Whirlwind Week

Reflecting on the week that's been...SATURDAY was so much fun - I drove the kids to Himatangi Beach to meet up with two wonderful friends who came up from Wellington for the long weekend to stay at a bach. We bbq-ed, drank wine and reminisced for hours and it was great! SUNDAY was the day that the All Blacks became the 2011 Rugby World Cup Champions Of The World by a mere point against the mighty French, which will go down in NZ history. MONDAY was a public holiday to celebrate [actually it was Labour Day anyway] and Auckland held a parade in honour of our boys in black, with over 100,000 attending. TUESDAY I had a job interview [fingers crossed!] and Fraz headed over to Palmerston North for his cousin's funeral [age 65,cancer]. WEDNESDAY I attended a funeral too, for dear old Jojo, aged 98, who was my grandmother's best friend and neighbour for most of her life. A gentle reflection of a wonderful life. That evening Erin and I held our Ballentynes Summer Fashion Show fundraising event for Cystic Fibrosis at a local church hall and raised several hundred dollars for the welfare of our branch members. Such a fun night that was months in the making. THURSDAY was a housework type of day, with Bella's school PTA meeting in the arvo, for the school gala on 5 Nov - I have put myself in charge of organising media attention. FRIDAY the heavens opened and I attended another funeral for Mo, aged 43, who lingered in a coma for 10 days after a car crash and finally succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind his 12 year old daughter, Grace, whose sweet words at the funeral had us reaching for the tissues. A huge funeral for a much loved man.

Today is SATURDAY again and I have slept in, read a book for ages in bed, had my porridge at 11am, and have yet to get dressed for the day, which is shaping up to be a beauty. My Dad is taking the kids beach-combing later when the tide is going out, which they are looking forward to and then I'll feed them all dinner at our house, after hosing the sand off them in the backyard! Yay for weekends!!! [Sure hope next week is a tad quieter...]

Day trippers

These images are from a recent day out at the Tawhiti Museum in Taranaki. It is the best private museum in the country. The family went for a day trip and spent a few hours perusing the awesome displays of farm equipment, and historical events - Maori land wars was a fascinating display. The life-sized models were just as impressive as the many miniature scale models. We even went on the 'underground' boat and became a part of the 1800's era in NZ of traders and whalers. Very realistic! I learned a lot and we all really enjoyed it. This was a part of Bella's birthday, albeit a week beyond the date.

Fame for Wanganui

This morning I took Bella along to join a group of her schoolmates from Carlton School, to visit 27 Carlton Ave, which is now famous for its innovative and bright Rugby World Cup 2011 decorations. An Auckland ad agency wanted a photo of the kids for an ANZ bank advertising campaign that will begin after the RWC is over. It will feature on billboards at Auckland and Wellington airports and on ANZ bank windows all over the country. This photo is my own, but the real thing may be similar. Bella is standing in the middle, right beside the silver fern.

I emailed this pic and details to the River City Press so it will feature in that paper next week :)

Bella turns 7

Bella turned 7 today, at precisely 1:10pm, if we want to be exact. Big ups to Aunty Meg who was there at the birth, and my two midwives. Fraz and Lockie arrived a little late, but Bella and I were both in better form at that point so no worries :)

Today my little sweetie was up bright and early - 5:40am [!] - but was happy to go back to bed for a while and at 7am she got her pressies and her parents' attention. Lockie gave her a present a bit later, and all morning she's been getting mail with more presents - thanks Aunties Meg and Jess!! We've had a home movie theatre experience, and the kids have climbed the giant tree in the front yard, although Bella had to be rescued which put paid to that game ;) The cake has been iced and decorated with love and lollies so we will have that particular ceremony soon. Happy Birthday!!!!!

girls' day

Busy day for young Bella and me - we saw Lockie off on a day trip with the tramping club and then we headed off to town for some stuff - she got her face painted in an ocean scene and we hung out at a local event that produced a large piece of artwork, made up of 100 paintings by 100 local artists, who painted through the day to complete it by late afternoon. Cool to see it all happening.

BTW we are very proud to be hosting the Rugby World Cup 2011 in NZ, hence the flag in the living room window ;) Our city is hosting the USA team so there are American flags flying all over town.

Cystic Fibrosis Chairpersons' Conference NZ 2011

The beautiful alpine village of Hanmer Springs, in the South Island of New Zealand. Ski fields nearby, plus a large and popular thermal pool complex, great restaurants and cafes, scenic walks, mountain-biking, bungy jumping, etc - great for our conference but I am keen to take our family back here over summer for a more relaxing time. So much I have yet to see here :)

I Am Crap...

at this blogging thang! No, REALLY crap. Try forgetting I had a blog for 2 years kind-of-crap. Damn you Facebook!!!

Right, changing subject now, here is a pic of me with my great friend Erin, who has Cystic Fibrosis and had a double lung transplant 18mths ago and really rocks! We are at Christchurch Airport, waiting to catch a flight home to Wanganui, after a weekend away in Hanmer Springs [gorgeous!] for CF Chairpersons' Conference 2011. Erin is our branch's Chairperson and I am the Secretary :)

Highlight of that weekend away for me, was the thermal pools, and also the lovely hotel we stayed in and conferenced in.