New

2009-04-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics from our diving...underwater photography is challenging!

2009-04-04T12:27:00.001-05:00

WE ARE "LIVING IN AMERICA"!!!!

YAY!

P.S. THIS MEANS THE BLOG IS OFFICIALLY OVER, I THINK.

2009-04-01T21:21:00.002-05:00

Oh the places we have been...

Well, we are officially on our last 24 hours overseas and will be heading home (long journey) back to the U.S. We are spending 2 days in L.A. with Amber and Tyler...it is Tyler's birthday Saturday so we are going to party! And then we arrive home Sunday evening in Mississippi!

We are enjoying Singapore...doesn't feel like we are in Southeast Asia anymore though. This is the cleanest, most orderly city I've ever visited. Did you know that gum is outlawed here? They do not sell it in any stores...only mints. And if you are caught chewing gum in a public place you are fined $1000. Crazy. So I have hidden my gum in the bottom of my bag because trust me we do not have $1000 left.

See you all soon! We can't wait to be Americans again!

2009-03-26T23:10:00.002-05:00

Railey Beach!

the sand was blinding white, turquoise water and limestone cliffs

pool at our 'splurged' resort

Blaine now has the talent of folding towels like swans...so get ready future house guests!

We are wrapping our 10 week trip up! Have been doing our diving certification and now are Advanced Divers! Yay! We stayed 3 days at a beach near Krabie on the Andaman Coast...just relaxing the entire time...felt like a second honeymoon. Now we are on our way to the Similan Islands to get on a live aboard boat for 3 days to do more diving! We are loving it! More later...

2009-03-14T08:57:00.003-05:00

OUR ADVENTURES AS OF LATE

Elephant ride in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Tiger Kingdom, 30 minutes cuddling tigers...no, Wesley they were not drugged or asleep (just blinking)

Waterfall in Luang Prabang, Laos

2009-03-14T08:36:00.003-05:00

Blaine's daring video from our Gibbon Experience. Such a great time, zipping around the gorgeous jungle up above the forest. We slept in treehouses 150 feet above the ground!

2009-03-02T22:36:00.002-06:00

Trip to the Blue Lagoon

Steffie/Blaine/Kate on tree swings

Our last day in Vang Vieng we rented mopeds and rode the 43 km loop to an amazing cave and blue lagoon. Blaine and a guy from Chicago we met (Shane) must have jumped off the top of the tree into the water at least 30 times! We even came back for another round at sunset after we had been riding on the dirt roads and got so dusty. It felt like a scene out of a movie, the crystal clear turquoise water, colorful fish and mountains all around. The cave was about a 200 meter climb up the mountain and we were really suprised at what we found--the biggest cave we've ever seen with beautiful formations, bats, and a buddha statue/incense burning to boot!

We have now split from Steffie and Linh Sa and are in Luang Prabang for a few days. Very warm here but nice and laid back. We fly home in exactly 4 weeks from today. Crazy.

2009-02-26T21:33:00.001-06:00

footbridge in Sapa

Halong bay

Linh Sa, Steffie, me and blaine in Hoi An

We are all in Laos now. Vang Vieng to be exact. We are going tubing on the river today amongst amazing limestone cliffs where there are zip lines and tree swings...should be fun. Tomorrow we are renting mopeds to explore the area and see some historical caves.

On our last day in Hanoi we went to the prison where John McCain was imprisoned during the Vietnam War...very interesting (and I don't usually like museums).

We thought you guys would like to see a photo of the 2 girls from the Netherlands that we've been travelling with for the last 2 1/2 weeks! But only 1 more day and we start going North and they go South.

2009-02-24T07:28:00.002-06:00

Our last day in Vietnam!

We just returned from Halong Bay, had a great cruise. We stayed on the junk the first night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_(ship)

where we kayaked to a cave and went spelunking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelunking

We then sailed to Cat Ba island the next day and hiked in Cat Ba National Park up to an amazing overlook of the island. This island has very few Langur monkeys left, one of the most endangered primates in the world (no, we did not see one). Spent the night in the hotel and sailed back to the port the next day.

Tomorrow we fly to Laos; we will make our way to the northwest corner (on the border of Thailand) to go on a jungle experience. Here is the website, take a look! We are doing the Waterfall Trekking.
http://www.gibbonx.org/

So farwell Vietnam, hello Laos!

2009-02-20T17:19:00.003-06:00

The cutest boy ever!

Don't ask me what he was saying...but I figure it was something like 'I see you' or 'Try and get me'. But we visited an elementary school in one of the hill tribes around Sapa. He is wearing the cultural dress for that specific village. When I showed him the video afterwards he stood mesmerized...he had obviously never seen himself on a video. He watched it about 7 times. So adorable.

We loved Sapa and the trekking around to all the different villages. The terraced rice paddies and soaring mountains. We will post more photos later.

Are you happy now, Ben? :)

2009-02-15T08:19:00.002-06:00

From Hoi An to Hanoi
We had a lovely time in Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They have preserved/are restoring more of this historic trade route/port town and it has a charming, old feel. A great site to celebrate my 28th birthday and Valentine's Day. As my mother said, the pressure was on Blaine to make it a great day and he lived up to the challenge. He brought me breakfast by the pool and wrote a thoughtful card...in the afternoon we went on a cooking class experience, where we toured through the local market and then took a boat ride out to the cooking school on the riverside. We made some awesome Vietnamese cuisine and got to eat everything we cooked. I got many well-wishes from home via email which really made me feel loved. Thanks to everyone who remembered me. Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day!
We took a flight this morning to Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam) and will spend the day tomorrow touring the city. Then we will be leaving for a cruise on Halong Bay, looking forward to that!
More soon!

2009-02-10T03:52:00.003-06:00

Adventures in Dalat

warming up in rooftop hot tub after day of canyoning (with Stephie and Linh Sa)

Kate abseiling down 25 meter water fall (75 feet)

Group photo of canyoning crew

self-portrait by waterfall

incense burning at pagoda

Laughing Buddha--Blaine's favorite

Our great news is we have purchased our tickets home to MISSISSIPPI! We are arriving on April 5th, Sunday at 6:30 p.m. There is already talk of marching bands and blueberry ice cream....beat that!

2009-02-07T08:22:00.002-06:00

Dalat, Vietnam

We enjoyed our 3 days in Saigon: visited the Reunification Palace, markets and took a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. We caught a bus (7 hours) into the Central Highlands region (heading northwards through Vietnam) to Dalat, Vietnam. We hadn't even planned on stopping here but had heard from people that it was very nice. They were right...such a change from hot, humid, crowded Saigon to cool, dry mountainous with a small-town-feel Dalat. We are staying in the most lovely guesthouse-an amazing breakfast, free bike rentals, such friendly family who runs it. Today, we rented a driver/tour guide and explored some waterfalls, pagodas, silkworm factory, coffee plantation. Tomorrow we are going canyoning ($23/person)...I did this in Switzerland with Melissa and Cindy years ago and have been telling Blaine he has to do it but it is usually very expensive ($300 in NZ). So here's our chance! We still haven't found fast computers/internet to load up more photos but be patient with us! We have booked our tickets home to L.A. and will arrive on April 3rd...so we will soon buy our plane tickets to Mississippi probably on the 5th or 6th! We wanted to give everyone ample time to start planning our welcome home parties!!! (plural: parties)

2009-02-02T09:12:00.003-06:00

Viet Nam

We are actually surviving just fine without Amber and Tyler (although we were a little worried in the beginning) and meeting people from all over the world. We took a bus tour through the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam for 2 days and enjoyed it until the very end. We were on a bus to get us back to Ho Chi Minh City but it is the end of Tet in Vietnam (which is their big holiday/Chinese New Year celebration) and the roads were very crowded...we waited on a hot bus for 1 1/2 hours to get on a ferry and my claustrophobia finally got the best of me. Blaine agreed that it was not 'feeling like vacation anymore' so we got off in this random town (Can Tho) and decided to stay the night and try again first thing in the morning. Our tour guide was not happy with us but we fished our bags out and went on our merry way. We ended up finding a lovely riverfront hotel ($10/night) and meeting some Aussies and having dinner with the ex-pats of the town! We got the 7 a.m. fast boat (that only the locals know about, as it is not in any of the travel guidebooks) and arrived in Saigon (HCMC) 3 1/2 hours later. I believe our original bus had not made it in before midnight the night before. When we arrived in Saigon we followed one of our Aussie friends from the night before to the hotel where he is renting long-term and ended up getting a lovely room (much nicer than we have been staying in) for $25/night and the hotel has a pool and rooftop terrace with 360 degree view of the city. We visited the War Remnants Museum today...learned a lot about the Vietnam War that we didn't know before.

I will give a shout out to my mother who celebrated her birthday (and it was a momentous one...30 I think) a few days ago! She is the most supportive, loving mama anyone could ever ask for and I don't know what/where I'd be without her! Happy Birthday!

