End of this chapter

This will be my last blog post. I have enjoyed writing, sharing and interacting with everyone in the last year. But as life gets busier with the kiddies and our lives get, back to normal, its just average every day stuff. Some people are great at making light of the little and normal everyday things but I honestly do not think from here on in I will have enough to say that have you seeking out my blog. It has been a fun and amazing experiene this past year and I love having this blog as a record of it all.

We are settling in really well in our new home. We LOVE the neighborhood and the girls are glad to have somewhat of a routine back. Darryl is really busy getting his practice up and running and it has been exciting but hectic. We are so thankful for every step of the journey that has finally led us here and for where it will lead us tomorrow.

Please keep in touch via email, facebook or phone. And Thanks for reading and contributing to our blog :)

Heather

Back in O-town

We have finally settled back in Ottawa, and in our own place. Feels good. Feels different, but feels good. I will not be packing a suitcase any time soon let me tell you. For two months the girls and I have been living out of a suitcase and in hotels or with people and while it was fun, it gets old.
It is a little overwhelming to be unpacking everything, things that I've forgotten about because its been a year since we've seen them. The girls are excited with each new box of toys they open as they are finally not deprived of toys, movies, and DVDs anymore.
The weather here since our arrival has been smothering. Funny how initially I wasn't too happy about having to spend 3 weeks of my summer in NL because usually the joke is that NL only gets two weeks of summer so you better not miss it. Well I have to say that pretty much the entire time we were there, the weather was great. It really was the best time to visit NL because the weather will be at its best around then, the capelin were in so that meant a lot of whales, the George st. festival is on along with many other festivals. It was a fun trip and very... eventful.

Ottawa is the same but different for me. A new home, in a new neighborhood so I have to find all the key places to go in this end of the city. I had to get used to a new grocery store this morning and we have a new routine with Darryl having his own practice now.
I am longing a little for the beautiful fresh ocean air of NZ with every suitcase I unpack containing things we had with us there. Lots of great memories. Its also hard to believe that this whole past year is over with. So much anticipation leading up to it and here we are...leaves me asking, Now what?? :)

 

 

 

 

NL summer

We picked the perfect weeks to come to NL. While everywhere else in Canada is not having the best summer NL is having a great one. The weather has actually been really decent while we've been here.

The last 14 years has come down to today for Darryl. He has his first full clinic in his own office with his own referals. So exciting that he is really finally done and has his own practice. I am a little dissapointed that I won't be there at the end of the day to celebrate with him but knowing how busy he will be the next few days starting out, its nice to know that he won't have to be worrying about us. We are being well taken care of by family.

Here are a few pic's for the last couple of weeks...

NL Wedding week

PHEW! I can finally catch my breath a little. It has been a whirlwind. Being the Maid of Honour for two weddings in three days is a little insane. Thank goodness for my wonderful in-laws who were so great at helping D and I with the girls so we could run errands, party, and enjoy all the festivities that go along with weddings. We had an amazing time but I now need to detox my body a little from caffeine, wine and food. Such a great way to see everyone again though. The weddings were both beautiful, different and a a great time overall. Congratulations to my beautiful Cousin Lesley and her husband Brendan and to my beautiful sister Ainsley and her husband Coleman. The last wedding is in two weeks and this time I can sit back and enjoy.

We also were able to enjoy a typical NL RV camping experience that is becoming tradition with D's brother and his wife. The week has flown.

Now, for the relaxing part of my trip...:) Some pic's to follow soon hopefully.

Another day, another plane

We have had a busy 10 days back home in Ottawa and now we head on holidays back home to NL for a few weddings. Literally a "few" as in 3! I am maid of honour for two of them which take place three days apart and D is standing and Mc-ing one and the girls are flower girls for one of them. It will be madness but it will be fun. The 3rd wedding takes place two weeks later thankfully...a little break :)

We moved our stuff into our house this week which was really exciting and the girls were delighted to open their boxes of toys they haven't seen in over a year. Ella is not so delighted at the thought of going on another airplane tomorrow though. She said "I don't want to leave Canada again! To which I explained that NL is still Canada and that this flight will be much shorter.

