Rugby Mad

Phew - thankfully the fundraiser for playcentre is now over and we can start planning for the next event - whoopee. The nearly new sale was pretty successful, but we will have to tweak things if we are going to run another in 6 months time.

Joe is all signed up for Rugby with Parklands RFC. He is playing for the 'Under 6 Blacks' and has attended several training sessions on Wednesday evenings. Today was the day of the FIRST MATCH!


We had to go over to Hagley Park in the centre of the city. It was a delight to watch 14 little boys all running in the same direction, chasing whoever happened to have the ball!


Not a lot of passing going on! Some of them have got the hang of 'touch' instead of tackling but there were still some good heaps of bodies to be seen. They were playing on half a pitch but a priceless moment occurred when a member of the opposition broke clear and burst through the crowd onto the next pitch and headed for the posts, hotly pursued by 13 other boys. Needless to say the crowd was laughing hard! Weekends will never be the same again!



It is nearly the end of term and we are looking forward to the holidays. Luckily it coincides with Easter this year so we shall try and get out and about a little! Will keep you posted!

No news as of yet with the land purchase. We asked for an extension to make a few more enquiries about septic tank regs, fencing, power and phone etc, but we still haven't had a reply from the vendors' solicitor. We're not in the biggest hurry as we still haven't decided on a builder or design yet!Ben is a pretty busy boy. We have been making the most of the lovely autumn weather and getting out and about while it is nice. He is pictured here on the tram in town with Josh and Louise, and at Orana park waiting to feed the giraffes.
He still loves dressing up and this is him at playgroup on Friday!

Mad March

My word - halfway through March already! The minutiae of life is keeping us busy. Joe is doing well at school. We had a three way conference a couple of weeks ago and his teacher is pleased with him ' a bright wee thing' (though not so wee). He is in the top groups for maths and writing/reading despite being almost the youngest in the class. Some of the children are 6 1/2! He is enjoying things anyway and has some good friends. We are doing lots of play dates (like the one here with Leo) and will surely get busier as other activities loom. On that note it must be mentioned that Joe has signed up with the local rugby club. He and his friend Josh will begin playing touch rugby at the end of this month and their first game is early April. Joe has his training kit (below) already and is just waiting for this years uniform. Matt took him shopping for his boots and shorts so he cant wait to get them muddy!
The Super 14s rugby is well underway. Matt and Joe have not missed a home game. Ben and Nana will experience their first matches on Saturday when there is an early kick-off.
Ben is busy with his friends and activities too. He, Josh (little) and Quin are quite the terrible trio! Annissa is now at afternoon kindy and has diversified into dancing so we don't hang out with her quite as often, but Ben is always excited to see her at Friday playgroup. They enjoy sharing a tea party together - as long as they dont have to leave their ride-on transport (for fear that some other child will actually use it).
I am helping with the fundraising at playcentre so we are busy organising a nearly new sale for the 22nd March - lots of fliers to be delivered, advertising and posters in shops. We hope we will sell enough tables as the date is rapidly approaching! Then we have to hope the buyers come too!!!!His feminine side is coming through again here - unfortunately you cant see the sparkly heels on his feet!
Ben now does three afternoons at preschool which he enjoys. He loves the enormous sandpit, the bikes and the swings and is quite chatty about what he has done when he gets picked up.
Mum had Bob and Margaret staying with her during a chunk of January and it was lovely to catch up with them. We took the boys along to the Chinese Lantern festival just before they left and had our tea picnicking by the river - just lovely. Katherine and Roy hosted a lovely barbeque at their place so we had plenty of time to catch up.
The biggest news is that we have finally had our offer on a patch of land accepted. The whole process began ages ago (2 weeks before Christmas), but the vendors have finally come down to our 'fair' offer and we have signed the first bits of paperwork and the lawyers are starting their searches etc. We are now starting the process of looking at plans and builders.....very exciting, but also rather daunting as the most we have ever done before is knock down an internal wall!
Here are the links to the Real Estate listings for the plot - We've offered on Lot 1, but the pictures are of both Lots.http://www.bayleys.co.nz/search/powersearch.aspx?q=ohoka&ln=en&psGo.x=10&psGo.y=6&mode=regional&pg=1 You'll have to search ID no. 54549

or http://harcourts.co.nz/listing/details.do?rul=%2Fsearch%2Fprocess.do%3Fpg%3D1%26o%3DB%26ts%3D182080054%26qst%3DEnter%2BID%2B%2523%2Bor%2BStreet%26qss%3Dohoka&id=450422 <http://harcourts.co.nz/listing/details.do?rul=%2Fsearch%2Fprocess.do%3Fpg%3D1%26o%3DB%26ts%3D182080054%26qst%3DEnter%2BID%2B%2523%2Bor%2BStreet%26qss%3Dohoka&id=450422>
The pages probably wont be there too long once the offer is processed, but if all is successful we'll post some pictures!
The site is 500 metres off the road down a shared driveway, fenced pasture with a small wood lot on the boundary along Ohoka Stream. The boys will be able to walk down the drive, cross the road and be at school!

FINGERS CROSSED! More news will follow as soon as we know.