Holidays

What didn't we do?

Ben tries out his snorkel set

Orana - Black & white ruffed lemurs

Boys baking!

A perfect winters day on the beach

The boys (and me) kept really busy over the 2 weeks with trips to the cinema, 2 visits to Orana, playdates, swimming, fun at the beach, sleepovers, tram rides and loads more!  Matt also took a couple of days off and we headed up to Porters ski field for a fun day of sledging.  Lots of bruises!!!!!!!

Ben - Crashes but still smiling!

Gung-ho Joe - remarkably unscathed!

A real shame when school started again - can't wait for the next holiday!

The Ralphs & Simmersons - Experts at Wii Dance?

Bon Voyage

One cloud has been the departure of Chris, Anna, James and Amy, who have returned to the UK.  Missing them already but hoping to see them soon!

Matariki and end of term - let's party!

An 11 week term (no half-term breaks) has taken its toll with a couple of tired boys (and their parents).  There was a lot on in the last few weeks and we have been busy busy busy.

Ben and friends

Kindy kid

Ben's kindy had a trip to the local Marae to find out about Maori New Year - Matariki.  The children had lots of fun dancing and listening to stories - although Ben wasn't too keen on having his photo taken - AGAIN!

Why do I have to stand here?

Both school and kindy held end of term discos.  Both boys enjoyed themselves, but we only have pictures of kindy.

Boogie nights

 The Katipo Kid with 'disco' poi

Joe's rugby has been amazing again.  He is consistently scoring tries and is loving the muddy pitches!  In each of the last 2 games he scored 5 tries.  He was also named as 'ripper of the day' in his last match and won a pass to the hydroslides at the local pool.

2 weeks of holiday ahead for us to enjoy now!  :)  Phew!

All Black in the making

Ben and I attended our first kindy trip this week.  He was very excited about going to the airport and meeting the sniffer dogs.  We were really lucky that the biosecurity beagle and the customs labrador were both available.  Ben was chosen as one of the plants and had to hide some ginger in his pockets.  Of course he was keener to fuss the dog (as were all the kids) and had to be reminded that the dogs were working!  One of the mums was planted with some drugs and the kids saw that dog at work too.
We were all able to look at some of the items that have been confiscated ranging from boomerangs, turtle shells and snake skins to African masks and crocodile meat.  Then the children were able to put their bags through the X Ray machine - they loved it!

Kitten Chaos

2 weeks ago we took the plunge and added 2 kittens to our family.  Ben and I drove across town to the SPCA and chose a 5 month old B&W male and a 3 month old Tabby & White female.  Very cute little things.  The black and white kitten yowled yoyoyoyoyoyyo all the way home, so was named Yo-Yo by Ben.  Joe named the girl Mini.  Within 24 hours it was apparent that Mini was unwell.  She was incontinent, listless and unresponsive.  I took her to the vet who administered antibiotics.  We gave her a couple of days but she was still listless and the incontinence was not improving, so we felt it was best to return her to the SPCA.  Ben was really upset and we had to mop up tears.  He chose another kitten to take home and Tom has joined the family.  He is really tiny and it is estimated that he is about 8 weeks old.  Unfortunately Yo-Yo and Tom came down with something too and they have just been on a course of antibiotics.  They are now back to lively and inquisitive kittens and wreaking havoc in the house.  Ella's nose is well out of joint and a little scratched too!

Happy 4th Birthday Ben !

Wow - hard to believe that Ben turned 4 this week. He was 18 months old when we arrived in NZ, now he is a real kiwi boy, attending kindy and just a year until school! Both boys are adept at the lingo now. They eat lollies (sweets), wear undies and pants, have swimming togs and gum boots, and they love awesome rugby heaps!
Ben has had a great birthday - he celebrated at kindy in the morning and then he had his swimming lesson (doing great!), then lunch with Joe. Olive, Annie and Nana came for tea and Callum, Daniel and Jordan from over the road came for cake.

He did very well on the present front and we are officially knee deep in LEGO!

