Day One at Nanny and Poppas

Making his mark on the new footpath outside, only to have it wiped off by the killjoy concrete workers :(

Off to the movies to watch Wall-E

At the library getting a stash of Dinosaur books for Nanny and Poppas house

Bathtime fun

Heading off on Holiday

Nathan was very excited today to be heading off to Nanny and Poppa's house in Mt Maunganui.  The kids travel very well and we made it 3/4 of the way down and had a little lunch stop in Katikati.  We pulled up next to a park that had a sculpture exhibition on which the kids enjoyed.

Trip to Titirangi

Yesterday we were pretty tired after having a crowd over for a bbq and to watch the warriors lose a miserable game!!!  There was a bit of boardgame action afterwards leading to a late night.  It was such a nice day that we had to get out and get some fresh air instead of lazing around wallowing in tiredness.  We headed way out west to Titirangi and first checked out the markets before getting some lunch and finding a little beach to eat at.

Who's that staunch chickee?

Couple of cool dudes

Friends of the Zoo once again

Finally it seems we are getting some nice weather, so it was off to the Zoo to renew our Friends of the Zoo pass which means we can go whenever we want and get a few discounts here and there.  This time we got both Maia and Nathans photo on it, so we can take both together or one at a time.  We went especially to see the 3 new tiger cubs, but after waiting about 10minutes which is a long wait in kiddie time, we gave up.  It was a nice day out and after Maia being sick for a whole week solid and housebound we were amped to get out of the house.

Our Sunday

Sunday morning was my sleep in morning, so here are the kids having breakfast with Dad.  Good ol Marmite toast - typical kiwi brekkie.

Nathan and I went to Church and Maia stayed home with Dad.  Afterwards we got organised and took advantage of the beautiful day by meeting up with Troy, Lisa and the kids at Okahu Bay.  It was a bit windy on the beach side so we found some shelter by the park.  

The kids at play

Afterwards we met up with the rest of the Hilliard family at Dean's Nana's house for afternoon tea.  We got to catch up with Dean's Aunty Margaret before she heads back to the States to work on a movie with Meryl Streep, wow!!  Here's Nathan being a giant turtle.

The Kids

Our Rebel boy went and got a nose ring :)

Baked Bean Face

Dinosaurs for Breakfast

Sunday Afternoon Bike Ride

Collecting Sticks and taking them for a tow

Pyjama Boy and Haka Boy

Nathan likes playing with his K-Nex. Here is one creation he likes to call - Haka Boy!



Nathan really needs another haircut but has gone right off the hairdressers. We have some family pictures being taken this weekend so I need to sort out my bribing strategy to get him into the hairdresser before Saturday!!!

Carport Complete

The carport is pretty much complete, just needs some spouting to catch the rain now. Big Ups to Dean - project manager, builder, painter. Reid the master builder, Dad for helping and Troy the roofer. Of course we can't forget me for my general oversight of the project (ie sticking my beak in whenever i could) and chief health and safety officer (ie "should you really be standing on the upside down rubbish bin")

On the phone

Maia loves chatting on the phone, if I'm on it she cries because she wants to have a chat to whoever I'm talking to

Keeping Up With Big Bro

Maia can get around real good now. She loves keeping up with Nathan.

Tipene's 1st Birthday

On Saturday we went to Tipene's 1st birthday. It was a great party with all the party games and party food. Jamie, Semu and the whanau did an aweome job!! Nathan had a cool time and went hard out on all the treats he could get his hands on :)

Kids table all decked out with all their favourite party food, YUM! The adults table of food was the bomb too, with crayfish, bbq, chopsuey, etc etc on the menu, Awesome!

Pin the nose on Poo Bear

Yay, I did it!!

Happy Birthday to you....

Nathan getting some help with pass the parcel

The Birthday boy

Maia with Faye aka Tania and Te Kohe aka Kingi The on screen and off screen couple from Shortland Street

Faye took a shine to Maia and Maia seemed to do the same as she was too shy to go to anyone else but when Faye grabbed her for a cuddle she didn't mind at all, Maia is a real tv watcher so must think she looked familiar :)

Go Zoe!!

Dean and Semu

The 2 One year olds - Look out for these two at Te Kaha they'll be all over the place this year!!

Going in for the goodbye kiss - Better not try those styles Tipene my Dad's watching!!!

Nathan pooped out from all the party fun!

You think I'm going to sleep Mum, don't think so!!!

Rutherford Preschool Culture Night

Nathans Preschool has had a theme of 'Culture' over the last month. On Friday night they had a 'Culture Night'. The kids dressed up and sang us some songs and we all took food from our different cultures so you could imagine the awesome feed we had.

Nathan and Maia getting ready to go

Nathan was pretty chuffed with his Tiki T.Shirt, Pounamu (greenstone) necklace and the Kete bag that his mum wove him a while back. He looked like one cool little Maori Boy.

Tahi, Rua, Toru, Wha... PUKANA!!!

The Whanau