We arrived safely in New Zealand on the 22nd, surviving the apocalypse and landing on solid ground. We were met at the airport by Lynette, Julian, Uncle Phil and Aunt Robyn. From there we made our way home to have a pretty relaxing rest of the day.
Part of that day we went hunting for our Christmas tree with brother-in-law Bart, his wife Cindy and Nieces Sasha and Erin. The photos above show us in the backyard heading out on the hunt and Leo with our very nice find.
On the 23rd Leo and I had to go shopping for each other. While at home we did all the shopping for the family, so we decided it was a good idea to get our gifts to each other in New Zealand. We went to the mall and it was a mad house. We set our limit to 90 minutes and were in and out as quickly as possible.
On Christmas Eve the day was pretty relaxed. Sister-in-law Eve, her husband Adam and Nieces Kaylee and Danielle flew in around 6:30 PM. So most of the day was spent preparing for that. Most of us went and greeted them at the airport. I went in my Santa t-shirt and hat, it was very festive and easily spotted.
In the photo above Leo and I stand next to our decorated tree, with the help of Sasha, wearing part of the Christmas pajamas that mom got us for this year. We prepped for Santa by leaving some Christmas cake, a banana and some ginger beer (is non alcoholic, like ginger ale). Then we headed off to bed for the early rise.
The next morning we were woken at 6 AM by the little nieces, mostly Sasha. Santa had come, ripped his pants on the fireplace and left ash throughout the house. He ate most of the food and washed it down with 3/4 of the bottle of ginger beer. Everyone was excited and we started opening the gifts at 6:30. About an hour in to gifts we stopped to have breakfast, bacon and eggs. Then continued for another 90 minutes. It was a marathon session!
After the presents were opened we relaxed while the little ones played with their new toys. Leo and I headed out for a run around mid day. Below is the elevation map of what most of our runs look like. A little more difficult then the south shore of Long Island.
Below is a very brief sequence of how the day went. Top - Dishing out the individual presents to everyone. Remember it took 2.5 hours. Middle - Our afternoon feast, baked ham with some salads and sides. Then we had some grilled ham sandwiches for dinner. Bottom - Even the adults got out to play with their new toys, Eli Manning football jersey and a vortex football.
All in all it was a long and pretty exhausting Christmas Day, but a lot of fun. It is a bit different having Christmas in the Summer, something that takes a lot to get used to.
The day following Christmas is called Boxing Day and it refers to an old tradition where tradesmen and craftsmen would receive gifts from their superiors. That tradition has turned into massive sales at all the shops, something that we were sure to stay away from. We got a visit from Adam's parents for a left over ham lunch that was accompanied by pasta salads and sides. We continued to relax for much of the afternoon. Adam and Eveline plus the girls went to a family friend's house for dinner while Leonora, Julian, Lynette and myself went to dinner with Uncle Norman and Aunt Margaret who were over visiting from Australia. We went to a restaurant called the Bar and Baa, it had a mix of kiwi cuisine with a touch of Greek. The meal was delicious and we all left full and satisfied.
That brings me up to today the 27th, where there was a few chores to be done around the farm. We got up, had our brekkie, went off on our run and when we returned got down to the chores. We needed to round up all the sheep into the barn area and drench them. Drenching is something that is done to sheep every 3 months to help keep them healthy and bug free.
Here is the gang rounding them up.
Kaylee feeding them the drench.
and me giving 2 thumbs up for a job well done.
After the sheep are drenched they are released back into a small grazing area so they can be looked after for a day or two. This is to make sure that none of them fall ill from the drenching and they are nice and healthy.
Well I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and that all is well with your families. Check back for more updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment