Crusty Demons

So a few weeks ago we were invited by Rob and Liz to hang out with them in their box at the stadium and watch "a motorcycle show". That's really all I knew about it, but it sounded like something the kids would enjoy and I knew I would enjoy seeing Rob and Liz. When we got there and saw that the show was called the "Crusty Demons" I was a tad concerned, but the place was crawling with kids and it was obviously billed as a family show, so I wondered how bad it could be.

Let's just say it was really bad, at least at first. And to my shame it was an American show. Ugh. Before they got started doing all their various motorbike tricks they had some "entertainment" that included the "Crusty Babes" doing a rather evocative dance in rather lascivious clothing on the stage. That was followed by a fear-factor type drinking contest, followed by something (I wasn't paying complete attention - Dugald and I were trying to entertain the girls away from all of this) that involved male participants pulling down their pants and being spanked by the crusty babes on their boxers. Yes siree, we love us some cultural events!!

However, all was not lost, eventually the motorbikes came out and did some amazing stuff and we were all duly impressed. During the preceding shenanigans the girls loved just hanging out with, or hanging all over, their cousins Alex, Hettie and Hugh. All in all a good time was had by all, thank you Rob and Liz!!

If you look really closely you can see the motorbikes doing flips in the air.
Katie hanging out with Alex and her boyfriend, Bobby. Everytime I looked over at them Katie and Bobby were deep in conversation. I can only wonder what that was all about, but God bless Bobby, he was as kind as can be to her.

Mommy and Jo.

Meggie and Daddy. We left Ellie at home since it was going to be a late night.

Liz and her sister Jane in the middle and another friend.

I'm catching up with all our pics!! I'll post more tomorrow. Hugs!!

Some pics in the house. . . more later!

Here are some random shots from around the new house. . . I haven't gone around taking pics yet because I'm still waiting on furniture to be delivered, I'm doing my part to help the New Zealand economy. You're welcome.

Here are the little girls putting away their laundry, the big girls just wanted to be in the picture.

School work at the table. The light fixtures are being replaced by the rental company, the movers broke them when the owner moved out.

This is a terrible picture, but Ellie is in it. Just looking out onto the deck, kitchen is to the right. This little bit of tile is the only part of the entire house, excepting the bathrooms, that doesn't have blue carpet. If anyone from the states wants to send me some Spot Shot it would be most welcome.

Dinner on the deck, we've been doing that as much as possible!

Meggie and Josie playing in a tree in the backyard.

It's nice to be missed!

Hi there everyone! Today we've been called and emailed so much from people thinking we must have fallen off the bottom of the earth that I thought I should finally update. It is nice to know you care :). We haven't fallen off anything, in fact we're doing pretty well, I just haven't taken the time to dig out from under our boxes to get on the computer for more than a status update on Facebook.

I found the USB cord I needed and managed to get the camera connected to Dugald's computer so I'll be sharing some older photos for a few days. These pictures are from our final days in the other house - you can see the lovely boxes and suitcases in the background. Our friend Molly sent the girls some photos albums awhile ago and they have been a huge hit! On this particular day they were busy dividing up stickers and decorating pages.

Here are Meggie and Katie working on one of their pages:

Josie and Ellie were working together, in theory, but as you can see Ellie was really just being a pain!

I'll post more pictures tomorrow, including some of the new house.

Thank you for your emails and phone calls, we love and miss you all!!

This is too funny

We still haven't sorted out getting pictures on here from my camera, or Skype, but I have high hopes it will happen this weekend. Dugald had to travel twice this week so I didn't have my computer guru around to help me with all things technical. In the meantime my friend Teresa sent me this hilarious clip. . . enjoy!

Happy Birthday Margaret!

Today is my lovely mother-in-law's birthday and her present is still sitting, not yet wrapped, on my bed. I am still so utterly disorganized since the move - I am losing everything because it doesn't have a place yet, and I'm unable to plan ahead at all, thus the present on the bed. So, happy birthday Margaret!! We love you and are thinking of you today and hopefully your gift will arrive in February.

Dugald is in Australia, but when he gets back tomorrow I'll be begging him to help me set up the cords necessary to download photos - otherwise it won't be until the end of February when my new desk arrives and we can set up my mac. This past weekend was quite fun and I have some good pics to share, so keep checking back. One of the weekend's events was the Teddy Bear's Picnic in the Botanic Gardens and the girls and I were there - Meggie and Katie performed with Musical Stars. We never see the news (on TV anyway) so I was surprised to hear from a few friends, and Margaret, that Josie was shown on the 6pm broadcast. Our neighbors across the street recorded it so we'll head over and see it tomorrow with Dugs.

