Four Seasons – Summer

I’m linking up with Lou of Seaside Siblings for ‘Four Seasons‘ this week, as in the past few weeks we’ve really been having a blast in the season of ‘Summer’.

The school holidays come to an end on Thursday, when the school bell will call us to attention for a 9am start every day (for a long term of eleven weeks – New Zealanders would move mountains for rugby if they could – for now they are happy to move school terms around to accommodate the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament!).

The holidays have raced by and the house is going to seem awfully quiet with just Alice and I for six hours a day (still got Chinese G & G here till 14 Feb to help ease me into the school year!).

But before that happens, I’m going to take a moment to celebrate some wonderful moments of Summer fun we’ve enjoyed recently.

Picking blueberries with Chinese G&G here (where Charlotte and Sophie picked with great competitiveness and nearly had to be sectioned to separate blueberry bush aisles!):

And Alice chomped the pickings with great gusto (and a bucket left unattended was soon attended to by Alice!):

We discovered the most beautiful swimming hole… (and a HUGE spider under a rock!)…

We enjoyed a fabulous time of free play at Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt (New Zealand really does ‘do’ playgrounds, parks and children’s facilities very well indeed):

Where the girls had a very fun time (and us big folk did too):

We have spent many mornings and late afternoons down at our local surf beach, Lyall Bay, with the girls discovering a new love – boogie boarding (I just need to keep my eyes on Trade Me for decent wetsuits – as they can only manage half an hour before their teeth start chattering at such a rate that they run the risk of needing dental treatment for chipped teeth!).

And Alice loves to come home from a sun-safe play at the beach to a warm outdoor bath on the patio (standing up to watch the planes fly over-head or a Tui whistle from the top of the Norfolk Pine tree).

Evenings have been spent with the family tribe gathered around the fire toasting ceremonial marshmallows…

And attending wonderful free concerts in the Botanical Gardens as part of the ASB Gardens Magic.

And little things have made us smile too – like daily jugs of freshly picked sweet pea flowers from the garden, cut lavender hanging to dry and filling little bags to scent our wardrobes, and rose petals freshly picked and dried within minutes in the microwave to make instant potpourri.

So though our holidays are coming to a close, our Summer days are still lingering on and I have promised the girls we will continue with the summer fun as long as the weather holds and the evening sun graces us with its presence.

I know I will be hanging out for the school bell at 3pm Monday to Friday! I think Alice will be too – but then again, she might enjoy the peace and quiet! She’ll have some time to make some of her own baby friends too x

Charlotte, Alice & Sophie at Te Papa Museum one happy holiday morning x