Sunday 14 June 2015

Project Life: Week 19

I’ve had a bit of time to catch up with my photos this weekend so here’s my pages for Week 19 May 4th - 10th
FULL_1
This was a really big week because I was away at school camp.  Before I went to camp though I managed to capture a sign at the local shops… at first I couldn’t quite work out WHY this sign stood out to me… and then I noticed the spelling mistake… ooops!

Camp was a real experience… the kids totally loved it although it managed to rain on us (sometimes really heavily) pretty much the whole time we were away.  The first day wasn’t too bad until about 4pm and then from that moment on we were wet constantly.

There were some pretty cool activities for the kids… air rifle shooting, archery, BMX bikes, confidence course, giant swing, abseiling and water slides!

Here’s a close up of the first page:LEFT_1
I will admit that I went up to the platform at the top of the abseiling to take some photos and felt absolutely SICK when I looked down… I moved back down the stairs as quickly as possible!  The kids were super brave!

I’ve never really been one for heights but a few years ago I did the swoop at another school camp.  This year there was a ‘giant swing’ instead.  Basically they put you into a cocoon that’s a bit like a bulky sleeping bag… then they pull on a rope to raise you into the air until it clips onto another rope… then you have to pull the release cord and away you go!

One of my boys REALLY didn’t want to do it but in the end I managed to talk him around and he was super thrilled with himself.  The next minute the parent in charge of his group said I should do it and before I knew it the kids had talked me into it.  I’m not sure who took it (it was definitely one of the kids) but it turns out there is a video of my giant swing adventure:



By the time I came home from camp on the Friday afternoon I was ready for a long, hot shower and a good nights sleep!

On Saturday I had to go to hockey in the morning and then Mike and I took Mum to the home show over in Tauranga.  There wasn’t a whole lot there that we were interested in but Mum did buy herself a cool hose!  We had lunch at Bayfair and then browsed around a few shops before dropping Mum off and heading home. 

On Sunday it was Mother’s Day and Toby REALLY spoilt me!  I woke up to a small present and balloon by the bed which I thought was really sweet… especially when I discovered that they were my favourite chocolates!

I was even more stunned to come out to the dining room to discover a whole table of presents and balloons!  There was even a card… I think Toby may have had Daddy’s help!

Here’s a closer look at the photos:RIGHT_1

The surprises didn’t end there though… Mike took me for a drive to Hamilton and we went out for lunch.  We both love bread and garlic bread is even more of a favourite so we had to have that for our starter and when our mains arrived they were so delicious we got stuck in and forgot all about taking photos until the end.  It really was a great Mothers Day!

I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend xx

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Project Life: Week 18

I’ve finally got April done and dusted!  The weeks are rolling by much too quickly!

Here’s an overview of the week - April 27th - May 3rd:FULL_1

Monday 27th was a public holiday so Mike and I headed over to Hamilton for some lunch.  We found a great little cafĂ© place at The Base and thought we’d try out a couple of items on the Chef’s menu… turns out we should have asked for the prices because our extremely average lunch cost us $71!!!

There were a couple of ups to going to Hamilton though… we spotted a very cool ATM machine supporting the ANZAC Day celebrations and we also discovered a little chocolate shop.  We had quite a lot of fun selecting a few treats and then after having our Wellington chocolates melt on us we promptly sat down outside to eat them!

Here’s a closer look at the start of the week:LEFT_1

Toby has been enjoying some big bones lately.  Mike has discovered a butcher that he likes and he keeps coming home with treats for Toby… which Toby is very happy about!  The only downside is that Toby isn’t quite so ‘sleek and slim’ anymore LOL

I didn’t take as many photos during this week but I had found some cool things as I was traipsing around the internet so they got included in this weeks pages.

I DID manage to get a screen shot of April’s Daily Challenges with Solitaire.  I really love playing cards and the huge advantage playing on the computer is that there’s no cards to pack up and shuffle!  I enjoy the monthly challenges too because there’s lots of variety although some of the ‘expert’ ones have me going insane at times!

