School Holidays

We went up to Coopers Beach again for the holidays. This time the boys took some time off work and came up too, they heard how much fish Eddie was catching on the new torpedo they couldn't resist. It was a good investment, even though on an evening fish it got snagged and we thought it was lost forever, but they went out the next morning on the dingy and rescued it. So we had heaps of snapper to eat, and heaps of mussels too, as you just need to walk out onto the rock to get them. The kids had a great time. Nathan went earlier in the week with his Nana, and didn't even miss me. I missed him a little bit but actually enjoyed my time to myself and got heaps done, like sleeping in :)



the bubs and their daddy's


Fishing on the new family investment, 'the torpedo' it has been named betty, don't ask me why. Betty nearly went missing, but the boys saved her and she caught us heapsa fish over the 4 days we were there.


fishing with Uncle Eddie



ayla the pink frog

giving a flower to Nana

It's hard to see in this pic but Nathan has the funniest ice cream eating style, he opens his mouth real wide and has a quick lick, and it's like he gets a fright each time

This is Ayla's been at the beach all day hairdo

Dummy stealers

Last Thursday Lisa and I took the kids up to Mel's house so Mel could cut my hair and I gave her a massage in return. A great swap. The kids love it up there too. The little monkeys got up to mischeif though and while Cameron (mel's 8 month old daughter) was sleeping they snuck into her room and stole her dummys, Nathan found this funny big teeth one on the shelf, whereas Ayla went straight to the source and stole one right out of her mouth... Cheeky monkeys! Neither of them took to dummys when they were younger. There was also a cute cat visiting from the neighbours who had a number 1 cut on the body (too many knots) but her tail, head and feet were still fluffy, it' looked very funny but very cute.

Nate the builder

While having a bbq at our friends Warwick and Lisa's, we managed to score a few hand me down toys that their son has now outgrown. We got a couple of bob the builder wooden puzzles, a truck that moves around by itself and finds it's way back into it's garage, and this cool builder's kit. He loves the hammer. Unfortunately the other day he got the potato masher out of the drawer and thought he'd use it as a hammer. I heard some banging in the bathroom and there was my little builder, hammering (more like hacking) into our bathroom wall, chipping off paint and plaster. Great!

Raranga - Maori Weaving

Over the last 3 terms, I've been doing a night course in flax weaving. I've quite enjoyed it as a creative outlet and a way of connecting with my culture. I'm not going to do the class next term, but hopefully I'll keep it up and try keep improving as there is a lot more I can do.
Anyways just thought I would share with you some of my work... These are some things I have done so far, they are in order too so hopefully you will see some improvement :)




My class and some of our work

Boy fun

We had the boys from next door come over on their new go cart. They saw our table soccer game in the garage, Dean got it out so they could play it. Nathan was right into it too, and wouldn't let his dad try and help him. As you can see it needs some legs but the boys were happy enough on the ground.

Sandpit

My herb garden wasn't looking too hot so I turned it into a sandpit for Nathan, he needed something to cheer him up after a rough week of grizzling from his sore ears. I only had a bucket full of sand to put in, Mt Maunganui sand, only the best!! But it was enough for him to get everywhere and have some fun.

Yo mum! Thanks for the sandpit ;)
Bikkie break

Bob the builder

We had our Brisbane friend Hal visit us after his snowboard trip down south. Nathan was quite sick with an ear infection and very bad cold, so was not very friendly to start with. He did warm up after a while and here he is building a tower with Hal. He even got a good giggle going while busting it all down (his favourite part)...

So much for the snow

We had a snow trip planned for the weekend but didn't make it, the man at the snow shop said it wouldn't be good for the kids with strong cold winds predicted. Bummer!! Well since we were all geared up to go somewhere we headed off to the Mount where Dean had a good 'boy fun' filled weekend, with fishing and corporate box viewing of the Bay vs North Harbour game on Saturday and golf on Sunday. Mum, Reid, Nathan and I went out for breakfast on Sat, and just hung out in the sun wondering if it was really that chilly at the snow???? Oh well hopefully we make it sometime this year. On our way home on Sunday we called into the Hilliards for a lovely Sunday roast where Nathan finally caught up with his cousin who he hasn't seen for nearly 2 weeks, that's a long time for them. While Ayla was in Fiji he would walk around with her photo at his nana's house and give it a kiss. SO cute.

