The King Of Bugz!

My friend Dawn has just left a comment on the last post asking if we get Weta here...talk about coincidence - look what we found in the watering can this morning!!

This guy was about 8 inches long!

Bugz!

Now anyone who knows me would say I'm not the type to enjoy a bug, but they would be wrong!

Since moving to our new home I have been lost every night in the wonderland that is our lush garden. It has some of the most amazing native NZ flowers, plants and trees and I am a little ashamed to say I haven't had much time for house work as I have been too busy going round the garden in awe!!

So I took some snaps of the little critters. I then found a fantastic website called Landcare Research which shows you photos of the actual bug and a description of what they do etc. So here is what I found so far:

This is a shell of a Chorus Cicada called the Cicada Nymphs. Looks pretty horrible but it is literally the shell, you can find these around the garden just randomly stuck to things! See below for what came out of the shell!

This is a Chorus Cicada, pretty standard insect in New Zealand. This guy was really big at roughly 2 inches long, and was making the most amazing sound. The sound of summer here is hearing these guys make the clicking noise (similar I suppose to how you would imagine the Australian outback to sound!). You can see the shell above - much prettier now I think!

Any New Zealander knows about these little guys - Ants. Some homes are plagued by these little guys, luckily for us they are happy outside on the decking or on the trees. The above photo was taken on one of the trees, I could trace them back over a long distance and the only seem to come out at a certain time of the night, go up and down this tree for hours and then disappear again!

Now this is an interesting one. I could see these all around the garden but couldn't work out what they were...and now I know! They are egg cases for the NZ Praying Mantis! All the cases were open so they were out but that would have been great to see all the little things emerge! Still not seen an actual Praying Mantis yet though.


This is one of my most favourite photos. It shows funny little bugs that have hairs growing from their bottoms, they are the cutest little things and if you touch them they can really jump! Soo cute but they are a garden pest sadly. They are called Passionvine Hoppers (Immature). On this photo you can see a moth type creature too - see below!

These cute little moths are actually the grown up Passionvine Hopper. As you can see above they gather all together and cause destruction to my plants!!

I'm sure most people recognise this guy! Yep, its a standard House Fly. For some reason he was just sitting there in the tree not up to much. The flies are horrendously annoying and cheeky over here, they land on you and don't let go even if you shake yourself inside out trying to get them off!

This little blue/green thing that is with the Passionvine Hopper is (and I think) a Steely Blue Ladybird. The colour was amazing and looked very much like it was made of Steel!

I met this guy today, as I walked up to the garage he was just making his way there too! A really big bug, I noticed him straight away and must have been 3 inches long, very bright colours and looked like he didn't want to be messed with!

So are you itchy yet??

I will no doubt see some more on my travels of the garden and take more photos, for now though I will leave you with this image. Its something I haven't wanted to know anymore about thank you!!!

Day One: Silverstream Kindergarten

Today was the first day back for most of the kids who go to Kindy, for some it will be the normal for them and for others it was the excitement of moving to morning sessions from afternoons (meaning they are getting older).

But for Bethany today was the first day of not only starting morning sessions, but also starting a new Kindergarten.

I have been secretly dreading this happening for a few weeks now. Since the holidays started in December I really don't feel like I have spent much time with Bethany, we have been so busy with the house move that our special time together that we normally have everyday has been interrupted. Also, now that she has started morning Kindy means she is well on her way to starting school soon - a scary thought!

At 6.55am this morning Bethany bounded into our bedroom fully dressed and ready to go, she was actually quite excited and wasn't at all interested in having breakfast. She just wanted to play with her new Spongebob Squarepants lunch back pack and wait by the door with her shoes on, it was a long 3 hours wait for her!

Arriving at Kindy was fine, we found the head teacher who I remembered from our previous visits. Sadly however she didn't remember us and didn't know Bethany's name. Also no peg for her had been created and the head teacher was in a bit of a flap with all that was going on. Fair enough though, first day back but it's not like we havent been before and we did show up an hour after session had already started!