2009-01-30T06:24:00.002-06:00

Finally Some Photos From the First Week

Children's Art Project - www.artcambodia.org

A Relaxing Snorkel Trip

Kate taking a snack break

Bayon Temple - Can you spot all the faces?

Jungle Temple ruins - where Tomb Raider was filmed...sorry, no Angelina Jolie.

We said goodbye to Tyler and Amber today, and start the next phase of our adventure tomorrow... Vietnam!

2009-01-28T04:30:00.003-06:00

Short but sweet...
We have not been stopping long enough to upload photos to the blog yet...we are trying to squeeze every moment we have left with Amber and Tyler. So I am sure once they fly out on Friday we will have more free time on our hands. We took our snorkel cruise out today and really enjoyed it. The weather has been beautiful for us so far. This is their "cool" season, yeah right. Blaine wants to go to the Snake Restaurant tonight...your glass top table has live snakes underneath it~not my idea of a relaxing dinner...we will see who wins out.
The day after tomorrow we will catch the bus back to Pnohm Penh so Amber and Tyler can catch their flight back to Bangkok then onto Japan and finally L.A. Blaine and Tyler want to throw a few hand grenades before he gets on the plane though.
I am beginning to relax a little with the mosquitos...if DEET is harmful for you though we are going to be in trouble. We cover up with long sleeves/long pants once the sun has gone down and try to eat under fans at restaurants for dinner. We moved into our beach bungalows at Queen Hill "Resort", very authentic. Last night was our first night to not sleep in an air-conditioned room and we actually did just fine. We slept under our mosquito net and burned mosquito coils. So nice to wake up, walk out on the porch and see the ocean spread out forever! Let the good times keep rolling...

2009-01-26T07:23:00.002-06:00

Life in Cambodia, Sihanoukville

Happy Chinese New Year the Year of the Ox! We are definitely celebrating true Asian style...fireworks, dragon parades, etc. We have had some amazing sunsets, delicious grilled fish, local beer (Angkor) and lots of humidity. Just returned to hotel after a game of Uno with Amber and Tyler at sunset at one of the beachside restaurants. None of us wears a watch, we don't know the date or day of the week. Sounds like vacation. It was nice to get out of the bustling/smelly city of Phnom Penh and out to the warm ocean breeze. We are renting scooters tomorrow to explore the area and the next day we are out on a day trip to snorkel and visit a few islands off the coast. The boat trip picks us up from our beach bungalows, feeds us breakfast and lunch on the islands, snorkel equipment and fishing gear included (8am-4pm) to visit 3 islands all for the price of $15 U.S.! Sign us up!

P.S. I actually think Cambodia has faster internet than New Zealand. Unbelieveable.

2009-01-23T10:27:00.002-06:00

Cambodia

We made it safely to Bangkok and on to Siem Reap, Cambodia. This place is truly incredible. The people are great and everything is really cheap. The last two days were spent visiting the temples of the Angkor region. Amazing sights and wonderful people.

Next, on to Phnom Penh and then Viet Nam (somewhere).

2009-01-18T12:27:00.002-06:00

Last Post from New Zealand

Sun rising or setting? =view from our house (well, ex-house pretty much)
It has been a week of lasts for us. We are really tired of saying goodbye...actually we have been following Blaine's grandmother's suggestion and saying 'see you later'. Some of our friends we will hopefully see within a year or two but for many of the friends we have made here it is unknown.
It is so hard to believe it is over. We packed up our NZ life in 4 boxes that are somewhere in transit on their 84 day journey over sea to get to the U.S. (not to mention that our US life takes up an entire enormous storage unit).
2 1/2 years has flown by.
It is totally bittersweet for us...we are so sad to leave this place but SO happy to be back close to family and old friends. But bear with us for a little while when we get home while we go through our 'withdrawal' phase...it doesn't mean we aren't happy to be home.
We fly out today in 7 hours to Melbourne to stay with some friends overnight and then onto Bangkok, Thailand to meet up with our friends from L.A. (Amber and Tyler) who will be travelling with us for 10 days in the beginning of our Asian Exploration. The country order is as follows: Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Singapore. This, however, is subject to change at anytime. We are going to aim to post photos and quick synopses on this blog whenever we can but not sure how often that will be...
Please pray for our health and safety...Blaine is of course not at all worried but I am a nurse and have obviously been reading too much. Wanna have a look as well...visit http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/regionSoutheastAsia.aspx
But don't look too long b/c it might make you crazy like me.
Oh and pray for my mom b/c she thinks we are trying to make her go mad with worry on purpose. Mom-we aren't and I blame it all on Blaine.
No, we are going to be fine! And I feel like there are going to be some interesting stories when we return...

2009-01-11T19:39:00.004-06:00

Hello, Goodbye~beatles

The pictures from above were taken on our last hike in New Zealand. We decided to hike to Mueller Hut, situated on Mt. Ollivier (the 1st moutain Sir Edmund Hillary climbed) b/c Blaine's cousin, Tommy, had suggested it. It was a 1,000 meter climb from Mt. Cook Village past the Sealy tarns, through a boulder field, up a rock scree slope, to climb through snow at the top and cross over the saddle to the hut. Gorgeous views for the climb out over the Hooker glacier and Mueller glacier. We shared a room filled with bunk beds with 3 other couples-from Israel, Germany and France. So as we got dressed in the morning there were 4 languages being spoken simutaneously. Interesting to say the least...but everyone commonly spoke English (which we were grateful for). You had to trudge through the snow to the outhouse (the small red building away from the hut-pictured above). Just to note: it is summer here and there was plenty of snow around. The hike up took us around 3 1/2 hours and the hike down about 2 1/2 hours. The only negative of the trip: Blaine got a ticket from the speed camera for going 66 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. $120 well spent for such a memorable weekend away!

Well, we leave 1 week from today and move away from New Zealand. Hard to believe that 2 1/2 years can pass so fast. Blaine and I worked our last day this past Friday. We are officially both unemployed (although Blaine would rather refer to himself as retired). There have been some sad goodbyes already. We are really going to miss this place. The golden question has been: "when do you guys think you'll be back?". Who knows the answer to that but the way we have answered has been "as soon as we can make it". New Zealand has most definitely changed us. And I believe there is no place like it on Earth.

Now, onwards for our next adventure....

2009-01-04T03:32:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year's!!!!!

we had a great time in Sydney...fireworks were amazing

2008-12-25T15:17:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

2008-12-14T00:51:00.002-06:00

We have been busy bees lately. Starting to clean out the house, pack up, plan our Asia trip, spend last minute time with friends, complete our to-do list of activities and make sure things are organized for our arrival at home. Our friend Cat's parents were visiting from Scotland and we had a great al fresco dinner and shared some nice New Zealand wine. We went to the Willowbank wildlife reserve and Blaine saw kiwis for the first time in their nocturnal setting (we got very lucky and 2 of them were awake and fighting with their beaks!). Look how big Andra has gotten (Megs and Sam's baby)!!! She is rolling over, smiling heaps and drooling everywhere! We officially have 3 more weeks of work left because the week of New Year's we will be in Sydney!!!!

2008-11-25T18:00:00.002-06:00

Petra's last week in Christchurch!

Petra and Tim are moving to Wellington, on the North Island, for Tim's job in forestry. So Petra has been staying with us for the last week while Tim has already made the move north. It has been so much fun! We worked our last shift together in CCU last night. Blaine had to go to the west coast for work, so it has been like a slumber party! We went out for another friend Anouska's going away party and had a good time with a bunch of hospital staff.

It will be so so sad to say goodbye to Petra.

Crazy to think that Blaine and I only have 5 1/2 weeks of work left!!!

2008-11-25T17:55:00.002-06:00

Lake Sumner Cont'd

The can I am holding is Off bug spray because we have something in NZ called sandflies and they loooove Blaine. Very neat experience. Smelled just like Yellowstone for those of you who have visited there.

2008-11-25T17:50:00.000-06:00

Our Hut, Blaine being a 'poser'

2008-11-17T00:49:00.002-06:00

Lake Sumner II

More pictures to follow. Last weekend Blaine and I went away just the 2 of us and drove on a 4x4 track up to Lake Sumner, slept in the hut and hiked to some hot springs. It was a much needed break to get out into the woods, away from the city noise and busyness. We ended up being in the hut with a French couple who were our age, living in NZ temporarily like us. The hot springs we hiked to were in the middle of a waterfall and the view from sitting in the pool was of the valley, Hurinui River and snow-capped mountains. It was one of those pinch-yourself-is-this-real moments.

