2009 has just come to a close, and it makes me think about everything that has happened over the past year.

We started 2009 living in Bristol. I was working at a pub, and I (unsurprisingly) had to work New Year's Eve. Luckily, I worked with with a great group of girls, and we had a blast! (I'm not sure why I look so pissed off in this photo!)


February brought SNOW! to Bristol, which was a very big deal. The city basically shut down. People in Bristol have do idea how to drive in the snow, and don't have snow tires of any sort. We heard reports on the news that the city was running out of grit for the roads. It was the first time many children I was teaching had seen snow. It was the biggest snowfall in a decade! James and I both had 2 days off as we couldn't get to work. This is the first snow man James has ever made!

March saw us taking our first big trip. We visited Prague. We had a great time exploring the city. It was bit cold, but we bundled up warm and spent about 6 hours a day walking around. My favorite memory of the trip was taking an evening river boat tour and diner. The city looked beautiful lit up at night!


We were really lucky to be visited by our friends Brett and Jacqueline in April. They spent about a week with us, over the Easter break. We went to Stonehenge, saw the Magna Carta and birdwatched. We also explored the SS Great Britain, which began it's life as a luxury liner, the Titanic's predecessor. We spent a day in Bath, seeing the Roman Baths and having cream tea at the Jane Austin Tea Room. There were over 1000 pictures taken during this week long period, but this one sums it all up!





I was also very lucky in April to begin a long-term relieving position. I started at Whitehall Primary School, teaching a Year 4 class. It was so nice knowing where I was going every day, not to mention having a stable pay check. I also like actually teaching, rather than shouting, controlling traffic and just trying to keep a lid on things. It was great to see the same students day after day, week after week, and see them make progress.

In May, one of James' best friends Mike, and his girlfriend Hannah came to visit us in Bristol. I had never met Mike, and was excited to do so. He and Hannah were both delightful, and we spent a wonderful weekend full of music, fun and frivolity. We taught Mike and Hannah how to play Yahtzee and the boys played long into the night.








June was a busy month! My cousin Keeley came to visit before heading to the continent for some art classes. While she was about, we went to the Banksy exhibit at the Bristol museum. Banksy is a "graffiti" artist who is world famous for the social commentary he makes with his art. He is a Bristol native, and collaborated with the museum to show his works. My favorite part of the show was that he swapped out some of the authentic pieces in the museum with altered work, so you never knew what you might see just around the corner.

We also spent 3 days in Rome. I have never been anywhere more amazing! The history and architecture were incredible. Every time we saw a new sight, I said "this is the most amazing thing I have ever seen" only to repeat the same thing a few moments later. We took a tour of the the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel. Our trip ended on a Wednesday, and we caught part of mass in St Peter's Square before catching our flight.





We had more visitors in July, with our friends Laura and Dom visiting Dom's family in Devon before spending a couple of days with us. I was really lucky to have Laura, one of my bridesmaids, in Bristol for my hen night. Forgive me for not posting a picture of that event ;)

We visited LegoLand, also known as heaven to James. The sculptures were unbelievable. There were whole cities reproduced in Lego, including locks on the rivers in "Amsterdam". My favorite part was the Scottish representation that included Highland dancers than actually danced! James liked the pick'n'mix Lego bulk bins where you could pick any pieces you wanted, and just pay by weight. The Lego store on sight had more sets than I could have imagined.






July also saw us bidding farewell to Bristol. It didn't think I would be sad to leave Bristol, but over the 9 months we were there, it became home. I finished up the school year, wrote year end reports, and 2 days after the year ended, got on a plane back to Canad.

The first weekend in August, we went camping at Lake Diefenbaker. My parents didn't know that I was back in the country yet, so I surprised them by showing up early!

The rest of the month passed in a blur leading up to this.

We got married!

My mom and sister were amazing, helping with all the details up until the last minute. My mom somehow managed to make my dress, as well as the bridesmaid's dresses, and all our jewelery. She's a superstar! Tamara managed to keep me calm, and dealt with many many many details while I was out of the country. If you want to see any more pictures of the day, check out our photographer's Flickr account. We were blessed to have our friends and family with us on our wedding day, including 3 of James' closest friends and his mother, Rowena. It was fantastic that they made the long trip to be with us.

We spent a couple of weeks in Regina after the wedding, but made the long flight to New Zealand the middle of September. We spent a couple of weeks relaxing at Rowena and Graham's in Whitinanga, a small beach town where James grew up. It was really nice not to have any worries for a while after the stress of the wedding and packing up all my worldly possessions. A couple of weeks relaxing was about all we could manage before getting antsy, and moving to Wellington to find a place to live and jobs. We stayed with James' cousin and his family while finding our feet, but hit the ground running, finding a house and jobs within the first week of being here! Our house is quite small, but it is perfect for us, and we love it. We have a small garden, and are trying to grow some of our own vegetables.



















The last couple of months have passed very quickly. We are well settled into our house. James is working in a timber yard, and registered for university in March. I've been doing substitute work in Early Childhood Education, but don't have a teaching job yet. I'm trying to stay positive, and hope to get something a little bit more permanent for the 2010 school year. Just before Christmas, I started working at a knitting store, which has encouraged me to start knitting again, and to take on more more challenging projects. Who knows, I might even make a sweater one of these days!

We spent Christmas day with some of James' cousins and family. It was a lot of fun, especially as there were a pair of 18 month old twins running around. They didn't really understand what was going on, but they knew that something special was happening, and that there were lots of people to see!

I hope that you all had a great 2009, but here is to an even better 2010!