Balmy May gives way to thunder & showers

Nature has been very kind this month. It’s been so warm that even the bulbs have been confused. Our daffodils decided to pop their heads out the ground thinking it was spring come again.

But winter isn’t to be kept at bay for ever. Dark clouds have rolled in this weekend, bringing heavy rainfall, floods, and crashes of thunder, but there’s still been some breaks in the clouds for chasing rainbows. I picked Charlotte up from school on Friday and we drove around the bays looking for a rainbow.

After getting our rainbow fix we stocked up on some art supplies and returned home, where Charlotte and Sophie took over the garage and laundry room to let loose with glitter and paint. Meanwhile, Alice had a fun time dancing to her favourite nursery rhymes in the lounge.

Friday is often ‘pizza night’, so we tucked into home-made pizza followed by Charlotte’s wonderful banana-split pudding (except we were running short on bananas so improvised with peaches – with the all important lashings of chocolate sauce, sprinkles, ice-cream & marshmallows).

This weekend is definitely one of pushing back the furniture and letting the train-set and lego take-over the living room.

We’ve ventured out to Te Papa too. Alice, Charlotte & I enjoyed a bus ride into the city, whilst Dan was busy taking Sophie horse riding (her one true passion since she was two!).

So the seasonal changes keep surprising us, but whether rain, sun, or a bit of both, we’re finding plenty to keep us out of mischief – just about!

I did have to make a rather soapy dash out of the shower to avert a diplomatic crises over the relocation of the cat’s bed between Charlotte and Sophie this morning (Dan was out at the time, with Alice, stocking up on important coffee supplies). Meanwhile the poor cat was stuck on the door-mat, gazing in through the back-door, waiting for someone to give her some breakfast! She really didn’t care a cat’s whisker where her bed was being moved to – she just wanted in out of the rain and some food!

And it wasn’t only our cat that noticed a change in the weather… Orcas and dolphin were seen cavorting in the bays on Saturday and a seal has been bathing in Aotea lagoon!