taking advantage of the fine weather

Yesterday was such a fun family day...the Botanic Gardens for most of the day, followed by a quick rest, dinner at the local pub, and chocolate from the dairy. From start to finish Quincy was nothing but pleasant. Just a real good day.

It was the tail end of the Spring Festival at the Botanic Gardens and they were holding the national tree climbing competition. Never knew there was such a thing. There were several different events based on speed, strength, and agility.

Those climbers were seriously skilled and pretty cool to watch.

They had tree climbing for kids too. Initially Quincy observed carefully, but then at the end of the day as we were leaving the park, he surprised us by giving it a go.

Mt. Everest, here he comes.

Earlier in the week, Quincy and I went with some friends and saw the tulips. Glad we did, because they were a bit sad by yesterday. I don't think they appreciated the 160 mm of rain the other day.

Naturally, Quincy had to introduce Papa to the ducklings we discovered last time.

We paid a visit to the conservatory too, where the tapoles and lily pads were a big hit. Actually, I'm not really sure if they were tadpoles, but we'll just say they were.

Jeremy was keen to head to the top and have a look at the weather station and the planetarium, so up we climbed. And climbed.

The boy couldn't get enough of "the big gun," which incidentally is pointed pretty much straight at our house.

Then a picnic lunch, a long play on the very cool and very crowded playground, and a quick stop to feed the overfed ducks.

As we headed down, our animal lover took us on safari through Africa, Australia, and South America where we came across crocodiles, leopard tortoises, black mamba snakes, monitor lizards, wombats, platypuses, echidnas, tiger snakes, and emerald tree snakes.

What an adventure.

flying fox

I try not to make too many comparisons between NZ and the US. Both countries have great things to offer. There are pros and cons to living here and there.

That said, the playgrounds in NZ are better. They just are. Hands down.

The pool is closed,

but we made the most of the last day of the season.

It was Jeremy's first time there and we met some friends. It was a really nice day, but once again it was virtually empty. I don't get it.

I will have to remember to take a picture like this next year to see how he's grown.

01.01.10

Hello 2010!

We welcomed the new year with a morning hike to Butterfly Creek with the same friends we picnicked with last night.

Amelia was a rockstar tramper, walking all the way in and halfway out without a single complaint. The other two kiddos impressed us too by walking a large chunk of the way in and a little bit of the way back.

Going at a slow pace, it's about a two-hour return hike. I think it took us six. No, seriously I'm not sure how long it took us, I didn't have a watch, but suffice it to say, we did a lot of exploring along the way.

Despite our naysaying, I think they were propelled forward by the visions of thousands of butterflies that seemed to be dancing in their heads. We're not sure why it's called Butterfly Creek, but oddly enough, we're almost certain that it has nothing to do with butterflies. We had a hard time convincing two-year-olds of that though.

No worries, the bright red dragonflies did not disappoint, especially when they landed on your hand when you held it perfectly still in a ray of light. The kids, and grown ups too, for that matter, were filled with wonder.

We had morning tea in the shade by the creek. Then the three amigos spent ages throwing stones into the water while Priya and I gasped repeatedly at their close calls with the edge.

It really was the perfect start to the year.

I think it should become a New Years Day tradition.

Definitely.

the tulips

A few weeks ago we headed to town for a monthly beagle walk and to enjoy the Spring Tulip Festival at the Botanic Gardens. My agenda pretty much revolved around the camera.

Quincy was more than happy to stop and smell the tulips,

but he was less than excited about the camera.

Jeremy too, for that matter. And the dogs were only interested in the smells and the other dogs.

I had to act quickly before we moved on.

The hilly playground in the Gardens is better than awesome. A flying fox, several cool slides, a great see saw, a fire engine, a swinging bridge, ladders... You name it. We spent ages there.

As for the weather, there were just a few scattered showers.

Te Papa, Our House

This morning we headed to Te Papa, our national museum.

It is a great place to take kids, but for some reason we'd never taken Q before. He is at the perfect age to soak it all in.

Plus it's free! And we scored free parking.

He was loving playing shopkeeper and had quite a system down. Not altogether right, but very efficient!

There is a Formula One exhibit there at the moment (the special exhibits aren't free) and in honor of that they had a bunch of go karts in the lobby that you could sit in. A big hit.

We were so excited to see the model of the blue whale's heart. It just so happens that one of Q's favorite books right now is a book with lots of mammal facts, and one of the facts about blue whales is that their hearts are the size of a small car. That little factoid was certainly brought to life!

I returned from the bathroom to find these two making music, Pacific Island style. Made me smile.

Quincy loved it all, except...the wild boar was not at all popular. "Tinty NOT like the wild pig. Too noisy. Ran back to see the bugs." Here he is leaning on the insect cabinet, staring at it safely from a distance. (Jeremy is flipping a page in a book and not about to give Q a wet willy, by the way.)

We wrapped up the day with a little puppet action. And then it was time to head home for a much-needed nap.

All that for the cost of a cup of coffee and petrol. Not bad.

lone star in the dark

Once upon a time, in New Orleans, when we were young and childless, we went out to dinner a lot. These days, it is a rarity. Sure it was fun to try out new places and dine with friends and drink a bit more than was necessary, but I kind of like that it's now a real treat to go out to eat. Something to be excited about.

Tonight we went to Lone Star Cafe and Bar (similar to a T.G.I.F.), and it was so much fun to experience the newness and excitement of it all through Quincy's eyes. Heck he was even excited to be going out when it was dark (we left at 6 o'clock!). Pretty telling of our social life really! (I commented to Jeremy that if we lived in Cincinnati, Q wouldn't think that going out after dark was strange at all. And Jeremy replied that we would have to have two cars so that he could go home at a reasonable hour because he was not going to be one of the in-laws asleep on the floor in the other room!)

Initially he kept looking around, wide-eyed and happy, saying "Lotsa people fancy dinner".

His drink was probably the biggest hit of the night. Milk in a tall glass with a straw is apparently the best thing since...well, since rubbish trucks (this week's obsession).

And then his kid's meal dessert arrived. I think the photo speaks for itself.

But as it usually does when you take a toddler out past their bedtime, it all turned to custard in the end. His world came crashing down the moment I got in the driver's seat and papa got in "mama's seat". He was tired. It was unexpected. He likes to have order. Not too hard to figure out, but it sure is interesting how young stereotypes can form.

today was a good day

Today a little boy played in a big pine forest.

Today we had some much-needed quality family time. Good, wholesome, simple fun. The best kind.

Today we went on a hike and brought along a picnic to have amidst the enormous pines.

Today I impressed my(out-of-shape)self by carrying my 14kg monkey in the backpack for three fourths of the way, until we stopped for lunch.

Today Quincy impressed himself by then walking the rest of the way, with many stops to gather stones, of course.

Today Jeremy was able to clear his head and destress just a little bit.

Today the dogs were in their element.

Today we hunted for pinecones and mushrooms, crossed several bridges, and always stopped to watch the bubbling stream.

Today we got a rare family photo that includes the pups, thanks to the self-timer and a few perfectly arranged tree stumps.

Today I took some of my all-time favorite photos. They made my heart smile. This being one of them...

Today was a good day.

a mad hatter birthday party

I have yet to touch a photo from Quincy's first birthday, however I made a couple layouts from a very fun birthday party we went to a couple of weeks ago.

This is our big boy on his way to his best mates' house...

Agewise, Quincy is sandwiched between the two girls (and actually in the top photo as well). Lucky boy! He loves them both.

And he really loved their new Radio Flyer!