Christmas Holidays at the Beach

Christmas was very relaxing. We headed up to Urenui (small beachside town) which is about 35 mins from New Plymouth on the west coast, four days before Christmas. We stayed in Viv and Neil's 'bach' by the sea which is situated on a camping holiday site. It is perfectly situated for an easy stroll to the beach and local shop and if you're a keen golfer - it's also ideal!

We arrived just in time to beat the mad rush of Christmas holidaymakers and spent four very quiet and relaxing days soaking up the hot sunshine with the kids on the beach. On Christmas eve, we packed up and headed down to Hawera for Christmas brunch with Viv and Neil and family and then onto Murray and Trish for lunch. We spent a lovely day catching up with all the families and stayed over in Hawera that night and then instead of returning to windy Wellington, we decided to return to Urenui for a bit more R&R!

The weather wasn't as good the second week but that didn't matter as the girls were more than happy to occupy themselves either covering each other in black sand at the beach, playing at the local park, in our backyard beside the bach or eating ice-creams at the cafe with us. We can't wait to do that again.

Madeleine and Lauchlan (best of friends and conspirators!)

Lauchlan is our step-nephew.

The Grandchildren: Madeleine; Lauchlan; Reece; Molly; Caccia and Eli.

Water pistol fight!

Viv comes under attack from all directions.

Madeleine stops for some light refreshment!

Viv gets her own back!

Molly explains a thing or two to Peggy (just 90 years of age!)

Madeleine's 3rd Birthday.

Pretending to be shy.

Viv's cake (I just put on the decorations!)

Nick on the kayak at Urenui, New Plymouth.

Beth and Madeleine.

Beth and Molly.

Urenui Beach.

Pohutakawa (NZ's Xmas tree).

Madeleine's birthday present - 'Dora' Scooter!

Molly and Maddy get new nighties just in time for the hot Summer weather!

Molly sings 'Somewhere over the rainbow' from inside a bucket in a kayak - wonder if that's ever been done before?

Nectarine and nudies!

Family and Friends Reunion

It was great to return to Scotland for many reasons: catching up with my siblings, hanging out with Dad, spending time with Mum, visiting old friends and of course meeting my niece, Georgia, for the first time.
I don't think I've had that much time to myself (two weeks!) since before Molly was born! I thought it would take me a while to switch off from my parental duties but no, only 24 hours after leaving the house and arriving in Scotland, it all came flooding back to me.

I had a great evening with my oldest friend from school, Esther, her husband (Ally) and their little girl (Eva) catching up, albeit in a rather delirious state. The next day I met up with Gudrun and we rented a wee studio in Portobello so we could have some quality sister time together. It was great to see my wee sister again. We also met up in a local cafe in Portobello with my aunt and cousins from Penicuik and shortly after, Jamie arrived so we all had a pub lunch next door!


I had one night with Anders - a dear friend from Edinburgh who Nick met through his days at the RBS in Edinburgh and who is now a very close friend - who made a delicious risotto and made sure my wine glass was never empty. Then it was onto Shetland to see Dad and Mum. Dad and I had a lovely time visiting some of Dad's friends and meeting up with some new contacts, dining out, reading his new book(!) and drinking lots of good coffee, as well as good wine, beer, etc. It was really good to see Mum and just spend time with her.







On my return leg to the mainland, I spent a night with Sorley in a wee cottage at Craigievar Castle and we had a lovely meal with Wendy and Ben. The next day, Sorley and I drove down to Jamie and Helen's house in the Trossachs, just next to Loch Ard - stunning scenery and a spectacular setting. Meeting Georgia for the first time was very special and we all had a lovely evening together. Gudrun came up trumps with a yummy 'Nigella Lawson' chocolate cake for Jamie's birthday and a lot of time was spent coo-ing over our adorable niece. Great to see the family cradle in action again!

