Birkenhead Ferry Terminal

As we have moved to a different area there are now places closeby we hadn't explored yet. Fran had recently driven through Birkenhead and so we decided to check it out. Firstly we went to the ferry terminal as there was a play area. The play area was great and the views even better!

Spiders Web

Whilst at Marlborough Park we nearly missed the Spiders Web as it was tucked away in a corner of the park. To be fair it was surrounded by mud which explains why nobody was there.

The boys have always loved the web at Saumarez so they had the skills to explore and enjoy. Their faces said it all.

Marlborough Park, Glenfield

1st September is official the beginning of spring. It felt like the end of spring with beautiful sunshine without too much heat, perfect to get out and check out some parks!

Marlborough park is right next to my football club, Glenfield Rovers and we noticed it a few times and were told it was great. Particularly pleasing for Alex was the basketball court as he is really into flippaball (mini basketball) at the moment. Behind Alex bouncing the ball is the mighty Glenfield Rovers, which incidentally we lost in the cup 2-1 yesterday so not so mighty anymore!

The one thing more than anything about NZ parks is the effort put into them to make sure they are clean and up-to-date. We are rarely disappointed.

One Tree Hill 2

After enjoying the apparatus for half an hour it was time for business. We decided we needed to walk to the top. All was happy for about 5 mins and then Ollie didn't want to walk any further, in fact he sat down and refused to move.

Alex did his Gandalf impression and inspired Ollie to soldier on, being carried by mummy helped a bit though, to the top. Once the boys could see the monument it seemed to spur them on and they started to appreciate the views, well... mummy and daddy did anyway.

One Tree Hill - Auckland

Daddy needed some new shoes so we went to the Dress Smart Outlet which is right by One Tree Hill. There is an amazing obelisk, which was erected to acknowledge all the hard work maori people have accomplished to make Auckland such a great city. The view is 360 degrees and totally awesome. It was well worth the walk up a very steep hill. Tom added his usual slant to the situation asking if there was a lift up! There is also a great play area which had a train that the boys loved. It had to be powered by pushing.... which our children are excellent at!

Chocolate biscuits, roasting marshmallows and ready for school!

Check out the weather! We have had a week of glorious sunshine, it is wonderful and warm. Our new house has a lovely open fire which is perfect for roasting marshmallows!

Tom and Ollie have now started school and loving it. We live about 10-15 min walk from school now which is great in a suburb called Forrest Hill. We are keen to get the boys used to walking to and from school as at the moment they moan!

Snowplanet

Tom and Ollie could have started school the day after their birthday but Fran understandably wanted a few days with them. She decided to try out Snowplanet as the skiing trip was so successful. They continued to love it but the difference here was that it was much colder than being on the mountain so they got colder quicker. They loved the carpet lift and sledged for about an hour and half. A fantastic way to spend their last day before 'big' school.