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!

Josie's Baptism

Last Sunday was a special day for Josie - she was baptized! She had decided awhile ago that she wanted to be baptized in the sea but Sunday dawned cold and blustery. I asked her repeatedly at church if she wanted to change her mind and be baptized at church instead, but she was steadfast, so the sea it was. First, though, she was recognized at church and our sweet babysitters Hannah and Sophie gave her a lovely silver heart necklace to mark the special occasion. Then, despite rain and wind we, and several friends and church members, headed down to Oriental Bay for the actual baptism. Kudos to John, our vicar, and Dugald for getting in the water with her!

Once we had all arrived we gathered under a tree to shield us from the drizzle and went through the liturgy for baptism. Josie was still all smiles at this point. Dugald and John headed out to the water and waited for Jo who immediately started to lose the plot when her toes hit the very chilly water.  Dugald and John did their best to comfort her but in the end they had to rush to get the deed done so she could get out. The family has had a few laughs at these pictures but Josie still doesn't see the humor in them, in fact she's annoyed with me for posting them, but despite all that the fact is that she made a very important decision and we are SO proud of her!! After all was said and done we headed to the nearest cafe and got hot chocolates and coffee for everyone.

Swinging Over Wellington

Last Sunday was Pippa's birthday and the Sheppards invited us to join them for lunch after church. We tried out a delicious new Vietnamese cafe and then took a stroll up Mount Vic to a swing that offered great views of the city.

We loved helping you celebrate turning 10 sweet Pippa!! xx