Officially the first day of summer in New Zealand is 1 December. This past week summer has come early. Normally we have a fair bit of unsettled spring weather all the way up to Christmas, but not this year.
Calm, sunny skies have made for some primo beach visits. For the first time ever Charlotte & Sophie plucked up the courage to try boogie boarding!
We have spent years getting them water confident (still got to be close at hand for potential wipe-outs!). They were SO excited to catch their first waves! It was so much fun to watch them (after many summers with one child being too scared to even step foot on the sand for fear of a big wave swallowing them up).
We’re looking forward to a low whinge summer on the beach, with the girls toughening up (and Alice so far the bravest of the lot for her age). Kissing goodbye to, ‘Ow! The salt stings my legs’ and ‘I need pee pees! I need poos!’ (they are big enough and clever enough to take themselves now) and, ‘I want an ice-lolly now!’ – they’ve learned patience and thankfully Alice is too young to speak and hasn’t learned to stamp her foot… yet (next summer will be a different story!).
So yah! Surf’s up dudes! Here’s a very short video of the gals in action…
We spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning at the beach. I walked down on Sunday morning, after Alice’s nap, to meet up with the rest of the whanau. What a glorious view…
We made a pit stop at Wild Style Surf and Coffee Shop (I tried to persuade Dan to go at surfing, but failed… another time!) and had a lovely quiet lunch and game of Connect-4.
It’s a lovely little cafe and the rates for hiring surf gear are really good. And, importantly, the coffee from Peoples Republic, hits the spot 🙂
In the afternoon Dan put the big girls to work varnishing his patio furniture.
He lovingly sanded down the tables and benches in preparation for mucho eating and merriment over the festive season (just hoping for glorious sunshine for Sophie’s 5th Birthday party on 18th December!).
It’s so wonderful to play out in the garden till late. The garden is looking so lush (but will take a lot of watering to keep it that way!).
Tis the season to be merry and we are loving dancing in the sunshine (and sending warm thoughts to our loved ones in the northern hemisphere x).
Linking up with Lou at Seaside Siblings for her weekly ‘4 Seasons‘ on Tuesdays (I’m a day early, but couldn’t resist posting up the sunshine photos from the weekend!). Visit to see what other folk around the globe are doing to celebrate the season this week.
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yaye summer is almost here 🙂
pleased you had a neat weekend 🙂
Oh..can feel the warmth of the sun as I write….it was ¬9 in Farnborough last night and woke up to a beautiful frost with glorious skies and the sun filtering through.My heart feels so warm though as we look at the beautiful pictures of the children and all in the surf…magic!!
You seriously make me want to visit NZ!
That’s harsh but fare – Dan is just about to deliver the coup de grâce to Sophie in the Connect-4 photo. – Why are Daddy’s always such hard work!
Ha, ha, yes! It’s Charlotte he’s playing against though – Sophie’s examining her chocolate brownie covered teeth in the mirror opposite! And Charlotte thought her Daddy would make easier opposition than her Mummy. x
Your sunny beach photos are lovely. Having been raised in the Southern hemisphere, and now living in the Northern hemisphere I am always torn at this time of year.
The snow is oh so pretty, but just so very (very) cold!
Is the 18th Sophie’s actual birth-date, as it is my girl’s birthday too, only she is turning 18 and we just can’t work out when to have her birthday…*sigh*
Wow! 18 on the 18th! That’s a biggie 🙂
My Sophie turns 5 on Boxing Day!!! We did do a party on Boxing Day one year… but it was exhausting! She’s now very excited to be having ‘3 celebrations’ (as she likes to tell people: a Kindi celebration/graduation ceremony (!); a Birthday party with friends and a special day with her family on her actual Birthday!). x
Looking at the pictures has made me feel a little warmer on this chilly morning. I remember many happy hours spent standing at the water’s edge watching my boys as they surfed. Later it was many hours spent sitting up on the cliff top scanning the water with my binoculars wondering when Romas would finally decide there were no more waves to catch. Having the sea close by as a ‘playground’ is so wonderful for all ages. Maybe I’ll finally get a wetsuit this year, it would be a good incentive to keep my weight down but I’ll stick to my bodyboard as I’m not a strong swimmer.
What a cute video! The weather has been amazing, like you we have been down at the beach most days. You really should convince Dan to get out surfing, it is the best (says she who has not been out since before the girls were born… slack)