August and Wellington Visit

We entered our 2nd month in NZ and started to get our life in order.  Our belongings arrived from the shipping container.  So now we have our stuff which makes it feel like we are actually living here rather than just visiting.

 Sylvie started on a soccer team with some friends of friends.  Luckily one of Sylvie classmates was also on the team.  She loved it and ran around like she has played before.  It was great getting her involved in her first team sport.  And great for us to have something fun to do every Saturday morning.

And of course we had some ice cream one day after a run day or soccer.  Archie was able to join a team as well.  He really likes soccer and his long skinny legs keep him running faster than most the kids.  We just need to work on our ball skills for what he does once he gets to the ball.  He has improved since last year's play.

At the end of August we went down to Wellington to visit the cousins.  And Campbell and Nicole went to some work functions as well as an All Blacks rugby game; Nicole's first.

Cousins!

The Wellington airport has 2 huge eagle from Lord of the Rings.  And Gandolph is riding one of them.  The kids didn't remember them from our last visit but thought they were pretty cool on this visit.

 And then there is the dragon.  This is in the lobby of the airport.  The eye is motion sensitive and open and closes.  The kids were a little freaked out that it seemed alive.  We spent a little too long just staring at it!

 Greta is playing the harp for Sylvie.  She and the kids play really well together and had a lot of fun together.  We are lucky that we now get to see them more often than every couple of years.

We went for a walk thru Victoria's Park.  It was beautiful and full of native bush and birds.

 A walk along the water front.  Wellington is such a great city and reminds of of Seattle in its hilliness, water, and atmosphere.  

Top of Victoria Park with the old canon that used to be blasted every hour to make the time.

Campbell and Nicole at the game.  The All Blacks lost but it was a great game to watch and the haka was a great experience.

 We then went to Tepapa, the national museum.  It is one of our favorite places to visit.  There was a great kids interactive exhibit.  Everyone loved it.  There were puppets to make, a light show to change, and lots of crazy art to see.

It was a great weekend away and we look forward to our next visit to see the family as well as Wellington.