Race Day

     The day finally arrived. Months of planning and preparing (mostly for Tanya) and it all came down to one insane day. Rob took Tanya down to the start around 430 am. She started the swim at 7. As soon as she started Rob headed back to the aparment to get us. The kids made awesome support t-shirts. On the back of each shirt it said Team Sharp. Each kid decorated their own shirt. Rob and I had shirts too. It was fun to have a project to work on with the kids and have a secret from Tanya. It was so much fun to watch the kids keep the secret. Tally didn't understand the concept really well and has been asking me for weeks if it is time to tell her yet. I was a bit surprised that she managed to keep the secret. I also had NZ temporary tatoos for the kids. We all got at least three. It was really fun. Lots of people commented on how cool the shirts were. It made me really happy that people noticed. Tanyanseemed to really like them. I am so glad that the kids had the idea and followed through it.
     We first saw Tanya on the bike. The kids were waving their NZ flags, ringing cow bells and cheering for everyone. We had just said that we needed to start looking out for Tanya as she shot past us. Then we headed into town. We had a bit of a wander before getting some smoothies. After some more wandering we had an earlyish lunchnat the Kona Inn. Then we wandered down some more and found an awesome spot to watch the run. We located ourselves near a beach and restraunts rightnon thenrun course. It was ideal because there were trees for shade/climbing, bathrooms nearby, a nice sea breeze, and a six year old from England named Cameron who Indigo and Tally are in love with. Cameron was really nice. He is an only child and was very excited to have some other kids to play with. He helped keep our whole crew happy. We stayed there for most of the race. We got to see Tanya go by twice before watching her finish. We were able to get a space right next to the finish line. We were all able to see her finish! She was so focused on the finish line that she saw didn't see
     She did a great job. Her time was 10:43 which was quicker than expected. It is seriously impressive. She managed a quick time despite a bike crash! She also once again proved her toughness by continuing the race while in pain and how she has behaved after. Despite some probably pretty uncomfortable scrapes she hasn't complained.
    One of my favorite things about the day was meeting a girl named Anna who is studying photo journlism at the Univerity of Nations. She saw us early in the day and took photos of the kids throughout the day. She saw us in the morning and took pictures of thenkids shirts. Later we met up again and she took photos of us cheering for Tanya. She also saw us at the finish and took some family photos. Anna was so nice and she was great with the kids. She is suppose to e-mail us some of the photos. Hopefully I will be able to post some.

    I typically try to lable my photos but the app is pretty basic and won't let me so I will have to do it later. 
   
    

Undies Run...

    What is an undies run and why did I do it you may aks upon seeing the name of this post. It's just a casual run in your underwear with hundreds of other people that happen to be wearing their underwear. As to the why well that I'm not so sure on...it was sort of a job requirement (weird job right) but it also sounded like fun. The run was on the 9th of October so on the 8th (after my epic surf lesson) we headed to Target to get some undies! Indigo and Tally got matching Frozen undies. They had a super cute cami and undies set at Target. Jack wore superman undies. Kaiya got purple undiesnwith a purple crop top. Rob found spme cool bananna undies. I couldn't find anything in the right sizes for Tanya and I. There had been a run on womens undies over the past few days I was told. Tanya and I went to Ross after the kids went to bed and found some cook blacknwith white polka dots and pink trim. The cut of the undies wasn't ideal for modesty but we found some cool pink infinity scarves to go around our waists as modesty belts. We had to go to Target after for a few things and happened across some hot pink compression socks which made the outfits.
    On the 9th we got up super early and headed to the race. We had been told that the race was 4km but it was much much shorter which was a blessing with the kids. Jack, Kaiya, Indigo, Rob and myself ran. Tally and Tanya walked a bit and turned back. It was a bit too much for Tally. I was impressed at how well the kids did. They did awesome running. Despite my anit-morning personness I am glad that it was in the morning because it was pretty hot already and I think it would have been too much for the kids if it had been later.
    This undies run was an attempt at the world record but at the end of it they couldn't announce if it was a new world record because they had to double check the numbers.

Surfing!!!