Today I started swimming again which was wonderful and since I had a babysitter I went to the bank afterwards to sort out all my new cards that came in the post this week. . . not sure if I mentioned on here that my wallet went missing in the midst of the move. So annoying - lost my eftpos (debit card), visa, New Zealand driver's license, Texas driver's licence (don't even know why I had that one in there), my swimming card that was only 2/3 used (had to buy a new one today for $120), a fair amount of cash, all of our library cards, a voucher for a bookstore, and the list goes on and on. . . . I am still hoping it turns up, but I get less optimistic as each day passes.

And while I'm griping - did I mention that of the two men the company I hired sent to move us, one was in his 70s or later and had a bad back? Oh yes, I paid these people an hourly rate and he moved at the speed of a slug. And they put together the children's bunks incorrectly, which was one of the main reasons I hired help in the first place. I wanted to call since the move ended up costing more than double what it should have and I did much of the heavy lifting with the younger guy myself, but Dugald didn't think I should. If you are a Kiwi reading this blog I wouldn't recommend Kiwi Move.

That is all for now. I thought Grey's Anatomy was starting back up here last night so I got the children to bed early and got myself set up on the couch with a glass of wine and a blanket, only to realize I was wrong!! I don't even know when it starts, or how in the world I thought it would be last night, but I did discover a new addiction - the 24 movie was on and it was SO good, so now I know how I'll be spending my Thursday evenings from 8:30 - 9:30 (or thereabouts, New Zealand tv rarely starts when it is scheduled to, go figure).

Tata for now!!

Giddy Up

Ok, they don't really say giddy up here . . .

Today the big girls and I had a riding lesson together. They've been riding for a year, and I rode for a year back in 1995 so I figured we were about even. And we were, sort of, except that I was terrified a lot of the time and they were having a "review" so mommy could catch up! I'm not sure which thought was more frightening to me, the thought of me falling off the horse or the thought of watching them fall off. I know that makes me sound selfish and an absolutely horrible mother, but in my defense I just have to say that I've seen them fall, they fall all the time(not off of the horses, but you know, around), and they kind of bounce. . . I don't bounce. It would be ugly. The instructor we had today doesn't seem to have a problem with people falling, that's what the helmets are for presumably.

After about an hour of trotting, which isn't very comfy, the instructor decided to get us to canter on a lead. I really didn't love the idea of cantering but the girls were jazzed and I couldn't look like a wimp in front of them, especially Meggie, as I am always pushing her to try new things. So we took it in turns and I was last. The whole time Meggie and I were watching Katie Meggie was correcting me - telling me to get my heels down, how to hold the reins, she actually said to me "You have to let him know you're the boss, just like you should do with Ellie". All this while just sitting on the horse watching Katie!

The cantering was actually far more comfortable than the trotting until our instructor told me next week we'd do it with legs out of the stirrups and hands out. Hello? The saddle doesn't have a seat belt so I'm not quite sure how she thinks I'm going to stay on and I find it all a bit disconcerting.

I didn't get photos today, but I know the photos are the best part of the blog and I promise to get some more up soon!

Big Sigh

I am breathing a big sigh of relief now that we've made the move . . . two moves in two years is exhausting. I honestly don't know how military families can do it so often!

We have all of our boxes and personal belongings in our new house and have officially handed back the keys to the Campbell Street home. We had a wonderful year there - the location was perfect, the garden beautiful and our "cottage" adorable - but it is good to be somewhere slightly bigger and to live amongst our own things again. And it's even better that the garden will be looked after as a part of our rent!!

The girls have been great and handled the transition well, we were worried about Ellie in particular but she seems to be fine. They have a little more breathing space now that they are split up in two bedrooms rather than all together in one.

I haven't taken photos yet, the unpacking is still a work in progress, but I will post some as soon as it looks relatively settled inside. I am so grateful for the friends and family that have helped us in this transition, I am always humbled by how much people are willing to give of themselves.

Several of you have asked for an update on Lloyd and we so appreciate your care and concern! He has finished his first, and possibly only, round of chemo and is awaiting the results of that to determine his next steps. He is still in the hospital but feeling pretty good considering what his body has been through for the past weeks. Here is a link to an article about his company and how they are coping in his absence for those who are interested.

I hope to get back blogging on a more regular basis soon. . . thank you to you faithful friends who keep up with us this way!!