matching is always the best option

Funny story. . . three of us all bought the same shirt, in three different sizes. After buying them, we all switched shirts and ended up with a shirt that fit better than what we started with. I ended up switching with a 12 year old. Funny how those things happen!

Happy 21st to Stace Face!!

Stacey turned twenty one!!! My dear roommate, friend, and future sister missionary! Love her to death.

To celebrate we went night swimming in the ocean and out for ice cream J 

Rainy Day in Kerikeri

It’s been raining lots here in New Zealand . . . more than it has been in Seattle! Slightly disappointing. 

So we spent a rainy day in Kerikeri. This one’s for you, Keri Lee Rich! J 

Saw John Carter – possibly the dumbest movie made. It was Star Wars bloopers, mixed with Avatar, mixed with Atlantis, mixed with the worst movie you have ever seen. It did make for a good laugh though.

We stopped at some falls on the way home.

accidental photo bomb

And then went shopping!

bought some new bling

and ice cream. Which is good for any weather. 

Ninety Mile Beach, Sand Surfing, & Cape Reinga

This was one of my favorite days. Everywhere we went was absolutely gorgeous!!

 We started our day driving north to ninety mile beach. 

 

Ninety mile beach isn’t actually ninety miles. . .but it’s close to 90 kilometers. It’s a registered highway that cars drive along to go further (farther?) north. Although it was overcast, the beach was beautiful and we even saw a couple of penguins! Crazy. I didn’t even know they lived here.

Then we ran into a spot of trouble with our van getting stuck in the sand. It only took twenty girls, one bus driver, two strangers, five planks of wood, and 45 minutes of work to get it out :)

The highway can take you to the sand dunes where we stopped for lunch and went sand surfing. It may not look it, but the dunes were reaaally steep and I had cramped calves by the time I got to the top. Just another sharp reminder I am not in shape . .  but that's alright, all the ice cream has been soo worth it :)

To end our day we drove up to the northern most point of New Zealand – Cape Reinga. This is one of the prettiest places I have ever been. 

At the cape, the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. The two bodies of water are different colors so you can see right where they meet as the waves crash together. 

From that point, Los Angeles is only 10,479 miles away. So far from home!! But I'm coming home in only 9 days! unbelievable. 

sheep show & a plethora of other animals

this was more than a week ago. . . BUT guess what!?!

there was the sheep show at the Agrodome in Rotorua!

 In New Zealand, the population of sheep exceeds the population of people.

We were shown 19 different types of sheep, and watched a sheep get sheared. Didn’t look too comfortable.

ouch!

then stacey sheared me. . .

grab the sheep by the horns!

Afterwards was the best part. . . the animal nursery! I held a baby lamb, which has been a lifelong dream. I also held a rabbit, a duck, and a turkey. Honest to goodness, I was in heaven.

Then there was a tour of the farm in which we drove around on a giant tractor. I got to feed a llama, an alpaca, an emu, and some more sheep J I am a farm fan.

olive trees!