Charlotte took this beautiful photograph of a Cosmos flower in ‘Chicken’ Grandma and Grandad’s garden (she calls them ‘chicken’ thanks to the great animal sounds my Mum – a former primary school teacher – has made on frequent telephone calls between the UK and NZ!). Unfortunately for my parents the name seems to have stuck! […]
Charlotte
Country Cottages
Hampshire, Jane Austen country, is blessed with an abundance of country cottages. On my ‘most missed’ list of all things English country cottages come pretty high, along with country pubs. Today we snapped this beautiful cottage in the village of Dogmersfield. This is well known turf to me as I used to walk across the […]
Family Gatherings
We travelled to Bristol and back (from Fleet) on Sunday. When the British motorways are flowing they are fantastic. Charlotte and Sophie were in awe of the six lanes of fast-flowing traffic. They also enjoyed a stop-off at a British motorway stop, a little different to New Zealand where we plan our trip around various […]
San Francisco: A Perfect Stopover
Well, we’ve finally arrived in good ‘ole Blighty. It’s so wonderful to be here and so green and beautiful. We’re soaking up the beautiful countryside and I feel very much a tourist in saying it’s all so very ‘quaint’! It’s such a joy to drive through the tunnels of trees on the country lanes and […]
Cauliflower Nightmare
Charlotte woke at 5am this morning having a bad dream. She rarely wakes in the middle of the night these days and she picked the worse night to do so. I was really hoping she’d have a good night’s sleep. I went in to see her and she kept muttering, ‘Need cauliflower!’. She never eats […]
To my girls
Dear Charlotte, You are now four and make me prouder by the day. You are so brave and strong. When you fall you pick yourself up quickly and say, ‘I’m okay!’. You don’t want sympathy (even though I’ve always offered you my open arms to comfort you) and I admire your strong resolve to pick […]
End of Term and Both Girls at Home
Today was the first day of the school hols and it was quite strange to have both the girls at home for the day – though lovely too of course! Charlotte was quite sad at not going to Kindi, which I saw as a positive as she is definitely loving it. We’ve had a truck […]
Charlotte’s Fourth Birthday Party
Charlotte wondered into our bedroom around 2am this morning holding a helium balloon in her hand. I was feeling thick with cold and struggling to sleep and couldn’t quite believe my eyes. I told her it wasn’t morning and to be a good girl and go back to bed. An hour later Simba wakes us […]
Thick with Cold
We’re all coughing and spluttering here. Poor little Sophie has been hit worse and is desperate for sleep, but keeps waking up with a streaming nose and hacking cough. I took her to the doctors on Thursday, mentioning we were flying to the UK a week on Monday, but the doctor wasn’t very sympathetic, ‘There’s […]
Charli Loves Transport!
Now Charlotte’s four she’s not shy to speak her mind and it’s gorgeous to see her going up to people and ask a question (though sadly she isn’t always understood, so we have to stand by her side and translate – which clearly frustrates her, as she normally takes a few deep inhalations when this […]
I’m Four, I’m Four, I’m Four, I’m Four
Charlotte turned four years old today. Awaking to a smorgasboard of presents she was remarkably calm. Until the first present was opened that is. After which she simply wanted to get her hands on everything all the kind people had got her for her birthday. Sophie was dead keen to get a piece of the […]
Getting Ready to Party!
We’re counting down to Charlotte’s 4th Birthday party and over the weekend we started creating some ‘enclosures’ for our Zoo Party (but they might come in handy to contain the multitude of guests Charlotte is inviting!). Fortunately we had a few large boxes left over from our house move last year so we’re going crazy […]
Matariki Story Place at Te Papa
Story Place at Te Papa has been heavily booked recently, with ‘Matariki’ being the topic of discovery. We were so blessed to have an ‘exclusive’ session with friends Marrisa and Bethany (out of luck, not connections). But then perhaps the Gods were blessing us for the numerous contributions Family Lee have made to Te Papa’s […]
Extreme Sports Start Early in New Zealand
Driving along Jervois Quay, Wellington, at a weekend it is difficult to keep ones eyes on the road when children as young as three are hurtling skyward on a Vertical Bungy. Today it was our wee Charlotte’s turn for an adrenaline rush. She proudly told the operator she was nearly four and he took one […]