Maria Davis » Day-2-Day

Leilani’s Long Awaited Arrival

Maria — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:54:54 +0000

July 15, 2010 at 4:45am marks the official arrival day of our beautiful daughter, Leilani. After 32 hours of enduring labor, with the incredible support of Elias, my dear friend-Val, and our midwife-Elaine (Mighty Oaktree Midwifery), Leilani entered our world. She was super alert from the first minute of life outside the womb. Regardless of the exhaustion, I suddenly became alert also and overwhelmed with love for her. Within a few minutes of meeting her, the name became so obvious to us…with her olive skin and black hair, she seemed to be the perfect Leilani (Hawaiian for heavenly flower), our Polynesian Princess. She weighed 6lb 12oz and has her Daddys height at 52.5cm long.

…click on the thumbnail to view larger/slideshow…

After a few days in hospital, Leilani was ready to meet the world. Her Auntie Jo and Grampa and Nana adore her. She will be meeting her relatives from Austria very soon and also relatives from New Zealand are on their way to greet her too.

Being born into a family of photographers means that she is going to be photographed and filmed all the time. Here are just a few shots so far…

…CLICK on the PICASA photo album link above for more images…

Waiting Game on the Thompson River

Maria — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:27:16 +0000

What do you do when you are over 40 weeks pregnant and in Kamloops, BC with temperatures in the mid-high 30′s (degree celsius)? Float on the river!

Fortunately, my parents live on the South Thompson River which makes for a nice day at the beach, whether it is hiding in the shade of the Willows or soaking up some sunshine floating on the river. Elias had his afternoon booked with paddling Kali everywhere to make belief lands…but he stayed hydrated. Lucky for me, Val and Cohen wanted to stay in the shade most of the day with me and eat snacks all afternoon.

Looking forward to more days spent at the river throughout this hot summer. Baby will learn very quickly to rock to sleep in a hammock on the river shore.

Auzzie BBQ – Sausages & Guns

Maria — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:53:37 +0000

A bbq, a truck bed full of free beer and the chance to fire guns brings ski instructors together like bears to honey. Andy’s homestead named “Bulletproof” in Cobungra was the site of the gathering. To get to his remote property from Hotham, you travel about 20m and pass Brumbies (wild horses) and packs (is that the right word??) of kangaroos. To set the record straight, everyone is shooting at clays… not the the wildlife, although Andy does step onto his balcony and shoot his dinner often (rabbit, etc). I made sure that there were a few veggie burgers around.

Last day of work

Maria — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:11:33 +0000

Today is officially my last day of work in the Snowsports office at Hotham. Last week was our season end party. Auzzies like their “dress up” parties as much as their beer, so it was designated as Jungle theme. Thinking outside of the box (animal, bird, native), Elias & I decided to go as the middle-aged Ulf & Helga – the German tourists. We dressed identical – too funny. Credit goes to the guy who came as the Empire State Building – Urban Jungle. Very clever.

The last days of Hotham will be spent riding the spring snow. I will even attempt to follow up my one skiing lesson I took. (first time on skis!) Spring riding has been fun, nothing like sunshine and corn snow…neither has been abundant this season, so it is appreciated. Looking forward to riding the last week away while Elias works until the end of season.

The count down to holidays has begun. I am looking forward to sleepless nights from noisy neighbors, sleeping-in until 7am in lumpy beds, sore shoulders from heavy backpacks, cold water showers in not-so-clean bathrooms, stinky clothes that need laundering, confused from language barriers and wrong directions …. ahhh, I love traveling. I have my shopping list ready for Kuala Lumpur, my Lonely Planet ready for the Vietnam tour, & my feet are ready to explore Angkor-the largest religious structure in the world & the heart & soul of Cambodia.