Rotorua (Part 2)

New Zealanders happen to be very fond of their sheep.

I mean, very fond of their sheep.

So fond in fact, that they even hold beauty contests for them. During our trip to Rotorua we went to one. I don't know if it was my hair that day . . . or if they just saw something special in me, something as special as their prized sheep, but they let me be apart of the contest! 

Look:

. . . ok, ok, just kidding. . . 

This post is about our experience at the Agrodome. Although not a beauty contest, it is a show about sheep. We got to learn a little about New Zealand farm life and play with the animals. They taught us about the many varieties of sheep that are raised in New Zealand and what they are used for. It was quite comical watching the sheep run up on stage to their spots (where food was waiting for them - some were sneaks and ate bites of the other sheep's food as they went).

We got to watch a sheep shearing:

And a few dogs do some tricks. One herded a group of ducks (they fit on stage better for herding purposes than a bunch of sheep). 

Then there was this character:

He was loud, spastic, and liked to run across the top of the sheep. 

The man running the stage asked for volunteers who hadn't ever milked a cow to come and try it. He tried to get me to come up, but I had already done this before so I let someone else go. Then I got a lot of teasing from him. . . 

. . . and he asked me to come on stage after they were done with the cow (see the first photo) and handed me a bottle of milk . . . 

"We are going to have a drinking contest!"

Try being on stage in front of a bunch of people, getting handed a bottle of something you are allergic to, then being told you have to drink it. 

AND THEN THESE GUYS RUNS ON STAGE (!!!!!) :

Baby pigs. I nearly died. They were so cute.

After the show was over I had to go play with them. They let me hold one :) Maybe they aren't all like this, but from my experience, pigs don't like to be held. They squirm and squeal as if they are being tortured. Don't worry, we got my facial expressions caught on camera. The black and white one was my favorite, and I happened to wear black and white that day, so it just felt right letting this moment be in black and white for everyone to see. 

Rotorua Part 3 Coming Soon!

Rotorua (Part 1)

Nathan and I were invited to visit some family friends staying in a town named Rotorua. So we took a little trip! Here are a few things we did:

This is The Ogo:

Yes, we rolled down a hill in a giant bubble. And yes, it was awesome.

(By the way, mom, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger)

After this you have a new perspective on life . . . maybe because when climbing out it gives one the sensation of being reborn . . . 

. . . if only child birth were that easy . . .

This is a Wharenui (meeting house), built on the Marae (cultural land):

The Maori have the most beautiful stone and wood carvings.

Here is the view from the rooftop of a museum:

It was a gorgeous building. The museum used to be a bath house. Which is pretty cool because Rotorua has natural hot pools.

To be continued . . .

But I will leave you with this photo that I finished painting today. It is of my little bro :) I wanted to post it in honor of him serving a mission for our church. He is my best bud and I am incredibly proud of him. I also feel completely blessed that God let him be my brother, because it takes a special soul to laugh at my jokes and he is my kind of special. I love Elder Munk!! Best wishes, good luck, and don't ever change.

Spoiled!

Last month I celebrated my 21st birthday. I told my mom I would put some photos up from that. I have to still include her in such things, even if I'm on the other side of the world :)

(So, this first part may be uninteresting, but SPOILER ALERT! there are some pictures I will post last that will be of more interest to everyone else. )

My birthday was pretty awesome. I got to spend it in New Zealand with my super sweet husband. I woke up to this:

Yes, toast. This may not look like much, BUT gluten-free AND dairy-free bread was very difficult to find here!!! So this was actually perfect. Plus my green juice. He knows how to make me happy :)

Then in that beautiful little package I delightfully found:

Isn't it cool?! This is a pounamu. Green stone, or New Zealand jade, was sacred to the Maori people. It is an extremely hard stone and was used to make tools, weapons, jewellery.. etc. It is a gorgeous material, especially when carved! Don't you think? The carvings are very symbolic and meaningful. Mine is a combination of three different symbols that are commonly used in the Maori culture.

1) The single twist (up at the top) or the Maori Eternity Symbol represents the path of life.

2) The whale or dolphin tale is a symbol of protection (especially for travellers).  But the whale is also a sign of greater intelligence, and the dolphin a sign for friendship and harmony.

3) And then the Koru at the bottom (the swirl) is designed after an unfurling fern frond. It represents new life, or beginning a new phase in life. It is a symbol for positive changes, personal growth, and peace.

All combined together creates a pretty powerful and positive meaning (and makes the gift even cooler - thanks babe!).

(Hey mom, make sure you show Trev. He will want to see it.)

The week before my birthday Auntie Donna was staying with us and she completely shocked me with this:

A gorgeous Pandora charm bracelet. The symbolism isn't sacred to any ancient culture, but it is very special to me. The two charms on the left represent New Zealand. Then the two on the right side are for Australia (where Auntie Donna lives), and the middle for my home country. The charms are so fun and thoughtful. It will be a happy reminder of my first trip down under every time I wear it. Thanks Auntie Donna! I love you!

