Whew! What a year...

WOW! Hard to believe that 2012 is here already. It is hard for me to imagine a year that could possibly top 2011, but I have a funny feeling that 2012 is up for the challenge. I know I am once again, soooo far behind in my blogging. I could not help putting together a little post of 2011 in review. We were so blessed to see and do so many wonderful things, that I felt the need to post an update about the whole year, before individually posting on everything from August to December...yes, that is how far behind I am. 

Why not start with the most recent and move backwards. 

We ended 2011 with a trip to Singapore and Thailand. One of the highlights of our trip was riding the elephants in Thailand. Very beautiful animals. Very large animals. Very sweet animals. They were loved by everyone in our family.

The last family picture of 2011. Thanks to technology and wonderful cameras with remote control capabilities, we were able to get a quick picture of our family before heading out for dinner one night.

Breakfast with the orangutans in Singapore. These guys were hilarious. Very human like. I fell in love with the little guy back there. Thought briefly about attempting to kidnap him. However, I figured if they will jail you for throwing your gum on the ground in Singapore, I could only imagine my sentence for stealing a baby orangutan.

Kenyon was not really a fan of the orangutans, but she did manage to find a scaly friend to pet. 

No Christmas season is complete without the required school program. However, in Australia the Christmas clothing is all shorts, dresses and tank tops. Nothing like hearing kids sing jingle bells while wearing shorts and flip flops :)

Our year would not be complete with out shuttling our darling daughters to and from gymnastics practice, lessons, meets, carnivals, ballet, rehearsals, recitals, etc... Very glad they are busy, but they sure do keep us busy as well.

End of the year ballet recital. Kenyon was a yellow flower.

Not to be out done, Ashtyn jumped right in there and performed at her gymnastics carnival like an old pro.

Did I mention how lucky we were this year? Our travel schedule was full and exciting. In August we took a trip to Hamilton Island with Uncle LaLa and Tia Posey. Water was a little chilly here on Whitehaven Beach, but the girls made a run for it anyway.

...and left behind some footprints in the sand...

Good Morning from Hamilton Island.

WOO HOO!!! Got to see The Reef!!!! Look how excited they are. Oh wait...they saw the reef from our boat, and the underwater viewing stage, and the underwater submarine that went out. Both girls put on their wet suits, walked down the steps from the boat to the water, put little feet and toes in the water, and said NOPE! TOOOOO cold mommy!

Our travels are always full of animals. Kenyon found a friend in New Zealand. At least this one stood still long enough for her to catch a ride.

Mommy's and daddy's animals did not stand still however. We did not let that stop us. We will forever have 4 beautiful souvenirs to remind us of New Zealand. I am the only one who named mine :)

He will look beautiful over our big stone fireplace. Wait...I think we need a house first, and then a stone fire place. Oh well...we have the decoration for it when we do get it :)

Not sure where this guy will end up...but he will be fun to decorate for the different holidays :)

New Zealand had so many post card perfect pictures. Took this one from the helicopter on the way to hunt.

Family had our first ski trip. Ashtyn was still a bit young, but I am hopeful that in a year or 2 she will be ready to try again.

In just about every water picture, our kids look like they are freezing, or in some sort of pain. There is A LOT of cold water here in Australia. This was Eli Creek on Fraser Island. Yes...the water was cold. I walked down the creek...could.not.feel.my feet!!!!!!

Little Bit of sisterly love at Rainbow Beach. We managed to get to Rainbow Beach twice this year.

Ashtyn on the beach at Noosa. Running from the chilly willy waves!

Lots of love for the water in Noosa!

January marked the beginning of kindergarten (prep) for Kenyon. Our little girl, was officially a big girl. Marked with some tears from mommy, she was off to school 5 days a week, and loved every bit of it. Hard to believe in about 20 days she will start first grade...

In January, our second home was rocked with massive flooding, that had not been seen since 1974. It was a sad way to start off 2011. So many people lost so much. The city of Brisbane and it's residents came together to help people out and rebuild this great city that thrives off being able to incorporate the river in it's daily activities. Luckily the start of 2012 has been much smoother than that of 2011.