2008-11-09T02:33:00.002-06:00

Holcim Wine Tour

We had a lovely weekend last weekend on Blaine's company's wine tour through Waipara Valley. We invited a few friends along since there were extra seats. Pictured from left to right: Me, Jonny, Una, Cat, Rebecca, Esther and Blaine. We had a grand time: stopped at 3 wineries for tastings, ate a BBQ lunch at Waipara Hotel and ended with a game of pool at a local pub before heading home. I am so glad it is turning to spring weather and we have more fun activities to do. Sheryl Crow and John Mellancamp are putting on a big concert in December in Waipara Valley at Mudhouse Winery which we are hoping to attend. We are trying to cram as much fun in before we have to leave this place!

2008-11-04T13:29:00.003-06:00

Well Folks, We're Coming Home

It is truly official...Blaine and I have both put our 8 week notices in (we are such nice guys we give 4x the required amount!) and we are starting the process for shifting back to the US of A! But don't get your hopes up so fast--you won't see our shining faces back for Christmas--we are going on a 2 month journey through the jungles of Southeast Asia! March will be our ETA for Stateside. Throw a dart at a map and that's where we might be living when we get home b/c Blaine's job is up in the air.
As you can see from the picture above...we are trying to squeeze every last drop of fun out of this place before we leave. We were dice for Halloween (don't know why I had to explain) but Halloween is new to New Zealand and when we walked in the party I don't think anyone knew why we were dice. They still think that dress up for Halloween has to be scary...so everyone else was goblins, witches, and ghosts (just coincidence that the singular from of dice is die?). Oh well...leave it up to us to teach this place about American holidays such as Thanksgiving, Halloween, 4th of July, etc. What are they going to do here without us???!!!

2008-10-07T02:34:00.002-05:00

the broomes and tottys unite.

we had a great time with ben and meri around the south island! more pictures to come!

2008-09-17T23:40:00.002-05:00

Ben and Meri are coming!!!

(sorry this is such a little photo...I am doing this at work)

We are so excited to have my brother and his wife on their way to New Zealand!

Great news--Meri passed her daunting CRNA board exams!!!!

Now they will be able to relax and have fun with us!

We are going to do the South Island in a counter-clockwise direction...and it should be fun to do some hikes, biking, camping and who knows what else with them.

We can't wait.

And this is the perfect time of year to come because Spring is springing...and the weather is warming up and the tourists are not swarming in yet.

Watch this space for pictures to come of our adventures...

Here is a list of all the people that have visited us while we've lived here over the past 2 years:

Mom (our 1st visitor!)

Mr. Blaine, Mrs. Janie and Grandmother T (she was our oldest visitor!)

Melissa S. Galbraith and Michelle Bloch (our blondest visitors)

Matt Broome (our only cousin visitor)

Laurel Blissett and Kellye B. Summerhill (our brunettest visitors)

Bryan and Wendy Frady (our most humorous vistors)

and now

Ben and Meri!

Pretty good for 2 years and 10,000 miles away!

2008-09-07T15:11:00.003-05:00

SNOW DAY!!

We had a fun Saturday snow skiing with friends at Mt. Hutt. It is about 1 1/2 hours drive from our house (better than the 24 hours to Colorado from MS). They had received 40 cm of fresh powder over the last few days, so it was great skiing but hard work! Blaine and I will admit that we took a few tumbles. I only had one beginner skiier knock me down as he got off the lift for his 1st time! The feeling of dread begins when you are on the lift and the person next to you tells his friend "o.k. now let me explain to you how to get off this lift...you hold your poles in one hand..."! I knew I was doomed and even with a headstart he still managed to put his skiis on top of mine. Oh well.

It was one of those days that made us feel like we never want to leave New Zealand.

2008-08-30T17:11:00.003-05:00

Feeding lambs!

O.K. there is a disclaimer with this video...Graeme named his first few lambs that were born, not me. These were two of the runts who need special colostrum fed to them throughout the day. They are too cute and they follow Graeme b/c they think he is their Mama (he makes baa-baa noises and they follow behind him as he leads them to their pen). I told him he was like Noah. The littlest lamb has gimp legs but they think he will live.

2008-08-18T15:32:00.004-05:00

(this picture is taken from a few weeks ago)

Right now I am lying in bed with my electric blanket on high watching big white snowflakes the size of your nose falling and thinking several things:

1. Wow I am glad I don't have to go to work today
2. I bet this ain't happening in Mississippi
3. I love wireless internet
4. Thank God for electricity
5. Snow makes everything so quiet
6. It sure feels like Christmas

P.S. Ben and Meri...pack your ski clothes.

2008-08-13T18:08:00.002-05:00

Winter blues--we are both over all the cold weather and looking forward to summer! We did get a warm day and went on a walk to Taylor's Mistake (photo above). Blaine has gotten his first ski day in with his work crew on Sunday. I have been in Adelaide, Australia for the past week at a cardiology conference which was fun. I didn't get to see as much of the city as I wanted to but we had a fun group of doctors and nurses to hang out with. The only bad part of the trip was losing my wallet in the Sydney airport. But thank the Lord I found it! Well, some honest, kind soul turned it in (as it must have fallen out of my bag on the inter-terminal shuttle bus). So, the New South Wales Police could stop their full-time search and rescue for my wallet!!! Now we get to wait on the replacement credit cards...sorry for the trouble Citibank!

2008-07-29T02:02:00.002-05:00

ANDRA IS HERE!!!

Megs & Sam (our good friends in NZ) had their precious daughter, Andra Rose on Saturday. She weighed 8.4 lbs. Notice her booties? She is a State fan already!!! Welcome to the world, Andra!

2008-07-12T17:07:00.002-05:00

This is what I arrived home to in New Zealand after 3 weeks in the hot Mississippi summer. I started unpacking and before putting away my swimsuit I decided to get Blaine to take a picture of my 4th of July experience! Wow, my body was in shock from the dramatic change of environment.
It was a great trip home full of laying on the beach, catching up with friends, celebrating the wedding of Jim and Melissa Shelton Galbraith, hanging with the fam, etc. There is just never enough time to see everyone and do everything.
I had one day off before heading back to work and I will admit the jet lag caused me to be a below-par employee. Blaine read in a magazine that it should take the body 5 days to recover from jet lag but I am on day 8 and still feeling it.
Last night we met some friends to watch the Rugby Tri-Nations tournament where the NZ All Blacks played the S. African Springboks. Unfortunately NZ lost but it was a really good game.
Exciting news: My brother, Ben, and his wife Meri are coming to visit us for 2 weeks at the end of September!!!! We are so pumped!

2008-06-24T15:56:00.001-05:00

the birthday boy!!

27 and counting...

sorry I've missed it but I promise to be there next year

party hard.

2008-06-02T17:03:00.002-05:00

Ainslee Anne Everett

9lbs 12 oz

that is all the info I have so far

because she is only 4 hours old!

Congratulations Courtney and Jamie

Ada Grace will be such a good big sister

2008-05-29T02:17:00.002-05:00

Wendy and Bryan arrive...and leave.

We have had a wonderful time with our friends Bryan and Wendy who came all the way from N.Carolina to visit us and tour New Zealand! We spent last weekend with them on the West Coast and hiked on Franz Joseph glacier. We stayed in a tiny beach town named Okarito. Bryan is a marvelous chef so Blaine requested for him to make spaghetti and meatballs which he has fixed for us before. We enjoyed many incredible meals with them (eating seemed to be the theme of the 2 weeks!) Thai, Indian, green-lipped mussels, lamb chops, fish n' chips, etc.

Wendy just graduated nursing school and won the achievement award from the instructors, so of course we had to celebrate her success! She gets the pleasure of studying for the NCLEX now!!! We miss you two already!!!

2008-05-07T07:32:00.004-05:00

Ketchup

Ketchup is the most widely used condiment in the United States. Ketchup can be found in 97% of all kitchens--a showing matched only by salt, pepper, and sugar.

H.L. Heinz is the king of Ketchup, claiming 56.7% of the ketchup market in 1994.

Children under the age of 13 consume 50% more ketchup than people in other age groups.

Ice cream makers Baskin Robbins tried Ketchup Ice Cream. They refer to it as the only vegetable flavored ice cream they ever made. After making several gallons of the stuff, they soon realized it would not sell...

That Ketchup is great for restoring the glow to copper pots and pans? The acid in the ketchup recipe helps to remove the tarnish and bring out the shine.

You now have your fill of random facts about ketchup, Blaine's favourite condiment. He even puts ketchup on macaroni and cheese! Yuck. Luckily we don't have to import this item...but if I don't have a spare in the cabinet at all times then you'd think the world was ending.

