Napier

I have to begin this post by sharing this photo from our visit to Napier.  It's significant for a reason.  Any guesses?

This is the first photo of our entire family together since arriving in New Zealand!  And it only took a month to get it!  I need to remember to hand the camera over to people once in awhile, because I really love seeing all eight of us in one photo like this. 

I mentioned in my post about Big Red that we had gone on an "inaugural" road trip.  We hadn't really planned to go anywhere that weekend.  Steve was heading off for a meeting at the hospital on the Friday before the kids started school on Monday.  Even though there were still things to get done in preparation for school, we decided at the last minute to head out of town, just for one night.  So, after Steve's meeting, we loaded up Big Red and took off.  I'm so glad we did, because Napier was amazing!  It's one of our favorite places in New Zealand so far.

It took just over two hours to get there, and Steve kept trying to pump us up about finally getting to use the new tent we brought all the way from Utah... (silence throughout Big Red).  No, that's not true...just silence from the passenger seat.  I don't know why, but even though I absolutely love tent-trailer camping, we haven't tent camped in years, and I haven't been very excited about it...especially since it's still winter here (although obviously not the kind of winter we are used to!).  

Since we got a later start, we pulled into Napier at dusk.  We found another Holiday Park, and inquired about campsites.  The price list showed that a tent camping site only cost $35 -- bargain!  Then, the clerk informed us that that price was for two people...each additional person would add $20 each.  That makes for a pretty expensive campsite!  I think the nice gal at the desk felt a little sorry for us when she saw our reaction, and offered us one of the cabins for the same price.  She must have seen me winking and pleading with my eyes from behind Steve's back. :)

This cabin was wonderful, even nicer than the one we had rented in Taupo, complete with a kitchen/eating area and two bedrooms with plenty of room for our family.  The bathroom facilities were just around the corner.

In true Holiday Park fashion, there were awesome amenities for the kids.  We can see why people come to these parks and stay a whole week!

We had scarcely unloaded our bags before the kids started begging to swim (I took these photos of the pool area the next morning with better light).  That front pool/splash area was gorgeous, but ice cold.  The other pool behind was only mildly heated.  The kids tolerated it, but no-way-Jose was I going to swim, especially since it was already dark and the outside air was pretty chilly, too.  I used to love cold water.  I've turned into such a wimp!  

We couldn't resist having the kids pose at this sign as we headed out...

This is a quick shot from the front seat heading down the main road into town.  One of the kids exclaimed, "I feel like we are in Hollywood!"

We made our way to the water, excited once again to get a view of the ocean and the gorgeous mountains in the distance.

We discovered a side road which led to a scenic lookout above the town.  The view was stunning.  Rachel and I both took a ton of photos.

On the way back down the hill, Steve happened to glance over and see what he thought looked like a waterfall through the trees.  Upon closer look, we discovered this serene park with a gorgeous waterfall as a backdrop.

Not sure what was up with Emily, but she wasn't in a very smiley mood.

We can't pass by beautiful flowers without pulling out our cameras.  Perhaps the fascination will wear off?  Probably not.

We made our way about 15 minutes out of town to an area called Cape Kidnappers, named for an incident that occurred when Captain Cook entered the area in October of 1769 and one of his servants was taken by some of the local Maori.  

Back in Napier, we were impressed by the extensive play areas along the beachfront.

The kids decided to monkey around a bit on our way to get ice cream.

We almost loaded up to leave after ice cream, but had to squeeze in a few more moments on the beach.  The beach didn't have traditional grains of sand, but various-sized pebbles...different, and beautiful.

It was sure hard to resist the urge to drop those pebbles down Emily's perfect coin slot. :)

I got down on my tummy for this shot... I love how the individual pebbles are more visible.

Here's Luke proudly displaying a treasure he discovered.

Farewell to Napier!  We'll be back soon.

We're All in the Mood for a Melody...

