Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Temple Adventure

 

Zachary and I had an adventure last weekend.  We were able to do baptisms at the Hamilton New Zealand temple.  As exciting as that was the getting to and from the temple was the adventure.
We left home at 8:30am to catch a flight to Hamilton.  The flight was uneventful until landing when it was aborted twice due to the pilot not being able to see the runway (fog).  We were told we would circle in the air for 30 minutes and hope that the weather would clear, thankfully it did enough for us to land on our 3rd try.  We then rented a car and headed to the temple.
Zachary was suppose to join the ward that was assigned the 1pm time slot.  However, they did not show up.  So it was Zachary and another young man waiting for his ward coming at 3:30pm.  They got some temple workers and Zachary and I were both able to be baptized by the other Young Man, Floyd, a priest.  It was special to have just the two of us and feel the spirit.
After a wonderful time in the temple we stopped for a late lunch and had some wonderful ice-cream.  We then headed to the airport to catch our flight home.  This is where the next adventure started.  All flights into Wellington were canceled due to a heavy fog covering the city (unusual because of the normal winds).  We were unable to get home until the next day.  So we called some people in the ward and were blessed to find the Parkers.  Raingi and Vic Parker are the parents of Hinoma Catene my visiting teachee.  They opened their home to us.  That evening we spent an hour at the Temple Visitor's Center, and went to dinner with them and their son.  After a good nights sleep we went to church, which was an area broadcast from Salt Lake, so we got the same thing our family did in Wellington.  The Parkers are missionaries at the new Matthew Cowley History Center.  This allowed us to visit the museum even though it was technically closed.  We got a personalized tour.
We then made our way to the airport where we caught a flight and made it home.
What an adventure!!





Tuesday, February 13, 2018

School is back in session.



Hyrum and Wendy went back to school January 30, 2018.  They were both super excited and ready to go early in the morning.  We rode our scooters and they have continued to do so.

 Eric and Zachary started at Raroa Intermediate school on February 7, 2018.  Eric was a bit nervous to be leaving primary school, but had a great first day.  Zachary was happy to show him around and has set some personal goals for himself this year.  It is going to be great!

Sabrina took a picture of me at the Powhiri (Mauri welcome ceremony) at Raroa.
Had to add this photo of my stay at home girl and her daddy.  What a great family I have.

Little ladies

Wendy and Sabrina wanted to do a few poses or the camera.  What beautiful girls they are!! 

Wendy
Wendy is really growing up, and loves school. 


Sabrina
Sabrina is looking forward to being 4 and loves to dance and sing.






West Wind

The kids and I took a hike at the West Wind wind farm.  It was surprisingly not windy that day and hot, but much of the hike was through a nice shaded forest.  We had to be picky where we put our feet as we shared the area with a herd of cattle.  The wind turbine was impressive and the kids enjoyed the outing once we got started.

 Views along the way.  It was beautiful in all directions.

 The kids helped one another along, they also collected pine boughs for a homemade broom.







Makara Beach was our stop on the way home.

The Circus

The circus came to town and we enjoyed an afternoon performance.  It was full of acrobatic stunts, and simple fun.  Some of our favorite acts included 13 people on one bicycle and limbo under a burning bar.





 Hyrum participated in one part of the program.  He did a wonderful job and enjoyed his moment in the spotlight.



When I saw this the question that came to mind is why didn't mom teach us these tricks, when we were on her feet.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Pencarrow Coastal Trail

The weekend before school started we took a  walk down the Pencarrow Coastal Trail.  It was a beautiful cool day with a little sprinkling on our way back.  The kids favorite parts were collecting shells, rocks, and sticks along the way, and climbing the huge rock where we stopped for lunch.