Nothing better than a wedding to catch up with family and friends though so we are really excited to go home, have some time to ourselves without the kids, hang out with family, celebrate and breathe in the fresh atlantic air.

I will still have a few more posts on here before I shut down the blog and hopefully a few pic's of the weddings. Until then....

update upon arrival

We are back in Canada! Nice to be home but it was not without some suffering to get here. Overall the flights were great, no delays and relatively smooth but Zaiah and Ella and I all came down with a bad cough/cold/fever en route that made it just that bit more painful and stressful. 4 planes, 45 hours, 8 pc of luggage, 2 carseats and a stroller later we are home!!
A nice surprise was my parents being at the airport to greet us and help arrange alternate accomodations for us because of us all being sick and not wanting to infect our friends and to help take care of us as we recovered from jet leg and sickness.

We are on the mend now and pretty much all adjusted. Zaiah has taken the longest and finally today seems to be on the right time zone.

We had a wonderful time last night at a beautiful party celebrating our friend's life because he beat brain cancer. It was so nice to be back and celebrating with them and also to be able to see all of our old friends under one roof in the short stint we are home before we head off to NL for a few weeks.

It feels like we've hardly skipped a beat in some ways and in others we are eager to fill the gap. I am sick of living out of suitcases but having fun all the same.

Its down to 1

One more sleep and we are on our way back to the northern hemisphere. The time has flown. Please be praying for us and all our stuff that we make it back safely and with as little stress as possible. See you all soon!!!!!!

9 years on the 9th

Since we are on vacation and I have no clue what day of the week it is, let alone what the date is I actaully forgot our anniversary this year. But, Kudos to D for remembering.
Can you believe it? We've been married for 9 years! That is insane! So, we've surrvived the 7 year itch and the two years to scratch it :) And under quite a bit of stress I might add. Pat on the back for us!!We got to celebrate twice b/c of the time difference so on our Australia anniversary we each enjoyed something we wanted to do, D going cable boarding and I having an in-room massage while D took the girls swimming. We also hit the Koala park, swam in the lagoon on the promenade and D cooked us a lovely meal for after the girls went to bed and we enjoyed a special bottle of wine that we were saving from the Mudbrick winery in NZ. On our Canadian anniversary we went on a boat tour and snorkeling at the Great Barrier reef. Not bad eh?

After nine years of marriage I can easily say that life with D has been anything but boring, ordinary or routine. We have done so much together and still have so much to look forward to. Its been work, its been fun but its been worth it. I feel truly blessed!

We have made it to the final days of our journey…ending in Sydney. We started off here and drove about 30 hours (felt like 60hrs with two kids in the backseat) up the coast to Cairns over the course of about 10 days and then thankfully flew back to Sydney to enjoy the iconic city a little before heading back to reality.

We are all getting a little anxious to get back to Canada now including Ella and Zaiah. Ella said to me this morning “I’m just a little bit sad b/c I have no friends and no toys…” I said “sweetie, that’s because we are on vacation right now” and she says “but we’re always on vacation!” LOL.  Kids are so funny and so in the moment.
Another funny moment was yesterday when we were all talking about our favorite day on our trip around Australia and we asked Ella what hers was so we said “Was is the beaches? The play parks? Swimming in the the lagoons? Holding the Koala bear? Feeding the Kangaroos? Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef? Sea World? Seeing whales???” And as only a child would, she says “the park!”

She learned to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef (which she LOVED) but apparently not as much as the play parks  Talk about spoiled. I am so glad they get to experience all this even if they don’t remember it or really ‘get’ how blessed they’ve been by being here. I do hope that subconsciously they will have formed a sense of appreciation for other cultures, for travel, for new experiences and a sense of confidence if nothing else. I hope the stories, pictures and memories they have will hold their attention for learning these things a little longer as they grow because they have something personal to relate to it.