    Two days ago Ingot to go surfing!!!  Rob "talked me into it". I say that because I didn't need much convincing. I mentioned that I was intrested and Rob encouraged it. He got the name of a guy when he bought his rash vest from a surf shop.
   My surf instructor was a wirey man in his 50's. He had super tan skin and a grey beard. He said things like "epic", "I love it" and "keep your cup full" all the time. In some ways he was very much the stereptype of a surf instructor. I really enjoyed him. He was a great teacher.
    We started off learning some surfing etiquette like take turns on waves, be careful of reef life, don't swim up the impact zone, watch out for other people catching the same wave you are catching, the person at the peak of the wave has right of way etc. For thenmostart it seemed like common courtsey to me but I'm sure I am missing finer points. After our ettiquete talk we practiced moving from laying on the board to standing in one quick fluid motion. Then we got in the water. We spent maybe 20 minutes pf the lesson on land. I was pretty stocked because I thought I would spend way more time practicing jumping up and other stuff on land.
     He started me out on a baby wave. He told me when to paddle and gave me a little shove then started yelling stand up and all of a sudden I was up. It was super fun!!!!! I paddled back out and he told me that he rarely has people come back out with such big grins on their faces. He thought one baby wave was enough so we moved to slightly bigger but still pretty small waves. The good surfing waves seemed to be spaced with a bunch 8f crummy waves then three or four good waves in a row. I would catch a wave then get hammered by three or four as I tried to turnnmy board and get to the channel where the waves weren't breaking. My instructor said it is called paying tax. I really like the expression.
   I was so lucky to go out when I did. The waves were nice for a beginner and there weren't many other people around. There were a few locals, two other personal surf lessons, a really nice Belgian lady and us. It made it easy to get waves without worrying about other people getting in the way or steering into you. My instructor knew the Belgian lady. Apparently she has been out nearly every day with anfented board trying to figurenit out. She was realy nice. I was impressed by her stick-to-it-ness. My instructor would help her when I was paddling back out.
   I had a nu ber of suoer awesome rides and a few super awesome wipe outs. My favorite ride was my second to last ride. It was the only one I didn't need a little push on. I finally paddled fast enough to get up on the wave by myself. Standing up felt seemless. All of the things I had been told kind of came together for an awesome ride. We had planned for it to be my last one but after such a great one we decided for one more. My arms were absolutly wasted going out for thenlast wave but it was totally worth it. After a good sized one I rode baby waves the rest of the way in.
   I had two pretty good wipe outs. The first was on the first of the bigger waves. I stood up and knew my feet were in the wrong place so tried to do a little hop to correct it like I was told. Unfortunatly I hopped one foot off the board and came down with ont leg in the water and the other on my board. Needless to say I wasn't able to save it. The second bit wipe out was when I set up for a pretty big wave (a bomber according to my instructor). With a little help I was able to get on it and stand up but I was way way to far back on my board and slide off the back of it. The board went flying up in the air and a big wave crashed on my head. I was quite ammused by the whole event.
     After the lesson I got to try an apple bananna. It was shockingly tastey,
    I am so grateful that I was able to take a surf lesson. I really appreciate Rob making it work with our schedule, pushing me into it, finding a good insturctor and helping pay. Rob made the whole thing possible. Thank you Rob!

This is me and my surfing instructor paddling out. Special thanks to Rob Sharp for getting a photo for me. 

A Reef Shark and Swimming with Dolphins!

Indigo and I on the submarine.

     Oh my goodness I don't blog for one day and all of a sudden I have so much to write about! It has been a very eventful few days.
     Yesterday we had a pretty laid back morning. Rob took the kids to the pool while I ran to the grocery store then did a few jobs at the apartment. This is not thenpart that makes one think I've had an exciting time. We took the kids in to town for lunch. Then we went on a submarine. It was a proper submarine and not a dressed up glass bottom boat. We had to take a boat from the peir to the sub then crawl down the hatch to the seating area. The sub can fit 48 people but our tour only had 13. It was nice to have loads of space and be able to look out both sides. All along the sub were big round windows. After a short saftey breifing we set off. First we went to a coral reef that was about 50-70 feet deep (they had a big depth gauge on the boat). The reef was amazing. There were tons of parrot fish, box fish (a type of puffer), yellow tang, angle fish, mu, butteryfly fish and so many more that I can't remember the names of. Every where we looked there were more things to look at. Then we went to a place called
    After our awesome submarine tour we wandered the shops a little then went for a swim at the beach
     After that we came back to the apartment fed the kids and put them to bed. Then one of Tanya's tri buddies came over for dinner with his partner. They were super nice. I made bison burgers. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't turn out very well. I didn't want to give anyone a bad interpretation of bison burgers when theynhad never had them before. I really like bison and have missed it being in NZ. They turned out fine though and people seemed to enjoy it.
    Today we got up early to go on a dolphin swimming tour. We got on a boat and went up away from Kona along the coast. We quickly fooubd a pod of Hawaiian spinner dolohins. They are one of the smaller species of dolphins. The pod was moving along the cozst to their resting grounds. Our boat would speed ahead of them and we would all jump in and they would swim under us. They are phenominally beautiful when they swim. We missed the first jump because the kids weren't ready. The second jump I was swimmimg with Indie. She was so excited to see dolphins. I got to see them pass under us twice. The third time I stayed on the boat for a bit with Tally because she was cold and very upset about the whole ordeal. The dolphins stuck around so after a bit Tanya got on the boat and I went back in the water. The dolphins were super close to us. The pod had a number of babies with them. It was aweso,e to watche the babies feed and play. They were so adorable. I can't seem to find the right words to explain how awesome it all was. It was like watching a national geographic film in real life. It was actually a bit sureal. As we were snorkling abovd the dolphins we could hear them squeking to ezch other. It was like listening to someone speak another language in a cafe. I was impressed how well Jack, Kaiya and Indigo did with the experience. They were so excited. They were behaving the way I felt. They pointed out all sorts of cool stuff. Kaiya showed me a giant brain coral. Jack showed me his attempts at free diving. Indie pointed out lots of fish. One of my favorite parts of the trip was during the last swim. I was swimming above some dolphins. They all had babies with them. Theynstarted to head for the surface and came up not more than 20 yards from me. They were so close that I could see the threre colors of grey on them and the scars on the mothers. One of the babies had a big open wound which looked uncomfortable. They came up for air and I got to see them above the water and in the water at the same time. If there was a word for more than super awesome it wouldn't totally describe it. I loved everything about the experience. I am so grateful to Rob and Tanya for taking me on this amazing adventure with them.
   After the boat tour Tanya went out training and the rest of us went back to the apartment for lunch and some down time. We had afternoon tea at the team kiwi luncheon. All the kiwi atheletes got shirts and had a photo together. We met another au pair who is living in Taupo. She seemed really nice. Our kids played tag and hide and go seek together. After the meeting we watched the parade of nations. I of course hzd to cheer for New Zealand and the USA. The kids got so much candy! I'm not sure we will ever be able to eat it all. They might explode if I give them that much sugar. We wandered through expo and did a super secret surprise for Tanya. Then we headed home.

near the peir. It was nice because the beach was pretty enclosed and shallow which was nice with the kids. Jack and I went on a little adventure and swam along the edges looking at fish. He knows so much about fish. I was amazed.
the oasis. It is a large chunk of lava rock on the sea floor which is surrounded by sand. All of the fish congregate on the rodk because it has coral and alge for them to eat but it is also a safe haven. It was amazing. It was like walking into a huge school of fish of all different types. I loved the oasis. It was avsolutely stunning. Rob got some good photos which I will post when we are back in NZ. At the oasis we saw an eel. It was very cool. Then we moved along the sea floor going down to 100 ft and saw two ship wrecks. At the first ship wreck I was still a bit in awe of the oasis and didn't pay much attention. A diving company had attached a plastic skeleton to the shipwreck for a Halloween night dive. Sounds pretty scary.  At the second ship wreck Inwas back in focus mode. The second ship they call crazy lady because a couple sailed here from Alaska. The husband had to fly home for a family emergency. While he was gone his wife thought that there were termites on the fiber glass boat and tried to smoke them out with some flares consequently lighting the boat on fire and sinkjing it. We saw a white tipped reef shark at the ship wreck. It wzs a juvinile only about 6 ft long. The shark was pretty afraid of the sub so we only saw it for a second. We saw another eel. I learned lots on the sub (some of which I've already forgoten!) but mynfzvorite fact has to be thfat parrot fish poo white sand. I also found out that the light changes as you go deeper so bright colors glow. It was quite cool.

Cool fish we saw while on the sub

This is the skeleton that was put down by the diving club.
Looks pretty creepy. 

The sub we went on. 

Wild Turtles

     On the 4th I had a morning with the kids at the apartment. We had to wait around for the manitence man to come fix some stuff. Then we went to the pool. Rob showed up while we were at thenpool. After the pool we had some down time. Then Tanya got back with the car. We went into Kona for the first time. We went to a cool cafe called Lava Java. I had an iced Americano. It was super nice! Tanya tried a breve (espresso and steamed cream) it was super yummy. I had never tried them before. We hung out in town for a little bit before going to turtle beach. There was a turtle sleeping on the beach and two more in the water. It was cool to see them in the ocean. The older three kids were super excited. The youngest was pretty afraid of them. She eventually got in the water but would only stay right next to me. Today we went back to turtle beach. There was a group there doing some education and conservation work. They showed the kids which fishto look for. It was pretty cool. There were more turtles there today. Tallynwas afraid of them again. Iwas holding her and we were looking at a turtle when she asked to go see the "Turtle Lady" (one of the conservationisits). She then asked "Do turtles eat four year olds?". Omce she was reassured that it only ate plants she was happy to get in thenwater again and hold my hand while looking at it.
   I was really excited to see turtles. I haven't seen one before and it is always way better to see them in the wild than in an aquarium. These turtles were jpretty cute eating sea weed from between the rocks. The fish were also really awesome. There are lots of different types. I'm glad that we got to go back today to see the types of fish. I definitly noticed more of them having seen some pictures.
   The conservationists said all the turtles we saw were between 12-20 years old. This bay attracts lots of young turtles. Apparently it isnvery rare for them to see one that is older than 20. Many of the turtles that go there are in some sort of trouble or weak. Some how they know that they are fairly safe in the cove and there is lots of food.
  

