Saturday Evening Post — We Made This Ourselves

Olivia Leigh Photographie

Olivia Leigh Photographie

Hey!

We document our family's working sabbaticals as well as adventures a tad closer to home.

Aug 1

Aug 1 Saturday Evening Post

Julie Schumacher

A few photos from our week.

New Regent Street, Christchurch

New Regent Street, Christchurch

Wallaby, Hanmer Springs Animal Farm

Wallaby, Hanmer Springs Animal Farm

Tram Ride, Christchurch

Tram Ride, Christchurch

New Brighton Pier

New Brighton Pier

Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch

Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch

Wacky Stays, Kaikoura

Wacky Stays, Kaikoura

Wacky Stays, Kaikoura

Wacky Stays, Kaikoura

Napier

Redwood Memorial Grove, Rotorua

Redwood Memorial Grove, Rotorua

Most Recent Post

Featured

But She Won't Remember It

Jan 18, 2019

But She Won't Remember It

Jan 18, 2019

Jan 18, 2019

Instagram

@w ellturnedwords

They say liberals live in bubbles. Guess we play in them too.

🌳🌲one of us shamelessly hummed the postal service the whole time 🌲🌳

“I don’t want to have to remember this adventure this way.” We’d been looking forward to standup paddling the whole trip. I’d talked it up, big time. She has great balance! She was going to love it!
Despite a totally clear forecast, only 10 or so minutes into our time the wind kicked up. Then the rain came. The weather here is fickle like that.
Lo is strong, but even Brett and I were working hard to not drift endlessly away from the beach. Lo got upset that she wouldn’t be able to do it on her own but also didn’t want to give up. For a minute we were stuck. She cried, then climbed onto Brett’s board, I snagged her paddle that had drifted further away, and we slowly plowed toward the dock, towing her board behind.
As soon as we got there, the wind died down. She stood back up. We took an extra half hour to future-proof the memory a bit. Not the adventure we planned, but a good chance to review the Burwell motto: We stick together. We don’t give up. And, usually, everything works out AOK.

(Little) Lady of the (Mystery) Lake

Today this kid biked 13.5 miles. City streets, gravel paths, over bridges, up and down hills on a bike with a shoddy first gear we bought of Craigslist the day after we arrived.
We are so lucky to do these trips—we know that—but they’re only really possible because of her. She’s up for niche museums I’ll geek out at, stopping and smelling all the roses, long drives listening to the same songs over and over again, swimming with her dad while it rains, camps where she doesn’t know a soul, everything...but eating fish. So, thanks kid for being up for adventures big and small, near and far and making it all happen.

No lie, I’m voting to try my damnedest to protect my daughter’s future. But, the thing is, I’m voting even more to protect the future of people who are far more vulnerable. I vote because Black Lives Matter. I vote to empower intersectional feminism. I vote anti-racists into office and racists out. I vote for people who will protect LGBTQI individuals. I vote for indigenous rights. I vote for healthcare. I vote for education. I vote for the environment. I vote for fair wages. I vote for art and poetry and music and beauty. I vote to protect civil rights, voting rights, human rights, abortion rights. I vote for my family and all y’all. So you vote for you and your family, hell yes, but vote for the future of the whole damn planet and all its people, too. Especially you very angry white women, I get it. I’m mad too but hush, we gotta fix the mess we helped make, no more time for shock. All our more vulnerable folks could’ve told us shit was this bad long before 2016 had we bothered to look around more. Don’t feel bad, go get ‘em. And then never stop looking around again. (PS this gorgeous piece is by @corneliamcnamaraflowers for @igrowchicago’s Gather gala and it was holy moly even more beautiful in person)

What Happens Next: Napier

Aug 3 What Happens Next: Napier

Day Trip: Arthur’s Pass

Jul 25 Day Trip: Arthur’s Pass