Happy Birthday L11.....

Thank Goodness for Nana and Grandad who *always* send birthday pressies that arrive before the birthday, so they have something to open on the day - these days she asks for the cold, hard cash in lieu of a pressie from us. Here she is with her very own Yates Garden Guide, some new facecloths, a new funky notebook and some talc:


Her and her Bro's:


The fairly predictable birthday breakfast of choice - sushi rice, salmon, fried egg white and buttered toast:


Her first bean harvest of the season from her plants - and tasty they are, too!:

OMG! What Kind of Mother Am I?.....

"I don't WANT to go!"

"You'll be fine, H9, once you're there you'll be so busy having a fantastic time, you'll hardly even miss us. The days will whizz past in a blur and we'll be down to join you before you even know it. Take your phone, and I'll text you each night before you go to sleep"

Well, that lasted for the first night! How crap am I? (I didn't even text her the second night, The Lad (who obviously cares more than me) did ring her, though). I said to The Lad as we fell into bed last night "Shit, I forgot to text Hannah tonight!"

We knew she would be fine during the day, but it is the getting to sleep that our little bed-hopper finds so hard. Getting to sleep by herself is nigh on impossible, and she is often found wandering the house looking for an obliging sibling or parent to snuggle up with. I have been known to be woken past 11pm by:

H9: "Mum! Mum!"

Me: "Hmmmmm, wahhhh?"

H9: "I'm really worried. I've been laughing a lot today."

Me: "Why is that worrying you, honey?"

H9: "Well, remember you said ages ago that you nearly died laughing? I don't want to die."

And other such notions that seem to surface at sleeptime.

Which is probably the underlying reason we received this text at 3.09am this morning:



1 3/4 hours is such a long way when your baby wants some lovin' :o(

Peeling, Mohawks and Fourteen Years.....

The lovely Soph has been staying for a few days and the girls are fascinated by her peeling back, L10 has been writing her name on some of the pieces she peels off - eeewww!


Soph and L10 played hairdressers with L6 and he would only let them do either a Munsters part-down-the-middle and gelled either side, or a mohawk. He secretly wanted the part, but settled begrudgingly for their choice:


Happy 14th Anniversary to The Lad and I ;o)

Weta.....

Hmmmm, do you add an add 's' to a word from a language where there is no 's'? I think not, so read the title as Nga Weta, or Weta (in the plural).

L11 found this little trio hanging out in the sheet they used to use for a hammock:




She made a (badly photographed but *very* yummy) big stack of American Hotcakes for lunch today:

What Have We Learned?.....

We have learned that even when you think you have dug all the potatoes from a plant, it is still worth checking a few weeks later:


And also that if you put the funky glass drink bottles on the top shelf of the fridge, then move stuff around so that they end up at the back and touching that freezy-platey thing (cos' that's the technical name), then they will be cracked from the expansion of the overfull contents upon freezing:

I'm Sick Of The Dust.....

From the roadworks going on, they are sealing the road, but man! can that dust get places - inside, outside, on the washing, in the water tank - everywhere:

Swinging with Melissa.....

L6 in the hammock:


James and Uncle Graeme:



Yay, Melissa's here again:

Hangin'.....

Melissa reading:


L10, Sophie and H9 colouring:



Zara and A12 playing playstation:

Boaz at the Beach.....

We got to have cuddles with Boaz today:


When we met a few peeps for a snorkel at Pilot Bay:

Bunny.....

A12 is very aware of rabbits at the moment, he would like one as a pet, and has been trying unsuccessfully to catch some of the wildies that hang round the front lawn:

Melissa.....

Got dropped off for a holiday today:


James, doing a spot of tidying:


L10:


The Lad showing us his ball balancing skills:



Uncle Paul called in for a coffee while he was in the neighbourhood:

Whangapoua Harbour and Beach.....

Parked at the lookout where you could see way back to the Hauraki Gulf on one side, and out over the Whangapoua to Mercury Island on the other:






NZ Dotterel - cute!


Some of the busy little Oyster Catchers:


Playing in the little rivulet on the beach:











The little airfield near the beach:

New Chums Beach.....