Meanwhile the hockey season got underway this week.  I’ve been given a Year 3 and 4 team to coach although it’s been YEARS since I’ve actually played hockey myself.  Thankfully a lovely Mum approached me to say that she’d love to coach the team and run the hockey practices so I’m more like a ‘silent partner’ in the whole process and just go down to watch them play on a Saturday morning.

Here’s a close up of the second part of the week:RIGHT_1

Toby makes the most of weekend mornings when Mike tries to catch a bit more sleep.  He’s quick to make himself comfortable on the bed and snuggle!

The third big tree in our backyard is now cut down!  It’s really opened up the backyard and there’s so much more light coming in now!  Mike loves cutting up all the wood with the chainsaw too!  We’ve got quite a bit of firewood ready for next winter which will be awesome!

In between hockey, Toby and tree cutting we managed to find a shop selling all sorts of products that we haven’t tried before.  It’s one of those discount stores where most things are really close to or just over their expiry date.  We decided to try some grape juice and crackers and they were pretty good.  It certainly made for a nice pick-me-up!

So that was our week and now I’m finally into May LOL  Thank goodness for calendars and dated photos on the camera!

Wishing you all a great week xx

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Project Life: Week 17

Despite the fact that I have been a very slack blogger lately, I HAVE been taking lots of photos so at least I will be able to catch up again.  For this post I’ve got Week 17 which was April 20th - April 26th. 

Here’s an overview of the week:FULL_1

This week it was all about ANZAC Day!  We started Term 2 at school and it was all go!  We knew we were having a special ceremony on the Friday to commemorate the centenary of the ANZAC military campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.

Over the school holidays one of the teachers had organised for us to have wooden poppies made for every child in the school.  I brought home my class set along with another set to prime ready for painting.  Mike and I managed to do one side of primer before watching Game of Thrones and then we did the second side afterwards… and it’s true what they say… many hands do make light work because we seemed to have all 60 poppies primed in no time at all!

Here’s a close up of the start of the week:LEFT_1

At Glenholme School we are lucky to have Roz on our staff.  She’s a retired teacher that now works as a teacher aide and her knowledge is amazing!  She often gets called on to help out with running records (for reading) and other testing. 

During the war some of her relations sent home postcards and letters to other family members and they’ve kept them all safe.  Roz brought in her very special folder of family memorabilia along with several medals for the kids to look at… they’re super lucky to have such an amazing lady share her stories with them.

During the week we researched ANZAC soldiers, the history of the poppy, painted poppies and lots of other bits and pieces.  The kids were really immersed in history.

Meanwhile, the only ‘history’ Toby was interested in was the box left over from our pizza dinner!  He could smell the remnants of cheese and proceeded to eat a perfect circle out of the base of the box.  When Mike walked past him after his shower Toby was on guard duty!  He was super protective about ‘his’ pizza box… but it still ended up in the fireplace by the end of the night!

Here’s a look at the rest of the week:RIGHT_1

The kids really enjoyed making poppy flowers out of crepe paper and they turned out fantastically well.  They look beautiful and were actually quite simple to do.

During the week the school leaders made ANZAC cookies to sell to help raise money for their trip to Wellington later on this term.  They took orders every day and then had the cookies ready to sell on Friday… and they were super delicious!

On Friday we had our special ceremony in the morning and it was very moving.  After morning tea each class was able to have a photo taken with our special memorial and it was pretty neat for the kids to see all the poppies laid out together.

Mum got involved in the ANZAC celebrations this year too and spent several hours selling ANZAC cookies over in Tauranga.  Thankfully the newspaper people were there to capture the moment so I was able to get a photo!

Meanwhile Mike got busy in our backyard and cleared up the second tree that he’d felled.  Toby of course had to go with ‘Daddy’ to get rid of the rubbish!  He actually does try to ‘help’ but this generally involves him bringing sticks inside and shredding bark off them all over the carpet!

I’m so pleased that I’ve been documenting what’s been going on in the backyard because it looks really different now compared to when I moved back in December!

So there you have it… Week 17 done and dusted!