Duder Regional Park.

Our longest walk yet, 2 hours. It was an undulating terrain traversing beach, dense forest, gravel pathways and hilly paddocks. We gave it our best shot and thoroughly enjoyed our packed lunch after. 

Walking along the coastline and looking out onto the vast ocean, our little man marvelled:

"I am a little ant. God's world is so big. Sometimes I think that I'm big but I look at God's world and feel like a little ant."

A profound and beautiful realisation coming from such a little boy. 

Gathering Place.

It's been awhile since we hosted a big playdate. Some last-minute developments meant that we had 5 children coming by today to play. Thankfully, the arrival times were staggered and all the parents were thoughtful in the way they brought some food for their children to share.

The beautiful weather meant that there was something for everyone to do; we quickly figured out the outdoor children from the ones who were happy inside putting a puzzle together. We got to know new friends better and solidified old friendships. 

The husband kept the boys occupied with a game of football while I made lunch. Our children were great hosts and all the children looked out for each other.

At the end of the day, the husband and I were relieved not to have to cook. We'd planned a trip to the night market this evening.

It's always a treat and a great chance for the older children to learn to manage their money wisely and order their own food. Our big boy wasted money on fake Pokémon cards the last time, and this time knew well enough to steer clear of toys and just buy food. 

It's been a full day. 

Birthdays Come Early.

The bigs' birthdays came early this year as Popo surprised them with their presents early; they woke up one morning to find inline skates giftwrapped at the foot of their beds. They'd outgrown their skates and we thought the holiday might be a good time for them to break them in. They've been enjoying it and are very grateful. 

Now that all the children have their own skates, we took them to Skateland this morning to have a go on them. Papa and I rented skates too, much to the children's delight. It's been a decade, at least, since we skated but it's good to know we haven't forgotten how to. We had a lovely time. 

The Day The Spring Rolls Sprung.

I was making spring roll filling tonight. Our little man wanted to help. Our bigs joined in too.

The mince and vegetables must have been feeling frisky because they flew everywhere. 

It was a tricky clean up but the husband reminded me that I do like involving the children in everything and that's a natural consequence of that. 

Little man: "My favourite thing to do is cooking."

Perhaps we're raising a future chef. 

Feijoa Season!

The term break is finally here. We got our flu vaccines done on the last day of the term. Our little man, upon turning 6, has taken on another job at home. He retains his role of "Toilet Roll Fairy" and opted to take on the job of Bathtub Brusher... Keeping the bathtub clean. The bigs are slightly jealous that he has such a fun job to do.

Autumn means feijoa season and a time for our girls to eat feijoas to their heart's content. Our young tree gives us about 3-4 a day, which is lovely but not enough. The girls make short work of 3kg of feijoas; it doesn't last more than a few days. Not complaining as I love feijoas too!

Hunua Ranges Regional Park.

Our first day of the school break involved a 50 minute drive to the Hunua Ranges Regional Park. We explored the verdant bush trails, admired the Wairoa Dam and traversed what may be Auckland's only pedestrian suspension bridge.

The tramp took about 1hr 40 minutes, probably our longest yet. Most of the children were game and enjoyed the adventure. Our big boy didn't enjoy the stairs and the drizzle so much. 

All was well and the children enjoyed a Maccas lunch as a treat for an incredible effort. There was lots to see on this walk. We are grateful to live in such a beautiful country. It will also be hard to find a tramp to top this one!

Our Little Man Is 6!

It was a mission of a day. I was going to have lunch with our little man and throw him a little celebration after school. Thankfully, Papa was in charge of dinner: BBQ ribs with mac/cheese.

Our little man was up early opening his presents. We'd gotten him a Lego set and a digital camera. He's taken many photos to remind him of the day. Many.

After lunch, we packed for the party and spent some time building his new Lego set: 

It was exhausting, but everyone had a great time at the trampoline park. Our bigs took it upon themselves to look out for the younger ones. Our big boy came up with game after game to keep them laughing and moving. Our big girl came to check on me from time to time, and also made sure no one was left behind. They were nothing short of amazing today and they made looking after 8 children by myself a breeze. 

Dinner was delicious and the best end to a full day. 

Our little man is 6, and we pray that he continues to grow into a young man after God's heart. He is a blessing to our family.