Cafe fun

We don't do it very often, infact to be honest I can't remember the last time I took all the kids to a cafe for hot chocolate. I had to meet up with someone and he introduced me to this great cafe in town called Ritual. Turns out my 'meeting' was just five minutes, but I had ordered hot chocolate and fluffy's for the kids, so we stuck around and the staff had fantastic energy and showed us some great games to play , and so the kids were introduced to 'coin rugby' (a game that has carried on extensively at home) and 'jenga' , as well as just enjoying the atmosphere and surroundings (lots to look at) of this cool cafe.....

Cousin love

We were lucky enough to have our Christchurch cousins come to stay over the school holidays, and as usual I was so busy enjoying their company I forgot to even get my camera out, but I did grab a moment when the two 'babies' of the family's were having fun at the table..... good friends these two are..

Saturday rugby

Winter is almost here, and our Saturday mornings are now dominated by the logistics of getting two boys to their various rugby venues, as well as a swimming lesson for Becca, and unfortunately this is made somewhat more difficult by the fact that I work on a Saturday morning and that the logistics puzzle is largely for Rob to try and work around.... but this Saturday I didn't have work and was lucky enough to see Anton's game, which was great and he played like a little trouper....

More chicken love

This little girl spends a lot of time with our chicken's, watching them , feeding them (oh wow 'constantly' feeding them, we run out of chicken food so fast right now !) and mothering them.
This evening it was our own orphan 'baby' chicken (that is fast growing into an adult hen/rooster) that was the focus of her attention..... so so cute...

Our beach in the Autumn evenings

Still getting a few balmy evenings (the last of them I'm sure) and the beach is a really cool place to spend them.
It is always a great place to step away from things and refresh the mind.. (for me) and to just have fun (the kids).
I love how they always always find so so much to busy themselves with at the beach, our coastline is truly a treasure and we are so lucky to have it in the raw state it is!

Evening fun

Our Autumn evenings are still reasonably balmy, which is great, and it means the kids are loving being outside until it turns quite dark (as early as that is these days)... and often in quite crazy moods (even for our kids) this particular night it 'teddy bear tossing' that was the activity of choice... why?..... I have no idea. and I'm not sure they did either, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves....

Our Weekend

Yesterday was so warm, reminiscent of summer ,almost, it was a day for the beach and somewhere new... as it turned out we had been to this beach before, but only once and it was a year ago.

Marfells beach is a fantastic beach with cliffs that bank it and lots of sand to play in.

Kurt and I climbed up some small hills behind the beach for a photography explore,and there was lots of shell hunting and running and playing in the water and a walk down the beach in the warm wind...

Arhggggggg

It seems that there is a problem with the blogger site and I can't upload any photo's onto my blog posts, which is so so so frustrating !!!
My ability to story tell with words is abysmal at best, so photo's are definately my communication of choice.... which means I'm a bit stuck until this blogger issue is sorted....
Fustrating fustrating fustrating

ANZAC day

We went to the parade and ANZAC service in Blenheim. It's the first time the kids have been to one, and the first time in a very long time that Rob and I have been to one.
Kurt was in the parade with the 'Boys Brigade' that he is a member of.
The little ones did well to sit through the speeches (helped by a nearby little dirt pile and a patch of grass and leaves to play with while they were sitting and waiting)
It was moving and stirred more than a few emotions inside me... Lest we forget.....

ANZAC

In view of our National holiday tomorrow, we made biscuits, ANZAC biscuits and talked about what ANZAC day was all about.....why we have a holiday to remember , and the significance of the rolled oat biscuits we make every year.....

He was quite taken with the ANZAC soldiers plight in the wars

Anton made one in the shape of a soldier

Some of us decided it was better to eat than shape