Happy...

Happier...

Happiest!!

Kyan was one happy baby today!!

Well, another week of pretty much the same stuff!  We won our game on Sunday 3-0, so now we have one more game to go until the playoffs.  Next weekend we travel to Christchurch and then the regular season games are over!  Pretty short season, but that's a good thing because we are playing 5 times a week and I am definitely ready for a break!  Our last game is December 20th, so we'll be done right before Christmas.

In other news, nothing else is really different with work... Mark is still working hard, and the babies are still hard work!  They are finally kind of on the same schedules, which means I can have some down time during the day while they are sleeping.  Kyan is still not crawling, but he is moving in circles and even going backwards a little bit.  Just no forward movements as of yet.  I wish there was something more exciting to report, but unfortunately not at the moment!

Well, I took the babies to the zoo today, and what an adventure that was.  First, let me start by saying, we walked to the zoo from their house, which only took about 15 minutes, but it is 50% straight uphill (and thus 50% straight downhill as well) which is quite a pain with the double stroller.  I was exhausted by the time we got to the zoo!  Not to mention, the boys really couldn't care less about the animals, they barely even looked at them!  They were more interested in looking at the other people and kids!  Plus, all the good animals were apparently in hiding today, because there were no monkeys, bears, or tigers anywhere to be found.  The best I was able to see was a llama.  Woo hoo.  But anyway, we only spent about 25 minutes there before the babies were essentially ready for a nap, so we started the hilly trek back to the house, with fussy babies in tow.  Not exactly what I would call a successful trip, I think they need to be a bit older.  Or there needs to be two of me, not sure which.

I n other news, Mark and I have set up our Christmas tree!  Now usually in the US, we wait until after Thanksgiving before we start thinking about Christmas, BUT because we don't have Thanksgiving here, we have no reason to wait!  So, the tree  is up, presents (just a few) are wrapped and under it, and  now we have nothing to do but wait!!

Well, that was a fast trip.  My parents got in to Wellington on Friday evening, and left Wellington early Tuesday morning.  We had a nice weekend here, the weather was decent, although pretty windy (which is nothing unusual).  We took a few good hikes, and we had a big adventure planned for Monday but it got canceled because the ocean was too choppy for the ferry ride.  Boo.   But we had a fun relaxing day, although it's pretty clear that my mom does not do "relaxing" very well.  Why, you ask?  She got a little bored sitting around in our house, so she managed to iron and hem all our dining room curtains... for fun!  Works for me!  I should have armed her with some paint and paintbrushes... we have some little patches that need some touching up. :) Maybe next time...

As for us, we are back to our normal routine of work, TV, soccer, and sleep!  I am taking the babies to the zoo tomorrow (if it doesn't rain, that is) so hopefully I will get some good pictures from then for you to see!  I hate blog updates without pictures, so tomorrow there should be lots, I hope.

On Thursday evening, I flew down to Christchurch to meet my parents.  They had been there a few days doing some touristy things, and I met them there late that night.  Then we woke up early on Friday and hopped on a train that took us from Christchurch up to Picton (a good 5 hour ride) where we caught the ferry.  The train ride was long, but we got some really nice pictures and the scenery was amazing!

T hen we got on the ferry, which is about a 3 hour ride from the south island to the north island .  The ride was a little bumpy, but went pretty smoothly and we made it to Wellington!  While the weather was a bit windy and cold (of course), it was nice to be back.  Today we spent a couple hours hiking outdoors, which was pretty nice! It was like we were in a rain forest (minus the rain, thankfully).  The first pictures are before the actual hike, taken on the road we drove to get there.  The next 3 pictures are during the hike, and the last one is from the train again. Click on the pictures to make them larger!

Now we're relaxing on the couch and waiting to watch the All Whites play Bahrain in the world cup qualifier tonight!  If they win, they go to the World Cup!

Click to make pictures bigger!

While I was away at Dunedin all day Sunday, Mark was busy finishing our retaining wall!  Well, almost finishing.  There are a few minor details that need to be fixed, but most of the work is done.  Now we still have to figure out what to do with the pile of dirt on our lawn...

Now the next step is to build the fence that will go behind that retaining wall (so you can't see the road anymore), but it might be a while before we get that project underway.  So much to do!  As for my weekend in Dunedin, we won our soccer game 6-0, and I managed to score a goal.  The weather was actually really nice, but it ended up being such a long day!  We left for the airport at 7:30am, and Mark picked me up from the airport at 7:30pm.  And my allergies were worse than ever so I spent most of those hours sniffling and sneezing.  Good weather is a little bittersweet for me, as the better the weather gets, the worse my allergies seem to get.

But anyway, the next project for our house... remove those massive bushes at the bottom of our house!! (And no that's not our minivan)

After just a few minor hiccups, our backyard retaining wall is halfway done!  We spent about 4-5 hours on it today, and Mark hopes to finish it by the end of the day tomorrow.  Luckily for me,  I have a soccer game in Dunedin (south island) so I will be gone ALL day long.  Which means Mark gets the whole day to himself to work on it!  Here's what we have so far...

As you can see, we made a few minor miscalculations (note how the pole on the left is just a bit shorter than the one on the right?) but nothing that can't be fairly easily fixed, so I'd say so far it's a success for our very first project.  eventually we will have to build a big fence to actually enclose our yard, but we'll put that off for a while I think.  Now, we just have to figure out what in the world we are going to do with that HUGE pile of rocks/dirt/clay that is left on our lawn!!

We have never had a yard before (since we have never had a house before) and while it is a LOT of work (seeing how we cannot even think about being able to afford a gardener), we are actually really enjoying it.  Pulling weeds isn't the most glamorous thing in the world, but it is nice to see how much nicer and cleaner we can make our yard look!  We have a lot of things planned for our backyard (depending on finances, of course), but I think they should really add to the value of our house so it will all work out in the end.  Or at least I will keep telling myself that. :)  Anyway, hopefully tomorrow or Monday I will post pictures of the finished retaining wall!  Maybe even a before and after picture, if I remembered to take a before picture, that is...

I saw this on someone else's blog, and I thought it was kind of fun, so I thought I'd post it here.  It's a list of 100 things, and the ones I underlined are the ones I have actually done!

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing- *I suppose indoor rock climbing doesn't count...?
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43.  Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50.  Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55.  Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62.  Went whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced  a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job  (from a babysitting job while in middle school for spilling soda on the floor... lame)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone- is this one for real??
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

Looks like I've done a few, but I've got a few more to go!! Although I can almost guarantee that some of these are never ever going to happen in my lifetime.  :)

Thirteen is NOT my lucky number.  Thirteen is the number of gross poopy diapers I changed today.  THIRTEEN!  Kyan was not feeling so well, and had 9 of those himself.  Ugh so gross!  At least they are still cute.  And Hugo has started pulling himself up to stand, although with that skill comes his fair share of falls, so there are a few more tears these days.  Kyan is still not crawling, but he can at least turn himself around on his belly 360 degrees.

Other than that, a pretty low key week.  Playing with babies, lots of soccer, and sitting on the couch and watching TV with Mark!  My parents get here a week from tomorrow and hopefully the weather will be good for them (it's raining at the moment).  I'll keep my fingers crossed.