Clothes make the man

Love is real , real is love
Love is feeling , feeling love
Love is wanting to be loved

Love is touch, touch is love
Love is reaching, reaching love
Love is asking to be loved

Love is you
You and me
Love is knowing
we can be

John Lennon wrote this for she who will not be mentioned on our family blog. Imagine what he would have written had he been looking at my new tie purchased here in Wellington as opposed to she who will not be mentioned.

Drake celebrates his tenth

First Grandma, then Alden, now it's Drake's turn to celebrate being on planet earth. For his magical day, Drake had several requests:

1. Home made pizza for dinner
2. Unlimited screen time on the computer (one day only)
3. Chocolate Cake
4. He gets to stay up unit 10:10pm

His cake read: "Runescape Rules".
Pictured here is Drake enjoying some of his birthday wishes.

No Soup For YOU

Boys night in the Ducharme household. MoneyPenny off hobnobbing with colleagues stateside, the fastfood trio opted for "Soup Nite". The boys helped prepare seven different soups for "Tea" with the hope that they might like at least one for future reference. Drake loved the Chicken Curry, Marc was torn between the Pumpkin-Coconut Cream and the Tomato-Roast Capsicum. Alden, being the discerning taste-bud, gave the obligatory "thumbs-down" to all soups concerned. No worries there as that meant more soup for the other two! In case you are wondering, yes it was quite difficult emptying the pre-made soups from their cartons into the pans for heating. Let me tell you, there was heat in the kitchen last night!

Happy Birthday Alden!

Hard to believe that the "baby boy" is eight years old...till his stubborn trait rears its ugly head. Anyway, the family tradition, breakfast and gifts in bed to start the day! Alden requested pancakes (that's the dinner request too) and a huge glass of water. After that sumptuous feast, Alden ripped open his gifts from family members. His brother gave him a pair of swords (made of some plastic/foam variation). What else would an eight year old boy want?

Helicopter Rides

Birthdays galore these days. Drake turns 10 on the 7th of May, Alden 8 on the 30th of April and Grandma celebrated her birthday on the 14th of April. To celebrate, Grandma bought tickets for the family to take a helicopter ride over the city of Wellington. The trip included a landing along the coast to see a seal colony. Marc quickly realized that someone had to stay behind, drink coffee and read one of the dailies while others dallied in the air, and volunteered to do just that. No complaints. The four rough riders found the helicopter ride absolutely exhilarating while Marc found the newspapers fascinating and somewhat safer too! That's Grandma seated upfront in the envious position of "shotgun".

Luge Running

Following our voyage through the Sound, we drove to Queenstown for our eventual flight back home to Wellington. While in the QT, the boys really wanted to ride the local Gondola up to heights unknown. Everyone except your lovely narrator enjoyed the ride, the views and the subsequent Luge rides that were available at the summit. After all, why stop at the summit? Why not terrorize the height impaired with a swinging chairlift to some godforsaken place just to ride a luge back down to the lookout tower? Alden rode the chairlift solo and was definitely the smallest luge rider out there. He did it three times! His father courageously stayed at the summit taking pictures, this after nearly wetting his armor during the gondola ride. Kudos all 'round.

How does Fjord translate?

According to our resident Ishmael of the good ship "Lady of the Sound", there is no direct translation for fjord in our good king's dialect so when it came time to describe this glacial gem, the term "sound" was inserted. Interesting eh? Mark that piece of minutia right next to your collection of misc for crossword puzzles. Anyway, we took a boat ride through the infamous Milford Sound. Waterfalls, Fault Lines, swimming penguins. The usual suspects. What a country. Check out Penny! A priceless moment of reflection and solitude. Yeah/

Southern Alps versus Nintendo

Leaving the kilts and university setting of Dunedin behind, we set our sights on the town of Te Anau. The drives to Te Anau and then subsequently from there were just spectacular. The three adults lost their vernacular powers of articulate speech, settling for guttural spasms of "ooh", " ah" , and the ultimate kid nightmare, "honey, stop the car". Naturally, we encouraged our boys to appreciate the sites. Alas, their hand held Nintendo devices were more esthetically pleasing to their eyes.

