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!!!!!