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.

Freinds From The States Visit!

  I wrote this a while agobut forgott to publish it! Oops. 

This week I was so excited to have my good friend Catherine and her boyfriend Marshall in the country. They were here on a whirlwind tour of the north island so I didn't get to see all that much of them. I met up with them onWednesday afternoon. I had Tally (4yrs) with me. Catherine and Marshall were awesome about me bringing a kid along. We met up in a play ground and hung out for a bit before hezding to a nearby cafe for lunch. It was so nice to see them.
   The next day they headed up to Bay of Islands for a few days. I got to have brunch with them again after their time up north. We went to a cool cafe called Conch in Ponsonby. I enjoyed getting to chat with them with no children around. I really enjoyed having them in New Zealand. I do kind of wish that I had more time with them. I had forgotten how much fun I had with Catherine.

Kindy Quiz Night

Lara and I. Lara is one of the Mom's that does
walking school bus with us. She is really cool.
She has a first grader and kindergartner. Lara
recently started her own business called
 Hello Again. 

    Last Saturday night (August 30th) I went to a fundraiser for the kindy that Tally goes to. They had a quiz night with an MTV theme. I haven't seen a fundraiser like this in the states so I'll explain. You organize a table of 6-10 people. Each person pays $10 to enter. The quiz night has a theme and you dress up and decorate your table. You can get prizes like most effort for costumes and table decor. Each table gets a booklet to write answers in. Each table can buy double points for two rounds for $5 each. Our quiz night had ten rounds but according to the school Mom's most have less. Each round has a theme like movies, music, science, etc. They also have a silent auction, door prizes, raffles and a real auction (late in the evening). Parents are encouraged to bring their own booze which makes the end of night auction much more profitable than if everyone were sober.
   It was an interesting experience. My table went as Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball. We did the G rated version though. It was a lot of fun for the first few hours. I thought it went way to long. That was mostly because the questions were aimed at people in their late 30's-50's as many of the parents are. I wasn't born for a lot of the questions and pop culture before my birth isn't my forte.

We were getting ready at Lisa's house and I was showing off
my awesome America socks (Thanks Matt!) and being a
generally silly person. 

Christina and I. Christina is from Canada (woo
for being from the same continent/having the
same accent!). She has a three year old that
does art class with Tally. 

This is everyone who was at our table with our wrecking balls and mallets. 

An Eventful Weekend: Street Eats and an All Blacks Game!

    Two weekends ago (August 23rd) I had a crazy busy weekend (well mostly Saturday). I went to Street Eats with some of my friends. Street Eats is a street food festival where lots of different restaurants got together and had stalls. Each restaurant had one or two options under $10 (http://www.heartofthecity.co.nz/auckland-events/food-and-drink-events/street-eats). For more info My friend Ariel and I split everything we got as to try more things. We started with Jamaican Jerk chicken from Bird on a Wire (http://www.birdonawire.co.nz/). It was so delicious! The seasoning on the chicken was absolutely amazing. I can't put into words how awesome it was. It was just awesome. Then we moved on to steak and polenta chips from Silver Fern Farms (http://www.silverfernfarms.com/). The steak was really good. It was so tender and seasoned but not overpowering. Absolutely delicious. After that we had a glass of wine and let our stomachs rest. Then we went back for some of the Jamaican Jerk chicken.
   Ariel and I then drove up to my house (40 minutes away) got ready for the All Blacks game and went with Rob and Tanya to a bar for pre-game fun. Rob got 30 tickets for work so there were mostly orthopedic surgeons and people they worked with. Ariel and I got to sit in Rob and Tanya's season ticket seats. I really like rugby and have been watching with Rob since I got here so I understood a good portion of the game but Ariel hadn't watched before and was a bit lost at times. We had a great time though. The atmosphere was great. It was very different from the college sports that I am used to. It was fun to be part of the crowd again though. It's just not the same from the comfort of your home. However the All Blacks fans have nothing to Zag fans (GO ZAGS!).
    The All Blacks were playing Australia; The Wallabies. I have to comment on their name, Australia has so many deadly and scary animals and they choose to be the Wallabies. Why? Wallabies aren't scary or agressive. They don't strike fear into the hearts of the enemies. I just don't understand! Rant aside we pummeled them (51-20). We kept the Bledosie cup (I don't know what this is but it was giant and shiney) and continued the winning streak at Eden Park. The All Blacks haven't lost at Eden Park in over 10 years.
   Unfortunately I don't have many photos from this weekend as I haven't been brining my camera many places due to some mechanical issues with it. I have asked some friends to share their photos though and will add them when I get them.

