Sand, Sun & Surf !!

Nat & Finn were out in the boat, biscuiting at this point! No action photos of them sorry!!!

The Real Christmas!!!

We, once again had a great family get together - this was the Beamish side! Of course not only was the weather fantastic but Julia & the others did an amazing job of the food!! We did gain a bit in the few days we were away! But most importantly everyone was there to enjoy each others company!!! Our kids just worship the big cousins (actually any cousins - all 18 of them!!) & had so much fun just hanging out. 

Of course there was swimming  (the Lake was devine for the first couple of days, then roughed up but of course that didn't matter, a round of golf for the men, a catnap or two for the lady's & lots of wine to go with the food. The kids loved sleeping in the same room so much they arranged themselves in Finn's room for the first couple of nights home. I think they were all so tired they did enjoy getting back into their own room & bed though! 

And of course because our kids are somewhat younger, the visit from Santa in the night was as magical as ever.

Pre-Christmas Lunch with the family!!!

Well, as always the kids had a great time with the cousins. Not only was there lots of Christmas treats but the game of 'Bullrush' to burn a bit off!! Rose became the continuous runner which acted like a decoy! She was a bit tired & just wouldn't stop!!!

We had a neat time & it wasn't even the real Christmas yet! That was to be in Taupo!

Wow, how time flies!!

It really has been a very busy term! We have had some great laughs along the way & haven't really had time to put our feet up. There have been 3 kindy trips for Soph, the boys have been doing swimming lessons in between social events, as well as the cut loose week at school which involves trips & fun activities. In fact Finn has been to more Christmas parties come birthday sleepovers than all of us put together. However, he has suffered terribly from hayfever & got sent home from school yesterday with asthma. We had the Fire Brigade Christmas party on Saturday which the kids always love as they head off for a blat round the block in the big red truck, went to the village Christmas Service between the two churches on Sunday evening which followed a really cool day mustering with Guy. We all really loved getting out in the hills for the whole day. Nat was a great huntaway & came home with blisters to prove how far he had climbed, run & scrambled after the ewes & lambs. Soph didn't venture off the bike but didn't make a single complaint. Rose had top spot in the backpack on the back of Dad & Finn was Dad's co-pilot - driving the bike through gates etc. To top off the day we got the Christmas tree which was promptly decorated when we got home. The playcentre Christmas party (last night) was really relaxed with lots of new families & a beautiful evening to enjoy. So in amongst a lot of organisation somewhere there has been some Christmas shopping & trying to keep on top of the paper work & the garden. No wonder I am asleep before I hit the pillow. Mind you the odd hiccup as well- like yesterday when I deleted all our photos & videos off the camera accidentally. Talk about ruin my day. The only comfort is I know Guy has also had this experience so it wasn't so bad!!! 

This was red day at playcentre. As is obvious, everything was red, except the blue pool liner. As you can probably imagine Rose didn't stop at just getting the feet wet!

The girls with their Christmas Cakes they decorated, then ate!!

Finn, Nat & Lachie were so proud of themselves when they went rabbit shooting with Guy & Jamie. The two big boys shot two each with Nat bagging one. The others of course were the Dads. They can't wait to go again.

SNOW!! Well, that's just silly!!!

Well, who would have guessed that it would not only snow but begin to settle? It is nearly October after all. As you can see the new deck is not finished due to rain this morning and snow for the last couple of hours. It is looking great and we are really happy with how it's coming along! Would love to be sitting in the sun though!

Of course the kids can't help themselves! Bikes and snow mean wipe outs!Finn came a cropper but missed it on camera! Nat then followed!

Rose was amazed how crunchy the trampoline was! But the hands got too cold. She managed about half an hour though! Not bad really!!

We are getting there! As you can see we have the piles for the deck in & the inside is pretty much finished, just waiting for the painter to start so maybe by the end of the month we will be able to re-organise the house! Phew!

Finn built this sled by himself while Dad was building something else in the shed & when he took it for a test drive the only improvement he came up with was to add a cushion! They have a ball on it. Of course it's towed behind the motorbike so speed is always an issue!!!

Spring with a Spring!!

Spring has put a spring in the step of the Beamish's!!!

The builders have kindly made dirt piles which the boys are convinced were only put there for their recreation & then Adam (a builder) has even shaped the ramp of the pile to get more air time! Was that during or after work he kindly did that? Anyway, the boys think it's the best thing & have spent ages on their bikes! As you can tell, not always going to plan (Finn & hit the dirt after this one). A beautiful afternoon saw us visiting 'Taniwha' to pick daffidols which the kids always love. The massive garden was sprinted around twice by the boys with a wee interlude looking at crocodiles in the lake before hitting the swings!! Lucy wasn;t so sure about the stability of the swing but hey that was understandable.