Looking back at Whangapoua Beach on our walk over to New Chums Beach:


Gorgeous New Chums Beach, what a treasure:





Having a quick drink and rest in the shelter of the caves before we swim:




Body Surfing:





L6 and The Lad as we head back:


One last look back before we leave:


Looking towards Whangapoua Beach:


We split up and half of us walked back along the track, and the other half rock-hopped round the beach:

Tuateawa.....

Some of the quail and seagulls on the back lawn at the house we rented:



Tuateawa Bay:







Snorkling round the rocks, the kids discovered it was easier to float around on the top of the water when they were wearing their lifejackets:




The paua the kids picked off the rocks:


A12 exploring the bay a bit further in the kayak:

Waikawau Bay and Tuateawa Bay.....

A12 eager to embrace the day again:


A teensy Pohutukawa in flower:


Waiting for hotcakes, banana, bacon and maple syrup for our breakfast:


Looking back over the Coromandel:


The in-car BopIt entertainment:


H9 at Tuateawa:


Checking out Waikawau Beach (hey Uncle Barrie!):


Apparently the sand was too hot for him:


Some of the rocks at Tuateawa when we went down to check out the fishing:


One of the many giant stick insects in the patio back at the house:


Back at Tuateawa Bay, fishing off the rocks after dinner:

Colville Bay.....

We took the kayak round for a paddle at Colville Bay after dinner tonight - A12 reckoned he saw a stingray and so came back in, so L10 paddled out for a look and flipped it on a wave coming back in:


We had to stop at the Colville General Store and pay for something via eftpos, as the kids were laughing at my retelling of the time when The Lad and I and a few of our friends called in there on our way to camping at Fletchers Bay many years ago. They had a sign up saying "Last stop, we have everything!" After we selected some provisions, I asked the man at the counter if they had eftpos. After a split second delay (surely not wanting to admit they might not have everything after all), he called out to the back room "Do we have any eftpos left?"

Dog Wash.....

Rebecca came to stay for the night tonight, and the dog must have been stinky because she asked if they could give him a bath:


Here he is, nicely shampooed and dried:

Little Bay.....

After arriving at the house we had rented to find the previous tenants still there, we drove round the coast about 5 minutes and spent the morning at Little Bay:






Some of us paddled straight away:




While others of us took a while to get wet:



We swam and tested out the snorkels:


We dried off in the warm sun afterwards:


The Lad and I tried (and failed) to remember how we used to roll our towels and wear them on our heads when we were youngsters:

Okere Falls and The Blue Lake.....

We packed up the kayak and some lunch and headed down to Rotorua for the day. First stop was Okere Falls:




The caves:




This is my kind of graffiti:



The Trout Pools and a show-off shag:




The Power Station:




Then we carried on round to The Blue Lake. The plan was that A12, H9 and I would kayak across, while The Lad, L6 and L10 walked round:






We met in the middle and had our lunch and a refreshing swim:


And then I walked back by myself, while the other five weighed the kayak down, mixing it up between swimming alongside and paddling in and sitting on!:




L10 on the climbing frame at the lakeside playground:

Rosellas. Horses, Potatoes, Nails and Berries.....

The Rosellas that were flying around this morning:


Sophie is staying again tonight:


The girls and L6 dug some potatoes for our dinner:


The girls painted my nails - a hand each and L6 did my toes (I'll spare you the foot shot):


They played horses most of the afternoon:




L10 made dessert, it looked beautiful when she served it up:


And then she did this to hers:

Apple Pie.....

A12 has been asking to make an apple pie all week, even though I explained to him that it is not apple season here and I didn't really want to pay a premium for imported American apples just so he could make a pie (he didn't want the canned or frozen options). I found some early new season NZ apples today, sso I bought them and he made his apple pie:


While dessert was being taken care of, I took the girls up on their kind offer of painting my toenails (brave, hey? - touching my feet):

A Tour Round Nana's Garden.....

Courtesy of L10 and Mia:


Some of the Lillies:







The swan plant:


The petunias:


The sunflowers on the back fence:



One of Grandad's tomatoes slipped in:

Then and Now.....

