Day 2: Our big hike

 Mt Cook was calling our name today.  We have been working in Oamaru getting ready for the big wedding celebration on the Easton farm and took a day to enjoy the surroundings.  The drive took us up along the glacial lakes, above is Lake Pukaki.

 The weather was 21 deg C, sunny with a bit of wind.  The whole time we were praying for the rain to hold off for out 2.5 hour hike into the lake at the base of Mt. Cook.  (Don't worry that we are standing next to a beautifully poisonous plant - if you touch it you swell up).

Our beautiful friend and the newest Mrs. Hayley Easton.

Baby E loves hiking with her daddy.

Overlooking one of the glacial lakes on the hike.

We made it!

And this crazy man thought it would be a good idea to swim with the icebergs!  no thanks.

Love from New Zealand.

Day 1: A lazy hazy afternoon

 We landed and hit the ground running.  It was a wonderful sunny day in Christchurch and we finally got to see friends Morgan and Hayley after year of being away, a wonderful reuniting.

 Easton felt grass between her toes for the very first time and loved it!  She can't be happier to be here.

 Our first day was a bit rough, but I can officially say we are all over the jet lag and E is back in her normal routine.  Thank you Lord, and thanks to everyone for your prayers.  We are so blessed to be here, it's like jumping back into your favorite pair of slippers after leaving them in the closet for too long. Strangely familiar and oh so wonderful.

Our press pot coffee and marmite toast for breakfast.  Happy Morning!

Off to see the world.

Traveling with a 4 month old is told to be the best time to travel with children.  E took her first flight two days ago and did beautifully!  The flight attendants all one by one fell in love with our little red head from Philly to San Francisco and beyond she was a trooper.

 On our stop over we went out to explore the city and found the Blue bottle coffee company in San Fran, Ca.  The line was out the door and around the corner, but the experience was wonderful.  Not to mention the coffee was to die for.

 This is E after the first 6 hour flight, a very happy camper in dad's arms.

 Our special pot brewed just for us.

 We walked around the city (a very small part of it) on our layover.  E was very happy in our snugli c/o Grandma Ter circa 1980's, it's the only front pack she will ride in.

 Waiting to board our plane.  I don't know what we would have done if E was crawling or walking, I can't even imagine trying to keep track of her then.  We did a lot of rolling, walking, singing and playing.  I brought a play mat special to lay down on the airport floor so we didn't have to get our blankets dirty - best idea ever.

 More pics to come :)

Little Bean

Almost 4 months old now!  Little bean rolled over for the first time on Saturday from her tummy to her back.  You would have thought she had just received an acceptance letter to Yale, the amount of excitement at the farmhouse was astounding.  It's amazing how much is learned in only a few months.

Capturing our blessings

Came upon this idea though another wonderful blog A bit of sunshine - it's the idea of capturing your blessings everyday and sharing them through the month of November.  In all the trials we encounter, our blessings far outshine any trouble.
My blessing - family.

Hello world we're back!

Baby brain is wearing off and we are starting back into a new kind of reality - so naturally I thought I should pay more attention to this little family blog project of ours that has been neglected for so long.

Baby girl turned 3 months old yesterday.  What a little joy she is!

5 days and counting...

It is official.  Baby girl will be here in the next five days or so!  It's really hard to believe that it's already been 9 whole months and that soon our lives that have already been changed will drastically change again.

Here we are at 37 weeks, this same time last year I believe our pics looked more like this.  Running around, not even thinking this is what God had planned for our next big adventure.

Feeling a mixture of nervous and excited all at the same time.  Going from can we really do this to ...  I absolutely cannot wait for baby girl to come out so we can meet her!  As of right now she is weighing in at about 5 lbs. 12 oz., just a little peanut.  We are hoping she will grow a bit more this week before she finally joins us to say hello.  So we wait in excitement to grow our little family from just us two to a wonderful three.

a field. a couch. a giveaway.

Our wonderful friend and incredible photographer is giving away a signed 11x14 print of a pic he took recently when photographing a couple in western NY.
http://jalexanderphotography.blogspot.com

He has documented some of the most important times of our lives and loves - our wedding, New Zealand travels, family weddings and our soon to be one and only pregnancy photo shoot.

Just to give you a taste.  Check out his work online, it's a treat for the eyes!

34 weeks and counting

Here we are, already at 34 weeks.  I keep asking myself where the time has gone and how we got here so quickly!  Baby bump and I are doing well.  She kicks more and more each day.  It's so fun to feel her moving and to see when she's awake and when she chooses to sleep.  It seems like she wants to wake up right when I'm ready to head into bed, or when I'm quiet and relaxing.  We can't wait to meet her and see what she's really like....and if she'll sleep at all!

dear bump

My dear baby bump,
You and I no longer fit into the dresses that reside in my closet together.  Your dad and I had date night last night and everything now only zips half way. 
When you are all done in there and come out to see us in August, can I have my waist back?
We love you.