I'll try and get up a few pic's...

limited access

We are heading out on our final road trip before we catch a plane back to sydney and then to Canada. We are spending the next couple of days in Cairns to go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. I apologize if my blogs sound rushed or I have not responded to some of the emails or comments on facebook but we really have had limted access here. Having a great time though and cannot believe that we are heading home so soon. I miss NZ already.
See you all soon!

catching up with a few blogs at once

Brisbane was fab! We were there on a saterday which worked out wonderfully in that we were able to get the full experience of the weekend market which was amazing and runs all along the river in this beautiful park. Cafes, play parks and man made lagoons everywhere!
Today we were in Noosa and also had a great start to the day by getting up for the sunrise so that D could get in a surf and I a few pictures. We were rewarded for our early morning efforts by getting to catch a glimpse of wild parrots and D getting to surf with the dolphins once again! Noosa is a beautiful town with great surf beaches, shops and cafes. A little more on the high end as far as the beach towns go though.

The rest of the day has been spent driving as we have to make it to Cairnes with enough time to enjoy it as well as catch our flight back to Sydney. The drive here is not compareable to the beautiful scenic drives of NZ.

Australia!!!

G’day mates! We’ve arrived at our final destination and adventure before returning to real life in Canada and have been busy seeing the coast of oz.
We managed to pack our lives for the last 6 months in NZ into our 7 suitcases and one board bag and with help from a few friends we were off on Monday past to Sydney, Australia! We’ve been making our way up to what is known as the Gold Coast this week enjoying the towns and city’s along the way. We are currently heading to Brisbane after just spending a couple days in Byron Bay and Surfer’s Paradise. The further North we drive the warmer the climate so we are chasing the sunshine all the way to Cairnes to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef. From Cairnes we will then catch a flight back to Sydney and spend a couple days in the iconic city where D will be taking in a shoulder conference for a day and the rest will be seeing the sights.
It won’t be long now and we’ll be chasing the sunshine all the way back to Canada!

Packing AGAIN

We are in the middle of packing once again. Third time this year. But it has all been worth it.
Our wonderful friends here have thrown us a lovely farewell party. 6 months is just long enough to meet people, get settled and just start forming good friendships and then its time to go again making it hard to say good-byes.
Tomorrow is our big push day to get everything packed and done and then we leave on Monday (Canadian Sunday). We will be flying to oz (Australia) and spending two weeks exploring the rest of down under. I should have a few fun posts and pic's over the next two weeks and then we are back in Canada!!!

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm excited to go home or if I'm ready, and its hard to say how I feel about it really. I'm excited to go home and see family and Friends and also for the summer, but I'm sad that this time in our lives has come to an end and to say good-bye to some of the people we've met.
I really could easily live here...at least for a bit.
I will miss the great coffee, the beautiful skies, the relaxed mentality, beautiful scenery, runs on the beach and the sound of the waves, the family friendly cafes and restaurants, and barefoot locals

I will not miss the crazy round-a-bouts, weird left turn rule, expensive everything, or the awful graphic commercials,


Please remember to pray for our safety and sanity as we travel and make our way back home.
Looking forward to catching up with you all, see you soon!

Dirty Thirty

Yes, I turned 3-0 years young this week. As most people do I'm sure, I found myself wondering "where did the time go?" Well, I know one place it went and that was to the kids. Life starts speeding up around the age of 18 but once you get married and then have kids its a roller coaster from there.

We celebrated by dining at 900 ft up in the sky at the revolving restaurant in the city's sky tower restaurant. The view's of all of Auckland are spectacular which made for a nice ambiance. We also enjoyed the famous Chocolate Whiskey Cake from the Rocket Kitchen Bakery. This cake has won awards in NZ for the best chocolate cake and one bite of it and you know why.

I used to laugh silently to myself when people who turned 30 would say "its not so bad, you feel more yourself, more comfortable in your own skin. you care less about what other people think..." I kind of thought that this is what people say to convince themselves that they are okay with it. Its not that 30 seemed old but its the hype around the number and where it leads to next. Its funny as a kid 30 seems old but as you get "older" the boundary for what is "old" keeps getting pushed too.

Now that I have turned 30 I would prefer them saying these positive things rather than the advice I am receiving now, "Enjoy 30, cause you won't be happy about 40. That's when it really hits you!"

