Budding Artists

Kate said to me this morning "When I grow up, I want to be an artist".  I assured her she did not need to grow up to become an artist.  Between the hours spent at home drawing, and the hours spent at daycare drawing, I have to be rather ruthless in what pictures I keep!  I generally keep a few for a week before they somehow 'disappear'.  The girls (and now Luke) draw whenever they have a moment.  Here are this morning's offerings:  

Jaimee drew a leaopard.  Rather cool eh? I love the coconut tree, it really makes the picture.  I asked her about the 11 legs....she told me that it was just too long a leopard to only have 4.  Fair enough!

Kate produced this lovely picture, which is rather typical Kate work.  She has quite a different style from her sister.  Jaimee likes to draw clean lines, Kate loves to draw random shapes and then colour them in as part of her pictures.  I like this one: it portrays bunny rabbits smiling together at the top of a hill.  How lovely! 

 ...and Luke is very much in on the action now at 17 months!  He screams and points until I pop him up with his sisters, and then works very hard on his work.  He has mastered taking the lids off felts, but is not quite so clever at putting them on again.  We are working on that one.  In the meantime, he is a happy and busy boy creating alongside his sisters.

No doubt these 3 kids of mine will gain some of that talent that runs so richly through the family....pity it skipped my generation, but I will be their biggest cheerleader to give it all they have got! 

Some Moments to Remember!

The whole point of this blog is to have a record of some of our family life events.  Well, each of my kids have something worth remembering....

JAIMEE lost another tooth on Friday.  Yep, that makes SEVEN teeth gone for my little girl!  She is leading the class on their "tooth chart", something she is very proud of since a lot of the kids are a year older then her!  After complaining about not being able to eat for the last two days, I was over it.  I suggested she bite into an apple and went back to my coffee with my best buddy, Vicki-Lee.  Well, two minutes later, a grinning Jaimee runs back to me, apple in one hand and tooth in the other, her mouth a bloody mess.  Luckily she had no idea she was bleeding, she was far too caught up in the excitement of having her annoying tooth out!  She popped it straight under her pillow, even while telling me "I know you are the Tooth fairy mummy!"  That didn't stop her waking us up this morning with a panicked cry: "Mum...Mum....The tooth fairy DIDN'T come!". Oops...totally forgot!  Marty went and remedied the situation, coming back to our room and declaring that Jaimee had looked under the wrong pillow, silly girl....!

LUKE is getting more and more curious and clever, and we have been kept on our toes this week!  Marty ran a bath for the kids the other night, checking emails as he waited for it to fill.  Suddenly we heard Luke chatting from the bathroom.  Marty walked in to find our son IN the bath, completely clothed in sweatshirt, Jeans and shoes, playing quite happily with toys in the bath as it filled up with HOT water.  We laughed, but were glad we found him before the water got any hotter or he went under.  Time to shut that bathroom door during bath time!  It's not his only climbing adventure this week either - this afternoon he tried to climb out of his cot for the first time and succeeded...falling to the ground with a big cry that brought us running!  Oh dear...

KATE got to have a special adventure with me today while Jaimee was at a birthday party.  The poor girl hates it when her sister gets to go to a party that she is not invited to.  Never mind that the role is reversed occasionally!  Our car was a mess after all our trips, so after giving it a good vacuum, we took it through the car wash for a decent clean. The car wash is a HUGE treat in our house - it has only been done perhaps twice before and the kids LOVE it.  Check out the grin on Kate's face as she sat in the front seat and we giggled as the car got a scrubbing.  I love these moments- who needs a theme park when you can have a car wash trip!   

Labour Weekend - Part 3 (the final)

Saturday - togs at the beach.  Sunday - POURING with rain.  Yep, this is Auckland.  Sunday was our "city" day, saying goodbye to the bach and hello to Poppa & Oma's amazing huge home in West Harbour.  Our plans for the zoo were dashed, although I did consider it in the rain a few times, that is how keen I was to go!  Ah well, the zoo can wait until next time.  We quickly made some alternative plans, taking a trip to the Stardome Observatory with Poppa.  I had to beg our way in as they were sold out, but at the last minute they managed to squeeze us in with a kid on each lap.  It was the girls first movie, and it was on the roof while we sat in reclining chairs!  We watched "The little star who could", a movie aimed at preschoolers which had them learning all about stars and planets.

