one of my favorite things to do on friday is turn off the alarm clock for saturday morning. i love thinking of sleeping in the next day! 🙂

no i won’t even let her bathe in peace

these curls need a trimming! but i loooove them!

and all we want for valentines 🙂

so besides the perk of sleeping in tomorrow- chris comes home!!!! we are all ready and excited! last night i read elsie a story and she pointed to the dad in the story, so i said, ‘that’s her daddy’, and she said, ‘daddy. home.’— i believe she is ready for him too 🙂
happy friday!

another attempt for chris… i love how their personalities shine when i attempt group photos. 🙂

see chris? (he’s the barber in the house) 3 of the 4 need haircuts. bad. come home. 🙂

this was taken this morning. see that fresh just woke up look in her eyes? 🙂 while i was gone, my mom pulled out some hand me down overalls for elsie. i hadn’t put them on her but according to mom, she made her wash them 3 times and wore them constantly. she calls them "pretty pocket pants" heehee.

so today i went on a walk with the elf and i could not get my toddler KIRA out of my head. that was like 10 years ago. endless walks with kira sporting the overalls. she lived in her overalls. i need to go dig up some pics. their little bobs and little girly tendencies– so alike. totally brought me back to 1997. awwww.

and this year, kira turns THIRTEEN. i canNOT believe it.

also.. forgive me. i fed my kids frozen yogurt for dinner tonight. ha- i am such a bad mom. but they all had fruit in their portions! LOL…ok they came home and made themselves soup and frozen pizzas afterwards. then i felt guilty and made potstickers. so random. but i did get my first issue of this today:

i have flipped through this mag for so long but finally got a sub when kira was selling for school. im not kidding. i marked almost every recipe in this issue. i guess i don’t have an excuse for feeding my kids frozen yogurt for dinner anymore…:)

i tried but not very well to get some pics for chris who is missing his kiddos like crazy. –els has a soft spot for shoes, cupcakes and toothbrushes. top it off with finding nemo toothpaste- total happy camper! 🙂

i woke up fine and even got the kids to school on time! but then i came home and totally crashed. the time difference isn’t that much but i think it’s just travel in general that is catching up to me. being a tourist is tough! 🙂 and it totally sucked when i had to make my own meals today, LOL 😛 baby steps– all i had was PB&J and a quesadilla. 🙂
caleb played hooky with me today- we went to the park and starbucks and he was a giant help when i snoozed on the couch next to my chatty els. i will try again tomorrow to snap a few of the other kids…the non hooky players. 🙂

this popped in my inbox tonight and i about squealed.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! i’m so making up a reason to go get one. 🙂

a focus on chipboard layout i did for KI last week since i left our camera with Chris as he headed to Australia. i will have to drag out the old one and snap some pics for him tomorrow. it’s past midnight and i am of course, jet lagged. the kids all look taller and hair needs trimming. i believe my brother commented on elsie’s dorothy hamill haircut. 🙂 the flight was perfect, i sat next to a little ol’ scottish lady who was just so sweet. chris had wanted me to film my reunion with elsie but i am so glad i didn’t. she was outside with the boys as i pulled up.. the boys ran to me and she followed.. but stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw me. i would have paid good money to know what she was thinking at that instant. she didn’t smile.. or frown.. she just looked at me. she was hesitant when i hugged and kissed her and my eyes welled up with tears. it took her a good half hour to warm up and let me back in her circle. and then a few moments later, out of nowhere she says, ‘i missed you mommy’. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
it’s totally back to the grind tomorrow- school back in session, fridge needs to be stocked, assignments to get done… but i am SO THANKFUL THAT MY HOUSE IS CLEAN. my mom is the best. i love her so much. chris says that he’s just bummed that by the time he gets home this weekend, the traces of clean will be gone. LOL he’s so right. ha!
my new NZ friends.. you guys are amazing. i am so thankful for the time i spent in my classes. if you are local there and have never been there.. it’s definitely worth a trip out– what a great store. 🙂 and in true jamie teaching fashion, she didn’t have the camera.. if anyone has any pics, please email them to me. my sidekick assitant kira wants to see what she missed out on. 🙂
happy monday!

before heading off to teach not one, but two classes we decided to load jamie up on some caffeine at our new favorite aukland eatery, mecca café. jamie ordered a short black, and learned the hard way short is not new zealand for grande…love the “are you kidding” expression she has looking at her doll sized coffee cup.

