Easter is a full-on holiday here. Everyone gets Good Friday and Monday off. Auckland really empties out as most people scurry North attempting to catch the last bit of warm dry weather before Winter sets in. I was awakened Friday by angel voices in the form of a choir from the catholic church across the street. Awesome. We had a leisurely morning then headed to the Waitakere Ranges about 20miles west of Auckland to spend the day out in the wilderness, hiking to the lower Nihoputu dam. Kim and I did this tramp (hike) when we first moved here to NZ and decided to revisit it b/c it has nice pram (stroller) access.
Chloe was noticeably excited about our new surroundings - it definitely impressed Kim and I that we need to get her out in the bush more often. She was an excellent guide. She managed to keep me from eating these purple berries.
It wasn't an easy task. Purple berries? But she used her stern voice (see below).
The trail wasn't ours alone, we probably saw ~8-10 other hikers - most of them had dogs with them and we stopped them all and asked for a little pet.
We stopped at a primo picnic spot that we had scoped out the first time we were here ~3 years ago! It's a great spot at the top of these little falls, not totally ideal for toddlers and creepers, but we were able to relax with our PB&Js for about 20ms.
We also revisited a waterfall that some of you may recognize from our previous trip here. Yes, the waterfall with a pony and treasure behind it.
Wow. The difference in my life between these two visits. Two perfect, beautiful children, immeasurable growth in my marriage, a bit of character growth (if I do say so myself - there was and continues to be ample opportunity for improvement), unimaginable direction my career has taken...everything good, every last bit of it from God. God's grace, beauty, generosity, patience, kindness...speechless. 
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