Ski Wednesday

Joe & Annissa

A couple of weeks ago Joe and Ben had a day off school/kindy so I could take them up to Porter's ski field for our first ever ski lesson!  Louise had chivvied a group of us to have a go so we went up en masse - 5 adults and 6 children.  Unfortunately Matt had to work as he has recently changed jobs within the council.

We were promptly booked into our lessons and kitted out with the gear.  The children had a group lesson, while Carole and I had a lesson together.  Just walking up the track to the nursery slope was pretty tiring and we weren't all that confident.  However, the instructor was pretty patient and we soon were 'zooming ????' down the slope and using the magic carpet to get back up.  We even managed a bit of turning before the end of the lesson.  The boys took to it pretty quickly, as did Annissa and Josh too.  Joe was whizzing along and even stopping effectively.  Ben sits down when he feels he is going too fast - works a treat!

Looking the part

We had lunch after our lessons and the wind got up so it got really cold and the bacon almost refused to cook!  The children weren't up for a repeat ski so we tempted them back out of the cars with the sledges.  Once back at the slope the sun came out and their enthusiasm returned!  We got another couple of hours skiing in and the boys had a hoot!  Tracy took me up to the next slope and I spent a lot of time making snow angels and carving out tracks with my back!  Luckily there is no photographic evidence!
None of us can wait until we can have another go!  Saving those pennies!

Ben, Josh and Joe

Last Sunday we went back to the mountains but stuck to sledging - not a great deal of snow off the slopes so we built a snowman!

Blogger is now having a spazzy fit and I can't upload the other video of Joe, despite 4 attempts over 24 hours.  Will try again another day!

Painting the town BLACK!

Joe and Jordan painting it black

Our 'nearly 7 year old' Rugby Fiend was excited today as the All Blacks rolled into town in the run up to Saturday's Bledisloe Cup game.  I took Joe and his friend Jordan (and Nana) to the roadshow to meet the players.

Kicking with Malili Muliaina

WOW!  The boys got to try on Dan Carter's boots, kicked balls with Malili Muliaina, tackled with Richie McCaw and raced with Ma'a Nonu.  The whole squad were present and the boys saw them all!

Just like Dan

Sprinting with Ma'a Nonu

Impressing Captain Richie with their tackling skills

They collected a wad of autographs and had their photos taken next to the stars!

Joe & Malili

Mutual admiration?  Joe (no. 1 fan) & Richie McCaw

Joe, Ma'a and Jordan

Jimmy Cowan, Joe, Keven Mealamu, Jordan, Tom Donnelly, The Bledisloe cup & The Tri Nations trophy.

Liam Messam?  Correct me if I'm wrong!  & Joe

Richard Kahui

I think it is safe to say that they had a great time!

Now we are really looking forward to Saturday's big game - we have tickets!!!!!!

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!