Waitangi Day 2008.....

Well, I figure if Kate can do the sunrise, then so can I ;o)

Actually, we very nearly missed my annual date with The Mount summit, this morning. I remember The Lad asking me at 3.45am what time I had the alarm set for, and I told him 5am. Then, a few minutes later, he says "Aren't you going anymore?" What, he's got alzheimer's now? "Yes, I'm still going. I'll get up when the alarm goes off. AT 5AM!"

"It's 5.32" he says.

WTF!!!??? It is, in fact, 5.32am.

So much for making hot chocolates and warm toast and waking the kids up gently just before we had to leave. I raced around yelling at them to get out of bed, yanking off blankets and blinding them with any light within my reach. I sent a text to the two friends I was supposed to be meeting at Pilot Bay to walk up with telling them we'd see them at the top! We jammed a few muesli bars and apples in a backpack with a drink bottle each, and headed out the door.

Then, I headed back in, realising with some relief why I was still so bleary-eyed, and it had nothing to do with trying to tie my shoelaces and negotiate stairs in the dark simultaneously. It was because I had forgotten my glasses.

Finally, in true Debbie style, we arrived at the service on the summit at 7am. 1/2 an hour late. Go me. The kids didn't mind though, they said they were quite glad because we'd missed the crowds going up, and a lot of the 'boring' bits. I watched the sun try to bid us good morning through heavy eyelids of cloud, and knew just how he felt ;o)




We got there to hear the last half of Bobby's speech:


We had a youngster on the pipes this year:


And we got to see these guys:


Do their final haka:



And had a last photo before we headed home to L5 and The Lad's pancakes with lemon and sugar they made us for breakfast:



My Little Buzz For Today: Watch an old TV series on DVD. I decided on Little House on The Prairie, and I really enjoyed them, actually. I laughed, drew breath in sharply, and shed a wee tear or two as well. Those twins who played Baby Carrie were so cute.