~~~ooOoo~~~
We invited friends over on Thursday to play after school and they ended up staying for tea. That was great because the children continued playing till 8 o'clock before it was time for them to head home. I know they would have played longer, but the nights are certainly getting dark earlier so we need to start putting toys away around 8 o'clock now. It's such a pity our summer season is drawing to a close; ie by 8.45pm it's pitch black now ... boo hoo hoo. Ah well, I can't complain. Our summer has indeed been wonderful, and I am extremely grateful for that.~~~ooOoo~~~
I mentioned completing the exemption at the start, right? Well, because I accomplished my goal, I made a spontaneous decision following our visit from Wharangi (our Tipu Ora kaitiaki). Around mid-morning Friday I suggested we phone Nana Nancy to see if we could spend the weekend with her. Nana was very happy to have us, so we completed our mathematics, started packing our gear and tidied up the house before we clambered into the car to head over to Tauranga.
After a wee rest and chat with Nana, I prepared some handwriting for the children. Tama 1 was in for a surprise today because rather than just practicing individual letters, I decided to raise the bar and see how he coped with stringing cursive letters/words/sentences together.
See what you think ... (please remember to double click for a better glimpse)
I'm more than happy with his first attempt at cursive words and sentences. My own writing left a lot to be desired that day, engari, it just goes to show we're not always perfect, lol.
The children read a couple of books from Nana's shelves and then we called it quits for the week's mahi as Uncle Russell and family arrived around 5ish.
Saturday morning we caught up with Nana Maureen. She has a friend out from England at the moment so we were lucky to catch up at all as they'd just come back from visiting family in the Coromandel and were about to head down to New Plymouth (or was it Wanganui?) oops, can't remember sorry!
No sooner had they left when we made a quick exit with Nana up to Waihi. We needed to make it there by 12.30pm to catch the train to Waikino. We made it with 10-15 minutes to spare! Phew!!
Just a pity they have EFTPOS and credit card signs. The EFTPOS machine
simply looked so out of place, hee hee. Imagine if it existed 100 years ago?!
simply looked so out of place, hee hee. Imagine if it existed 100 years ago?!
The kids were absolutely thrilled with their train ride
We didn't get much time to explore the ticket office as we had to
board the train within minutes of purchasing tickets.
The kids enjoyed the jigger though and figuring out its purpose.
This particular bridge crosses over the main state highway.The kids ooed and aahed as we went over the cars on the road.
The cars tooted every time the train was near the road which
thrilled the kids even more.
This picture was drawn by tamāhine 1. The road I mentionedin the photo above indicated we went over a bridge with the state highway
below. Well, this is her interpretation of us going over said highway.
"Look, Nana!"
At certain intervals throughout the train journey little 'creatures' appeared
While the whānau sat down to refreshments, I quickly took somephotos. Just as well too I might add because the turn-around
was much quicker than anticipated!
Over another bridge. This time we went over water."Wow!!!" they kids said.
Quick photo with one of the railway workers. The children are actuallystanding on the old luggage scales, but because they're all crowded
on top, you can't see the scales. Hei aha
And then we headed to the Martha Gold Mine
This is a Caterpillar 777C Dump Truck used at Martha Gold Mine.Click here to learn about machinery used.
As good intentions go I thought I'd talk about the mine more, but I'm afraid I've found it difficult enough to get to the computer this week, so I hope you don't mind if I cheat and just provide a few links to some great resource websites (smile)
The last time I went to Waihi, this lookout didn't exist. The only thing I remember walking around was the Cornish Pumphouse, whereas there's now a trail around the entire site. Had we come prepared I would most certainly have enjoyed taking the walk. Oh well, it leaves us something to do the next time we visit eh?!
We stopped at Katikati (known as Mural town) to visit Nana's gentleman friend, Bruce. Here are just a few quick photos of his lovely gardens which he hosts regular tours around ...
The children have stayed with Nana and Bruce here a few timesso they were able to give us a running commentary of what we would
be seeing at each turn.
We then called in to visit Russell and family for a cup of tea and biscuits. The three older children went with Marie (Russell's wife) to the end of the cul-de-sac where they have a lovely little playground to play at. They thought that was neat. I think if we lived in town, I would probably want to live in a cul-de-sac. Nancy lives at the end of one also, and they are quite safe - away from main traffic. In saying that though, I'm quite happy where we are, thank you.
Although whaiāipo has another brother living in Tauranga, we didn't manage to catch up with Dean this time around ...By this stage it was getting late in the afternoon and time to head back to Nana's to prepare dinner ...
And have a cup of tea and chat about our adventures~~~ooOoo~~~
Sunday we headed home via Bayfair at Maunganui. The two older children won't remember going to any big malls like St Luke's in Auckland and I really wanted to show them what a mall is all about.
Although we have the Pukeroa Oruawhata 'mall' at home,I don't class it the same as it's not enclosed, let alone have a parking "building".
The kids thought the cars going up and around and down were just fascinating.~~~ooOo~~~
Well, that was last week. The only major excting news to report this week is that the grinder pump for the sewage system has been installed. We now have a large green mushroom at the back of our property.
We've had a lot of contractors working around us this week. At long last, they are finally starting the process of connecting our area to the city sewage system. Don't get too excited though, it'll be months before they connect the entire area yet!!!!! This is just phase 1 of who knows how many more phases to go.
We've even scored a little bit of topsoil to add to our bike jumps.
Not a huge amount, but something is better than nothing.
Oh, and here's a nice little story. I invited some of the guys who stuck around here for lunch to join us inside out of the heat (as y'do). Anyways, I had an enjoyable chat with one of the young guys working on the wiring side of things for the alarm (shown below). He and his wife (who was homeschooled) just so happen to be planning to homeschool their children!! He thought it was great to meet someone doing the same. That's pretty neat eh?!
The alarm looks very fancy dancy indeed.
According to the experts there shouldn't be occasion to use the alarm.
They are confident the system won't break down ...
Ah huh!
And of course ...
we're back into school work
As you can see, tamāhine 2 has decided to join in.
Wow, just think, one day (soon enough) I'll have all five doing school work.
We've had a lot of contractors working around us this week. At long last, they are finally starting the process of connecting our area to the city sewage system. Don't get too excited though, it'll be months before they connect the entire area yet!!!!! This is just phase 1 of who knows how many more phases to go.
We've even scored a little bit of topsoil to add to our bike jumps.Not a huge amount, but something is better than nothing.
Oh, and here's a nice little story. I invited some of the guys who stuck around here for lunch to join us inside out of the heat (as y'do). Anyways, I had an enjoyable chat with one of the young guys working on the wiring side of things for the alarm (shown below). He and his wife (who was homeschooled) just so happen to be planning to homeschool their children!! He thought it was great to meet someone doing the same. That's pretty neat eh?!
The alarm looks very fancy dancy indeed.According to the experts there shouldn't be occasion to use the alarm.
They are confident the system won't break down ...
Ah huh!
And of course ...
we're back into school work
As you can see, tamāhine 2 has decided to join in.Wow, just think, one day (soon enough) I'll have all five doing school work.
~~~ooOoo~~~
Last, but not least ...
Whaiāipo started back at work this week.
I miss him already!!!
But I am eternally, eternally grateful we can look forward
to more family holidays in the future.
Oh yes, my life is truly blessed indeed. Thank you Lord!
Last, but not least ...
Whaiāipo started back at work this week.
I miss him already!!!
But I am eternally, eternally grateful we can look forward
to more family holidays in the future.
Oh yes, my life is truly blessed indeed. Thank you Lord!
Thanks for dropping by
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