2008-04-29T21:12:00.002-05:00

For those of you who know how much I love peanut butter.... People here in New Zealand don't understand. They eat Marmite, not peanut butter. So I have to import my favorite condiment/staple into this forsaken country. The next post will be about Blaine's favorite condiment...can anyone guess it??!!

what a wonderful link...

http://www.peanutbutterlovers.com/

2008-04-10T02:16:00.002-05:00

I have been sick with a sinus infection (vacation is apparently bad for you), so I have had time to sort through all 500 photos from our Australia trip and only give you the best to view!!
Beware: you could possibly get an overload of kangaroos and koala bears!!!! Don't say I didn't warn you.
The wedding was 2 friends of ours...Katy and Andy, who used to live by us at our old apartment. It was held at a winery outside of Melbourne with an outdoor ceremony and sit down dinner reception. We left Melbourne for a few days to do the Great Ocean Road where many of Australia's famous surfing beaches are and this is where we saw kangaroos and koala bears in the wild! We then spent 4 days in Sydney and had relaxing days on the beach, out on ferry rides and at the Featherdale wildlife park. We even met a couple from Georgia in Sydney and had breakfast at (you got it!) McDonald's! Blaine and I were walking on the sidewalk when we heard one of the strongest Southern accents ever! You can't just walk away, so we had to introduce ourselves and find out exactly where they were from! After leaving them Blaine talked like a hick for a good half an hour...so impressionable!

Here's the link:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EZsWLlq4ZMXiA&notag=1

2008-04-08T20:07:00.003-05:00

Hello All! It has been awhile since we posted. We hiked one of the Great Walks over Easter weekend, what an amazing way to spend an Easter! We were home for 2 days after the hike and flew to Australia for some friends' wedding in Melbourne and then visited Sydney as well. So, it is hard getting back into the swing of things after having such a long break! We wanted to share photos from the Routeburn hike b/c it is some of the most amazing scenery we've ever seen and we had so much fun with our camera. There are quite a lot of photos, so you might have to skim over them if you don't have much time...but I promise you won't be disappointed in what an amazing place this was! We will post pics from Australia hopefully later in the week.
Here is the link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EZsWLlq4ZMXdw&notag=1

2008-03-18T18:12:00.002-05:00

Conkers, anyone?

Yesterday I had one of the most fun days in my research job (which says a lot about my job). One of my co-workers from North England brought a bag of chestnuts with holes drilled through them for us to play a game called Conkers. You tie a shoestring through the chestnut and then take turns trying to hit your opponents chestnut which they hold dangling in the air. There is not much strategy and not a lot of rules but it is a very addictive game. The goal is to crack your opponent's conker and send it flying off the string. There are definitely different techniques of how to catapult your conker towards the 'enemy' and it takes a good deal of hand-to-eye coordination (which I have very little of). Duncan (the guy who taught us the game) wants me to be the 'pin-up model' for Conkers (just like Anna Kournikova is for tennis) and introduce America to the game.

So here is the rules of Conkers and the history behind the game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers

Quiz:

1. If your chestnut which is a 'twoer' beats another chestnut which is a 'twoer' what is your chestnut called?

2. What is the other name for a chestnut in America?

3. Who was the first lady to win the World Conker Championship?

2008-03-01T22:19:00.001-06:00

Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wesley Jackson!!!

2008-03-01T21:43:00.002-06:00

Summer Fun!

Mississippi Girls--Kellye and Laurel visit us!!!
This is a cricket bowler (pitcher), batter and umpire
It was Sam's birthday!!! We had a fun 7 hours celebrating at the cricket game

We have had such a great summer in Christchurch...great weather and lots of activities. Kellye (Chi-O friend) and her friend Laurel (who I've known through Kellye) came to visit NZ for 2 weeks and travelled around the South Island for a week and visited Auckland. I taught them how to drive on the left side of the road for a total of 1 1/2 hours before unleashing them to drive on their own! They did well but I do admit I felt very nervous for them and the people they would be with on the road. There are just so many different traffic rules, lots of round-abouts (even 2 lane round-abouts), the blinker is on the opposite side, etc. They had a good time and for the most part good weather. We loved showing them around Christchurch and having Southern accents in our house!!!!

I went to my first cricket game (Blaine's second game) on Sam's birthday last Saturday. It was a One Day test match and got rained out after 7 hours (would have lasted around 9)!!! I do like sports for the most part but 7 hours of any type of athletics is too much!! New Zealand ended up being declared the winner over England so that was the good news!

We have several trips planned for March. We hike the Routeburn Track (one of the Great Walks of NZ) over Easter weekend then the next weekend go to Austalia (Melbourne/Sydney/Great Ocean Road) for a wedding/vacation! We are very excited about our adventures upcoming!

Today one of our very best friends, Wesley Jackson married Audrey Gole!!! We were so sad to have missed it! They are off to Cabo for their honeymoon! Yea!

2008-02-27T23:04:00.002-06:00

Inside Cave Stream

sorry I am just now posting pics of the inside of the cave we went exploring like a month ago. they are pretty self-explanatory!

Don't we look so hard-core?

2008-02-17T21:57:00.002-06:00

Weekend in Wellington

Cable Car and Sea/City View

Parliament Building

Cool 'floating' ball in Civic Square

Rare 'Stich Bird' we sighted in the Karori Bird Sanctuary

We had a great time in Wellington this past weekend to celebrate my birthday! We caught a flight up after work on Friday afternoon (only a 45 minute flight) and stayed at a hotel downtown. Saturday morning we took a cable car up to an overlook and walked back down to the city through the botanical gardens and city cemetery (Blaine loves cemeteries...I know it's weird). We had lunch on Lambton Quay (pronounced 'key') and toured the Parliament to learn more about NZ government. In the afternoon, after a nap of course, we took a bus out to the Karori Bird Sanctuary just 10 minutes from the city. It was such a great experience, we felt like we were going too late in the day but it ended up being the best time for bird activity. We saw many rare birds that are only on off shore islands and native to New Zealand. Blaine and I enjoyed the challenge of photographing these birds with our zoom lens; it gave us a much greater respect for wildlife photographers. We had a lovely dinner at a tiny Italian restaurant. Sunday we had brunch at Mother's Kitchen and headed to the Te Papa Museum (another thing Blaine likes is museums...not as weird as cemeteries). This is a world-recognized museum of New Zealand history and culture...very well done, interactive and diverse. We pretty much spent all day there, with a break to have lunch with my friend Emilie (my French friend who used to work in CCU with me) and her husband and 2 kids at a nearby French bistro then toured their home with a seaview. All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend!

2008-01-30T01:34:00.000-06:00

Castle Hill/Cave Stream

It has really been awhile since we posted last. We have been busy at work and have only taken 1 weekend trip since we've been back. These are a few of the photos from our weekend away...only a day trip to Arthur's Pass to go to Cave Stream. Hard to explain but you dress in warm clothes (wetsuit optional) and put a headlamp on your head...you wade into the icey river and spelunk your way against the current through the cave. There are waterfalls you climb up, gorgeous rock formations, beautiful calm pools, and side hallways to explore...really different and neat. The water was crystal clear and very tempting to drink! At the end (well actually the beginning of the cave) there is a big waterfall and you climb up metal rungs (man-made, ha) and shimmy under a rock overhang holding onto a chain to get out. Out into the bright sunshine after being in a pitch black dark cave for an hour!
Afterwards we drove about 1 mile and went to Castle Hill...a hill with lots of random, enormous boulders. I think we were 4 of the only people not going to rock climb/go bouldering (which is actually a sport).
I will post some more pictures...we didn't take our camera in the cave so I will have to get Jonny or Cat's pictures of inside.

2008-01-13T13:47:00.000-06:00

Back to Work

Kate faking a phone call…she changed out of her nursing hat and clunky white shoes for this photo.

Me slaving away after 5pm (overtime)…and no that isn’t the gamecast of the LSU vs. Ohio State game on the screen.

I don't know why everyone has a problem with me liking Doritos.

After 3 weeks off and copious (clap…clap) amounts of fried food, fast food, rich southern cooking, grease, wild game, and Doritos, we finally had to come back to do our jobs before things fell apart. After all, neither of our jobs can handle us being away too long. So, now that we are back into a routine lifestyle; we would like to thank everyone for the adventure we like to call, “A Holiday with Family and Friends”. We got to see almost everyone on our list, and the rest we got to talk to over the phone. Thank y’all for making time available for us and sitting through multiple repetitive stories about how “different” the Kiwi way of life is. Christmas and New Year’s felt like it was supposed to feel with decorations, cold weather, and entirely too much shopping; and, not too much has changed since we have been gone – others may argue this. So, thanks.

We thought we would post a picture or two of us working, because no one believes that we do work based on blog photos. So, one post of our workplace should suffice, and now the rest of the pictures will most likely go back to our weekend trips. And, if anyone still wants to try a holiday away from home, our door is always open…..seriously….any holiday, even Confederate Memorial Day - I still have a few friends who get that one off.

