randoms.

i have nothing profound. 

just a few moments from the iphone camera roll to remind myself that there is life beyond busy season.

{my rachel.}

{these darling mabel retro bloomers may or may not be in my baby clothes collection already. oops.}

{so boss.}

{so bus.}

{studying is hard, but someone's got to do it.}

have a great day everybody!

tgif.

i mean...

tgi the-tax-accountant's-thursday!

tomorrow we work our first saturday in the office. i made it through last busy season without drinking any coffee. i'm totally over proving that point this year. 

not really sure how we've made it this far into the season without putting in any saturdays yet. things are delayed with the government shut down, which has something to do with it. 

blah blah blah...gross nerdy uninteresting tax talk. 

somehow, knowing it is my last tax season for a year or two makes the overtime a little easier this year. after nine busy seasons, i just won't know what to do with myself next year. will i actually feel joy in march? mind-blowing.

on a side note, over here at davidson enterprises, we have been working on jack's paperwork to finalize his core & externships (next year). 

i took this picture of him for his official headshot. 

isn't he handsome? sorry, i had to share. totally, ridiculously, head-over-heels in love. melt.

sorry (not really), i'm done.

have a great weekend!

new zealand : ten must dos.

{photo by me | lake wakatipu - glenorchy new zealand.}

i could attempt to recap the ridiculous rock star adventure we had on our recent family vacay to new zealand, but that would be overwhelming & absolutely impossible. 

instead, i will share with you my top ten things that i would recommend anyone do when visiting the lovely land of kiwis 

{in no particular order}:

1. fly the red-eye via business premier with new zealand air.

your own overhead bin. a welcome beverage. a private pod. welcome satchels with eyeshades, socks & Clarins toiletries. warm washcloths. three course dinner from a menu. flight attendants to come help make your bed {push the button to lower the mattress and unroll your personal memory foam} and tuck you in. your own tv. noise cancelling ear phones to help you sleep. hot breakfast from another menu. then, you land. since the flight from LA to Auckland is about 17 hours, barely two movies and an 8 hour night's sleep and you're there. i felt like i was in a hotel! ...then you get access to all the international and domestic lounges on connecting flights during your entire trip. since we had a total of ten flights during our two week stay, this was an awesome perk. you can go have a complimentary shower and change clothes after a long flight, and also have access to all the self serve food and beverages {ahem, full bar} while waiting for the next leg of your adventure. the priceless part? looking across the sea of pods to see my cute family!

2. catamaran around the bay of islands for the day on cool change.

we had lunch and wine and swam with dolphins and stingrays. it was everything.

3. stay at the fabulous luxe hotel sofitel queenstown for a few nights of shopping and playing.

4. take the five day guided hike through the milford track. {fiordland national park}

the starting point of 34 miles was a two hour bus ride, hour and 45 minute boat ride, and 20 minute walk to glade house {night one}.

don't be fooled...this hike was not all unicorns and roses:

 {this was the entire first day...10 miles. the only few moments dry enough to take out a camera!  that is glacier water. our ankles were numb. i am thankful that they did not turn black. di sprained her ankle in a bog. on day two, we climbed 9 miles up, over and down a mountain pass. the last day was about 14.5 miles through cascades and rocky terrain. in the words of my seastar...."is this even safe? are we even allowed to do this?"}

but, we all stuck together. and we did it. all 34 miles. definitely the most challenging, breathtaking, and rewarding thing i've ever done in my life! i had my doubts at first about even making it, and i was actually really nervous about hiking 34 miles. by the end, we were so empowered. if we can do this, we can do anything. and we did it together as a family. totally a once in a lifetime experience everyone should have.

this is a must if you go to new zealand.

5. helicopter out of the milford sound and en route, land on a glacier.

with champagne.

in a matter of minutes, we basically transitioned from being in absolute desolation on the milford track to being rock stars with champagne on the tippy top of one of the mountains we had just spent the last five days hiking through. 

for me, this was the most surreal experience of the trip.

6. glenorchy.  

an excited daddy.

 

taking pictures of the glacier from debbi & paul's living room window/deck {pictured below}.

 debbi & paul's dining room entry. ^

paul & debbi's side yard / view of lake wakatipu from the kitchen.

 

the scenery is so breathtaking. these pics don't even do any of it justice.

don't ask questions, just go. 

7. arrowtown

famous for historic gold panning and filming scenes from the hobbit. i could easily live in this charming community.

yes, our jeep is in the middle of the river.

  

 us all looking for gold flakes.

if you found a gold flake, it was good luck to eat it. 

one of the scenes in the river where the hobbit was filmed.

8. bungee jumping off the kawarau bridge in queenstown

that is my seastar, teagan & i waving from the bridge before our jump. the river below us was beautiful glacier water. before we jumped, the tech gave us the option to have our hair touch the water. eek. haha.

9. horseback riding through the wyuna preserve

10. dart river jet safari

 all that dust is from a land slide miles up the river!

 so go to new zealand now. and have a sweet-as time.

a beyond special thank-you to debbi and paul for having us as guests in their beautiful home and giving us the absolute trip of an entire lifetime!