This past week I focused a lot on Thanksgiving. Some of the kids had heard of it, and others had not. We discussed about things we are thankful for in our lives. Some children said they are thankful for love, toys, food, and so on. One said that they were thankful for me. How sweet! We read a book on being thankful and create a lovely turkey with feathers that read what they were thankful for. It was adorable! My kids are so fun. They are learning more and more each day and it is so fun to see them light up when they understand something. Their excitement for play excites me. They give me so much energy throughout the day, even though they also take it away! Leaving my kiddos, the sunshine, and everything here and going back home to snow is going to be rubbish (or garbage, as Americans say!).
On Friday, we headed on a hike with Sarah's host family. It was a lovely walk through the woods. We ended at a waterfall where we walked across many rocks that allowed us to be so close to it!
We then headed to Sarah's house for a sleepover. We had delicious chicken wraps followed by the making of Pavlova. This is a traditional New Zealand dish that reminds me of angel food cake. It is to be had mostly around Christmas time. It was so yummy!
On Saturday, we went kayaking. It was a beautiful view and a good workout. We saw a variety of wild birds and even saw some fish jump. We then headed to sushi which was just delicious. I have an addiction to sushi I think. The honey factory was next. Here, they had thousands of bees and many free samples. The honey was very fresh and very interesting to learn about. We then headed home after our long adventure! It was a lovely day.
Sunday, we went to the beach with Laine's host family. We stopped for sandwiches and cheese and crackers for our picnic on the beach. It was a windy day but beautiful none the less. The traffic on the way home was awful! Crazy how many cars were packed on that road. An hour ride home took us 2.5 hours!
Overall, the week and weekend was a success.