This, ladies and gentleman, this is the beehive, also known as the Executive Government Building of New Zealand. What can I say? It’s ugly.

We had a typical capital tour. The kids were not that into it, but learning the process by which the two older buildings, the Parliament Building and the Parliament Library were restored to be earthquake proof was rather impressive. Kiwi ingenuity at it’s best.

That night we decided to venture into the “Creative Quarter” for dinner. It was a bit of a walk, but it was so nice to be in a city where one does not need a car. This is one of the things I miss the most about Sydney. Auckland has it’s funky quarters but they are all disjointed.

On a friend’s recommendation we headed over to The Red Dog, but at the last minute we decided to eat across the street at Monsoon Poon. We ordered the Cobra and the Tiger off the children’s menu. I dare say this is the best kids’ meals my kids have ever had.

The next day we headed over to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, called Te Papa for short. According to the gentleman at the coat check counter, Te Papa means both ‘earth’ and ‘our place’ in Maori. It is aptly named. The museum is beautiful and welcoming. Although there 4 distinct areas set aside just for children’s inquiry, there were interactive displays located throughout the museum.

Lana wasn’t the only one to be fascinated with the geological displays. (L:R: Lana trying to lift a volcanic rock, locating New Zealand on a “plate” globe and the kids engaging with an interactive map of New Zealand) but our timing for this visit could not be more perfect with her class presently studying volcanoes.

This picture makes me laugh because I had to show my son how to dial such a phone. The kids really got a kick out of this ‘old time’ machine.

We spent 2.5 hours there and I think we moved at a pace that was comfortable for Nuno. A good indication of how much we liked the museum was when we drove by on our way out of town and Lana asked if we could go back.

On our way to the Wellington cable car (which brought us to the Botanic Gardens) we had a wander around the waterfront. It was a cloudy day, but the rains held off. When Nuno spotted the bungy ride we decided to go for it. Only seems right to try it in New Zealand.

In order to get a higher lift my raison d’être (sorry mate, sounds worse than ‘my darling husband’) would pull Nuno down and then release him. The resulting lift was stunning.

The kid had a blast, no pun intended.

Our plan was to do a lengthy hike the nest morning, but the skies had opened up and it was just pouring with rain. No one put their hand up when we asked who wanted to go for a walk. We decided to say farewell to Wellington, but we’d take the scenic route out of town.

Owhirio Bay. Reminds me so much of Oregon.

Kapiti Island

There ain’t nothin’ artsy fartsy about taking a picture out a car window, BUT when you make your husband (who wants to be referred to as my raison d’être from now on) swear you’ll make it to the last parliament tour of the day, he then refuses to stop the car for any non-emergency reasons. I could have cropped the shot, and you would have been none the wiser, BUT I thought you should know that this is what it looked out of my window each time I looked up from my book.

I lie, this is what it looked like out my husband’s window. Otherwise I would have been reading, driving and taking a photo;)

No, this is not Wellington. But how can I share our experience without showing you what we saw along the way…

This is Lake Taupo with Mt. Ruapehu in the background. I clicked this photo as we were driving out of Taupo in the morning.

We had left Auckland the night before so that the kids wouldn’t miss any school. Taupo is not exactlky a half way point, but it did help break up the journey. We were meant to just spend the night  and head out first thing in the morning, but my arm was easily twisted when my darling husband suggested we stop at Craters of the Moon and Huka Falls.

Craters of the Moon is a walk that runs trough a geothermal steamfield right outside of Taupo.

It’s just perfect that Lana is studying volcanoes at school. She was really quite interested in the geography of the areas we crossed.

Even though it smelled a bit like sulfur, it was nothing in comparison to the smell of Rotorua. And to tell you the truth the steam warmed us up a bit. It was cool enough that Lana bought a winter cap on the way out.

Doesn’t this look eerie?

This is not how I remember the fields, but looking at this picture now makes me want to see more of New Zealand. Hopefully it makes YOU want to come visit.

Here is my kiwi kid walking over to Huka Falls. What does it take to be a kiwi kid you ask? Wear no shoes. Simple as that. Warning: this may result in verrucas. My daughter can tell you, they are gross. Wear shoes!

I didn’t get any great shots of Huka Falls, but I being there I could not help but think of Rob & Maria. But Rob, if you come here and go kayaking with my sister can you guarantee that she is in the appropriate kayak this time?

While we were living in Australia we became very caught up in “life.” Between soccer , Nippers and just being a somewhat social family we found ourselves rarely leaving town.  When our two years came to an end I had very few regrets, but I did wish that we had seen more of the country.

There are a few other factors that make travel in Australia a bit more complicated than I would have liked. The first is the extremely long distances from one place to another. The second factor is the cost. For example, one weekend  my friend Stephanie and I traveled a few hours up the cost and after looking around for a place to have dinner, it seemed our options were to pay $40 a meal each or eat at a greasy poor quality fish & chips shop. We opted for the cheap fish and chips. It was memorable, because I was with one of my best friends, but the meal was nothing to write home about. The last factor was lack of availability of accommodations. Since most of the country was on the same school schedule, you needed to book a holiday months in advance or you were left with the option of a $250 a night for a 3 star dingy motel. We tried that option once and let’s just say, it didn’t work out so well.