2008-01-05T21:24:00.000-06:00

Hello! We are back home safe and sound (with our luggage thankfully). As I type Blaine is out on our deck pruning our grapevine b/c it is overgrowing our bedroom window! It is about 80 degrees here, so strange to come from winter to summer. Our flights were o.k. The only real hardship was sitting on the runway for 5 hours in L.A. before beginning our 13 hour overseas leg. With all the bad weather in California, L.A. airport was very crowded and we had to sit in line to take off for many hours.
We arrived to some very bad news: Jonny's dad had a stroke 2 days before and is in ICU. The good news is that he is making some good recovery and is now able to walk with some assistance. Please pray for him and his family, for a speedy recover.
We will post some pictures from our trip to Mississippi when we get over our jetlag. Thanks to all our family and friends for all the visits, meals, gifts, and time you invested in us while we were home. It was my favorite Christmas and I have many treasured memories!

2007-12-11T15:03:00.000-06:00

We will see everyone soon! Our last post because we fly out tomorrow!!! Merry Christmas!!!

2007-12-04T18:38:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday Blaine and I decided to join a group of resident doctors that I work at the hospital with to go on a hike in Arthur's Pass. I read up about the hike, Avalanche Peak, and discovered the night before embarking that it would include a 1000 meter climb (to me this classifies it as a mountain climb not a "hike") but the book labelled it as 'moderate' so we decided to go ahead.

note: 1000 meters=3,300 feet

Well, lets just say that our group left us within 15 minutes of starting the hike. Blaine and I spent the next hour discussing what could be making it extra hard for us: is it the altitude? did we not eat the right breakfast? maybe we need new insoles for our boots? if we only had a walking stick...

Finally we came to the inevitable answer: we are out of shape for this type climb.

Both of us wondered at different points if we were going to make it. But persevere we did.

I think what did it for Blaine was seeing a 70 year old man on his way down, telling us it wasn't much farther.

I will say it was worth it, once we got above the tree line you could see forever...waterfalls, the valley and river below, snow-capped peaks 360 degrees around us and even a glacier tucked in behind. At the top we encountered Keas (one of the few recorded alpine parrots, known for their curiousity and intellect to survive the harsh climate--only found on the S.Island of NZ). They proved their reputation by stealing a banana out of one of the hiker's backpacks and flying away with it in their beak.

To give you a hint as to how long the 'climb' was...it took us a little over 4 hours to get up and 3 hours to get down. When we got home, Jonny asked us if we would go back and do the hike another time with him at some point and Blaine and I answered simultaneously "NO".

2007-12-02T09:26:00.001-06:00

We come home in 8 days!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is anyone excited???!!!!!

I know we are.

2007-12-01T16:13:00.000-06:00

Petra and Tim's wedding

I flew up alone to attend the beautiful wedding of Petra and Tim, two dear friends of ours in Christchurch. Several of us CCU girls stayed together and got to see some of Gisbourne, where Tim's parents live on the North Island. The weather was warm and we got to go to the beach...I swam in the ocean for the first time since we've lived in NZ (without a wetsuit on). We had a girls dinner Friday night at Fettuccine Brothers; then on Saturday got to help Petra get ready and dressed--she looked stunningl! The wedding was at the EcoLodge, a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast surrounded by hills, overlooking a lake and pastures. The ceremony was held underneath a canopy of trees by the lake. At the end we all released the white balloons that were tied to our chairs and toasted the new couple! They are now on their way to Germany (where Petra is from) to have their church wedding with all of her family! Then a honeymoon in Mexico!

Congratulations Tim and Petra!

2007-11-21T23:10:00.000-06:00

The Lake Sumner Weekend

Across the river from our campsite

A few rocks

My blue truck and getting ready to scare some trout

Lake Taylor

Lake Sumner with a couple of hills as a backdrop

So the weekend went pretty well apart from some sandflies and a bit of sunburn....and no trout, at least on my hook. Unfortunately, we weren't able to drive all the way up to the campsite, but the walk wasn't too bad. At one point though, we had to use Jonny as a scout (why he likes to run so much I will never know); he ran ahead to see how much further the hut was - way too much energy. We didn't end up staying at the hut; instead, we camped beside the river, which was nice. We do plan on going back; next time I might have a better plan for fishing. The pictures really speak for themselves.

2007-11-15T16:23:00.000-06:00

Auckland
Where our journey began...

The Sky Tower...and a man jumping off (from a freefall platform at the top), no Dad I didn't do it.

Some interesting teenagers that wanted to charge us for a photo of their mowhawks, uh no.

Matt still smiling at his halfway mark of the marathon!

The Celebration at the finish line...he completed in his goal time--4 minutes under 4 hours!

2007-11-13T13:34:00.000-06:00

Our next to last or second (should I say) stop was Rotorura. It reminds me of Yellowstone National Park and the Old Faithful area, with the smell of rotten eggs preceding the city limit sign. Nonetheless, it is a very unique place with steaming, bubbling mud pits wherever you turn. We went on a "cultural tour" that included a bus ride and bus driver that we will never forget...he could speak greetings in over 30 languages (from years of talking to tourists and imitating). We went to a Maori village and were entertained with song/dance then had a hangi--a dinner that is cooked in a pit, yum. It was a really fun night, very touristy. Our drive toward Rotorura was along the Coromandel Peninsuala, gorgeous coastline, the pictures speak for themselves.

2007-11-10T15:55:00.000-06:00

The day before Napier we spent adventuring. We woke up first thing in the morning and went to the Zorbing spot (see here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zorb) for a roll down a hill in a big plastic ball with water in it...a bit hard to explain. But nonetheless an absolute blast!
We then made the drive to Lake Taupo, stopping at Huka Falls to do a walk. We had lunch in Lake Taupo but then drove around to the other side of the lake to do a hike with a gorgeous overlook of the lake, past a waterfall, all sorts of birds and native forest. We stopped on a "beach" and relaxed afterwards, soaking in the warm weather. Then made the short drive to Napier!

2007-11-07T23:06:00.000-06:00

Before heading to Windy Wellington, we landed in Napier (aka home to Jonny, Megs and Sammy Clark). We got treated to dinner by Mr. and Mrs. Clark at an Indian restaurant...and had homemade kiwi muffins back at their casa. Lovely to meet the lineage of our best friends in New Zealand! We toured Napier (the city was built in Art Deco fashion, so quite unique) on bicycles and afterwards went for a wine tasting and lunch at Mission Estate Winery, one of the oldest wineries in NZ. We felt like movie stars eating under white umbrellas on the manicured lawn with grapevines hanging overhead. We then drove up to Tamata Peak of a 360 degree overlook to see mountains, rivers, ocean and city. The North Island has a warmer climate than the South, so orchards of avocadoes, apples, asparagus,berries, etc abound.

2007-11-06T22:25:00.000-06:00

Continuing on...Our Wednesday/Thursday were spent in Wellington (the windy city...and boy was it windy). Matt has been to Chicago several times and said it was a lot windier than Chicago. But we had fun anyway. We were exhausted when we got to the hostel Wed. night but our roomates from Canada, Holland, and Germany all insisted that we go to the Halloween Party that was downstairs. They ripped a sheet off the bunk bed and wrapped it around me as a toga, then they "found" some toilet paper and wrapped 5 rolls around Matt to make him into a mummy! We had a fun time. The next morning we woke up and hiked up Mt. Victoria to an awesome look-out over the city, then walked down to Oriental Beach and had to head to the airport to fly back to Christchurch. We grabbed breakfast at Mama's Cafe near our hostel...interesting place, the waitstaff were wearing wrestling masks (like off Nacho Libre)...the food was delicious!

Until tomorrow!

2007-11-05T21:20:00.000-06:00

Going backwards...Saturday I had to work so Matt and Blaine went for a hike out on Castle Rock and then we went out with a group of our friends to Santorini's, a Greek restaurant that gets you up and dances you through the kitchen! Also had a fun night out at Lichfield Lanes (sorry no pics from then). On Friday, Matt met me after I finished work and we went for a walk through the botanical gardens (where the swinging pic was taken). I had mapped Matt out a course through central city, so he took lots of artsy photos with our camera while I was at work. Check back tomorrow, as the story continues...

2007-11-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

MY COUSIN MATT!!!
I think I will start backwards and show some of our best photos from the last 1 1/2 week of tripping around with Matt. These photos are from yesterday! We drove 1 hour to Akaroa and rented mopeds and explored the area around all the bays. It was such a blast! Blaine's moped was the slowest...we couldn't decide whether his moped was just slower or he was fatter! Matt scared me a few times...he is accident-prone and had a few close calls with a road sign and some gravel. But thank God he was safe! More photos to come!!! Don't miss out!!

