Home is where the heart is....

Home Sweet NZ home. It's nice to be back in the time of year where everything is blossoming and the days are getting real long. However, I was loving being at my other home in Canada for 3 weeks. Funny how no matter how old you get and how much of an adult you feel you are becoming, you only need to be back in your parents home to feel like a kid again. That is, until your 8 month old cries out 3 times a night to remind you that he is still on his "NZ home time" and you quickly remember that you have responsibilities you never had when in your parents home last time! Having said that, the kids handled the jetlag pretty well on both ends of the trip. Poor Em was pretty sick when we arrived in Canada though, with a bad cough and that didn't help her sleep much in the first few days. Unfortunately, colds and allergies plagued the whole family for most of the time in Canada, so coming back HOME to NZ was a chance to finally rest and heal up.
We did have a wonderful trip, despite the coughs etc. It was so awesome to see everyone again and watch Emily and Cameron interact with their cousins and my friends' kids. It definitely felt like the next era has begun where friendships can now form between Emily and the children she played with on our trip. I started to hear Emily's little kiwi accent from time to time too, which up till now I had been unaware of. She talked about "cahs" that you drive and wanting a glass of "watah". I will have to work a bit harder to teach her how to put the hard "Rrrs" into her words, just to keep the Canadian in her.

Some highlights of the trip: visits with family and friends of course, meeting Mom and Dad's new kitten Mickey, visiting the caribbean-like island with the Gear/Skinner family, Emily relishing a cupcake that was the size of her face, the Homecoming dinner with my girls, meeting Sally Jean at 3 days old, Mom's cooking and especially her caesar salad, and all the real hugs full of love we received. We are truly blessed with some wonderful people in our life, who always accept us back home like we have never left. Thanks to all of you who made the trip really feel like Home to us.