New Zealand: Episode 2 - The Hobbit Strikes Back!

May was a busy month for Blair. In addition to his visit to the States, he was also sent to New Zealand to work for 2 weeks.  Since he had a weekend to spare between his two work weeks, he decided to fly up to Auckland so that he could visit Hobbiton (a few hours away by car).

Although the weather wasn't great, he certainly enjoyed his trip to the Shire. Hobbiton is nestled in the middle of a pasture in little valley not far from Rotorua. It was built by/for Peter Jackson for the Lord of the Rings on what was (and still is) the Alexander Family Farm. The area is heavily maintained by staff (100's of man hours each week) to keep it looking just like it did in the movies, fresh flowers and all!

While there, Blair was able drink some SobeRing beer (the same beer drank on the set of LOTR). What made this even cooler was the fact that he drank that beer in the Green Dragon Pub (which was also used on set).  In addition to this, he was able to see Bilbo's house - one of the 37 hobbit holes on site. Although visitors were not actually allowed to visit inside Bilbo's house (as it's still being used for filming), they were allowed to tour around one of the other hobbit holes.

All in all, it was a fun visit and Blair intends to bring Stacy back there when we visit NZ again this coming February.  Check out some of the pics Blair took while there!

Bilbo's Hole

Australia Kangaroos vs New Zealand Kiwis

On April 19th, Blair and Stacy went to the Canberra Stadium to see the Australia Kangaroos take on the New Zealand Kiwis. This was the first time Canberra hosted a Rugby League Test featuring Australia, and it was done to help celebrate Canberra's 100th birthday.

It was a chilly night in Canberra, but fun nonetheless (15 degrees feels so much colder here, we swear). So as a bonus for sitting out in the cold, Stacy walked away with a cool Kangaroo's scarf to commemorate the occasion. ;)

Opening Ceremony

The Boys!

Some keen NZ fans!

It was a cold 15 degrees!

 

Trip to the US

In May, Blair headed to the U.S. for a work conference. He has been quite fortunate to be able to get back to Canada/the U.S. several times since our move to Australia. During his visit, he was able to visit with friends and do some shopping.  If these goods indicate anything, our little guy is going to be uber spoiled!  Blair picked up all of these things just for him!

And well, Stacy also did some shopping for our little guy while Blair was away...you know...to help pass the time! ;-)