When The Lad was at college in Gizzy he did this pencil drawing of a house he used to see from the river when he was rowing. His Nana took a fancy to it and had it on her wall for years:


When Nana passed away, his Mum took it for her wall, and while we were in town this time, we popped around to see if it was still there:

Group Shot.....

We thought we should take the opportunity to take a few photos of us all together before we go our separate ways tomorrow:


Cherie, Mia, Ainsley, Jimmy, Lynley and Joe:


Angus came to play today:


Here's L10's shot of a rainbow through the hose:

Summer in Gizzy.....

Always, always, involves Grandad with a hose:






And we wouldn't have it any other way ;o)

The Cuzzies.....

Mia:


Joe:


Jimmy:


Cherie:


Ainsley:


Lynley:


And dodgey Grandad hiding down the back in the dark byh his sunflowers, lol!:

Kaiti Beach.....

H9 and her sand foot-spa, complete with seating for four:


Steon showing us his handstand skills:



L10's turtle sculpture:


L6 and Cheyenne playing in a little inlet stream:




L10 and Laina helping Cheyenne with her boogie board:

Gizzy.....

To see the Wellington Cuzzies, what a hoot!:


Travelling tires poor old Tramp out, lol! I reckon this is where they get that saying about it being a Dog's Life!:

Kapiti Island.....

After 37 years of looking out at Kapiti Island, we finally went out there for a day trip. It has to be said that I was, up until yesterday, expecting to be cruising round the Island, sipping a Malibu, looking skyward at a few birds and enjoying a close-up and new perspective of an Island that is so familiar to me. Darren shattered that dream for me when he told me on the drive back from the airport yesterday that we were, in fact, doing what would be akin to mountain climbing for someone of my fitness level!):


The launch tractors were a crack-up to look at but worked a treat:


Uncle Darren in the cabin:


One of the information panels where we were debriefed by DoC when we arrived:


The birds we encountered close up were just awesome. There were loads of Kakariki I had never seen before, and this was the first time I had seen seagull chicks, gorgeous little balls of grey fluff that they are:



And juveniles:


Oyster catchers are fairly common:


The crack-up weka, who scrambled on top of bushes no worries at all:





But the Kaka were pretty much our favourite, although they were always a surprise as they appeared out of nowhere whenever you started eating anything!:












The Lad got the classic Tui on a Harakeke Flower shot:


The absolute highlight of my day was seeing the Takahe up close, and their beautiful chicks:




One of the many fat Kereru we saw:


The Hihi (stitchbird) feeder. DoC supplements their diet as the other birds bully them out of a lot of food:


They were tiny wee things:




A Saddleback, another first for me:


Looking back to the Kapiti Coast from Tuteremoana (the summit - 521m asl if you please!):


Looking out to the South Island:


Looking down to the lunch table:


Looking back up:


A12 after 'leaving the track' in a most spectacular way, lol:


Nana and A12, probably waiting for me to catch up - I was breathing so hard Darren had to go ahead a bit as he was afraid I was sucking up too much of the oxygen around me ;o) L6 waiting as well:



A12 and L6 waiting for the boat home:

Drawing on Darren.....

What else are Uncles for?:


We're never gonna win the million dollar prize this series of puzzles offer to anyone who can solve them:

H9's Birthday at Nana's.....

Hannah and her cake:


Aunty Paula brought Tyson to the party:


Jayde and Tyson:


The water fight:



Davida:


Aunty Bev with Deakyn and Deneka:


Uncle Paul and Uncle Eddie:


Nana:


Uncle Richard:


Uncle Trevor:


Tyson, L10, Aunty Pauline and Shari:


Aunty Jill and Priscilla:


Lynette:


Poppa and Hannah:


Hannah, Nana, Aunty Vick, Aunty Bev, Tamien and Tony:


The pool:



Brittany:

Bear....

You can see how he got his name:


Ange's kids had to go back to their Dad's place and so couldn't make Hannah's party tomorrow, we thought we'd take a wee afternoon tea party to them: