Hot Sunday...

Need water...

Need iceblocks...

Saturday

How ofter does an Air Force Hercules land literally 500m from your house? Had to go and check it out... Lachie and Eden (Lily was at a birthday party) getting comfy, waiting for a look inside the cockpit

Eden's little friend Angus (whose Mum is ex Air Force) already thinks he can drive one of these things! Lachie believed the guy who told Angus nto to push that button or the wings will fall off!
An Iroquois wasn't far away either!

Checking out the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter (that often comes out to Dad's work)

Lily didn't mind at all, she had a great time at Grace's party! (And now I have a wee building project in mind!)

Eden preferred to dress-up like a princess and watch the airshow from the front yard (photo for Lucy!)

Lily and her million-different-ways sarong...one of the ways, the mermaid tail...

Oh, and last week Cooper completely conquered stairs! Was so pleased with himself! But it's not making my plans for a second story happen any faster!

And looks like we wont be going to the beach this afternoon like every other Sunday night (thanks to the tsunami warning)...Mike will be excited after work though, he loves doing firewood! (And we like trailer rides!)

Trainspotting

If I had any spare time, I'd happily fill it in being a trainspotter!!

Eden had a kindy trip to Dannevirke today on the steam train that's been down for art deco weekend. Cooper and I (well he slept the whole way!) took the "scenic" 2+ hour trip following the train and stopping to get some cool photos (I wasn't alone though, thanks Kiri!).

Eden all dressed up...

Waiting for the train at the Waipukurau Station - wouldn't have been a "real" train experience if it wasn't running late! Very patient kids though!Bye!

Stopped at Ormondville to let another school off...poked the camera through the window!

Some of the cool shots (well I like them best!) Remember, I did do my 4th year Massey photo exhibition on trains...actually, you probably don't remember...was so long ago for me too! Mike had his lunch break at the time the train went past work so he came to wave too Kids then had McDonalds for lunch and travelled back to Waipuk on a bus...and had the sprinkler out at home after that!

Mudslides have nothing to do with cupcakes

Had a fun morning mudsliding - well the kids anyway! Here's some of the action shots...this looks like it's going to be an annual event, kids can't wait til next year (luckily we don't have any hills at our house too!)

And congratulations to Kate and Jono who got married today! Yay, I got to do the cake!!! And around 160 cupcakes for afternon tea - just don't call me the cupcake lady anymore! (Of course it's ALL edible too). The wedding theme was "vintage".

A cute phtoo I took of Cooper last week...And a bit of a giggle...Eden woke hot one night so went to our room to cool down, this is how we found her when we went to bed!

Big 7 year old!

Lachie has been very patient waiting for his birthday since we planned it over the holidays. He couldn't decide between a sleepover or a pool party...so his lovely Mummy agreed on both! His day started with a big pile of presents which he proceeded to guess what each one was before opening...funny, he thought every one was either a brick or socks...he got absolutely NO bricks or socks though! A whole lot of All Blacks gear, an MP3 player, Zac Power books, a Lachie Magpies painting...that's all I can remember right now! Cooper's learning what to do - it's his turn next!

When planning his party we had to take into consideration that most people would want to go to the Waipawa 150 years celebrations...the girls "danced" in the parade then had a mini recital at the park

Lily started Highland dancing on Friday...whether she wants to carry on or not, she now knows exactly how to do it! She just loves these big girls (the bigger girl in turquoise is the world champ for her age)

It was a fair way to walk but they did really well - great morning/early afternoon!

Then...5 boys turned up at 4 as well as Toby from Wellington. They entertained themselves really well, helped me make their dinner (pizzas) and dessert (sundaes) before an obstacle course round the front yard just on dusk

They slept in the tent on the front lawn (with Mike!) and listened to a few of Connor's "scary" stories in the dark (he's such a storyteller!)

Next morning they all jumped on their bikes and bikes along the highway...

..to Mobil where they crossed, had a little breather and chat to Lily, Eden and James, then carried on down to the stockbank...

...and along to Russel Park and the swimming pool.

Eden and her "little" cousin James walking across the park to the poolWhere we met another 10 or so kids for the second party...with morning tea and of course CAKE! No artificial food colouring and lots of bits for kids to pull off and eat - went down well!

Pretty cruisy Sunday afternoon with very special guests who surprised us by arriving home from Australia (for good) at 4 that morning!

Only 3 months til we can do it all again! Wonder if it will be sunny!?!?