☔The Green Green Grass of Home

---

So here we are. We made it. To the other side of the world and back. The flight was long and an added delay in Dubai made it longer still, but we got back home in one piece. So did Jans new china dining set that she bought in Pukekohe and boxed up to fly back with us. Sitting here in cold rainy Wales reflecting on the past month, there are always things to be learned from holidays:

No matter how many times you order it, Den will still think a fry up is on its way if you order

English breakfast tea, Caleb is possibly the best behaved baby on the planet-hats off to michelle again- the routine paid off-speaking of routine, the folder went everywhere with Michelle and she did a great job of getting us all from a to b-even if it did take a massive dither on our behalf at times! no one ever thought anyone could out grump Gatch-but yes I did manage it when the camper van living got too much! Jan desperately needs one of those threads for your glasses that keeps them around your neck-I've never known someone loose their glasses as much as Jan. Maybe she should get laser eye treatment so she never has to loose glasses again?! Den will need a liver function test seeing as it reached a time he was almost having beer before a brew. When you're 5 years old, the biggest decision of the day is which superhero you're going to be for that particular day. The next day an even bigger decision- which ninja turtle? Daryl in turn is a pro at getting out of jobs by 'looking after reuben' (after all batman had robin- which has now been abbreviated further to 'Hey Rob-yes Bat?' Such is the frequency of superhero role play.) Despite having a baby only 4 months ago-Michelle was bikini ready and was the yummyest mummy on the beach. Rhys will continually be rinsed for his dress sense, and continually not care a jot, even if the boys called him pepe le poop for his French looking stripy shirt. Rhydian is the BBQ king-(he's offered to have us all round in summer for snapper and chips.)She nearly managed it, but no-she didn't escape the sunburn! It wasn't on the scale of Lanzarote, and albeit she waited until the last day but Laura did manage to burn half a leg. Who knew Den had a desire to own a Sharabang? Time will tell. Michelle has balls of steel for doing the sky jump, meanwhile my fear of heights remains unconquered. With Gareth's black toenails, Reuben's missing toenail, Jans semi missing big toenail my webbed toes and Dens..... (I actually can't find the words to describe those bad boys) it is a wonder people didn't presume we were extras on set when we visited Hobbiton. In the words of Gatch 'there are some gopping feet on this tour' Laura is a closet keen fisherman- she reeled in more than we did on the fishing trip. Reuben will sneak juice at any given opportunity, and blame Emma for the half empty cup. Den is louder than the Captains tannoy on ANY emirates flight: ' TEA? TEA? I'LL HAVE A TEA! WHAT? ENGLISH BREAKFAST? NO I'VE JUST EATEN! JAN WHAT DO I WANT TO EAT?!' Laura can't eat chocolate straight out of the fridge- and a row ensues otherwise. Daryl and Em mastered the art of arguing with a glare and a huff only- this was perfected on day 4 in the camper van. Jeecups Nelly- we don't half drink a lot of tea (and I still quite don't understand that welshism!) New Zealand tv is officially rubbish. New Zealand butchers are officially great. Even Daryl puts on timber whilst on holiday-I pinched an inch, and not in the romantic sense. Meanwhile I pinched several inches-and start the Fat burning revolution next week. If Rhys doesn't make it in theatre, he'll be a great hairdresser- those fishtail plaits were a treat. For a draughtsman, Dens drawings for Pictionary leave a lot to be desired. Gareth def looks like Jason Statham- even with a beard. Reuben is king of the bucking bronco, neighbours in New Zealand are so nice-where else would they lend you a fridge freezer and 2 beds over the Christmas period when the crazy welsh family visit (the even crazier welsh host) Lau has shares in Kleexex, or at least should have with hay fever that bad, subsequently earning the name of 'snob rag' on many occasion. If you invite Den round to your house, mark the doors clearly for he will most definitely walk out of one room and get lost.

Happy 2014 everyone, I hope you've enjoyed the blog and that our holiday antics have made you chuckle along the way. Thanks for reading and commenting on our trips, it was nice to hear from family when we were so far away. I will give the final word to Jan, who sent us all this group text the day after we got back home, which I think sums it up nicely:



"Good Morning my fellow Kiwis. I hope you all had a good night sleep and are now ready for the rest of the Winter!

Things are back to normal here! Denzil is still in bed and complaining of the cold ( I think his liver in craving some food it is late for him to go without beer) lol.

Thanks for a fab holiday it is one we all will remember and cherish, talk about for a long time to come and hopefully build on it! The main thing is that we all came back stronger as a family and still talking to each other.

Have a great day catching up and speak to you later. Love you all millions. X X X X"

---

Comments

[Joanne]

Nz blog
Hi Em I just wanting to say I've really enjoyed reading your blog, as usual it's great to hear the stories of what you ve been up to your comical yet informative way, you should think about being a travel reporter when the RAF turf you out, looking forward to your next one xx