Opshop

Sorry the pictures are so bad which gives me a good excuse to get a better phone! For fathers day I got Opshop's new album and its currently number one in NZ. Fortunately they played at the Brownzy which is a pub down the road! The reason they play in small venues is because they are a kiwi band. It was a great set up and they were awesome particularly the lead singer. If you have never heard of them, go onto youtube and check out their single 'Maybe', brilliant.

Stanmore Bay

We visited our friends Kirsten and Damon, Fran's personal trainer, who have just moved house to Whangaporoa near Stanmore Bay. They have a lovely modern house which the boys loved exploring. We then went for a walk on the beach which the boys love because of the huge trees hanging off the cliffs. They make excellent bases!

Albany

Oli had to have a visit with the doctor as he had another allergy attack and ended in hospital because he was struggling with his breathing. Whilst Fran was with Oli I took Alex and Tom for a walk around Kell Park in Albany. There is a great Flying Fox which entertained us for half an hour, it is usually too busy to have a go so that was a bonus. We had never explored the walk before so the boys were ok with a 'short' walk but a book materialised towards the end! It was painfully slow getting back.

Lots of walking!

Our house is in such a fantastic location and we can go for lots of walks in all sorts of directions. No excuses so we have been getting the boys out on walks as much as possible. They are pretty good about it although Ollie can a bit of a challenge as he has realised what we are doing and refuses to move sometimes! The play area in Mairangi Bay is great although it can get busy but the boys like playing assassination which means sneak up on your dad and all jump on top of him! They are surprisingly good at it! Tom is easily the best walker, never complains and just gets on it although we do get the odd comment of what do we get at the end! With all three boys loving reading we often walk to nearby libraries, Browns Bay being the closest, and spend time there. Alex left with twelve books last time!

Dressing up for school and Playstation move rocks!

For school Tom and Ollie had to dress up as a character from a book. Tom decided on a Clone Trooper, donated by their cousin Charlie, which was a real surprise as he has hardly mentioned it. Ollie was a more predictable and decided on Batman using his comics, sent by Nanna, as inspiration.

Playstation Move has arrived. The boys hunted downstairs for some old games and traded them at EB games so they could buy it. Video games are hugely expensive here e.g. the new Medal of Honor game is $154!! Insane. The playstation move was reasonably priced at $109 so they could afford it by trading in about five old games, not too bad. They love it by the way. Alex particularly likes being a Gladiator holding a shield with one controller and a sword/hammer with the other controller, it is very cool!

Tom loves to read!

Tom has recently found a real love for reading and is constantly found reading a book somewhere in the house. He insists on reading out loud so everyone can enjoy it at the same time! Tom even wants Oli to read to him and then ask mummy and daddy to read to him as well. The only problem with Tom is that he is incredibly accurate and will say each word slowly, it takes hours!

Ice-Skating

Alex went to a birthday party in Avondale to ice-skate. He had such a good time that we decided to give it a go as a family and it was great fun. Fortunately they had some frames so the boys could hang onto them instead of falling over every few seconds! Alex was pretty good so he disappeared and left us to it. There was lots of colourful lights and loud music so Tom and Ollie were quite happy to stick at it for a while, particularly Tom who is a very determined character.