School Days

The boys school has an amazing PE teacher, one of those teachers that goes above and beyond all.the.time.

Week 2 for Flip kicked off with an ironman - 100m swim, 2km bike ride and 1km swim. All the year 5-10 (9-14 year olds) children participated. Some did it as individuals and some in teams.

Flip competed as an individual.

The following week Bounce had a triathlon for all the rest of the school children. The very smallest children (8 of them) did a duathlon in teams but all the rest did 3 events - teams and individuals.

Bounce competed as an individual.

Both of them did so well. The are persevere kids rather than fierce competitors but they are able too. We got 7th and 3rd so that's nothing to sneeze at.

Gorgeous kids.

love you more than a sore from cheering throat xxx

A Long Goodbye

Hello again!

A photo rich post for Grandad who has been missing the photos. These are zoo-ish photos only - there will be others coming.

It seems an age since we left Adelaide and there were so many great things I wanted to share. Moving however puts paid to thoughts of lazy evenings typing... maybe I'll get there still.

We had almost 3 weeks of January before we flew back to NZ. We stayed with friends, swam, zoo'd, library'd, picnic'd and enjoyed whilst trying to keep cool in the high 30s. No doubt my dear Adelaide friends are hitting greater highs as February rolls along.

These are some of our very last zoo memories - watching the boys up close with the quokkas and kangaroos was pretty special.

The chance to be so close to the animals is such a great part of the zoo.

Adelaide was an amazing adventure for us - as a family it gave us a time to bond and adventure together that we wouldn't have done in NZ, it also gave us a cultural experience NZers and Aussies have their own unique ways of doing things.

We loved our time there and we are re-living the adventure with all the fondness of hindsight and cooler temperatures.

Wherever you are today I hope that you find yourself in good company, because really that makes all the difference.

love you more than feeding time at the zoo xxxx

Now You Are Nine

And just like that nine years have passed.

It's amazing to have watched our baby grow into a toddler and then into a boy... being a teenager is just around the corner.

Dear Flip,

I am so pleased to be your mama - to have the delight of you saying every night, when you are supposed to be going up to bed, I could hug you forever. I so admire your perseverance and your willingness to have a go at everything.

We have always been delighted by you. We love the way you see the world. We love that you march to the beat of your own drum without wanting to, or considering imposing that beat on anyone else. We think you are totally awesome.

You are such a delightful person you still hold my hand and I love how you wink right back at me when we catch each other's eye across the playground or the classroom or any space. You are friendly and inclusive and you genuinely believe that everyone is your friend - may you always be such.

You are a fantastic, patient, caring and including brother to Bounce and it makes us so delighted the way you 2 find all sorts of crazy games to play together. You still love numbers and technology, when we give you the chance, you also think wolves are the best.

You have a vivid imagination and you love being silly and making us laugh. Flip we are very proud of you and the way you have continued to grow with grace and faith into the boy you are. We are so blessed that you are in our family and we hope this new year will bring you exciting new challenges, a deeper faith and much joy.

You are nine and we think that is wonderful.

Love you, always and forever

M+D+Bounce xxxx

What Moving At Christmas Time 2 Years in a Row Teaches You

Strictly we haven't actually moved at actual Christmas time - but for the last 2 years we have moved in early Dec (this year) and early Jan (last year).

So.... this is what I have learnt:

1. Christmas Newsletter - which I love and see as an essential record for my children - gone by the wayside

2. Christmas Cards - which I have never been good at but aspire to - not a one written

3. Adventing Well - which I long to do - kind of disappeared in a flurry of packing and unpacking

4. Baking for the neighbours and friends - pipe dream!

5. Time with my boys - always achievable

The thing is I love the building of Christmas traditions, of things for the boys to look back on and feel nostalgic about but it's not always achievable. You know what? It doesn't matter to them. Time together watching a movie (from the library or our own collection), or playing Cluedo, or getting to the park, or just listening to carols on you tube, or spending time watching them at the beach, these things make it feel special.

I can, in the midst of chaos and mess, still spend time with my boys - I can do so many free things that don't necessarily make me feel like I am creating 'Christmas atmosphere' but are significant for the boys.

I want my boys to become adults and think of December as a time of love and family not stress, unmet expectations and consumerism, and that my friends, can be achieved no matter what state your house is in or whether you are still looking for the camera charger.

Sometimes less is less but it's okay.

Also I have learnt moving sucks and if you can afford it at all having cleaners in to do the really crappy jobs will make me a much nicer wife and mother. - cleaning? not my favourite.

May your Christmas Eve be fun, festive and family-ish. Us? We're having a family over for afternoon tea and playing minute-to-win-it Christmas themed activities - it is the pinnacle of my organisation, I just managed to get it in the day before Christmas actually arrives!

love you more than a Christmas newsletter xxxx

15 Years

Today I have been married to The Atlas for 15 years.

I take this time to congratulate myself on the excellent choice I made at such a young age.

He's a keeper, I like him rather a lot.

love you more than a homemade tiara xxxx

I Got Broken

Leaping for the monkey bars and missing - just a little bit broken but oh so brave.

Grateful for a beautiful friend who dropped Bounce and I to the hospital and took Flip back to her place for the afternoon, fed him dinner and dropped him home.

Blessed.

love you more than a hospital with good reception (if I ever meet one!) xxx

And Just Like That You Are Six

Dear Boy,

Our beautiful, laughing, joy-filled bringer of joy - Happy Sixth Birthday.

It has been such a delight to watch you grow this year. The way you bring so.much.energy to everything you do. You are a complete investor in triumph or disappointment it's all there. I like that enthusiasm, it suits you well.

 You have shown to be a natural learner this year. There have been fascinating facts and emphatic knowledge of special information. You have loved Spanish and seem to have a natural ear for it. Reading delights you and your favourite day at school is guided reading day. So often I am given special insight into what you have learned that day - you love to learn, may it always be so.

 You love to be the cute little brother but you are capable of being a serious and concerted listener and effort giver too.

I love how you are so generous with your thoughts and feelings and the way that even though Dad has already hugged you goodbye in the morning you must give him one final enthusiastic squeeze just before he slips out the door. I love the way you are so keen to help and contribute to the family and to be a helper wherever you are.

 You have always been such a contagious laugher, and this year is no different, multiple times a day our lives ring out with true, unfettered, belly laughing. It's one of my favourite things to hear.

You have a great little brain in your head and you have learned some very long memory verses for church. Your little heart composes such beautiful and thoughtful prayers that I often whisper silent thanks at getting just to be there to hear them.

 As you go into this new year I want you to know what an incredible gift you are, how much life you bring and how much I love your enthusiasm and joy. Oh my darling - the best is yet to come and we will be watching with joy how it unfolds for you.

6 minutes, 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, 6 years - all of those precious days we have loved you.

Happy, happy, happy birthday our one and only Bounce. xxxxxxxxxxx