Homeschoolers' Disco.....

L8 organised it all entirely herself and was very pleased with the outcome.

There was the fabulous honorary-homeschooler Sophie (who *almost* never made it, and whom I am never going to forget to pick up after school EVER again!):

There was the nail boutique:

There was swingin':

And Dancin':

Ooops, there was a bit of 'puterin':

And there was food:

And I can't explain this one for the life of me ;o):

Quote For The Day: "Learning can only happen when a child is interested. If he's not interested it's like throwing marshmallows at his head and calling it eating." - Anonymous

Tramping, Romping and Posing.....

I wanted a photo of The Mob to put in a frame to send to my wonderful Great Aunty Maria in Dunedin, so I asked them to pose for me:

In return, they asked if I could take photos of them posing:


Which progressed to "Can you take a photo of me on the tramp, please?":

Friday - Fish Night.....

It's a hangover from being bought up as a Good Catholic Girl - you have Fish on Fridays!
I just had to include this photo of our lovely flounder, before I wrapped them and baked them, for the benefit of Lou and Kate - who can't love flounder like we do!

I thought I'd take a quick snapshot (if you'll pardon the pun) of each member of my family at the same point in time (as much as practicable) this fine Friday evening.
There was The Lad - relaxing with a gin and the telly:

There was A10 - relaxing with playstation and another telly:

There was L8 - planning a "Disco" for early next week:

There was H6 - decorating her room, in her togs, as you do at 8pm:

And there was L4 - following me round as only your 4yos can:

The Circus Must Be In Town.....

The Girls - L8, Jessica and H6 put on a well-rehearsed montage of tumbles, round-offs, human pyramids, barrell walking, etc. - a truly stunning choreographed event!

Trolleying ('cos that's a word, don't ya know?.....)

A10 has been having a ball with his mates and the neighbours over the last few weeks trolleying down through the tracks in the forest - we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was speeding so fast that the camera couldn't focus on him, but actually the batteries were getting flat ;o(

Uncle R's 70th.....

There was the Grandmother (and the Great-Grandmother.....):

There were the Aunties and Uncles (and Great-Aunties and Great-Uncles and Brothers.....):




There were the cousins (first cousins, second cousins, third cousins.....):












The Birthday Boy gets his own space:



The "Chef Extraordinaire" gets her own space (which I'm sure she'll be stoked about.....)

There was "Pin The Lips On The Frog":

And there was CAKE:


And there was a tremendous amount of fun, connection, re-connection and the general gelling and frivolity that inevitably occurs when family are gathered - how lucky am I?

I'm *Sure* I'll Get Up.....

We decided to put off travelling to Otaki today in order to attend the Uncle's 70th tomorrow - you know you're getting old when your party starts at 1pm, lol!

The Lad was off out for some drinkies with some mates, so we opted to bring him home safely (and cheaply) tonight and to get off to an early start in the morning - 'cos I'm *really* good at getting up of a morning.....

Ooooh, Nanna's Coming.....

We were excited all morning waiting for Nanna to come and visit, we finally had to go out to the library and chose the one across from The Aunty's house where Nanna was visiting first.....

And of course, we just *had* to call in and see the cousins who are holidaying from Malaysia with their Nanna ;o)

I Spy, With My Beady Little Eye.....

A10 took this photo of one of the quail who have been visiting us lately:


Can Ya See It?????

Animal Antics.....

It was a morning of seeing what some of our poor animals could put up with 'learning'!

There was A10 with some of the chooks:



and L8 with the dog:

Monday Mates.....

After all that family for the weekend, it was lovely to have our mates visit today so we didn't feel quite so lonely:

Before We Go.....

After breakfast but before Check Out and while Mum was watching those All Blacks again, was the perfect time for a last splash in our private in-room spa - complete with bubbles:



And of course, a cuddle with Our Mate:

Here Comes The Bride.....