So, my honest feelings about being 30...I'm fine with it. I have absolutely NOTHING to complain about at the young age of 30. I have a wonderful husband who has been my best friend now for just as long as he hasn't, I have two beautiful daughters, I've traveled, lived in another country, have great long-lasting friendships, a promising and exciting future ahead of us as Darryl begins his practice and I have continued to grow steadily to new levels in my faith, love and relationship with God. I love the wisdom that you gain by the time you are 30.
No, I do not love the things that are beginning to occur with my body do to three decades of living life with gravity and the result of having two pregnancies but yes, I am happy and proud of myself for who I am and where I am at in my life at 30.
So, I now have become 'one of those people' saying 30 is great! I get it!

The countdown

I only have one more day of being in my 20's! I can't believe it. How did this happen?? I will have to write more about how I feel turning 30 on my actual birthday but the real countdown right now is 10 day's.
We have only 10 day's left in NZ. 6 Months goes by so fast...a year has gone by pretty fast.
I have not written to much lately b/c I have not felt inspired to write or feel like I have much to write about. We have most things that were on our list to do and see accomplished. As the cold weather has moved in, and friends have left for holidays I find myself looking a little more forward to coming home, establishing a routine again and leaving this limbo we've been in for the past year.
But all this is good in preparing me for yet another move. Maybe if we had spent a year in one place it would be a little different but this 6 month thing has reached its limit. I do miss home, family, friends... Doritos's (yes, they do not have Doritos here! :)
But today as I walked the kids to the library for the mat time, which overlooks the Ocean, and as we strolled down the street to pay our bills, did a little shopping (the shopping makes me feel better about paying bills) and then to the park on our way to the pool, I feel happy and nostalgic. We've come to know our little spot in NZ well and I will miss so many things about it. And of course, for those of you who know me, I will miss the people I've met and become fast friends with.

Coming here has been the best decision we could have made for this particular time in our lives, in every aspect. For Darryl, both professionally and in confirming his view of priority's and lifestyle which can differ sometimes from others in his field in North America. And also great for us as a family after a very stressful and intense 5 years.
It has been worth every last cent (literally every last penny) that it has cost to take this adventure and we will have these memories forever. We chased a dream that we knew was right for us as a family and not what some might of thought was right for Darryl professionally. But God has a way of working all things out for his children and he knows the desires of our hearts, where we need to be, and when we need to be there. I thank God for blessing us with this time in NZ, and for the wisdom and guidance to listen to him and trust in his plan in the midst of the tough decisions we faced over the last couple of years. Sometimes its hard to clear that space in your head where outside influences and God's voice collide.

I keep teasing Darryl saying "be careful what you wish for" because we had so wanted to get a a job back in Ottawa and are still ecstatic to have it, and to be going back to settle there, but we can actually see ourselves living here for a couple of years if we had not been blessed with the job he has waiting for us in Ottawa. If we were meant to be here he would not have been given that opportunity in. So I know God is not done with us in the Capital yet. And that is something to look forward to!

Something I will miss

As per normal for us since being here in NZ, D get's off early and wants to head to the beach before dark to get a surf in. Even though its colder here now the girls still love keeping themselves entertained on the beach. Its like their very own big sandbox I guess!
Luckily, our good friends that we've made here were off and keen too so we all headed our to our favorite black sand beach to watch the sunset and do the traditional kiwi thing and eat fish and chips on the beach! mmmmmm.

One of moments I will miss being able to do back home. Somehow, mooney's bay (city beach) is just not the same, lol.

 

 

 

 

The last couple weeks....

Once again time has flown by so fast. Its hard to belive that we only have 4 weeks left here in NZ. We still have Oz to look forward to where we will vacation for 2 weeks before heading back home.
We finally have a house rented, the one I mentioned previously that we really wanted. Thankfully it has worked out!! Its nice to have that off my mind and to be able to plan for our fall back in canada.
Tracy left this weekend. It will be a lot quieter and lonier for the girls and I without her around. We are keeping busy trying to check the last things off our list of things to do in NZ. D had an exra long weekend this week so today we headed up north to take the girls horseback riding for the first time. The great thing about this place was that both girls got their own horse to ride by themselves for the hour treck through their 130 acres of farmland. The lady who runs the place was great with the girls, staying back with them while D and I were able to do a little trotting and cantering ahead. The girls both did so well and loved the experience!!
We have a few good-bye parties coming up along with my big 3-0 but other than that we have been able to acheive most of what we wanted to see and do in NZ.