It is hard to imagine what 2012 has in store for us. I don't think we ever thought we would have been able to have such wonderful experiences, new beginnings, and see such great sights and cultures. 2011 has been a year to remember, and I am certain 2012 will be as well. Here is to everyone's health, wealth and happiness. May your year be as blessed as we hope our's to be.

New Zealand - Take 3

I can't help but feel guilty. Here it is almost the end of October and I still have yet to finish blogging about our adventures that happened in July. Along with having the hunt of a lifetime, we also managed to do some snow skiing on the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Being able to ski in another country was on my bucket list of things to do in life...thanks to this wonderful trip, I can now say that one is crossed off the list. From my previous posts you might remember that we had some issues with wind and weather. For the first part of out trip, the mountain was closed due to lack of snow and windy conditions at the top of the mountain. Around day 6 or so, that changed and the weather cleared and allowed the mountain to open. The girls were excited to see snow and give snow skiing a try. That excitement would change a little bit, but that is another story for later on. Soooo day 6, about 9:00 AM, we loaded up the car with 4 adults and 2 kids to make our way to the slopes.


After an hour drive and a slight argument with some snow chains (which the men won!) we made it to the top of the mountain. I should have known when Ashtyn refused to turn around and take a picture that she was going to refuse a few more things before the day was over :)

                                                 Those were some tiny little snow boots...

                                               but they fit perfectly with these tiny little skis!

All smiles and ready for her ski gear!

First and only lesson with our ski instructor. All smiles!

Mom watching Kenyon during her lesson. Ashtyn playing in the snow, with the skis that were supposed to be attached to those cute little feet. Ashtyn got out in the snow, got the skis on and literally went about 1 foot before promptly throwing a fit and demanding that the skis be removed. Oh well...she was/is only 3...maybe in another year or 2.

Whoopsie :)

All good dad! I got this!

Going down the bunny slope with mom. Just as much for me as it was for her. I counted...it had been 15 years since I had been snow skiing. Good thing is it is like riding a bike...it all comes back to you :)

Kenyon and I did the bunny slope about 3 times, before she asked if we could go up the lift to the top of the mountain. I asked her twice if she was sure, and let her make the decision for us to go up. She handled the lift like a pro. Skiied right up, hopped on the seat, sat really still while we rode it up and then skied right off like she had been doing this her whole life.

After about the 25th fall coming down the mountain, Kenyon decided she was not so sure this skiing thing was for her. At one point in time she asked me if I could carry her down the mountain, or if she could walk down the mountain. We had to have a few talks coming down, but in the end she made it and promptly asked to go sit with daddy and Ashtyn in the clubhouse.

Skiers extraordinaire!

A Kea. The world's only mountain parrot. The only true alpine parrot in the world can only be found in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. They feed on everything from vegetables to carcasses, and evidently what ever skiers leave behind. In 1986 they were placed under full protection as their numbers had dwindled to less than 2000. They are still protected today.

Woo Hoo!!!!! I would say that just about rounds up our New Zealand adventure. I still need to move on and post our trip to Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef and Hamilton Island. Not to mention there will be gymnastics competitions, carnivals, and ballet recitals coming up. Oh my...

New Zealand - Take 2

In the words of Ted Nugent, one of the main reasons we traveled to New Zealand was to "Whack 'em, stack 'em, and pack 'em." I quickly found out as I posted some of these photos on facebook, that hunting was much more acceptable in the eyes of our family and friends from Texas than that of SOME (not all) of our friends in Australia.  Oh well...

To say that our hunting trip was a success would be an understatement. The amount of animals seen as well as of the quality of animals surpassed what I had expected. On day 1, the hunters spent time shooting the guns they would be using to hunt. Australia has very strict rules on bringing guns into the country. Due to these rules, when we made the move, we left all our guns back in Texas with family. Since Dad and Belinda were coming to Australia after our New Zealand travels, it made more sense to borrow the guns of our guide. So, hunting actually started bright and early on day 2. You could feel the excitement as the hunters took off. It ended up being a great day. James started off the good vibe by taking his Red Stag.

In most of the pictures, the Stag has his mouth kind of open, like he has something to say. I very lovingly gave him the voice that Bill Murray uses in Caddyshack...and proceeded to pretend that he actually talked. "Hey guys..."

Day 3 of hunting yielded Belinda her beautiful Red Stag. Great rack huh? :)

Day 3 also meant that James added to what will be our future wall hangings. There was a story behind this guy. This fallow was at the top of a gorge when James made his shot. And then....he fell down the gorge...butt over rack...a few times. Now imagine the facial expression on James, watching this animal "roll" down the gorge. His thought..."Don't ruin you rack!" Luckily the fallow finished his acrobat routine with no damage done.

Dad took his fallow on Day 4. 

The final day of hunt was something that everyone had been looking forward to for the entire trip. This last day meant Tahr and Chamois hunting, up the mountain by helicopter. We had been waiting the whole time to be able to do this.  The weather had to be perfect in order to get the helicopter up the mountain. The helicopter could take 2 hunters, the guide and the pilot up the mountain at a time. If you managed to take a shot and kill, then they would tie the animals to the helicopter, load everyone up and come back down. It was an AWESOME experience. James and dad did the first trip followed by Belinda and myself. 

James and his Tahr.

Dad and his Tahr. Dad actually shot first. They then left his animal, and went after James' animal. After James had shot they came back around to get dad's Tahr, take pictures and tie the animals to the helicopter.

Ahh... Sammy the Shammy. Yes, I named my chamois. Have never hunted the way I did for Sammy. The helicopter takes you up, drops you off and you take your shot while laying on the ground. My heart was pounding. And I will forever have a hunting story that can "grow" every year...

"There I was. In 6 feet of snow. All you could see were my eyes. A blizzard had come in and I could barely see. My feet and hands were numb in the cold, and I had given up after being up there ALL day. When all of a sudden THERE HE WAS...just kidding. It would make for a good story though.

This was what Belinda and I got to see as we made our way in the helicopter to the mountain. New Zealand scenery is breathtaking. 

After the hunting was over, the girls got to take a ride in the helicopter. They loved it. Kenyon wore the  headset so she could talk to the pilot.Ashtyn was a little confused. She had watched the helicopter bring down dad and grandpa's animals, and then she watched it bring down mine. When we landed, she wanted to know where her animal was. Maybe next time Ashtyn. :)

Bringing the Tahr down off the mountain.

My girls and Sammy.

It will be awhile before we get to see the animals again. So far, they have yet to leave New Zealand and make their trip across the ocean to Texas so they can have their Doctor's appointment at the Taxidermist. 

For the animal lovers out there...the next post will be full of snow skiing and the tropical portion of our holiday with no animals being harmed. Except for the parrot I wanted to kill for trying to eat my Texans hat...once again, kidding. 

New Zealand - take 1

A long long time ago, in a land far, far away...

No, seriously. Originally when I started this blog, I had every intention of actually keeping up with it on a regular basis. If I had to grade myself on handling the project as  it was intended, then that grade would be a big fat F! Does not bode well for me going back to school and making good grades, does it?

I thought it was time to get some of those wonderful New Zealand photos posted. On July 7th, our little family boarded 2 separate planes and headed off on our New Zealand adventure. It was a long day of travel. It did not have to be, but instead of taking a late night, direct flight from Brisbane to Christchurch and end the day with an hour and a half drive to our resort, mama came up with a brilliant idea of ALL DAY travel. Seriously, you would think I was a beginner at this. Our little family left the house about 7:30 AM to catch our 9:30AM flight out of Brisbane to Auckland (3 hours). We then sat in the Auckland airport for a few hours, so we could wait on our next flight to Christchurch (2 hours). Only so we could arrive in Christchurch in the dark. Then load 2 kids, 4 bags of luggage, 4 carry on's, 2 adults and a partridge in a pear tree...just kidding...Into a lovely Toyota 4x4 and drive in the rain to get to our beautiful accommodations. The place we stayed really was like a little piece of heaven on earth.