Off to Rotorua for The Cousin's wedding:


The Boyz:


Now here's a better shot of him, sporting 'The Clan' tartan:


The same generation:


The Brats - well, the littlest one certainly is, anyway ;o)


Quote from the Best Man (with reference to The Girlz): "You all look *Gorgeous*, especially The Bride" - shucks, he's good ;o)

Aw, What Do You Mean You're *Taking* Him?.....

Finally our visitors arrive and they break *that* kind of news to us - we were fully prepared to babysit our mate for the day while his parents did what they needed to do:

So I figure it's only fair to post these photos in payment for ruining our day, lol




Lesson For The Day: Don't expect something to be so, just because it was.

Happy Birthday Uncle Michael ;o)

Swimming.....

"Do you feel like meeting us for a swim this afternoon?" said the caller on the other end of the phone this morning.

"Ummmm, Why Not?" I reply, and before I've hung up there were towels, floaties, togs and smiles waiting to get out the door!

Da Girlz:



L4:

The Lifeguard ;o)

Party, Party, Party.....

We had a lazy morning, in fact when our fabulously loud, gesticulating Italian mailman arrived at 11am to deliver our parcel, L8 and A10 had to go out and meet him because they were the only ones dressed in something that wasn't pyjamas ;o)

We went to our friend John's party this afternoon and his sister will be kind enough to email me through some photos, because - whaddya know? - Debbie forgot the camera!!!!! John's sister Jessica came all the way down from Auckland to help run his party, and combined with his other sister Hannah and his Nanny and Poppa, they have well-oiled 8yob gatherings down-pat - I'll be definitely asking if they are for hire next Boy Party I'm involved in organising.

Boy Party Joke for The Day:
8yo: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
8yo: Pile up.
Me: Pile up who?
8yo: MWAH-HAH-HA!!!

Well, we were cracking up, anyways xoxoxo

Oh, The Washing.....

There was washing waiting to go in the machine, there was washing in the machine, there was washing waiting to go on the line, there was washing on the line, there was washing in the dryer, there was washing on the airing racks - MAN, was there some washing today, helped along by a wet bed and a bit of a tummy bug :o( We got most of it done and dusted before the rain set in this evening, though.

L8 and I went to music this morning, leaving the others at home with The Lad, then after lunch I went to buy the odds and bobs - shoes, shirts, etc. we need for the "Formal Dress" wedding we are attending on Saturday. A10 and I went to Cubs after dinner - H6 made the salad, L8 cooked the asparagus and mushrooms and A10 was in charge of the lamb chops, L4 set the table and helped with the Cobb loaf. We had a few sparklers when it was dark, we were making patterns with the shutter open for a bit:



and trying to do "Z's" - you know, like Zorro: "You think stealing a horse and scratching a few Z's into the wall makes you worthy of wearing that mask?":




We snuggled up to watch Cheaper By The Dozen 2 before heading off to bed.

PS2 Game for The Day: SSX On Tour, a firm family favourite (L4 often wins, so he thinks he's a great snowboarder irl, lol).

Kickin' Off The Week.....

Of course, I forgot the camera when we toddled off to Huia's this morning for some fun and adventure playing card games, building with train sets, having stories read to us round the fire, building huts, gathering/trimming branches, fire building, quietly watching the duck sitting on her nest, feeding the Arapawa Island ewe and her lamb, cooking our sausages skewered on a freshly-snipped olive tree stick, burning our popcorn over our fire, and sharing freshly-baked bread rolls with home-made yellow plum sauce.

We managed to talk A10 into getting a flash new haircut on the way home:

We expanded the wooden block city that has nearly consumed the lounge floor:

While L8 was at Brownies, H6 went with The Lad to visit some Kingfisher houses down in the forest they had spotted a few days ago:


Our mates Josh, Jessica, Jack and Nicky came for a quick play so the boys got busy modifying Josh's Go Kart:

We couldn't talk them into staying for dinner, even though I got out my much-prized Scanpan pressure cooker (can you tell I have an anti-aluminium-for-food thing going on, with my stainless steel coffee pot and my stainless steel pressure cooker, lol?). I love the convenience of it because I got a 3kg roast out of the freezer at 3.30pm, put it in there for 3/4 of an hour, took it out and browned it in the convection oven while I made a risotto with the skimmed stock base left in the pressure cooker - yum! Dinner at 5.30 with leftover meat for sammies tomorrow. Easy Peasy.

