The beginning of December was taken up with winding up activities, and getting ready for the NZ trip. Steph and the kids flew over on the 14th Dec to spend some time at the farm first.
Reminds me - Steph had a birthday on the 12th. Seemed to fly by with other things on.
I flew over on the 23rd after spending a week pining for the rest of the family (party party?). Didn't get up to much in the end, just a bit of last minute shopping and an explore around Adelaide.I think the best way to summarise the NZ time is to add photos and then comment on them.
Christmas Day was at the farm. Full house with Andrew & Judy, Aunty Jeanette, Stephs Brother Simon and a fellow teacher Chandler, Stephs Sister Natalie and husband Matt, and us four. Plus the Dog and the Cat. Hectic but enjoyable.
The 26th was Nats Birthday (as it is every year), and we heading to Ti Point for a swim and a picnic lunch. Hosea enjoyed placing shells from here to there, and then there to here.
The 27th was spent packing and then travelling to Auckland to get a flight to Blenheim via (windy) Wellington. Arrived in time to celebrate Grandads birthday (complete with themed cake). Blenheim was a very relaxing time. There were a few short trips looking for Geocaches, taking us to places we hadn't been before. We had picnics on the lawn and a BBQ at my sisters place. Jenny is great with taking photos of the kids, so full credit to her for some of these photos. H and H enjoyed going on the model steam engine, although Hosea was a bit puzzled that the engine sounded like a chainsaw (which it was - two-stroke!)
We returned to Auckland for a week to catch up with friends. We stayed with Euan, Amy & Liam - who is just older than Hosea. They had a great time playing with each other. We headed to the beach to show that kidss can still have a great time and a smile on their faces while shivering after being in the water too long!
Unless someone can tell me how to insert photos at the bottom of the blog, I'm going to stop here and start another log.
