The other week, on a drive down to Disneyland California with a friend, we stopped off on the Pacific coast for some sand dune action. The children went up to the top with no hesitation, before pelting it down in a storm of sand! Fantastic fun. I would have joined them, but I was limping […]
Country Kids
Country Kids – more like ‘Spy Kids’!!!
Okay, last weekend we had a blast. I turned forty in style, celebrating in Santa Monica, California. My daughters LOVED the beach gym that brings the community and tourists together for some active fun. There were some serious gymnast types, flexing muscles on the ropes and swings cirque du soleil style. I was in awe […]
Country Kids | Active snapshots from our week
Sharing some active snapshots from the past week of my three active daughters… Swinging in the garden under a shady tree, with friendly lizards and birds for company – Climbing at the playground, with the agility of monkeys, the enthusiasm of bees chasing pollen, and the confidence of feeling comfortable in their own bodies – […]
Let’s Go Ride! Miss 4 & Her New Cycling Adventures
She’s got pedal power and she’s not afraid to use it! She’s done her practice ‘miles’, with cycling around the house and down the lane. This week Miss 4 decided she had what was needed to make it from the house to the village, and back, on her wheels (with a stop for a bite […]
An active week in Santa Barbara – and yes, I am running a half marathon…
Between the game play (Minecraft), the crafting (Rainbow Looming) and all the preschool arts and crafts (baking ginger-bread men, sand play, painting, imaginary story telling and so on…) there’s been a lot of action in the house in California this week. My New Zealand born children have been energised with slightly cooler temperatures and rain […]
Miss 3 & I visit The Mission in Santa Barbara, California
Weekends are my golden time with my youngest daughter. During the week, Monday to Friday, I have to please all three daughters single-handedly (and Miss 8 and 10 rarely have the same desire to do the same outdoor activities & excursions as their younger sister). So it was that Miss 3 and I awoke with […]
An expat Christmas twice over, with some outdoor fun
Any expat will understand that Christmas (that is if it is a holiday that means something to you) is hard away from your home. This year, our first Christmas in Santa Barbara, California, USA, could have been twice as hard – particularly for my British husband and I. We spent our growing up years, till […]
Burning some rubber with the kids on the Santa Barbara waterfront!
With three children constantly at home it’s not easy to fit in exercise (well, not in the way I’d like – though I do get plenty of movement cleaning up after them and running around playing crazy games… and moving the wine glass to my mouth…). This week, with friends visiting from New Zealand, we […]
Moments of happiness with friends from NZ on Santa Barbara’s Waterfront
It’s been a lovely week shared with friends. We returned from Disneyland on Tuesday evening and have been enjoying a quieter time back at the house in Santa Barbara. The children have been playing in the pool a lot and we’ve had a couple of trips out and about, including a gorgeous little boat trip […]
Country Kids in California
Driving up the West Coast of California, north from Santa Barbara, we made a pit stop at a place in the country called Avila Valley Barn for a ‘Fall’ experience Californian style. The youngest of our family was the most enthralled. She tore into her roasted sweetcorn with the appetite of a cowgirl that had […]
New country, species and discoveries
We’ve seen the groundhogs, (also known as woodchucks), playing peek-a-boo, we’ve stopped in our tracks as a little (or not so little) lizard dashes across our path (or up a wall of the house) and we’ve noticed the colourful, varied birdlife and numerous damsel-flys and dragon-flys. Living in a new country offers great opportunity for […]
Country Kids go to Brick Bay Vineyard Sculpture Trail!
Less than an hour’s drive north of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, is a stunning sculpture trail at the Brick Bay Vineyard. Nature and art combine to make a beautiful and fascinating walk. The sculptures entranced even the youngest of our tribe, Miss 3 – Alice, so that she happily walked most of the two […]
Country Child in Country City – Wellington
Wellington never feels like a city – unless you’re stuck in the depths of the CBD or visiting the cathedral. It’s a city sandwiched in hills on a harbour. There is greenery aplenty and a whole harbour to sail away on. This week my youngest daughter, Miss 3 – Alice, made the most of this […]
LOVED… Luge riding, in Queenstown, New Zealand
Before we even got our helmets on for luging, we had the thrill of a ride in the Skyline Gondola to the top of the hill overlooking picturesque Queenstown, in the South Island of New Zealand. The views from the gondola ride were beautiful – but we were in for a lot more excitement. The […]