Thursday
To Do List
Take spare keys up to Nana and Koro
Borrow chilli bin from Uncle Warrick
Ask Uncle Warrick if he wants to housesit while we're away
Pack our travel bags
Get as much school work done as possible
~~~ooOoo~~~
Ngā tamariki (the children) were brilliant today. Considering they had a number of interruptions to contend with, tama 1 and tamāhine 1 cooperated beautifully throughout the day. The first interruption was taking the recycling into the city. I set a target for them to complete their maths and they finished exactly on time.~~~ooOoo~~~
We headed to the recycling centre via Ngongotaha as whaiāipo had a 20-30 minute stop to make out that way. As we waited for whaiāipo I asked tama 1 to read.
~~~ooOoo~~~
Following lunch tama 1 and tamāhine 1 had their handwriting exercises. Tama 1 made a lovely job of his cursive letters "I" and "J" today. Cursive writing is certainly tricky to develop, but slow and steady makes all the difference indeed.
Tama 1 regretted getting up from his desk to grab himself a drink of water --> tama 3 was on the seat in an instant, and refused to budge, lol. In the end, tama 1 sat at the dining table to complete his writing.~~~ooOoo~~~
Later in the afternoon tamāhine 1 read one of her Correspondence School books which arrived in yesterday's mail.
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~~~ooOoo~~~
The rest of the afternoon the kids pitched in to tidy the house, pack our bags and even got to bed early. We were all very excited about waking up and getting on the road tomorrow morning for out first family weekend holiday ...
~~~ooOoo~~~
Friday - Waitangi Day
I set an ETD (estimated time of departure) for 9.00 am and guess what? We were in the car and away by 9.02 am.
We arrived at Pukekohe by midday which was good timing. It meant we didn't have to wait for the track to be cleared to get across, plus the boys were there to greet us at their pitch.
Meanwhile, whaiāipo continued to work on the bike ...
The kids found ways to amuse themselves on a scorching hot day
(easily into 90-95% humidity)
While the boys rode and the children played whaiāipo continued working on the bike ...
Tama 1 and tama 2 took some photos to while away the time.
Here's a photo of what is obviously special/important to tama 2 which
Either that or he knew the helmet belongs to his daddy.
And just in case you didn't know, this is how the old bikes are started.
"The trick," says whaiāipo "is to start them in the pit and then
get to the line and keep it going."
~~~ooOoo~~~
We arrived at Pukekohe by midday which was good timing. It meant we didn't have to wait for the track to be cleared to get across, plus the boys were there to greet us at their pitch.
~~~ooOoo~~~
No sooner had we arrived when this is how whaiāipo spent his entire afternoon ...
working on one of the bikes ...
working on one of the bikes ...
While he and Graeme played mechanic, Kerry and Russell rode ...
Meanwhile, whaiāipo continued to work on the bike ...
The kids found ways to amuse themselves on a scorching hot day(easily into 90-95% humidity)
While the boys rode and the children played whaiāipo continued working on the bike ...
Tama 1 and tama 2 took some photos to while away the time.
Here's a photo of what is obviously special/important to tama 2 whichI thought was kinda cute ...
Either that or he knew the helmet belongs to his daddy.And just in case you didn't know, this is how the old bikes are started.
"The trick," says whaiāipo "is to start them in the pit and then
get to the line and keep it going."
~~~ooOoo~~~
Saturday
Our family fun day at Auckland Zoo
After years of being too broke to make it to the zoo, we are here!
I cannot begin to express the emotions I was feeling at this particular moment in time!
Joy, excitement, relief, satisfaction ...
After years of being too broke to make it to the zoo, we are here!I cannot begin to express the emotions I was feeling at this particular moment in time!
Joy, excitement, relief, satisfaction ...
~~~ooOoo~~~
We spent five hours at the zoo and we could quite easily have stayed even longer there but the heat - especially for the babies was far too intense. The humidity was 95% and although the temperature was only 25CoC for those of us from Rotorua it was the humidity that was just difficult.
We didn't let that deter us though ...
We didn't let that deter us though ...
