Playing in the Wellington heat wave

It’s been scorching in Wellington this past week (and after acclimatising to warmer temperatures in our year and a bit living in southern California) hubby and I have been LOVING it!

This was my view the other day (from the shelter of a beach tent – weighted down with driftwood) of my hubby and youngest daughter going off to play. I truly believe that play is integral to our happiness – not just for children, but for us old folks too!

It’s been beach tastic weather, with only a smidgen of a breeze (just enough to keep the sailing fraternity happy) and the perfect end to the summer school holidays (most schools in our area return on Monday, beginning of next week).

Our two oldest girls returned to school this week (more about that in this post), but our last few days of the holidays were spent lapping up the good weather.

‘Lapping up the good weather’ for our younger two, means everything outdoors – be that playing in the surf, gadding about on horse back, doing flips on the trampoline or climbing trees.

Our eldest daughter prefers to seek out the shade, and only venture outdoors when the glare of the sun has lessened its flare. She enjoys the quiet, cool, peace of her bedroom (aka ‘her cave’) and a walk to the local bay in the early evening. In between her moments of solitude she giggles with her friend next door, works on teaching our puppy a few tricks and sings away to her favourite songs.

The outdoor speakers are amped up most evenings, the bi-fold doors fully open, and the flow from indoors to outdoors ever enticing. We have a couple of trapeze bars strung up outside our living area, near the speakers, and the girls frequently spend hours doing daring stunts to the music. Neighbourhood friends come over to play and cardboard boxes have been strewn around the garden, along with balls, toy cars and a multitude of plastic animals. It’s been a month or two of wonderful outdoor, creative play and it’s been a bittersweet week with our older daughters returning to school.

But though the school holidays are over, the longer daylight hours of summer are with us for a good month or two yet. We shall make the most of it, and continue to ease into the routines of starting a new school year, with plenty of outdoor play in the evenings and weekends.