Did Somebody Wii?

A nice 14 degrees but with land and spirits dampened by the rain, it meant indoor activites for us today. Michael took Bethany swimming this morning, well I say 'swimming', they went to a place with water and had lots of fun!

We were all getting very tiresome of Bethany's games so we decided to invest in some news ones. Well that was the plan anyway.

After an hour of trawling the shops looking for some new and exciting games - for Bethany - we left Dick Smith with a Nintendo Wii!!

Excellent fun! For those of you who dont know you have wireless controllers, and the moves made on the screen are the exact movements of your own body and arms. All afternoon we have been perfecting our moves at bowling, baseball, golf and tennis.

But our absolute favourite is boxing (dont mention to Michael I KO'd him!).

Its a shame Bethany has to go to bed at 5pm tonight....

The Circle of Life

I'm going to try and write this post in a way that doesn't distract from the grief or the joy that has come in one day, I hope you understand.

In 1984 we took a family holiday to Holland, I was 5 and just loved our coach holidays. On this trip we met a very special couple from where we lived, called Harry and Audrey. They soon became my adopted Grandparents. We have spent some fantastic times together over the last 23 years.

Sadly, time passes quickly and yesterday I received the news that Audrey had passed away, with failing health taking its toll.

On the same day we also received some fantastic news that our friends Mark and Sheri gave birth to their first daughter Abbie Mae, beautiful news that we had been waiting for. We are so pleased for them and wish them all the love in the world. They are going to be amazing parents.

It was difficult saying goodbye to those we love so much when we left to start our new life, especially so when we knew that there would be some we would never see again.

But here we are, the circle of life, where as one beautiful life ends another amazing one will now begin...

Wellington's Own Roller Coaster

For those booked in to come and stay with us, you may want to skip this particular post!

Ok, you were warned...

Forget Disney Land, forget Alton Towers or any lame theme park, Wellington has the greatest roller coaster of all time. The thing is, you can't just turn up and ride it like a conventional roller coaster, you need a somewhat expensive ticket.

We've sat for countless hours by Lyall Bay, watching the action which is intensified with a strong cross-wind. Although you can't see the people going up and down, you can imagine how much fun they are having. Here's a clip we found on YouTube that should explain a bit more.

That Cooped Up Feeling

It's been two days without the car and although I said to myself I was happy to spend some time at home with my little angel, today cabin fever set in for us both.

Luckily for me, yesterday was a busy day as Sarah and Sophie came over and kept us company on the morning and then on the afternoon the Tuesday Ladies gathered at my house. This morning Susan called in on her way to the supermarket and we had a coffee and a chat which was great, but by dinner time if I heard Bethany say "find me mammy" one more time I was going to go crazy!

As I needed to go under the house to check out the fire wood situation anyway I thought it would be fun for us to have a little adventure. The weather although cold (a high of 11 degrees today) was still beautiful with the sunshine and blue skies, perfect explorer weather.

Our house sits on stilts as its built into the side of a hill and so there is a lot of space under there. Bethany headed off first looking for firewood but I kind of hung back knowing that some of those NZ spiders that we have found in our house could be lurking under there!!

After 'hide and seek', 'the balancing game' (walking around the retaining wall under the house) and 'find the toy duck' (which we found also under the house) we headed off to the main part of the garden for a good old game of football.

We had a great time exploring and playing with the Spongebob football and the two tennis balls we found, it was one of those times where the simplest of toys created the most amount of fun.

At one point I did wonder on the time and realised we had been out in the garden for nearly 2 hours!

I went inside and was soon beckoned out by Bethany who was shouting at the top of her lungs to "come see". There she was, in the hammock which she had dragged out of the under stair cupboard and setup herself!

Anyway, her enthusiasm didn't last long, after a few minutes I wondered where she was, I adopted a Bethany tone and started shouting down the stairs "Bethany, come help mammy with tea", and there was no answer, so I set off to find her...

Guess the fresh air was all just too much...

The Tuesday Ladies

In November last year I met 3 lovely ladies through Jenny. I was kindly welcomed and continued to join them on the Tuesday afternoon get-togethers, taking turns at each others homes, the children would all play and the ladies would chit chat about anything and everything!

We have been getting together practically every week since then, we had a brilliant Christmas get together for the kids (and for us with the bubbly!), we have had numerous trips to various locations like Junglerama and Staglands. We have even braved a night out on the town where we had a lovely meal and then boogied the rest of the night away in a nightclub!

You obviously know Jenny, Eddie and Vicky from previous posts, and so its time for you to meet the others.

