The Adventure of a Lifetime

What a week! I cant believe Michael has already come and gone, but we had the time of our lives. He arrvied at 5:30am Tuesday morning. Amy and I went to the airport to pick him up and were SO excited to finally have him here! I think Amy was just as excited as me because I had talked about him non-stop haha. His timing was definitly a blessing in disguise because it was just what Amy needed to give her a little joy during such a horrible week at school. We ended up taking Tuesday off school because Amy just needed it, and we wanted to keep her company and just have a good day after Monday. We went into Auckland and walked around, went to the Merritime museum, ate lunch at the Waterfront Cafe and went out on a sailboat for an hour along the harbor. We were so lucky with the weather, it was beautiful out! That evening we went home to make pizzas and have a spa. Brett came home and Jodi and Amy's dad came over, it was such a lively, yet relaxing evening at the house.

Wednesday it was back to school, luckily we had a field trip to the Science Road Show and Michael was able to come as a chaperone! It was such a cool field trip with all of these science experiements and a little show. After school Michael and I went out to dinner with Alix and Lauren (the other 2 Americans lol) to this place called Basalt in Howick! One, you should have seen Michael and I navigating Howick at night, on our own. Second, Alix and I got the cabobs on a basalt brick cooker thing and it literally had 6 bites of meat and like 10 french fries. awesome. That gave us a good laugh though. It was nice for them to finally meet Michael! We had such a good time!


Thursday Michael and I were off to Waiheke Island for a wine tour! We rode the ferry into Auckland, then took the ferry to the Island, but they couldnt find my reservation so I had to buy the tickets all over again after all this trouble, then got a call while I was on the ferry appologizing for losing my reservation, that they DID in fact find it and would refund me the ferry tickets- whew! the wine tour was incredible though, we had pretty good weather and saw some amazing views, tried some delicious wines and met some cool people. Back home that night we got stuff to cook dinner. Amy actually flew down the Keremoanas funeral so she wasnt home till late and Brett was out so it was just Michael and me. It was a relaxing night at home before our journey through NZ the next few days!

Friday we woke up bright and early, packed up, and headed out to Rotorua! We got there and were blown away by the smell of sulfur (rotten eggs) that comes off the lake! haha on our way in though we stopped at this Agroadventures place and did the swoop/swing thing! It pulls you 30 meters into the air in these cacoon/harness things and then dropps you 10 meters, then it catches and swings you back and forth a couple more times! It was SOOO scary but SO much fun! Michael and I have never done anything like that before, so it was quite the experience. It took a lot of convincing on Michael's end (to convince me) but it was so worth it! That night we checked out the Polynesian Spas, which were so cool! They are these pools filled with natural hot spring water right on the edge of Lake Rotorua. After a couple hours there we were off to dinner at the Pig and Whistle. A police station turned restraunt famous for their huge plate stacked high with BBQ pork ribs. And wow- were they amazing!

Saturday we were off to Taupo! We were able to land a hotel right on the water and the views were out of this world. The lake it so big there are waves and little beaches! The town is so cool and the weather was deffinitly on our side. We spent most of the day hiking around Huka Falls, these incredible rapids of turquoise water leading to these powerful falls and then a serene river. We hiked for a good 3 hours before calling it a day. We were just amazed at the inredible views. We brought cheese, crackers and fruit for lunch and it was the perfect snack along our hike :) That night we went to this Irish Pub for dinner and met quite a few characters.

