Saturday, March 24, 2007

weekend at Grandma and Poppa's

Ella is having a weekend with Grandma and Poppa, while Mum is at work, and Dad is doing some DIY... Ella, Grandma and Poppa all went out to the farm today,
This, according to Ella is a little Camel. I think it is actually an Alpaca sweet pea, but i suppose from down there it could look like a camel... below is the email we got from Ella half way through the weekend...




hello Daddy and Mummy,
Today I went to the farm. Uncle Cole and aunty Tania were not at home but I had a lot of adventures there anyway.
Hope you are having a good day.
I had a big sleep when I got home. I wouldn't go to sleep in Grandmas bed so Grandma put me in the pushchair and we went for a walk and I went to sleep in the pushchair.
Now I am going to see Kay and Molly (the dog.)
Love Ella.xxxxxx



Looks like she found all the big machinery at the farm today..

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Ang's Birthday


And congrats to Mandy and Dean on their new Arrival...
What else can you do on a hot Hawkes Bay afternoon, but go and sit on some winery's front lawn, and eat pizza and contemplate life in general...
That is where the grapes grow, Ella worked out you could just go down there, pick them and eat them!!!!!!!!!!
Birthday cake for Mummy! Ella had to help blow out all the candles!?!?
Morning tea at work with Mum, special treat and flowers for the birthday girl
Ella's new tea set, (thanks Helen) let me pour you a coffee, Sugar with that?
Tastes great!
Now how about these fake plastic cookies, mmmmm just as good as Daddies...

Not one of Ella's more popular moments, at least 8.30-8.45 one evening recently, far to busy to be going to sleep, but upset that she can't get in to the togs by putting her head through one of the leg holes....
Other times I can be a real sweetie, Especially if I get to have all my books out at once, and not actually read them, but just lye on them to absorb the words, while eating my apple...

Alterations progress

5th Feb, day one. mark out and cut concrete

after the digger came and went, and the footings were dug, concrete laid and then backfilled/leveled, it was ready for the floor by 14th feb.

the floor down, 21 feb

Framing up by 27th Feb
and roof finally went on by 5th March, Had to empty all the misc stored stuff out of the garage, (what a mission...) to make way for progress to move inside.
Floor down in new bedroom, and framing up, Brickie also on the job now.


Sparkie was here today doing pre-wire, and Plumber due tomorrow. so all go here!

Thursday, March 08, 2007

congrats to Kate and Dion


Well done to Kate and Dion, who are the proud parents of Harrison John, born this morning, weighing in at 7lb 3oz! Ella is well impressed, and wants to take the baby for a ride in her buggy. (At his own risk obviously)... and sung a verse of Happy birthday dear Harryissson, happy birthday tooooo yoooooooou...

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Birthday Blog

Sorry for the delay, but somehow Blogspot assumed that this was a Spam Blog, and blocked me from posting anything for a week or so, until I could prove that this was not Spam, and instead good natured Blogging about the goings on in this household...

And it's been a busy old week or so since I last updated.

Ang's parents stayed for a week, and were pivotal to getting the kitchen/dining floor finished before the weekend. After my parents had stayed the previous weekend, and Dad and I had made a good start on it, Barry and I then spent Wednesday night, most of Thursday and then Friday morning getting the rest of it finished... Looks so much better than what was there previously.
Nothing like working to a deadline for getting the pressure on to finish something.

Then we spent Friday evening and Saturday morning preparing for Ella's Birthday party on Sunday. Setting up the back yard in the theme of Winnie the Pooh, including a house made of sticks for Eeyore, a Bee tree with bee's in (thanks to Uncle Cole) Mr Saunders House/Pooh's house thanks to a big cardboard box and some packing tape, The sandy pit where Roo plays, Christopher Robins house, etc etc, Barry had a great time with the paint brush and the Winnie The Pooh book, re-creating the '100 akre wood' in our back yard...

Then I packed my Mountain bike, and Mum and I went to Rotorua, Mum visited her elderly Aunty Betty, and I met up with Mike and Yvoine for a 24hour mountain bike race. (Click on the link to see results page, our team was called 'Oz Kiwi Frenchie NZO NZO!' and the results for our team is about 1/2 way down the pdf results page.) They had started without me at midday, and the race continued till midday on sunday obviously, I arrived in time to do the 6th lap, and then the 5 of us in the team took it in turns to continue to log laps of the circuit through the forest, right through the night. Laps took about 30mins, so it was a case of riding for 30 mins, then resting and eating for 2 hours, and then back into the riding again for 30mins. Our team did well, with Yvoine doing laps just as fast as the rest of us, we soon took time out of all the other mixed teams, and by the time I left just before dawn the team was almost 4 laps up on our closest rival in the section we were racing in. I didn't feel to guilty then leaving the 4 of them to complete the last 7 hours, as they were about 2 hours riding time ahead of the next team... no pressure. Mum drove home, and I had a cat nap in the car, knowing that there was still a big day ahead of me at home...

once we got home (at 8.45) there was a few last minute things to clean up and organise for the party, which then got underway by 10.
Ella on her new bike for her birthdayElla blowing out the candles on winnie the pooh cakeAng Ella and Grandma MargaretElla and her friends from village kids Samantha and Maia
The new see-saw that Poppa made for Ella
Ella doing the slip and slide with sophie in the back ground hosing everone with the hose...
lachie and lily getting in the slip and slide action

looking at me?

looking at me?