New Zealand - Post 3

 Wednesday was my birthday, so we decided a zoo trip with the lemur encounter was definitely needed.  We also visited a kiwi sanctuary and got to see a few kiwis, despite the VERY loud tourists (not us).  Kiwis are extremely timid and go hid at the slightest bit of noise so we spent the entire time moving rooms to avoid the loud people, who were not very happy that they didn't get to see any kiwis.

Ducks were everywhere at the zoo and at the kiwi place.  And lots of little ducklings.

 Ben had to catch one, and the kids were mortified that he was picking them up.

 Until he let them hold one.  haha!

The Kias were so entertaining!  They are extremely smart, and have to be watched closely so they don't escape.

My birthday present from Mom was the lemur encounter.  It was so cool!  We got to feed them, and they climbed all over us.  They are super soft, and their fingers feel like squishy pads.

And that wasn't the end of my pictures, but I must need to upload them from icloud still, so I'll finish Wednesday later.

New Zealand - Post 2

 On Tuesday we all decided we needed a break from real life, so we piled into the cars and drove to Tauranga to climb Mt. Manganui.

Seth was pretty excited to find this starfish, and after all of the adults looked at it and realized it was dead, we told him to go put it down so it could go back to its home.  Yuck.

 I remember coming to this beach when we visited last, and I had to hike the Mt while all of my siblings and cousins went and played in the pool.  As a kid, I wasn't super happy about it, but the view was spectacular so I was excited to be able to hike it again.  I had to get a pic of Mom and Auntie Anne coming back from their trek to the potties.

 The seagulls in New Zealand are prettier than they are here, but no less annoying.

 They quickly discovered that we were eating lunch.

 Uncle John indulged them.

 Just starting the hike up.

 It doesn't look too hard to climb, right?  Yeah.  The steep switchbacks are a killer.

 The views all along the trail were amazing.  It probably took longer than it should have because I had to stop hiking to take in the beauty of it all.

We found some Tuis in a grove of trees.  They have the prettiest calls I've ever heard.  

View from the top.  If I were to move to New Zealand, this is the city I would move to.

New Zealand - post 1

So off Mom and I went to New Zealand.  We flew early afternoon to LA, and then had a long layover before boarding our flight to New Zealand.  I took this pic to show that our flight was almost the last one to leave that night.  We had a long time to rest and eat, and rest some more.

 Mom upgraded our seats to business select, and it was so awesome.

 Our bag of gifts from the airline.

 We had our own little pods that reclined.  I slept pretty much all night, and woke up with just enough time to freshen up and eat breakfast.

 Love this entrance to the Auckland airport.

 It took us awhile to get on the road, due to going through customs and some heavy traffic my Uncle John hit on the way to get us, but once we were, we headed straight to Nana's care home.  Honestly, we don't know how we made it to see her.  Everyone expected that she would be gone by the time we got there, but amazingly she lived not only long enough for us to see her and say goodbye, but we then spent four more days waiting and watching.

 I'm not going to lie, it was difficult to see her like this.  The last time I had seen her was when she came to visit us when Natalie was about 2, and she was a bit forgetful, but not so much that she had forgotten who we were.  Although, this was probably easier than if I had watched her forget me.  At least I could still pretend that she knew me and recognized my voice.  We had some pretty sweet moments with her, and did a lot of reminiscing about Nana and other family members who we were sure were waiting on the other side for her.  But it was also a very difficult four days.  After day two I decided I had hit my max (which was ridiculous considering how long my aunt had been there dealing with everything), and I tapped out and went back to my cousin's house to sleep and try to recoup.

 The place Nana was at had the most beautiful grounds, and some of the loveliest caregivers.  I was happy that she had been in such good hands for the years she was there.

 Auntie Anne and Mom.  We ate lunch one day and then decided we needed to get out of the care home so we took a walk.  I had a really hard time being at the care home, and I couldn't really figure out why, but have recently been reading about what is being called Empaths.  Basically, it's people who feel everything going on around them, to an extreme.  And it's definitely part of my personality.  It made being there very emotionally draining, and at times I felt physically ill.

 When I got back to my cousin's house I took a good nap, and then went on a good walk with Tom's daughter Lily.  She is just a bit younger than Madelyn, and we had the best time together.

 New Zealand vegetation is awesome.  It's a mix of native plants, and plants that were brought over with settlers from England.  So it partly feels tropical and partly feels like home.

 On Saturday we got a call from Mom (Auntie Anne had come home to shower and sleep) that Nana had passed.  I had a very weird mixture of emotions ranging from sadness to relief.  And then we spent the next two days planning her funeral.  She wasn't embalmed so time was not on our side, but it was so neat to spend those two days with family remembering her and planning out everything.  One of my cousins from Australia flew in, and we all participated somehow in the funeral.  I helped my aunt and mom pick out her casket, and then Auntie Anne, Uncle John, Mom and I went to see her one last time once she was in it.  It was very healing and because she wasn't embalmed and we chose to not do makeup, she looked very much like herself.

 During the funeral Auntie Anne and my cousin Ben spoke, my cousin Tom accompanied (on guitar) my mom and me in singing one of Nana's favorite songs, Mom gave the eulogy, and I put together a slideshow of pictures from Nana's life to show at the very end.  The whole thing was beautiful.

 I love this temple.  I've never been inside, but it sits on a hill, and is surrounded by homes.  Templeview is also where my mom grew up, and even though we only visited twice when I was young, I always felt like it was part of me.

 After the burial (which will need to have it's own post because I don't have the pictures yet) we all went out to dinner.  This is Tom, Seth, Kerri, and Lily.  I love them so!  It's hard to have family so far away because you just never know how long it will be before you get to see them again.

One last look at Nana's burial site as we drove by.

When my Grandpa Tom died, Nana bought the plot next to him, for $25!  The man helping us at the funeral home couldn't believe how little she had paid, and that she had had the foresight to buy it then.  She also had paid for most of the funeral cost, and had written down some of the songs she wanted to be sung, which was obviously years before Alzheimer's stole her memory.

 This was such a hard thing to go through, but I'm so grateful that I had the chance to be there, to say goodbye, and to plan and attend her funeral.  I miss her so, and while I am still somewhat grieving her loss, I'm so thankful that she is free of her earthly body.  Alzheimer's is a cruel disease that stole her from us long before she died.