2007-10-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

Weekend Extravaganza

Blaine was sick all week but luckily better by the weekend. Megs made us reservations for the American diner downtown that serves "real" breakfast. It was delicious--hashbrowns (not as good as waffle house or CrackerBarrell), eggs, pancakes, waffles, streaky bacon, american filtered coffee, etc. They even served Heinz ketchup! Blaine has been wanting me to learn to cut his hair so he doesn't have to go to the barbershop anymore, so Jonny graciously volunteered to be my 1st victim and he was pleased with the results! Yay! Blaine bought us a 4x4 Toyota 4 runner (that is purple but he is convinced it is blue) so we took it off-roading in the Port Hills. Gorgeous views of the mtns and ocean (which are never far apart in this country).

Blaine posing next to the word 'American'

Our breakfast shmorgasborg

trout in the Avon River (this one is for my dad)

My first haircut victim/guinea pig

Going off roading in the new truck (notice Jonny's new 'do')

2007-10-17T23:57:00.000-05:00

Petra's Bridal Shower!!!
It has been awhile since we last posted! Which is because we've been so busy (doing fun and not so fun things). This past weekend falls into the fun category for me (Kate) but not for Blaine (b/c Blaine was sick with stomach flu). I have been planning for over a month now to have Petra's (my best friend here who's from Germany) bridal shower at our house. This Saturday was the day and it turned out great! I had fun making my fruit tray and arranging flowers (how Betty Crocker/Martha Stewart am I!). I will have to slip in a comment that everyone thought that the flowers were professionaly done! Everyone else brought a dish of food so no one had to do it all! We fit around 25 people into our 'not so big house' but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun! Afterwards I arranged for a limo to come pick us up and take us to town for a night of dancing in honor of Petra's bacholorette night! We went to this 70s disco club where the floor puts on a light show. Even more fun!
Petra had never been to a bridal shower or been in a limo, so it was a night of firsts! She got some beautiful gifts and well-wishes! Success! So can I officially say now that I am a grown-up b/c I have thrown my first party without my mom's help?

2007-09-24T18:13:00.000-05:00

Stony Bay

Just a few shots from our anniversary trip to Akaroa. We had great weather on Saturday at the French Fest but by Sunday the southernly winds had blown in bringing clouds and cold weather (NZ weather is absolutely unpredictable). All of these photos were taken on our drive on Sunday to Stony Bay. When we leave NZ I think we should count all the photos that have sheep in them, has to be dozens!

2007-09-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

Fun Spring Day in the Botanical Gardens

I don't even know how to describe this picture...I was doing weird poses for the camera and Jonny decided to jump over me...what more can I say?

We took a million pictures, trying to capture these hummingbird-type creatures, only a few turned out focused

This picture was Megs idea...turned out sort of "artsy"

My plan for the day was to go "frolick" in the daffodils...the park has huge fields of them for the first few weeks of spring, it is one of the most beautiful things (these had gotten a little trampled but not by us)

Not much news from over this side of the world. Blaine left me on our 3rd anniversary and went out of town for work (not by choice I must say!). But we are celebrating this weekend in Akaroa (pictures are sure to follow).
I have decided to take a research job part time and only work part time in CCU so that starts in a few weeks.
Our dear friend Paige in NYC will celebrate her 26th birthday this next week. Go Paige!
My cousin, Matt, is running in a marathon in a few weeks in Auckland, so I will fly up to watch him and bring him to the South Island to stay with us for awhile. Go Matt!
Jonny made it home from his 2 month vacation in Europe. Go Jonny! (Us Kiwis don't like to work much, we'd rather holiday)
Hope everyone at home is doing well!!!

2007-09-10T17:02:00.000-05:00

Mimi's 90th Birthday!!!

My Mimi celebrates her 90th birthday today! Over the weekend my mom helped organize a birthday bash at her home...over 70 people attended!!! Such a testimony of how many lives she has touched over the years. We miss you, Mimi!!!

2007-09-08T03:34:00.000-05:00

Blaine's Photography of the Milky Way

I know I was pretty impressed and a bit skeptical that he really did take this photo! But amazing indeed.

2007-09-02T17:14:00.000-05:00

Picture Gallery Continued

Blaine's artistic shot

meadow lake (everyone probably knows this but you can click on the photo to enlarge it)

Had quite a lazy weekend. I was working night shifts, so Blaine got some work done in the yard while I slept. Everything is blooming around our house! I bought a lemon tree, named it Limey. Picture will soon follow. Blaine bought me a half wine barrel to plant it in and on Sunday we collected river rocks to place in the bottom (to help hold the water in). I have been know in the past to have a "black thumb" so fingers crossed, Limey will flourish!

2007-08-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

Day Trip--Banks Peninsula

Panorama of Pacific Ocean and Southern Alps in distance

Pier at Pigeon Bay

Sheep Mom of triplet lambs!

Our weather is finally warming up! (Probably doesn't sound good to Mississippians-since it has been up to 106 degrees there) We took a day trip out on Banks Peninsula this last weekend with Megs and Sam. Had a picnic at Pigeon Bay, hiked near Okains Bay and ate ice cream in Akaroa. We drove on some dangerous dirt roads in our rugged Honda Station wagon; I had to move into the back seat (away from the drop off side of the road). Blaine was on a photographer's high! I think we have well over 1,000 photos from our last year here. And when we move home, you will all be invited to the 8 hour slide show!

2007-08-21T02:37:00.000-05:00

Bungy in Queenstown

Kate's Bungy

My Bungy

2007-08-10T01:07:00.000-05:00

Here are a few photos we took last weekend. Nice day!

WOW

2007-08-05T23:26:00.001-05:00

This is probably old news to all of you at home but Blaine and I heard about this guy and were really impressed by his undiscovered talent!

2007-08-03T01:24:00.000-05:00

A friend shared this poem by Mother Teresa with me and I thought I would share.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

2007-07-21T17:47:00.000-05:00

Trip to Mississippi

Swimming with Austen, Connor, Abbey, Tess, Bella

Eating Tapas in Chatanooga with Ben, Meri, Mom and Dad

At Destin with Chi Omegas

As you can all tell, Blaine is not much into writing on the blog. But I am back now, so I thought I would send an update about my visit home.
The flight home was very long, about 30 hours of travelling. I have never flown internationally alone and it is much more fun to go with someone else. Although I did meet some interesting people that I sat next to on the plane rides. I was home for the 4th of July but the rain cancelled a lot of our plans. I went to a cook out at Blaine's parents house and got to catch up with a lot of our church friends.
We went to Chatanooga the first weekend I was home to see my brother and his wife Meri. Chatanooga is a great city! We went shopping, ate good food, rented a pontoon boat with a slide on the Tennessee River and walked downtown on the world's longest pedestrian bridge (random fact).
I got to visit a good bit with my grandmother who has been ill lately but is improving day by day. It was great to be home with Mom and Dad, took early morning walks with Belle (the dog), had lots of good home-cooked meals, picking the garden, etc.
The last weekend I drove down to the beach with Kim and met up with 15 friends from college in Destin at Melissa's parents condo! We had great weather (so nice to have a break from our cold winter weather in NZ); laid out on the beach and shopped.
It was the longest Blaine and I had ever been apart so it was really nice to get back and see him. He greeted me at the airport with flowers and balloons!
We will both be home for 3 weeks at Christmas and we look forward to catching up with many friends and family over the holidays!!!

2007-06-29T04:05:00.000-05:00

Abel Tasman Birthday Hike

Last weekend Blaine and I took a hiking trip up to the north end of the island. Although we drove through snow to get there, it was sunny and warm for the most part! We even got to see our first penguin. The area, Golden Bay, is known for its turquoise waters, orange beaches and tropical weather. Here are most of our pics from the long weekend.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EZsWLlq4ZMXRA

IN 3 days I will be home!!! Hopefully I will be able to see lots of you while I am home!!!!

2007-06-17T16:57:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day

Once again we are missing a holiday/celebration that we wish we were home for!!! Happy Father's Day to DB and Paw-Paw! We miss you! What would we do without our Dads??? Love you!

2007-06-08T18:32:00.000-05:00

Peel Forest

Blaine and I decided we would take a drive and a day hike down to Peel Forest last Saturday. It was a beautiful drive through the Rakaia Gorge past snow-capped mountains to an area where several scenes of Lord of the Rings was filmed. Peel Forest is an "off the beaten path" forest with some great hikes. We stopped at the visitor's center/post office/grocery store/coffee shop (we WERE in the middle of no where) to get info/suggestions on a good day hike. They suggested Emily Falls which was only 1 1/2 hours. We had lunch by a little stream and then made the ascent through the forest, stopping for some beautiful overlooks. It is so nice to get out of the city and noise into the quiet wilderness with bellbirds chirping and clean air. We also took a short hike to a 1,000 year Totara tree (pic above). We plan on going back to do some longer hikes and camp out as well. We came back that night for a birthday party for our British friend Andy; we had steaks and went and danced to an Irish band--such fun!

sidenote: 3 weeks until I come home!!!!

