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!