Winter Sale Now On!

We launched Dawes Migration Services nearly two months ago now and it's been an amazing success. We dummy tested it on family and friends, had opinions, feedback and hints from people in the know and then we hit the world with it - and we have not been disappointed.

Advertising has been a huge helpful factor in getting things going. We took out adverts in what used to be our local newspapers in the UK, advertised on various migration websites and more recently as a follow up to our feature, we ran adverts in the Living Abroad Magazine.

We have through advertising met wonderfully new, refreshing, honest people who really just want to experience some of what we have - and we can't do enough to help them. Thank you to you all, we can't wait to add you not only to our 'success list' but to join us as friends and live the most amazing life here in NZ.

So we have done some revamping of our website, with more to come soon. After running this for a few months we have diversified and expanded our services, offering a more wide spread service and as a result, have split our offerings up into packages. Supplying one overall package with one set cost doesn't always work for everyone, with all customers situations being unique.

There are currently 2 options available which you can view on the Dawes Migration Services website - and because we feel so strongly towards helping you get yourself into this wonderful land we are now for a limited time offering Package 1 for FREE!

Check out the website, ask us what we can do for you and come join us on the journey of a lifetime...

Tickets Please!

Every day on the way to Kindy we see the train, packed with people off to work, starting another day. Bethany always asks where everyone is going, a perplexed look comes over her face and she always says 'I wish I was old enough to go on the train...'.

We have no excuses really as the train station is literally 5 minutes away, so on Thursday I surprised Bethany at Kindy and took her off on an adventure to the City - on the train...

Let's Dance

Bethany's Kindergarten always comes up with the most amazing ideas. Over the last few months we have had Dress Up As Book Character day, a trip to the library, Zippity Zoo and now a trip to Anita's Dance Academy. It was brilliant!

First off was the difficult choice of choosing a partner for the day, lately Bethany has become attached to a new friend and she is called Tanaka. Without hesitation to two girls turned to each other and gripped hands, from then on they were inseparable.

On the bus we took some pictures...

At the dance studio they were welcomed by Anita and all given a sticker which was placed on the floor, this was the spot they were meant to dance on. Then after a quick warm up it was dancing galore with Ballet, Jazz and Hip Hop, ending with a crazy free for all!

Now I don't have many decent photos as it's hard to get any with everyone moving, so they are limited in this post!

Bethany has decided she likes Ballet. As you may remember she used to do Hip Hop at a school in town but since moving up here we haven't found a good dance school. We have tried a few but it seems playing 'The Crazy Frog' is deemed as Hip Hop. Bethany asked if she could leave the last one as she was bored!

So at the moment we are trying to steer her towards Hip Hop as she is an amazing free style dancer and we really doubt she will enjoy Ballet - but we will see!

For now though she is completely happy in the make believe world of Bethany, which is just fine by us.

Winter Warmer

Keeping us warm this weekend were 3 birthday parties, a wonderful reminiscent walk and a mega tantrum, but more on the tantrum later.

Saturday was a lovely day, the sun shone and Bethany was lucky enough to attend her friend Alexander's 5th Birthday party.

We left Bethany in the trusted hands of our friends and took Denver for a short walk on the beach. After collecting Bethany the beach bug bit us again and we decided to head out once more, this time revisiting one of our most favourite old haunts - The Red Rocks beach.

And boy has it changed since we were there last. We knew they were planning an upgrade but this was amazing! Visitor centre, toilets, marked car parking spots and landscaped gardens made it a wonderful attraction, much better than the desolate old building and rough track that was there last time. Typically with the upgrade comes visitors, and the car park was nearly full!!

We walked on the beach watching the waves, the motorbikes, mountain bikes, the people and the cars all enjoying the track. Denver enjoyed the beach as he loves to run to the water but always retreats quickly at the waves!

Sunday was another good day, well apart from Little Miss Stroppy Pants, aka, Bethany. We headed to Tiny Town in Kilbirnie and celebrated a very special little girls 3rd birthday.

Then as I mentioned earlier we were to head to the second party of the day which was for her friend Beth who was turning 5.

From the second we left the first party Bethany turned into a teenager right in front of our eyes, rude, frustrated, shouting, growling and being god damn annoying - and why? All because we wouldn't let her take photos in the car!

The battery was running low and as we had a second party it needed to be saved, yet trying to explain this to her was like ice skating up hill, and she totally lost the plot! So I dropped in the pressie, wished them well and we took Bethany home with no party.

Needless to say it was a painful drive home and madam was asleep in bed by 6.15pm. Funnily enough things have been a bit easier since then!!

Oh well, we can't have perfection all of the time that's for sure. We may have a beautiful home and a wonderful family life but one things for sure, no matter how many parties, no matter how much cake and no matter how many gorgeous walks we take on the beach, if Bethany wants a tantrum - she is going to have one!

