Last day at Variety Sports

Last day at Variety Sports for the term - and it was great, they even had an inflatable climbing wall which everyone loved. Today Josh ran ... and ran ... and ran (maybe those new running shoes are fast afterall!).

These boots are made for .... running

Josh took this photo of his new shoes .... he calls them his 'fast' shoes and no doubt we will find out how fast they are when his class does their cross-country !

Playdate & Cross Country

Mummy arrived at school in time to see the end of the cross country practise run - gosh our little ones have to run a fair distance. Today was a particularly hot day as well so they all sat under the tree to cool off after their marathon run !!
And we then finished the day off with a play date with Ethan - the boys played beautifully together and had a lot of fun !

Our Grandma

Although Grandma is rather elderly and not as physically able as we (and she) would like, we so value and love her being in our lives and her wisdom, intellect and knowledge is amazing. She loves to chat with Josh and of course always has chocolate eggs in the fridge just for him (Joshua's name for mellow puffs!) & ice blocks. Where would we be without our Grandma!

The Mustangs are back !

We are SO excited. Coaches Kevin, Rob, Chris and Paul (our Daddy) are back on the pitch with their little team of Mustangs who are rearing to go this season. Josh was so excited to get his Mustang jersey and new rugby boots. When we were buying the boots he asked the lady in the shop "are these the super fast boots?". A year on from when we first started Ripper Rugby, Josh is that much taller and stronger and has a better understanding of the rules of the game, so Coach Kevin has high hopes for Josh this year .... watch this space ! In fact, on the Mustang website, the coach wrote after our first game on Sunday .... "Joshua carried on his loose forward form from last year. He grabbed two rips at key points, but even more importantly, he chased the other kids all over the place, often forcing them to go backwards. His best moment today was chasing a Warrior hard right to the try line. If he keeps this up, he’ll get heaps of rips in 2009. Keep it up Joshua"

Scots College Gala

We all woke up this morning to a beautiful day. The local private boys' school had their annual School Gala - and gosh what an event with a huge turnout. Such a large variety of stalls and activities let alone entertainment, all of which were presented in such a polished and slick way - shows you just what a wonderful school it is. We had a lovely time there.

Daddy's budding Apprentice

Today was a glorious day to get a few little jobs done around the house. Mummy has re-designed the semi-outdoor pond area with the fountain to recreate a pebbled garden of ferns, light and water - just what Daddy loves to do (not!). But dearest wee Josh decided he would help Daddy !

Last Day of Cricket

Well the cricket season is now finished and today Josh had his last game for the season. Cricket has been an 'interesting' learning curve for us and we will possibly not repeat this sport next summer. Josh loved the batting and bowling but got rather bored with fielding - and of course there is a lot of time fielding in cricket! But hey, the Rockets team had a good season, and of course it was another reason to get up at 7.30am every Saturday (we won't miss that!!).

Can Mummy not have any peace ?

Well Daddy dared Mummy to put this photo in the blog .... gulp !! For those of you who know me well, you will all realise that I will always rise to a challenge or a dare - so here it is .... Mummy in relaxation mode on holiday. I am not sure whether it is the article I am reading on 'get more time' or the facepack that I am deriving the most pleasure from!!

Like Father Like Son

Love this photo - my 2 boys in their red caps !! When Mummy told Josh he needed a new cap .... he insisted he get the same colour as Daddy ! Now we just need to train Hudson to wear a cap rather than a bandanna !

The Glorious Gold Coast

Well we have just returned from a wonderful week away on the Gold Coast where we spent our days swimming in the pool or at the beach, relaxing, enjoying the company of special friends who were over there at the same time and of course going all-out at the Theme Parks, namely Movie World, Dream World, White Water Rafting World and Seaworld. What a gorgeous part of the world with its sandy shores that go on forever and the endless stretch of blue water - Mummy managed a run on the beach most mornings and just loved it!

We learned very quickly at the theme parks that all Josh wanted to do was go on all the rides and the faster they were the happier he was! We are lucky (I think) that Daddy is a bit of a dare devil as well although he had to be reminded at one stage that although Josh is tall and met the height requirement, he was still only 5 years old! Mummy managed to go on most rides but is embarrassed to admit that after one full day of rides, she 'lost' it all on the 'green room' water roller coaster that started with an almost vertical drop, into a dark tunnel and then 'shot' us out into a 20metre high basin that spun us forwards and then backwards (that was the worst) and then finished us off by "sucking us down the plug-hole" and then depositing what was left of us in the pool at the bottom - I kid you not !! Suffice to say, that finished Mummy off for the rest of the day !
Hope you all enjoy these photos which are a brief snapshot of the fun we had.

