Just can't get enough.

My students are still in school, so I took the opportunity during my day off (of vacations) to run back to my beloved Pomaria and surprise my kiddos. I snuck into the back of the classroom and looked around until I heard, "HI MISS STUZ!" and half the class swarmed me! It was enough to make me tear up instantly!

"I missed you!" "Are you back forever?" "Miss Stutz, I couldn't sleep the night you left." "I thought you were gone!" "Did you come all the way back from Texas?" "I missed you Miss. So much." My precious Room 4.

I told them all about Rotorua and apologized to Miss Snow for creating mass chaos in the classroom. I went to lunch with all of them and they were so excited to take more pictures! I had taught them all how to use my Nikon and they couldn't wait for another turn!

After lunch I go to read them one last book, promised I would skype with them, and snuck right back out that back door. My heart was full of love and attachment, and aching from goodbyes and distance. Oh, how I've fallen in love. I won't forget what I've learned from these sweet souls. I sure wish this place was closer to Texas.

Waitomo Caves.

This morning we slept in, packed up, and got back in our favorite vans. We drove to Waitomo and went Black Water Rafting!

We got into awesome, flattering wetsuits (not) and picked out a tubes. There was a special process to making sure your tube fit your rear, and apparently it involved taking this picture.

We practiced jumping into the river with our tubes. We basically had to do it backwards and blindly because we would be doing it inside a pitch black cave soon enough! It was so scary the first time but I learned to just do it without thinking.

We finally crawled into the caves, literally, and spend a lot of time finding our footing because the water was low. We crawled and shimmied through tiny crevices and gasp as we came out into huge spaces. Every once in a while we would turn out our lights and float with only the glow worms on the ceiling to guide us. The water was freezing cold but the experience was worth it. We had to jump backwards off a waterfall into the black water, hang on to each other as we were pushed by the current, and step carefully in water with eels. We were taught all about the larvae glowworms and their cycles. Heavenly Father has created so many amazing, intriguing things for us to discover and experience.

Our guide asked us to write comments and draw pictures for him in his notebook, and of course we had to make ours better than the others. So here you have it:

We spent the rest of the day driving home and finally got back to the Fitz around 9:30. It was so nice to come home and see this family of mine. I love them so much!

Happy Birthday to my little brother Braden! I can't believe he is 13! He has brought so much laughter and so many smiles to my family. He is such a blessing. I can't wait to tae-kwon-do him when I get home.

Zorbing, Shopping, and Stank.

ZORBING! is awesome. Basically, you get inside an enormous, inflated hamster ball and roll down a hill. You can choose to strap yourself in and go down dry, or fly around inside with some H2O. Either way, it is kind of ridiculous. And amazing.

Mekelle, Leah, and I went together in a ball with water in it. It was so much fun! Rolling down a hill, trying to sit up but hurting ourselves and cracking up! It was most definitely worth it.

Afterwards, we went to the shops and got a few more souvenirs for the fambam.

Yes, we are plugging our noses. Rotorua smells awful. Rotorua has a nickname Sulphur City, because of the hydrogen sulphide emissions, which gives the city a “rotten eggs” smell. Good old rotten-rua.

Jayna, me, and Mekelle in the waka of love.

Sunday drive to the Rainbow Lakes.

After church we went on another epic Sunday drive. Yes, I mean epic as in amazing once in a lifetime, but also as in really, really, really long. We arrived at the rainbow lakes which were breathtaking. There was a blue and a green lake that were only separated by a sliver of land, but their colors were distinctly different. Mountains and rolling hills were blanketed in palm trees and then dipped into these deep blue and green lakes. The pictures don't give it justice.

Fearless. Thanks T. Swift.

NZ. We've started getting creative. After 3,000 pictures, you would too.

We drove to New Zealand's largest lake, Lake Taupo, as well, but it started to get really cold so we headed back to Rotorua.

I've been thinking a lot about what it will be like to be back in Provo. I know I will be missing my Fitz like crazy, and that I'll have to readjust and get used to normal college life again. But I do love my BYU.

Te Puia and the Luge.

This morning we went to a Maori tribe's village, which is now commercialized as Te Puia. It is in a huge geothermic area with all sorts of boiling mud and hot rocks and geysers. The whole time I thought about how much my geologist brother Kenny would have loved to be so close to the earth's crust! Haha! We also got to see live Kiwi birds (a rare sight) and learned more about the carving and weaving of the tribe.

Me and Mekelle's July Maori god.

"Warming Rocks"

We grabbed some lunch and headed to the luge. It was SO FUN! We rode up in a gondola and had five rides down the mountain. There was a scenic, intermediate, and advanced track. It was a good time, racing down the mountains and screaming our heads off. I may or may not have figured out how to really work the breaks on my third time down. "Breanna, are you TRYING to burn rubber?"

LAMB CHOP was in the gift shop.

Hamilton, New Zealand.

Today was beautiful. We left bright and early (note the picture above) and found ourselves in Hamilton, New Zealand by 10:30. The LDS temple and visitors center is in Hamilton, and we were lucky enough to have an appointment for baptisms! I was privileged to do some family names for the Fitisemanu's! The temple is amazing and completely fitting for Aotearoa.

After some picture taking, of course, we headed to the visitors center. There was a smaller version of the Christus, but the message is the same. I am so grateful for the things I learned on this day.

Afterwards we went to the Hamilton Gardens which were AMAZING. There were gardens that mimicked different eras, countries, etc. It was such a fun afternoon!

Yes, this is a dinner set, in the ground.

Chillin with my homies.

Chatting it up in China.

We found a bunch of Greek god and goddess statues.

They were really lifelike, too.

Modernist American Garden. This is what they think of us.

Indian Garden.

Duck face-off. Don't ask questions.

Musical Toilet. Only James can convince this many people to squeeze into one stall.

We are staying at a family's house in Rotorua, so once we got here, we just watched a movie, set up a XL mondobed and hung out together.

Princess (Mekelle) and the Pea (Bre).