CHILD OF THE WEEK

YEAH!  Hot off the presses....A was named Child of the Week for the SECOND time this year!  We are so very proud of her accomplishments and she is proud of herself for obtaining this award twice in one year!  She received the award this time for "sharing her insightful ideas in class discussions and creating imaginative texts with good descriptive language".  Here are a couple of snapshots from this morning's (November 5th) school assembly.  WAY TO GO A!!!

Receiving Her Certificate From the Assistant Principal

Posing With Sister After the Assembly

Proud Moment!

HALLOWEEN

Halloween seems to be growing on the Australians as there were more Halloween items in the stores this year even though the majority of it was geared toward the dark and evil side of things. I even had a lady at one of the stores we frequent here ask E what she was going to be for Halloween and when she told her "a butterfly" the lady seemed rather shocked and said, "why that's not scary at all!"  There were a lot more houses accepting trick-or-treaters this year.  The tradition taking off here is if the house has a balloon attached to the gate or door, then it's accepting trick-or-treaters.
Two days before, we carved the pumpkins and roasted the seeds.  A went for an "RSPCA" themed jack-o-lantern requesting a paw print and E decided on a more traditional route for hers.  B and I did the carving, with A cleaning hers out on her own as much as she could, but E decided it was "yucky" and "eww"to feel the pulp and seeds! Although, she did enjoy the roasted seeds with both girls saying they tasted like popcorn!  We took the girls, our angel and monarch butterfly, to the same street as last year where we met up with our friends and their kids.  The girls had a blast, but they are always happy no matter what's going on!  E was happily singing "It's a Happy Halloween" and "Trick-or Treat" while she walked down the street and A enjoyed getting to walk ahead of the grown-ups with her friends.  As usual, we had a great time as did the girls who received lots of candy (which neither eat very much of) and were beyond ready for bed by 7:30!  Enjoy the pics and God bless!

"SCARY" POSE!

This was supposed to be our good one with everybody looking and smiling but we have yet to accomplish that fete! LOL!!!

Our "Together" photo!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2014!

UPDATING! (Yes, it's been a while!)

Ok!  I'm catching up again! The past couple of months, like all the others, have simply come and gone so quickly!  We have been busy, as usual!  A couple of months ago, the girls and I planted some tomato and strawberry seeds and we are finally beginning to see the "fruits" of our labor.  A celebrated Father's Day with Brandon at school back at the beginning of September, and of course, we had another birthday to celebrate!  (Hard to fathom that 3 years has passed since our little E was born) We celebrated her big day with a family dinner at her choice of restaurant,  had the traditional cake and gift opening at home after dinner and then had a small party with friends on Sunday.   The girls are thriving and even went for their first swim of the spring season here as the temps were in the mid 80's last week.  A is excited that she will be on her last term of school for year 2 and E went for an "interview" at a preschool here for a January start date.  (she's ready but Mom had to fight back tears during the interview!!!)  As always, here are a few pics as to what's been going on around our place!  Hope everyone is doing well!  Enjoy and God bless!  xoxo

E pointing to the first red tomato on her plant before she picked it off!

A all dressed up for her "date" with Daddy at school. 

E getting her gift of "Happy Birthday" from big sis on the guitar! (she was so excited as she learned to play it at her lesson that day---and did FABULOUS!!) 

Our two precious monkeys!  Love them SOOO much!

A very happy 3 year old with her special request chocolate cake!

BIRTHDAYS AND NEW ZEALAND

Last month we celebrated yet another milestone!  Two, really, to be exact.  Brandon turned the BIG 4-0 and our sweet girl turned the BIG 7!  We had our traditional family dinner and cake together and then, since Brandon was 40, I had the brilliant idea of making him go on a scavenger hunt for his gift.  Of course, there were 40 clues hidden throughout the house to take him to his gift.  He did well, until the end when he found it, but had to ask what it was because he couldn't read the fine print!  Adalyn had decided on a sleepover with two of her friends.  It was so fun hearing the giggles of three little girls.  They had pizza, cake, smores, and movies. So, as for birthdays and fun, God has truly blessed us with another wonderful year gone by and hope for the promise of the year ahead!

Since Brandon works so hard to provide for us and 40 IS a milestone, I thought really hard on what he would enjoy and NEVER be able to figure out what his gift would be for his birthday.  Being that we are over here, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and being that we are so close to New Zealand, (which was on our bucket list to visit while here) I decided to do a Red Stag hunt over there for him.  We flew into Queenstown, New Zealand, two weeks after their birthday and were met at the airport by Mr. Willie Apsinall.  I came across the Makarora River Ranch on a recommendation by a friend back home whose Dad does a lot of overseas hunting for some big horn sheep.  Anyhow, long story short, the Makarora River Ranch is owned by a Texan, so in some aspect, it was meant to be! HA!  Little did we know that Makarora gets quite a bit of rain each year, and this year they've been having more rain than normal.  So, the day before we are leaving, I receive a picture of a rock slide and Brandon gets a call from Willie saying that both roads to the ranch are blocked because of rock slides!  But, not to worry, Willie says (after Brandon and I decided we'd delay the trip by a couple of days) don't worry, they'll have it cleared by tomorrow when you guys land.  Well, we landed and the rock slide was still not cleared, so Willie and Kaye went out of their way, got us a room (a small house) at a bed and breakfast near Lake Wanaka for the night, and Willie had arranged a boat from another ranch hand to pick us all up the next morning to take us around the slip where the rock slide was in order to get us to the ranch!  Talk about above and beyond and not to mention GREAT UNPLANNED ADVENTURE !!  It seems to me that no matter where we go or who we meet those that make their living from the land or the animals/crops on the land ALWAYS do what's necessary or beyond the call of duty for their fellow man!  So, we headed out the next morning, after feeding sheep and chickens a the Alpine Lodge bed and breakfast owned by Michelle and Craig.  The girls had a blast feeding Molly the sheep and her companions and were all giggles and smiles on the boat ride!  I could write a book on the beauty of New Zealand! It was nothing but green grass, snow capped mountains, waterfalls, and clear blue water! Brandon got his stag (absolutely beautiful animals), we got to stay in the valley of the Makarora River with 360 degree views of the mountains, skip rocks in the river, visit the Blue Pools, and just enjoy the beauty that the good Lord placed all around.  I can't say enough about our hosts Kaye and Willie, Brandon and I felt like if it had been anywhere else, we probably would've just been told, "sorry, roads closed, will have to reschedule".  The only downside to the trip was it wasn't booked for long enough!  (the pics aren't in chronological order but hope you enjoy them!)

