The month started off relatively quiet. I spent the first weekend not doing a whole lot of anything. BUT week 2 saw us heading to the boyfriends hometown for his family's yearly 'Crawfish Boil!' I look forward to this EVERY YEAR and it GETS BIGGER & BIGGER every year! This year there was more people, more crawfish & A BAND!
It was a great day, really warm with only a sprinkling of rain. My boyfriend's family is exactly like my own family. His mother treats me like her daughter, his brother's treat me like a a sister & I always feel so welcome every time we visit them.
Moving onto the following weekend I had one of the most anticipated trips of my life. Due to numerous reasons mainly involving money and time I have not been able to either take a trip back to New Zealand or see my family for 4 years.
I was really excited to see my mum and I knew she would be the one person that would make me cry when I saw her. Sure enough the tears were flowing.
I was also looking forward to seeing my sisters and meeting my little brother Nathan for the first time.
Needless to say my vacation was incredibly busy but I enjoyed every second.
Here are some highlights: hanging out with my 'little' sister Morgan (she's so grown up),
running to hug my mum at the airport, meeting my brother Nathan for the first time, watching a rugby game out on the town in Auckland with my sister Candace, her boyfriend Matthew & my dad,
going to my favorite place in the world 'Hamner Springs' with my mum, grandparents, sisters & my Uncle Rick & Aunt Marcia where we kept ourselves busy with hot pools, tons of walks & a highly entertaining 6-person tandem bike ride (we also had some great Thai food there too!)
Some other highlights were seeing my Uncle Darryl's Taxidermy displays, spending some much needed family time with my Aunt Pam, my cousin Kate (and her adorable daughter Sophie), my Aunt Lisa, Aunt Marcia & Aunt Janette, eating lunch at the Sky Tower, meeting mum's adorable baby MacKenzie (& of course the super cute Angus) AND last but certainly not least) the incredibly KIWI Fish & Chip dinner!
A really tough part of my trip was seeing the devastation that the February earthquake had had on my hometown. Words can't explain, Pictures don't do it justice. NOTHING but seeing it in person can convey the true extent of the damage.
The one thing that made me realize how proud I am of where I come from was the good old Kiwi spirit. Even though the city was a long way to go and even right now as I write this there have been another series of devastating earthquakes, the good old Kiwi spirit will continue to always shine through. The USA is now my home but as I boarded the plane to leave New Zealand I promised myself it would not be another 4 years.
And lastly to truly top off a great month I got to spend Memorial Day (May 31st) with my boyfriend. We don't get days off together so the odd-vacation day is always a bonus! I arrived back to a BEAUTIFUL day in Ohio and after a much needed (jet-lagged) nap we headed out in 90+ degree weather to play mini-golf. I don't usually enjoy mini-golf but we had a blast! We're both very competitive but my boyfriend ALWAYS wins because he's great under pressure! Me? I always start out strong and always crack under pressure at the end! We ended a great day with a roast that evening.
May has definitely been the month to beat so far this year, although June has been full of adventures which I'll be sure to let you know about soon!! In fact today I'm getting my teeth FINALLY fixed ... watch this space.
1 comment:
Cami,
You do an excellent job on the radio! You are very smooth and professional. I could listen to your voice all day!
I'm glad you got to go home. But four years is way too long to be away.
My son works in Omarama for Gavin Wills at Glide Omarama during our winters and New Zealand's summers. I spent five weeks gliding and touring the South Island with him and my daughter two years ago. We had a great time, and of course it was so beautiful!
My last day in Christchurch I had dinner with a very nice young couple. Her name was Amanda Cook. I have emailed her twice to hear how they fared through the earthquake. There has been no response. Fortunately, I have not seen their names listed in the earthquake victim list. I'm hoping they survived, but it is odd that I did not get a response.
I'm glad you found a home here in Lima, so we can all hear you on the radio! But if it were me, I would pick the South Island over Ohio without a doubt!!!
Thank you for sharing your talents with us!
David B.
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