A Long Over Due Post from Rotorua

   I am once again having to start a post with having to apologize with not posting in forever. I'm always shocked at how the time gets away from me.
    I am going to start by going way back to July 7th. The kids were on school holidays. For my American friends the school year is a bit different here. They have four eight to ten week terms. At the end of every term they have a two week break. Their summer break is about six weeks. It is actually a brilliant system because they get more shorter breaks so they don't lose as much over them. My thoughts on the school system aside. The first day of break we went to an ice slide. You sit on an inner tube and they push you down an ice slope then you go flying down a straight bit before coming to a grinding halt by hitting some carpet. It was loads of fun. I did end up carrying the inner tubes a lot. The ice slide was 35 meters (115 feet) and I carried four inner tubes (one for each kid) the length of the slide five times. Needless to say I counted it as a massive arm workout. The place with the ice slide also had an ice skating rink. The kids informed me that they had never been ice skating before. I loved ice skating growing up and felt that I had to teach the kids. What happened in my head that made me think teaching four kids under eight how to ice skate at the same time by myself was a good idea I'm not sure but it worked out. Jack was a natural. He watched for a bit then got on the ice and flew. Tally was ok as long as she had a walker. Kaiya struggled for a bit but found her feet. Indie didn't really get the hang of it. She spent a good deal of time sitting on the ice but she was by far the most stubborn and refused to give up.

Jack, Indigo, Kaiya and Tally in the Hamilton Gardens

    On July 9th (Wednesday) we drove to Rotorua. It is a three hour drive. I had the kids alone in the car being as Tanya had to go two thirds of the way earlier in the day and there was no point in her back tracking. I thought that a road trip with four kids and no tv would have been painful but they were actually really good. We listened to music, played car games, listened to a book on tape and stopped often. My favorite stop was at the Hamilton Gardens. It was the perfect place for the kids to run around and be silly. There were all sorts of gardens from Japanese, Maori, American, Indian etc. It was super cool. Once we got to Rotorua we had a lazy night. http://www.hamiltongardens.co.nz/
     Our second day in Rotorua we went to a big play ground on the lake. We walked past an ice skating place on the way there so after lunch we went ice skating again. I was amazed at how much each kid improved! They were all awesome. That evening Tanya took the kids swimming and I went to the spa to use a voucher I'd gotten for my birthday. I got a massage that was under hot water. It was awesome. I absolutely love standing in the shower and I love massages so putting them together was amazing! It was definitely one of the top ten things I have done in New Zealand.
     The next day we went to Paradise Valley (http://www.paradisev.co.nz/). The kids got to pet lion cubs which was pretty cool. They were on the adult side of cub though; defiantly bigger than I am. Then we went through the walking path and fed some animals. At the end we got to see them feeding lions. The kids were pretty disgusted.

Patting a lion cub

    The next day we went to see some bubbling mud. It was cool but not as interesting as Yellowstone. Tally (3) asked if there was a hippo farting under the mud. It was super adorable. Then we went swimming. The pool had an awesome out door play area but it was cold and rainy so we mostly stayed in side.

Indigo feeding a deer

 













 


On our last morning in Rotorua we went on the Luge (http://www.skyline.co.nz/rotorua/ssr_luge/). You take a gondola up the side of the mountain where there are cement pathways down the mountain. They have these little black carts that you sit on and stere. I did one ride with Indigo (5) and one ride with Tally(3). Oh my goodness they are speed demons; as is Jack (7).  The Sharps are going to have a heck of a time teaching those three how to drive. When Tally and I were following Jack he was going so fast I could hardly keep up with him. It was loads of fun. After the Luge Tanya headed home with the kids and I went Zorbing (http://zorb.com/world/rotorua/). A Zorb is a big ball that has a smaller ball inside of it. The two balls are attached with stretchy stringy things. You crawl into the inner ball and then they push you down a hill. It was so much fun! I loved it. I was laughing so hard. Zorbing is one of the things I really wanted to do in New Zealand. I remember reading about it in Newsweek magazine when I was late middle or early high school and being absolutely enthralled with the idea. I am so so so glad that I got to do it.

One of the lions from Paradise Valley

    The rest of the school holidays were generally uneventful. We watched a dino show at the museum, saw a mermaid swim at the aquarium, went to clip and climb and went ice skating (again!). All of the kids have really gotten into ice skating. Jack (7) more so than the others. It is pretty cool to see them loving something that I taught them .

Bubbling mud

Bubbling mud

Jack practicing his speed demon face for
the luge

All four kids on the luge

The girls with Bex (the mermaid) at the
aquarium before she swam with the fish.