Steve has been looking for used pianos online for over a month.  We picked up this beauty yesterday!  We are all so excited!  Piano music has been the background soundtrack in our home for years, and we've missed having a piano very much.  We brought a few of our favorite music pieces and books, just in case we were able to find a piano, and everyone patiently took turns last night trying out our new toy.  The piano is in need of a tuning, but actually doesn't sound too bad for it's age (circa 1920).  

The very best part:  We only paid....(drum roll please).... $92 NZ, which is like $80 US!  Unbelievable!!

Thanks to help from the missionaries and some other friends from church (who have a truck with a lift), picking up and then delivering the piano to our home took less than an hour, and only cost us a few ice cream bars as payment.  We are so thrilled.  The kids keep saying that this will make their beloved piano teacher in Utah (Annette) SO happy.  We loved this house before, but having a piano makes it feel like home.

Therapy

There's a good chance that nearly everything I post on Facebook over the next year will most likely make it to the blog...eventually.  Sorry for the repeats!  We had some wonderful moments yesterday, and it wouldn't feel right not to blog about them.

I say that "some" of the moments were wonderful.  Truthfully, the day started out a little rough.  For whatever reason, the previous few days had been a bit hard for me.  We've been in New Zealand now for six weeks, and especially since we've had Emily with us, I honestly haven't had much trouble adjusting to our new life here at all.  About a week ago, I even recall feeling pretty proud of myself for getting through this move (and all the drama that has gone along with it) without much emotional wear and tear.

I should have knocked on wood.  I'm sure that part of the reason for feeling off these past few days has to do with the kids going back to school.  Before they enrolled in school, we were traveling and sleeping late and going to the park and generally living like we were on vacation.  Now that the kids are in school and the schedule is much more rigid, this experience has gone from feeling like an amazing, extended break to "Dang, this is real life."  Additionally, my sister Lydia had a baby this week, and I've felt sad missing out on being there with her and meeting baby Lucy.  Even realizing that these events might contribute to feeling down, I've still beaten myself up a bit inside over feeling homesick at all.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our family.  I've felt frustrated and a little guilty having any negative feelings.  So, I've tried to be brave and keep a smile on my face, knowing I would eventually recover and be fine.

I'm usually a "glass half full" kind of gal, but yesterday morning, that poor glass was bone dry.  I walked through the door after dropping the older girls off at school, and felt like I had a lump in my throat the size of one of the lemons on our tree.  Steve noticed immediately that I wasn't feeling okay.  All it took was for him to say, "Aww...what's wrong?" and the dam burst.  I cried hard for several minutes, confessing that the reality of actually living here for the next eleven months was weighing on me.  Steve gave me a big hug, looked me in the eye, and told me, "Mindy, we have been through a huge change.  It's okay to feel homesick!  I would worry about you if you didn't." He always says the perfect thing to make me feel better.

Having a nice little cry did me good.  I washed my face and blew my nose, ready to get started on my laundry and other household tasks.  When I came out of the bathroom, Steve had loaded up the babies in the bike trailer and said, "C'mon, it's a beautiful day.  We're going for a ride.  The house can wait."

We rode along the river path, and the sun was so warm on our backs that we had to take off our jackets after just a few minutes.  We stopped at the park so the twins could go down their favorite slide.  They humored me by letting me go down the slide with them a few times.

One of the highlights at the park was seeing this beautiful tree full of cherry blossoms!  

Steve tried to take a photo of us on our bikes, while simultaneously swerving to avoid street signs and fences.

We stopped at Winter Family Bakery for deli sandwiches and pastry.  We think this handful of deliciousness is called a turnover, but we've nicknamed it the "Dream Taco."  It's like a sweet, flaky croissant, opened up, with an apple or apricot spread on the inside, then piped full of perfectly whipped sweet cream.  Good night...it's amazing.  We are going to need to go on A LOT of bike rides now that we've discovered these things.  :)

After lunch, we put the twins down for their nap, opened the sliding door to our bedroom which let in a subtle breeze, and took naps of our own.  Ahhhhh.... just the therapy and cleansing I needed to break free of the funk I was in.  I'm so grateful for a loving husband, my best friend, who never freaks out or says anything condescending when I have an occasional meltdown.  I love you, Steve!  Life is good.