Anyway, the morning was fine, we played, Bethany made some new friends and she even ventured off by herself a few times only looking back when she realised I hadn't followed! The Kindy is gorgeous, really nice new modern Kindy with the most amazing outdoor area. A huge sandpit and an even bigger play area - it was amazing, wish I was a kid again, I wouldn't know what to do first!

Things work differently now at the morning sessions and the children are allowed to sit and have 'morning tea' (which is a new thing for us) anytime after 9.45am, super but as the children cant really tell the time yet there were heaps of them wandering around not knowing what to do.

Bethany grabbed her food and sat with a lovely little girl. They talked and laughed, it was lovely to see. I always think its amazing how children have no inhibitions, wish we could do that as adults. I do also think that at some point in the morning a formal introduction to the class may have worked nicely, but sadly that didn't happen.

The only other part of the morning which I thought was really odd was Show and Tell. I know its something they do in America and I hadn't heard of it here till now, but basically it is as it says. Children are asked to bring something in and show it to the group and talk about it. Sounds great, but at the age these kids are not only did they not have the interest but it was clear it was too advanced for them right now. Fidgeting, bored children doesnt help anyone!

All in all though a super morning. Bethany REALLY loved it and I have no fears about her going there. She loved it so much that she has been telling anyone and everyone who will listen that she started new Kindy today. She even told a man who walked past us in the street as we were waiting to cross the road by shouting "excoose me, I started noo Kindy today"!!

Day two tomorrow, and we are looking forward to it. It's always difficult coming from an amazing Kindergarten like Brooklyn was and adapting to new ways, but I think she, erm we, will be all fine.

Pick A Memory

Do you remember the time before Digital Camera's?

You know, the time when you had to manually load a film into the camera and then after taking your snaps waiting up to a week to get them back!? We now live in the age where Bethany always asks me 'to see' after taking a photo, one day I will try to explain to her about it all but doubt she will understand!

So I'm sure everyone has packs of photos laying in a cupboard not really having any attention. As you know I love my photography and so it's just a sin to me to have all those magical moments sitting alone in the dark.

So we created a pin board, dug out all the old photos and had a night laughing, reminiscing and remembering some amazing times. Now they are all out for everyone to see...

Fish & Chip Lunch

Well, not exactly. But where else in the world do your colleagues at work go for a bike ride at lunch time, taking with them snorkel gear and a knife, only to come back after a swim in the harbour to catch their lunch?

Today a few guys from work went out, took a swim and came back with a few fresh Paua.

After being preparing and cooked in the office kitchen, it was handed out around the office. Seafood doesn't get much fresher than "20 mins ago it was swimming in the harbour!"

The Daily Commute

Since I started work in Wellington I was fortunate enough to be able to travel in with our ex-next door neighbour and good friend Mark. Now though it's a different story. I'm about 27Kms from work, which takes me now around 30mins door to door.

The other day though it was a different story. With the typhoon running through Wellington, the ride home through winds of upto 130Kmph wasn't pleasant, and made me wonder exactly what I'd signed up for.

Still, the decent days more than make up for it and cruising to work down State Highway 2 and not having to sit in queues of traffic is a bonus. I can't say however I'm looking forward to the same ride in winter!

Odds & Ends

Things have been quiet here. We are still unpacking boxes and today was the first day of putting up our much loved pictures on the wall. It's made a huge difference to the house already, making it feel more homely.

There is still heaps to do and we have literally just been at home everyday trying to get some type of order. My parents arrive in less than a month and we need it sorted before then!!

We have done the odd things like walking to the local play area, entertaining visitors (some of them not having a very good first experience), having BBQ's, and making bubble foam beards!

Next week we intend on going further afield and getting back to doing some of the stuff we are used to, I am starting to get withdrawal symptoms from not having my camera out all the time!!

Hurrah - It Rained!

I know that sounds funny coming from an English person - glad to see the rain, but its been hot and my pasty white body cant deal with it!

Everyone told me when we were moving to expect the Hutt to have warmer summers and colder winters - well jumping from a high of 25 degrees at our previous home to 35 degrees at our new one is a bit much! This was the temperature today at 11am!

