NZ Part 3: Long Time Coming

Hello cyber viewers. This post has been a long time coming. I know you're only in this for the pictures so I won't bore you with a bunch of writing. No matter how clever or mind altering it might be. You could very well be missing out on a level of literature that is so masterfully written that you no longer need reality.

Alas, the pictures is what you have come to see. But that's OK. I understand. I won't take any more of your time except only to set the scene for the visual voyage you are about to embark upon.

It was a bright, cool morning. Darryl was nearly done wrestling with the last of the luggage. "How could one family have so much stuff " he thought. Having lost round one to the suite cases, Darryl decided a change of tactic was in order. He repeatedly slammed down the hatchback door over and over again. With each impact the luggage compressed slightly until the door latch finally engaged with a small 'click'. He was pretty sure the kids were in there too. Comfortably wedged between a Dora the Explorer suit case and a mound of half eaten take out.

" There's nothing like the open road" thought Darryl...

Oh wait... that's right ... I said "very little writing". Sorry! Stacey you're free to roll your eyes and comment on how much of a dork your husband is :)

The kids enjoying a brisk morning stroll in Arrowtown.

It is a cute little spot. It has that "lost in time" sort of feel.

We decided to take a less direct route to Wanaka and we were very thankful we did. The mountain road that wound its way to Wanaka was peppered with beautiful views.

For some reason when we were exploring Wanaka we failed to take many pictures. But for all you brain teaser fans... we managed to get a picture of Puzzle World. We took the kids here and they had a blast in the giant labyrinth.

Gravity is for suckers! This is how we role! DIAGONAL!

I don't know if you've noticed in the previous NZ posts but Shamus really went on a growing spurt on this trip.

Run Forrest. Run!

Lake Wanaka... I think.

Along the way we stopped to see some water falls. At this particular one there were hundreds of little stone towers. Later in the trip we saw more. I don't know what the significance of them is. Maybe it is similar to an Inukshuk but ... when in Rome...

I just thought this was cute.

On to the Franz Josef glacier. This was a deceiving hike. The valley leading up to the glacier was long. It was hard to judge the distance from the tree line to the glacier but as always our little explorers did fantastic.

No trouble keeping your drinks cold hear... lot's of ice. Badump bump

It was massive and very cool to see.

GEEK WARNING: This reminded me of Mordor from the Lord of the Rings.

Someone was kind enough to take snap of the family.

I had to take this pic as we were leaving the town of Franz Josef. What beautiful backdrop.

Ciao for now.

Yes, we're here! Just busy!

We've been super busy so the blog has been neglected lately. Well, and we can't find our NZ pictures at the moment. Hopefully we didn't lose them in the move! I do want to post more on our NZ trip as I do look at the blog as our journal. A great way to keep our memories.

Since we don't have the NZ pics I've decided to jump ahead to our last couple of weeks in Brisbane! I need to get myself caught up so this may be a looooooooong post! :) Sorry!

We had a lot of playdates and get togethers before we left...

BBQ's and playdates at New Farm Park. With daycare buddies.

Shamus and his friend, Bhavya. Bhavya's family may come to Canada next year so exciting for Shamus and Breagha.

I also got to have a girls night out before we left. Which is always fun! Thanks to the wonderful ladies for coming out!! We went to Cloudland which is reallllllly nice.

Felis and I getting ready to head out. Love her shiny/sparkling pants!

A close up so you can see the cool hat that Felicity made. And she made her necklace and top!

Doesn't everyone look great! And Clo looked amazing - 7 week old baby at home!

It's doesn't really matter where you are or go, as long as it's with great friends!

We squeezed in one last BBQ at Felicity and Nigels too! (did I mention that we were super busy before we left???) Thanks guys!

Felicity surprised me with a hat that she made for me! A warmer hat so I can wear it in Montreal! Thank you. I love it!!!!

Tycho and Shamus also squeezed in one last wrestling match that night. Pretty funny!

We miss you guys!

I also had a night out with my coworkers before leaving (Darryl did have a guys night out and a night out with his coworkers. But, he doesn't take any pictures! He didn't miss out! :)

We had a great time and I miss them too! I really enjoyed my team in Brisbane and wish them all the best!

The Stacey's

Ahhh, and the last day of school and daycare.

Shamus and his Aussie mates!

Shamus' teacher, Mrs Maslen was amazing. We loved her. She put together a book for Shamus with pictures from all the kids and she did a CD for us with tons of pictures. And she gave us his school scrapbook of all his work since January.

