sqeals and jumps and claps and is outwordly happy. Sam gets a little weepy when he feels ovewhelmed and filled with joy. He puts his hand to his face, snuggles close to me eyes filled with tears and tells me he has always wanted a bunny. I love both of their reactions. Abby named her Sneezel and Sam's is Jeffy!

Cross Country was this week and both kids participated. The race was held in a sheep paddock laced with sheep dung. It was a rainy day, which did not bother the Kiwis at all. Some kids ran the race in bare feet, which we are still not used to. Imagine wet rainy weather in a field with sheep manure. Not pretty. Abby got 8th in her race and Sam did not finish last in his race, a personal victory. We are proud of both kids.

Te Anau & Milford Sound

We had a fantastic weekend. Early Saturday morning we piled into the car and headed for Te Anau. We had tickets booked for a bus and boat tour of Milford Sound. It's tough to describe with words the beauty and majesty of what we saw. Granite mountains rising straight up out of the water, 700 metres in the air. Dolphins, maybe 20 of them, escorting our cruiser out into the Tasman Sea; playing, leaping, and racing us. Waterfalls cascading down the sheer rock-face from invisible lakes, 200 metres above that are remnants of the glaciers that gouged these fiords from the granite. It was an exhilarating and breath-taking day. Enjoy the pictures.



You may notice that we have changed the layout of the blog. We wanted to set it up so we could increase the size of the slide show without blocking anything. We think this will do the trick. As always, if you want to view the photos in full size just click on the slide show.

Samantha's ramblings

The kids got their progress reports this week. I have been quite impressed with their school and the education system here in New Zealand. There seems to be a good balance between academics and child development. Their reports came in the form of a binder split into sections for the different subjects. As there are 3 grades in one classroom each child is essentially working in their own program at the appropriate level. The kids are tested in reading, spelling, maths and thinking skills and accordingly put into programs at their levels. We are extremely pleased with their reports, both Abby and Sam are reading well above their age group, and exceeding expectations in all subjects. More importantly, we are thrilled with the "out of the classroom" opportunities the kids are getting. Pukerau Primary is an Enviro School, meaning that each Monday afternoon, with gumboots on, the students head outside and work on projects that help their school keep their Enviro School status. Sam's group has been building a composter out of tractor tyres (NZ spelling). Abby 's group is draining the worm farm and spreading the juice into their vegetable gardens. Many other activities are on the go too, building Nature Huts, Bird Houses, Vegetable Gardens, Plantation and the list goes on. The kids are building a composter in our backyard as well (our pigs are gone). Sam has taken to leaving the house earlier in the morning and he walks down to the bus hut. This allows him to get to school a half hour before school so he can play with his buddies. He is loving his group of friends. Abby prefers to be chauffeured to school in the morning by her Dad, but that is coming to an end. Starting next week she will be either taking the bus or riding her bike to school. Music lessons in school are going well too. Sam is loving the guitar still and has expressed an interest in drums too, Abby is enjoying the piano. Mrs. Watt, their teacher really knows the children, her comments in their reports show that she has spent time talking to them, knows their strengths and weaknesses and shows a caring but firm approach. This change has been very good for the kids.

Kids Growing Up

Every so often I notice something that the kids have done or are doing that makes me think that they are one stage closer to adulthood. Tuesday morning while getting ready for school, Dan was making lunches I was unloading the dishwasher when the smell of cologne wafted out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. I asked Dan if he spilled his cologne as he rarely wears it. It turns out that Sam has been applying Dan's cologne and Tuesday he got a little carried away - 4 squirts! One under each armpit, in addition to deodorant, one on his chest and one squirt on his head...like the top of his head. With stifled smiles we began investigating. He was wanting to smell nice and would like us to buy some AX spray ( which could be used as tear gas). We taught him the spray into the air and walk through the mist technique and now we can all breathe easy at breakfast. Also, the other day Sam had his homework in his backpack and he did not take it out to hand it in. Once he got home he realized that is was still in his backpack, he happily said, "I am going to bike down to the school to see if Mrs Watt is still at the school and hand in my homework". And off he went. Sam is happier here, he has less stress with school, he is accepted by his friends, appreciated by his teacher/principal and he is becoming a responsible young man. Now we work in his table manners!
The other day Gerred phoned and Abby answered the phone. If you know Gerred and Abby you know that they love to tease each other. Gerred began with "Abb EE Gale"....and it went on from there. I would say that I listened to her sass and wit for a couple of minutes before the phone got handed over. The first thing that Gerred said was "Abby is getting the accent". I have noticed this as well. She has gone from calling me Mommy to just MUM. Every time she calls me now it is MUM, I feel it in my chest, slightly to the left...a tightening. I wish and long for her to call me Mommy, but as the age of eight plays out before us the word Mommy is left with the memories of seven and younger. Okay, I know I sound like a senti"mental" fool. She is, however, picking up the accent. When she says YES, it is more like YEES. And she needed a pen this morning to write her order for the Snak N Tack, she said "I need a PEEN". She was the first one in the family to use the lingo freely like, I need to use the toilet (instead of bathroom) and pass me the tomAHto sauce (for ketchup), tomato with a short a sound. She is embracing the language differences and is loving hearing the way they talk here. We are enjoying watching the kids grow up in a less stressful, kid friendly, less TV, no video game, more outside, imaginative, easier atmosphere.

