Wellington Trip || Camping Fun!

As I mentioned previously, cyclone Lusi was forecast for the lower North Island during the time we were camping down there in March. Saturday night after the wedding was quite blustery but the tent held up all right.

On Sunday, the weather seemed normal and we went to church and continued life as usual. Dad went to the office to see what the options were if the weather got bad during the night and we couldn't stay in the tent. We were given the key for a lodge. 

 In the evening while Jarrod was cooking dinner (butter chicken!), the rain got heavier and the wind got stronger; the ends of the tent were blowing in with the wind gusts. We all went to the kitchen for dinner, planning to start the bedtime routine once we were done. At one point Jarrod went back to the tent to get something, and when he came back he told me there were about 10-12 leaks, maybe more. She thought, "Yeah, right. He's exaggerating." 

When she went back a bit later there were leaks nearly EVERYWHERE and all the bedding was starting to get wet. Then started the made scramble to pack everything up as fast as possible! A few of us older ones helped while Dad stayed with the little ones to keep them settled. (A French tourist couple made them popcorn, so they were happy!) Dad ended up loading most of the others in the van and taking them up to the lodge, then transporting everything out of the tent and taking it up as well. We were still disassembling the camping bunks and stretcher beds (while holding the torches . . . ) after we heard a pole snap and one end of the tent completely caved in. Finally though, only the fridge (borrowed from Nana) was still in the tent. It's amazing how light it (apparently) seemed that night when Mum and Dad carried it through pouring rain across a couple or so tent sites and into the kitchen. We all headed up to the lodge then to get beds made up and little people into bed. Dad and Jarrod went back to pull the tent down a bit later since we didn't want it completely destroyed during the night! 

Initially we were given one night free in the lodge, but our hosts were amazing and ended up allowing us to stay in it until the Thursday -- the full duration of our planned stay. 

The two windows on the lift look into the kitchen; the doors to their right and the large windows facing the dining room lead to the large dining/lounge type room. And on the other side of the block wall? A pretty fancy barbecue! ;)

Windows on the right are the kitchen, then the main entranceway is to the left. The three sets of windows all lead to bedrooms (there are seven bedrooms in total, three shown, three opposite, and one down the far end on the left.

Kitchen! Now that is more my size! haha :)
The stack of muesli boxes? Apparently the price was a deal you'd never see in Auckland so we stocked up. ;) And I guess someone was bored, hence the pyramid. lol

Okay, so I don't normally post photos of bathrooms! We had two like this though, three loos and two showers in each. And lovely BIG mirrors that the bathrooms we used while camping didn't have! 

Big hallway! Kitchen on the left, entranceway farther down on the left, bathroom on the right, and bedrooms through the doorway in the centre.

Lots of tables and seating!

Entranceway and coat hooks. (When we got back from the tent on Sunday night there were bags all over the floor here -- but all the children's jackets were hanging up! {smile}

Hallway and bedrooms

Not very many good photos of the rooms I'm afraid. This is (obviously) the boys one. Four rooms had two sets of bunks each, two had one bunk set and a single bed, and the end room was much larger and had four sets of bunks.

Church Picnic || Cornwall Park

March 1st saw a number of people from church gather at Cornwall Park for the day. Hooray for having too much gear to fit in one vehicle; a good drive by oneself is always good. ;)

We enjoyed a picnic lunch of filled rolls and bacon and egg pie (someone remind me to put curry or something in the pies next time, okay?) and set up volleyball and swingball.

Don't you just love our net? Initially they'd tried slinging blankets over the rope between the trees, but found it was difficult to play when the ball kept disappearing on the other side of the blanket. [smile] Occasionally the ball got caught in the tree but for the most part this was a great makeshift net!

Lunch. And the barbies are ready for dinner :)

Swingball: Amelia, Keith, Megan

During the arvo more sports were played and many of us walked up the hill (some more directly than others lol). While we were walking up we found a really steep patch (the path was next to it but hey . . .) so think: "Run up, slip, slide down." Haha.

People often use these rocks to write things. Here our group made F.P.C. (Free Presbyterian Church)

We finished the day with a barbecue dinner and group worship, by which time it certainly didn't feel like summer any more. :P 

Camping Trip to Mototapu Island

My dad and three of my siblings went with some other people from church on a tramping trip for two nights to Mototapu Island {to welcome in the new year?}. We took them to the ferry terminal on the morning of Thursday, January 2nd, for their trip to Rangitoto Island. At low tide it is possible to walk between the islands, which is what they did. It was meant to be a three-hour walk but took them five hours! I don't think any of them have written anything about it yet, but here are some photos from Monique's camera.

Umm yeah, that's only for four people and they had to carry everything. !!

Leaving . . .

Great views by the looks of things!

