Now the sunny walk in 360!

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Cause-way between Murrays Bay and Mairangi Bay


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Murrays Bay


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Walk between Rothesay Bay and Murrays Bay

Sunny Walk to Mairangi Bay Pt 2

Tom cheered up when I mentioned ice-cream from Paper Moon cafe who officially are the most generous ice-cream providers ever. Huge  amounts and very tasty! The cause-way from Murrays Bay to Mairangi Bay is very popular with the boys as they love climbing the rocks and looking in the rock pools.  When the boys got their ice-cream, we had to get our coffee from Rhythm Cafe as its simply the best, I am getting complaints from my wife as I morealess go there everyday for a coffee.  May need to cut back, but it really is amazing. On the way back we bumped into another CBS family and their son, Angus, who is in Alex's class so they had a play on the beach for half an hour while we spoke about the Rugby World Cup.  It really has been a wonderful tournament with particularly the All Blacks who have got us hooked into their amazing rugby. However, England has started to play well so you never know!  As we hit the final stretch Tom started to get very excited and became our guide although he really has a poor sense of direction i.e. he guesses which way next.

Sunny Walk to Mairangi

It was a gorgeous day and it was finally warm so we hit the road.  While we organised scooters, socks and shoes, Alex and Sam played on the swing discussing Pokemon. They had a disco the night before with the theme of the Rugby World Cup hence the tattoo on his cheek.  The conversation continued down our road with Tom attempting to chip in with his limited knowledge.  Oli has been very ill recently and walked with mummy pretty much the whole way. He did briefly sit down with a smile on his face.  Although it was beautiful Tom was not satisfied with the weather as it was making him hot!

New clearer 360 tour of our house!

http://www.dermandar.com/p/dQEoOb/living-space

Click on to see our 'clearer' living space.

Now try our bedroom and view.

http://www.dermandar.com/p/dnbHIe/our-bedroom-and-view

Mummy and Daddy escape!

We were able to get tickets for the NZ vs Japan game in Hamilton, a 90 min drive away, at 8 pm on Friday.  Fortunately we were able to find some lovely people to look after the boys, a massive thank you to Harley & Lisa, Emma and Campbells Bay School.  We were able to leave school at lunchtime and get to Hamilton early enough to find a parking space and collect our tickets.  Whilst we were collecting our tickets we overheard a conversation on another desk of possible accommodation, we failed to find any, and enquired.  One room left in the Ibis and our escape had taken a fortunate twist so we moved the car to the hotel and we were able to enjoy the night without worrying about getting back late at night.  It also meant that we can enjoy Hamilton and have a few beers, essential for a rugby game!  The hotel was in a great position being in the city centre and next to the Wakaito river.

The Wakaito stadium was about a 20 min walk from the hotel and it was great to walk with all the fans as there was a great atmosphere with a 30,000 sellout. On our way around the stadium looking for our gate the All Blacks arrived on their bus and to our amazement the coach driver opened the luggage compartment and made the team find their bags! Can't imagine Wayne Rooney doing that! Wouldn't you get the bags out for you national heroes? Unbelievable.  The game was amazing with All Blacks being able to enjoy their free flowing rugby scoring 83 points with Sonny Bill Williams have a blinder when he came on - awesome.

We were able to head home in the morning feeling relaxed and spoilt.  Could get used to this! Next up is tickets for England Vs Scotland, should be a cracker.

Our deck

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Click on the link.  When the picture comes up, click and hold the mouse button on the picture.  When you move the mouse, you can look around!

Now try our living area.

Living area

World Cup Day Three

Another awesome day today, although the weather nearly ruined it. When we woke up it was hammering it down and the thought of being sat in open stadium with three children was a slight concern.  However, we left in high spirits to meet our friends who kindly cooked a barbeque and we had facepaint done etc.  Fortunately the rain held off and we arrived full of optimism for the Italians.  Tom was particularly in the mood screaming at them, I quizzed on why he was so aggressive with them.  He replied coldly, "They are rubbish and need my support".  Oli is a little more relaxed and enjoying singing but not the odd shower we had.  The Aussies proved too strong in the end and scored three tries in the second half and looked good.  Tom simply shook his head, "Italians - not good enough."

World Cup Day One pt 2

The play area was a saviour and it kept the boys entertained for hours, the trees helped also as bases.  Oli is now getting used to daddy being annoying with the camera wanting more than one photo and now gives many more poses per shot.  Once the fireworks had finished there were lots of lights coming out of the city and it looked incredible.

Day One of the World Cup

The boys were extremely excited about today and were wanting to have a photo taken with the All Black's flag first thing in the morning!  Will work on their loyalties to the english flag!  We had a fantastic day at school as the whole school was brimming with a world cup atmosphere with colourful outfits and facepainting.  It was topped off with Sir Brian Lochore, ex-All Black captain and coach of NZ when they were the world cup winners in 1987, visiting to talk to the staff and the children.

We wanted to go to Devonport for the opening ceremony fireworks but unfortunately the transport system collapsed under the strain of 100,000 people arriving from overseas.  After sitting in traffic for 45 mins and moving about three feet, the children started moaning so it was time to a do a U turn.  Fortunately we knew of another possible location to see the fireworks in Birkenhead where another smaller ferry heads to Auckland.  It was a great choice as it was quiet with a play area and so we were able to hang out there for a couple of hours with Duncan and Katrina.  Oli and Tom were happy being chased by Zoe and Jorja while Alex was happy to disappear with mummy and Karina for an hour and half to get some fish and chips.  It was a beautiful night, perfect for the awesome firework display which to see being performed over entire city was a sight to behold.

World Cup Fever!

With less than a week to go to the world cup, we thought we better check out all the event stuff in the city.  Initially we were disappointed that we couldn't get to the 'cloud', not open till Tuesday, but found the route to the Viaduct Events Centre was now full of restaurants, play areas and an awesome fish market with excellent fish and chips!  There was all sorts of cool arty stuff too.  Whilst we were there our friends, Scott and Emma, were in the city at the same time so we met up with them in Myers Park.  The boys were not too impressed with us walking from the car park, in Metro City, down to the docks and back up again, so when we went to the park they read their newly purchased, 75% off, books.  Love the 3D glasses Oli!  On our walks Oli loved the VW parked on the side. Also, on our way back the bridge connecting the route on the Viaduct lifted for a couple of boats which got everyone excited.  We were really impressed with the changes they have made for the World Cup and it has opened whole new section of the harbour.  However, it still felt like they weren't quite ready as there was still a lot of building etc but it was massively busy and every restaurant was full.  I also included a recent picture of the beach I drive past everyday, a tough life.