Penny Farthing!

Aside from its yellow eyed penguins, the town of Amaru is proud of its Edwardian heritage. Here our discerning camera captured a nerd alert at the Amaru visitor center.

Where's Veruca Salt? Oompa Loompas?

Dunedin is home to New Zealand's big chocolate company, "Cadbury World". Sure, stores sell Snickers and Mars Bars etc but the big bars here are made by Cadbury and Company. The boys played the part of Charlie Bucket, looking wide-eyed and grinning at all of the sweets, including, yes, a large chocolate waterfall. No kidding! The chocolate pouring forth from said cataract is fortunately not used in the making of the bars. It's just for show. During the tour, the boys received several samples. Grandma eyed her winnings with ravenous eyes but her dairy policing son put her sampling sweet tooth on "shun".

Yellow Eyed Penguins

On route to the Scottish city of Dunedin, we stopped off at Amoru to see the infamous yellow eyed penguins. Quite a site. They only come out of the water post 3pm. After that hour, tourists are not allowed on the beach, as their presence scares the little guys into hiding. Enclosed is a picture of Penny and Alden from the viewing platform. Windy day. Not a good one for hair stylists for sure.

Long Walk Forever

Term break for the boys. That translates into a two week school vacation. The clan headed for a tour of the South Island. We met formidable weather in the guise of dodgy precipitation. Odd to head south and find colder weather. One early morning "tramp" in the town of Dunedin found us hiking up the Worlds Steepest Street. The three boys and grandma earned a certificate for their efforts. Look at Grandma. C'mon. Just a few more steps...

Happy Birthday Grandma!

How lucky for us to have the opportunity to celebrate Grandma's birthday! A little vino, her requested meal of steak, potatoes and greens, presents, cake and no ice cream, things were really popping. Why, we even had someone (neighbor's child) throw up. Quite authentic if you ask me.

Professional Basketball in Wellington

Last Sunday the family cheered on the first place Century City Saints, Wellington's professional basketball team. Grandma turned out to be the most loyal fan amongst us, commenting on each possession and worried throughout about the final outcome. Though the caliber of play was not on par with the acrobatic athleticism found in America's NBA, there was enough solid play to keep everyone quite happy, particularly at $5 per ticket. We definitely plan on attending more games.

Sport

Yes, that's what they call it here, simply: sport. It is quite common to hear a teacher or parent say, "the kids have "sport" today". Drake and Alden's school registered for a soccer jamboree. There seemed to be some 30 odd schools represented. As the matches took place during school hours, the participating numbers were impressive. Marc was thrilled to learn that BOTH boys signed up to play. As such, he volunteered to oversee things as a parent supervisor, NZ word, not his. Marc knows baseball. Marc knows basketball. The sum total of what Marc knows about soccer can be tatooed on the back of a flea. Repercussions? Match time. Marc was informed that "supervising" translated here means "coaching". Oh. The team won 2, lost 2 and tied one. More importantly, all three boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves, like Marc, this was Drake's first soccer experience. Alden got in some celebratory chest bumping with a teammate while Drake had a number of touches (yes, he kicked the ball) and even had one assist. Grand.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

While Penny interviewed middle level folk, the boys hit the local science museum. Pictured here is Alden standing in the tornado tube. Later on we played glow in the dark mini golf. That got old after nine holes. I was secretly relieved when the boys fought at holed 9 and I had to take their clubs and call it a match. Enclosed is another picture from the aforementioned Antarctica Museum with Drake doing his best parody of Masaccio's Tribute Money. Yeah. Something along those lines.

Tai-ing one on

Tired of peanut butter and pizza, the boys were agreeable to a try some Asian cuisine. BONUS! Marc had thought that his first gluten free beer in New Zealand (found at the Twisted Hop in Christchurch) would be the dining highlight. Alas, watching his boys eat something spiced with vegetables was worth every penny, 'cepting of course the one pictured with Alden.

