Christmas Day/Boxing Day

We had a fantastic Christmas/Boxing day this year.  The weather was lovely and the company was great too.

We were up early in the morning.  Sam, swore on Xmas Eve, that he would be up before everyone else....yeah right! We ended up waking him.  Callie didn't know what to do or where to look.  Santa had brought Sam a huge bag of presents and Callie had a nice pile too.  While Sam started to open his, watched intently, by Callie,  she soon realised that there may be something in it for her. She offered to help Sam a few times, but realised in the end, it was better to wait and while he wasn't watching, help herself to his presents.

Sam was thoroughly enjoying opening his present, then he decided, with the help of Daddy, to help Callie open hers.  She wasn't too sure but, once she got her new "mobile phone" unwrapped, then everything else just got left....apart from the chocolate snowman!!!

We ended up having a lovely feast, with the Millard Family. Gammon, prawns, burgers, sausages, salad, potatoes and topped-off with a tasty meringue filled with lemon curd and whipped cream.....lovely.

On Boxing Day, we packed a picnic and headed off down to Omokoroa Beach. I am sure I have told you all before, but this is a lovely little cove, which is so safe for the kids.  The have a beach, play ground, field and jetty (should they want to catch fish). I am really looking forward to Callie growing up here.

It was a beautiful day and we were joined by the Millard family and also Klaire and Elorraine.  They boys had fun digging in the sand and even Callie and Scott joined in.  Callie is slowly getting used to the vast amount of water and I am sure she will be in there soon, splashing around and having fun.  I even ventured into the water for my first swim of the summer.  Cold on entry, but once you get past that certain "take your breath away" spot, then you are fine.  It makes you realised how lucky we are to have such a beautiful place to swim.

The day was finished off with a friendly game of mini Foosball.  Team Sam v team Scott v team Callie.  The boys thought they would be ok, with Callie watching on the sidelines, but once she saw that little white  ball, nothing was going to stop her from getting it.  Sam was gutted that it was always his players being sabotaged, that didn't seem to bother Scott though.  Below is a picture of her trying to get the ball.  I am not sure, but she must think looking away makes her look innocent....mmmmmmmm I don't think so.... xxxxx



Wellington January 2011

Well we finally took the plunge and visited the capital of New Zealand.  We were going to go in April, but decided that the weather would be nicer in the summer months.  Wellington is known for its WIND.... The weather did not let us down, we had one morning, which was  a little cloudy, but apart from that it was beautiful.

We booked ourselves a plush hotel, 5 stars, with all the trimmings, and it was fantastic.  The hotel room had a separate bedroom, so putting the kids to sleep was so much better, as we could stay up longer. Mind you after all the walking/swimming we were doing, we were ready for bed by 9:00, all this keep fit tires you out!!

After arriving at the hotel and unpacking, we grabbed a map, from reception, and headed off to the Cable Cars.  This is were you realise how hilly Wellington is. After a short ride to the top of the Botanical Gardens, we hopped off and went to the look out point. What an amazing view.

You could choose a walking route around the gardens.  We opted to head for the kids play ground, so Sam could let off some steam. The gardens, even though we only seen a small selection, were beautiful. If we ever go back, I would like to see the rest.  After Sam had a little play, we headed back to the Cable Cars.

The next day we headed off to Te Papa.  This is Wellingtons famous museum.  It is brilliant. They have some fantastic areas where the kids can be "hands on". Six floors of discovery and something for everyone.  We even took some time out to look at the Art Gallery section.  Even Sam was blown away by the paintings.  He couldn't believe that they could get hands and fingers so perfect.  There was one painting, that looked like a photograph.  You could have just stood there and looked at it for hours, it was amazing. A definite must-do for anyone visiting Wellington.

We also managed to fit in a day at Wellington Zoo.  It's only small, but they have still managed to fit in a lot of things.  They are also making a huge amount of additional/new habitats for the animals and it will look brilliant when its done.  One of their main attractions is the "Vet-cam", you can watch the vet operating on animals, and ask questions too.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  They had a great selection of animals. But, our favourites were the Sun Bear, Lion and Giraffes.

After the Zoo trip had finished, we headed back to the hotel, were we all got changed and headed down to the hotel pool.  We swam everyday, and the boys fitted in two sessions a day.  It was a lovely pool, not too big, but there was a spa, sauna and gym.  We made use of everything but the gym, we left that for the crazy people!!

Before we caught the plane, on our last day, we headed out to Miramar.  This is where the Weta workshop is located and Peter Jackson's many warehouses.  Its not a very big place and it is amazing that some BIG movie sets were designed here.  The Weta Cave, where we visited, is a small shop dedicated to some of the projects that Weta have done.  They have lots of displays and even a mini cinema, where you can watch a "behind the scenes" movie.  All in all a good place to visit.  Some ugly looking people there though..

Anyway, that's my post on Wellington.  A fab city, with lots to see and do.  I also think its much better than Auckland.....but that's just my opinion...... xxx