Best Thanksgiving Ever!

I don't think there is anyway possible to have a better Thanksgiving....
Everything good,great, grand, and wonderful that could possibly happen-actually happened.  
Reason 1: Jason experienced Thanksgiving for the very first time.  He ended up carving the turkey too.  The turkey carver is the most important job and he completed it with flying colors.  When I asked Jason what his favorite part of this new holiday was he responded:  "carving the turkey and experiencing something new"

Reason 2:  Kimmy made an announcement that I have been suspecting for quite awhile!  Baby #3 for the Henlings and niece and/or nephew #7 for me!!  

Reason 3:  Jason taught a lesson on New Zealand in my mom's 3rd grade class again. The kids asked great questions like: Is Australia in the same country as New Zealand?  Is there lava in New Zealand? and What language do you speak?

Reason 4:  Visiting the Snowflake Temple again after being married there in July.  It was super special to be in the temple again where we were married.  It reminded both of us just how blessed we are!

Reason 5:  Being in Arizona again.  We played tons of Scrabble, Sorry, and Settlers.  We hauled tons of wood for my parents, played basketball in my yard, ran in the desert, went to El Rancho, E&O's, Alfonso's, and Captain Tony's (or as Jason says Captain Crunch).  The funniest part about being back in America was how many times Jason went to Wal Mart.  He made 89 trips probably and we even stopped in Payson on the way to the airport one last time.  I think he got his fix.  

Enjoying El Rancho chips and salsa!!!

Reason 6:  Visiting Australia 
Our layovers summed up to 2 full days in Oz.  We saw the sights and want to go back again for some more fun someday.

  We love all the Bratts in America and can't wait to be back again soon.  We're grateful for all the familiar faces in Winslow and all the love and support we get from everyone.

Most of all, I miss my dang sisters.  I hope I never ever have to go through one of those goodbyes at the airport again.  Until next time Arizona, I'll keep you updated on life in Auckland.  

Arizona Visit

*We had a 13 hour layover in Sydney, Australia-seeing the Opera House in person was super neat!

The above pictures describe my Arizona trip thus far.  The pictures speak for themselves..... I love Arizona.  Aynsley's wedding was so fun and spending time in Winslow has been fantastic too.  Thanksgiving tomorrow and El Rancho a few more times I'll be good to go back to Auckland..  Thank you Arizona

Dates are Fun

Kia Ora-we've been on some cool dates lately.  We've made it a priority to go on a date once a week since getting hitched. Below highlights some of the fun things we've done recently:

For Halloween we went to a friend's party.  Turns out we were the only married people there. Note to self: do not ever go to singles ward parties when you are married-Awkward. Besides that minor note we had fun.  I pulled off a cat by simply making a headband with cat ears and borrowing the lovely cheetah shirt you see below.  Put it together with some black tights and smoky eye make up and a cat it is.  Jason got home from work super late so we had to scramble for a costume idea.  Based on the red, white, and blue striped shorts he was wearing with other American looking attire we put my camera bag around his neck and a passport holder on his chest and called him an American tourist.  Too bad we didn't have a fanny pack to spare...

Sky Tower Restaurant-I surprised Jason with an awesome date night.  I wanted to show him my appreciation with how hard he has been working at school and work, along with a celebration for the end of his semester.  We had reservations on top of the Sky Tower's revolving restaurant. The view was amazing and the menu was super fancy. We could see Rangitoto Island, the Harbour bridge, and the open ocean all from our table.  We also got free access to view the observation decks.  (For the American reader, think Space Needle or Stratosphere but taller and that is the Sky Tower) Picture below shows us waiting to get on elevator up to dinner

After work one day we went on a random date to the Auckland Museum. The museum is HUGE and actually looks like the White House!  There was an awesome orchid exhibit and of course I loved all the New Zealand cultural stuff.  Perhaps our favorite part of the museum was the war history room.  It had tons of New Zealand flags which we made a big deal of since we have an ongoing contest to count the number of flags we see here.  All I can say is Americans love their flags! We used to count 20 flags in one block back home...now if we see 20 kiwi flags per week we're thinking it's alot.  There was a memorial for all the allies in the WWI and II so appropriately we took pics next to our flags. 

here I am Loving the Scent Station in the Orchid exhibit.

poor guy, he always ends up holding my purse somehow....that weird thing behind him is a giant tiki carving

a Proud Kiwi

representing for the USA

Speaking of the USA, we'll be there in just 9 DAYS!!!! We're stoked to be back for Aynsley and Andrew's wedding along with Thanksgiving! Pumpkin Pie, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans Here I Come!

gratitude and a cornea transplant

I've always kept a journal.  I've always found it important to document and record anything notable, praiseworthy, challenging, and plain awesome.  That explains why I LOVE blogging and why I've chose to up my journal antics. I'm going to start a gratitude journal.  Simply stated, I'll take time each day to note down the things I am grateful for.  The idea is to start realizing one's blessings and become more positive, more optimistic, and grateful.  I want to start being grateful for more simple things so that I realize just how lucky {blessed} I am.
Today I chose to list my gratitude for {warm summer sunshine} when I walked outside, Sunday morning and not waking up to an alarm today, and my husband putting his arm around me at church.

What are you grateful for?