First Days in Hawaii

     We are starting to get settled in Hawaii now. Yesterday we spent almost the whole day at the beach. The water here is so warm that the kids can spend hours in the water and not get cold. The beach we were at has good waves for body surfing. We did lots of jumping into waves and letting them push us. The waves kick up lots of sand so we all have sand in our hair and boy is it hard to get out! I scrubbed my head for nearlynhalf an hour yesterday evening and I still have sand coming out today. I will just have to get used to having sand everywhere.
    After a busy day on the beach we went to Target to get shoesnfor the kids. We found summer shoes and pratical shoes for everyone! Mission acomplished! I was happy to be back at Target again. I love that Targets have a predictible lay out.
    When I was at au pair link orientation they gave us a talk about reverse culture shock. I remember thinking about how silly they were but now I understand. I had forgotten how big everything is here. Yesterday we got coffees and I oredered a 16oz cause that's what I've akways gotten. It was so big compared to NZ coffees. I still laugh at the NZ small coffee because it is only two sips but the American medium coffee is really huge. Its bigger than then NZ large coffee! I was super shocked at how large it was. There are other things that I find odd now; like not having on/off switches on outlets, no cafes, the paper toilet seat covers. It is funny how many things I didn't realize were different until I saw them again. I'm sure that at one point I noticed but I've been in NZ so long I got used to it.
    One of my favorite culture shock things that happen was Tally trying to figure out how to flush the toilets here. Mostof the toilets in NZ have two buttons. She was looking all over for the second button. She came out and asked me to teach her how to flush the toilet. Jack was surprised by our eggs. At home we always get the free range eggs but that wasn't an option here so we got the white ones. He asked why they were shiny on the outside and not oragne enough on the in side. Speaking of orange what is the deal with all the American food being dyed orange? Orange cheese is of special interest to our family. The kids are so intrigued by why Americans dye our cheese. The tipping thing is anothernbig difference. I have a hard time figuring out who to tip some times. Trying to explain it to people that haven't been exposed to it has been difficult and tested my knowledge. We couldn't figure out whether or not to tip our shuttle driver because she helped with our bags. Another cultural difference is four way stops. Tanya had never been through one before. In NZ we have round abouts and not four way stops. In fact there are very few stop signs in Auckland. I kenw that there weren't many stops in NZ but it hadn't occured to me that other people. I am really happy that I have gotten the chance to travel the states with people who don't know the culture. It is very enlightening.

Heading to Hawaii

     My host family and I are in Hawaii right now! It's been a very long road here. About ten days ago I started packing for the kids. Oh my goodness packing four kids is quite an ordeal. Not only was i packing four kids but I had to pack for two seasons because we are going to England next. It was a huge learning experience.
   Two days ago we got up super early and headed to the air port. I took Indigo and Kaiya on the bus becuase we didn't all fit in the car with the luggage. It was fun. Indie was very excited about going on the bus. She was less impressed that it stops all the time.
    Our flight was nine hours and fourty minutes. Over all the kids werd pretty good. They had tv and the cabin staff gave them games and coloring books. One of the flight attendants had been an au pair in Boston for a year when he was 18. It was cool to hear his stories being as he went from NewZealand tothe USA. He had noticed things about the US (like the prescence of cream cheese in everything) that I hadn't missed. 
     We arrived in Honolulu pretty late and went straight to the hotel to get some shut eye before another early flight. I went to a market near the hotel because adults didn't get dinner on the flight. I was so excited to see gokd fish crackers that I had to get some. We had another early flight today and the kids ended up eating goldfish for breakfast being as there weren't many options or much time. I am already really aware of how different the cafe culture in NZ is and I miss it...a lot. It is just so easy to be able to get a toasted sandwhich any where for the kids.
    Today we spent a lot of time getting sorted and putting away bags and getting the rental car etc. We had lunch out. There was a fountian and the kids wanted to make wishes so I gave them each a penny. Tally didn't understand what she was suppose to do. After I explained it and she watched the big kids she tossed in her penny and shouted "I want to ridd a unicorn". It was super cute. When we got to our apartment we took the kids swimming at the hotel. Our hotel is on 16 acres and has three tennis courts. It sound pretty big but its actually really full of apartments.