2007-05-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

WILD FOOD PARTY!!!!

CCU NURSES AND SPOUSES/FIANCES

KRIS WITH THE STUFFED HOG HEAD

SITTING AROUND THE BONFIRE, ARE WE IN MISSISSIPPI?

We were invited to a Wild Food Party on Saturday night by one of the women I work with in CCU who lives out in Kaipoi. We weren't sure what to expect but I prepared some beer biscuits (mom's recipie) and some banana pudding (with green food coloring) and drove 1/2 hour out of town to her place. We could hear the party before we could see it. It was quite a shin-dig (sp?)! Several big white tents were set up in the field behind her house right on the river. They had a band playing and several bonfires. A maori traditional dinner is called a hangi; see Wikipedia definition:
Hāngi (pronounced /hɑːŋi/) is a New Zealand Māori word for a method of cooking in an outdoor pit oven. It is done in New Zealand as an alternative to the barbecue, but often saved for special occasions due to the large amount of time and preparatory work involved.

To "lay a hāngi" or "put down a hāngi" involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire, placing wire baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the hāngi. There are many variations and details that can be altered, but a hāngi produces rich, succulent food with a flavour quite unlike anything else.

Several strange things happened that night: Marion (S.African friend) caught a field mouse in a jar and decided to take him home as a pet...Petra had her first roasted marshmellow(she is 24 years old)...at the end of the party a guy played the bagpipes (Amazing Grace I think). It was fun but weird. The pulled pork was good, but the weirdest thing I had was a chocolate eclair that was labelled "cow dung" (even though I knew it was not dung, the label some how spoiled it for me).

2007-05-27T00:49:00.000-05:00

Hiking in the Port Hills

view of Lyttleton Harbor from the top

The Rock Cliff we hiked to the top of

Jonny, Blaine and me (terrible pic of me) at the top

We had a fun Saturday hike in the Port Hills (sort of in our backyard) with Tyler, Amber, and Jonny. It was so beautiful from the top, very windy! Blaine led us "astray" on the way down but it wasn't really much longer. The saddleback trail led up a ridge where we could see the Canterbury Plains/Southern Alps and the Pacific Ocean/Harbor on the other. There was an unobstructed 360 degree view at the top. Blaine was practicing his new photography skills. We just ordered a DSLR camera (don't ask me what it stands for), some fancy new electronic that Blaine has researched. I will bring it back from the States after I visit. I think Blaine will be more excited about getting the camera than he will be to see me!

2007-05-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day

Hoping both of our mother's have a special day! We are so blessed to have wonderful, loving moms. We miss you!

2007-05-11T17:42:00.000-05:00

Our Weekend Hike

Amber and Tyler (Our California friends)

View from Taylor's Mistake Beach (where Amber/Tyler live)

Our View (again)

We had a fun half day hike around the Port Hills right outside Christchurch. The fall weather has been gorgeous lately. We sat and had a picnic and watched the sailboats coming through Lyttleton Harbor. It was such a fun day and ended by going to Amber/Tyler's favorite Mexican restaurant in Sumner. Cheese dip, beans and rice and enchiladas!!! So good. Then we had a slumber party at our house and watched movies. They will be moving back to the States in August so we have to pack in as much fun as possible!

2007-04-30T21:42:00.000-05:00

Fall Has Fallen

Sunset seen from our living room

view of Cashmere in color

Our first dinner at a Turkish restaurant with friends

Life has been hectic but good lately. My grandmother fell in her kitchen around a month ago and was in and out of the hospital. They discovered after many diagnostic tests that she had a fracture of her T12 and now after the operation is improving at home. Praise God! It was so hard to be away from home during a stressful time for my family.
Blaine has been traveling a lot with work as usual. With my crazy work schedule, we really appreciate our weekends off together. It gets dark around 5:30 now that it is turning into winter...so we have had a lot more dinner parties, watched a lot more movies, and joined the gym (5 minutes from our house).
Only 2 more months (from tomorrow) and I will be flying home!

2007-04-10T03:15:00.000-05:00

"Not Your Ordinary Easter"

Our crazy teeth lollipops

Blaine with the "family" Easter basket

Luscious Lips

Haven't posted too much lately because not too much has been going on. Work and more work. A girl,Robina, from Germany that Melissa, Michelle and I met on our trip has been staying with us for the past 1 1/2 weeks. We got her hooked on our favorite Thai restaurant and introduced her to bubble tea. I worked Easter weekend and the boys played a lot of video games. It is strange to have Easter as the weather turns into fall and the leaves are turning colors...no Easter lillies here.

2007-03-20T03:05:00.000-05:00

MELISSA AND MICHELLE'S TRIP TO SOMEWHERE IN THE PACIFIC

We had a great trip around the Southern Scenic Highway to Milford Sound then to Queenstown. On the way back to Christchurch we stopped at Mt. Cook for a short hike up to Mt. Sebastopol at a summit height of 4000 feet! Highlights from the trip include: staying at the Kaka Point campground and meeting our new German friend Robina, our St. Paddy's day trip to Milford, joining the parade and celebrations, the cruise out to Milford where we experienced a huge pod of dolphins up close and personal, helicoptering up to a glacier with amazing views, pigging out on pizza at Winnies in Queenstown and our suprise birthday party for Michelle, our arduous hike where we ended up on top of the world! Lots of laughs, lots of "wow, beautiful", lots of deep, meaningful conversations, lots of driving on the left side of the road, lots of memories and fun.

To view some of our pics from the trip:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EZsWLlq4ZMXMw

2007-03-14T02:42:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Blaine's parents and grandmother made it home safely. And Melissa and Michelle made it here safely!!! We had a fun 1st day in spite of the rainy weather. Just touring around the Port Hills of Christchurch and eating lunch at the cafe on the corner behind our house. We will be on a trip of the southernmost part of the South Island from Friday to Monday! More pics to come!

2007-03-12T02:49:00.000-05:00

Swimming with Dolphins

Beaming because I had just been surrounded with dolphins!

Can you spot the dolphins?

I finally got to swim with dolphins! Blaine's parents and grandmother and I went to Akaroa (1 1/2 hours away from Christchurch) for the day last week. We went out on a jetboat and I got to swim with the rarest type of dolphin...the dusky dolphin. There are only 3000 of them left (all in NZ) and 2000 of them live in the bay at Akaroa. They are very small (around 1 meter~1 yard) and so cute! At one time I had three of them encircling me. They like clicking noises and singing, so imagine me in the freezing cold water...trying to sing "skip to my Lou" (the only song I could think of)through my snorkel and click this instrument thing the skipper gave me, plus swim in gigantic waves. It was quite exhausting but very memorable! Everyone should try and swim with dolphins in the wild one day!

Blaine's mom and grandmother made it away today. Blaine talked to his dad today and he made it home safely. (they travelled seperately) I am ferviously washing sheets and towels to get ready for our next round of visitors!

Mom sent us a webcam so for everyone we talk to on Skype, you will be able to see us now! It is a lot of fun. I got to see my dad for the first time in 7 months over the internet the other day!!!

2007-03-06T13:23:00.000-06:00

The Journey with the Totty's

The sheep shearing show

Family Foto at Fox Glacier

The Dart River Jetboating adventure

Milford Sound with Mitre Peak

I am finally posting some pictures of our journey with the Totty's and grandmother around the South Island. We rented a van and left last Saturday and travelled for 8 days. We took the counter-clockwise route...Nelson, down the West Coast to Fox Glacier, then through Haast Pass to Queenstown, over to Milford Sound and then up past Lake Tekapo to Christchurch. 2700 kilometers later we were home. It was a lot of fun! Highlights of the trip: staying in a bed & breakfast in Nelson with a pastor that we had met in Christchurch, hiking with grandmother up to Fox Glacier, beautiful weather as we drove through the valleys and mountains, staying in our luxurious apartment in Queenstown overlooking Lake Wakitipu, jetboat riding through Dart Valley (one of the prettiest places I've ever been), the drive to Milford Sound, staying in a hostel where the bathroom was quite a ways away, the helicopter ride up to a remote glacier. We didn't waste a moments time! Since we have been back home we have played golf and Blaine and I have gone back to work but the family continues to tour around the Christchurch area. Mrs. Totty cooked a Huge portion of spaghetti and chocolate cake and we had 8 friends over last night for dinner. Blaine's dad leaves Saturday and his mom and grandmother fly out Monday. Then Melissa and Michelle arrive on Wednesday!!!! Yea. We have decided to run a bed & breakfast out of our house now, so come on over!

2007-02-19T00:36:00.000-06:00

Settling In

Just a few photos of our new place and of our first rugby game experience. I recorded a video of the house but I had the camera turned the wrong way and didn't think everyone would want to watch it sideways. I will redo when I get a chance and post it because we have lots of furniture now.

