Waitangi Weekend

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The kids went back to school this week and it is now Waitangi weekend so Monday is a holiday – nice!

Back to school arrived fast, here is Luca on his first day, of his last year of primary . He is in the senior class now , this year has lots of added responsibility and expectations as they prepare for high school.

How did he grow up so fast!

In the last couple of weeks we fitted in a couple of things we had been meaning to do.

Allans Beach we had not been to for ages, and it always has lots of seals and sea lions hanging out, this time was no exception..

This young one was very curious of Luca and I and chased us along the beach. I am sure it meant no harm, but was not going to take any chances. Despite being water animals it is surprising how fast they can move on land!
Enjoying the sun 🙂
It was a lovely day…
This guy was enormous, the size of a Shetland pony!
Yes that is Rich, and that one got a little too close for comfort!!!!!
The other photos are sea lions, this was a seal coming out of the ocean to sunbathe.

We had also been wanting to do the peninsular bike ride. So last weekend we got up early and took the ferry from here to the other peninsular. You ride down one side of the east peninsular to the city , then ride up the other side of the west peninsular to Port Chalmers. Was a lovely day, Orca’s had been spotted in the harbor the day before, and we were hoping to see one, but alas they had moved on. Rachel runs the water taxi from Port to Port she was born on Vancouver Island in Victoria , same place as Rich, so we all had a good chat on the way over.

Waiting on our side to take the ferry to the other peninsular
in the distance. It was a spectacular day!
Loading up the bikes, it is a common thing to do, Rachel has a bike rack fitted to the back of her boat
The start of the ride from the other side at Portobello
That is Dunedin city in the far distance.
There is a hole in one golf platform out in the harbor for a bit of fun, we had no clubs but the boys had a go anyway 🙂

We made it into Dunedin for a late lunch and spent some time before heading home cycling around the University. Luca in love, he said he wished he could skip high school and just head straight to Uni 🙂 It is an inspiring place, full of old buildings that are beautifully maintained.

The kids made the most of the last bit of the holidays. I came home from work to find the house transformed into a blanket hut…

They were allowed to keep it up overnight and into the next day, then I kicked them outside and made them make another one outdoors 🙂

The boys liked the set up so much that they slept out there the night. They lasted the whole night, not sure how much sleep was had, but they had fun. The last thing Rich and I remember was them running about outside with torches. It was the first time either of them had camped outside without an adult .

Another first for them both was, they took the bus into the city together, changing 4 times to get where they were going. They managed just fine, we are proud of them!

Pizzas have been enjoyed by all , while watching classic movies…

Outdoor dining….

rolling down hills…

lots and lots of Lego building…..

and relaxing…

made for a very nice last few days of the holidays 🙂

This came up on my feed recently and it made me think of our place, if you change the “she”, for a more gender neutral term 🙂 Rich does it just as much as I do , if not more!