Gudrun and I then spent one more day together in Edinburgh, whizzing around the shops in an effort to grab some last minute pressies before Xmas and before we both returned overseas. After a teary farewell to Gudrun, I caught a train up to Fife and stayed with Sue and James and their wee boys (Reuben and Dylan). Sue had arranged for my other friends: Gill and Adam, Rosie and Joady, Sheena, Lindy and most of their respective children to visit too so it was very busy and jovial for a couple of hours until Dads left with the kids and we had a really nice girly time with a few bottles of wine and a curry!



It was back to Edinburgh the next day for breakfast with Ally, Esther and Eva (thank you Ally!) at one of their favourite local cafes in Stockbridge and then onto the plane back to New Zealand. Thank you all of you for your generous hospitality and warmth - it was great to see you all and I look forward to doing it all again in July with the rest of the family next time!

Molly is the face of Blind Week 2009

It's Blind Week in New Zealand and as many of you know, Molly was chosen as the 'face' of Blind Week. Her wee face has adorned leaflets, posters, website and now the newspapers. Each day this week, there is a photo of Molly in The NZ Herald and Wellington's paper (The Dominion Post) are coming to interview Molly and I at her school on Friday morning. Molly, of course, is taking all the media attention in her stride!

Tomorrow, Molly is going to the local Visual Resource Centre to meet up with other visually-impaired kids and their teacher aides and generally have a bit of fun. On Thursday, Molly (along with her class and the other 500 pupils in her school) are going to make eye patches and decorate them and spend some time wearing them around school to see what it's like to be in Molly's shoes. On Friday, the local Guide Dog Trainer is coming along to give a talk to Molly's class and will be bringing her guide dog, Sky, to meet the kids. The donation buckets will be rattling around the classrooms!

Never leave your shaving foam lying around

So some random updates on life over here in the perpetual winter

My Ladies up at Viv and Neil's. We zapped up there for a few days over the school holidays. Mum and Neil were in Auckland for a chunk of it so we had the run of the place. The weather was terrible but we snugged up inside and picked a couple of decent vintages out of the cellar. A few single malts were had as there were some almost finished bottles taking up valuable space in the liquor cabinet.

Shaving foam left open in bathroom =

It's like a 70's Gene Simmon's snap with a fan.

This is what happens if you eat too much fish.

Pizza oven in Featherston. A Friend of mine (Nick) from IT days has a place in Featherston (Wairarapa). We shot over for a Sunday and it was magic. We cooked Pizzas in this oven.

And played cricket on their lawn.

That is the signal for a 'no ball'. Maddy - Umpire / Molly - Medium fast right arm over.

Lots of love from all of us standing upside down.

Nick

Otari-Wilton's Bush - Native Botanic Garden and Forest Reserve

We took the girls to this lovely nature reserve, about ten mins drive from our house, and we took the short 15 minute nature trail which actually took us around half an hour to walk! It was wonderful to have a bush walk and be surrounded by beautiful old trees (400 - 800 years old!) and to hear all the native birds.

This reserve is the only botanic garden in New Zealand dedicated solely to native plants and consists of 100 hectares of native forest and five hectares of plant collections. Originally, Maori used the forest for hunting hence the name 'Otari' which means 'Place of Snares'. Following European colonisation, some of the large trees were removed for timber and others were burnt off for farmland. One of the early landowners, Job Wilton, preserved seven hectares (17 acres) of the original forest and fenced it off. This became known as Wilton's Bush.

There are many different types of trails and tracks to take depending on your time limit and level of interest. I will definitely be returning without the kids to explore some more!

Nick and Molly on the Nature Trail

Peeking through the pseudo-trunk of the Northern Rata:

Originally an epiphyte, this tree began its life high up on the

branches of another tree and then sent roots down to the ground which then fused

to create a pseudo-trunk, killing off the host tree. The gap in the trunk is a reminder of where the host tree once grew!

New Zealand Tree Fern - Punga Tree

400-year-old Rimu with Rata (epiphyte)
You can see the Rata roots strangling its host and making their way
towards the ground.

The cheesiest grin with Forget-me-nots!