It had to happen ...

School holidays are over and tomorrow is the beginning of Term 3. Tonight we made cupcakes to try and 'soften' the back-to-school "blues". A rather sad little boy will be putting his uniform on tomorrow morning and trotting back into the classroom. Only 9 weeks this term Josh ... and believe me there will come a day when you do not wish away the time!

A Special day on the Farm

We had lots of outings and fun over the holidays but one of the highlights was most definitely our day with Wendy up at her farm in Otaki. We spent the day with her and Josh took quite a shine to the ducks, namely Ping & Pong and the little ducklings called Pinglet and Ponglet (I kid you not!). Wendy has been a very close friend for what seems like a lifetime and spending time with her is always special. She was able to capture Joshua's attention for such a long time as we all wandered around the lake and fed the ducks and the deer. It was so tranquil, so peaceful and the autumn colours were just lovely. We had a super day and came home feeling very tired but rested.

Tri-Nations NZ vs Springboks

Scots College Prep School was invited to be involved in the pre-match entertainment for the All Blacks Tri Nations Test Match against South Africa at Westpac Stadium on Saturday 30th July. 52 boys throughout Years 2-8 were selected to take part in this exciting opportunity - and Josh was one of them!
As part of the entertainment segment, there was a celebration of the NZ Provincial Unions with a parade of flags. All the boys were given black tracksuits with 'All in Black' written in white across the back and black beanies to wear and were paired up with an older student and then walked onto the field in groups of 3 carrying their colourful provincial flat. The boys then held a large All Blacks flag which they laid out onto the ground.

The All Blacks came on and did their haka and everyone enjoyed an amazing fireworks display from the centre of the field.

We also went to the Game so Josh came up and joined us afterwards. It was a fabulous game as the All Blacks crushed the Springboks 40-7 and is surely a game that will go down in history as a record home win for NZ over South Africa (not that I am biased or anything!?!?!).

And as much as the size of NZ can work against it ... it can also work in its favour. Joshua has now been involved in two pre-match entertainment spectacles at the Stadium and played in 4 curtain raisers ... where else in the world can a young child get this opportunity where they rub shoulders with international sports players and get the chance to go out in front of an audience of up to 34,000 people. It truly is a 'wow' both for him and also his incredibly proud parents!

A Glorious Day in the Middle of Winter

Despite it being winter, we woke up this morning to a beautiful still and calm day so Josh and I decided to take Huddy to the beach. Joshua insisted on packing his wetsuit but not for one moment did I think he would venture into the water but .... oh yes, he did - and I have to say that Hudson loves nothing more than having someone to surf the waves with! Let's just say that I had two shivering boys covered in sand in the car on the way home! Josh had a warm shower to thaw out whilst Huddy-bud had a shampoo albeit under the hose - brave boy!

Note the message in the sand ... with no influence by me I promise ...... MUM RULES

Uncle Johnny & Maritess

We visited "Uncle" Johnny & Maritess today to see Johnny's new car - a second Porsche! I think that perhaps Johnny is as passionate about his cars as he is about his planes now and he took great pride in showing Joshua the motor and let him sit in the car (sorry Johnny-lead-foot, we declined the opportunity to go for a 'spin'!). But just for the record Johnny, Joshua thinks you are 'very cool' and you always, always make him laugh!

Holiday Swimming Programme

With school swimming sports coming up next term, Joshua enrolled in the Swim Squad Holiday Programme which was a half-hour lesson every day for a week. It was astounding the progress he made in that week ... swimming for 5 consecutive days made such a difference. 4 boys in the group and on some days there were only 2 so the instruction and teacher-time was fantastic. Now we just have to remember it all and practise !!

A very sad day

Today is the last day that Fionn and Ciaren are here in Wellington before they move north to Auckland to live with their Mum and her new partner. Their parents have split up and the boys have been here with their Dad for the past 5 months but they now need to move to Auckland. Fionn in particular, goes back a long way with Josh. They met when they were 5 years old, both at Seatoun School and also at rugby, as they have both played for the Mustangs for 4 seasons. Fionn and Josh share a special bond and we have seen a lot of the boys in the last 5 months.

As a parent, you meet all 'sorts' of children who befriend your child and come into your life, and sometimes you may not always 'agree' with their choices. However, I can honestly say, with my hand on my heart, that Fionn and Ciaren are both gorgeous boys and we never tire of spending time with them. They are energetic, very sporty, incredibly kind and caring and are just heaps of fun. We are going to miss them very much.

Tonight we had the boys and their Dad over for a 'farewell' dinner. The boys particularly loved the chocolate cake which we had decorated with chocolate pebbles to say the boys' 3 names - Joshua, Fionn & Ciaren. It was a happy night but by the end of the evening, it was also very sad and both Fionn and Joshua cried as they hugged each other.

Their 'situation' also made us think of our little family ... and how so lucky we are.

We make you a promise Fionn & Ciaren ... we will still see lots of you when you come down to Wellington to see your Dad. Josh is very keen to skype and knowing the boys and their love of technology I have no doubt that they will work out some way to stay in touch online and no doubt play games online!!

Happy Red Nose Day

Although Red Nose Day is not until next week, because the boys will not be at school due to school holidays, we spoke to Mrs Bell and decided to bring RED NOSE DAY a week forward. Josh had taken in little red noses for everyone last year .. this year we decided to make Red Nose Cupcakes ... the boys loved them!

Daddy's car is sick

Josh was fascinated this morning. Daddy's car is sick and had to be towed from home to the garage to find out why it will not start. Josh was particularly fascinated with the hydraulic rope that hauled Daddy's car out of the garage and up the drive-way. He supervised it all, albeit in his pyjamas!

An Afternoon with Bella

Bella and her Mum came down from Havelock North for the weekend and were staying up the coast and invited Josh and I to join them for the afternoon. Bella and Josh and 3 other little children who 'tagged along' spent many hours building dams and all sorts of 'things' in the water. Josh continues to love building and anythimg to do with structure and shape so he took charge as Project Manager - fortunately Bella was happy with that!

Bella & Josh then decided to don wetsuits and head out into the sea - note that although the day was glorious, we are in the midst of winter and the air temperature that day was only 11 degrees so go figure how COLD the water was. However, they loved it and darted in and out until the sun started to go down. Time for a quick spa to thaw out and then relax in the glass patio watching the sun slip behind the hills. Wow, what a glorious afternoon and Bella and Josh played beautifully ... and after inhaling the fresh salt air of the coast, Josh slept so soundly that night.