Jo has two children, a beautifully shy girl who is nearly 6 called Sammy, and a really cute and mischievous little boy called Davey who is 3. Jo lives in a fantastic location that has the most awesome view of Houghton Bay.

Susan also has two beautiful children, a boy who is nearly 6 called Samuel and a gorgeous little girl called Sophie who has just turned 2. They live in a lovely suburb called Seatoun, with the house situated in a wonderfully private setting.

Joan has just one really lovable boy who is also nearly 6 called Jackson. Joan lives directly on the street below us and has a gorgeous house, with lovely landscaped gardens and a boat in the drive!

These ladies have helped me more than they realise. They welcomed me into their group and have treated me like I have always been part of their lives. The advice I have received, the jokes I have heard and the stories they have told are priceless.

Bethany has also extended her friendship network and has the most crazy fun with them all. She cant wait for Tuesday afternoons and helps me pick out toys she wants to play with when everyone arrives.

I am a true believer that people are brought into your life for a reason, each one of these ladies brings a different life, history and culture which has taught me so much, and I appreciate that immensely.

Thank you ladies, I cant wait to create more memories with you.

A Different View

One of the major factors when we considered moving aboard was the environment. Masses of mountains, vast valleys, blue seas and volcanic pools all appealed and ultimately influenced the decision.

Unfortunately when you work in the city, you don't get to see as much of it as you'd like. The view from home is awesome. We have the beach, the ocean and the mountain view at the same time. Plus if all the gets too much, we can just cross over the road and be in a nature reserve.

In stark contrast, the view from work is not awesome. Don't get me wrong, a seat with a view is great and is a premuim in the city, but it's not awesome. And it certainly isn't the scene set by the 100% NZ Tourism video. Still, I do get a patch of sky at the top so can check the weather!

The Used Car Saga

One of the things we never normally take out, is an extended warranty of any type. How often do you buy a new appliance/mobile phone etc and within 24 hours the phone rings, and the sellers are still trying to sell you more stuff.

Take for example Sky TV. Back in the UK we moved from NTL to Sky. Within 24 hours of the installation, the phone rang and the sales guy offered us an amazing deal for only £99.99 to insure the digital decoder against manufacturers faults or accidental damage. He quickly hung up after I reminded him it was covered by the manufacturer for 1 year for defects, and for accidental damage - a swift drop down the stairs and a call to the household insurance would sort that out. No need as usual for additional warranties.

That said, buying a car is a whole new issue. In the past I've had my good friend John Lane to advise me when buying 2nd hand cars. More recently I bought a new car so mechanically had no need for a consultant! However, when moving thousands of miles round the world, I found myself on my own with only the salesman to talk to. Luckily though, having spent enough time working in sales, I can see through the sales patter.

We spent a few days scouring local car yards for a new family wagon, and tested a few, and only one stood out.

After a couple of test drives and the decision to go with the warranty option, we bought the Subaru Legacy in the picture above. For the first few months it went fine, only going into the garage for some new front brakes. But that was the turning point! You know when you think "I won't go to the Doctors in case he finds something wrong with me?" Well, it was like that with the car. Coming out of the Subaru garage with the notion of Piston-knock, requiring a full engine rebuild left me with a sick feeling. Luckily, the all singing all dancing warranty would cover it all! Except oil. Except the belts needed changing. Oh, and while the belts are off, might as well change the bearings. Yeah, can't claim for those either.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the warranty paid for a little under $5000 worth of repairs. Not bad, in fact about 5 times the cost of the warranty. You'd be thinking that after spending that time and money on the car that would be it? Yes?........ Well, no.

Next came the death of the fuel pump in February. The car was recovered from the driveway to a garage in Newtown. A charge to the warranty company of $300 and we were on our way.

That wasn't it however. The Warrant of Fitness (WOF) was due 2 months back. For those back in the UK it's the equivalent of the MOT. We took it to a local garage and everything was fine. Everything except the gearbox mount. Nothing minor as usual, just the gearbox was not mounted to the engine. Anyway, that was fine, the warranty paid out yet again for another $400 worth of work.

That brings me to today, or what I've been referring to as the final straw. Marrisa was driving home when smoke developed from the engine and the car became un-drivable. It's now gone off to somewhere in the Hutt Valley and the diagnosis is a split radiator. Not just that though. In typical mechanic style they need to also "Replace radiator, check engine since over heating (although it didn't get chance to), check and possibly replace head gasket and the heater core could be blocked".

