Birthday time for the man of the house is a little different with three energetic daughters to contend with. One daughter (young Alice) decided to pick the eve of his Birthday to wake up and do some midnight star-gazing with her Daddy. Any chance of a lie in to catch up on lost winks was […]
Special Days
Our Boxing Day girl turns 6!
Our live-wire Sophie turned 6 on Boxing Day and we celebrated in sunshine with Grandma and Granddad. She waited patiently for all the house to wake, before opening her presents. She waited an hour and a half. Impressive! She was bestowed with lovely gifts including Lego, a fairy field-book and Barbie dolls. A cake was […]
A Christmas to remember 2011
This was a Christmas Day to remember. Sunshine, blue sky and family. Good health and a feast just right for a summer’s day, where appetite’s call for something light. A play at the playground mid-afternoon for Sophie & Alice with their Mummy, whilst the rest of the family is paddle boarding at the beach. In […]
Christmas Eve sunshine thoughts from New Zealand
This Christmas Eve morning we woke to blue sky, without a cloud in sight. The sunshine is a much welcome gift after the rains of the other week caused terrible flooding and landslips in Nelson. Our hearts also go out to the people of Christchurch, who suffered a number of strong earthquakes, the day before […]
Two hours of crazy party fun!
Our daughter Sophie will turn six on Boxing Day and we held a party on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate. Sophie insisted on having a traditional ‘party at home’ and was preparing and planning with her older sister, Charlotte, for the week building up to the party. It was going to be a very special party […]
At arrivals…. Grandma & Granddad touch down in New Zealand!
Such an exciting week! Tuesday morning we woke to sunshine and blue sky. Perfect weather to welcome my dear Mum and Dad to New Zealand. Their three little granddaughters were so excited and wanted to dress in their best clothes straight away (even though the flight wasn’t due in until 2pm!). I headed out with […]
We exercised our democratic right and voted today
It was a beautiful day to walk to our local polling station for New Zealand’s 2011 Election. We met lots of our lovely neighbours on the way there and back. Children played together on the field, whilst adults took it in turns to cast their votes (using the MMP system). This has been the first […]
Weekend Bliss for us in Wellington
Such a great weekend. The rain held off on Saturday for our local school to hold its fair. Dan took Charlotte, Sophie & Alice along, whilst I stayed a home to make the most of the chance to thrash the carpet with our ear piercing vacuum cleaner. The cleaning wasn’t all bad though – I […]
LOVED the feel of summer in the bay on 11.11.11: The Gallery
11/11 is always a day to stop and remember. To remember those that fought and lost their lives so we could be free. 11.11.11 marks the 93rd anniversary of Armistice Day. The last day of WWI. More than 100,000 New Zealand soldiers served overseas for what is still remembered as the Great War. Exactly 16,697 […]
YOU light my fire
YOU light my fire & are the ROCK of this FAMILY YOU spin the dial & MAKE US SMILE YOU help us keep FOCUS when we get distracted YOU CARE more than we will ever know She DANCES & YOU LIGHT up her WORLD She SPARKLES because OF YOU SHE feels SAFE having YOU They […]
Apple bobbing Halloween in the southern hemisphere
Our Bright Light Party did the trick in welcoming the sunshine and giving us a hint of summer to shortly come. Apple bobbing is a whole lot of fun when the weather is warm enough to do it in the garden like this…. Sophie enthusiastically got bobbing too, with great results! And Happy Halloween 2011 […]
A blaze of light hit home this weekend
A well overdue BBQ dazzled in a blaze of light here on Saturday night. It was the first non-children’s Birthday party we’ve had since Alice was born (she’s coming up two in February). With summer officially a month away, and our spring being a seasonally typical windy and wet one, we sent out the invitations […]
Tension & Elation
Charlotte, Sophie and Alice weren’t awake to watch the RWC 2011 Final, between the All Blacks and France, on Sunday. They watched the replay the next day – without the tension! We celebrated with a large pavlova, fresh cream, strawberries and kiwi fruit for morning tea. Dan watched the live game on TV with a […]
Counting down to the RWC 2011 Final!
With minutes to go till the RWC 2011 Final I’ve been reflecting on the impact of the rugby on our household. Today we wrote our support in the sand, willing the All Blacks to succeed in tonight’s final game. Tonight I sit quietly, watching. Sophie lies on a camp bed in the lounge. Alice is […]