We only had to wait ten minutes and then it was time to feed the giraffe
We enjoyed sharing our lunch break with family
Lunch at the zoo
Gotta love the elephants
The lemurs looked so cuddly
The alligator may only have been a baby, but it was still amazing to see it up close
Meerkat tunnel -just a pity whaiāipo didn't know he was lifting
tamāhine 2 up with the sun right on her face!
Just one of the play areas where the kids enjoyed themselves.They had a lot more energy than their mother, I can tell you!
Ice blocks while we wait for the tiger to return
The tiger was definitely worth waiting for
Goodbye Zoo!We finally made it and it was worth every minute!
Thank you!
and Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) - or as we call it "no tree hill" -
but that's another story, lol
By this stage it was nearing 6 o'clock and we had to return toDouglas and Sonya's for a BBQ
and of course, enjoy the backyard with the cousins
While the other kids had baths, tama 2 enjoyed reading with Aunty Adelaide
Cousin Ivy insisted tamāhine 1 talk with her while she had a bath~~~ooOoo~~~
Sunday
Sunday was full of farewells ... to cousins
[Douglas emailed me yesterday to let me know Ivy really missed the kids when we left ..neat alright!]
Farewell to my third brother Craig and my mum's oldest surviving sister - Aunty Adelaide~~~ooOoo~~~
We stopped at Pukekohe to see the boys again.
~~~ooOoo~~~
Then headed homewards and took a slight detour to visit Candyland
We stopped at Pukekohe to see the boys again.
~~~ooOoo~~~
Then headed homewards and took a slight detour to visit Candyland
~~~ooOoo~~~
We got home to find Uncle Warrick had left us some kai in the
fridge and some fruit in the bowls.
Tino pai
fridge and some fruit in the bowls.
Tino pai
~~~ooOoo~~~
I should point out that tama 1 turned seven years old today
and that we went to the zoo yesterday for his birthday present
because cousin Douglas had some mahi to prepare on Sunday.
But I don't think it made too much difference to tama 1 to celebrate the day before.
In fact it feels like we really celebrated his birthday for an entire weekend!
and that we went to the zoo yesterday for his birthday present
because cousin Douglas had some mahi to prepare on Sunday.
But I don't think it made too much difference to tama 1 to celebrate the day before.
In fact it feels like we really celebrated his birthday for an entire weekend!
I must also mention that while we had a chat to Douglas and Sonya on Saturday night I indicated tama 1 would be seven the following day, and do you know what Douglas and Sonya did? They snuck into the lounge after midnight and hung up a birthday banner and balloons for tama 1 to wake up to. Isn't that just gorgeous? Gosh, I do love my family. Not only that, but before we left them that morning, they wrapped up a present for tama 1. He was overcome with surprise and became very shy. He is very humble as he's unused to receiving gifts. Now he just thinks he's the king of kings to have his gift.
And, before I finish this post,
I simply must share these two drawings by tamāhine and tama 1.
We literally no sooner got in the door when they were straight up to the kitchen bench with [new] pens and paper to record their special weekend.
Tamāhine 1 has drawn an elephant drinking at the water hole,
splashing water over its body.
Tama 1 has drawn our whare in Rotorua, Aunty Adelaide's and cousin Douglas's whare
plus Sky Tower in Auckland.
[I would think that these pictures are testament to the fact they enjoyed their weekend eh?!]
And seeing as I've included that one, I might as well include my Auckland city photo taken at 100kmph approaching the Harbour Bridge ...
plus Sky Tower in Auckland.
[I would think that these pictures are testament to the fact they enjoyed their weekend eh?!]
~~~ooOoo~~~
Speaking of Sky Tower, here's my photo I took as we drove along the motorway at 80kmph
And seeing as I've included that one, I might as well include my Auckland city photo taken at 100kmph approaching the Harbour Bridge ...
[it looks heaps better when you double click to enlarge it I have to say! lol]
We had a thoroughly wonderful time on our family weekend holiday and I hope you've enjoyed sharing the experience with us. Arohat-tino-nui to Ivy, Max, Sonya, Douglas, Aunty Adelaide my big brother Craig and of course Kerry, Russell and Graeme for sharing in our family's holiday.
Thanks for dropping by
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