Upon arriving in New Zealand, I promised myself that I would do anything in my power to make sure we saw more of the country. This being the Queen’s Birthday weekend I planned a getaway for me and the family to Wellington. It did involve Nuno missing a soccer game, but I figure he’s 5. His team would cope. My darling husband did a fair amount of wingeing at the prospect of driving to Wellington for the weekend, but I told him I’d go with or without him. I am glad to report he joined us.

Before I post about our trip, let me share with you a sculpture Nuno created in honor of the Queen’s birthday.

Just came upstairs to give both my kids a quick good-night kiss and found them both secretly reading. Lana was reading with only the hall light. I told her that she could have another 10 minutes with her lights on, to which she responded with a ‘Yes!’ that included a fist pump. Then I went to check on Nuno who was covered from head to toe with his blankets. As I dug through his blankets to get my kiss I heard a click. To which I quickly surmised that he was reading under the covers. He admitted to it, saying that it was the only way he could read since we insisted it was time for lights out. I allowed him to turn on his battery powered lantern and ‘read’ for 10 more minutes.

They return to school tomorrow after a two week break, but what more could I wish for than two kids who enjoy books.

This past Sunday I went to watch Lana play Flippa Ball. When I arrived I recognized the mother on the opposing team and we got to talking. The opposition was co-ed, and according to this mother they had some pretty strong players on their team. This got me thinking that this game might be a blowout.

It had been a couple weeks since I had seen Lana play. She was sick the previous week and I had not attended the game prior to that. Well holy camoly! As soon as the game started I could not believe my eyes. Lana was playing the forward position along with another, stronger girl. Well, when this little girl passed the ball to my daughter and Lana CAUGHT IT with one hand and then proceeded to throw it at the goal, I could not believe my eyes. My daughter catch a ball? With one hand? UNBELIEVABLE! Although she missed that shot, I was still so excited that I texted her father.

I know the quality of the shot is horrible, but I am still blown away looking at this picture of my daughter. Dare I say, she looks like an athlete?

Well the next shot came & I thought I’d try to get a picture with my good camera. I missed her first ever GOAL, but I got this picture of the goalie throwing HER ball out & if you look closely, you can see my daughter beaming. I was so excited I almost screamed out Go Team Portugal! (Long story there, but we ask her which nation she’ll swim for in the Olympics. She always says America, but I think she should swim for Portugal. She’d be guaranteed a spot on the team.)

Lana’s team did lose the game 3:1, but who cares, we had cause for celebrating, which we did. After the game she told me that now she understands what her friend TW feels like after a game & Lana liked the feeling.

Although I was extremely proud of Lana, I did need to thank her coaches. These two women, a mother and a teacher who volunteer year round, gave my daughter a chance. They played her in a variety of positions whether they thought she’d play well or not. They gave her a chance to grow and grow she did. They too have something to be proud of.

Although the weather has been just gorgeous since we arrived in late January. I have no doubt that we will have our fair share of rain for the next six , okay maybe nine months. With that in mind, I ordered my first pair of Wellies and a cool matching rain jacket.

Note: I wanted to get this jacket in green, but green is a different school house color than my kids’ (& my husband’s – the kids inherited their dad’s house color at his alma mater). So no green, but the blue is the school color so I was ‘allowed’ to get it.

*I wrote this post on February 17th, but thought I had erased it before posting it. Just found it…

A couple of days ago, something strange happened as I dropped Nuno off at school. Just like most days, after I pulled up to the curb, the prefects opened the car door and Nuno wrangled his backpack on before jumping out of the car. Just as he got his backpack on and was about to get out of the car I told him I loved him. In that instant my darling boy looked at me and then at the prefects as if to say, “Who she talkin’ to? I don’t know this lady.” And out he jumped unto the curb without looking back at me or replying that he loved me.

Now, “I love you” is something I tell the people I love. If they are the last words that I utter to somone, then there is some peace in my world. I asked Nuno once if he knew I loved him and his response was, “Of course, you’ve told me like a thousand million times!!!”

Well, it’s good that he knows I love him, but this Portuguese mother was not about to stop telling her son she loved him, so we struck up a compromise. I asked Nuno to come up with a coded phrase that will mean I love you when we say it to each other. My darling little boy came up with “Ni hao” to which I replied, “We’re going to say hello in Japanese as our I love you?!?!” Looking at me as if I was an absolute moron, he says, “It’s Chinese mom!”

So day one went well. But it’s just wasn’t enough. So yesterday I asked if I could tell him a million times before we arrived at the drop-off point. Fortunately he agreed. And like music to my ears, his response was, “I love you too mom.”

I just could not resist sharing the pictures I took picture day. Although he was looking happy in the pictures he was not at all pleased with the buttoned collar. I love the look, but I too am thrilled that I do not have to iron that shirt every day.

Every morning I drop off Nuno at the curb in front of his building. He is very pleased to do this on his own, but the school has set up a system where prefects await the younger boys and help them out of the car. If ever I confuse school drop-off with leaving him at a country club it is the mornings. The prefects are so polite. They open the door for the younger boys, help them get their backpacks on and then wish the parents a good day. It is really so lovely!

And here is a picture of him in his class. I love his teacher and love what she has done with this room. Nuno is a lucky boy to have such a great start to school.