Catching the Magic

Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!

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Alice

I LOVE… [Kids Click]

May 23, 2010May 27, 2010 Charlotte 6 Comments Alice, Charlotte

Greatfun4kids blog is running a fun weekly photo challenge, ‘Kids Click‘, for children who love to snap photographs. This week’s theme is ‘I LOVE…’ And I love my baby sister, Alice. by me (Charlotte) age 6 going on 7 year’s old. For rules, and how to join in the fun, click here… UPDATE: Results are […]

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Three month’s sweet :)

May 14, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice

Alice, oh Alice, you have us all hook, line and sinker. Still holding on to your baby blues and happily tagging along wherever your big sisters need to be. We adore watching you explore and grab at life around you to smother in your love. Such a beautiful age of coos, giggles, smiles and twinkling […]

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Orcas to start the day

May 12, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Sarah, Sophie

Think of the perfect start to your day. A coffee and pain au chocolat perhaps? A beautiful sunrise or birdsong at your window? Happy children that eagerly cooperate in everything that is asked of them? Tuesday morning we couldn’t have asked for anything better than seeing a family of Orcas just metres from shore. FIN-TASTIC: […]

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Baby yoga with Alice & Sophie

May 3, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Sarah, Sophie

With Alice being awake for longer stretches during the day I am finding time to do more exercise. Today, Sophie led me in a yoga workout. Alice joined in with a few baby stretches and thought the sight of Sophie and Mummy standing on their heads was hilarious…

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Every day has its highs and lows…

May 3, 2010May 6, 2010 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Random Musings, Sophie

but when the lows are met with humour and acceptance, rather than resistance and annoyance, they are much easier to deal with and quickly forgotten. I have a saying that is frequently used in our home, ‘It’s in the past, put it behind you and move on’. I use this a lot when the children […]

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Tummy Time

April 29, 2010April 29, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice

Alice is 10 week’s old and has been so much more wakeful and active in the past week. She’s getting stronger by the day and reaching out to grab things (Daddy’s chest hairs and any hair in general is her speciality!). Here she is doing the good ‘ole turtle impression… Thought I’d look back at […]

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Who wears the pants in your house?

April 28, 2010April 28, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Alice, Charlotte

In our house this week…. This is what happens when I leave Charlotte, Alice, my iPhone and the laundry basket alone for 5 minutes!

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The way we sleep

April 28, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Winter’s approaching, though you’d barely notice. Sophie was out in the paddling pool on Tuesday morning, helping me to clean all the bath toys that had found their way outside during summer and stayed there gathering dirt and cobwebs. She was home from Kindi with a little virus that reared its head Monday night with […]

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Alice’s Coos!

April 24, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Life in action - Videos

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First week of term 2

April 24, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

It’s been a great first week of term 2. I’m always sad on the first day of the new term, as I really do love having the girls home over the holidays. However, it doesn’t take long (all of a day!) for me to quickly get used to having my morning’s quiet with Alice. The […]

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The day Alice arrived

April 22, 2010February 15, 2013 BritMumInNZ 10 Comments Alice, Special Days

11pm: ‘I think we should go now,’ I said, not really wanting to leave the comfort of my bed. The hospital was only a short distance away but I didn’t want to be in the car when the contractions got to the crawling on the floor stage. They had been coming all day. Not painful, […]

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Back to the ‘ole routines

April 19, 2010April 19, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

I sat at Oriental Parade enjoying the warm Autumn sunshine with Alice snuggled up in the sling fast asleep thinking, ‘It’s way too quiet, I want my big girls here with me!’. They went back to school and kindy this morning and I really did miss them. They were both happy to be back, but […]

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Those boots were made for walking…

April 17, 2010April 17, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

The girls got new boots for winter yesterday and I was green with envy! I can still remember the annual excitement of getting new shoes before heading back to school. But in ‘my day’ (I’m SO old!) we had to wear black shoes and didn’t have nearly as much choice as they do now. The […]

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Alice at 7 weeks: Sharing the love (and the milk!)

