A double dose of the '100 Happy Days' Challenge: Days 64 - 77

Two weeks have passed since my last post in the '100 Happy Days' Challenge due to some technical difficulties I had while we were away on holidays. And here we are at Grati-Tuesday again already.  

The past two weeks have been filled with family, friends and adventures - my perfect idea of a family holiday! 

Nothing is more important to me than my family and I feel blessed every time I get to share special moments with them. They are there through the good times and the bad, and it always brings a smile to my face when I think of all the amazing memories we've made together! 

Make the most of spending time with the people you love, they won't be around forever and you never know what's around the corner! 

Here's a look at some of the things that made me happy while we were away: 

Day 64 - 'We got to visit my lovely grandparents today. It's always so nice spending time with them. This photo was taken at our wedding in 2011.'
My grandparents are starting to get older (as grandparents tend to do) so it was great getting to have a couple of visits with them while we were in NZ. I miss seeing them all the time like I used to when I lived there.

Day 65 - 'This amazing girl has flown over early from WA to be my support crew for my first ultra on Saturday. I surprised her when she arrived with a brand new crew shirt.'
I'm so glad mum was there to see me race and be part of my first ultra, we will have those memories forever.

Day 66 - 'Today we drove around the course to show mum where the checkpoints will be on race day. This is the first one. Starting to get so excited now!'
We only had time to see half the checkpoints that day, and as it turned out, they were the only ones we needed to show mum once the course was changed due to the cyclone. 

Day 67 - 'Tomorrow I'm competing in my first ever ultra marathon! This is the advice my coach emailed through to me this afternoon! So excited to start running!'
My coach is fantastic and I'm really looking forward to working with him leading up to my next big race in June.

Day 68 - 'By far my happiest moment today - finishing my first ever ultra marathon (73km)!'
My biggest running achievement to date - I was on cloud nine.

Day 69 - 'One of the joys of being a runner... You get to eat giant burgers and not feel guilty about it!'
This was just one of the many huge meals I ate that day! Who am I to argue with my body if it feels hungry!

Day 70 - 'The last time we had dinner with my big bro and his beautiful fiance was in Perth about 18 months ago so this was definitely a highlight of my day! (Excuse the lines, the original pic wouldn't fit on insta!)'
We had the best time visiting Lewis and Amy on the farm and can't wait to be able to visit again!

Day 71 - 'Lewis and Amy took us for a walk around some of the farm today to show us the property - this is a shot of Lewis and mum taking it all in.'
Combining two of my favourite things - family and exercise!

Day 72 - 'There's nothing better than relaxing with my beautiful family after a busy day exploring.'
Being on the farm was so peaceful.

Day 73 - 'Watching Scotty with our niece just melts my heart.'
This guy is going to make the best dad some day!

Day 74 - 'The pre-wedding family dinner on Friday night was so much fun! This wee princess was pretty excited about her dessert.'
I love getting to spend time with my nieces, they are the cutest!

Day 75 - 'One of the happiest days of my life so far... Watching my big brother marry the girl of his dreams!'
It was such a perfect day!

Day 76 - 'Saying goodbye to family is always hard, but making plans for when we will see each other again always puts a smile on my face.'
Leaving NZ was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!

Day 77 - 'It was so nice getting back to work today and having kids coming up and hugging me to say that they missed me.'
After travelling all day we were pretty tired and not really looking forward to work, but seeing how much the kids missed us made it all worth while.