I went to the doctor yesterday morning to be told that I will have to be off for another two weeks with surgery booked the end of June. The ACL tear has made me knee very unstable, it feels wobbly like it will give out. I am walking better, with little pain but stairs are not possible yet. I am hoping to get a new knee brace from Physio soon which will give me support and will let me return to work.

I know that this weekend in Canada is the long weekend. We would be going to the KOA in Port Huron with family and friends if we were back home. This weekend has been in my mind since we moved here as I LOVE going to the KOA. Last Thanksgiving we stayed in a cabin at the KOA, Shawn and Tanya, Olivia and Cate were there, Kris and Emma came for the day, Mom and Dad, Ger and Nikki and the boys were there, Auntie Ida, Toydie and Courtney, Ron and MaryAnne, Deb and Jay, Dana, Jeff and the boys (Abby will miss riding bikes with Jaykob this year) we will miss all of you this year. I hope the weather is good, although some of my fondest memories include rain, cold, heaters, washing vomity bedding and clothes, puddles, sweatshirts and snuggling. The KOA is a MUST DO upon our arrival back home. Have a great weekend everyone!

This weekend for us consists of a Te Anau trip. We are driving to a cafe in Te Anau to catch a guided bus tour. We get off and hike ( a bit) and visit bird sanctuaries, and a wildlife park. Then we board a cruise and travel out to the Tasman Sea and we will finally get to see Milford Sound. Then we will return to go through the Glowworm Caves. We will take lots of photos and post them for you to see.

Samantha's right knee

So, I have been nursing a sore right knee. The weekend that Abby and I went to the Mother-Daughter camp I was tackled during a friendly game of Flags. Both of my knees crunched to the left but the right knee immediately swelled up and has been sore. After 3 weeks of icing it and feeling no relief I decided to seek some help. Physiotherapy here in New Zealand is quite good and I was recommended a lady. She took me in and tried 4 weeks of strapping and ultra sounding the knee. She felt that she was not really making any difference and sent me for xrays. This past Wednesday I went for my x-rays with an appointment the Thursday at 4pm to see my doctor to read the x-rays. That went fine. Thursday at school my knee was swelling a fair bit and felt quite sore. At 1:30pm, just before my Foods class I went to go to the bathroom, turned sharply into the bathroom and my knee exploded. The pain was sickening and I couldn't put any weight on it. So I stood there, in the main corridor not knowing what to do. Luckily two staff members happened to hear my gasp from the next room and came to see what had happened. They dragged me out to her car and drove me to the hospital.
It turns out I have torn my right ACL and have torn cartilage in the right knee. I am off work for two weeks with an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon (an American). The idea of having to sit on my behind for two weeks makes me a little angry, but the pain that shoots into my leg when I do hobble around lets me know that this serious.
With Melissa here we have things planned like a Cadbury Factory tour tomorrow, followed by a Highlanders Rugby game in the evening. Then next weekend we have a full day booked starting in Te Anau by bus and Milford Sound by boat, then we are booked to explore the Glowworm caves in the evening. I don't know.
New Zealand has a wonderful accident claim agency called ACC which covers all and every accident. I have not paid for anything thus far. I am told that orthopedics and surgery is paid for, as well as my wages when I am not working. It just doesn't feel right starting a new job, loving the new job and then I have to be off work.
Until next time,
Samantha

Another week in our life

It has been a quiet week here in New Zealand. Samantha and the kids enjoyed their second week of school holidays and are ready to go back to school on Monday. Abby went to camp this week and had a great time. Abby ended up in a cabin with Anna Maree, a friend that she made at the Mother & Daughter camp. Abby said that camp was different here but she enjoyed herself. We were invited down for a medieval festival on Wednesday night and enjoyed a great meal. There were 4 or 5 different meats served. On a slight tangent - they hunt wild pigs here. The chair of the camp board is going to bring us some to cook. We'll have to report back on how it tastes.