Better Than Good

As you know we have had some stick with Denver. The last post we made regarding some ridiculous advice ended up with some unpleasant emails from people who were obviously bribed to send them. Enough said on that - you know who you are - and you know how pathetic you are.

On the up side things have been going great! We had completely lost focus on what was really going on here, lots of people randomly giving their 'opinion' and handing out 'advice' threw us into a total spin. We were starting to get depressed over the whole thing and whenever Denver so much as sat up to quickly we would create panic.

Things have mellowed out now as we have now had some of the most unbelievably amazing professional help, and we are finally feeling like we should have all that time ago - proud to have have just rescued a beautiful puppy and given it a happy home.

Julia at Paws In The City popped us onto her partner Karen De Wit, and I can't stress enough just how wonderful she has been.

A few weeks back we did our first session at home and I learned more in those 2 hours than I even did at Puppy School. Now don't get me wrong, the Puppy classes were good but they were just not reaching what we wanted and despite needing more from them they just couldn't offer it. For now we have given them up.

As I said though we have learned loads already in the two weeks with Karen D. Denver can shake paw and roll over and did all that within one day. He can fetch and drop. He can sit and stay and his whole manner has changed completely, he is the daftest, silly puppy you will ever meet, with some amazing manners thrown in.

Last week I met Karen in the park and we took Denver round the shops to meet people. He was incredibly well behaved for such a young guy and I was very proud of him. Not only is he gorgeous but he is clever too!!

It's been a hard few months. It should never have been like that but the barrage of opinions, lost friendships, and naff 'professional' advice left us up stream without a paddle. We were pushed to the point where we doubted what we had done, and although we never doubted Denver we lost focus on who he really was.

And who he is is a lovable, gorgeous, friendly, happy puppy who brings stunning joy to our lives.

We will offer one word of advice though - just make sure you do cross the road when you see us.

Would hate for you to be licked to death....

A Kaitoke Adventure

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday so we decided to head to Kaitoke Regional Park. The sun was blazing (much better than the last time we visited!) and our spirits were high as we went off in search of an adventure, and we found one.

Denver was quite brave as he trotted over the swing bridge, but was much happier at the other side where he delighted in frantically sniffing all the different aromas.

We wandered the forest in awe of the amazing trees and ferns. Some of the trees had their own little worlds growing at the top of them - truly awesome specimens!

We stopped off and took a really steep walk down to the river (for which Bethany and Denver had to be carried!) which lead us to a lovely secluded river area. Here we threw stones, marvelled at the mini waterfalls and made a mental note to remember this lovely little spot for some swimming in the summer.

The walk back took us past the Upper Hutt Water treatment building where we stole peeks through the window of all the machinery whirring round inside. Bethany was really enthused by this and asked a million questions - which was just marvellous. She now understands that water just doesn't magically appear from the tap!!

Such a dreamy delightful walk, such a beautiful sunny day and such a nice place to start creating memories for Denver!!

Meet Richard!

Wow, what a full on few days it's been...

Yesterday we met Richard! We initially met after him and his wife Stef contacted us through our blog, they were ready to make the amazing journey of changing their lives and of course we were there to embrace them and help in any way we could.

We collected Richard from the airport yesterday and he spent last night at our house, drinking beer, playing Wii and of course getting acquainted with our darling Bethany who thinks he is just brilliant!

Today we have had an amazing day, Bethany and I met Rich down in the city and we travelled on the Cable Car to the Skyline Restaurant, where we were treated to a fantastic meal. What with the jaw dropping views of the city and mulling over the stunning new life Richard, Stef and their little girl Daisy are going to have, it was a lovely lunch.

Afterwards we headed to the airport as it was time to meet Stef and Daisy!

After what could only have been a gruelling 36 hours of travelling (due to heaps of flight delays) Stef emerged looking absolutely stunning and amazingly composed - not at all like we were when we first arrived! Stef did an absolute amazing job!

As I guided them in the right direction a fond and hopeful feeling washed over me. I smiled with joy at the thought of the excitement, the challenges and the pure eye opening experiences they will now have.

We wish them all the best in their new journey, it all starts here and they are going to just love everything.

Again we have been blown away by how amazing it is to have met these amazing people through the blog, over the last few months we have met some truly awesome guys, people who we hope we can travel alongside with all the way.

Zippity Zoo!

Last week Bethany's Kindy had a fantastic day - Zippity Zoo visited!

Now for those of you who don't know, it's a mobile petting zoo. Well they say 'zoo' but it's actually more a mobile farm!!

I decided I wanted to stay at Kindy for this one, the children have amazing amounts of pleasure every day there but when things like this happen - it's extra special and that I just had to be part of.

