Pumpkin Time

We went with my parents, brother & his family to the Black Island Farms Harvest in Syracuse. It was a perfect evening.

6 little pumpkins sitting in a row...



They even sold fresh produce.



Corn...



Corn...and corny grandparents!



The kids liked the choo-choo.



ZoZo even got to go. She rode with her cousin.



My bro & his kiddos.



ZoZo getting a ride on Pops.



Mr. Boy loves his G.G.



I'll admit it- the slide scared me the first time I went down with Zo. I didn't think I was going to be able to stop. Mr. Boy loved it and kept recruiting people to go down with him.



Time for the tractor ride & picking pumpkins.







Mel had delicious chili & rolls waiting for us at their house. It was a fun and exhausting night. Thanks fam!

Friend Friday- Sandi Munroe

A while back I said I was going to start "Friend-Fridays," dedicating a post to someone who has influenced my life for the good. Well, here it is...

Sandi has been blessed with so many talents. She is creative, ambitious, caring, smart, adventurous, good at anything she puts her mind to, thoughtful, open-minded, beautiful, and the list goes on.

I met Sandi when I was serving a LDS church mission in Tempe, Arizona. She helped us out and gave us rides to places and we became great friends. Our friendship has grown even more over the years. She lives in New York and is always up to something fun. This girl doesn't know how to be lazy! I've visited her a couple times in New York & she's been to Utah. I laugh so hard when we're together.

She is super multi-cultural. By that, I mean, she has an appreciation for different cultures. People of all races & backgrounds gravitate towards her because she truly cares & wants to get to know people. She is probably the only Caucasian that lives within 10 blocks of her apartment. She teaches & tutors children and they adore her. She goes the extra mile and gets to know the families of those she lives by & works with on a personal basis.

Sandi has shared her creativity with us on many occasions. She typed up a cookbook for HeRoos and I when we got married with her favorite recipes & we use it all the time. She also made Max an adorable quilt that we treasure. If you want to be inspired by this truly amazing person, you can peek in on her blog http://www.nymanzanita.blogspot.com/

p.s. Since my pictures are so disorganized, I "borrowed" a Sandi's picture from her blog. Thanks Sandi!

New Zealand

For the last 4 days of our trip, we stayed in Waitomo, New Zealand.

HeRoos learned to drive on the opposite side of the road. There were only a couple times my heart skipped a beat. He did really well and it was definitely worth renting a GPS to help us find our way around.



I had no idea how amazing New Zealand was! Every where we went, we were surrounded by beauty. It was the end of their winter time so things were cold & rainy but still breathtaking. We enjoyed the slow place of the country.





We stayed at the Somersal Bed & Breakfast. These were our hosts, Jenny & John. We had such a nice time visiting with them. They were so kind and gracious, we felt like we were staying with relatives.



This is Jenny & her sister who was visiting from Auckland.



The next few pictures are taken of the acres of land at the Bed & Breakfast.













We drove to Hell's Gate & it sure smelled like it ! :) I soaked in a mineral bath & had a massage & mud facial while HeRoos chose to look at the geothermal springs & erupting geysers. He doesn't know what he is missing.



This was the drive on the way home. We stopped at a cafe for lunch.










The Latter-Day Saint Temple in Hamilton.







This day was probably the highlight of our trip. We went on a hike in the rainforest and then abseiling in caves.









We chose the Haggas Honking Holes Adventure. We had no idea what we were in for. It was strenuous-we had to climb, crawl, and repel with water sloshing in our faces.





The girl in this picture is looking at "glow worms." It really isn't a worm. It's a larvae that glows because of the poop inside of it. Once it turns into a fly, it lives long enough to reproduce and then it dies. When we turned off our head lamps we could see them glowing all around the cave.



That's me- we had SO much fun!


HeRoos & I getting drenched. There were 2 guides and two other people in the adventure. One of the guides has worked there for 8 years and he had never seen so much rain in the cave. It was moving swiftly all around us, making it difficult to walk & get around.



The mud is supposed to be good for our skin so we gave each other facials.



Our guides were a hoot. They kept us laughing but we also felt completely safe under their supervision.





We were exhausted but it was worth it.

Someday we want to take our kids back to New Zealand and explore even more of the country. New Zealand is now one of my very favorite places.

Kuranda Train & Skyrail

We went on a train ride to a rain forest town, Kuranda. We got to hold a koala & feed the kangaroos. I can't believe how much koalas sleep-up to 19 hours a day. Someday I want to be a koala. :)


























This lady makes art with recycled copper out of old microwave ovens. I bought a turtle to put on our Christmas tree.



Rick made friends with an anorexic red head...



while I chatted with a miner.



Skyrail from Kuranda to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park.





We learned about the Tjapukai Aborigini culture. They taught us how to dance, throw bumerangs & spears & prepare food, play the didgeridoo.



Rick was really good with the bumerang & spears.





It was interesting because on the train ride, we learned all about the sacrifices the settlers and families made for their families in the rainforest. While at the Aboriginal Park, we learned how they, the white people, led to the destruction of the Tjapukai culture. We left with something to think about.