A Well Needed Break

Since Tony negotiated two weeks between leaving MFAT and starting his new job at the Ministry of Science and Innovation, we decided to take a holiday to the mountain! Of course Tony still had an assignment to work on, but what a better way to work on a paper while out of town with no lawns to mow, tires to rotate, phone calls to make, things to tidy up (all of which needed to be done upon return from holiday). We packed up our car and headed out on the morning of Friday 30 September. Our first stop - the NZ Army Base located at Wairouru!

 One of Tony's classmates is in the NZ Army, so Major Eugene organized a bit of a base tour for us...

 While waiting for the Major, we had a look around the NZ Army Museum grounds. You can see the mountain in the background beckoning us...

 Once Major Eugene arrived, we went over to the base where he gave us a tour of the general things that go on. Neither of us have any experience with the NZ military, so it was pretty interesting. But it got even more interesting when he took us over for a bit of training simulation...

 Now kids, we don't have wii nor a TV, but go ahead and give this a go, Hunter!!

 Tony even got to try the ambush simulation from the foxhole!!! WOW!

 And if that wasn't enough, we got a bit of a lesson about the Javelin and he got to fire off a simulation round of that too... My goodness! It's all very interesting from the warm inside of a military base, but boy I would NOT want to be out in the field responsible for this thing!

 We said good-bye and thanks to the Major then headed over to our cottage in Rangataua just before Ohakune. Look at this view!!! WOW! This is why New Zealand is just so amazing!!!

 Some of the neighbors

 So the cottage was conveniently located, spacious enough, had fun grounds and games, but upon arrival it absolutely STANK!!! I mean, the stench was overpowering to the point we immediately opened all the windows and doors and after unloading the car, Tony went sniffing around. He's pretty good because he found the problem: mould growing in the drip tray at the back of the refrigerator! YUCK! So, resourcefully he managed to remove the tray and thankfully there was a bit of bleach left in the jar so we bleached the tray outside while leaving the house to air out. The kids, totally unaware, were happily jumping on the trampoline, riding their scooters around the deck and pushing each other on the tire swing.

On Saturday, we packed up our snow gear and headed up to Turoa Ski Field for a bit of family fun in the snow and sun! It was a gorgeous day, the kind Tony prays for when he's snowboarding... but he was self-less this day and we just played with the kids for a few hours.

 We started out with one sled, but quickly realized that wasn't enough for all four of us. So I did pick up one other... but thankfully they've got a policy where you can return the sled within the first hour and get half of your money back... so the second sled was cycled out and we learned to share better. Truth be known, by that time we had a tuckered out little girl.

 This was the "magic carpet" - a conveyor belt that runs along the learner's slope... fun! We'd sled down the opposite side, then pop over for a ride up the hill to do it all again! The kids loved it!!!

 One of us looks like he could be at the beach, the other is definitely dressed for the snow. Funnily, it was really, really nice there, but I just can't see myself without a jacket in all that white stuff... eventually, though, I did take off the sweatshirt layer under my jacket and ditched my beanie.

 We took a little ride up the chairlifts just for a change of scenery.

 Then came back down and built a snowman.

On Sunday, we went in to the Baptist Church in Raehiti. It was good to be there and the people were quite welcoming. After the service, we got some lunch from the local bakery and took the kids over to the skatepark to burn some energy. It was another beautiful day, though the mountain had been closed due to strong winds. Good thing we had other things to do... the All Blacks were playing in the afternoon so we took advantage of the fact the cottage had a television and we gathered around to watch the match! It was fun.

During Tony's study breaks, we played lots of games at the cottage. Hunter's favorite was "Rush Hour" - mostly because his spatial reasoning is pretty good. But we gave Tony an expert card to follow and well, the study break was longer than anticipated...

There was "War" and "Battleship" - must've been that trip to the base on Friday, eh? Plus "Go Fish" and puzzles! We had a great time playing together. We even brought the kid's Duplos with us so they could build things, but there was enough to keep them going without it.

