Activities and additions ....

Just watching the closing ceremony - maybe life will return to normal again and I will get more sleep. The marathon runners are receiving their medals. Andrew worked out that they were running at a speed of 100m in 19 sec - try running that at all let alone for 42 km !!



Anika's latest project - bit of a Thomas fan which is great. Nice to balance out the "My little ponies" girly stuff !! She spent her pocket money yesterday on a new one. She is writing alphabet letters now really well. She loves it.



Welcome to our world - Villi - she lost her mum. She is way down in the cow shed so Andrew is the chief provider. Anika had just come home from spending two nights away at two different friends ... hate to think what she will be like as a teenager !!



Hazel too, has been busy - this is her first ride on her skateboard - grabbed onto it like a pro. It's all about making tummy time more interesting - she is not that keen on tummy time but certainly enjoyed her ride on the skateboard. She now enjoys peek a boo - a real giggler. She is showing determination - you can see her trying to sit up all the time. She is doing tummy crunches for me too !!



Finally I have been a domestic goddess today and have baked, cooked and made my first batch of marmalade - for those lucky enough of you who will get a jar - beware the drip - I am not sure I boiled it for long enough.

Now a stunning finish like the olympics .... I think not, my eyelids are dropping.

Life at number 200A ... or is that .... ???

We are still waiting for our new fire number. The rest of the Wairarapa has theirs. I am excited as we will get our own number - we had nowhere to go sitting between 200 and 202. But now we will get a distance one from Masterton. They have also changed our road name to Longbush Rd .... not too happy about that ..... bit of snobbery around that in the past ... but will be better than Masterton-Martinborough Rd. Will send you all of the details once we have the new number !!



Even though it seems like it has been raining for ever we have had a few cracker frosts up here on the hill - not the usual. We tend to miss out. Well they have got the renegade potatoes - good job and they have actually frozen our pipes !! Now that we no longer use a pump to get water into the house we have a gravity feed system that we pump up to every week. Which means we have exposed pipe on top of the grass - running along fence lines. So just when I go yay I can have a shower whenever I want as it is not sucking down excessive amounts of power ... being on an alternative system ... the blimmin pipes freeze for 2 mornings and I can't have a shower until they thaw !!!



Anika and I love looking and playing in the frost.



And Anika wins the gold medal !!! Yay ..... for everything ... as Anika must have the gold otherwise .... tears ... even if Daddy wins it for the biggest nose !! Anika has enjoyed the Olympics too. It has been a good opportunity to talk more about countries etc. She says that 3 1/2 is a bit young to go to the Olympics yet. She has been practicing constantly on her bunk bed - swinging on the bar - ready to compete !!



Yay - two sunny days in a row and I think we did have up to 4 dry ones !! That meant Andrew got all enthusiastic and has attacked our front paddock / lawn area. We had a stack of straw left over from the house building which we are using for mulch on the edge of our hill to mark out the lawn. It has got soooo sodden that the only way to move it has been to use a tractor. Yay a bit more progress. Keep watching this spot !! One day we will have lawn !!

It Snowed ....

It really did ... thick fluttery white flakes ... which almost settled ... Anika's first snow, first snow at the house. The peacefulness of it .. I love it .... even though there were a few birds still twittering. Floyd was dashing about - not sure what it was. Anika arrived inside 5 minutes later - crying her little eyes out - face all blotchy - yes she had experienced her first snow ... no gloves .... and her hands were freezing.


Anika will have to change the book she wrote about winter now. "The snow is not at our place." is no longer correct !



Hazel still oblivious to it all - happily sucked on her toys. She is now able to grab stuff - catch a ball and hold her toes. She is definitely growing, becoming more dexterous and learning through sucking.



Hazel and I had an awesome day at Te Papa yesterday. I was helping out at our Enviroschools Regional Event and Hazel was being loved by all ... even Woody Weed - our local pest Super Hero.



It was great to see the students sharing their knowledge with the experts from the Plant Conservation Conference and then asking them questions. We also had a really interesting session on native plants and their medicinal properties. We managed to get over the Rimutakas before the snow arrived and closed it.