Then this is from my wonderful new family:

I'm on a roll with giving the deeper meaning behind all this, so I'll just tell you what this represents for me :) Seeing as it is a heart, to me it represents how loving and accepting Nathan's family has been to me. They are absolutely lovely people, and I'm having fun having some sisters!

It was actually pretty funny. Mamma G and Rachael went out for some mommy daughter time the day before my birthday and when they got back this is what went down:

MG: "Ok Tash, you have a choice to make. You can either open your present now, or wait till tomorrow when Rachael gets home from school"

Me: "Present?" (confused face)

Rachael: "Open it now! I can't handle the anticipation!"

lol she is so fun and funny. So I was spoiled all through the month and not just on my day.

Ok, now on to the pictures I promised! Nathan took me site seeing so I have a few photos of this gorgeous area!

This place reminds me of Jurassic Park ^

And this is down the beach to the right:

That is where the fancy people live ^

And just to prove I was actually there :)

See how dead the grass is? You wouldn't think I was near Hobbiton!

Mama G

Well, I have a lot to catch up on and tell y'all about. But today there is something very important I want to share with ya first. Or, I suppose I should say someONE.

I want to write a little about my mother-in-law. She is an absolutely wonderful woman, and someone that I've come to respect highly and really look up to.

Here is a woman that puts her children and family first. She makes it a point to make those close to her a priority. She is compassionate, loving, accepting - and I have not been an exception to this.

We have had similar medical experiences that gave us a bond and an understanding in each other early on. It was pretty powerful. (I even let her massage my feet. Anyone who knows me really well would understand the significance of that.)

It has been so wonderful having someone that understands my circumstances, that has lived through them and knows what I need and what I need to hear, and is so willing to use her time for me. I will be eternally grateful that she has been placed in my life, and for the positive influence she is for me.

I won't start listing all the things she has done for me, and for Nathan and me, because you might fall asleep trying to make it through the LONGG list. But that isn't the point of this post. I have been greatly  blessed and feel the desire to share it! Mama Grif is the sort of woman that should be written about. She is the sort of person that should be recognised and acknowledged. She is one of the strongest people I have ever met, who has experienced things no one should have to face. But then has turned around and made her life about being a positive force in the world, about spreading goodness and service.

I love you "mum"!!

Kia Ora!

"Congrats on getting married! When are we going to start seeing the blog posts?"

"Make sure you blog about your travels to New Zealand!"

Alright all you requesting this, and all of you wanting to stalk us in a socially acceptable way (hehe just kidding....) here is my blog. But I am writing this on one condition. I don't want to hear any complaints on my spelling or grammar ;) Was that asking for it?

If I am going to write about my life's adventures I am going to start with this:

Because this represents a very positive change in my life, and really the beginning of my adventures. Anything before this was just prep work to really allow God into my life, and the positive forces that come with that :)

For those who weren't able to be with us on our wedding day, it was simply perfect. It was magical, it was happy, it was beautiful, it was just perfect :) I hear it was rather cold...but I didn't really notice! (hehe)

Now on to our travels :)

Here is my Mr. Handsome, ehem, I mean Mr. Husband (Sorry you are going to have to excuse me, I have Newly Wed Syndrome. I've been told it wears off by time, and the best way to handle it is to enjoy it until then ;) packing for our trip:

This is really where our adventures for this trip started. We, with all our stuff, were sprawled out in my parent's pool table room minding our own business when the roof decided to rain on us. So much for trying to be organised packers as we then proceeded to shovel all our crap away from the water and into a big messy pile. Remember the scene in the movie The Sword in the Stone when the roof leaks? And they have to use pots and tea kettles and such to prevent an indoor flood? Yeah, sympathy.

But we still made it to the airport:

What a cutie :)

That is actually the only photo I got of our flight....I was simply too excited (admittedly like a little kid) to take pictures. (But airport photos are boring anyway and you could find a better photo of a plane like the one we flew on online... If you are really that disappointed and desperate.)

We flew Air NZ, and happened to be on an older plane model. Apparently our flight was absolutely horrible. But I have nothing really to compare it to. All I can tell ya is there was turbulence the whole way and we weren't allowed to get up a majority of the journey. But I made it through that, so the next flight should be a piece of cake. Especially if I'm allowed to get up and pee.

But we made it! And guess what? It was raining! I felt like I was back in Seattle :) Green and rain, plus it was dark because it was so early in the morning.....but that didn't last long! I think it was just NZ's way of making me feel at home :) Since then it has been lots of sunny warm weather! Love that!

It took a while, but after the jet lag wore off I took some photos of Nathan's home town. Here is one we fixed up to look like a post card for ya :)

This photo was taken in the evening, I just realised it doesn't show off how beautiful the weather is here. But this is his little beach town.

Nathan's family lives farther into the country and it reminds me of being in Idaho. Cornfields, flies, sunshine, and cows (plus sheep!). So again, between the sights and smells, very familiar. Then you drive a few minutes and see green trees like home....then some like you'd find in Oregon....and then palm trees come out of no where, and suddenly the familiar feels more like a dream. I love it here!

Well, that's it for today.

 First blog post. Check!

More words and pictures coming soon!