We followed up with a spot of shopping at the HUGE secondhand clothing store in New Lynn's SaveMart.   The boys took the kids to the Mall across the road, and us girls got to work...but I still didn't have long enough to cover the whole massive warehouse of clothes.  However I did manage to get us all a thing or two.  I love SaveMart!

Then it was back home for dinner.  My parent's place is so cool, it sprawls out over 4 levels.  I must admit, we were super nervous to be staying in a home that is used to adults (or teens) only with our super curious little Luke ready to explore and touch everything....and the brand new carpet had Marty and I on edge for sure.  But nothing went amiss and we had a lovely time just hanging out with my family as my sister(18) experimented with painting her nails with marble colours and my brother (almost 21) tried explaining to me how he does these amazing sketches using a tablet on his computer.  

On Monday we were out the door by 6.45am with the kids dressed and the car packed.  This was the bit Marty was here for - the World Cup Triathalon!  After a mildly stressful parking dilemma with 3 hungry kids in tow, we managed to make it a game to walk all the way to the prime viewing area.   I was quite surprised, I didn't realise how big an event this was!  With over 3,000 competitors in Auckland from all over the world, this was huge.  We were perfectly timed to order breakfast, then watch Marty's cousin run past us, followed soon after by his workmate (who are in the same age group).  Just after breakfast, they ran right back past us to the finish line where we cheered them in loudly.  Perfect!  We made our way to the finishing area to give our congratulations...Marty's cousin Jonathan finished 7th in the world for his age group, a great accomplishment!  I was equally impressed watching the over 85's age group...wow.  THAT is amazing! 

Marty with his Cousin Jonathan and their kiddies

We went for a walk after their race was over, killing time before my Aunty was due to start later that day...There were so many competitors that they had groups starting every 3 minutes from 7am right through until 4pm! There was never a dull moment.    While we walked through the city, I saw several homeless people begging, something I don't recall seeing when I lived there 10 years ago.  It is sad.  We also walked past an ambulance crew performing CPR for several minutes on a man with a bloody head on the sidewalk.  We prayed.  

After a quick shop, it was time to watch my Aunty Di.  We had prime viewing again, being able to spot her in the water, and from their up to her transition point for her bike leg.  We yelled and screamed as she ran past us with the most determined look on her face.  I don't know how she was even upright after being in the cold ocean for that long.  You are so fit Aunty Di, wow.  

Her olympic distance race was much bigger then the guys sprint had been this morning, so we had time for lunch as she did her bike ride.  We got back to our spot by the runners just in time (really, all day the timing was awesome!) to see her come past us twice as she turned the corner and began lap 2.  Look at her focus - she didn't even flinch as Marty and I yelled our support, she just kept on going, looking straight ahead.  After another 5km, she came back towards us and we screamed encouragement to her as she was only metres from the finish line now.  Her face was completely different this time with the end in sight!  She grinned at us, let out a whoop and gave me a big High 5 as she ran past.  We raced around the corner just in time to see her run into the finish line on the big screen.  32nd in her age group- well done!!!  Aunty Di was buzzing as we greeted her at the finish, telling us with huge grin "That was so much fun, I just want to do it again".  How is she related to me?!

Although Luke wasn't so impressed with having to stay in one spot for so long, the girls loved the whole day, getting right into the spirit of things by cheering on everybody that came past - no matter what country they were from!  They figured out the colors for Team NZ and AUS quickly, and so yelled out their support whenever someone came past from these countries "GO NEW ZEALAND...GO AUSTRALIA".  Marty told them to wash their mouth out with soap..hehehe, no politics on my girls!  We asked them if they would like to do a race like this one day....Jaimee was quite keen.  They practiced hard today, having mini races as I commentated: "Here comes Kate, first in the 3-5 age group....Jaimee is powering through for the 6-8 age group"...  Maybe one day they can compete with their dad and great Aunty all in the same race.....now that would be cool!

