Is That Tarzan?

Here in NZ people don't really go on hikes, the go on bush walks, which is much like a hike, but not as steep like the ones I'm used to in the great mountains of the West. It's a popular thing to do, especially when it is hot (they think hot is like 78 degress and breezy) because you get to walk in the cool shade of the bush. These walks are all over the place. And I really love them. There are so many different kinds of trees and birds and wildlife. They can go nowhere at all or they can end up at the beach or at the top of an old volcano. Here are some pictures from our most recent bush walk.

This is where we started going into the bush

My mates Jean-Luc, Christophe and I by a kauri tree

Jean-Luc and Christophe being very photogenic

I think I see Tarzan

Or maybe that's him?

Happy (Inter)National Pie Day

Not everyone knows about this supreme holiday, but the 23rd of January is National Pie Day in the US. In years past, pie pot lucks have been held, pie parties have been thrown, pie-in-the-face becomes a popular sport.

Although we are miles from the US, we have made a commitment to celebrate Pie Day wherever we may be and carry the spirit of pie day to people around the world.

This year we celebrated by making some non-traditional pies. Whoopie pies are a well known treat in the Pennsylvania dutch country side. They are one of my most favorite things to eat when I go to visit my family in PA.


We also had a taste of a famous New Zealand pie--the meat pie. These pies are much like mini chicken pot pies, but filled with any kind of meat and some kind of sauce. Very delicious--flaky crust, meat, cheese, yummm. They are sold in all the bakeries, grocery stores and even gas stations.


We hope that wherever you were the 23rd of January that you enjoyed a day of pie. If you didn't know about the holiday, we hope that you make a commitment to enjoy a piece of pie next year and in years following.

Happy Pie Day to all!

I Want To Be A Kiwi

Whenever I lived on the East Coast for the summertime, Bethany and I would send before and after pictures to each other all summer long. I have to say that some were gross, but hopefully these here are not.

Here is our before pictures. We are in the car all ready to go.
Little did we know what was really in store for us.

We flew from Salt Lake to Los Angeles. We arrived in LA around 6pm their time. Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:30pm, but didn't actually leave until 6am. The airline gave us a voucher to eat dinner and sleep at the Marriott. We ate dinner and then got a few hours rest and then back to the airport. We boarded the plane around 4am and then took off around 6am. It was so awful...for Ashton. I slept the whole time so it wasn't that bad.

Beautiful, hot Fiji. We are excited to stay here in May

We flew to Fiji where it was hot as. I think they said it was around 85 deg. It was hot and muggy and I was wearing a sweater because it was cold in UT. That was a bad idea, but a good idea because it was cold in UT and on the airplane, but in Fiji--bad idea. The airline and held the plane for us so that we could make it here to NZ.

Here is Fiji from the airplane. Doesn't it look spectacular?
That reef will be fun to snorkel in!

So, after approx 30 hours of traveling, we made it to NZ where a good friend, Phillip, picked us up and brought us to his place and gave us a car to use for the duration of our stay here. We hung out with his family a while and then came up to the Glover's home where we are staying.

Here are the "after " pictures.
We look so worn and exhausted--because we are!
But at least we are still #1 (according to Ashton)!

They have a lovely home and have been so wonderful and kind to us. We have enjoyed playing with their grandkids. (Ashton really needed someone to play with.) We went to the beach yesterday and went fishing and played with the Kayak.

We went running yesterday. It is just so wonderful here. I can see why people love to be outside here.

Needless to say, I wish I were a kiwi. No, not the kind you eat, or not the kind with feathers, but the kind of person that lives in NZ. The one with the "sweet as" attitude, the one that is so warm, the one that is giving, the one that is open and friendly, the one that is kind. And they all have great tans here! I've started to pick up an accent a bit. That is kind of fun. I started my nice tan yesterday. It's all those other attributes that I need to work on most.

Off to a (good?) start

So the new year has finally arrived. We were invited to spend some time with our dear friends Tim and Tanya to bring in the new year. They made us this amazing dinner and we watched Bourne Ulitmatum and then watched the world famous ball drop.

The next few days of the new year was great. We had a little snowboarding/skiing trip up to Brighton, watched some good football games (and some not so good ones). We helped watch our niece and nephew while Emily had her new baby boy which she finally named Adam Thomas.



And then the accident. We are trying to sell our car so we will only have one when we come back from NZ. We don't need two car payments while we are gone. I went to the store to pick up some things to help pack and on my way out of the parking lot I caused a little accident. What a way to ruin a good start to the new year. Nobody was hurt, which was good. But what terrible timing! Right as we are selling our car. A week before we move to NZ. What a headache!

Luckily, my dear friend Brittany was in town and I got to go hang out with her and talk it all out and then get it off my mind.

Ashton and I have been so blessed to have so many good friends. We will miss so many people while we are away in NZ and then for the summer also, but we know it will be a good experience for us. We hope to make more lasting friendships as time goes on. If anyone wants to talk to us via internet just download skype from skype.com and we can talk for free!

And thanks to Tanya and Jeremy for that amazing Jewish meal they prepared. Well mostly Tanya prepared. We'll be in touch!