#anettingnewzealandadventure: The Nettings Do NZ

This week started off on a high note with Caleb having Monday off after his time away in Perth! We had really nice little family day, going out for a walk, brunch and some yummy gelato. On Wednesday we had Mary over for dinner and to watch the Bachelorette Australia, Caleb’s guilty little pleasure! Wednesday night was a rough one for Kensley, she was up 3 times, which was also rough on me! And then we realized, SURPRISE! Kensley had her first little cute tooth (front bottom right). I was feeling super off on Thursday, attributing it to waking with Kensley and Caleb attributing it to the extra glass of wine I had with Mary (that did NOT go over well with me). Turns out I was starting some weird virus which resulted in 3 days of a fever in the 40’s and feeling like I was hit by a bus. I would lie on the floor or in our bed and Kensley would play around me with her toys or various things I put in the bed from our room because I didn’t feel I could make it downstairs to get her toys; she was such a good girl! I’ve never been so thankful for Advil and Tylenol (well the NZ equivalents). Caleb has Friday afternoons off for research, so thankfully, he was able to be home to help with Kensley.

Caleb let me stay in bed Saturday morning and he got Kensley sorted. He then scooted out to a new kayaking club he joined where he will be able to access their kayaks and practice his new skills. So perhaps he won’t have to buy a kayak! He still hasn’t heard about a place in The Coast to Coast Race but we are hopeful! While he was gone, Kensley and I were startled by an intermittent chaos in the walls and I suspected some was coming from a closet in Kensley’s room as well! I fought back by hitting the walls and the closet door with a package of diapers. I swear, small animals love to taunt me. And I was right! Turns out, some starlings (little brown birds) nested in our walls and one somehow got into the hot water closet which is in Kensley’s room. We’ve literally opened that door once when we moved in to see what was in there and never again – well I guess Saturday was the second time! While Caleb dealt with the bird, I was running around downstairs with Kensley yelling “let me get the baby out of the house!”, as if it was a monster that was going to attack us. Anyways, he DIDN’T wait for us to leave/hide/protect ourselves, but thankfully, Mr. Birdy flew straight out the window! The chaos in the walls continued into the evening and I had Caleb convinced that they were pecking one of our pot lights out. Bless him, he was up there with duct tape to secure the light so the birds couldn’t get out (as I was imagining)! Well, turns out, that light was just installed on a bit of an angle, which I hadn’t noticed before. It sounds like they’ve left now and hopefully for good! By Saturday afternoon, I remained afebrile and was feeling much better, so Caleb, Kensley and I, walked to the local mall for fresh air and to pick up some things for our upcoming road trip with Poppa!

On Sunday, we had booked Sarah (pre fever) to watch Kensley so we could go on a 35k morning ride in the Port Hills. The Port Hills are the remnants of an old volcano to the south of Christchurch and they offer great views of the city and the coastline. I was feeling better and have missed multiple runs the past two weeks due to my cold and then this fever, so, I thought why the heck not get some exercise and fresh air! We were quite the sight on the ride with the hardcore cyclists; Caleb on his mountain bike and me on his road bike that had cages on the pedals. In fast, at one point on the ride, my bike seat fell off (like a bolt snapped)! Talk about glamorous. We were literally in the middle of nowhere, on a closed road due to previous earthquake damage, and 20k from home. So Caleb’s plan was to reattach my seat with parts from his seat and he was going to ride back without a seat (seriously, what would I do without him!) but my superman, was able to figure it all out so we both had a seat to ride back on! We got home (a bit late) to a happy Kensley and had to hurry out to lunch. John was the fellow ahead of Caleb and his wife’s (Larissa) family lives in Christchurch. Caleb saw John in Perth and he offered for Caleb to borrow his surfboard so we were heading to his in-laws to pick it up and they invited us for lunch. Larissa’s parents are Joanne and Peter and her younger brother, Jack, was also there. We had a great lunch and visit with them! This week will be exciting with Poppa arriving!