Catching the Magic

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

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Charlotte

Smashing fun at Charli’s school fair

November 1, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Two week’s ago we were preparing for Sophie’s kindi fair, this week we’ve been closely watching the weather forecast in preparation for Charli’s school fair. Well, we had no need to worry as the weather God’s were on our side this weekend. Dan volunteered to do the plate smashing, along with another Dad, and they […]

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Tiny fairy cakes & a Labour weekend BBQ with friends

October 28, 2009May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Baking, Charlotte, Sophie

This Labour weekend we enjoyed the wonderful company of Steph and Francis (multi-talented nannies, early child-hood educators, superb baby-sitters and house-sitters). They stopped by for a BBQ on Sunday ‘avo along with an old friend of ours, John, who has recently returned to Welly for a while. John brought his son, Billy, with him. Billy […]

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Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho…

October 22, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Charlotte, Sarah, Sophie

It’s home from work we go… We dig, dig, dig… This was after school on Wednesday. I picked up three sacks of sand and then got the girls to help unload them into an old paddling pool (we have an identical one to fit on top as a lid). Anyone would think it was the […]

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Action in the playhouse

October 22, 2009 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Sophie

The little playhouse in our garden has been transformed over the past weekend, with the girls helping ‘Handy Daddy’ to source wood, hammer it up, give it an undercoat and then paint it with chalk board paint. Sophie loves the work-bench at Kindi (complete with real hammers, saws and nails) and was over the moon […]

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Kindi Fair Sizzles

October 17, 2009May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Baking, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

The sausages were sizzling at Sophie’s Kindi Fair this morning. Dan and another Dad did a fabulous job of stoking the BBQ and selling around 300 bangers in the course of the morning. Thankfully the rain held off, with only a few drizzles, and no gale force winds to contend with. They could really have […]

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Mind, body, soul

September 21, 2009September 2, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

In the garden… Busy bees (aka Charli & Sophie) have been exercising their green fingers in the garden. They’ve planted a wonderful assortment of sunflower seeds in every conceivable corner of the garden, from giants and teddy bears to dwarfs and a red petaled variety. At the end of the driveway, where our letterbox stands, […]

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Spring Cheer

September 13, 2009September 5, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Life in action - Videos, Sarah, Sophie

The past couple of week’s have been marred by lingering colds and days off school and Kindi. However the girls haven’t been so ill that they’ve lolled around at home all day, so they’ve still needed a run out in the fresh air by mid-afternoon. Thankfully, fine spring weather has given us plenty to smile […]

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It’s a first! And other proud moments

August 31, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

UPDATE: Since I wrote this post I’ve added more wheel action to the video, as Sophie has really got the hang of it now (I envisage a few serious scrapes in the forthcoming weeks!). Sophie cracked riding without stabilisers this weekend! She’s always been a fast learner, with her big sister leading the way, and […]

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Patience, Concentration and Motivation

August 17, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

All these virtues were met with reward on Sunday. Patience was Charli waiting a year to grow the 110cm minimum height requirement to go on the simulator rides at Te Papa museum; The Deep Ride and The High Ride. On Sunday morning the tape measure did not lie. It revealed the extra Weet-bix in the […]

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Spring cleaning vibes are in the air

August 15, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Charlotte, Sarah, Sophie

It’s been a week of sunshine and warm, winter temperatures of 15 to 18 degrees. Whilst Sophie has been at afternoon Kindi I’ve been busy tackling a list of jobs that I need to do in the house and garden. It’s great having a little extra time. With spring just over a month away, and […]

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Winter sunshine makes for lots of fun

August 7, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

When the sun is out, there is so much fun to be had in the great outdoors of New Zealand. Even though we live in a city (well in a suburb a 10-minute drive from the city) we have plenty of nature within our grasp. Whilst Charli was working hard at school and earning certificates […]

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Affordable Art

August 1, 2009September 20, 2010 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Charlotte, Sophie, Writing

With the New Zealand Affordable Art Show on this weekend in Wellington the girls decided to create some of their own art. With the only cost being a couple of canvases and paint, this really is affordable art! I think it’s so important for children to see their art displayed in the main living areas […]

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First Bouquet of Flowers

July 2, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

How old were you when you received your first bouquet of flowers? Well, our dear Charli, walked out of her classroom on Friday, at the tender age of 5, with a big beamer on her face, carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers… Her friend (who is a boy) had organized (with a little help from […]

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Star Wars Extravaganza!

June 30, 2009December 14, 2009 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Charlotte, Special Days

Six year old Birthday parties at home are not for the faint hearted. We had 12 children to entertain (including our own) and with only two parents staying (the rest wisely making a ‘drop and run’) we had our hands full! Preparations started a couple of days before, with decorations to put up, loot bags […]

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