A photo!

Well, Paul is at work tonight and I'm feeling a bit bored so I was looking through some photos and thought I'd blog this sweet one of Gracie with 2 of her friends Cayden and Keira from my coffee group. Aren't they just adorable! 

This weekend....

I have nothing to blog about that I can think about so I thought I'd keep everyone happy by posting what we've been up to!

This weekend Gracie was unwell so we spent time to chill out at home and watch the dvd 'In the night garden' a lot!!!

We made it out on Saturday afternoon- to starbucks! Gracie had a great time sitting in the toy box and walking up down the place!

And today I went out to buy Gracie her first pair of shoes. Gracie thought it was great to have some lady measure her feet and sat very still. However, her patience ran short as we tried about 3 different pairs on, and I tried to make my mind up which ones looked best and supported her feet the most-we came away with the pinkest shoes in the shop!!!! When we got home, Grandma and Grandpa were on skype so Gracie spent about 20 minutes walking up and down in her new shoes showing off her walking skills-what a big girl!!!

Gracie taking her dolly for a walk...

Deer Feeding!

We're leaving New Zealand...

Well this one has been on the cards for quite a while, but we wanted to wait until it was public knowledge at St Paul's before we posted it on here. 

We're going to be leaving New Zealand this May. We're really gutted to be leaving such great friends, an amazing country, and a brilliant church, but feel that it is the right decision and know that God has something great for our next move. 

As yet, we've got no idea where we'll be heading next, but we're seeking God and pushing doors. We'll keep you posted!  

Holiday in the South Island

Well we'll do this in a couple of posts, but we've just come home from 10 days in the South Island and had an amazing time (it was very last minute which added to the excitement) We spent a few days in Christchurch staying with our friends Dan & Emma before heading off on a road trip to Queenstown (Which is a flipping long way away!). I hope you enjoy the update!

We got some ridiculously cheap flights which was awesome - here is Gracie boarding the plane! 

Gracie watching the world go by!

Daddy and Gracie catching up on some reading!

Christchurch...

Christchurch is a lovely city - It's very much like an English town, and on our first day, the weather certainly felt like it... here is Laura by the river! Beautiful.... 

Outside Christchurch Cathedral, which looks remarkably like St Paul's from the outside (minus the tower). Believe me when I say it looks nothing like St Paul's on the inside!!! 

We took a trip on the Gondola to the top of the Port Hills; It was Gracie's first trip on a Gondola (Cable Car) and she loved it. From the top there are amazing views of the Canterbury plains and out to the mountains, although sadly we didn't have classic Canterbury weather, and couldn't really see anything!!!

My beautiful girls! 

We also visited a lovely resort called Hamner Springs... We spent some time in the hot pools, which aparently have amazing views of mountains when it's not raining!!! When the weather cleared, we hired a 4 wheel bike, and took Gracie for a spin!

We took Gracie for some fun at Lollipops - she LOVED it!

A Smashing time with Dan & Emma

OK, True Story... Gracie learnt to walk while we were staying with Dan & Emma. It was very exciting indeed, until Gracie had a little accident! She had taken about 15 steps on her own around the lounge, she lost her balance and literally smashed head first through their lounge window!!! The window was knackered and Gracie came away with the tiniest of cuts! Very lucky indeed!

Lake Tekapo

So the drive from Christchurch to Queenstown took us about 8 hours including 2 short stops! It's really a huge drive. On the way though we passed Lake Tekapo which is absolutely stunning - the water is a bright milky blue, and really has to be seen to be believed. There is also a church which sits in prime position with views of the lake through a window over the altar - very cool! 

Laura and our rental car!

Mummy and Gracie glad to be out of the car!

The view through the window over the altar - really stunning!

"It's a great view from up here daddy"

Gracie taking it all in!

Gracie practising her walking by the lake!

Queenstown Gondola & Luge

One of the big attractions in Queenstown is the Gondola, which takes you up to the Luge. We spent the morning up there which was lots of fun. 

A view from the top of the Gondola

And another one.

Mummy and Gracie looking very 'special' in their helmets! 

Daddy and Gracie on the Luge

The 3 of us on the Chairlift to the top of the Luge.

The view of The Remarkables was simply stunning! 

Deer Park...

While we were in Queenstown we were lucky enough to stay at one of our friends parents house (Thanks Ali) Their house backs on to Deer Park, which you can drive around (for $20) and hand feed the animals there. From the top of the hill you get stunning panoramic views of Queenstown and The Remarkables. 

Gracie and Laura feeding the piglet, being watched by a miniature pony! 

Trying to get Gracie to sit on the pony! 

Some very friendly Llamas

A very unfriendly goat! I seriously thought it was the devil as it tried to jump through the car window!

A Japanese prison (A film set from some Disney film in the 90's) and the Remarkables in the background!

An amazing deer. 

Trying to make friends...

Making friends with Bambi!

Milford Sound...

Well, I (Paul) had a very special treat and flew to Milford Sound from Queenstown (It's a good 5 hour journey each way otherwise!) Milford Sound (Which is actually a Fjord) is arguably one of the most beautiful sights in New Zealand, and certainly iconic both here and abroad. It was a magical morning for me! 

Early morning cloud gathering on the peaks of the mountains.

Our tiny 11 seater plane! 

The approach into Milford Sound; A blanket of thick cloud covering the land below.

Our plane! 

The Sound; Stunning

Me on the boat cruise through the Fjord - we went all the way out to the open sea on a 2 hour long cruise. 

The view from the mouth of the Fjord.

And another one. 

A mahussive waterfall. Can't remember it's name! 

The amazing Mitre peak on the left rises 1.3km out of the sea - really amazing! Sadly my photos don't really do this place justice! 

Jetboating

Another Queenstown must is Jetboating; We couldn't both go on a trip because of Gracie, so Laura went out on the Jetboat and had a whale of a time! They went up the lake at 80kmph before heading up the Shotover river - lots of fun indeed! Annoyingly the camera was having some issues, so I wasn't really able to get any good photos of her in the boat. Here is the boat arriving back at the end of the trip though!