With the global pandemic of Covid-19 raging on and New Zealand’s borders still shut the hashtag #DoSomethingNEWNewZealand is being banded about on social media. New Zealanders are exploring their own country more than ever before. As a family we’ve holidayed in the South Island of New Zealand on multiple occasions, particularly around Wanaka and Queenstown, […]
School finished on the Thursday before Easter with a very touching Easter Service in the Wellington Cathedral, especially as our oldest daughter sang in the ‘Choral’ and our youngest with the ‘Princess Singers’ choir. I popped into my youngest daughter’s classroom afterwards and saw this beautiful nature arrangement. Good Friday morning was a relaxed start […]
Since getting a weekender in Martinborough we’ve really enjoyed spending more time on bikes with our children. The rural roads are quiet. The terrain is flat. The climate is often milder than our home in Wellington. There’s also ample places to stop for refreshment – from the cafes in the village to the vineyards encompassing […]
Our oldest daughter has just turned 11 and she celebrated in sunny California (her first ‘summer’ Birthday – as she was born in the middle of New Zealand’s winter – on a particularly wild day in Wellington!). She has grown tall enough to have her first proper bike, with gears and all that jazz, for […]
She’s got pedal power and she’s not afraid to use it! She’s done her practice ‘miles’, with cycling around the house and down the lane. This week Miss 4 decided she had what was needed to make it from the house to the village, and back, on her wheels (with a stop for a bite […]
With three children constantly at home it’s not easy to fit in exercise (well, not in the way I’d like – though I do get plenty of movement cleaning up after them and running around playing crazy games… and moving the wine glass to my mouth…). This week, with friends visiting from New Zealand, we […]
Having the man of the house home at the weekend gives us family time to get out and really explore this place – and we certainly had an action packed weekend of it! Whilst the rest of us were barely awake he headed off for an early morning paddle board, returning back mid-morning for a […]
_________________________________________________________ For more Silent Sunday photos check out the #SilentSunday hashtag on twitter and there is now a linky being hosted at Love All Blogs too. And thanks to dear hubbie for looking after DD2 and DD6 so that I could enjoy some precious one-on-one time with my DD8. It was time well spent (and yes, […]
Sophie beat her personal best and rode 10.6 km on Sunday! We’d spent Sunday morning enjoying the delights of the food market in the city, but when it came to head home Dan and Sophie took to their wheels! Charlotte and I took Alice home for her nap and had a restful hour or so, […]
It’s been a weekend of blue, in a very happy, sunshine kind of a way! This was our Saturday afternoon… We made the most of the sunshine at wonderful Scorching Bay, where we rocked climbed, dug in the sand, tossed a frisbee around and drank coffee at Scorch-O-Rama (whilst feeling a little ‘star struck’ at […]
Wind and madness come hand in hand, it’s scientifically proven… ‘The Evil Wind Wind puts people in a bad mood as studies have shown that more fights, crimes, heart attacks and other ills occur when there is an ill wind blowing. The reason is the positive ions produced by these winds. In the case of […]
‘Please can I cycle to Kindi, pleeeease?!’ Sophie pleaded, jumping up and down with her boundless energy. With her Daddy all geared up to cycle into work Sophie decided she’d like to take the green route to Kindergarten and leave the car in the garage. Well, the conditions looked good for it – no mean […]
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 […]
Helmets – they save lives, they save a few painful knocks to the head… but you just don’t get that feeling of the wind in your hair! However, my girls are growing up in the age of the helmet – and as a parent – I’m glad of that. Though I do have very many […]