Driving into the sunset

BritMumInNZ

New Year’s Eve itself was a quiet one for us, but we did enjoy a little countdown and fireworks with the girls. Our dear neighbour was home alone, so we joined her (or at least I did for a few chick flicks – Sound of Music and Runaway Bride!). Dan joined us at midnight and then we stayed up to watch the fireworks at 2am as Australia saw in the New Year (New Zealand television doesn’t even do a countdown!). I always miss the chimes of Big Ben on New Year’s Eve and singing along to Auld Lang Syne – but perhaps we’ll have to be more adventurous in 2009 and join the Dawes Family and company on a camping trip – as they certainly saw the New Year in with a bang (complete with Auld Lang Syne on the radio and lots of singing, la, la, te, da!).

The day itself started with A LOT of excitement. After ten year’s driving around in our trusty old motor we decided it was finally time to go for it and invest in a new motor, complete with much needed air-conditioning. The girls were SO excited when Dan drove home in our sparkling new motor and have spent hours playing in it! They are most pleased with their own little drink holders in the back and the ‘magic windows’ – the novelty has still not worn off and they are constantly opening and closing them, whilst shouting out, ‘We’ve got magic windows’ to all passers by! I have to say it’s taken me a while to blog about it as I’ve been in a state of shock and disbelief.

Anyway, out with the old (with much nostalgia and happy memories; road trips round New Zealand, brining our babes home from hospital, driving them round the bays to sleep…) and in with the new (which will hopefully last us till the girls are full grown!):

In the afternoon we drove up to our friends Kathy and Mark’s place to celebrate their oldest sons 3rd Birthday. We had a fabulous time and would have loved to stay longer, but Sophie had stayed up way too late the previous night and was tired… nevertheless she still ended up staying up till close to 9pm!

Here’s a little collage of the Birthday fun (Dan showing off his incredible multi-tasking skills in building the marble contraption, whilst entertaining and including a number of excited children and making sure Hawk didn’t eat any marbles!):

And here’s a little video clip of our girls seeing in the New Year with a few sparklers and bangs, followed by us driving into numerous sunsets and sunrises of now and yesteryear!

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7 thoughts on “Driving into the sunset”

  1. What a delightful memory for you! I enjoyed watching your video and listening to that lovely soft jazz music. 🙂 Your daughter’s are adorable and your country is beautiful – what a blessing to be able to behold such beauty on a daily basis. Such a reminder of our wonderful Creator.

    I love that you call vehicles motors. I hadn’t realized that the English did that. We just call them cars – and it threw me for a bit… I thought you put a new motor in your car. hee hee…

    Well, you and your family have a delightful New Year! May you rest in the Savior’s love and rejoice in his great gift of eternal life!

    Thanks for joining in for Wednesday’s Walk Down Memory Lane. I hope we’ll see you again next week!
    Lynnette 🙂

    Lynnette, thank you so much for your beautiful comment and for starting up ‘Wednesday’s Walk Down Memory Lane’, it is such a wonderful concept and I’m looking forward to writing my memories and sharing in others. Best wishes to you and your wonderful family for 2009, Sarah

  2. I enjoyed reading your posts and looking at your lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing.
    My husband was born in England. His mother was from Stocksbridge. We went there for a month five years ago. it was wonderful to tour around and see some of England. We even took a Ferry over to France.
    We live in the middle of the United States in state called Kansas. Every place has it’s beauty and intrigue,….even here in the “flatlands”. But England was charming.

    Hi Linda! Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your memories of a delightful holiday in England and ferry trip to France. You are so right in saying that every place has its beauty. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder and the more open we are to our surroundings, the deeper the beauty we behold. Best wishes for 2009, Sarah

  3. I loved your video and your little girls’ countdown to the New Year. Love listening to their accent….I’m from Texas. Your country is beautiful. Maybe one day I’ll get to visit it!

    Hi Kristin, thanks so much for visiting and hope you have a fabulous 2009 in Texas – drop me a line if you ever visit New Zealand! Sarah

  4. A beautiful video, and the girls were charming as usual.

    I’m glad you enjoyed my little fairies! They are such little energy tabs! x

  5. Just magic darlings….just loved your sparkling dancing as you danced together in this New Year….Grandma and Granddad have watched it again and again as it makes us feel so happy inside….thank you our precious ones.

    Awww, so glad you enjoyed it! As always, our hearts and minds were with you. Thank you so much for your e-mail too – yes – the photograph of the ‘Oyster clouds’ was taken from our old home in Brooklyn (I thought it would be nice to put together a montage of various sunsets and sunrises – we sure did see some beauties from our Brooklyn home!). Lots of love, x

  6. Happy 2009 to you Sarah. Looks like you’re all making the most of the holiday time together. I wonder whether when the novelty of the magic windows will wear off?!!

    Ha, ha, when they’ve been over-using them we secretly ‘lock them’ and say, ‘Oh no, the power has failed again, you must have been using them too much!’ – wonder how long it will take them to work out that we have the power…

  7. I am VERY emotional right now and your video brought tears to my eyes!! So lovely, the girls happily dancing, the music, the drive round my place of many memories. Oh it was such a gorgeous video. Lots of love, Happy New Year again. Its going to be wonderful for us all xx

    Awww, thanks so much lovey and I hope the emotions you’re feeling are ‘good’ ones (if you know what I mean!). Sometimes, when I’m crying over a movie or a beautiful sunset the girls ask if I’m okay and I say, ‘Yes, just crying happy tears my dears’.

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