The kids daycare director, Andrea, gave the kids a beautiful scrapbook of all the wonderful things they did while at the ABC Daycare. It was such a wonderful gift. Thank you Andrea!!! We love it! I know it took a long time to put it together and we really appreciate it. They also gave Breagha a koala teddy and Shamus an Aussie hat. Very thoughtful. And of course we got all of Breagha's beautiful art work!!

Felicity and I got together on our last Friday morning in Brisbane. She has a few of her hats for sell in a couple of shops so we checked it out! Very excited as the shops are SUPER fancy!
Then for lunch we met up with Rej, Clo and Gabriel. Did I manage how cute Gabriel is!!! And growing so fast! Rej and Clo are so wonderful with Shamus and Breagha. We're really going to miss that!! Gabriel is a very lucky little boy.
Hopefully we'll see Rej, Clo and baby Gabriel next summer. Please come visit!
And last by not least (I told you this would be long!), we headed off to Kate and Morgan's for a yummy dinner on Friday night. Thanks guys! It was great to have a little get together for heading back home.

Kate and Morgan are amazing in the kitchen. :)

Darryl and Amy hooked up in the kitchen to do a "Bean Dip 101" class. Have you tried the dip yet Amy?

Cheers!!!

Thank you to everyone for making our time in Brisbane the BEST. We appreciate all the friendships we made. And all the wonderful experiences we got to enjoy with Shamus and Breagha. We're so happy we had the chance to see Australia and thanks to everyone who was a part of it. Hope you can make a trip to Canada to see us.

Now, we're back home and loving that too. It's great to see family and old friends. We're very lucky and thankful.

Next post is our trip to Sydney!! Steve and Cari met up with us and we had a wonderful time!

Stay tuned.

A post that is not about NZ :)

Hi All!

I thought I would do a quick post that is not about our New Zealand trip. But, just to let you know, it was a great trip. :) We've really been enjoying our time back home. Some things never change and then there is always something new to discover. We're loving the time with family and it's been really nice to see the kids warm up to all the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins! And I was very pleased to have a feed of lobster on the first day of fishing! Thank you to my nephew Mitch. Very yummy.

We do miss Australia though! Especially our great friends. And the weather! Damn, it is chilly here! I didn't bring much for warm clothes because everyone kept talking about the great spring...hmmmm, it's been cold since we got here. There was 1 or 2 warm days but chilly overall. We need time to adjust! :)

We did arrive at a great time of year though. Spring is here which is always nice. And the hockey play offs are on! I missed Ron MacLean!

We arrived in Montreal this afternoon and got settled into our temporary apartment. It's right downtown so it will be very busy I'm sure. I plan to look into school for Shamus this week and daycare for Breagha. And then look for our new home!

We will post some pictures of Antigonish (And Mabou!! Thanks for asking Clo! Mabou rocks too!) but I haven't taken the camera out much since we got home. We have soooo much luggage that I haven't dug for anything in a suitcase unless necessary.

Hope everyone is well. And we'll post again soon!!

NZ Part 2: Mostly Milford

Hey everyone,

Welcome to part two of our New Zealand posts. This will be mostly a picture post. For the main reason that the pictures gave me a lot of grief while uploading them and I don't really feel like writing much of anything. Most of the pics you will see are from Milford Sound. Milford Sound may, quite possibly, be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Sadly, our day there was one of the only rainy days we had on our trip but that didn't diminish the splendor of Milford. However our pictures truly do not do it justice. If you are ever in NZ please treat yourself to this little spot of heaven.

Family snap in Queenstown.
The start of our boat tour in Milford Sound. If my memory serves me correct that waterfall in the distance is over 100 meters tall. It will give you a sense of the scale of these cliffs that surrounded us. It is one of four permanent waterfalls in the sound. After a decent rainfall there can be thousands of water falls. It really is amazing.
Wow! ... look a waterfall. It's not everyday you see one of those in Milford Sound. Oh. Wait... yes it is everyday you see one of those in in Milford Sound.
Is that an island with a freakin tree on it. Why yes it is.
Full steam ahead!
OMG! another water fall!
ok ... enough with the waterfalls already.

This is the road in and out of Milford Sound. I can't describe how amazing it was. Not even sarcastically!
This guy decided to entertain us while we were waiting to go through the tunnel to leave Milford Sound. You should have heard his Whoopi Goldberg impression. He nailed it!

Are you kidding me? Really? Another waterfall? C'mon!

The drive back to Queenstown was wonderful. The sun was beginning to set which created some stunning views.

Stacey noted that the drive felt like "driving the Cabot Trail in Banff". The road snaked along the lake with the Remarkables off to our left.

I would comment "beautiful" or "amazing" or "wondrous" but I think you get the point.
Yup. Nice.

Until next post. Be well.