Lemons

Spelling Bee

Grace had a great time last night at a Spelling Bee held at Charlie's school. It was a fantastic event, and very compelling to watch. Pity that Charlie chose to photo-bomb the only picture I have of the night. Naughty. 

Adam is 3!

Cross Country 2014

Jane had a fantastic Cross Country season. She placed second in her age group at the school competition, behind best buddy, Logan. At the Mini-cluster (5 school) competition she placed third, and in the Super-cluster (about 10 schools) competition, she came fifth. She ran her heart out and was thrilled with the result. Good on you, Jane!

Maritime Museum

We had a beautiful day out at the Maritime Museum, taking in a trip on the Ted Ashby, an old schooner. Adam dressed as a pirate in anticipation, but was very disappointed that he had to wear a heavy life jacket. It was not at all piratical. We loved sailing under the Harbour Bridge and seeing the bungee jumpers. After the trip we had snack at a cafe, made memorable by an exploding sauce bottle. When Grace opened the bottle, sauce hit the roof and splattered her face and hair. Messy. Thankfully, one of us never goes anywhere without a big packet of wet wipes. We then sped through the Museum and took a stroll along the Viaduct. 

More sailing

Sailing on Auckland Harbour

Hunters of Henry P

Sustainability Homework

Each week Josephine is assigned some numeracy and literacy homework and also some 'hands-on' homework. This week the hands on homework said something like, "choose a sustainable practice that your family has at home. Take a photo of yourself doing the activity and send it in." After much debate we decided that composting was a great example of a sustainable practice. It took a lot of coaxing and finally some insisting before Josie would stand close enough to the compost bin to pose for the photo. I was just a little ticked off when she refused to actually tip the compost in. Here is what she wrote in her homework book in the reflection section where it asks, "How did you go with your hands on homework?" Josie: "Not good in Mum's opinyon. I hate insects and worms. When it was over I ran away."

Tui Glen Reserve

Heroic

Found a super playground recently, and went there to meet up with the Reddy family. How we miss having them next door!

Cartwheels

Jane has started gymnastics classes at the YMCA. Here's a clip of her practising her cartwheels.

Table Tennis

Charles has started playing table tennis on the school team. His first game was Friday night, and he had a great time and they came away with a win.

Cave

Josephine and Laura took a walk last Saturday morning along the east coast beaches. We started at Brown's Bay and headed south. We were delighted to find this cave revealed by the low tide.

Hopeful

Mentor

It's nice to have some guidance on the important things in life.

Mt Eden

Mt Eden is an old volcano in Auckland. You can look down into the crater, and it is so tempting just to roll down the extremely steep sides, all covered in lush green grass. However, there are signs pointing out that the area is fragile and sacred to Maori, so rolling is not on. We had a great time taking in the view, and providing photo opportunities for the Chinese tourists, who were like paparazzi buzzing around Adam and the 5 kids when they stood together for a group shot. The children felt very noteworthy. In the photo of Charlie and Laura standing side by side, note how he has shot up lately!

Brown's Bay

A drizzly evening at Brown's Bay ended up with a gorgeous rainbow.

The highs and lows of being 2.

Out to Dinner

Easter

We had a lovely morning hunting Easter eggs with the neighbours and then eating our chocolate in the sunshine.