As some of you may know, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you will know that last Monday we flew down to Wellington for my little sisters University graduation - it was also Ella's very first airplane trip.
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| Just before take-off |
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| Wondering about what's going on. I never realised how much stuff a baby needs until I had to pack and transport all her stuff: - Pushchair - Capsule - Nappy bag - Portacot - A shit tonne of nappies - A shit tonne of clothes - in case of emergency - Baby food with bowls and spoons etc - Formula and bottles - Ergo carrier, for ease of use in the airport The list goes on and on, luckily Jetstar Airways allowed us to take the pushchair and capsule etc for free as part of our checked baggage. By the time we checked everything in and boarded the plane I felt like I had run a marathon. Luckily for us though Ella was so good on the plane, we gave her a dummy to suck on for take-offs and landings, she fell asleep mid flight and slept for most the short 1hr flight. The next day was the actual graduation ceremony which started at 6pm and finished at 8, so we had to have dinner afterwards, it was such a long day for Ella and to top it off a super late night. She was such a little trooper though and pretty much put up with it amazingly, apart from the odd grizzle due to boredom/ tiredness - I don't blame her though, I could totally relate! |
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| The University faculty |
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| The orchestra |
My little sister graduated from University, after a 3 year degree, with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Criminology and Political studies and will graduate again next year after completing Honours this year. I am so very proud of her, she's always been a smarty pants, I have no doubt she will go very far. She is so intelligent, mature and knowledgeable for her 21 years and she could do anything she sets her mind to.
Both my parents and Grandmother travelled down to Wellington for the ceremony in what was a very proud moment for all of us!
During the day there was meant to be a parade for all the prospective graduates in the city centre, a Victoria University tradition. Unfortunately, due to torrential rain the parade was cancelled - which also turned into terrible flooding just after we left Wellington. So, in order to kill time and stay dry we opted to visit the Te Papa Museum where the "Gallipoli: The scale of our war" exhibition was being displayed in honour of the 100th anniversary of ANZAC in the battles of Gallipoli.
One word - AMAZING! The exhibition sent chills down my spine with each incredible display and brought home just how tragic the war was with the tremendous loss of life on the battlefields at Gallipoli. It was truly humbling to read, a few, of the stories from the soldiers and to try and understand the terrible conditions and the horror they experienced. I can't even begin to comprehend what they went through but this exhibition offered a small insight and understanding into the experiences of the ANZAC's.
The huge models of the soldiers, created by Weta workshops, were incredibly detailed and life like to the point where you almost expected them to come to life at any moment.
Just a few images of the exhibition as I seriously suggest you check it out for yourself, the photos really don't do it justice - the detail and sheer scale is just incredible. The Te Papa Museum in itself is a great day out and it's also free of charge. So, if you ever happen to be in windy Wellington, check out the Te Papa Museum. The Gallipoli exhibition is being displayed for four years.
All in all it was a great trip to Wellington, seeing my baby sister graduate and Ella's first plane trip was amazing. It was a busy trip and we all came back pretty exhausted and it was good to be back in our own beds! As you can see, Ella couldn't wait that long and what better place for a snooze then Dad's arms.
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