Exploring the Land of the Long White Cloud

Driving home from zumba a few weeks ago, I had to stop and take pictures of this amazing sunset. Too bad my camera doesn't do it justice!

A while ago, friends of ours made plans to cycle New Zealand from the top to the bottom. They did so as part of an organized ride and you can see posts about their journey here: https://canteentaranaki.everydayhero.com/nz/carmela-snooks#/ As they worked out logistics, they asked if we wanted to do a little road trip up north to take them to their departure point. Since it's been 5 years since our last visit up north  we decided it would be a great chance to get up there again. Timing meant that we only had 4 days to do it though! (It's about 730km one way...) So we drove up for two days, spent the night way up north then drove back for two days with a night in Kerikeri for a stopover that way. It was cool to see Northland again and although we didn't catch any fish this time, we still enjoyed the Pahia/Kerikeri stopover. (Ok, we caught tons of fish but none were large enough to keep!! Yikes.) The view way up north. We were in the middle of nowhere. Wishing...

Porter at the beach jumping like a jumping bean. Or something that jumps higher than a bean. Man can he fly! He loves fetching the ball and doesn't ever stop trying to get you to play with him. Yummy summer salads after the crop swap! Extra fish that a workmate of Dustin caught and dropped off for us. Bluefin tuna. It was delicious as sushi! Stone carving symposium they hold on the coastal walkway. The work people do is incredible. They set up for a month and carve it beside the sea and then there's an auction. Unfortunately big expensive art is not on our current shopping list but maybe one day! A summer concert at the winery down the coast. A friend's band was playing and he got us VIP tickets! Woo. Then in early February we headed back to the Kai fest. No food photos funnily enough. The best was the first picks of the day: creamed paua with fry bread. I missed out on the watermelon ice cream sundaes though, they were ...

Cuz a Porter party don't stop. No really, I bet if we threw the ball for eight straight hours, he wouldn't stop. This little cutie is a year old today. Happy birthday Porter! We haven't decided how to celebrate, which venue to book or what kind of cake so he'll just have to accept lots of cuddles instead! The photo is from Lucie's party back in October. She just wanted a couple friends and their dogs to go. Porter was top of the list.

We've been enjoying our summer (of course!) so I thought I'd share a couple photos. This was a sunset dog walk at back beach and Dustin was kicking himself for not bringing his board! The waves were stunning and perfect. This was celebrating Rachel's birthday (the actual day of, not the Tarantino-themed party the weekend before!) This was our Christmas camping trip (and incidentally, we returned on new year's eve). We just stayed a night each time but it was only about 45 minutes away so it was easy. Dustin worked through the non public holidays but my office was closed so I was off but went back last Tuesday. This week most other companies are now back too so we're back into routines. Lots of concerts at the park coming up though with the festival of lights on so we're trying to hit up a few more, they are free so it's a great night out with a picnic and some drinks! We're moving slowly through the kitchen reno, bit by b...

If there was one word to describe 2015, it might be hectic, or depleting or full (but good full). (So technically I got away with choosing three words... and I guess the last two contradict each other but well that was the year.) There was plenty going on in our lives from all angles and we certainly grew and adapted and practiced patience. We had both ends of the spectrum from good times and great laughs, to tears and exhaustion - though that's probably accurate to say about most years. January was busy with summer activities and preparations for a February wedding on the South Island . The wedding gave us an excuse to take a week or so off and cruise around a little . Dustin brewed (and served!) beer for the wedding and I decorated the cake(s) . It was a great time with good friends and lots of adventures and kiwi birds and glow golf at night. Then we took a somewhat-impromptu trip to see the Foo Fighters and Rise Against in Auckland which was an incredible show. Then it...

Busy news day today! We are going to go camping on Christmas. How novel! The sun has come out and what better way to spend Christmas than relaxing at a beachside campground! We'll try to remember to take some photos! Love to you all for Christmas!