For the month of January this is what Nathan had been doing! Pretty cool, huh?!
I was very fortunate to be able to take about a 2 week trip to Christchurch, New Zealand to see Nathan while he was there for a month to work. The National Science Foundation pays for the Air Force (Active duty and Reserve) to transport supplies, people, etc to
McMurdo Station in Antartica. So, they stage them out of Christchurch, New Zealand. They do month rotations for about 6 months. Nathan was there the month of January, which is a good part of their summer! It was an amazing trip, and a very beautiful town and country!! We loved it!
the beautiful Avon river that runs through Christchurch
This is a picture of the beautiful cathedral that is in the square right downtown Christchurch. It is definitely bitter sweet to see this picture now, because after the recent earthquake this cathedral was damaged very badly.
At the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Christchurch!!
Punting on the Avon
The town of Sumner right outside of Christchurch on the water! It was a beautiful day and there were tons of surfers!
We took a Gondola to the top of one of the hills outside of Christchurch to see the city from above. It was amazing!
Christchurch from the top of the Gondola!
We took the TranzAlpine Scenic train ride to the west coast to see the beautiful Alps and scenery! We also met another fun lady, Sandra, from the North Island!
We met some very friendly and gracious locals one day and spent the afternoon getting to know them really well. They later invited us to one of their homes for dinner one night! They own a very nice
Standardbred Breeding Farm! This was my favorite stud!
On a side note, we have actually been in contact with them and they are all ok after the earthquake!!
We toured some wineries in the Waipara Valley. One of the nicest ones that we went to and had lunch was the Pegasus Bay Winery!
We took a day trip to the peninsula harbor of Akaroa!! It was SO beautiful! The drive was only about an hour, but it was a very scenic drive! Here are a few pictures from Akaroa.
Beautiful water and scenery!!!
We took a boat ride out in the water and got to take some amazing pictures of the view from the water!
Happy New Year!!!
Getting ready to go outside and watch fireworks!
We had some great friends visit us while we were at the lake house!!!
Me and Shawna!!
Little Luke Etheredge with Elizabeth and Carley
The McFadin girls!
Look what Santa brought Carley...her own Bitty Baby!!!
Elizabeth was so excited to get Lanie!!!
Christmas Eve!
Phillips family picture
Carley, Elizabeth, and their cousin Abigail!
Elizabeth's dance class around Christmas!! It was a parent observation week and we were able to go in the class and watch them. They were so cute, and Elizabeth just LOVES her dance class!
We went to a Christmas party in my friend's neighborhood and the girls met Mr. and Mrs. Claus!!! I can't say Carley was that fond of them, but Elizabeth was totally starstruck!!!!
Elizabeth and her friend Emilie!
Zoolights 2010 at the Point Defiance Zoo!!
The lights were so beautiful, and the girls had a blast!!
Carley really liked the meerkats!
Elizabeth loved the playground!
