The Royal Wedding (and our trip to Auckland)

I know most of you, if not all of you, were among the two billion people around the world watching Prince William marry Kate Middleton but I had to include some of my favorite pictures here for posterity. The wedding coverage in New Zealand started around 7pm last night - I was very glad I wasn't in America where it all began around 3 am -  and ended sometime after midnight. In honor of the occasion I made us a British-inspired dinner of Beef Wellington, roasted potatoes, minted peas and roasted asparagus. Meggie made us some bread pudding for dessert. After dinner we retired to the playroom to watch events unfold on the "big" screen and the girls settled in for a slumber party. I was shocked that Ellie stayed awake until we turned out the lights around midnight (we decided to record the kiss on the balcony and watch it today) and was also the first up this morning. That girl has energy! There was a big party in Karori that I debated attending, and I'm sure it was a blast, but in the end I'm glad I decided to watch at home with my peeps. Like everyone else of my generation I remember watching Charles and Di get married and I hope that last night my princesses-in-training made a memory that will last a lifetime.

We all decided we absolutely loved the dress and that William looked dashing in his uniform but Meggie thought he looked better with his hat on. Of course the cathedral was awe-inspiring and Dugald really enjoyed the music. We all did, but he did in particular. It was so fun to see all the ladies and their hats (not sure what Princess Beatrice was thinking though, eee gads). For some beautiful pictures that I couldn't put into the blog because I'm not that technically savvy click here, it's worth a look!

All the above images are from the BBC website.

In other news - Meggie sent me an email the other day with two grave errors. She wrote it to "Mum" - who is that?? - and she wrote "realise" instead of "realize". This Marsden education is beginning to frighten me.

Dugald and I went to Auckland for the night a few weeks ago - Mercy Ships was having an alumni reunion and Dugald had a part to play in the evening because of his role as Chairman of the New Zealand Board of Directors. I wasn't planning to attend because it's hardly ever worth the work involved in sorting the children out to only go away for one night. However, I received quite a bit of "encouragement" from some friends still in Mercy Ships (not Dugald, he was pretty relaxed about whether I went or not) to support him and make the effort. . . so I went, and of course I'm really glad I did!! Prior to the event we got to have a lovely dinner with the other board members and their spouses as well as with the evening's speaker, the Honourable Phil Heatley, and his lovely wife Jenny. I happened to sit right next to Jenny and we hit it off and exchanged numbers so that we can reconnect in Wellington when she returns after the school holidays.

Dugald did a fantastic job, as always, and I was so proud of him! The event was held on a ferry and we sailed around Auckland Harbour. Dugald's nephew, Ben, also joined us for the evening having served onboard the Africa Mercy last year.

We stayed with our dear friends Fay and Trevor who generously loaned us their car as well and it was great to reconnect with them. We had a lovely, relaxing day Sunday - sleeping in, brunch in Parnell and then some quiet time together in the Koru lounge. In fact we heard an earlier flight for Wellington announced as we were sitting in the lounge eating the free food and reading and we looked at each other as if we should maybe get on it since we were ready and immediately went "Naaa."

The Disco Divas

I have a few more pictures from Josie's birthday before I share pictures from the "Disco Diva" extravaganza. The Sheppards brought a present over for Josie on her actual birthday and we also had some kiddie red bubbles with dinner.

Now onto the party - we had the sweetest bunch of girls ever join us to celebrate. We went to Party Wonderland and I drove most of the girls from Karori out there together. They were so cute singing and chatting in the car, I honestly think they had as much fun on the trip there and back as they did at the actual party.

Meggie came along as my assistant and was the photographer for the afternoon, thanks Meg! Katie opted to go swimming with a friend from school.

I briefly considered trying to make some sort of disco-ball cake but quickly decided instead to buy a disco ball and surround it with sparkly cupcakes.

 The following week Miss Ellie turned 6! Monkey bread for breakfast and out for dinner to one of her favorite restaurants (with cousin Wills) for dinner, then to the ice cream store for dessert. She had a great day.

End of Term!

We have now officially completed our first school term - the girls had their last day of school Friday. In many ways the term has flown by and the last few days of it were especially busy. Katie's netball team made it to the finals and played in the championship game. Sadly they were beaten but they never gave up and we were all so proud of them for a great season. 