The weather has turned much more fall like. Lots of cold and damp days. Rain comes and goes many times on any given day. The dampness sometimes makes it feel colder than it is. As a result we are keeping our coal boiler going most of the time. It keeps the house fairly warm but takes a while to warm it up if we let it go out. It seems like the one load of coal a month might have been an optimistic projection. Two loads a month will probably be what we actually use. This morning produced the first really hard frost. There was snow again on the hills but none here yet. It is supposed to drop down to -2 C tonight. That means concern about water pipes at camp. There are a number of buildings that are unheated and uninsulated. Water pipes sometimes run exposed up the outside of building walls and are then run above the ceilings. The maintenance man came out today and drained the water to some of the buildings so he wouldn't have to worry about fixing pipes tomorrow.

Today was the second weekend of games for Sammy's hockey team. It was here in Gore and they played twice. Their first opponent was Alexandra. Sammy's team played really well and came out with a nice win. Sammy scored 3 goals. He was thrilled to get his first career hat trick. The second game was against Dunedin, a really strong team. Sammy's team lost 12-3 but played a better game than the score suggested. Sammy scored one goal in this game. After four games they are 2-2. More importantly all of the boys played much better this weekend than they did in last month's games.

You should check out the pictures of the kids at the pool. (Clicking on the slideshow will take you to the web album where you can look at full-size pictures.) They have giant inflatable slides and a cool kids pool. On Friday Samantha took the kids for a fun afternoon. It is a really great facility for a small town to have. The pool and the ice rink are in the same building. The pool is heated by the heat created from making the ice. A gymnasium is currently being built adjacent to the arena to complete the multi-sports complex. I'm looking forward to that being completed because it means that there will be change rooms for hockey.

Samantha had a throat infection this week so she visited a doctor. There was a $31 charge to see the doctor. Samantha was prescribed antibiotics and painkillers. She was pleasantly surprised that each prescription was only $3.50 to have filled for a full course of antibiotics and 360 Panadol pills.

One of the highlights of our week was today's arrival of Melissa Weir, our first Canadian visitor. Melissa has been the lifeguard at Lambton Centre for the past few summers and was also a favourite babysitter. Abby and Samantha went and picked Melissa up at Dunedin airport this morning. She is staying with us for the next 5 weeks. We have some trips planned and will be taking in our first Super14 Rugby match next Saturday. Melissa is taking a 10 day tour to Australia during her stay as well. Melissa was kind enough to bring an extra bag for use. It was full of toothpaste, deodorant, my hockey skates and helmet, some bedding, a couple of quilts, candy, yugi-oh cards, and much more. We all enjoyed emptying out the treasures from home. It's nice to have pieces of home here with us.

Check back next week for pictures from the rugby match. It just might be that some of us will have face paint and funny wigs on.

Weekend Photos...

Sammy made the paper!

We were just looking at one of the local papers and discovered that Sammy ended up being in the middle of one of the pictures that accompanied a story about the beginning of rugby season. You can read the article and see the rest of the pictures here.

Horses, rugby, coal & camp

It has been a while since we last posted, maybe it is because we are feeling more used to things, like less is "new". There are a few things that have been happening in our lives. The kids are riding horses Wednesday after school. A set of twin students of mine have horses and ride English. Dan and I both rode Western as kids so this is new to watch the kids. They love it nonetheless. The kids are also into the swing of things with rugby. They are on different teams but play at the same time on different fields at the same park. It is handy to go to one place and have both kids playing. There are photos included of a practice, where we had beautiful weather and then games, where the weather was cold. It is definitely Autumn here in Southland. The Hokonui Hills are the closest hills to us and I get to see them each morning on my way to school. This past Thursday I was delighted to see snow on the hills. It was beautiful. It is amazing how the hills look different each day.

