one week anniversary

I am celebrating my one week anniv with New Zealand!! Congratulations to us *<:). It has been an interesting relationship - new, exciting, and I would say we get along pretty well. and according to the demands of Keri Rich, I need to post more pictures. so here they are. give the people what they want!

boarding the plane for New Zealand

not as peppy after a 13 hour flight

we all made it!

ohhhh yes, welcome to NZ!

hottie at customs ;)

111 Sunnyside Rd - home sweet home!

packed in the van - headed to the beach

Rainy day at Orewa Beach

followed by a trip to the thermal water park - who knew that existed!

thrilling day at school

braving the rain for Pizza Hut

successful bus ride (seriously that's a miracle)

definitely worth it

walking around Sunnyvale

I don't think I'll ever get used to sunsets this pretty

"Fear not, only believe." Luke 8:50

Today I went to church and it was so so happy. I loved being there. Even though the people are unfamiliar, the church and talking about the Savior is so familiar. It was fast Sunday today and it was amazing to hear the strong testimonies of the New Zealand people, and I was grateful for the opportunity to share my own testimony. The ward boundaries just changed and the Polynesian and Samoan wards disbanded, so now the ward contains a mixture of cultures. Everyone is so loving and so kind. I received millions of hugs, kisses, greetings, and invitations to dinner. I've already made some friends in Relief Society and in the YSA class - it's impossible not to make friends really. Tonight we were invited to our first "social outing" at a YSA fireside (woot woot!). Being away from home can be scary and different, but it's so peaceful when you can go to church and be surrounded by people who love the Lord and believe the same things you do. It strengthened my own testimony to know that no matter where you are in the world, the church is the same.

Kia Ora!

Kia Ora from New Zealand - the dairy, sheep, and LOTR capital of the world! I arrived on Wednesday, Jan 4th and have officially spent 4 days here. 4 days is short, but let's just say I've already learned heaps!

1. I stink at sleeping on planes

I pride in my ability to sleep anywhere at anytime. Gravel, bad carpet, small chairs. . . you name it. However sleep wasn't so kind to me when I most needed it. On the 13 hour plane ride I just could not sleep a wink! Maybe because I felt sick after eating my whole tray of gourmet "chicken macaroni bake". gag.

2. Look right when crossing the street, not the left.

I don't know if this is something I'll ever get used to. . .people driving on the other side of the road! I've almost gotten hit a few times, whenever I call shot gun I accidentally hop in the wrong side, and I have small heart attacks every time we enter the round about the wrong away. It's so bad that I even have nightmares about it!

3. The yellow ones don't stop

Just yesterday we ran into a spot of trouble at the bus stop. Apparently if you get up and stand up when the bus comes that is not enough. You have to wave them down to indicate you want to get on. We learned this the hard way when our bus drove right by us! The lady walking by said, "You've got to wave them down you know!" whoops.

4. Toilet flushers have two buttons - you gotta pick which one you want to use.

Toilets flushers have two buttons here! I've just been pushing both down to be safe, but somebody kindly informed me in the restroom that "the left is for the 'light stuff' and the right button is for 'heavy duty stuff'. Who knew!

5. Mints = mince

When going to the store the other day, our brother Jordan called and told us to "get some mints because we only have one left." I pictured one lone breath mint left in the box and thought he must really love his mints that boy! Turns out "mints" actually is "mince" which means ground beef. Only a slight difference :)

6. Get used to bugs because they are everywhere - even in your salad!

It's hot here in NZ and so everyone leaves their windows and doors open. All the time! This means that there are ants, spiders, and bugs everywhere! I shower in fear of a spider attack and was surprised to find a worm in my salad! turns out it was actually a "huhu grub".

(featured below)

7. Sharing a room with two other people is actually quite cozy! :)

I have two roommates and we all share the same room. I wasn't sure if I would like that, but I actually love it! We all fit quite comfortably and it's like a slumber party every night.

8. There are weird kinds of meat I would never consider eating

Taking a stroll down the meat aisle was quite interesting! I guess some popular NZ grub includes chicken heart and pig's feet. yum-o.

9. Everyone can tell you're American

We are quite the tourists! We never know where we're going, always loud and laughing, and honestly, we are kinda dumb sometimes! It's an everyday occurrence of getting lost and whenever we ask for directions they say, "You are from America aren't you?" I guess our accents give us away.