A rest

Campsite down below

Wow tidy campers! :P haha

Communion - Friday

: : Bryce awaiting lunch : :

Written 13.6.12

After we arrived home from church on Friday morning, Mum received a call from Mrs. Smith inviting us to have lunch with them. Farewell to all plans of doing school work that afternoon!

: : Maria eating : :

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Rayner made a roast (beef I think?) with carrots, broccoli, potatoes and gravy. I think Diana and Bryce were too keen to play with the Smith children to bother eating much; we older ones really enjoyed it though! =)

: : Main table : :

After we’d finished eating that, Mrs. Smith brought out a Banoffie Pie and cream, which we quickly consumed!

We talked for a while, until Mum decided we should leave. 

 : : Diana (6) and Amelia (5) : :

: : Keith (5 months) and Laura (2 months)  : :

: : Mrs. Smith and Mum : : 

Communion - Thursday

Written 1.6.12

This weekend is communion at our church; that means a service Thursday morning, Thursday night, Friday morning, Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Monday morning. Actually I think there are a couple of prayer meetings too... Most services are about 1 ½ hours long, but Sunday morning will be more like 2 ½. Lots of practice for young children learning to sit quietly!!

We actually don’t go to all the services, but it still takes enough time that I don’t get much school work done. I can’t remember the last time I did a full day of school work. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I can even remember what a full day of school work is. Hmm, might need to do some on Saturdays as well!

Due to the fact that we no longer all fit in the van (we have eight seats and eight children), one of us either has to catch a ride, or not go. So Thursday morning Danielle went to work with Dad.

We couldn’t stay long to talk after church (I reckon it was too cold to stay anyway!!!); the Campbells were coming to give Jarrod and Monique their violin lessons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written 13.6.12

Most of us had lunch, Mum took the van for a WOF, the Campbells came and went (taking Jarrod with them to pick up some kittens from the SPCA; they would drop him back later on), I attempted some school work, Mrs. Bramwell rung to see if it was a suitable time to drop in for a chat, and finally, Mum arrived home.

The Bramwells did come over; my siblings enjoyed the chance to play with their friends!

Then there was washing to get off the line and dinner to make before I went to Bible Study and the others went to church.

Church Picnic at Cornwall Park



Left to right: Maria (2), Mum, Mrs. Smith & Keith,
Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. de Boer

My dad organised a church picnic/BBQ at Cornwall Park for lunch on ANZAC Day.
Only a few of us went - the Smiths, de Bruins, de Boers, Mrs. Campbell, and us.
Personally I found it a bit cold (when isn't NZ cold tho!?) but the sun was nice!! lol

So yeah we had food (hehe the best part!), walked with the little ones to the hill you can see in the center of the photo on the left a few times, talked(!), later Mrs. Campbell, the de Boers, de Bruins, my dad, Monique, and Bryce left. Mr. Smith went to his car to prepare for the service that night, and took Amelia with him because she was really tired! The remainder of us went for a walk around One Tree Hill.

Dieuwe de Boer and his girlfriend Amie,
with my lil' sis Laura



Ok so my hair looks like the wind's been at it,
but otherwise I kinda like this photo!



Anne Roos and me



Anne Roos's dog Teasle



Amelia and Diana



Walking

...

Ok I need to do some serious blogging, but for now I'll just give you a quick update on what I've been up to, before I go to bed.

On Thursday night (about 11:30) my sister Monique (10yrs) had some kind of seizure, which lasted about five minutes. She went to Kidz First (Middlemore Hospital) by ambulance not long after. On Friday morning (in hospital) she had another, worse, seizure. She was admitted for the weekend, and as she had to have someone 16yrs + stay with her 24/7 Mum and Dad took turns staying with her, and they organised a few other people to spend a few hours with her. So Friday and Saturday I made dinner, looked after my siblings and basically kept the house running (actually either Mum or Dad was around most of Saturday to help).
On Monday she and Dad went to Starship (Auckland Hospital) for an EEG (some kind of test). We found out yesterday the likely diagnosis is Beneign Rolandic Epilepsy. They arrived home Monday afternoon.

I also baked on Monday - for Tuesday.
Tuesday I had a flute lesson, and we sat our tramp(olining) badge. I passed Level 2.
Straight after tramp the Aikens' came to our place for afternoon tea, and I did the Chapter 2 Test in my French book with Mrs Aiken (yay passed that really well too!) =)
Just after Dad arrived home from work his cousin, Marie, popped in to say hi (wow the last time I saw her must have been when Maria was born?!?).
And Tuesday, Wednesday and tonight I have been for a driving lesson...Dad keeps teasing me that all the cops start patrolling the roads when I go for a lesson!

This afternoon the rest of my family went out for music lessons, so I had a lovely couple of hours on my own. Then my family, and my cousins arrived.

