The weekend: Rotovegas and a baby shower

The 3 hour drive down was uncomfortable, but the rest of the weekend was fantastic! Lovely, comfy beds (twin beds, but we pushed them together and it was all good). Yummy breakfast was included (pancake stack, bacon, egg, hash browns, sausage, fruit and yoghurt yummmmmmm), and we got to have a luxurious swim in the outdoor heated pool. Felt like we were in tropical Fiji, until we got out of the pool. Then it was f-f-f-f-freezing. And smelly. But that's Rotorua for you.

We had a bit of a drive along the waterfront and walked through some of the wooded areas.

After a cruisy hour or two back at the hotel, we headed to The Luge for Josh's soundcheck.  All we had been told was that we had to be there by 4:30. And in typical J + K style, we got there at 4:30 exactly.

We got handed some wrist bands and were then shepherded onto the Gondola up to the top.

 Me and my cheese-ball of a Husband :)

Once we were up there, we got told that the soundcheck time had changed, and Josh and the drummer were in fact late. So we had to get on the Luge and hurry to the venue, which was halfway down the track. 

We quickly donned helmets, had our "go/brake" lesson and then we were off! Josh and Deano leading the way, with me yelling out "how do I know when I get there?" to which I was told "you'll just know". Right. Okay. That helps.


The ride down was so fun, but I quickly lost sight of the boys. And so I enjoyed the lovely scenic route, hoping like mad that I really would know the venue when I saw it. And sure enough, I did. I rounded a corner and spotted a white marquee with fairy lights twinkling amongst the trees. Oooooh so pretty and magical looking!

The soundcheck went well, and they managed to wrap up just in time before the client showed up. And then it was time to watch the All Blacks vs the Puma's on the big screen, followed by an interesting buffet and some music from Josh and Deano.  Thankfully, the event organisers arranged for a van to take me back down to the carpark after dinner, and so I got to relax back in the hotel room whilst the event carried on till after 1am.  Lovely, lovely day and night.

Sunday was a bit of a rushed affair - early wake up, buffet breakfast again and then back on the road to Auckland. We arrived back in time to attend Caroline and Jeremy's baby shower (boys and girls were invited). It was more like drinks and lunch in a pub, but they did have one baby-related game - we got to decorate a onesie each.

The talent in that room was amazing (lots of artists. and people that should be artists), so J + I had to resort to shock tactics to get maximum impact:

Unfortunately, our efforts weren't that well received. So whilst the winner hasn't been announced yet, I have a sinking feeling that we aren't even in the running...