10. Not everything goes as planned - hakuna matata baby

Not only do I frequently get lost, this morning I struggled a bit with washing my hair! With six people in one bathroom it's easy to mix up the shampoos. I brought a 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner bottle and wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was a bit confused when it didn't even seem to wash my hair. So I used even more! Turns out I used the wrong bottle and grabbed someone's plain conditioner and washed my head only with that. No wonder my hair looked so gross.

11. My hair hates New Zealand

My hair hates New Zealand - and it's not just when I wash my hair with lots and lots of conditioner. Bangs are a bad thing for humidity and I have come to terms with looking ugly for the next couple of months.

Who doesn't like to wear a part right down the middle of their bangs? obviously I love it!

12. I LOVE NEW ZEALAND ICE CREAM

The ice cream here is to die for! I don't even like vanilla ice cream, but now I daydream about it. It's the creamiest, most wonderful thing. It taste how vanilla smells. There are also several wonderful flavors like hokey pokey (vanilla with caramel) and groovy gumdrop (gumball flavor with "lollies" in it).

13. This really is the prettiest place on earth

The view from our backyard. Can you believe it?!

14. People are so kind

Everyone here is the kindest, most generous, hospitable people I have ever met. Travelling across the world and staying in a stranger's home is a scary thing. But my host family has made it so easy and does everything they possibly can for us. I can tell how much they love the Lord by the way they treat and serve others. I've only been here a few days, but I hope to become more loving and charitable like they are.

holiday happenings

Before I start blogging about New Zealand, I feel like I need to catch up on all the going ons of Christmas break when I was back at home. so as my mother would say, here is my holiday happenings "in a natshell".

First of all, Christmas happened!! Amy, Jeremy, and Anne as well as my grandparents came into town to visit. We went into Seattle, romped around at the cabin, and went a little crazy with activities like go-karting at K1 Speed in Redmond.

Really good looking head gear for go-karting

Snow shoeing up at the cabin

Seattle visit

Following Christmas was my birthday! It was the big two-one! To celebrate, I woke up early to go to the bank with my dad (yay!), got my haircut, went out to dinner with my family, go-karting round two, and began packing to NZ. Overall it wasn't as rambunctious at the average 21st birthday, but I did do some crazy things like start a blog and stay up until midnight.

The peak of the night actually happened after dinner when my dad and brother left to go up to the cabin and my mom and I headed over to K1 Speed. On your birthday, you get one free round of go-karting, so we decided to "go" for it. I walked in and told them it was my birthday and the girl at the counter got all excited for me and said, "oh how cool!! how old are you?" I told her I just turned 21 and came here to celebrate. She was a little confused because the only people there were me and my mother. She asked, "go-karting for two?" I told her, "No, just me. My mom is here to watch." I could tell she was trying hard not to laugh, but checked me in for a race with another group of six people. Of course, this "birthday party for one" ended up joining a race with all people from my high school and they were on a triple date. Only slightly embarrassing to say the least. They pretended to not know me and I raced around the track as my mom watched me through the glass. See I told you. . .this 21st birthday was a real crazy one :)

*My mother is probably worried that I didn't like my birthday and that all blog readers will think I was unhappy, but in reality it was an awesome birthday as I got to spend time with my family, ate really yummy food, didn't have to do any homework, and beat my all time lap record in go-karting (I showed them!)

And finally! The last New Years before the end of the world! Went out to dinner at Red Robin with friends, dropped in at the Fisher's party, and went to Seattle for the fireworks. If this is my last New Years before the world ends on December 21st, I can say that I am satisfied with how I spent it.

my blog inspiration

For those of you who don't know this song, listen to it and become just as obsessed with it as I am!! I am not smart enough to figure out how to enter a video on my blog (#newcomer) but I'm sure I'll figure that out later. So clicking on this link will have to do :)

ps - I am in the San Francisco Airport RIGHT NOW heading off to New Zealand!!! I was gonna do that whole "i'm leaving the country and my life rocks because I'm going to NZ" but I being in an airport suppresses my creative juices and I want that post to be really good. so stay tuned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbI-B-hffbM