Rugby...and sun!

Yeah, it was pretty frosty but the sun soon warmed that away and everyone at rugby had smiles all round ☺

Our line-out man...All in to support Ben, charging though - it's a great game to watch (especially for those of us without sky, hanging out for the NPC to start!) Lachie's second from the right

Next game...spot the tiny one...I was a bit worried about whether Lily would be ok after being up half the night with her and her terrible itchies, but she cheered up (after a piece of chocolate as we were leaving!) and has been hanging out to play for ages; cancelled games, the holidays then a bye...finally a game (and no frost by then! or rain, snow, wind, all the scary rugby weather!)

Happy spectator ☺And WHAT a surprise - player of the day (with two other boys, but still very special for Lily)

Latest cake

Our special friend Kasey hit a milestone and so a cake was needed..it's not her birthday, that's a month away; she's not engaged or married, thankfully, at 12; she hasn't won a national prize (but probaby should)...whats' the event? She's hit 5"4', or 160cm tall. If you don't know her, one day I'll tell you more; but for now, just know it's very cool for her and her parents (and I'm totally jealous!!!)

Took these other photos before I put the fireworks on

So, that's 5 feet standing tall on top, and the cake is exactly 4 inches high - you can see that from the scale icing ruler up the side...get it? 5 foot 4 inches tall!!! Told ya she had cool parents!
Right now they're all having a blast in Queenstown (so I'm doubly jealous!!!)

Cheeeeese

Bathtime fun while Daddy was on nights

Cakes for the weekend

This blog is slowly becoming as much about cakes than about my kids and their antics...but I'm giving the people what they want!

This is for little Talia who turns 1 tomorrowAnd a stylish 40th birthday cake for Rose - guess her favourite colour and flower! Enjoy your party Rose!

REALLY looking forward to doing the cake for next Friday...I'll give you a clue - it's not for a birthday or a wedding or christening, in fact it's really just a random day - and some very cool parents!!!

Nannie's 60th Birthday Party

Even though we stopped 10 times on the way to Wellington to check the cake and Tina Turner, it all arrived fine; as did we! Dad's got some better cake photos, I took these around midnight when I finished! I've had to hide all the parts and drawings from Mum for weeks!

Nannie and her grandies...

The boys in their All Black gear

The poster that uncle's Michael and Paul madeEden and her "little" cousin James, chatting over chips and dipsLily camouflaging herself on Teresa's new chair

Cooper discovering what a trained dog is...although she's actually begging for Lachie's piece of cake!

We were surrounded by babies...Nannie with Jacob
Cooper liked "un-named baby girl" as soon as she arrived (yes still!)

Cuddles with "_____"

And only Mike went off to the rugby (we missed out on tickets becasue we didn't leave the house til the end of the first week of the holidays and they'd all sold out), the rest of us stayed in front of the warm, cosy fire (so not too bad!)

Nannie's Birthday

Mum "ordered" this brownie for her friends at work. Haven't decorated brownie before (or quadrupled the recipe!!!). She wanted to give THEM each a little piece of party (since she's on holiday). Each icing box has a treat inside. The one to the side is a gluten-free version.Then of course there needed to be something for US to share with her...these are actually more about taste than pretty...think non-alcoholic (child friendly) and decaffeinated (for Mum and the kids) tiramisu cupcakes! And the best thing is, I need more practise to make them perfect - YUM! Fun making the little handbag and high heel shoes!
And off to Welington tomorrow for the NEXT party! (And another cake!)

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Oh, and Lachie's a comedian! I think this was to impress Zara actually...think it worked, she's been coming back!

Found Cooper like this, in the middle of the table! when I got out of the shower...his lovely big brother had given him a little bowl of cheerios (since he refuses to eat anything except breakfast...naughty molars!) and because breakfast's been getting later and later these holidays (but so has get-up time, so I'm happy!).Cooper's so proud that he's figured out how to put on necklaces (and he can reach the girls' collection)

Snow Trip

After spending the first week of the holidays looking after sick kids, the second week was about packing in the fun! We went on a snow trip...picked the best day weather-wise, but that meant busiest day people-wise. Not a problem (except for some of the sliding time) as we met lots of lovely people.

Waiting for the bus (so many people we parked at the beginning of carpark 3, but by the time we were ready carpark 4 was full too!)

Accidentally had the camera on b&w, but quite like this shot...And as the sun went down, here's the other side of "our" ranges (seriously, the colours were much prettier...if only my driver would have stopped the car!) Haven't checked the other camera yet (it's around here somewhere...)

Other Snow Trip Photos

Yay, found the camera that Mike lost, I mean hid, I mean misplaced for a short while!

The boot line-up...

Major frost in Taihape (and the first of the road accidents)

Starting to thaw a bit in Waiouru

Not too much ice on the massive carrot...

Found a couple of tiny bunnies too...

And here's inside the girls' castle tent from when Lily was almost better...Barbie in a Mermaid Tale on at the movies! Lily slept in it that night too

Break from cakes

for like a week! Two for next Thursday (is it an important day?) then a fabulous, totally over-the-top (well I hope!) one for our trip next Saturday! Travelling's the scary part...

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...anyway, did this for one of Mum's friends for her daughter, looked better in real-life but hard to photograph under our kitchen lights at night. But what else can I do if it's leaving at 4.30am!?...hope Mike the delivery guy didn't trip over this morning and Fruit the delivery driver didn't have to swerve for any stray animals! Thanks guys.