The van arrived containing the animals and the children ran, jumped and screamed with excitement. Various animals were introduced to the huge play area the Kindy has and the children got more and more excited!

Two goats, a sheep, some chickens, a rabbit, Guinea Pigs, and dog and a pig later and we were ready to go. The children listened to what was going to happen, were given food pellets and sent off on their way - the show was run by the lead lady - Beverley - who did the show with a chicken on her head!!

Bethany of course had an amazing time. The Kindergarten really did good and made something very special happen.

Bethany had three nights of dreams about the animals and she decided it was one of the best things to happen to her ever...that is what education is all about, aspirations, excitement and dreams.

Just A Slice For Me Thanks

Reason #654 why I stay back late on a Friday at work... A few weeks back our IT Manager left after about 18 years at the organisation. As part of his leaving shout, we had a few pizzas and drinks!

And yes, it was for more than just the F3 Gang!

Chooo Chooo

Since living and working in Wellington I've travelled by various methods of transport, some private and some public. Having spent the summer cutting in and out of traffic by motorbike, sometimes fast enough to get to work even before I've actually set off, I'm now taking the 1.5 degree C mornings by storm on the train. Armed with mp3 player, book and a red nose, the 6:48am train doesn't seem to bad!

I live far enough away that there is still usually plenty of seats on the way in, but coming home is indeed a different story. With the big hikes in fuel costs recently (70c per litre in 15 months), more and more people are taking the train.

The trains are pretty dated and basic, but serve their purpose well and the infrastructure is pretty good. The best part about it? I can have a few beers on a lunch time and not have to worry about a wobbly ride and being stopped by the cops!

Sunshiney Sunday

We have had some beautiful days and Sunday was one of them. Crisp clear skies, warming from the heat of the sun yet still that cold air lingered, perfect. This time last year we lived a whole different lifestyle down at the coast - I even remember writing this post - it feels like only yesterday!

So we started our day with a trip to the school playground for Bethany to ride her bike. Bethany doesn't like to ride her bike (we have never been able to work out why) but a talk with Grandma and Granddad on Skype earlier spurred her on which meant she was off to prove something!!

She had the best time going round and round and asking for further instructions of where she should ride next, each time we pushed her with harder challenges but she just soaked them in and off she went!

To end her visit she played on the playground at the school. The schools here mesmerise me immensely. No big fences and gates around them and definitely no barbed wire walls! On weekends and evenings they are open for anyone to use. Enjoy the fields and use the playground, and without a single bit of damage or graffiti, it makes me smile at the change in mentality of the kids here as to the UK.

With having two children now its all about giving them equal time. Denver sat patiently in the car whilst we played at the school so it was only fair he got to have his turn to run around, so we headed to the Hutt River. We took an absolute stunning walk along beside the river, gloriously spoilt by the slightly snow capped Rimutuka Range in the distance.

However we have now joined the many others who walk their dogs here. Denver is still learning and we couldn't consider letting him off the lead yet, but there are many other dogs loose here. It does annoy me however that these dogs are allowed to barge up on our puppy (and worse still Bethany).

Shouting 'he is harmless' to us from a great distance is no good, really bloody annoying to be honest. It's highly inappropriate to have a dog scare our child or fight with our puppy, it may be 'OK' but to be honest if your dog starts it and our dog wants a piece of it then it's a free for all as far as I'm concerned!!

Anyway despite those little moments we did have a wonderful time, we threw rocks in the water, chased each other along the bank side, watched rabbits frolic with Pukeko's whilst we gazed adoringly at how perfect everything is.

Welcome to the world of special harmonious family times.

Enough Already

If you see me and want to be friends then please do not ask what kind of dog we have. And if you feel you need to ask make sure your reaction comes with a smile.

I am serious.

So as you know from a post a while back Denver was pre-judged because of his breed. The simple mention of this would send people into a face screwing advice giving frenzy - all of which was completely un-necessary.

We have been attending puppy classes now for 4 weeks and he is slowly getting better, although I feel this is linked to the work I do at home with him. The classes are good but as Denver needs a little more work and attention I find us spending most of our time stood on the sidelines.

Denver can sit, lie down and even roll over on command. He can walk on the lead perfectly and can 'fetch' and drop. He is compassionate, gentle and just wants cuddles most of the time.

He is 98% perfect.

The 2% problem is his play biting. He is very mouthy and likes to chew (as all puppies do) but his main problem is that he is confused by what he should be chewing. This can range from our clothes to the furniture, then if he isn't happy with that he can move to your hands. At the minute it's not too bad as he has little teeth - but of course this needs addressing before he gets bigger!

So far we have had some major conflicting and confusing advice, with one trainer at our school saying one thing and then another one rubbishing their advice and saying something different.