Marsden also held Easter services last week and both Katie and Meggie sing with the choir so I attended both services, Meggie's on Monday, Katie's on Thursday. I didn't get any pictures of Meggie's service but I got a bit bolder during Katie's and whipped out my cell phone to snap a few and video a bit of them singing the recessional hymn.

Meggie also received commendations at school for "her recent outstanding efforts in English and Global and Local Perspectives." After meeting with the teachers during the last week of term I was very encouraged that both girls have settled in well both academically and socially and their teachers think highly of them, we are very proud of them.

I have pictures from Josie and Ellie's "Disco Diva" birthday party that I also need to post here but I haven't downloaded them from my camera, I hope to get to it soon! I've been terribly neglectful of the blog and hope to get better after Easter.

Speaking of Easter, hope yours is blessed. Lots of love from all of us. Dx

Rarotonga Girls Trip

I have the best husband ever - and some pretty amazing girlfriends! Last July my good friend Fleur organized a girls' trip to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and as I was in America at the time it was left to Dugald to say yay or nay as to whether or not I wanted to go. He generously told her to sign me up, paid all the necessary fees and then we all sort of forgot about it for months. 

Eight months later I was here. . .

The view from our portion of Muri  Beach

Our rooms were all decorated with flowers for our arrival.

Our deck overlooking the lagoon.

Pre-dinner drinks our first night.

It was magical - three unhurried days of walks on the beach, biking around the island, snorkeling, drinking cocktails, playing cards, kayaking, swimming, napping, eating out, eating in . . . I think we all reveled in the opportunity to just do whatever we felt like doing for a few days. Most of these ladies are in my "Monday Morning Ladies" swimming group or my book group and we all travelled so well together. It's a gift to have these women as friends.

Common Rarotongan practice - burying loved ones in the front garden.

Biking to the beach.

Island bike tour.

These little monsters woke us up very early.

Watching the races from our deck.

I had a massage here, it was amazing.

Learning how to dance like the locals. I don't know the lady on the left who has had too much sun, but you can almost see Lisa on the right.

Island Night and the last night of our adventure.

We all felt rested and relaxed as we headed home to our people (who by this point we were missing madly). Unfortunately we hit the edge of a cyclone somewhere between Rarotonga and Wellington which made our flight somewhat unpleasant, but it was fantastic to be greeted at the airport in Wellington by the smiling faces of Dugs and the girls. Thank you honey for this amazing gift!!

Some Math, a Dance and a Birthday

I had an amazing trip to Rarotonga and will post photos soon - I didn't take my camera but I'm in charge of putting together a memory book for the group so I will have access to everyone else's pictures in the next little while. It was beautiful there and we had a blast.

In other news, Josie "graduated" second grade mathematics and got a certificate from her daddy. Meggie recently had a test in math(s) at Marsden and was one of two girls to get the highest grade in the class, so kudos to the Morrison Academy for Girls Math(s) teacher!

Speaking of Meggie, she had her first school dance Friday night. The Wellesley boys invited the Year 7 and 8 girls from Marsden and Queen Margaret for an evening of fun. We only found out about the dance on the Thursday before I left early Friday morning for Rarotonga, so Daddy took Meg shopping for her outfit while I was away. They did really well, except the dress was quite lightweight and had little cap sleeves, so I shopped without her on Friday morning for a wrap and some tights. Finally she borrowed Katie's black coat and Josie's silver purse and she was ready, looking adorable.

I took Meggie over to the Smith's to meet up with Zoe and Anna prior to the dance since Anna's mother was driving them. The girls all had their own style and looked cute and ready for fun. Dugald and I experienced our first time of waiting up late for our daughter to get home and then stayed up even later hearing all about how much fun she had and who she danced with and whatnot.

Saturday morning came all too soon but it was a very exciting day as Josie turned 8!!! We've scheduled a birthday party for next weekend, she and Ellie are having a "Disco Diva" party, but we started off her actual birthday with donuts and presents.

It was a busy birthday - the girls went and raised money again for the training of the seeing-eye dogs for the blind, then our friends the Sheppards joined us for a dinner out where once again I forgot my camera but we had a great evening. Josie woke up this morning and told me she'd had the best birthday ever.

Lots of love from all of us - Dx.