Campbells Bay School Pt 2

My head at Campbells Bay is very busy and he took the picture of Queen Mary II arriving into Auckland Harbour.  

All the children helped to weed our community forest including Alex.

The views from Campbells Bay are stunning and everytime I am on lunch I have to pinch myself.  The kids spend the lunchtime describing all the islands in the background to me and how to get there.  "Get a boat Mr B."  I'm sure Fran would love one!

Fantastic Friday! Pt 3

We thought we were finally on our way home until Ollie spotted this park and moaned we never do what he wants!!  As you can see size means everything!  They sprinted to it as they were so excited.

After an hour Ollie disappeared and I couldn't find him.  I eventually found him curled up under a slide exhausted! A little how I felt!  It was time to go home but not before we checked out the beach.  Fantastic views as you can see the Sky Tower in the background.

Fantastic Friday! Pt 2

On our way back we decided we deserved a 'Movenpick' ice-cream.  The shop is in Mission Bay just outside the city centre.  It is one of 'the' areas to live and we could see why!  The water front is amazing and the boys loved the play area as well.  They were also strangely excited by the water fountain?!  If it had been hotter they would have definitely dived in.

Fantastic Friday!

I promised the boys that I would take them to another water park.  This one was about 40 mins away in Pakapue which is south of Auckland.  It was worth the extra 15 min drive as it only cost $5 for all of us to get in!! Incredible.  It was bigger than the other but it was a little cooler which meant we didn't last as long.  However the boys loved it.

On our way back we had a quick stop on the coast and they found a big tree to climb and play bases.  As you do.

Quieter Wednesday

Took it easy today and headed it out late morning to Pak and Save for our shopping but we were fortunate enough to walk into High School Musical at the mall!  The boys were initially keen to watch and dance but they soon waned and asked if they could have a doughnut! We then headed to Borders for a coffee and a book read where Alex tried to sneak a read of 'The Order of the Phoenix' he hasn't quite finished 'Goblet of Fire' yet.  As we headed home we decided we needed some fresh air so we went to 'Sherwood Reserve' in Browns Bay which seemed a quite nice suburb.

Busy Tuesday 4

As we left the marina we came across 'Lichen Reserve' and spotted the castle looking apparatus.

Alex had had his fill of play areas and sat on bench to finish 'The Goblet of Fire'.  Tom was still in full throttle and loved playing on everything!  Ollie had collapsed on another bench as he was hungry and tired but he soon came back to join in.

Busy Tuesday 3

On our way back we decided we wanted to see West Harbour as we always wonder what 

its like.  We ended up at the marina and decided to take lots of photos for Poppy especially

as there was so many boats for sell at cheap prices.  Food for thought Poppy.

The marina had a restaurant, shops and a dental clinic?!

Thought the top photo was fantastic as it has the sky tower in the distance as well, click on it to see! 

Busy Tuesday 2

The boys were very hungry and desperate so I felt under pressure to feed them quickly so we ended up in MacDonalds.  That's my excuse anyway. Pasta and vegetables for tea tonight!  The play area was so huge I could never get them at the same time.  They played in there for an hour.

As we were leaving we noticed a spiders web type apparatus so we headed in that direction and played there for another hour.

Busy Tuesday

I promised the boys a water park so we were up early and at Mt Albert Aquatic Centre by 9.45! Just as well as it got really busy.  It was great to see the boys swimming again and there were many pools for Tom and Ollie's age to swim around in. Importantly there was a hot spa for us to warm up in and a water slide for them to get their 'rush' when they needed it!

There was another 'Chipmunks' nearby so it would have been rude not to check it out.  It was busy but the boys insisted on giving it a go. Ollie loved the big slide with loads of children on it and was doing lots of dramatic rolls and somersaults crashing into people. He is the blur in the picture! 

Rainy Monday

It was our first all rainy day today.  On our way to Chipmunks Alex decided he wanted to add to the blog - his style!  I thought his shot of the palm trees sums up our sub-tropical climate.  Chipmunks was busy but it wasn't too bad so we stayed for a little lunch and hide and seek.

The boys had NZ hotdogs which looked interesting, they ate it all so they can't be bad.  We finished our day in the mall on the hunt for a bargain and ended up having smoothies and ice-creams.  Alex was blown away by the amount he was given and the free cookie.

Omaha trip Pt 5

Matakana is 10 mins drive from Omaha beach.  Its a beautiful country village with a great shopping centre with everything you need.  The boys were impressed with the fish and were given food to feed them.  Next to the cinema is an excellent ice-cream/coffee shop, their smoothies are amazing and the boys enjoyed sitting half in and half out the shop.

Everyday was great so we were able to get in some mini-golf which was an experience!  Ollie is officially a lefty now and wouldn't listen to me and Tom did exactly as he was told and was fairly successful.  Alex did well as he has played before and said he now loves golf.  Plenty of courses here so it shouldn't be a problem.

Even though the weather was great the boys were desperate to see 'Monsters vs Aliens' so we gave in.  The cinema was fantastic as it had its own unique style and the seating was amazingly comfortable, I nodded off!  The boys loved the movie and now want all the characters.  Of course MacDonalds have them with every happy meal!! Damn.