Surprise trip to NZ

I have never managed to pull off a convincing surprise, that is, until now! Miles suggested I fly to NZ to surprise Mum for her 60th birthday, and I thought about it for a day or two, putting it off as too expensive etc. I sent a text to Lauren saying I was toying with the idea, and after that I couldn't have said no - even if I wanted to! She was so keen on surprising Mum that we just HAD to get tickets!

I nervously looked at ticket prices, then found to my great delight that Singapore airlines had a special deal if 2 people fly together. Easy! I had one Scarlett Beasley who made up the numbers, no worries!

Miraculously, we had been paid early, so we were able to go ahead and book tickets. I sent the initial text to Lauren in the morning, saying I was thinking about coming, and later that night, Scarlett and I were on a plane!

Once we arrived in Hamilton (courtesy one brother-in-law!) we got Lauren to pretend that Nathan had brought home an early birthday present for her and got her to close her eyes in the lounge.

We snuck in and then said, 'SURPRISE!' Boops didn't even open her eyes straight away, but looked puzzled - then she opened them and did a quadruple-take. She couldn't believe it and then just covered her mouth in silent tears. It was fantastic! Of course by this stage we were all bawling and carrying on, and Scarlett was beginning to get a bit freaked out, what with all the tears, but eventually all was well. She still says, "Nana CRIED! Happy tearth!" weeks later! It obviously left quite an impression on her!


Once we had all recovered, Scarlett put Nana straight to work reading stories. I had a cuppa with Lauren. What a perfect holiday!

Keen to maximise the surprise potential, we plotted Dad's arrival home from work and what we would do. Miles helped out with this one, as when Dad walked in the door, Lauren & Nathan were talking to Miles and Griffin on Skype. Miles said, "Yeah, Keri-Lee's just out the back," and then Scarlett and I came through the door yelling, "SURPRISE!" His eyes popped out and he held out his arms for a big Scarlee-girl hug. Nice.

Aunty Lauren gets in on some dressing up action! Scarlett loved the rocking horse (who wouldn't?) , and spent a good many hours riding it, 'feeding' it and stroking it.


The bonus about being home for Boops's birthday (other than spending time with her) was that ALL the family was coming up for the party, so we got to catch up with our extended family as well! Here's Scarlett with her Poppa Fin.

Nathan's girls Briar (above) and Reagan were beyond fantastic with Scarlett. She adores her cousins, and talks about them non-stop.

Scarlett's Great-Grandad reads her an old favourite - Little Black Sambo. What a lucky girl! He also helped her with her dinner by telling her stories about Sammy Snapper going into the cave. You can see him in action here: the voice of experience!


It appears Scarlett is more Farm Girl than City Girl if given the choice. Poppa and Nana are pleased about this one. Poppa took Scarlett to collect a sheep and a lamb to keep the grass down. As you can see, she thinks it's absolutely brilliant.


One of my highlights was getting to meet my nephew, the beautiful Mackay, for the first time. He's adorable and has a great little personality. I can't wait to see more of him.