Rainbow Springs

Today we went to Rainbow Springs.
We bought a special year long pass so we can visit as much as we want.

We had a picnic in the sun first which was lovely.

We saw lots of birds.

We were most impressed by the walk-in enclosures.

2nd wedding anniversary

I got some gorgeous flowers for our anniversary...


....and a home made cake. Aren't I lucky!!






Talking on the phone.


Hannah was so busy talking to her best friend on the phone that she hardly noticed me tying this ribbon in her hair. She left it in nearly all day and it looked so cute.

Happy Fathers Day

This afternoon we had a family barbecue for Fathers Day. It's been quite a while since we all got together so it lovely especially for the kids. They stuff themselves silly and then have a great time playing together while the adults sit around and gasbag (for non-Kiwis that means talk lots!!)
Hannah made an apple pie for her Granddad from scratch, even the pastry and it was gorgeous.
A few people thought it ha d been store-bought. She's turning into quite the little chef.

She's has been watching lots of E! channel on sky lately so this is her impression of trying to avoid the paparazzi!

Long overdue update

Last month Hannah and I went to the OpShop concert that was here in Rotorua. We had been waiting for it for over a month and were really, really looking forward to it. I was 15 weeks preggy then - although you can hardly see my bump!!


After the concert we lined up for autographs and we were able to get a photo of Hannah and the lovely Jason together. It's taken with my phone so it's not that clear, but still an awesome memento. I told the band that it was Hannah's first concert and they were really neat about it. They all signed a big poster that one of the advertising people gave her which was a huge bonus as they weren't giving them to anyone else. (Later that week we got it laminated and it now holds prized position above her bed.)
We both had the BEST time and can't wait for the summer concert season so we can go see them again.

It's snowing!!!

The start of our shed

We finally had the concrete poured for our double garage. We've been waiting for ages to get it started and it was so exciting to watch it being done.





It's going to be half garage/workshop and half playroom. It means we can move all the crap that clutters up the house out there and we can have a tidy house for once!! You have no idea how exciting that is for me.
Watch this space for building progress.

11 weeks today

Hannah and I were at Farmers the other day looking at baby clothes when we saw this.
We couldn't resist it....especially since it's Crusader colours.
We're going to wait a couple more weeks until I'm past 3 months before really hitting the shops! Hannah is very excited....typical girl - just loves shopping.

The Crusaders won!!!

Hooray, the Canterbury Crusaders won against the Waratahs last night.
What a game! It was a bit hairy at moments but I was very confident that the boys would do their best.
And they did!!!!!

Second rugby game and first win!!

Today Darcy had his second game of rugby and they played fantastically. I literally didn't have a spare second to take a photo as they kept scoring try after try. This season they are scoring properly with 5 points per try (they don't convert yet) so the final score was an amazing 80-10 with Darcy getting 8 of their 16 tries! What a little star! I was so proud.
He had so much fun telling family and friends.
I'll have to really try (ha ha) to get some photos next week.

Darcy had his first rugby game of the season last Saturday but I was so busy keeping score (I'm Team Manager) that I only managed to get one photo of them warming up.


On Sunday we went to an Open Day at our local Fire Station and DH had a go with the special equipment they use when they attend car accidents.



They showed what happens when a pot of oil is left on the stove. After showing us what to do to put it out, they showed us what NOT to do by poring some water on it. It was amazing and everyone was shocked especially the kids. We could feel the extreme heat from behind the safety barrier.

A day at the pool.

We had a lovely afternoon at the pool yesterday. A whole lot of homeschoolers were there having swimming lessons so the kids were able to catch up with some kids they had met before.






It was a gorgeous day and the kids went back and forth between the outdoor pool and the warmer indoor one.



DD10 and DH had a good look at some pregnancy books together. They are looking at the differences between identical and fraternal twins.

We're having another baby!!

We just found out last week that I'm pregnant!
Pretty exciting and scary - mostly exciting but as I'm no spring chicken (39 last month) it's a little scary.
I have a doctors appointment today which I'm really looking forward to.

The kids are absolutely rapt especially DD10. She's going to be my big helper and keeps talking about all the things she will be able to do for me.
That will be such a change from when I had them (8 & 10 years ago) as I did an awful lot of it on my own.

At this early stage I don't want to go on too much, but I'm looking forward to getting past that 12 week stage and then we can start to shop!! LOL

Out for dinner

It was my Dad's birthday yesterday and the whole family (8 adults & 5 kids) went out for dinner at an Irish pub. I think it was the first time ever that we've all been out to a restaurant so it was a very special occasion.
The meals were huge and yummy but unfortunately I was feeling very nauseous and so I only had a couple of bites of garlic bread and a ginger beer.
Afterwards we went next door to a Gelato shop and had dessert there.



It was a great night and the kids had a blast.

Birthday party at the local pool.

Awesome toys

The little boy (2 yrs) I look after loves playing with toy cars and we have a lovely collection of all different kinds.

This is the one that took his fancy today though - homemade by my hubby.



Isn't it cute.

Funny dogs

We were at my friends the other day and one of her dogs decided he just had to come inside, even with the door shut!




One of her other dogs decided he just had to wear a dress.....seriously he wriggled into it himself.

Painting fun

You Are a Rose

You are a total alpha dog who tends to be a leader. Your friends depend on you to hold things together and make decisions. Potential lovers are drawn to your raw power and strength. While you are the center of attention, you are secretly introverted and a bit shy.

What Flower Are You?

Easter eggs and veges

The kids have lots of fun chopping up old veges and "making' all sorts of dishes.







My Mum usually hides something in her garden for the kids at Easter....this time it was a rabbit.