Wet Weekend

Hey Ya'll
Well what a horrible weekend weather wise. We didn't to anything too exciting, got out and about Saturday morning, parted with a few $1's at the Salvation army clothes sale, went to look for some wet weather gear for Nathan as we're going to the snow next weekend. Lunch was a hot chip picnic on the lounge floor followed by a viewing of Toy Story 2.
Sunday started with Nathan and I going to church, where he slept on my lap the whole service. We got home and I dyed some flax for my next project for class tonight. Trying to sus out the dyeing process still, but I got some cool shades of blue going. I thought I'd post some pics of what I've done so far soon, keep an eye out.

Nathan and his Daddy

Those Hilliard genes are strong!!





At Soljan's Cafe.. In the kids playhouse and Nathan chillin after his 'fluffy'

Thanks for your opinions

Looks like 'Moments in Motion' is in the lead. I'll let ya'll know what I end up with and when I'm up and running, still got a bit of behind the scenes setting up stuff to do before I kick it off. I want to be organised and confident I've got it all covered before I do.
Thanks for your votes and comments :)

Your Opinion Please

I am looking to create a business, just a small one, working from home. I need to think of a business name and would appreciate your opinions or ideas. Here is a description of what I want to do which will help you to vote which would suit it best. Feel free to offer other suggestions in the comments box too. I have thought of a couple of others but they have already been taken.

The purpose of my business is to capture digital photos or video to create fun, emotive and lasting memories by bringing them to life on DVD. This way images and video footage will be easily accessible rather than being stuck on tapes or computers. Photos will be bought to life with fun or classic style transitions, captions and music. Videos will be edited with titles, captions and music. The DVD’s can then be given as gifts for children’s milestone, 1st and 5th birthdays, Adult’s milestone 21st , 50th, 60th or 100th birthdays. They can be a tasteful and happy way to celebrate the life of loved ones at funerals and memorials. They can be shown at wedding receptions to celebrate the joining of two lives, or to capture the day itself. You could also purchase this service for work functions, farewells or to capture any happy event or holiday.

Holiday Part 2

More pics from our holiday up north...










Little monkeys at play

Holiday part 1

Last week we went up north to Coopers Beach for the 2nd week of the school holidays. Dean's parents have a holiday house up there. It was a full house with the two bubs, Nathan and Ayla, their big cuzzie Alicia their Uncle Eddie and Nana. We had lots of fun. Lisa and I also had lots of opportunities to read our books while Nana, uncle and cuzzie Alicia doted on the kids.



At Aunty Lil's farm in Kaitaia

Ayla and Suzie


The cuzzies



At Coopers beach on the way home from Kaitaia. The rock in the background was where we got our daily feed of mussels, not huge but decent sized and yum yum yum!

Nathan's new Danish/Kiwi/Aussie friend

Last night we had Michelle and little Emma our friends from Brisbane stay the night on a short stop over. It was great to meet Emma, Nathan was very impressed with the little blond, except when she wanted to play with his toys... Sharing is not his forte

Ol mate Ron

This is my grooming routine... A good ol teeth brush, wet the wild morning birdnest down so my beautiful curls appear, and a smile to top it off


Nathan has started feeding himself, which means most times the spoon makes it and the other times... well see for yourself


Nathans new mate Ron. We stopped at McDonalds Bombay on the way home from the Mount, it was a great way for him to let out some energy in the playground, before getting back in the car. Poor kid, his mum makes him get the apple slices instead of fries and a juice or water instead of coke... What a killjoy!

Look out Mighty All Blacks

Here is a haka to rival the All Blacks. Check it out in our Videos---->

Winter

And in the blue corner, we have Nathan in the blue bear gown! He's ready to take on the winter chill... Let's get ready to rumble!!!

Netball

Tuesdays we play indoor netball. It's very handy as the kids get to play in Jumping Jacks which is in the court next door, well sometimes it's handy, other times the kids see us and have a good ol cry wanting our attention. A good morning out though, getting some much needed exercise.

Rugby

With all this soccer bombarding our tv, we thought we better stay true to the kiwi roots and went and watched some Rugby. Troy's team Kumeu were playing Silverdale, so we went up to watch.