Author: dave

a quiet morning then P&P went to motat while i went to the zoo

jane did sterling work in the garden

esther had two friends round and kezia went to her friend’s house for the day

 

 

boat trip around and to kawau island

endangered weka

windy boat

the tide had gone out by the time we got back to Sandspit

younger readers will recognise some of what follows from a recent Taylor Swift video.  it’s the landscape which features, not jane’s dad.

the two of us drove to Bethell’s beach so that Chris could do some dune surfing

we walked back down the river

then we walked down the beach (avoiding quicksand)

while we were out the ladies went to takapuna beach cafe for ice-creams, kezia attempted to restyle her room and esther went to the beach with some chums who then came back and played in the pool

this evening some of us went in to auckland CBD for a walk down the boardwalk with pearl

i went to the zoo first thing this morning to take some photos

after a couple of change of plans (due to weather and traffic) we ended up at shakespear park for a picnic lunch. 

jane and kezia had two swims in the sea and P&P had a paddle

some people near where we were sitting got something stuck in the tree which caused a bit of excitement

they sent a teeny weeny boy up the very wobbly tree to shake and poke it out

when we got home jane’s mum gave the pool a quick check

then this evening while jane’s parents were watching Downtown Alley the rest of us met up with the Irvines and the De Kwants at the beach.

esther and kezia swam out to the pontoon and back as the sun set.  a good day!

quieter day today as it was hot and we were worried about our visitors melting if we went out adventuring

after lunch everyone except jane went to see star wars in the air conditioned 3d imax in town

rest of the day was spent around the house, swimming etc

then this evening there was telly watching and some international skyping, including a trip round tesco with my brother edd, my mum and our nephews thanks to their wifi for shoppers

hold tight.  lots of photos today …

santa present opening

breakfast of kings (bucks fizz with home squeezed oranges, pancakes with ice cream etc)

 

church at the cathedral

wander round the parnell rose gardens

drive down the waterfront

light lunch

main present openings

snoozing

swimming in the pool

xmas dinner at a posh restaurant

i took P&P to the Parry Kauri museum today

unfortunately it nearly ended in disaster when i got a flat tyre on state highway 1.  luckily the AA came out quickly and we were able to drive to a local tyre repair place before they shut for christmas.

in fact they were so keen to go on their christmas break that we had pretty much everyone in the place changing our two back tyres.  it was like a formula one pitstop.  they had a nice christmas tree.

i should make a public apology to jane’s mum who noticed the car was making weird noises as soon as we left home but since i couldn’t hear them i ignored her.  there’s a lesson here to always trust your mother in law.

we had lunch in warkworth near the tyre place (after popping in to a supermarket to qualify for free parking)

eventually we made it to the museum and the big tree.

the walk in the kauri wood was good, if a little wet.

while we were out esther was out with her friend not doing rollerblading.

and kezia had a friend over

this evening i did sound for the christmas eve service

there’s also been some skyping today – my mum this morning then jane’s sister and family this evening

i had work until after lunchtime when people started sloping off.  i was feeling like i was going down with kezia’s cold (which esther also has) so just went to bed

jane’s dad walked up to the main road and back while jane and kezia and jane’s mum went to the mall

in the evening esther and kezia had a church youth fun thing and then everyone except me (i was asleep) went to a drive through nativity which was apparently excellent.