Feeding Molly the sheep and her friends

7 on one side, 40 on the other!

Happy 7th Birthday, Adalyn!

Blue Pools (you could see all the way to the bottom) That's not a reflection of the cliffs in the photo, that's how clear the water is! 

One of the many mountain views from the ranch.

Brandon and his birthday present. (not sure where this big baby is going to hang!)

Family Photo Op…of course, as always, not everyone is ready or looking! ;)

On the lake from the boat

Catching Up

The past month has flown by!  The girls are keeping us busy, between school, swimming, horse riding, tennis, gymnastics, and music, our "free time" is very seldom, but we wouldn't trade it! A has moved up a group at horse riding so now she is learning to jump with the bigger girls.  It's amazing to see how focused she is when she gets on the horses! She was so excited because her teacher said, "We'll make a jockey or jumper out of you easily!"  E LOVES her music class and dances around every chance she gets! She started a little "gymnastics" class….it's more of an organized obstacle course for toddlers and she really enjoys it as well…especially the trampoline!  They love what they get to do and it's fun to see them smile! These pics are just a few snapshots I took with my phone (hence the reason they are a bit blurry).  I tried to upload some video from E's music class and A's riding but something's not loading right. (OR it may be operator error ;) )  The weather has been very pleasant and unseasonably warm.  The high's are in the low 80's and the night/mornings are usually high 50's to low 60's, which makes for fun days at the park and just being outdoors!  Hope all is well with everyone!  xoxo

 Having some fun on the super slide at the school fete/fundraiser

 Sister Time

Her Happy Place

Hamilton Island (Great Barrier Reef)

We finally got one thing marked off of our bucket list for Australia...The Great Barrier Reef!  We took the girls up to Hamilton Island last week for a a little mini-vacay for the school holiday break. It was BEAUTIFUL!!  When flying over the islands I couldn't believe the different shades of blues and greens you could see as well as the greenery!  Absolutely breathtaking!  We spent the first day on the beach where B and A snorkeled a bit till A saw a ray and decided she wanted to get back to land!  E and I just hung out in the beach chairs and walked around in the water watching the crabs!  The 2nd full day was when we went out to the reef.  It was smooth sailing until we reached the shipping channel. To make a long story short, let's just say E got sick on Daddy while she was napping and then Mommy got a bit nauseated helping clean up E and Daddy! :( Once we got out to the reef it was AMAZING!  The ferry docked on a manmade dock that had a viewing room, picnic tables, sun shades, and showers.  Once we got there, we took a glass bottom semi-sub boat out to view a part of the reef.  We saw quite a few fish and there was even a reef shark, but I missed it!  After that, B and A donned their wet suits and snorkel gear and headed out while E and I ate lunch.  When they got back in and ate, I went out to snorkel and B took E out for a swim.  Both of the girls loved it as well as ourselves!  So amazing and blessed to be able to have the opportunity to see one of the wonders of the world!  Lots of parrot fish, clams, and other species of fish that I have no clue what they are called!  Brandon took a half day fishing charter out on Friday morning and said it was "okay fishing, but there were lots of shark taking the fish that anybody did manage to catch".  Our hotel was built with all of the rooms facing the Coral Sea and there were lots of Cockatoos, seagulls, and crows!  One evening I saw two wallabies hopping around on the side of one of the golf paths!  The cockatoos liked to sit on the balconies and the one below seemed to enjoy having his photo taken!  Hope everyone is well!  Enjoy the pics!

Part of the Great Barrier Reef

"I'm Ready Mom"

"Cheese!"

Family Shot in front of the Reef

View from Our Balcony

Another View from the Room

Miss E Ready for a Swim

Daddy Prepping A for the Tour

It Was Awesome!

View of the Reef from the glass bottom boat

#2 Out for the Ride Back

#1 Out for the Ride Back

SWIM

Since we moved here last April, both of the girls have been attending swim lessons on Saturday mornings year round with breaks according to the school calendars.  Emi is now in the water on her own (no more Mommy and me swim classes…sniff, sniff :( ) and Adalyn is working on backstroke, butterfly, freestyle, swimming with flippers and whatever else they try to teach them!  Watching all of the kids at these lessons is amazing and now I know why Australia has such awesome swim teams! (they start them young!)