Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Labor Day Weekend 

Three. That's the number of public holidays the States have had since we've been here and zero is the number we've had.  So we decided we needed to go big in honor of our first New Zealand holiday and rented a house in Hanmer Springs with our friends (by now it's safe to assume that when I say "our friends" we all know it's Julie and her family, since they're our only friends).  Road trips here are so much more enjoyable, that's not to say the kids don't fight and scream, but at least now I have beautiful scenery to look at while I gaze lifelessly out the window and try to zone them out.  


We spent the first day at the hot springs. Those blue skies are deceiving, it was wicked cold.  The wind was howling and I'm pretty sure I tasted death when I climbed out of the hot pool and every inch of my body was whipped with an icy wind. I would love to come back when it's warm outside because the kids couldn't get enough of the slides and Ryder's huge grin every time he went on the lizard slide will be forever etched in my memory.  The BYU game just so happened to coincide with Ryder's grumpy time so it was a win win when Jason took the two littles back to the house and I got to sit with Julie in the hottest of the hot springs and people watch while the kids knocked themselves out on the slides until it started raining.  And raining and raining and raining. We spent the evening watching movies, eating popcorn and staying up well past a decent hour.





The next day we went hiking up Conical Hill.  It was a beautiful forest trail that got brownie points for being sheltered from the wind.  The view on top was gorgeous and we had the best table with a view for our picnic.  But did I mention it was cold? I didn't think so.







We got back to the car thinking it was a pretty productive day and realized it was only like 1:00.  We went to a park but I finally cried uncle and huddled in the car with Kylie to escape that nasty wind.  We weren't sure what would be worse, braving the cold or braving 7 kids cooped up in a house for the rest of the day with nothing to do.  I sat there thinking that the two days I spent preparing for this trip wasn't worth it. The lower the temperatures dropped, the lower everyone's mood got. Much to the dismay of the kids we decided to make one more stop at the Hanmer Forest trail and luck was on our side.  The winds died down a little and the sun was doing its thing and the kids frowns turned upside down and I found my moment that made it all worth it as we ran around playing tag, red rover, duck duck goose and a game of Bobs and Radishes orchestrated by Maddox.  We wrapped it up with some races before the rain started up again. I'm more of a park bench kind of mom, I love sitting back and watching the kids play without having to actually exert any real energy, so I surprised myself with how much I loved running around with them.  It's funny how we spent all this money at the hot springs (they were not cheap!) and all this time planning outings and the highlights of the trip were the spontaneous moments like running in the field and booty shaking in the kitchen with all the girls and Macklemore. The day ended on a good note with a BBQ and a sun that graced us with its presence long enough for the kids to run around outside like wild banshees.






The house we stayed at was pretty old it's only redeeming quality, besides being able to fit 11 people, was this tree fort.  Until Ryder fell off the ladder and reenacted how he fell head first into the mud to anyone who was willing to watch. Poor baby.


After three nights we packed it up and headed home, but by now it is expected that a trip home is not just a trip home. 



We stopped at Frog rock (can you see it??) and explored around for a little bit.







And then our friends took us to a swimming hole that they found earlier in the week.  My only regret was that I never had anything like this when I was younger.  It was amazing.  The water was freezing and it was still jacket weather outside but it didn't stop the kids.  I can't wait to come back here when it's hot outside.



The snorkel set Maddox got for his birthday is just as much for me, I mean seriously, watching him walk around with it is the gift that never stops giving.








We pushed our luck with one last spontaneous stop at the beach. The kids were tired and grumpy and begged to just go home, which made me all the more determined to prove that they would have the best time ever and thank us repeatedly for stopping.  We got fish and chips, hauled all the towels and bags through the sand, got all situated and were met with the full force of the wind. Jason and I took one look at each other and called it quits. You win some, you loose some.  Although there were some losses along the way (including my favorite kitchen knife that we got as a wedding gift that I left behind to which Kylie responded "wow, you know you're old when you get sad about losing a knife"), but over all it was a winning weekend. Winning indeed (no reference to Charlie Sheen implied).



7 comments:

Just me said...

You're showing those kids the best days of their lives (so far)... !!! Love the stories, love the photos. Love your adventuring spirit and watching how you're all falling in love with New Zealand and cold raw nature!

Ali

Unknown said...

I love reading this blog & kept checking back for your weekend adventures after seeing on IG that you had gone to explore again. Your family has already explored more of NZ than we have with our children & it is inspiring me to get out and show them around their home land.

Janessa said...

Awe, the blues and greens just made my eyes so happy! And I got to see them all cozy warm in my house. I can almost feel that wind though. I can't believe ya'll were in swimsuits in that! The picture of Jason holding swim suit clad Maddox's hand on the little slide thing with all the adults bundled up on the side cracks me up! Kids definitely have a much higher tolerance for cold temperatures when they're in the thick of the fun! I love the way you jumped in and had fun running around and playing with the kids too. I'm like you with the park bench mentality. It is good to get in a play with them sometimes too though! That water hole looks like so much fun as well as the impromptu stop to explore on the way home. Glad you have such great friends to explore with!

Chelsea said...

was that really just a weekend? you always amaze me by how you pack 2 weeks of fun into just a few days, that is quite the talent! That swimming hole, treehouse, and tarzan swing would make my kids whole life!!! Best of everything right there! and I would be super sad if I lost my special wedding gift knife too, its my absolute favorite! Guess I'm old too ;)

p.s. do you have an underwater camera too?

p.s.s. I tried and tried but couldn't see the frog!

p.s.s.s. Love your natural hair color, keep it always!

Tyson and Dawn Jolley said...

I love the shot with you in it. Love your natural hair color shining through! Its so beautiful! This is seriously sounding like such a fun trip! Man, and all you get to come back to is a new kneaders, winco, and deseret book.

Grethel Van Epps said...

so jealous of how beautiful this place is.

Jodee said...

Oh fun! Friend weekends in a new place are the best! I am so impressed with your kids and how wet they get in the freezing cold! Looks like another amazing weekend getaway!