Labour Weekend - Part 2

 I had resigned myself to a cold trip similar to the one we had a couple of years ago in October - with jackets and beanies on as the kids played on the beach.  Not today.  On Saturday morning, we woke to find the wind had stopped blowing and we were left with the most AMAZING weather for our time at the Bach.   The kids wanted sand, so we were on the beach at Martin's Bay by 10am.  Still certain the weather was going to turn soon, I was in my jeans and boots and had not even bought the sunscreen to the beach.  Oops.  The jeans got rolled up, the boots discarded.  The kids were soon in their togs and would you believe it- SWIMMING in October!  The water was freezing to us adults, but they were loving it.  I couldn't believe this was my same daughter who faked tummy aches to get out of her indoor school swimming because the heated pool was too cold! 

Making Kate into a mermaid!

Luke was ready for a nap by 11.30, so it was back to the bach for a lazy few hours while we waited for Poppa and Oma to arrive for the afternoon.  "When will they be here?" the girls whined, eager to see their grandparents.  They soon settled down to play in the backyard playhouse while Marty and I completely veged out on the swing chair and on the new sprawling deck together in the sunshine.  I read a book.  I was happy.  I said to Marty lazily several times "I can see the benefit of this bach thing....let's get a bach eh?!" 

Poppa and Oma turned up soon after and I welcomed them to their own bach!  We soon headed back to Martin's Bay - this time armed with sunscreen, hats and wetsuits!  What followed was such a nice lazy beach day, it was lovely.  Poppa pulled a SHOVEL out of his car to make sandcastles.  He was soon stuck into creating a sandcar, and when I asked him what I could do to help, he said nothing! This was his thing!  I remember photos of me and my brother sitting in his sandcars when we were kids, it was so cool to know that my kids were going to have the same memories created today.  

Anneke and Marty chatted in the sun while dad and I watched the girls play.  Later, Oma started a played a game of frisbee using a sand sieve, making an interesting game that never quite worked out the way we thought we were aiming!   Attempting to teach the girls how to flick a frisbee was fun, they played this game back at the bach for another hour after Poppa and Oma left.  

What follows is a whole bunch of photos that I just had to pop up here to share - sunshine makes for some good pics! 

"How you doing?"! Can't you just see him making the girls swoon....

A moment with daddy

Swimming in October.  

Family fun at the beach

Luke has a finger in the mud, Poppa has a finger in the water. 

Making a row of sandcastles.  Poppa is a good bucket turner.

 

Labour Weekend - Part 1

A few months ago, Marty mentioned that he would be keen to go to Auckland for Labour weekend because his workmate, work cleaner, cousin AND my Aunty were all competing in the World Cup (age group)  Triathalon.  I was keen to go and see my family (as always) so we made plans.  Our family and friends weren't competing until the Monday, so we hopped it up to my dad's bach at Snells Beach for a few days first.  After our nightmare travel journeys in the school holidays, we took a gamble and left home at 5am, popping the kids into the car in their PJs and sleeping bags...hoping they would sleep until breakfast time in Taupo and we wouldn't spend the entire day travelling.  

Escorting the girls through the gardens

Luke has fun in the playhouse at the bach

Our plan kind of worked, Jaimee slept the whole way and Kate quietly looked out the window sucking her thumb.  But Luke didn't stay asleep and within 40 minutes was grizzling.  Marty was feeling sick, so I was driving the whole day.  Going through the Taupo hills with a sick husband and a screaming baby wasn't that fun, but Luke finally fell asleep again half an hour out of Taupo.  I tapped Marty awake and whispered that we were going to bypass Taupo, no way was I stopping with everyone asleep!  After a yummy big cafe breakfast in Tokoroa, the kids all dozed and were happy all the way into Auckland...Wow.  Auckland by 11.30am - that just does not happen in our family so we were elated!  Wendy's was a treat for lunch, and then it was back in the car for the last hour up to the bach.    The girls LOVE the bach.  Kate pondered on a thought to me: "Mum, nobody lives at the bach eh?" I replied "No, it is a holiday home for Poppa and Oma, they come here for...(hmmm...how do i explain this to a 4 year old)...for a play!" Kate was happy with my explanation and told me happily "Yeah, its like a really big playhouse eh mummy!"  I laughed, yep - a big playhouse sounds good!