 Now you know we're TOTAL geeks... on Monday, the weather was terrible in the morning so we stayed in the house and Tony got quite a lot of work done, but we all got a bit of cabin fever so we headed to the best place we could think of: the local library!!! We were here for at least an hour just lounging around reading books with the kids. It was Tony and Helena in a big arm chair, and Hunter and I lying down on a beanbag - surprisingly I stayed awake! That may have been an all-time record for me being awake in a libray (I have a track record of library naps during my uni days).

 Once we realized the rain had stopped, we also realized we were hungry so we picked up some hot chips and headed back to the park for a snack!

 Good grief and when the kids got home they got another treat - ice blocks!!! What kind of holiday camp is this?!?

On Tuesday, I took the kids back to the church for a women's Bible study which was a win-win since it was a free outing for us and gave Tony a few hours without distractions. It was a good group of women and their children and I really appreciated being welcomed into the group and discussion on the importance of forgiveness. After the study, I took the kids back to the park with their scooters and some lunch for an even longer work session for daddy. It was hard, hard work for us...

 I mean look at me - freezing in the arctic winds..

 the kids complaining and bored out of their minds... NOT! It was a stunning day - too bad Tony was already committed to his assignment because the weather was looking pretty good on the mountain. We enjoyed the sunshine, but did enjoy getting back home. One cool thing in this photo - Hunter has started being able to swing by himself. Of course he still likes the occasional push, but on this day he did it all by himself the whole time! I was so proud of him! Way to go, buddy!!!

 When we got back to the cottage, Tony needed some fresh air so we went for a little walk around our neighborhood.

 We found some friendly horses and the kids really enjoyed feeding and petting them.

On Wednesday, we went back to the military base because we had missed something on Friday. We had missed the LAVs (light armoured vehicles)! So we took a drive over in the morning and got a bit of a tour of these interesting vehicles.

 We heard a bit about how they operate and what it's like to be in the field. The whole time Tony and I were just thinking "I wouldn't want to be doing this"... but then had to thank the officers who were sharing experiences with us because although we don't want to be the ones doing it, somebody needs to be willing... and we enjoy this beautiful country because somebody is willing to defend our freedom. We did gain new insight and respect for the NZ soldiers.

 The kids had been looking forward to seeing the LAVs for a few weeks, but when the day actually came, there was something else vying for their attention - the snowy mountain!!! We had packed all our gear, plus Tony's snowboarding stuff so we left the base and headed to the mountain again!

This time Tony used the rest of his lift pass to shred the mountain, while the kids and I got another sled (thank God for that one hour deal) and played at the base camp.

 What kind of parent lets their four year old go down a steep slope by himself in a sled?!?! With his three year old sister on the back?!?!

 The kind of parent who's gone down multiple times with them and knows that he's just chomping at the bit to take the lead... They had so much fun doing that together!!! And can you believe it - no wipe-outs!!!

 I love her new pink sunnies!!!

 We made a snow dog and a snowman... but our dog got to a funny angle. After our fun in the snow, we hung out in the cafe for a while - I had packed activity books for them and with a few more hot chips they were pretty well taken care of while Tony played til 4:00. It was a good day on the mountain and so much different being there on a weekday rather than the weekend.

Wednesday night, Tony and I had packed up much of the stuff (but heck, you always realize the next day that you could've done even more) and since he'd finished his assignment we stayed up watching a movie til almost 1am!!! Now we're on holiday right! (I'm still feeling it)

 Thursday morning, Tony kept watch over the kids while I finished off the laundry and tidying. We said good-bye to the cottage by 10am and we were "on the road again" as we like to sing...

 We stopped off at one cafe area for a toilet break... and Tony picked up a classic kiwi treat - sherbet dabs! The kids loved the sugar rush...

 We then stopped in Levin for lunch and a play around the coolest park. Thankfully our friend Sarah was home so she met us there (literally, it's around the corner from her house) and we got to catch up a bit with her over a cuppa she brought by. What a bonus to see her on the way!

And... that was it! We made it home Thursday night after dropping off Tony's assignment and books in town. Friday Hunter went back to kindy and Tony started another assignment... it is nice for him to get some of this stuff done before he actually starts work on Monday. And it was nice to get such an extended break! I love holidays!