Halloween in New Zealand

Halloween is celebrated in New Zealand, but on a much smaller scale than the States. Our church had a Trunk-Or-Treat activity with sausages, cotton candy, a bounce house, and a few trunks of cars handing out lollies (candy). It was a small shindig but still so fun to do something we would be doing in the States for this holiday. Our costumes were low key too: Elsa, pet doctor, hunter, soccer player, scarecrow, and mountain biker.

It is very different not to have the crisp autumn air, colorful fall leaves, pumpkins galore, yummy pumpkin spiced treats, and fun Halloween decorations in homes. But, we tried to make it feel as Halloween-ish as we could. I put spiders up in our home for decorations, I had stocked up on a few small pumpkins when they were in season here so we baked a few yummy pumpkin treats, we started a "You've Been Boo'd" chain, and we made caramel apples. Very few homes participate in handing out candy, but the kids didn't give up and kept knocking on doors until they had a small bag of candy. It was a low key Halloween but we still enjoyed making memories and having fun.

Field trip with Ethan

I have never been able to go on a field trip with Ethan since I've always had little ones at home and I hate asking for help. Now that Reese is in kindy all day I was able to finally accompany Ethan! I just had a friend pick the younger kids up from school and Ethan & I had a fun day together with his class. We went to the Auckland Maritime Museum and it was pretty neat! When we first got there, we had morning tea and then got to set sail on a cool sailboat. The whole crew were older retired men who volunteered once a week to take tours out to sea. The weather was beautiful and it was so fun being out in the ocean with downtown Auckland in our view. We have driven over the Harbour Bridge many times, but we have never been underneath it! It was an awesome experience and the students all loved it. We then had a lunch break and then got to explore the rest of the museum. I loved seeing Ethan interact with his friends. He has been so blessed with a great teacher and good friends. We had a fun day together and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to spend it with him =)

Kai Iwi Lakes Camping Trip

This past weekend was a long weekend because of Labour Day being on Monday. We took advantage of the extra day and headed to Kai Iwi Lakes with some friends for a camping adventure. This is our first camping experience since being in New Zealand. We used to love camping in the mountains of Arizona multiple times every summer so we've missed roughing it! We are also used to being able to pack a truck bed full of the camping essentials. Unfortunately, we only have a van now so we had to pack every inch of it full of what we needed! But, we made it work! We particularly loved camping out in the middle of nowhere with no sight of neighbors and having the whole forest to ourselves. Camping is a bit different here. "Freedom camping" isn't as popular and not allowed in most place. They are tons of campgrounds where you can pay to camp. Kai Iwi Lakes has a beautiful campsite right near the gorgeous turquoise water. There's a hill you can walk up to overlook the stunning lake. We prefer to freedom camp, but we couldn't complain about the views and the use of toilets and running water =)

With it being a holiday weekend, we weren't sure how crowded it would be. Lucky for us, it wasn't very crowded and it was a very pleasant experience! It is spring here right now and thankfully it didn't rain on us during our stay, but it was still pretty chilly. We're used to being cold when camping so we were prepared with great sleeping bags and lots of layers. But, what made it extra cold was the water sports. Being right on the lake, we had to participate in the water fun =) Our friends had a boat and jet skis so the kids took rides on the tubes (they call them biscuits) and Cody wakeboarded. We also brought our kayaks and paddled the lake one afternoon. It was too cold for me, but the kids loved splashing in the water in their wetsuits. 

On Sunday, we drove to the small town of Dargaville and attended church at a small branch there. Our family, along with a few others that we were camping with, doubled their church attendance =) We have loved visiting wards and branches throughout New Zealand and getting to see and know the humble people. It is so sweet to know that wherever we attend church, the Spirit will always be felt and the same things will be taught even though the people may be a little different in each place. I love seeing the testimonies of so many saints. After church, we took a drive to explore a few more places in the area. We checked out Pouto Beach where there were lots of people fishing and dirt bikers riding the sand dunes. We also visited Baylys Beach and were hoping to drive the beach at low tide but missed our opportunity. 

After we packed up our stuff, we headed out for a fun hike. We walked along gorgeous green pastures with cattle just feet away from us. We had to climb over many electric fences and tramp through mud in areas. Cody gave us a lesson of what happens when you touch the electric fence…yikes! He got stuck in some mud up to his ankles and lost his balance while he was too close to the fence. We all heard a loud "ZAP!" Poor guy. Only in New Zealand would it be legal to walk so near to cattle and climb over electric fences without worrying about lawsuits! Oh we sure do love it here. Once we walked through the pastures, we ended up at the beach and a pretty little waterfall. We loved it!

We had a great weekend being able to camp again and have an adventure since the weather hasn't allowed that for a while. The kids all got along so great with the other kids and we rarely saw them. The view was breathtaking, the company great, and the weather pleasant. We can't wait to go back once it's warmer =)

Here's a video we made of our fun weekend:
https://youtu.be/gt2ePF3jdPo