End of year stuff

We moved into the Hines which gave us the freedom to move stuff out slowly and the pool keeps the boys very busy, so much so that Tom got an ear infection!

Fran and I went to a winery to see Simple Minds and Devo. Less said about Devo the better. Simple Minds were fantastic.

The boys were on a tennis camp for the week and really enjoyed it, so much so that Oli might want to carry on. Alex won an award for most improved and Oli came second in his group overall.

Looking after Milo has encouraged us to go out everyday for walks which is great but I won't miss the dog hair that gets everywhere!

The parents of CBS were fantastic and gave me lots of fantastic gifts including a $100 voucher for deep creek where the ribs are out of this world.

We eventually emptied our house and the container left full, couldn't fit our garden furniture in. We have too much stuff.

We sold our house for a good price and leave very excited about our new life!

Christmas visit to city

Santa was a huge hit and we were with him for about ten minutes, it was almost uncomfortable! After receiving our Xmas baubles we headed off to the store cafe for a late morning tea and headed out to spend the boys Xmas money. No surprises they bought games for the PS3 - Lego Lord of the Rings and Ben 10. However, Tom went for Diary of a Wimpy kid boom and a robofish!

We tried to take a massive bauble from the centre of the Auckland but unfortunately it wouldn't budge. We then went to see The Hobbit in 3D with the high frame rate and was amazing, as good as the LOTR movies maybe better?

We finished the day by catching the ferry back and having fish and chips in bean bags on the common in Devonport.

Christmas Trip to Auckland city

We got up bright and early to get the ferry at Devonport, it was a beautiful start to the day. The ferry was a quick and easy way to get into the city, still love it when you dock and see the skyscrapers.

We made our way up Queen Street towards Smith and something to see Santa. We had to queue for about an hour but it was well worth the wait. The enchanted forest was simple but very effective with lots of white lights on trees which led you to Santas grotto.

Staying at the Hines!

We were very fortunate that our friends Dave and Doerte allowed us to stay at their house to look after their dog Milo. This made the move out of our house a lot easier and the swimming pool kept the boys very busy!

We have been busy sorting things out before we head down south, although we have had many opportunities to have afternoon tea from Wendys and have a reindeer ice-cream!

Another year without a tree but we are doing our best to get into the festive spirit by wearing Xmas hats and watching Christmas movies such as our favourite Elf and Arthur Christmas.

Milo has kept us busy by making us go out everyday for a walk, he is a very cool dog but very hard work. The idea of a dog has taken a big hit!

Interview in Queenstown

Still shocked that I got an interview, I travelled down with more realistic eyes. Fran came on the last visit and we were just blown away by the beauty etc and came back dreaming about skiing and its physical location of being surrounded by mountains. It suddenly dawned on us that QT is a bit of a mini Vancouver, which is where we wanted to originally emigrate, very mini but...you get the picture!
Returning meant that I could put that all to the side and focus on the reality of living there. Hence the pictures are not all pretty scenic shots...
But the school looked amazing, not even two years old with amazing architecture and next to the lake. A two hour interview but the Principle was lovely and it seemed to go well. I checked the events centre which has an Aqualand which will be popular with the boys. I meant an estate agent who took me on a three hour tour and the house are about $150,000 - $200,000 and there is good choice which is a bonus. The weather wasn't great on the last day but that didn't stop me taking in the sights one last time just in case it is my last. Fingers crossed.

Boys Day Out!

Mummy refused to come so it was time to dress! Armageddon is a video games expo where people dress up as their heroes and Tom felt completely at ease strolling around the show. They were pleased that they got to play all the games they wanted. The bonus was a stall on Nerf where they tried Laser tag and big guns. Four hours was the limit though and some of the costumes were starting to get a bit dodgy!

Trip to the City

Fran and I collected our Marathon numbers and shirts in the city. It was a beautiful night so we stayed out and visited the play area on the wharf. We later went to a fantastic Indian called the Urban Turban, awesome nan bread selection and mini curries for the boys.