I'm also grateful for cornea transplants...   After an appointment with the eye specialist Jason heard the same news he always hears: your karotoconus is worsening and deteriorating.  This time though, the doctor assessed his condition at high risk FINALLY.  Jason's cornea transplant is finally going to happen.  We'll both nervous about the recovery process but at this point Jason's eyes have reached a stage where he has nothing to lose.  According to the specialist the transplant will occur sometime in the next 4 months.  I'll be grateful for his improved vision too!    

                   The bottom half of the picture shows what Jason sees everyday.  It's easy to see why we're so grateful he's getting a cornea transplant soon.

the Winslow shirt

So Jason has a favorite shirt.  I discovered this after sorting my pictures and noticed the shirt making an appearance  at every notable event thus far into our marriage.  No matter what the occasion-13 hour flight to New Zealand, running a half marathon, dinner date, shopping, sleeping, you name it-the Winslow shirt is surely to be there.  We bought the Winslow shirt the very last day we were in Arizona.  Maybe you have to be from Winslow to appreciate its qualities.  That's probably why I secretly laugh every time he wears it.  The shirt says Winslow, Arizona in huge letters with "take it easy and standing on the corner" written in cursive below.  I don't care who you are that is classic. 

Coming to America

I have an announcement to make:

Jason and I will be back in the great state of Arizona on November 17!  My best friend, Aynsley, is getting married and I can't miss it.  Not to mention that Thanksgiving coincides with the wedding.  We have a 12 hour layover in Sydney, Australia for our flights so we'll get to actually see Oz (slang for australia)  too.  I've known Aynsley since high school and can't imagine not being there to support her-after all she was there for me a few months ago when I got hitched. I'm not sure who's more excited about Thanksgiving, me-because aside from 4th of July it's the BEST American holiday, or Jason-because he has no clue what it's like.   Either way we're extremely blessed to be in Arizona with family and friends for the better part of November.
See you soon!  

Waitekere Half Marathon...you bet your boots

Jason and I ran a half marathon today.  As I hoped, it was a sunny and warm morning-ideal actually.

The race went well.  There were tons of runners so I had to fight my way for a spot on the course.  With all that on my mind I didn't even realize when we hit the half way mark at 6.5 miles.  Jason and I ran together for the first 6 miles but I picked up the pace on a hill and didn't see him again until the end of the race.  I ran strong and I was really happy with my time and place finished.  Jason should really be the one bragging though.  He ran his first ever road race, a half marathon none-the-less.  I'm very proud of him.  Now I'm just wondering if he might beat me next time because he'll train harder the second time around. 

So what's next? I'm running another half marathon on November 1 in Auckland and both of us will be running the "Santa Run" in December. Everyone dresses up in Santa suits and runs a race downtown...keep in mind it will be summer in December!!!

AND.....it's our 3 month anniversary!  I can't think of a better way to celebrate then to run a half marathon together...actually I can think of alot of better ways but I do love to run you know. It sounds so short...3 months?....I feel like I've been married to Jason for years. I mean that in the most positive way too. I can't imagine how much of a bust it would be to not have him in my life. I'm a lucky girl.

Top Ten Reasons To Visit New Zealand

JARS happenings

Life is good for us right now.  Post-marriage bliss we're still on cloud nine.  I think it might have to do with the fact that we did long distance for over a year.  We're coming up on a milestone here soon... the longest consecutive days we've ever been together in the same country at one time (the previous record was 3 months).  I don't really know how I ever did long distance.  I'm such a pansy now when we have to be apart.  I find it a billion times harder to say goodbye to him when he goes to work as compared to saying goodbye at an airport for months at a time.  

so here's the super normal and not really that cool update with us

1.  Jason is nearing the end of his first year at AUT studying occupational therapy.  He loves his coursework and feels that it's a good fit for him.

2. We're still training for a half marathon in just 3 weeks.  

3.  We LOVE our calling in primary.  We are team teaching the 11-12 year olds.  My favorite part about the calling is watching Jason sit in super tiny chairs during sharing time and singing time.  There's something that makes me smile when I see my husband singing along to popcorn popping in a mini chair.  priceless.

4. The weather is turning warm and before you know it summer will offiically be declared around here.  

5.  I'm still waiting patiently...kind of.... for a teaching position.  Each week I put out applications to job openings but most of the positions don't close for a few weeks so I haven't had any news. I miss teaching more than ever.   I will seriously take the first position offered to me just so I can be in a classroom asap.  

6. Bad news about my residency status... I can't apply for permanent residency for 10 more months... which means I have to continue to be an alien.  Super annoying but just part of life.

7.  My husband knows how to cook.  I think I married a bit of a Martha Stewart guy.  He loves trying new gourmet recipes and is the kind of cook that can make something amazing out of bare cupboards.  Lucky me.

8. We go on a date once a week.  This week's date is a dinner date... more on that in the next post...

Also a few thoughts on living in another country... It's getting to be super normal now.  I'm still fascinated with certain things and that will probably never go away. However, I can go places/talk to people/get on with life and feel completely normal.  I'm doing okay with the homesickness battle.  It's to the point now where I'm totally fine and don't think twice about home but one little thing can set me off. For example, I heard The Eagles on the radio signing "Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" and smiled all through the song. By the end I was in tears telling Jason how much I miss home.  I've had good advice from people who have lived far, far, far away from home and they always tell me don't let your first few years abroad be ruined by your homesickness. It's easy to loathe in self-pity but I try to remember how freaking cool it is that I'm living in the 2nd most beautiful place in the whole wide world (2nd only to Arizona).