RUAKAKA HERE WE COME, EXPLORING AGAIN!

Yay - we have now officially ditched the winter sheets, extra duvets and sweatshirts and socks. Roll on the 3/4 pants and open-toed shoes!
What's more, we organised a long weekend away with the lovely Sharron, Wayne and Jess at Ruakaka - great family times, great weather, great Northland!  I even ended up with a slight bit of sunburn (thank goodness we had the forethought for sunblock before the beach visit, but wasn't quite enough for my fair clavicle!) The season has really turned now.

The trip started off with an awesome photo opportunity on the drive up to Ruakaka - one of the things that makes a huge difference to our family now, that other families would just take for granted as a normal achievement - Daniel being able to have an emergency toilet stop on the side of the road! Well, I had my camera right there - the photo was begging to be taken!!! Don't worry, no unsightly body parts exposed here...

The house we rented at Ruakaka with Sharron, Wayne & daughter Jess was HUGE! A great holiday home for 2 families to share and within walking distance to the beach, with tennis courts at the side of the house.

 From the lounge, you could just see the waves through the blue tinted windows of the neighbours...

There was loads of fun and activities experienced. We enjoyed playing tennis at the courts with Cameron and Nicola. There was cricket played with a softball bat in the street, and a nice leisurely walk around the neighbourhood.

Daniel and Cameron enjoyed watching Mr Bean, the laughter coming from the room was infectious!

The kids enjoyed Singstar whilst the adults socialised, lovely group dining and even a boardgame was played!

A game or two of petanque was played on the lawn which then progressed to the beach.

"Hey dad, we're just chillin', can we go to the beach?"

"Ok son, the beach is close by. Let's go"

"Nooooooo, not the sand down the neck trick!"

Bream Bay is simply gorgeous, miles of golden white, clean and squeaky sand stretching in a wide curve as far as the eye can see, complete with endless blue sea. Dipping our toes in the ocean - what could be more fun?

EVENTFUL SCHOOL HOLIDAYS IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!

Phew, those school holidays were upon us very fast this term, and this time they flew by.

They started with a hiss and a roar, and finished with a huge bang.

Firstly, Daniel had a wee holiday at Lezanne's while Cameron, Nicola and I took a short trip to Wellington to catch up with good friends and relatives.

Lunch with the girls: Suz, Claire, Me and Nikki (Cameron was the great photographer)

Drinks with Julie, Suz and I.

Precious times with the Odens

Dinner with the extended family

and a flying visit to Masterton with Aunty Suz. Lots of fun in a paddle boat (hard work on the legs!)

Surveying the beautiful spring scenery on the banks of the Queen Elizabeth park in Masterton 

The beautiful spring blossoms were out in full force

and in the Masterton town centre too...

We enjoyed the day after a few iced chocolate lattes...

And spent dinner in good company with a nice curry (some hotter than others!) 

Our residence for the night was the Copthorne in Masterton, watching the RWC semifinal, and having a go at the driving range (nearly knocking myself out in the process!)

 Then the next day we moved on to Palmerston North to visit Jenn and my niece-the-great Amelia Mae. I am now officially not a great-Aunt, but Aunt the Great!

Me (Aunt the Great) and Amelia-Mae

The end of the holidays ended with a bit of a shock and wake-up call - Daniel had a prolonged seizure - a whole year to the day when he last had one. The good to come out of it was testing of the red flag system with St Johns ambulance, the tour of the inside of A & E at Starship, and the action plan that we put into place with the neurologist - all worked like clockwork. It really cemented some of the reason why we moved up here, the expertise and experience of the medical staff ( the advanced life support officer from the ambulance , Starship medical staff, and the neurologist backup) was fantastic.

A bittersweet ending to the holidays in parallel with the above, the Rugby World Cup final - Go the All Blacks, you beauties... .- beat France in the nail-biting final by just 1 point
NEW ZEALAND ALL BLACKS - world rugby champions!

O FOR AWESOME OCTOBER

Todd and I managed to get away for a night to Stanmore Bay. We started off with a quiet and relaxing drink tasty and dinner at Thai Chef restaurant in Albany.

Then we had the rest of the night and the next day  to explore the beach and area around Stanmore Bay. It is amazing how a wee break away like this revives your senses.

Could definitely see this being a great wee holiday place over summer, but have to win the ballot for it first. Maybe next summer...

The holiday house looked out over the beachfront - just a perfect location!



















I took Nicola and Cameron to the Rugby World Cup fanzone - an experience that will only be available once in a blue moon as this is the first time since 1987 that NZ has hosted the Rugby World Cup.

It was well organised with kids activities and a beaut day to top it off.

Jousting

Car tyre changing race

Looking out over Albany's lake with the countries flags waving in the gentle breeze across the bridge,

and listening to the bands play before the big semifinal was viewed on the big screen, just priceless (and literally, it was all free!).

A great day out at the RWC Fanzone

I was lucky enough to win some new technology this month- a Motorola Xoom (a tablet like an iPad). We have been having fun setting this up and seeing all the wonders that this new technology can bring. Cameron has turned out to be our family techno buff - any queries technology-wise and he is the boy to ask. This boy is so clever, he has solved many a problem. Cameron has downloaded an application for photo art and has made some interesting and fun photographs - here's a selection:

I see you

Who needs coloured contacts when I can do this?

Cameron Angel

Nikki Angel

Oi Cameron - what were you thinking!

Multiple Mums

Now that's better! I like it.

The possibilities are endless...

A PINCH AND A PUNCH...

It's the 1st of October, and also daylight savings time too!
We have enjoyed the longer daylight hours for the best part of a week now...time to dust off the BBQ and start making the salads. We had a beaut steak and salad tonight for dinner, thanks to Jamie Oliver and his 30 min meal recipes and ideas....note, did NOT take only 30 minutes, but it was fairly easy and scrummy!

A couple of months ago Lezanne and I took the opportunity to explore Waiheke island for a weekend away. It was a pleasant place to visit, but I was kinda surprised how 'sleepy' the town was. Not a very safe place to take the kids for them to explore (roads too busy and no footpaths) and not much for them to do there, so it was the perfect little weekend to spend some time at the wineries, relaxing over a wine with a girlfriend. Sort of reminded me of Rarotonga (about the same size) without the multitude of pristine coral beaches and humid weather! But still nice, nonetheless, to get away and enjoy some chillaxing.

Stonyridge vineyard - not for the bargain hunters!

Wild on Waiheke - tastings:wine, beer and their very own ginger beer.

One of the two nice beaches: Onetangi Beach

Waiheke ferry terminal

The ferry trip back to Devonport.

Now that we are into October and most of the cold-ish weather has passed us by, we are looking forward to many more weekends away. The wee vege/herb/strawberry planters has been planted and starting to flourish already.

The daises are blooming on the lawn faster than the lawnmower can run them down!

The gorgeous flowers are blossoming. Spring has definitely sprung!