Sunday we took a little day trip to Waitomo to go Black Water Rafting which ended up being one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. Our guides, Terry and Monkey took our group of Michael and Me, a German girl named Helina, and a group of 10 Aussie teenage athletes and their 2 leaders to these caves. The guides had a great time making fun of Michael and me for forgetting our towels and having so much trouble with our wetsuits (well, I had trouble anyway) but they were great. We entered through this small hole and sat inside to allow our eyes to adjust and relax in the small cave. Over the next hour we went on the trek of a lifetime through these small tunnels, rapid moving water, deep rivers and tall caverns. We saw tons of blue glowworms along the way which were amazing on their own. We were decked out in wetsuits but our hands were still in the freezing water getting colder by the second. The cold water was so worth the overall adventure though, and we had a blast! To say the hot shower afterwards was incredible would be an understatement. It was cold it was so hot at first on my feet and hands, but it was so worth it! Then up to the café for soup and a bagel J

The drive back into Taupo was just as beautiful as the way in, even if we got a little lost haha. That night we went to this pizza place on the other side of the lake called The Bay. Hands down one of the best dinners ever. It was this old home turned restaurant and the owner was there checking on everyone. There was a teenage guy playing electric guitar which was the perfect touch.  We both ordered pizzas right out of the stone, wood-fire oven and when it came to dessert the owner was telling me about his dessert pizza that has won global pizza competitions. I asked what was on it and he took me back in the kitchen to see it being made! So cool! Of course we ordered it- there are not words to explain how delicious it was. I regret not going back the next day to order one before we headed out. For those of you who know me well- put it this way: it beats the Chili’s chocolate molten cake. Yep- that good.

Monday, after our incredible breakfast at the hotel looking out onto the beautiful lake, we headed back to Howick. It was a long drive, about 4 hours, but we got home in time to clean our Hailey (amy’s car) and take her to the car wash. She looked mint! Amy was so excited J That night Amy, Brett, Michael and I all went out to dinner at a really cool place in Howick. It was a bittersweet night with it being Michael’s last in NZ L The 4 of us got on so well, it was sad to think that we may not all 4 be together ever again… I just try to believe Michael and I will be back one day. After dinner we were off to 1,2,3 Karaoke this Japanese restraint and Karaoke bar to meet Jodi for some tunes! Haha we had the place to ourselves and actually got Michael to sing Sweet Caroline with me! It was such a funny moment in our week together, and I was so proud of him! J

We woke up at 4am Tuesday morning to get Michael to the airport. It was a very bittersweet goodbye. We had the best time over the last week exploring around NZ, but the week flew by and now it will be another 2 months until we see each other again :/  After I dropped him off I was on my way home only to get lost 3 times before getting there and Michael was on his way to Fiji for a layover, then to La for another layover, then to Denver for a couple hours before he finally caught his flight to Atlanta. Poor guy, I can’t imagine the jet lag he experienced haha.

Back to school Tuesday after I got home from the airport, whew it was a long day! I am teaching a lesson each day alongside our reading of Frindle and I think the kids are really enjoying it. Tuesday afternoon we had a staff meeting and then had a meeting with all the year 6 teachers about how to regulate our grading of the students’ writing tests. Man, writing is sure hard to grade. Jodi is back at Waka completing her student teaching as well and she is working in year 6 too, so it’s a really fun group we have right now. Katie ha been out the last few days because she has completely lost her voice and is a little under the weather, so I have been really busy teaching a lot of the day and coming up with lessons on the fly. It is definitely bringing up my confidence level in the classroom. It is crazy to believe that I could potentially have my very own classroom within the year. I actually had a moment today, though, where I really felt like a teacher in front of my own class. It was a really neat feeling and gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities. I have taken so many classes and have spent time in so many other teacher’s classrooms, I am ready to have my own class and continue to learn in that way.

This weekend will be a nice girls weekend in Howick, Lauren, Alix and Carolyn are coming to stay at Amy’s Friday night, then we are hiking Ringitoto mtn Saturday, and Sat night Lauren’s fam wants to throw us a little 4^th of July party! I will be teaching a lesson on the 4^th this Monday! I never get to teach about America’s independence on the actual day, it will be cool. Just think of me when all of you are out on the Lake, shooting off fireworks and eating Kraft macaroni and cheese and bakes beans, I will be missing the states on this one fun day!

As a side note- last Thursday the 23^rd was exactly one year until Michael and my wedding! We got to celebrate “a-year-to” together and it was such a special day! We can’t believe we are actually under a year mark! So exciting! J