#anettingnewzealandadventure: The Nettings Do NZ - Week 32

Week 32 was all about momma as I prepped for my weekend away to Sydney! Months ago Nikki, my best friend since 1995, had said I should meet her in Sydney, and I knew that as soon as I agreed, there was no backing out, no matter how anxious I became. Once I mentioned it to Mary, it was even more of a done deal as she kept nudging me to book the flight. I spent some of the week preparing food for Caleb and Kensley’s weekend together. I was trying to make the weekend as easy as possible on them, so I prepared them enough food for an army (and they finished it all!). Kensley’s teeth cut through and she was back to her cute perfect self this week! At 11 months she now has three top teeth and two bottom teeth, with a forth top tooth very near. We had a lot of beautiful weather and that meant lots of playtime outside for Kens! We went to Kensley’s daycare on Monday to meet her primary provider, Sylvia (each child is assigned a primary). We went over Kensley’s routine and she asked a lot of questions about her eating and sleeping in preparation for her start up. She starts with four settling in sessions (2hr, 4hr, 6hr, 8hr) prior to starting 1 full day once a week on March 18^th. Kensley seemed to have a lot of fun there, exploring and waving to the other kids and teachers. We also had a visit with my friend Lucy, and interesting, her youngest is starting daycare as well and will be going on the same day as Kensley so we look forward to some child-free visits!

Needless to say, the week flew by and before I knew it Friday was here and I was in an uber on my way to get Mary for the airport! We arrived to the airport by 230ish, and things go pretty smoothly at Christchurch, so we had plenty of time to grab a glass of wine before our 3.5 hour flight to Sydney. I was definitely more relaxed than anticipated. I was looking forward to the entire weekend, but to start, the 3.5 hrs alone on a plane seemed pretty damn sweet. The flight went smoothly and we arrived to our AirB&B in Bondi with very little hiccups (although finding the place didn’t seem as straightforward as it was). Nikki and Nicole were getting in a few hours after us so Mary and I went for a little walk and grabbed a few bottles of bubbly to celebrate! Nikki had grand plans of going for Tequila but by the time they arrived (a little after 9) we settled for two bottles of bubbly and ordered some Mexican. I felt great after a few glasses and a text from Caleb saying that Kensley was perfect for him that night.

Saturday morning was AMAZING – I feel like one of the best mornings of my life. I woke up on my own schedule (which was 6am Sydney time but 8am Christchurch time so a good sleep in). We went for amazing coffees and I was out for my run by 8am. I ran 11km along the Bondi-Coogee coastal trail and it might have been the most enjoyable run I’ve been on – I had this remarkable sense of calmness. Lara had recommended this trail to us and it was soooooooo worthwhile. Beautiful beach after beautiful beach on an amazing walkway and thinking to myself: I can do whatever I want after this! Nikki, Nicole and Mary walked some of the trail and I finished my run by meeting up with them and walking back to Bondi Beach. I have never been sooooo eager to get into a body of water as I was after that darn Australian sun and heat (and it was still the morning). We then went for lunch and drinks, Nikki got her tequila, and headed home for a little afternoon siesta. Late afternoon we made our way down to Sydney Harbour where we checked out the very impressive Opera House and had a drink at the Opera Bar. We then made our way to The Glenmore Hotel, another hit that was recommended by Lara, with their rooftop bar. We consumed 3 to 6 bottles of wine depending on who you ask, and it sure felt like it, but we looked pretty classy in our red lipstick so it doesn’t matter! The next morning it was an early flight home but thank god it was 3.5 hours, which gave me some extra time to recover! I got home to Caleb and Kenz around 3 but K was sleeping so it gave Caleb and I good time to catch up on our weekends. Caleb said the weekend couldn’t have gone any better which made a perfect weekend even that much sweeter. He said that Kensley was very nice to him and that she didn’t seem to miss me too much! He ran with her both days and had Sarah for a few hours on Saturday afternoon so he could get out for a surf. I did worry at times, hoping they were doing ok, but I was really surprised with how relaxed I ended up feeling as I reminded myself: “well, there is nothing I can do for them from here, so they’ll have to figure it out” and they did! I feel soooooo freakin’ lucky to have had this amazing weekend away in Sydney with some awesome girls and my bestie #prankphonecallingsince1995! I am proud of Caleb and Kensley for rocking the weekend...things went so well that I might even start planning my next weekend away :P.

Kensley had an amazing time playing in the mud with her daddy, no socks or shoes or hair clips all weekend long, and has a destroyed romper to show for it all! She is able to communicate with us more and more each day; her favorite word is definitely “blue” for blueberries and she can say her own version of raisins and cheese and raspberry. She loves to bark at dogs when they walk by and she loves crawling over us and anything else.

I'm not at all sad about this weekend ending because we get to spend week 33 with Nikki and Nicole; Christchurch is their next stop! Bring on the tequila, wine and red lipstick!