As soon as the groceries were away, the girls were hounding me to take them down to the beach as promised.  It was super windy outside, but no problem - there are 4 different beaches facing various directions, so there is normally a sheltered spot somewhere to be found.  Dad suggested we try Algies Bay, so off we went.  It was awesome.  No wind at all, just sunshine peeking through for our afternoon.  The kids had a blast, even though the tide was completely out.  They set to work collecting shells in the wet sloppy sand, with a very happy Luke getting absolutely filthy.  

Can you even see the water? 

 This is what I love about the beaches up north - they are so darn safe!  The water will stay really shallow for ages, so even if the kids did go and play at the waters edge, us adults can watch happily from a distance.  With the water line so far out today that they didn't even get there, we were able to read books and chat to each other, giggling as we watched Luke sit down (fully clothed) in puddles without even a flinch, he was so intent on trying to dig and splash.

The kids got filthy, I had to rinse their clothes in a bucket before I could even think of washing them in a machine!  ...But I didn't care...they had fun after a morning in the car.  And so did we!

"Our" Country Estate!

This weekend we have had the huge privilage of being able to house sit for some friends from church, who live in this beautiful home out in the Havelock North countryside.  I don't know who was looking forward to this weekend more actually: the kids were excited about staying at their friend Chiara's house and looking after her lambs, and I was excited exchanging our 1950's 'town house' for this beauty!  

Check out the view from the living room!

  It was so peaceful to be out here, and just what we needed after our rather busy family holiday last weekend.  We spent our time here reading books, watching movies, and enjoying each other and the animals (3 lambs, 5 chickens and 2 friendly dogs).  We had no problems at all keeping the girls happy - they had a beautiful selection of books, DVDs, board games and toys - not to mention the TWO trampolines and bikes that they spent most of their time on!  

The girls just loved Chiara's pretty room

Feeding the lambs became something to look forward to, and the way to get the girls out of bed on Sunday morning too!  Twinkle, Muffin and Fudge were so friendly and comical, trying to come inside when we let them out and always so desperate for that bottle.  Luke cracked up laughing every time he was close to one and heard it.  He thinks the lambs are so funny. The girls loved running around the house with 3 little lambs frolicking alongside them - it was just like a nursery rhyme! 

Of course, we had our own 6 pets and home to look after, so on Saturday we popped in and fed our animals and watered the vegetable garden.  I joked to Marty when I left him at our home "Bye Love, have fun at our town house - I'm going back to our country estate!" (he was picking up a car to borrow to come in for his race the next day).  On Sunday he was able to feed our animals after his race - a VERY impressive effort, riding 105km in just 3 hours and 16 minutes - shaving about an HOUR off his previous attempt at this race a couple of years ago.  Well done darling!

Oh, and forget the dining room table, the kids just wanted to eat every single meal at the bar stools.  Bar stools rock.  Even Luke was comfortable sitting up there!  The girls enjoyed scrambled eggs fresh from the hen house each morning for breakfast, a real treat for us all.

And the dogs? Well, our girls were a bit nervous at first but it didn't take them long to realise that these dogs are just so friendly and placid.  Soon I heard Jaimee and Kate telling the (big but oh so placid Labrador) Sasha to "sit!" and throwing the ball to (playful wee poodle) Paris, who just loves this game.  Even Luke got into the action, holding the ball out to Paris and laughing as Paris shook it in her mouth and then chased her tail!

Thanks so much to the Stride family for sharing your amazing home with us - we just loved our time here.  It was a nice little retreat at the end of the school holidays.  Hey, if you ever need an escape to the city lifestyle, we would be happy to swap and slum it at yours again! Hehehe...