Rock n' Roll Stars

Having done the Tranzalpine to arrive at Greymouth, we opted to rent a vehicle and drive through Arthur's Pass on route back to Christchurch. Some pretty cool scenery as you might imagine. Some of the locals in Greymouth recommended that we stop at give ourselves a bit of tramping (hiking) toward the local version of Monument Valley. Though John Wayne did not ride by searching for Natalie, we saw our share of buttes and spires to justify the hike. Drake was particularly interested in doing more of a vertical climb than both his father and the instructed trail suggested. Well, Drake's sense of adventure won out. Marc, sensing that soiled trousers were worth impressing his son, commenced the climb. Drake scrambled up easily leaving Marc to question his own route, sanity and safety. Enclosed is a photograph Alden took of his brother's shoes. Not bad stuff from the guy!

I-HOP in Graymouth

The Tranzalpine dropped us off at Graymouth. The big highlight for the family was a walk in Paparoa National Park to see the famous Pancake Rocks. Here's the science of it all as I understand it: They were formed 30 million years ago from tiny pieces of dead marine life which had landed on the seabed roughly 1.5 miles below sea level. Big time pressure from the overlying water caused the fragments to solidify in alternately laying layers of hard and limestone. In short, they look like stacks of pancakes served horizontally and vertically. Cool stuff. Enclosed is a picture of the pancake rocks with images that one might see within the rocks aka "Old Man of the Mountain". Alden, our resident pancake eater, sits on a smaller set of pancakes. Yes, he was served pancakes on this trip at least once. Not an easy task on the road.

Garbanzo Beans in Greymouth

Despite the chills and thrills found at the Antarctic Center, the breath-taking views from the Tranz-alpine and Arthur's Pass, the boys were exited mostly by the trampoline found at our Motor Lodge, that and a 100 meter Flying Fox (we call them zip lines in the states).

Cheeky Engine

More Christ-Church adventures. Aside from the Arctic Center, Christ Church is one end of the Tranzalpine Railroad. This is a four hour ride from the Canterbury Plains to the foothills of the Southern Alps as it climbs gorges and hills, known as the "Staircase". Lots of viaducts and tunnels. Views from the open viewing cars were breathtaking though tough on the hairs. Pictured here are Drake and Penny boarding the train with great anticipation. Marc holds a cup of java during a break at Arthur's Pass. Drake continues his campaign to scowl at camera lenses. Alden happily squeezes some queasy squeazy thingy (yes, taking liberties with the king's English) while riding the rails. I tried to include a view from the train.

The Grandma Tour Commences

Our family just extended by one! Much to the delight of Alden (and of course the rest of the family) grandma arrived from the States for an extended visit to Wellington. We rolled out the red carpet and gave her the royal treatment. First stop was a shopping trip at The Warehouse, New Zealand's upscale version of K-Mart (did I just write that?). Grandma may have wondered how she missed this store in her Lonely Planet Guide. Go figure. Next up was an extended stay at Pack n' Save for trip to life fantastic in groceries. Tomorrow it's a repeated offense trip to The Warehouse. We forgot something. Says the matriarch? "Everything is just so lovely. I was taking pictures before I got out of the plane." And that's BEFORE we took her to The Warehouse!

Northern Stars

Here Drake demonstrates his kinship with snow and ice. One of the few daring to wear shorts, let alone rest on the ice, Drake shows the Kiwis how it's done. Also pictured here are Penny and Alden checking out an Arctic snow shelter. Note the winter wear.

Rough Riders

s
What in the Sam Hill, you ask? The big thrill at the Antarctic Center was the Hagglund ride. Worth every penny and whiplash. The center has its own Haggland trail to give tourists a thrill ride and a sense of what it's like to ride tough in saddle at the Arctic Center. All of the bouncing seemed to encourage atmospheric offerings from Alden's bitter end. Despite the fumes, it was quite a thrill as you can see from the smiles on the faces of the boys and their mum. Drake is pointing to the water. Yes, the Haddlund swims. Alden holds a bar to refrain from flying as we speed down one of the many hills along the trail.