Ākuhata - 2023

 So this one is gonna be an english job cause we've got our cruise pics in here and I don't have the time or brainpower to work through it in te reo māori this time. Murua mai

Māku e whakahoki ki te reo māori ā tērā marama:)

Of course 3 days before leaving on the cruise we decided we needed a few new suitcases and that turned into a new big and little one for everyone. What a rigmarole that was, driving to 4 different Standbags on Saturday and monday. Oh well, it's done now and we should never need to buy more luggage

We had a fun as takeaways dinner and quiz night for grandie's birthday at the chapel on Monday 7th August. All of his kids and moko love him soooo much

Pre-speech final. All freshly cut up by Dad and ready to go.....despite feeling a fair amount of nerves.

After the speeches and before the winner was announced

Listening to the main judge give his thoughts on the speeches and how well the kids did.  I wish I filmed this moment but to say I was proud of our son is a huge understatement. He really set a very high standard, as the man said.

Proud sissys

You did it my son!

Congratulatory hug from Mrs Brown 

And then we shot straight home to pack the bags into our taxi van and hit the road for. our cruise

Seffy was all settled in within 10 seconds in the room, as Dallin and I did the hardwork unpacking all of our bags

See ya NZ

That book followed me around a bit, gotta keep on top of the study

The kids went to the kids club (for the first night and not much more) so my lovey and I went roaming and stumbled upon a great music group called Solid Vibe 

Post workout chill on the back deck

Work on site continued while we were away so Joe had to keep in touch with home a bit

We're in the Kingdom of Tonga!!!!

We found a driver straight away to take us to the temple

Gosh this was such a welcome sight. In an unfamiliar place, it just feels like home

Mummy killed time with these 2 while Dad and the big girls were in the temple by wandering around Liahona

The one and only 3 headed coconut palm in the world!

Houma....Blow holes

We met up with Bro Niupalau from our ward. So cool to see their family home and where they live when they're in Tonga

Our Driver

Cruising the markets with Sister Hala'apiapi

When you're in Tonga you must get coconuts

We got to go on a bus ride down to one end of the shoreline thanks to Sis H. So cool to trip around and see more of the island.

And after a big day we went to the Waterfront for dinner to share a meal together which was nice after

Leaving Nukualofa

Waiting for our tender boat to Vava'u

We actually got tickets for the 9th tender which would have been about a 2 hour wait but we ended up scoring these from Joe's old church friend in Rotorua who got them for his family but didn't end up needing them. What a blessing!

It's a bit hard to see here, but there are pigs and piglets everywhere in Tonga

As well as LDS chapels

We set up for most of the day swimming at this place called Talihau (I'm not sure how to spell it)

Yes that's Seth holding a dead baby shark

Vanilla bean plantation

What a day!

I think this was trying to have a bit of down time on Sunday after we did our church service in the room

Insisting on a 3 hour nap. Yeeyah, it worked too!

After our nap I spent the early evening making a scavenger hunt for the kids to keep them occupied for the rest of Sunday

Arriving in Port Denerau, Fiji

This was a bit hōhā, waiting for the other people in our taxi who wanted to walk around a big garden for about an hour

Natural mudpools that we just stopped at to have a squiz

A hindu temple. It was so beautiful and different

Oh gosh, what a moment. Our taxi driver took us to 'the markets' but that turned out to be one tourist/souvenir shop that must have been owned by his mates. Before we looked around the crazy over-priced stuff we had to be part of the kava ceremony. And we all drank it! Gross and tingly is all I'll say

Chillin' on the beach for a few hours

Heading back to the ship

This is Suva now.....

Another temple sesh for the big girls and Dad...

while we played hide and seek for just over 2 hours

Then we went for a hikoi around the LDS church college 

And this is where it was confirmed that we shouldn't have drank kava. Oops, now we know definitively

And with about 2 hours to go we had a yummy pizza lunch

And did a spot of shopping at a department store called Tapoo

Elder Tokovakarua!!!!

2 sea days home now

And this one was a big, sunny, swimming and sunbathing day

The start of Mum burning her legs

The trance of a beautiful but exhausted Dallin

Last night at the talent show

Yay, we're home!

Oh my goodness, we came home to meet this little beauty, Te Mānea who was born the day before we left

FHE Quiz that got a lot of laughs, especially when they did their phone a friends.

'Mum you forgot to do my pie for my birthday lunch so we better do it today'
Nice one son

Stake conference with no kids cause they were sick

Faify's 15!!!!!
I'll be driving this time next year Mum

Dally struggled with a temp in the high 39s for 5 days. So sad

No Ella, you can't weigh the leftover cheesecake pieces to make sure they're identical!

Evidence that I in fact am a loving Mum even though this girl says she never gets anything she wants. She wanted my piece really really bad and I gave it to her. Naturally I had to take a photo for evidence.

Well, our holiday was amazing and we feel so blessed to have been able to have a getaway like that. Maybe the next one will be in May-ish 2025. A holiday to anywhere and for any length of time always reaffirms to us all that Home is the place to be!!!!