Gorgeous Visitors

This is Charlotte and baby Jessica from Auckland who paid us a visit - Jessica would be one of the happiest most-smiley babies I have met, she is adorable.

Clever Daddy

Well this morning Daddy along with another 2 daddies, Kevin & Rob (all 3 of them coach Joshua's rugby team) decided to prove to us all that they are fit afterall and entered the Contact Triathlon - our Daddy did the swim (1.5km) Rob did the bike ride (40km) and Kevin did the run (10km). We were all very proud and were there to see them come across the finish line - even if our Daddy did need to thaw out for nearly an hour after getting out of Wellington harbour with the water temperature only being 16 degrees - brrrrrrr!

We're all going on a summer holiday....

Woohoo, last day of school .... tomorrow we head off to the Gold Coast for 7 glorious days in the sunshine. Josh looked very happy with his friends at school this morning - afterall, only one more sleep ....











After school we went into town for Josh to have a haircut with Tuan. The salon was packed with over a dozen people there and all of a sudden, Josh looked in the mirror and behind him he saw the owner who was sporting a similar haircut/style to Daddy and Josh VERY loudly said .... "my Daddy is bald, just like that man over there" !! Don't you just love it !!

Tonight, whilst cuddling up in bed Josh was so excited about going on the plane to Brisbane tomorrow, he was literally squirming in the bed. I asked him what he thought about when I said 'holiday' .... his answer .... "oh Mummy, just lots of sun, swimming, water slides and golf". Not a bad vision to have !

Hudson goes off to doggy-camp

This morning poor wee Hudson was packed into the back of the car and driven up to TeHoro where he is staying for a week in the Kennels .... he was very happy to arrive, dragging his blanket and of course his teddy-bear in his mouth, but then looked very sad and became rather vocal when he realised that he was being left there (I think I heard him saying ... when is Air NZ going to allow doggies to go on planes to the Gold Coast?).

However, these kennels are rather special - they only have golden retrievers (doggy snobs that we are!), the place is fantastically clean, all dogs have their own 'room' with a wire door and their name on it, their rooms are air conditioned for the cold and the hot and there is piped music throughout. They play on a 2 acre piece of lawn and trees. Today there were 7 doggies there staying .... mmm, maybe he will have fun after all!

Grandad & Grandma are in town ....

Grandad & Grandma have arrived, a little earlier than expected, because Grandad has not been feeling the best. But with kisses from Josh and fun with the family, he is now feeling much better.

Out 'Aunty' Rosie

Both Josh & Huddy adore Aunty Rose - just wish at times that our lives were not so busy and we could see more of her. Mummy & Rose sometimes meet at 7am on a Sunday morning and go walking - what a beautiful time of the morning that is. And there's no show without punch ..... Huddy always come along but Josh & Daddy stay home in bed and sleep in!

Bestest of friends

This is Enzo and these 2 boys go back a long way .... in fact, the night that we brought Josh home, Enzo & his family were there waiting for us and of course were our immediate neighbours for nearly 4 years. Suffice to say this time together cemented a very special and solid bond between the 2 boys despite Enzo being 8 years older. Enzo now lives in Wanganui and sadly we don't get to see him often but .... when we do .... it can honestly bring tears to your eyes to see the boys greet one another and spend time together. Enzo been an incredible 'big brother' to Josh and over the years of Josh as a toddler, Enzo always showed the most amazing care, kindness and patience. We so value this relationship and will do all we can to make sure it carries on. Josh truly loves Enzo and looks up to him - so Enzo, you had better set a good example (no pressure now !!)

The one eyed monster

Well ..... not quite .... instead Josh very excited this evening after his shower and Mummy caught him running around the house with his 'undies' on his head - I seriously do wonder where he gets his sense of humour from ... just what has Daddy been teaching him?

Fishing ....

A stunning night - so calm and the sea was like a mill pond - we were sure the fish would be biting so after dinner we packed up and headed to the jetty. Mr Hudson had a huge swim and we are not sure whether he frightened the fish away or the fish were just not hungry this evening .... but we only caught one little tiny fish but Josh caught it entirely on his own - first time without any assistance from Mummy & Daddy - wow! Mummy had to duck a few times as Josh was learning how to cast - phew a few close shaves there !