At 8am this morning we were well on our way to 25 degrees and although that is fantastic, there has been no wind today, just hot, muggy weather and it's difficult to motivate yourself from the lounger in the garden.

New Zealand was issued with a weather warning yesterday as the threat of Tropical Cyclone Funa was heading our way. So far we have only had a light rain tonight - but heck it was needed, and the temperature has now dropped to a more manageable 26.

We have had a magical time with it though, Bethany had just got out of the bath and was so excited to see the rain, she dashed outside butt naked and danced, sang and had the funniest time enjoying the raindrops in her birthday suit!

Of course I headed out with my little camera and took a few shots of the first rain we have had in our new house. Little drops of beauty sitting on the grateful foliage in our garden.

Wait till winter comes round, that may be a whole different story completely!

Does My Bum Look Big In This??

Because Of You...

I often contemplate my childhood, Mam

I am a mother now, and so I know

Hard work is mixed together with the fun;

You learned that when you raised me long ago

I think of all the things you gave to me:

Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears

Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul -

All these you spent on me throughout the years

You loved me with a never failing love

You gave me strength and sweet security

And then you did the hardest thing of all:

You let me separate and set me free

Every day, I try my best to be

A mother like the mammy you were to me

I Love You, Happy Birthday xx

Here We Are!!!

Helllooooooo!!

Heck, its been a long hard week without the old blog that's for sure!

So we made it, yippeee! Telstra Clear decided to pull their heads from their bottoms and although we are still not officially connected, they have rigged something up in the meantime to keep us going. Which despite the frustration and disappointment from it all is now a very welcome thing!!

So all is great, we are loving our new home and honestly it feels like forever already, such a perfect place for us. The move went well, we enjoyed the day and everything went without trouble. The week has literally been filled with unpacking, however despite the many boxes we empty we still seem to have a million left! Visitors are warned to take to the guest room at their own risk!

Anyway, a short post from me right now, all is fantastic but it's been a long week with early starts and late nights, and so bed is calling. Here is a little picture montage I put together of our first week, hope you enjoy it.

Yey - I'm back in the blogging world!!

We Are In!

Well, we are, the boxes and all of our belongings are, but no TV, no phone, and worst of all......... no internet!

Thanks to Telstra Clear for once again not delivering the service we pay you a reasonable amount of money for each month. Their motto: Now's Good. Yes, now would be good, in fact, last week when you were scheduled to install the services would be better, but now would be good too.

Looks like it could be next week before normal service is resumed, so stay tuned for a full update coming soon.

Curtain Call

Well it's 11.30pm and we are still packing!

Tonight is the last night here and although I would like to say we are completely organised, that seems not so! I did just wanted to do one last post though before heading off into the world of unknown internet connections.

Had a great day today though, (my buddy Tondy will like this) - we have done soooo much! This morning I met my girl pals at Khandallah pool. Gorgeous little place with an outdoor swimming pool. Of course I wasn't even going to go near the water let alone get in it, especially when it isn't heated!

However Bethany had a great time playing with her friends!

Sadly chattering teeth took over so it was onto picnics and playing in the play area. We stayed a good 3 hours and had a fantastic time.

It's all been happening today financially too. At 10am this morning we became severely in debt! So it's been a day of many calls backwards and forwards between real estate agents, the bank and the lawyers, luckily for us NZ are on the ball with all this stuff so it was an easy process.

The weather had been as gorgeous as ever today, I managed to take a photo of the view from the window so when we get time later we can appreciate it!

Michael finished work at 2pm and we did heaps more packing, then finally headed up to our new home to collect the keys!! Here are some pics of the first trip to our new home...

And so here we are, a late night for Bethany and an even later night for us. Bethany is a funny little thing though - the highlights of her moving to this new house are:

1. Being able to ride in the front seat of the car with me
2. Having stones to play with at the house
3. Being able to sleep in our room tonight as we bunk down on the floor together!!

Bon voyage old house, you have given us so many amazing memories, our first NZ home will always be special, but now its onwards and upwards to an even more amazing home....