Now its past bed time, so I think I better go to bed so I can do school work, and bake for the supper after the induction of our minister at church tomorrow night.

G'night =)
Luv Bee

30 January to 4 February

Hi again!

Sunday we had the main communion service, so it started at 11am, and didn't finish until about 1:30/2pm.
When we got home (I think) we had roast chicken (made by Chef Uncle Pete!).
And church again at 7.

------------------
Monday was a public holiday, so after church we went to Omana Regional Park with our cousins, and Anne Roos and her brothers - Auke and Dieuwe whom we picked up, for a bbq. After the EVENTUALLY eating, the others played soccer (while I sat in the car txting!), then we all played cricket.
Then it was home time.

That night (after the others had been put to bed), we got all Bethany's stuff together and packed it; while watching Ever After.
------------------
And Tuesday morning we got up just before 5am (or I did, I think the others got up earlier!)  and took Bethany to the airport, to check in by 5:30! Since we got there later than we had planned, we missed out on breakfast at McDonald's =( ah well.
Yes, when we got home I did go back to bed, and woke up to Mum saying "oh no, you've got a flute lesson in five minutes..what shall I do?...*thinking*..I better ring your teacher.." That would've been at 10:55, but I went back to sleep, and when I got up later, found out that my flute lesson had been changed to 4pm...which was good cos I was wide awake by then, and was able to play much better than I otherwise would have.
Then that night at 5:30 we had athletics YYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!! lol
--------------------
Wednesday was spent at home, and that night we went to church cos we had a minister over from Aussie.
-------------------
Thursday was the Auckland Home Educators' Not-Back-To-School picnic at Cornwall Park.
One of my friends, along with some of her siblings and two of their friends brought their instruments and played some music for us. Thanks Wilsons and Campbells =)
And I saw a couple of other people who I hadn't seen for AGES, which was really nice.
The Scavenger Hunt was pretty cool too.
----------
Friday...ummm... another day at home I 'spose, most likely preparing for school and tidying up.

Okay I'm gonna leave it at that for this post.
Cya
Bee

Last week...Part 1

Monday last week (24th Jan) was a quiet day at home. (I think we probably played uno, etc!)

On Tuesday we went to the Auckland Museum, uggh (no I don't like museums lol!). It was kinda cool to see the native New Zealand bats though! (for those of you who don't know, I did a lot of study on bats a few years ago, and won 1st = in the Auckland Home Educator's Science and Technology Fair - in the observation category).
And they have four (live) rats in the children's section, which are so cute! One of the volunteers opened their cage while we were there too!!! lol

And that night we had athletics!!! - first night for the second half of the season. My age group (Girls 12+) did 100m, 200m, Discuss and High Jump.
We also found out that one of the coach's - a solo Dad of one son my age - had died earlier that day by electrocuting himself...so that kinda put a damper on things.

After athletics Dad took Bethany, another one of my friends - Rebekah, and I to a Cafe in Devonport for supper/dessert, after which we went for a walk along the waterfront.
Lol the cafe served hot chocolate in either a bowl or a glass, I decided to be adventurous and get the bowl! Which, of course, everyone else thought was a great joke. They kept teasing me about a straw not being big enough, and needing a garden hose ...etc...etc...etc...!

Wednesday was another quiet day at home, and that night Dad, Jarrod, Monique, Danielle, Diana and I went to athletics training while Mum took Bethany, Bryce and Maria to church.

Thursday morning we went to church at 11, and 7, and Anne Roos came over in between, while Mum went grocery shopping, and we watched a movie - Letters to Juliet, when the others got home we played uno before a quick dinner.

On Friday we went to the Sonnevelds' (homeschool friends) for afternoon tea. While there we tried target shooting (in the rain!) and yes, talked a lot.
Then it was dinner, and to church with Bethany and Uncle Pete at 7.
On the way back, we picked up the keys for work from Uncle Paul, but he wasn't sure if he had all the right ones, so we came home and got Dad's work keys, dropped me off, then Uncle Pete and Bethany went to work.
I then had to organise ironing..blah blah blah..and eventually got to bed just after midnight.

Bee

Communion weekend at church

Hey!

Sorry I haven't posted in AGES, we had no internet for a while (my guinea pig ate through one of the cords!), and then it decided to stop working completely - ie. we'd push the button to turn it on but nothing would happen. But now it's working again, so I'm gonna post. =)


Well, twice a year our church has what they call 'communion,' and people from all over NZ, and some from overseas come for it.
All my Mum's uncles and auntys come as well, and that is about the only time we see them.
So we had Mum's Uncle Joh (short for Johannes), and Aunty Jean over for dinner one night.

Neither pic is very good, but since at leaset one person is  missing in each, I'll give you both.

Kinda a short post, but it's a start anyway...

bye!

Bee