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!