Getting muddy in the cold

This was our view earlier this week - a winter snap arrived early! Most people consider June 1st to be the start of winter here and it was a week early that the temperatures dropped and snow was falling up on the mountain and towns about half an hour away.

Then this is a reading from one morning this week... the temperature in the upper right corner is the inside temp and the one on the left is the outside temp. If that doesn't build a case for proper insulation I don't know what else would convey the idea to NZ. Ok, they do get it but only newer houses are required to have it. So I took to wear Dustin's down jacket for the afternoons I worked from home this week - even a heater is no match for single pane windows.

Luckily it warmed up a bit later in the week so that we could do the Naki Run Amuck 5km run without hypothermia. The course took you along the beach, up into a treed area, through paddocks, over fences, up tire-covered hills, up rope ladders, under ropes, down slides, up ladders, across mud, across the river and through some fire hoses! Phew. Dustin had a good showing!! 45 out of 400-something people. But with the course set up you couldn't be too competitive because the set up created a few sections where it bottle-necked quite a bit.

Katie and I had a very respectable showing and that even accounts for the time we spent doing mud angels. It's too bad we couldn't take the camera along the track because the shots of the mud flats and some people's costumes were awesome! Mela was dressed up because she was on a team with her work but we just went casual.

Ah yes, I forgot to mention the run fell on Dustin's 30th birthday! So we had arranged to just clean up after the run and pub crawl our way back to town. Four stops before we headed home to grill up homemade chorizo sausages (thanks Eric!) and all sorts of yummies. Yesterday marked the "12 days of  aged wisdom" that takes place every year during the time where Dustin revels in his maturity over me before my birthday. I am subject to many pearls of wisdom that come with his 12 days of additional life experience.

The brewery just outside of town - not far from where the run took place. It's also the place we went to Oktoberfest last year.

Our trusty designated driver - always alert! (Thanks Mela!)

The most costumed we could get Dustin to agree to - fake mo's although he opted to grow one instead. And even the baby wanted to dress up!

The last stop before home... 

Boy did the bacon and eggs this morning and the chorizo and goat last night welcome us back into the meateater category. Our Meatless May went well and neither of us really missed meat too much. We picked up a couple new faves (hello portabello mushroom burgers!) and hope to try to keep up at least a couple meatless meals a week. Good experiment!

We've been busy with living life around here and working hard getting ready for travels back to BC in a couple weeks. Lots of arrangements to make and many details to sort along the way! Our visit is long in time but short in free-time so we are trying to be organized to make sure we get everything done we need to do and see all the people we hope to see! Plus a holiday to make sure we allot time for relaxing on top of all the errands and visiting! :)

We are looking forward to mid-winter summer with our trip and then Tanya will be heading down to visit us just a couple weeks after we are back in NZ. When we come back we foresee lots of good changes and opportunity on the horizon... stay posted for some exciting updates!