a PICTURE diary

I'm back! I know it's been 3 weeks since my last post, but I honestly haven't done anything extremely exciting to write and share with you all. And while I still haven't necessarily been anywhere amazing over the past 21 days, I decided to basically share a picture diary of what I have done. Also...I have exciting news to share! But I'll get to that in a bit. :)

MONDAY, MARCH 5

I had my 6th gelato cone - definitely one of my favorite flavors! :)

I enjoyed a beautiful sunset during my evening walk.

I hope this works, but Ava overheard me saying "Uffda Nada" and thought it was the funniest thing. So, of course, she had to try saying it too... :) I cut the video off, but she asked me, "But what does it mean?" :) #MNisms

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

Do you see those tiny orange bits on the top left corner of my plate? Well, I babysat and made my pizzas with veggie sauce. Ava picked out the carrots and asked what they were! I brushed it off saying I had to use a new sauce from the fridge. She said, "But it tasted like vegetables." I said, "In pizza sauce?! Silly!" Thankfully she bought it and finished her pizzas...whew!

Just a cute picture of Ava playing outside. :)

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

What started as a rainy day, turned into a sunny day where I could walk to pick up Emily from school!

On my way to pick up Emily from school, I stepped off the sidewalk wrong and twisted my ankle a wee bit. (The picture on the left is my good foot, the picture on the right is the one I messed up...just for reference). While it initially didn't seem that bad, it definitely hurt more the next day and still hasn't completely healed to this day (March 26th)! However, I can walk on it fine and had a brace for the first few days to give it extra support. 

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

Fridays, Ava and I have "Mainly Music" group and we were able to pretend that we were bunnies! Isn't she a cutie? :)

I went to the beach during my free time, and while it wasn't sunny, I enjoyed the beauty of the storm coming in over Rangitoto.

A brilliant idea all grocery stores should have...free fruit for kids! :)

I made Mexican food for the family!! While I made it because I was craving pico and guac...they enjoyed it very much too (well the adults at least!)

SATURDAY, MARCH 10

One of my favorite views! This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's so fun seeing the ocean when driving or walking. :)

I spent most of the day outside because of the beautiful, sunny weather!

#7! Sea Salted Caramel...another winner!

I spent most of the day reading at the beach...or eating! I definitely got a little sun. But at least I wore sunscreen this time!

Dinner: Fettuccine noodles, pesto sauce, grilled chicken, broccoli, and roasted red peppers. It was SUPERB!

SUNDAY, MARCH 11

It was a windy day at the beach, so I didn't spend much time here. Plus, the tide was high so not much room to walk beside the water. I spent some time in front of the library reading and Skyping my aunt, uncle, and cousin! :)

So this one is probably my second favorite flavor so far. It actually had a different name than "Gingersnap", but it reminded me of a gingerbread cookie with chunks of dough or something mixed in...delicious!

My Chaco tan is improving a lot - especially thanks to yesterday's sun!

Sunday's sunset - no filter or edits. This is what I saw and it was beautiful!

MONDAY, MARCH 12 - It rained...surprise, surprise!! I was able to read more though!

TUESDAY, MARCH 13

Tuesdays are Library Day for miss Ava and I! She now knows how to scan the library card and books at the self-checkout computer...all by herself! :)

I decided it was time to have fish & chips again. Another delicious meal with a wonderful view. The fish I chose to eat was Red Snapper...yum. It started sprinkling while I was eating, but I just waited it out and it was over quite quickly. I also had some eager seagulls waiting around for me to feed them some chips...didn't happen!

Alright, this is probably one of my favorite pictures that I've taken in New Zealand. I was honestly trying to capture a picture of the rainbow over Rangitoto, but a seagull decided to fly by at the exact moment I took the picture. This is the result! How awesome is that!? :)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14

Yes, I realize I already posted a picture of this view in the blog. But, notice the different shades of blue the water was on this day? Beautiful.

THURSDAY, MARCH 15

Nothing spectacular, but I painted my nails today! It was about time too...lol.