All in all, it's another $1000+ for the warranty company to pickup, and another few days without car for us. So the debate at the moment is, do we keep the car as most of it has now been replaced with new bits, or do we get rid and hope the next one is better?

The problem is... I actually like this car!

Winter? Here? Yesssss

So apparently its winter. Hell yeah!! Jeez man, who turned on the winter??

This morning started off quite nice, sunshine, and the most amazing rainbow which arched the whole of the house. Then as the sea grew darker and the line in the distance disappeared, the rain hit. Wellington weather is described as 'four seasons in one day' that is exactly right!

Luckily for us we had already pre-booked Story Place at Te Papa as it was Mataraki themed which I wanted Bethany to be part of. We went a few months back and she loved the story that was based on wild animals.

I met Sarah, Charlotte and Sophie there and luckily for us there were no other children, so it was like we had a private booking!

It was so much fun for the girls, they listened to stories based on the stars and the meaning of Matariki, they learned how the Maori people would know from the stars that it was now winter and so they would gather food from the sea and the land and place it into a hangi.

Bethany and Charlotte were able to catch the fish with rods from a bridge and then place into a pretend hangi which they covered (with cushions!) ready to cook.

Whilst they waited for it to be 'ready' they went and made some shooting stars and explored the land of Story Place further.

They then uncovered the hangi and pretended to eat!

It was finished with another beautiful story, such a magical time. Bethany and Charlotte emerged from Story Place wide eyed and full of wonderment at what they had just heard and learned.

Unfortunately the rain was still pouring and the wind was fierce when we left, and today we hit some bad luck. On our trip back home smoke started to pour from the bonnet of the car, yeah great, this was all I needed, and so typical on a bad weather day! I was unable to drive safely (and was worried it would burst into flames) and so had to stop. I managed to arrange a tow truck and off the car went to a garage to be 'checked out'.

Sarah so kindly came and rescued Bethany and took her back to our house whilst I stood out in the pouring rain feeling sorry for myself and waited for Jenny to come pick me up. I thank them both so much as it was today that I realised how alone I could have been in my time of trouble.

Sarah and the girls stayed with us for the rest of the afternoon and we had a great time playing games and watching the waves grow bigger in the bay.

Tonight we have already gone through 2 huge blocks of wood on the old trusty log burner, had to rescue the outdoor furniture from flying around the decking and watched our floor move up and down in our front room as the force of the wind outside rattles the house.

See, now that's what I get for being cocky!

Winter? Here? Nooooo

So apparently its winter. Well that's what we have been told, but today has been absolutely gorgeous. The sun has shone, the sky has been bright blue and the views have once again been crisp clear. Now our kiwi friends complain that 'its cold' but we are certainly doing well so far considering it is officially winter.

It reached 14 degrees today and yes if you were in the shade and those southerly breeze hit then you did feel the chill, but this compared to a British winter, and autumn, erm and spring....well, there is no comparison!!

So we made the most (as always) of the lovely day and headed off for a walk. For a while now we had been wanting to visit the Island Bay Marine Education Centre, and as we knew that today they had an open day we thought it was an ideal time to visit.

We took a fantastic stroll from Owhiro Bay all along the coast and into Island Bay (which is really only a 10 minute walk but with Bethany in tow, probably more 30!). Again the views to the Kaikoura mountains were awesome and Island Bay beach was beautiful.

With so much to look forward to Bethany couldn't wait to get there and started giving us flash backs to our own childhoods by asking 'are we there yet?!'.

The Marine Centre is situated right on the ocean edge and was just lovely, not as busy as we thought and jam packed with the most interesting and amazing sea creatures. The absolute best part thought were the 'rock pools' where you could actually pick up anything you see!

It was amazing to see so much and get 'hands on'. Bethany was quite brave and held the above scary looking creature for quite some time, asking why this and why that! We must have gone round at least 5 times re-looking at everything!

Afterwards we took a lovely walk back along the coast and as promised a stop off at the play area for Bethany!

We spent a lot of time down on the beach today, Michael doesn't get to spend as much time as us at the beach so its always good to go as a family and enjoy being spoilt in our wonderful new life. We all love the ocean so much, listening to the waves crashing is definitely the easiest way to unwind.

We of course know that the weather will change, we arrived to start our new life in September and I can distincly remember saying 'I didnt sign up for this!' as the weather was harsh. Especially more so in our house which is perched on a hill side in the valley where the Cook Strait wind is a mean force.

But for now we are not complaining of what seems so far like 8 months of summer to us!!