after parting ways, I met up with rob and his good friend jonathan and we headed on a ferry over to waiheke island. fresh off my experience in wellington, I convinced the boys the best way to experience new zealand’s wine country would be on scooter! the trip got off to a rough start when rob bailed in the gravel parking lot, falling head over heels into a pile of rocks. things took a turn for the better once we hit the open road and fortunately rob’s near death experience was the only one of its kind.

we ran into a few little friends on our way along the gorgeous coastline.

then it was on to a few vineyards where rob and jonathan enjoyed tasting a few local wines.

it should be noted that for a guy that lives in los angeles, I get pretty star struck, and today was no exception when we ran into zoe bell at a local cafe. those not familiar with terentino’s last few movies won’t recognize zoe, but she’s a native new zealander who doubled for uma thurman in “kill bill” before starring in her own right as one of the most kick but heroine’s you’ll ever see in terentino’s grindhouse pic, “death proof.” we sat next to zoe and some of her friends at lunch, but I chickened out on a photo op, and by the time I got the nerve to snap a pic she was already headed back to the beach. anyway, I find it funny I leave Hollywood for a tiny enclave half way around the world and still I run into a movie star!

jamie is on her way back from her classes now! I think she was quite pleased with the results, but I’ll let her give all the details upon her return! i’m so proud of her!!!!!!

I am getting ready to teach 2 classes this afternoon while chris heads off with on an adventure with his friend, rob. When I am home, I scrap nearly everyday so I am having withdrawls. 🙂 I am excited to meet some new people who love this hobby as I much as I do.

What do Jamie and chris do while on vacation? MANY MANY photoshoots… see, kids? You’d be glad you aren’t here.. do you know how many pictures we would make you take? Heehee. We also said goodbye to Chris’ family as they headed north to the Bay of Islands for the rest of their trip. It was such an amazing adventure to be able to share with them. We are so grateful for their company.

Internet is VERY expensive at this last hotel so I may not be blogging anymore until I get home, which is Sunday. We may pop in a café and check email so Kira… don’t stop emailing. 🙂 PS- Yes, Kira… I am finally working today. 🙂

we truly made the most of our day here…such an amazing time! while waiting for our first excursion, chris snapped these of his parents. they are so adorable!

our guide was so informative…a great sense of humor and all around great guy.

love these pics of his parents!

love this carving with the city behind it. chris and i fell in love with this city.. reminds us of san fran.

and even though the day started out foggy and grey and even drizzly… it cleared up in time for our moped excursion. chris’ cousin came along and we were all just so amazed at the beauty of this place. it’s just heavenly.

tomorrow we go back to auckland via train- a whopping 12 hour train ride. wish us patience. 🙂 then on friday is my class… then one more day together then chris and i part, as i go home on sunday and he heads to australia. my babies… see you soon.. i am missing you heaps. xo

today we went from christchurch to wellington via a quaint little town called picton, first by train and then by ferry.

here are our other delightful travel companions!

we ventured outside during the ferry ride to see the sheer beauty of new zealand’s southern coastline. tomorrow we potter about wellington on mopeds! (unless it rains, in which case we’re booked for coffee and movies and lots more nothin)

yesterday, we drove from auckland to rotorua! we saw glow worms in a cave and hot springs 🙂

lovely companions 🙂

today we took a flight to christchurch and chris and i went on a mega walk and rode a gondola up a mountain. holy cow i was beat. i believe it was the most exercise these legs have had in awhile. 🙂 this is truly a lovely land.

view from the top– i believe there was some lord of the rings filming around these parts! 🙂 woohoo!

gosh i love this shot:

mom, you would have loved walking through the botanical gardens…made me think of you. i hope those rascals are being good to you! xoxox

and give her a hand.. jamie climbed a gigantic tree with chris to get these shots. 🙂

forgive the short descriptions.. it’s late and we’ve got a 5am train to catch to wellington… where chris and i are riding mopeds around town. yes, folks- she’s getting adventurous. 🙂

was a low key day.. we met up with the inlaws and visited the store im teaching at. sunset at snell’s beach from the night before
driving through to get back to auckland


chris and i were over the moooooon to see our favorite restaurant in town! we ate there many times when we were in sydney. oh how we wish they would open some by us! mmmm!

today is pretty full so we will be back with more pics later!
to our kids- enjoy your last weekend before school starts! xoxooxoxox