Rugby Trivia for The Day:
The All Blacks beat England 41-20 this morning. The result was England's heaviest margin of defeat at Twickenham, overhauling the 18-point difference when they went down 29-11 to South Africa in 1997. It also marked their worst run for 34 years after a string of six losses.

I'm sure you're more at peace with yourself now that you know that ;o)

Chillin' Out.....

We had a late night out at Speedway last night - gotta love those sounds, smells and sights, don't ya? - topped off with an awesome display of fireworks and hangin' with Nicky and her whanau and Nush and her whanau - IN THE PITS, no less - A10 was in petrol-head heaven! It could have only been better if I hadn't run out of money on my phone so we could have caught up with Louise and hers as well. Luckily all those good vibes made me forget the horrendous queues to get in and out and the fact I left the camera behind!!!!!

Because we had a late night, we spent most of the day laxing out and creating 'stuff'. There was more clay:




There was lego, with the fully-poseable SP9 and his pet RoboLion:




And there was wooden block building, I will get some better shots tomorrow, as the lighting was really bad and I didn't have time to fluff tonight:




Poem for the Day: The Owl and the Pussycat - 1871 - by Edward Lear.

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey,
and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married;
too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Buddies at the Beach and Buddy for a Story.....

So we arrive at the beach to share in the cake of the most fabulous newly-five-year-old boy we know, and just in case we wondering where to go.....


Luckily Bella and the crew knew the way ;o)


We got home just in time to hang out the last load of washing, shower the sand off our sunned-up bodies and cook the chicken for dinner. While waiting for dinner, H6 thought her budgie Buddy


might like a quick story, apparently she loves it when H6 sings to her and reads her stories!

Oooooh, The Warrant!

Look at that tread - they must be new tyres!


And if *they* are new tyres - then *that* must be the warrant! Just in time to get me off my $200 fine, I hope.


On a whim I said today "If you tidy the schoolroom, we'll go and buy some new clay"


Well, that schoolroom was speed-tidied, I tell you, and immediately we were home, they started creating.




Meanwhile, in the shed ..... L8 (with the obligatory help from L4) and The Lad were, you guessed it - building another birdhouse!




Magazine for the Day: Family Circle, October 2006 (complete with the free spatula). A bit left of centre, I know, but the truth is my choices at the teensiest little dairy in town were limited to Woman's Day, New Idea, Women's Weekly or Family Circle and that seemed like the better option at the time ;o)

Yay, Steiner Workshops Again.....

Today was a Wonderful Wednesday. Wednesday's have been Steiner Days for a long time, but this term and last term we hadn't been going due to one thing and another, but today we got the chance to join in again as it was being held as an "Out and About Day" and just down the road from us.

The lovely Sophie joined us for the day and Delilah and Sapphira also got the day off school to join us. After a morning spent at Kaiate Falls, it was back here for lunch and some afternoon fun down in the forest and felting dolls on the front lawn with Caroline and Cornelia.






L4 had his own fun making mud pies while the girls were finishing their dolls - and then there was the mud trail to the bath, so he could get clean!



Thought For Today: "I Am The Spokesperson For My Family....."

Of Music and Drama.....

Today, being Tuesday, is Music Day. H6 tickling the ivories on the piano and L8 jamming on her funky green clarinet make for a very tuneful start to our mornings.



This morning at music we met the newest member of the Shady Lane Clan - a duckling they are hand-rearing.


A10 has drama in the afternoons, and I'll have to post a photo in a few weeks from the class due to the small matter of our very own drama outside the Fresh Fish Market - the camera being locked in the courtesy car (along with the keys - go L8!)