Shades of Summer

Summer is really forging its way through in short, sharp bursts. This past week we’ve snapped every sun-filled opportunity to delight in our favourite pastimes that good weather allows for. After school last Monday I took the girls down the waterfront for a big ride on their bicycles and some time to view the world from a fresh angle… hanging upside down:

Sophie and I made the most of one sun-filled day to visit the Wellington Botanical Garden and see the first rose buds blooming. Ah, the scent was sweet!

And we visited our favourite ‘Guppies’ swimming in the pond at the Begonia House, made a wish (Sophie wouldn’t tell me her wish incase it didn’t come true – but my ears heard something along the lines of, ‘I wish for my own horse one day’ – uh oh, Daddy O best start saving!), and chuckled at the fluffy ducklings by the waterfall in the Peace Garden.

We’ve even enjoyed our first beach picnic, which involved consuming gigantic strawberries, kite flying and beach tag with friends, who were celebrating their youngest son’s 2nd Birthday (fabulous day for it!). Sophie thought it would be amusing to watch her big sister’s reaction whilst letting go of her kite… mmm, Charli wasn’t best pleased! She’d won the kite at the fun-fair on Thursday night. Dan was supervising and said it was no accident that Sophie let Charli’s kite go. It went flying at a great rate of knots out to sea. Thankfully, a very kind kayaker volunteered to retrieve it (whilst also saving unsuspecting marine life that would have got tangled up in the kite string) and tears were quickly mopped up. Sophie really does have a wicked sense of humour and is very into experimenting to see what reactions she can provoke from those around her. She clipped a peg to Dan’s trouser pocket this morning and it wasn’t till I saw him running for the bus that I noticed! I generously spared him the humiliation of walking into a meeting with a peg attached to his rear; but he then went on to do the same trick to a colleague! Like father like daughter.

Charli and the giant strawberry:

Over the past weekend we have enjoyed mini-golf, horse-riding and swimming, finished up on Sunday evening with having friends around for a BBQ.

We really have been packing in the fun, in between working very hard. Dan is very busy and his company, YouDo, is really growing and doing so well, at only two year’s in. And I am always busy in the home, running around after the girls.

Thankfully, Sophie is settling into morning Kindi and I am enjoying a little more time to attack the many jobs I have ‘to do’ in the home and garden, as well as preparing for Christmas and baby! I also enjoyed the opportunity to meet up with a wonderful lady from Ireland who has recently come to live in Wellington. We enjoyed a brisk walk along Lyall Bay, after a coffee at Elements, and a great natter. She had contacted me via the blog, which is always nice. I’ve even had time to fit in a much needed hair-cut. Charli has had another attempt at cutting her own hair (the last time was with drastic results at the age of four). She had been twirling her long fringe, which she was growing out, and told me it had got so knotted that she thought the best solution would be to cut it… but she cut it right at the roots! She now has a very spiky, short fringe, just in time for tomorrow’s school photographs!

After the most recent Charli ‘scissor hand’ experience we have found a hair-band covers the spikes nicely. The girls requested a ‘make-over’, complete with curly hair and a touch of lip gloss (most unlike them!):