Parched As...

Yesterday we went to Kaiwaka to buy some dutch sweets for Opa. Next to the Dutch cheese shop is Cafe Eutopia, a bizarre organic cafe constructed from ferro cement in the shape of a boat. I took these photos while we were there having a drink, we were parched as.


Today was a stunning Northland summer day. We took Ali to Tadpoles (junior surf-lifesaving) and Lily had a frolic in the sea with Dad. Ali is the one in the pink and orange togs. They are having races to see who can jump up and run to get the pegs sticking out of the sand 10m away the fastest. Ali beats all the girls but two of the boys are a bit faster.

Noel's Birthday

On Opa Noel's Birthday we had lunch and then baileys chocolate mousse birthday cake at our house. Noel and Rosie came up from Auckland and Auntie Alison and Uncle Neil came over from Dargaville. We shared a lovely afternoon and I even managed to seat everyone for a family photo! but I couldn't get them to all look at the camera and smile at the same time :-) maybe next year?

What's New Pussycat?

Today Phil worked while Mum and the kids went to surf life-saving at the Cove. The girls spent the whole afternoon playing in their playhouse being Mummies and Little Girls. And then it was time to be pussycats.

Visit to Opa

Hi everyone, yesterday we went to Auckland to see Opa. He's 93 and feeling a bit the worse for wear at the moment but he seemed happy to pull faces at the kids :-) Afterwards we went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The children marvelled at the dinosaur bones, goggled at the moa and explored all the interactive stuff at the Wierd and Wonderful exhibition that is set up specially for kids.
This morning Lily-anne was at daycare and Ali tagged along for Mum's yoga class. Afterwards we went out for coffee and Ali showed everyone her tooth that fell out on 30th of December, which has nearly been replaced by a new one. One of the ladies from yoga offered Ali a ride on her bike and Ali tried on the helmet for size.

Big Day Out

New Zealand Police - Safer Communities Together

We went to the Big Day Out again this year. The kids stayed with our next-door-neighbours while Mum and Dad went and saw some great bands. Karen's cousin Delia was there with her husband Jonah and we hung out with them and the local constabulary for the day.

Renee's photos

You may have wondered about the gorgeous photos appearing at the side of the blog. Renee took these in early January while she was here. Thanks Renee, you're a legend!

Wenderholm 5 Jan

Gabriel ponders the sea
Phil and Lily decide not to swim
Ali meanders ahead

How much can a Koala Bear?


Well I was catching up and then the summer holidays just kept on coming. The evenings have been taken up with walking (with my friend next door) and trying to get the kids into bed (often not before 9 or 10pm!). Here are the long overdue photos from the Blackbourn family Christmas on the 5th Jan at Wenderholm, half way between Waipu and Auckland.

Happy New Year!

I'm starting to catch up now. We're onto the new year.

All three days that Chris and Renee were here with"baby Babriel" we went to the beach. Here are some of the pictures.

Holiday Photos

Cousin Emily starts Xmas as she means to go on.
Lily loves her twirly Lily-bug
Ali clearly is excited by this gift!
Aunty Sarah looks pretty cheerful as well.
The girls at Grandma's house

Two nights in a row we went Xmas light driving around Goulburn

No trip to Goulburn is complete without a visit to the largest testicles in the Southern Hemisphere
Lily and Grandma share a moment
Ali and Cousin Emily fight for world domination

Granddad is forced to smile for the camera
Aunty Sarah with her cool shades
Lily celebrates the culture of Australia by becoming a blue tongue.

Unfortunately my camera had trouble with capturing moving subjects on Christmas day. Hopefully Uncle Dave can help me out here?