FRIDAY, MARCH 16

I was so happy to find some leaves that had already changed! Autumn is on its way! :)

Due to a Skype session with my little bro and my mom, I ended up leaving the house later than I usually do. I booked it and made it to the school with 1 minute to spare to pick up Emily! :)

SATURDAY, MARCH 17 - ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I didn't do anything crazy, but of course I brought along my St. Patrick's Day socks from home! For dinner, I had curry! Mmmm

SUNDAY, MARCH 18

Another sunny day! I was able to enjoy listening to Shoe Dog (a book) in front of the library.

After listening to my audio book, I went to get gelato #9! Black Doris Plum.

After gelato, I went geocaching! This is find #1 - it was in a mosquito infested walkway, but a fun find nonetheless!

I didn't plan on finding 2 caches, but this one popped up on my Geocaching app and I couldn't resist looking!

Find #2 was a micro-cache - so very tiny! Since there were a few people around, I had to be sneaky when finding and putting it back. :)

MONDAY, MARCH 19

The cat brought in a lizard and I found it when cleaning the bathroom! After a mini heart attack, I was able to capture it and Ava and I released it outside. :)

Chaco tan update!

Jane and I went to Tomb Raider tonight - it was a fun action flick!

TUESDAY, MARCH 20

Tuesday brought more sun which means I spent it outside napping and reading. :)

Ended my evening with a beach walk...

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21

Ava and I went to the playground to feed the ducks today!

A sycamore tree leaf...perfect for the first day of autumn in NZ.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22

Emily and I had some fun with Snapchat filters after school!

I MADE COOKIES!! While they tasted a little different than usual, it was like having a bit of home here. Oh...they were a hit by the way! :)

After dinner, I took a quick walk to hit my 10,000 steps goal.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23

Emily only had a half day of school today. Sadly, it was raining so I couldn't walk to pick her up.

SATURDAY, MARCH 24

We were going to go see the black beaches today, but of course it was raining when we got there. :) Instead, we stopped at a cafe and enjoyed a delicious lunch/afternoon tea!

 A classic Kiwi meal - toast and eggs! Of course I paired it with a flat white. :)

Jane's dad is visiting from from South Africa and they made lamb for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it! She was, however, shocked I didn't eat lamb back home. I explained that lamb was more of a delicacy in Minnesota. Just so you know, lamb to New Zealanders is like beef to Minnesotans (or Montanans). :)

SUNDAY, MARCH 25

Today we spent the afternoon in Auckland! There was an Arts Festival we spent a little time at and then we went searching for owls! Auckland is having something called "The Big Hoot" which goes until May 6th. There are 47 owls placed around the city for people to find, take pictures with, and share online in order to unlock rewards from sponsors. Afterwards, the owls will be auctioned off with the proceeds going towards the Child Cancer Foundation. We ended the day in the city by getting ice cream (of course) and then headed off towards home. 

Sky Tower!

We walked over this bridge - reminded me of Duluth (but on a much smaller scale).

This "waterbed" was just sitting outside for people to enjoy. What a fun idea! :)

We took a tram ride too! It was short, due to road construction, but a fun change of pace from walking in the sun.

We found 4 of the 47 owls...aren't they fun! :) I plan on going back and finding more (hopefully all!)

I chose to have an ice cream donut instead of a cone...quite a treat I must say! They cut the donut in half, warmed it up, and then put a scoop of ice cream of my choice in the middle. I couldn't resist getting dark chocolate, with chocolate sauce on top. And of course whipped cream on the side. ;)

Well that's it...a picture summary of the last three weeks! Even though I've stuck around Browns Bay, it's been fun becoming more familiar with the area and experiencing different parts of Auckland. I was planning on having gelato flavor #10 from Gingersnap this weekend, but it was raining Saturday and then Sunday we were busy away from Browns Bay. However, I have high hopes to meet this goal by the time I post my next blog! :)

Latest NZ thing: Hardee's is called Carl's Jr. here!

Now for my exciting news! I'm going on a trip to the South Island with my family this week...Wednesday to be exact! We are going to Wanaka because there is an airshow - Warbirds Over Wanaka. It starts Friday and goes through Sunday. While the family is staying in Wanaka the whole time (through April 3rd), I'm only staying through Saturday morning and then flying to Christchurch to spend a few days there! I have a list of places to see and food to try - but only have 3 days to get it all done. This will hopefully be the first of a few trips to the South Island as it is full of beautiful sights and many things to do!

Stay tuned...and thanks for reading!