We have also included pics of us getting coal. Dano and I went to the mine and got some coal today, you will see the different stages of the process. Sam was at camp this week and the theme was Medieval Times. He had a blast and came home smelly and tired. Abby found a friend too, her name is Belle. Belle's mother cooked for the camp so Abby got to see Belle a lot this week.
We are on a two week holiday right now. It is really nice... this two week idea. I always felt that March break was too short and felt too rushed. Two weeks is just about right. Melissa, our babysitter, life guard from LUCC and friend arrives May 4th and are we looking forward to seeing her! Partly because she is bringing us a hockey bag filled with things from home that did come with us in January. Also Sambo and Reena included things like Cheez Whiz, maple syrup, Kraft Mac n Cheese and other treats that they do not have here. The kids have spent some time getting Melissa's room ready for her. They cannot wait to see her. We have a few trips planned with her, like the Cadbury Factory in Dunedin, Doubtful Sound and Stewart Island.

This weekend we are off to do part of the Rail Trail. In Central Otago it is supposed to beautiful this time of year. We all have bikes now so we are ready to get out there. Dan has two hockey games in Dunedin this Sunday so we plan to end up there. Abby and I want to go to The Bead Shop and make some necklaces for Lillie, Kayla and Emma. I have made some beads in pottery and they turned out nicely. There are also water slides at the Moana Pool in Dunedin that we have heard is cool, so we may check it out too.

We have no dryer...like a clothes dryer. We hang everything outside on the line. It turns out that if you leave your laundry on the line for say....a weekend, fungus spores get into the clothing. My underarms did not like these spores that were living in my shirts. So, after a couple of days of itch-o-rama, I went to a Chemist (Pharmacist) who sold me some anti - fungal cream and relief is mine! Lesson learned!
Until next time,
Samantha

Routines and Porpoise Bay

Our weeks are becoming familiar and more like a routine. The kids continue to enjoy school, as well, Dan and I are enjoying our jobs. I found out this week that we do not do reports this term. I hugged that information bearer and squealed! This past Friday the kids competed in a school swim meet in Gore. Never having done anything like this before the kids were a little nervous. Abby ended up getting 1st place in Front crawl and Sammer a 2nd and a 3rd. I was able to get coverage for a class and attend this event. It was wonderful.
The kids started rugby this week. They practice Thursdays after school. They are learning the game which is new to them. They are tackling and being taught how to tackle. At first both Sam and Abby felt weird tackling. From the beginning of their lives they have been told "hands off", so actually being expected to go and tackle someone to the ground was a little foreign to them.
The kids are taking English riding lessons after school at a stable just outside of town. A set of twin girls that I teach live at the stable and offered to have the kids spend an hour every Wednesday learning how to care for horses and riding them.
This Saturday was wonderful. We woke up to thick fog, but the temperature was warm. I made some phone calls to Canada. It was so nice to talk to Pam at Grand Bend School. I was thrilled to have made Derek blush and leave the room as a result of my teasing. You know I love those button fly jeans! Mom phoned, which is always nice. Brian C. made me smile with his "Sammy" when he heard my "Hello". I miss him. Great Grandma Burgess too sounded great and was delighted to hear us on the other end of the phone.
Our plan for the day was to get some wet suits and swim with the dolphins at Porpoise Bay. We drove to Invercargill to Rebel Sports and got s few wet suits (not pretty). While in Invercargill we met a man standing on the street with a contraption strapped to his back. He had invented a cooler and spout that was refrigerated and was selling raspberry cola. Also, Dan and I bought ourselves bikes at a bike shop. The bikes will be delivered to our house this week! That never happened to us back home. April 18th marks the beginning of a two week break and we plan to do part of the Rail Trail.
Our drive to Porpoise bay was twisty and windy. Car sickness seems to find its way into our vehicles. Abby starts with...."I'm hot" in a shrill sharp whine. Then soon after she follows with gagging. There is no gravol here, but we have found something similar called Sea Legs which is only in pill form. Our kids have never really taken pills before so convincing them that they will not die by having the pill stuck in their throats is almost more trouble than a side of the road regurgitation. Once at Porpoise Bay we had a wonderful time. No dolphins but certainly lots of fun in the waves. The wet suits were necessary as the water was cold. We love being near water and waves. The place that we went to has a camp ground beside the ocean and the sites are separated by large Tussock bushes. There is very little on the sites, it is very rustic. As the sun set we drove home, showered the kids and tucked them into bed. It was a good day.