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.

Two More Sleeps. . .

and I'll be flying here:

Some girlfriends and I are headed on a short get-away to Rarotonga early Friday morning. Our girls will be home and well-looked after by their Daddy - thank you honey!  I'm wishing I didn't have tsunami thoughts in the back of my mind but I think a strawberry daiquiri on the beach should cure me. I will also be looking to see which way to run should the need arise. I'll probably be the dork running every time a police car siren or car alarm sounds, but better safe than sorry. Honestly, given that we already live on a major fault line I don't think I'll be in any more danger in Rarotonga than I am at home, you can read all about that here.

Shannon and the boys should be in Florida soon - their trip was delayed by a few days to make sure the dog could travel with them, and they have had a pretty difficult journey (Anders got sick), but hopefully she will get some rest and recovery time soon. Brad is still in Japan but I don't know for how long.

Finally, here is a picture of Ellie and our cat, two creatures with very few cares in this world!

Lots of love from all of us! x

School Happenings

Bike Day at Marsden

It's hard to believe the first term is heading into its final two weeks. We are certainly tired and ready for a short break, but in many respects the time has flown by quickly. I've been amazed at how quickly and effortlessly Meggie and Katie have settled into Marsden - thanks in many ways to their sweet cousins! The little two have settled a bit into being the only two at home during the week - but I'm still finding that more of a challenge than I anticipated. Hopefully we will get into our groove soon.

The first picture is the big girls participating in "Ride Your Bike to School" day. They got to go on a ride during lunch as well, but both of them decided it wasn't as much fun as they had hoped because they didn't like riding in a pack. 

The pictures below are from the swimming sports day for the Middle and Upper School. The little girls and I went and watched Meggie do two of her races. Her first race of the day was the 100-meter freestyle. She's actually never done a 100-meter race before so the idea of pacing herself hadn't even occurred to her and I didn't think to offer her any advice. She went out like a shot and by the fourth lap she was quite tuckered out. As she started the fourth lap she was well ahead of everyone except the girl in first, but half-way across the pool she slowed way down and the girl in third started to gain on her. I was screaming and hollering but of course she couldn't hear me, however she did squeak out a second place finish. The next race we watched was a 25-meter breast stroke and she got first place for that. 

Meg's 1st race, the 100-meter freestyle. She is the one to the right, just ahead of the girl next to her before the turn.

The end of the second lap in the 100-meter freestyle, Meggie in second place. You can't even see the girls in lanes 1-4 because she left them in her dust, until the very end, the girl in lane 6 won.

After we left she had two more first place finishes in 25-meter backstroke and butterfly. So she rocked each one of her heats, we aren't sure how she did overall compared to the rest of her year but we are very proud of her efforts.

Meanwhile, at Morrison Academy for (2) Girls things are not all gloom and doom - we had an outing with the Wellington Homeschool Association to go see two shows put on by Capital E. I took the good camera, but without the battery, so these photos are from my phone. Josie and Ellie were thrilled to reconnect with two of their buddies that we haven't seen in ages which turned out to be the highlight of the day as the shows weren't great.

In other news - I am very happy to report that Shannon and her boys are leaving Japan tomorrow. Please keep them in your prayers as they make a rather hasty exit and also have to sort out details like getting their home moved, in particular they need to sort out how to get the dog back to the States which is proving to be a bit of an issue.

Finally, my crazy friends have encouraged me to join them in a half Ironman in December so I have signed up to do the swimming portion for one of the teams. I'm glad to say that this particular team is in it to have fun and isn't particularly fussed about winning or else we'd have a real problem.

Lots of love to all! Dx

Crazy Katie

Katie had a friend over after school and they decided to face paint each other. Katie was quite pleased with the result but her friend preferred to not be photographed (fair enough). 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!