4 different methods have been used so far: pinning down until calm, spraying with water, swapping his choice of chew 'toy' and finally distraction with rewards - non of which have worked. And some we have been informed should have never been used in the first place. I have even had some amazing advice from my friend Caroline who lives all the way in Dubai which has made more sense than I have had here!

I took Denver to the vets the other day and he had his last jab, I asked the Vet about it and although she said it was normal for a puppy his age, if we were worried she recommended calling one of the most respected and professional trainers in Wellington. So I did.

I called Karen Sadler who has a business called Agrade Animals and explained the problem, how old he was, and how amazing he is. She then asked what kind of dog he was and where we got him from. When I said a Bullmastiff cross and the SPCA in the same sentence she made this horrible noise, and along came the her words of wisdom. Are you ready for them??

"TAKE HIM BACK".

Yes she said that! She said we were 'asking for trouble' with a dog like that. That the SPCA would have lied about his cross breed and he is more likely mixed with a Pit Bull and so very dangerous and he could never be trained!!!

I stumbled in pure confusion and madness at what I had just heard. I was utterly speechless - well apart from the bit where I told her that was the most pathetic and unhelpful advice I had ever heard, concluding with 'are you sure you are a professional trainer'??!

After that I called the SPCA to tell them what this lady had said and they were just as shocked as I was. They re-home hundreds of dogs a year and have not once had a problem with any that could not be trained and have been taken back!

Like my friend Sarah said when I told her about how flabbergasted I was: 'oh my child isn't behaving how I want them to, better push it back in'.

Today I went to the hairdressers and was again greeted with wrinkled faces and 'advice' that these types of dogs have a certain mentality. This has happened at least 5 times this week already and normally from strangers. Seems then that 'these types of dogs' also have something in common with these humans too!!

We were given a number of a lady called Julia Maiden and I have just had a wonderful inspirational uplifting chat. Julia is a professional trainer who not only has her own business but works beside the SPCA and at Paws In The City. Being able to talk to someone positive about Denver was amazing, we both agreed that if I had mentioned Denver was a Poodle we wouldn't have had all this silly negativeness!

At the end of the day the real problem is us. Denver is doing what he should do and we are the ones flaring around without a clue needing some guidance. However it seems we may have finally found someone who understands our concerns, knows of our feeling of abandonment and can see our pure love and 110% devotion for our new dog.

To be continued....

Madam

The Long Weekend

So it seems New Zealand likes to celebrate the 'Queens Birthday'. For some odd reason we have a public holiday for this actual false day - not that we are complaining - it was a long weekend for us. Even though we hate the Royals, they are of some use in our new country.

So it's been a cruisy weekend. It really has. We haven't really done much at all, it's literally just been chilling together and with friends whilst really enjoying life at home. To be honest lifetsyle slows down at this time of the year for us, as the weather has changed and it nicer to cosy up at home than brace the cold and wet weather.

Saturday was a day of shopping. A maddened morning of the toaster having a little Jekyll and Hyde moment with one second not cooking at all, then next leaving us with only burned crumbs meant it was time for a new one.

As you know from this story, our plan was to buy a toaster....somewhere along the way we also bought a new kettle and a coffee machine!!

As you also know I have never drunk coffee, love the smell, hate(d) the taste. Saturday night I bounced off the walls in our bedroom, woke to a pounding heart beat and had night sweats....yeah someone had too many coffee's before bed!!

Ooops!

Sunday was a lovely day. We met up with our dear friends Catherine, Alastair and their two gorgeous children Alexander and Eva at The Southern Cross for brunch. We became friends when Bethany and Alexander were inseperable best buddies at Brooklyn Kindy.

Catherine was kind enough in December last year to do the photos for Bethany's 4th Birthday party and it was no surprise she had the camera with her that day (typically I forgot mine!).

Catherine is a professional photographer and is not only utterly gorgeous but has an amazing talent. She took these shots of Bethany in the garden - they are stunning.

Catherine has her own business, so if you would like her to do the photos for you then let me know and I can pass on your details - you will not be disappointed!!

After a beautiful brunch we said our goodbyes and headed to the beach in Petone.

Denver loves the beach and had the best time running at the seagulls and chasing Bethany.

It was a really lovely family moment - and we embraced those winds for a decent brisk refreshing walk.

Monday we had Jo, Lewis, Sammy and Davey come over and spend some time with us - well us and the Wii! It was only fair that we have some other (fat) Mii's to join ours!

And before you know it its back to the normal all over again. We had a lovely family weekend, I think sometimes we focus on always feeling like we need to do something, like the time we spend together isn't actually worth it of we don't go somewhere, but to be honest we just enjoyed it being us.

Its what life is about after all, being with the ones you love and being in the moment. Right now it doesn't get any better.

Life is complete really when we can sleep with our tongue out!