Craziest Weekend Ever!

Oh boy. This weekend was seriously insane. We had it jam-packed with adventures, and it was so much fun!
On Friday, we took the bus out to Pt. Chev beach for the day. It was a lot of fun. We got some sun, and then went exploring around the caves and stuff over there. It was really beautiful.

just sittin in a little cave

isn't it beautiful?? the tide was waaay out

my name was carved into a rock! it was meant to be. haha

Friday evening, Nicole, Whitney, and I went with Natalia and the kids out to downtown Auckland where we got to see the Chinese Lantern Festival. They had a lot of really cool lanterns and there were about a bajillion people there, but it was a blast.

One of the many awesome lanterns at the
festival!

Whitney, Nicole, Me, and Bella!

Saturday morning, we woke up pretty early and took a bus out to Auckland where we caught a ferry that took us to Rangitoto (a beautiful island off the coast of Auckland). When we got there, we did a few way beautiful hikes--up to the summit and out to McKenzie Bay and just around the island for a bit. We were hiking for almost 5 hours! It was pretty awesome, and the island was gorgeous!

Me and Jessica--halfway up!

Me, Jess, Kara, and Allie made it to the top in 35 min!
We were the first ones up there :)

view from the summit of Rangitoto

Love those asian pictures!

Nicole, Rebecca, and me at the summit!

So beautiful!

I couldn't even capture the beauty, but I tried.

idk if you can tell, but all that black stuff is volcanic rock

Me at McKenzie Bay

When we got back to Auckland, we found a MEXICAN RESTAURANT! I was so happy, I could have cried. Haha. So Nancy, Nicole, Neeley, Whitney and I went to "Mexicali Fresh" for dinner and I got the chicken tacos and chips and salsa I have been craving. It was way good (but let's be honest, it was no LBJ's). The craziest thing though, was that when we were in line, we were talking to the guys that work there at the restaurant and one of them had an American accent and was asking us where we were all from. I told him I was from California and then he asked where and I told him LA. Then he asked where in LA (this question always gets me excited because it means they actually know LA pretty well) and I told him Torrance. Turns out, this guy is from Cerritos! How crazy is that? I come all the way across the world and meet a guy from Cerritos! He was way cool though and I talked to him for a little while.

YUM!!!

felt like home seeing these stickers!

After dinner, we walked back up to where the lantern festival was being held to get some dessert. Best. Dessert. Ever. I got a pineapple that was chopped in have, bowled out, filled with pineapple chunks, and then topped with 3 huge scoops of vanilla ice cream. It was incredible. May possibly be my new favorite thing on earth. I was amazed. Haha.

Me, Nicole, and Nancy with our amazing desserts

Then we had a little adventure trying to find a bus that got us where we needed to go, but we eventually found it and hopped on the bus to Eden Park where we went to an Auckland Blues vs. Canterbury Crusaders rugby game! Oh. My. Gosh. Rugby is most definitely my new favorite sport. I love it! It was such an exciting game, and a lot of the players from the All-Blacks come from those 2 teams, so it was super awesome to see them. Our seats were pretty dang good, and we got a lot of good pictures. We had a blast, and I decided that when I get back to Provo I am going to be a religious BYU rugby fan. I am in love with it. Can't wait for the rugby world cup coming up in September. Sucks that I won't be in NZ anymore so I'll miss all the excitement, but you can bet I'll be having RWC parties with all my girls from here when the time comes. I can't wait!

LEGIT

Nicole, Nancy and Me

Auckland Blues mascot

Whitney, me and Hannah

my husband - best rugby player in the world

my other husband - hottest guy on the Blues

After the game, we took the train back to Henderson (along with a billion other people). We were so tired by the time we got home--we'd been gone fro 16 hours! But it was a WONDERFUL day, full of adventure and fun. I just love it here! This country was made for me. Can't wait to have even more adventures! Hope you're all doing well! Miss you and love you!!!