When we woke up in the morning...this was our view off our balcony.

When we woke up our first morning there, James and Ashtyn took off back to the airport to pick up dad and Belinda from the Christchurch Airport. Kenyon and I took a walk around the resort and discovered horses, the golf course, the mountains, the workout room and the BEST chocolate chip muffins we had ever had! YUMMY! Oh...and the coffee was pretty good too. The coffee ended up being important as it never seemed to warm up above 3 degrees celsius, which is about 37 degrees fahrenheit. I throughly enjoyed the cold. It was a nice change from the very mild winter that Brisbane has. On July 9th, all the fun really began...

The hunters on their first morning out. Once again, it was about 2-3 degrees with some gale force winds. You went running out the door and the wind pushed you back inside. I would say the hunting trip was a HUGE success and enjoyed and cherished by all. I have decided my next post will have all the photos of the animals...I figured that way I can keep all 7 of my followers interested and hopefully coming back for more.

In case you doubted the outside temperature.

One day while the hunters were ridding New Zealand of an animal or two, the girls and I headed off to the river. The girls loved playing with the rocks and throwing them in the river. I don't know...future discuss thrower maybe?!

Posing while on our gorge walk.

The beautiful Rakaia River.

The girls made friends with some four legged animals. Of course it always helps when you can bribe the horses with some apples.

Pete and Repeat. Before this trip I never realized how similar in dress my dad and my husband are. It was actually kind of cute :) James and dad are standing in the clubhouse of the resort, not long after James had picked dad and Belinda up from the airport.

One of my favorite pictures of the whole trip. That would be Grandma BeBe and Kenyon rolling down the hill onto one of the golf green's. Honestly could not tell you what hole they were on, but I can tell you they were the only one's playing that hole.

Remember when I said that the temperature stayed about 3 degrees? In that temperature we decided what better time than to take a jet boat ride on the Rakaia River. That cute little oompa loompa in front is Ashtyn. The jet boat ride was awesome! Funny, now I don't even remember how cold it was. Jetting around the river was great and fast! Sometimes you felt like they were going to throw you up on the river bank. Good time was had by all. Kenyon had a huge grin on her face the whole time. I am pretty sure Ashtyn was smiling. She was so bundled up, all we could see was her eyes.

We stopped halfway and took a group picture.

One day, all the hunters took a break from hunting and we headed into Christchurch for a day at the Antarctic Exhibit. We learned about penguins, experienced the snow room (snow actually fell as it would during an Arctic snow storm), and got to read about and see the equipment used on expeditions to the Arctic.

My cute little family waiting for the 4D movie. Yea...all smiles now, however that was not the case after the movie got started. The seats moved, you got sprayed in the face with water, wind blew through your hair, bubbles fell from the ceiling (snow), and at one point in time a really mean looking seal appeared to be coming at you. Needless to say Ashtyn wanted OUT. Even now, if we are going to the movies, she will ask you if water is going to spray you in the face and will the seats move.

We did manage to make her happy again by learning some penguin facts.

Kenyon and her little penguin buddy. For the first and only time ever, Ashtyn pretty much fell asleep during every car trip she took while we were in New Zealand. 

Just a few pictures of the scenery to end this update with. This was sunrise coming over the mountains on day one of the hunt. I took it after the hunters had left. New Zealand was a beautiful place.

This pretty much sums up the scenery we were lucky to see on most of our drives in between towns.

I promise to have another post or 2 with more New Zealand photos and stories. Stay tuned for animals and stories of our ski adventures. I feel so far behind...New Zealand, Cairns, The Reef, Hamilton Island...we have been lucky and blessed to see and do so much this year. I would like to say that I will be better with updates, but I don't want to make any promises that I wouldn't be able to keep :) So how about I promise within the next 7 days to have another post about New Zealand. Hope I can earn an A on that assignment! :)