And we're back.

We're back in action after a few weeks of change, chaos and moving.  To update all, we have officially moved back to the US and were home in time for Christmas.
It's been a bit of a whirlwind time leaving such great friends in New Zealand to pick up a life of farming again with Thomas' family and making new friends once again.  We left the loving embrace of friends that had become family to us to return to family that we so happy to have us back in the country.  It has been a bittersweet time full of a lot of joy and a lot of tears.
So, as a new resident of the wonderful state of Pennsylvania we have a lot to be thankful for.  God is faithful and is leading us on a new journey.  Even though the mountains and ocean are no longer right around the corner, we are on the look out for new things about Pa to fall in love with now.

Anyone have favorite things about Pa?  I would love to hear!

30-for-30 update:  For all of you who were wondering...Yes, I did finish the challenge successfully!  It was quite a challenge for me to really use the things I have in my closet more creatively.  I was starting to feel self conscious of taking picture of just me everyday, I mean really... who cares to see just me everyday wearing something different?  In conclusion, I look forward to taking this challenge again and would recommend it to anyone who is looking to stretch their style sense without having to break the bank buying new things all the time.  We have way more than we need let's use what we have to the best of our abilities!

Off to the races - Day 12

It was the big day of the Melbourne Cup, so friends decided to hold a cup day party in honor of the big occasion.  A great reason to have a BBQ picnic in the middle of the week!

Emma prepared a Kiwi delicacy - White bait patties as an entree followed by lamp chops and sausages.

This is a true Kiwi first for me so I thought I should share the experience.

 

The White Bait patties consist of little white baits (fish) cooked like an omelet seasoned with salt and pepper.  They were delish, but couldn't help but take pity on the little fish that was looking back at me while I was eating.  We all had a bit of a laugh over it.

 

L to R - Emma, Kayla, myself and Sally

Shirt: Undercurrent

Scarf: Marshalls

Cardi: Staple from Depeche Mode

Capris: GH Bass

Heels: Banana Republic

Since I was in my 30-for-30 I pulled the girls in with me for a shot.  They were very good sports! We were not dressed to the nines as they do here in NZ for the races, but we had fun anyway. 

PS - Thomas' horse won the cup!

Time out for some hiking!

One of the very best things about living in New Zealand is that EVERYTHING is so close.  We live 1/2 hour from mountains, 15 min from the ocean and it is the capitol of all outdoor activities.  

One Saturday morning we woke up and my dear husband announced we were going hiking today and we were leaving in 20 min.  Something you should know about me is that I like to be spontaneous, but I need a bit of notice - like more than 20 min, also I do not function very well without my coffee in the morning.  Needless to say I was in a state of shock for the first 5 min, then pouting as we girls do sometimes, and finally compromise as long as we stopped for a long black(aka the closest think to black brewed coffee in NZ) on the way.  So off we went to Mt. Somers in our hiking clothes, coffee in hand, happy couple, all was good in the world.

 At the beginning of the bus stop overhang route

 Still waking up and eternally walking uphill.  Thomas' legs are way longer, so he goes on ahead. 

Thomas' trademark pose.  Walking across a tussock plateau pointing at the Southern Alps.

 Mom- we found a heart rock!

 

Swinging bridge, almost to the Woolshed creek hut half way through.  

 We made it! 

On the way back out.  Amazing hike on a beautiful NZ summer day.  Although I was hesitant at first, I am so glad we did this.  It took us about 5 hours in total and we loved every minute!

In the words of a very famous friend http://jalexanderphotography.blogspot.com/: Get Outside!

Day 11: In love with my tiered skirt.

Day 11 -  This is my J.Crew tiered skirt and it has become my new favorite thing out of my 30 day clothing combination.  My 2nd new favorite thing is finding all kids of new fashion blogs through this challenge - like wearing it on my sleeve and lizziepunch just to name a few. 

 My darling little sister Carolyn gave me the skirt and the shoes.  She kindly reminded me today that she has supplied over half of my 30-for-30 wardrobe (thanks dear).  She is happy to pass on styling tips - trying to get her to do a guest post as well to share her fashion with the world. I wish I could share her with everyone, but I can't she's mine.

Skirt: J.Crew - gift

Shirt: American collection from JcPenney

Belt: Marshalls

Shoes: Michael Kors - gift

Earrings: Thrifted

Belting the shirt makes me feel better about having the shirt tucked into the skirt.  Sometimes I don't love where it hits my stomach and the belt helps to hide that.  I am working on my 6 pack, but it's taking longer than I thought ;)

Happy Friday from New Zealand!  Summer is here and we are loving it.