What's new? Part 1

Where should I begin? The last month or so has been a bit of a whirlwind for the three of us. To say that have changed a bit around here is a bit of an understatement. There have been trips back to New Zealand, graduations, sudden moves across the prefecture, new jobs and kindergarten all within the last four or five weeks.

Why don't we start with our trip back to Aotearoa? This time around it was only Joshie and I heading to the Southern Hemisphere as Kanako had to jet off to Sweden to attend a conference. I must say Joshie travelled really well, so well in fact that his grumpy old Dad actually managed to get a little sleep on the plane. That is, until we were descending into Christchurch when he decided to suddenly regurgitate his breakfast all over himself and Dad. A word of advice, greasy bacon, sloppy, cheesy omelets, two year olds and air travel don't mix.

The rest of the trip went much better however. After a couple of days chilling out at Nana and Poppa's we headed down to Wellington to see Judith and Dan. The last time I had seen them both they weren't yet married and Joshie was but a twinkle in his Dad's eye. Auntie Judith and Joshie got on like a house on fire. Generally Joshie's pretty shy around strangers and even with adults he knows he isn't overly friendly, but after a day together he was asking Jude to hold hands and carry him, a privilege usually only reserved for Kanako and I. Despite the changeable weather Wellington was brill and I can see why Jude and Dan like it so much and why Peter Jackson won't leave it for Hollywood (by the way, we saw his house).

The rest of the time we spent back in Hamilton doing some hard-core shopping (for kids books and toys) and catching up with everyone. The whole Northern-Southern hemisphere thing worked well for us too. While Mum was chilling out in an Ice Bar in Stockholm Joshie got in lots of paddling pool time at Nana and Poppa's and with his cousin Julie. Juliet Elizabeth is definitely one of Joshie's favourite people even if she is a "bit" bossy at times:-) and the two of them had great fun tearing round various locales in the greater Waikato creating mayhem. I also got to catch up with my mates Roger and Troy too and my little/big bro' Kevin.

As always, one of the best things about being back was the scoffing. I don't know what it is but food just seems to taste better in New Zealand. The lamb, the cheese, the veggies. All of it. The tastes and varieties of food are also so different to back here in Japan too. Oddly enough, I put on a kilo or two while I was back thanks to monster size (i.e. normal Kiwi servings) portions of Hell pizza, BBQ lamb, Mexican and Malaysian to name but a few. We also stocked up on some necessities too for the return home.

This time we were also home for Mum's birthday (March 9th) which was really nice. I have missed out on countless birthdays,Easters and Christmases since I have been away which is one of my few regrets about my whole time in Japan. Next time we will definitely have to try and get the whole clan together in the same place at the same time for once.

So, all in all, a fantastic trip back to Aotearoa. and hopefully one we will be able to repeat in the not too distant future.

To see lotsa lovely photos of our trip click this link:

New Zealand Trip photos