April 6, 2010April 7, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice

The badge of honour – baby sick on the shoulder – is one Mummy is wearing frequently of late. Alice is seven week’s old today and looking plumptiously scrumptious. She’s feeding like a champ and has a big appetite. Mummy has been completely soaked to the skin several times due to her over-feeding (cheers Alice)! […]

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  • WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!February 20, 2025
    In November 2024 I took on the epic endurance event of the 50km WAI2K Ultra, from Woodside Train Station in Greytown, through the hills of the Wairarapa and Kaitoke Regional Park, to Tunnel Gully Upper Picnic Area in Upper Hutt. This mixed terrain course involves around 2,500m of elevation gain through dense scrub, beautiful native… Read more: WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!
  • Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.February 6, 2025
    Life is never all sunshine and roses. When we have had the good fortunate of having people in our lives that we’ve loved deeply, and have felt their love in return, it is painful to see that person suffering. Life is all about beginnings and endings, hellos and goodbyes, first moments and celebrations, and also… Read more: Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.
  • Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024January 6, 2025
    At the end of May 2024 my husband and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and took the opportunity to grab a fix of winter sunshine, over the ‘King’s Birthday’ weekend public holiday (beginning of June), with a trip to the Gold Coast – on Australia’s East Coast. We were joined by our children, Sophie… Read more: Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024
  • ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024January 2, 2025
    After over twenty five years of living thousands of miles away from my birth country, and many flights back and forth, I am still in awe of the fact I can be on the other side of the world in 24 hours. I remind myself that jet passenger services didn’t start until the late 1950s… Read more: ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024
  • Race Tekapo 50kmSeptember 29, 2024
    Race registration on Friday night, by the shore of Lake Tekapo, was a ‘hold on tight to your bib’ or you won’t be going anywhere tomorrow affair. The bitingly cold air was a shock to the system, after my husband, daughter and I had driven from a sunny, spring like day in Christchurch. Our flight… Read more: Race Tekapo 50km
  • Running the stunning Motatapu Trail MarathonMay 30, 2024
    This was one of the most beautiful trail marathons I’ve ran and was a great way to celebrate a summer of running and see in the beginning of autumn (though the weather was still very much throwing the heat of summer on event day – which fell on the first Saturday in March). The 42km… Read more: Running the stunning Motatapu Trail Marathon
  • 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!May 21, 2024
    I’ve been on a good running streak for over a year now (meaning no injuries, illness or troublesome hormones to slow me down – thanks to a mix of strength work, good luck and hormone replacement therapy!). When I saw that a new event was going to be held in the city where I live… Read more: 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!
  • Six month catch up!March 9, 2024
    Time is literally flying away on me and blog writing is very neglected these days, but we are all well here and can’t believe our lovely Christmas and New Year festivities were three months ago! Spring and summer has raced by and now we are on the cusp of autumn here in New Zealand. Since… Read more: Six month catch up!
  • Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.August 8, 2023
    With the days dark and short here in New Zealand we jetted off for some warmth and sunshine in the Cook Islands, just a three to four hour flight from Auckland. We have never visited any of the Pacific Islands and it was with great delight that we touched down on the runway in Rarotonga,… Read more: Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday CelebrationAugust 7, 2023
    Turning 50 is definitely a milestone birthday, but hubby Dan didn’t want a party so in February we decided to head away for the weekend to celebrate at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival. Dan’s Birthday fell on the same weekend as the festival, in the sunshine summer month of February here in New Zealand,… Read more: Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!May 10, 2023
    Round the Bays Wellington, held in February every year, is always an iconic event, generally bestowed with sunshine and an amazing turn out of people of all ages. The atmosphere for this event is like a festival, with entertainment lining the route of the first 6km, between Waitangi Park and Kilbirnie Park (where all the… Read more: A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!April 4, 2023
    On Census night in New Zealand we were away from home, up in Auckland (along with thousands of other people from all over the country) to enjoy an epic night of entertainment at Mt Smart Stadium. We flew up first thing on Tuesday morning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy some sight seeing before… Read more: Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!
  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!March 30, 2023
    Our youngest turned 13 in February, joining her older two siblings in ‘teen hood’ (though our oldest will turn 20 in June this year!). Having started high school a couple of weeks before her birthday there was, certainly for me, a moment of nostalgia as I reflected on how grown up my ‘baby’ has become… Read more: Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & TaupoMarch 29, 2023
    The last week of January, before the start of a new school year, we drove up from Wellington to the central region of the North Island for a week’s holiday. We’ve holidayed in this area many times over the years and never tire of the endless outdoor activities on offer in the most beautiful natural… Read more: Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo
  • Christmas and a Birthday in WellingtonJanuary 12, 2023
    Sunshine was gifted to us on Christmas Day this year in Wellington and we had the most wonderfully relaxed day together (well, almost all together, as our oldest currently lives in Melbourne and so we video chatted and were delighted to see them having an awesome time with a friend and their friend’s family). We… Read more: Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington

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