How brave are we…Got home last night after 3 nights tenting in the middle of Winter. Yep they’re saying on the news coldest there’s been in 21 years!First time we've camped in Winter but it was all very cosy. Mattresses laid out, sleeping-bags and lots of blankets, all snuggled together in our tent. Beautiful clear blue sky days where the kids all ran around fancy free on the farm Bonfires, climbing trees, picking lemons and making lemonade, watching cows being milked, cuddling calves and tasting fresh warm milk from the vat, walks across the field (and cow poo) to the creek, visit to the towns local Saturday market, rugby training sessions for the team, food that kept coming, and entertaining adult conversations while the kids played

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Goodbye to the boys...And finally tucked in to bed here in Auckland after 2am last night. Our plane was delayed.

No worries,MissE and i enjoyed browsing the shops WITHOUT boys...all the tester lotions and potions and many, many perfumes-she's such a girl!OKAKU BAY today...revamped park, so cool!Little cousins staying on here (My parents place) for a sleepover party tonight...

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Bag’s packed waiting at the door, picked up my warmest ole coat from the dry-cleaners (Apparently a cold snap in NZ this weekend!), baked some rhubarb muffins for after school…

Miss E and I are off to Auckland for the weekend and especially for my Grandmothers 90th birthday. All my cousins, aunts, and uncles, gathering for the occasion on Saturday; a big family get-together which hasn’t happened since… her 80th! Grandmas awesome…

This weekend also doubling up as ‘The Big Weekend’ for Miss E and I…a weekend planned where each of our children go away with the parent of the same gender (BP’s going away more than me!) between their 10th and 11th birthdays.

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Home again after 7 beautiful days by the Hawkesbury River
Our cottage; which was very cute, oozing country charm and creature comforts, was in Spencer- which is a hoot! Only 1 & 1/2 hours out of Sydney yet seems a world away…One general store which is everything rolled in one, the pub; a park table under a tree (Known as the ‘Tree of Knowledge) toothless fisherman, and all types of boats and people mooring for a bite to eat and supplies

Hightlights...

The kids meeting some great little friends within minutes of being there

Kayaking in our creek, from dawn to dusk!
Catching mud crabs
Cooking our dinner and toasting marshmallows on a BBQ drum by the river

Tripping up to St Alban’s for dinner at one of New South Wales oldest pubs ‘Settlers Arms’, Saturday night

A raucous mud fight in the creek when our friends came up for the day
Bike riding; the kids hooning around the place, BP and I taking a ride on the new cycle he recently bought

Fishing off the local wharf-all of us reeling them in…definitely makes it more exciting when the fish are biting!


Mark; Spencer Cottages caretaker for his wonderful hospitality and kindness. Observing that Mark daily frequents the store to buy a newspaper, this morning on our way out the kids prepaid his papers for a couple of weeks and wrote a lovely thank-you card. Would love to be a fly on the wall when he discovers it tomorrow!

For anyone interested in accomodation on the Hawkesbury try Australian River Traders here. Some of the holiday houses are only acessible by boat, Spencer Cottage which we let further inland along the river

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Here and there...

Off on a whim…On Saturday some friends and us decided to jump in our cars and head up to Tea Gardens, Port Stephens. Had fun exploring an area nearby which has affordable parcels of land…dreaming together for a day and bush whacking our way through gravel roads.

Today we headed up the Central Coast to beautiful Copacabana beach to congratulate and spend time with our friends who just got engaged!!!! Nice too seeing his parents who are here from Indiana

AND on Thursday!!!!!!!!!!! We’re heading to this holiday house on the Hawkesbury River for 7 nights-Wahoo!!!

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...writing now from my computer in Sydney

Had a wonderful time in NZ…just LOVE NEW ZEALAND…the beautiful lush country, warm people, its unique creativity and style, all the gorgeous homes and gardens, cultural richness, totally full of life home church and amazing family and friends!!!!!!

(Of course there are untold things I love about Australia too...nice seeing blue skies again!)

Lots of THANKS going out to:~Mum and Dad…loved living with you for the last 3 or so weeks. Immmm the yummy food and dinners (I’m going to have to actually cook myself tonight!), MUM so onto it keeping our mountains of washing under control (Something I’m yet to master!), The evening couch line ups and “Just one more episode’ chorus as we watched ‘Prison Break’ til late, And as usual spoiling us all to bits, love care, and good times!….xox
AND having Nan and Grandy THE GREAT (My grandparents) there for a week or so too!!!

~Wonderful friends and their ‘cute as’ 5 kids;thanks for having us, you guys have such an incredible gift of hospitality…SO enjoyed our families being together-FUN!
Thanks too to their boarder for so graciously offering to look after ALL 9 (!!!) so we could go out to dinner one night

~My super nearly 90 grandmother who always brings out the lollies, and played us some tunes

~So good too catching up with BP’s family …What a great time having early Christmas pressie opening together…the kids going crazy with joy over their presents…AND the beautiful morning spent strawberry picking, buckets and tummies full later

And have run out of room, but could write paragraphs too about all the other wonderful people who had, or took us for dinner…but quickly:

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