Blaine's parents and grandmother made it here safely from Mississippi/Tennessee yesterday. We are so thrilled to have family in our new house!!! They will be here for 2 1/2 weeks. We start our journey around the South Island on Saturday morning in a minivan we rented. Should be lots of pictures and fun stories to share when we return. I made a traditional Kiwi roast dinner last night...roast leg of lamb, potatoes and pavlova (a meriange type dessert) for their first meal.
We will keep everyone updated on all the fun we're having! Blaine and I are excited to be off work for the next 10 days!

2007-02-14T20:46:00.000-06:00

Birthday Celebration

A lot has happened since our last post. #1--we moved into a new townhouse up in the Cashmere Hills! We love it! Very different from our last apartment. It is much more like a home, situated down a cobblestone drive with a view of the valley and mountains. We moved from a furnished apartment to an unfurnished, so we have had to get all the furniture (minus a bed we already had) plus all the little things like kitchen pots/pans, cleaning supplies, an iron, vacuum, etc. But it has been fun. Blaine's parents and grandmother arrive in 1 week!!!! So we are trying to get everything "homey" before they arrive. We hit up quite a few garage sales last weekend and scored a $25 dresser! Blaine and I both really got into searching for deals and bargaining people down from $1 ice trays! The problem is that we will be living here for 2 years but when we leave we will just give everything away; so why buy new/nice things just for a few years. #2--We went to our first rugby game (will post pictures later) with a few friends from work...it was lots of fun and my learning curve was very steep since I virtually know nothing about rugby. One of the strange things that happened was that the crowd cheered as the opposing team ran out onto the field. I think Blaine and I were the only ones who let a boo slip out of our mouth and then realized that Our team was cheering for them. Oh well. #3 I had a birthday, turning 26...so close to 30! I actually worked night shift the eve of my birthday, so we partied at midnight!! We had cake and ice cream, chips/dip, and wore party hats! I called my parents too because it was like 5 a.m. and they are very early risers. Good thing all of our patients were sleeping and feeling pretty well because we had a birthday party to tend to. Ha. I slept on the actual day of my birthday until Blaine came home for lunch with flowers as a suprise. We went to dinner at a restaurant named Indochine that was a fusion of Indonesian and Chinese food and afterwards met our friends from Australia, NZ, England and new US friends. Our new US friends are from California, Tyler and Amber, who came to look at our old apt. and ended up living with us for a few days until we had moved out. They are a lot of fun and we can talk Americanize to them.
Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day! Most people know it is one of my favorite holidays, wonder why?

2007-02-05T21:21:00.000-06:00

Symphony in the Park

We had a great night listening to the Chistchurch Symphony, a NZ singer Dave Dobbins, and watching a great fireworks show all to celebrate Waitangi Day! You might be asking, "what is Waitangi Day?". Just think of it as New Zealand's 4th of July. Also, if you had looked closely at the picture of Blaine and me you would have noticed that we have fleece jackets on...and we are currently in the hottest month of the summer! Have we ever had an Independence Day where we needed jackets at home...I doubt it!

2007-01-27T02:55:00.001-06:00

It has been a good week in Christchurch. Monday was warm and sunny so we decided to have a BBQ with some friends and neighbors. Blaine made burgers and we had spinach-artichoke dip and baked beans and of course sweet tea. I convinced the boys to move the couches out on the back patio so that we had comfy seating...everyone was glad once we did it! Wednesday night we attended the Buskers Festival. Before this day I had no idea what a busker was. For those of you who are ignorant as well, here is the definition from Wikipedia: Busking is the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people, usually to solicit donations and tips. Those engaging in this practice are called buskers. Busking is a British term used in many areas of the English-speaking world. In the United States the term busking is almost unknown; buskers in the USA are called street performers or street musicians. What we attended was the Comedy Night portion and it was very entertaining. One man juggled 3 machette knives while riding a 7 foot unicycle and balancing a glass of water on his bald head!
Our Friday night was low-key as it was a rainy, cold night. We ate at our favorite Thai restaurant, Kanniga's and watched a Kiwi movie, The World's Fastest Indian. I would recommend it because it is a feel-good, warm-hearted movie that boys/girls would like. There is not terrible language or a lot of violence which is a nice change every once in awhile. Anthony Hopkins is a great actor. I have been working the rest of the weekend but it was a great week!

2007-01-23T15:54:00.000-06:00

M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I

I am happy to announce that I booked my plane ticket to come home for a visit July 2nd to the 18th! Sadly enough, it will be without Blaine but we are planning a trip home together for Christmas next year. So I will be able to celebrate our country's birth over the 4th and go down to the beach for the annual Chi-Omega reunion trip! I can't wait to spend time with all of my family and hope to see as many friends as possible during this short period. It will almost mark our year ago departure. Just a little more than 5 months and I will be home!
aside: Blaine posted a rugby video a few days ago and doesn't want anybody to miss it if you haven't already viewed it! It makes you wish they wore pads or maybe just glad you don't play rugby for a living.

2007-01-20T01:11:00.000-06:00

Petra's Fiesta Birthday!

We attended at Birthday Bash Thursday for Petra's party at the Mexican cafe! Friends from CCU and their husbands (except Petra's fiance, Tim, who was working) went downtown for food and drinks to celebrate Petra's 24th birthday. Blaine and I had fajitas for the first time in over 5 months, they were good but didn't hold a candle to Margaritas' version in Jackson! We had to instruct everyone on how to put the sombrero on because they were putting it on sideways...so not only are we spreading American culture but Mexican as well!

2007-01-18T23:04:00.000-06:00

Just a gentle video for anyone who thought that rugby hits were softer than football hits.

2007-01-09T17:36:00.000-06:00

Ada Grace

How could I forget the most important baby in the world? May 2, 2006 was a joyous occassion in which Ada Grace Everett was born!! She has given me my first night of "practice" as a mom when I went to stay with her parents soon after she was born. New things she is doing now: crawling on her elbows like a soldier, saying Dada and Mama and Uh-Oh. She just had her first ski trip and is the first 7 month old baby to ski down a green run! Ha. I miss her very much and would like for her to stop growing so that I won't miss her changing while I am away.

2007-01-06T22:29:00.000-06:00

2006 Highlights and 2007 Plans

Trips taken in 2006:

European vacation for Kate's birthday to Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, and Germany
moved Ben and Meri to Chattanooga and visited Paige and Bryan/Wendy in North Carolina
Beach trips with friends--Blaine to Destin in July with Varnado, Gabe, Ryan Sadler, Mike Jacobs and Matt Kwasek; and Kate to Sandestin with Melissa Shelton and the Chi O gang;
moved to New Zealand in August

Marriages: Patrick and DeAnne Anderson, Casey and Paige Pratt, Kathryn and Kennon Vaughan, Holly and Dale Wilds, Maureen and Brennan Sanders, we know we are missing some important ones...so tell us!

Babies: Claire and Lewis Ridgway had Richard Lewis; Blaine's friends from work: Bradley, Carla, Glenn, and Chad all had babies; Kim and Brad had Tucker Bradberry Maxwell; Haaga and Patrick Michaelson had baby Knox, again we know we are missing some important ones...so tell us!

It has overall been a wonderful year full of lots of changes! The major one for us would be that we moved halfway around the world and switched hemispheres. We look forward to all the excitement that 2007 holds. We will be here in Christchurch and would love to have some visitors--Melissa S. and Michelle B. are planning on coming in March, Blaine's parents and his grandmother will be here in February, and Cindy has discussed coming next November. That leaves April, May, June, July, August, and September open for visitors so let us know quick! Blaine and I will both be home for Christmas in '07 and we are already looking forward to being back in the US of A! Love you all!

2007-01-04T00:54:00.000-06:00

Mom's Diary Notes Cont'd

Our tour guide, Kate, said that Minus 5 (a bar in Queenstown that is not to be missed) was on our itinerary. Before you go in this bar, you put on heavy coats and gloves that are furnished by the bar. In the bar it is minus 5 degrees celcius (23 degrees) and everything is made of ice - the bar, the walls, the seats, the scultures, even the glasses ! Pretty COOL (pun intended)!

We picked our own cherries! It was a gorgeous orchard completely covered by a net to keep out the birds. Shiny red cherries were clustered on the branches - felt like we were in the Garden of Eden. Kate was disturbed by the orchard down the road shooting off a gas cannon every 2 minutes to keep the birds away. We picked 2 lbs. for around $6 U.S.

We took a helicopter ride after our jetboat ride up the Shotover River. This was followed by a gondola ride down the mountain. Queenstown is known for its extreme sports - bungee jumping was started here in the 80's - today it costs $150 to jump off of a 140' high bridge with rubber bands tied around your ankles. Blaine wants to do this...

This was a lovely lunch at the Gibbston Winery. Was as delicious as it was pretty.