This weekend was packed as always. Joe won his rugby match (he scored 4 tries and a black eye). Ella had more than her fair share of long walks on the beach and Matt managed to fix some 'stuff' around the house. Sunday was dominated by Ben's party and after a glorious sunny week we woke to a misty, chilly start. I rang the venue which had very similar weather, but we decided to go ahead and risk! Didn't want to disappoint the kids! As we drove north the rain started and got more and more persistent, luckily we had the wet weather gear, but the picnic was looking unlikely!

The kids had a fab time, despite the weather.

The ponies were well behaved and put up with lots of changes of rider. After an hour we were all drenched and the kids were cold so we decamped back to our place for hot drinks and the 'picnic', plus party games etc.

Phew, all over now! 3 months till Joe turns 7!

Busy Busy Busy.....

We have been so busy and I am going to have to do a brief summary or I may be here all week.

1. Matt has suffered no after effects following that scary weekend. He is not allowed to drive for at least 6 months, but we finally have a date to see a neurologist! End of May!!!? He is back on his bike, so is able to get to work without resorting to the bus.

2. Matt and I went to see Richard Dawkins talk last month. It was a very interesting evening and was funny to see the protestors outside. Check out the Banana Creationist on youtube.

3. Easter was spent with the Jacobs at their place. The kids made the cutest Easter baskets and then tore around the garden to look for eggs - what a haul!

4. Joe is seriously back into the rugby season. He officially has the all clear from the 'bone doctor' after his last set of X-Rays. A very impressive set of scars remain, but he almost has a full range of movement.

5. I turned 40 last week and was treated to a 'surprise' party on the Saturday afternoon. Our fabulous boys burst into our room at 7.05 am shouting "Happy Birthday Mummy!" I said "but it's not my birthday until Monday". "We know" they replied "but you have to open these and then get ready for your surprise party this afternoon" Bless them. Actually it was great, I had enough time to tidy up the Chinese Laundry in the lounge and clean up before people arrived. Best of all I didn't have to prep any food! Big thanks to all the friends and family who provided scrummy food and to Anna who decorated a beautiful cake.

6. On Sunday 11th the boys and I headed off for a little holiday. My friend Luanne lives over the road and her son Jordan is in Joe's class. She also has 2 other boys - Daniel aged 5 and Callum aged 3.

The 7 of us had booked a cottage at the Farmyard Holiday Camp in Geraldine. We had a fantastic time!!!! The boys hurtled around on their bicycles for 3 solid days. There were also donkey rides each morning, quad bikes each afternoon, playgrounds, rabbits and guinea pigs to hug.....a never ending supply of entertainment. It was a great few days away and such fun to go with friends.

7. Matt also surprised me with a weekend away without the boys. Nana moved in here and took the reins while we headed off to a luxury hotel and spa in Hanmer - just Bliss!

Mum handled a very busy weekend brilliantly and we can't thank her enough! Joe played Rugby on Saturday morning, scored 2 and the team drew. Then he went to a party at the airforce museum. Time for a quick shower and a reunion with Ben before he was off out again......to the AMI stadium (see 8).

8. Joe's team had been selected to play the curtain raiser at AMI stadium prior to the Crusaders vs Cheetahs Super 14s match. Joe was so excited and couldn't wait to touch the hallowed turf! He led his team onto the field, carrying the ball. He scored another 2 tries and they drew 4/4. They then had seats in the stands and were able to watch the match. Hopefully someone from the club was taking photos and video so we will be able to link to some soon. We spent much of the evening texting Nana to get updates on how our star was doing!

9. Ben had his last days at both preschool and playcentre.

He was centre of attention and enjoyed the special kai and cakes at his celebrations.

He also attended his last playgroup session, but we didn't know it was his last session until we received the phonecall from Kindy. He has done his first 2 days at Kindy now and seems to be enjoying it. He is able to wave to Joe at playtime and feels like a really 'big boy' now.

I'll just finish with one of Ben's latest photographs. How we laughed!!!!!!!! Love it!