Christmas in Taupo

Christmas 2008

Judi and I were in the middle of a holiday in Tauranga and we went down to Taupo to spend a couple of days with family there. We never anticipated that Brooklyn would get so much enjoyment from Christmas - we thought that at his age most of it would pass him by. But we were wrong and one of the memories will be the look of glee as we took him on a tour of Tapuo's Christmas lights. Sad that we were missing Bryn, Karine and Rowan but we had a wonderful time anyway with Luke, Anna, Brooklyn, Anna's family and Jenny from Sweden.

The Christchurch Engagement Party

Christchurch Engagement

The final of three parties was in Christchurch. It was a fabulous day for a barbecue at the home of our generous hosts Mark and Anne. 28º they tell me. There a few red bodies by the end of the day. A great day apart from the speeches which were hijacked!

The Auckland Engagement Party

Engagement Auckland

Week two of the Engagement Tour and we are in Auckland. Great to see some old friends at the Encounter Café. A relaxing night for us to wish Rowan and Karine well with their plans for marriage.

The Wellington Engagement Party

Wellington Engagement

The first of three engagement parties for Karine and Rowan was held at the Rock Church in Wellington.  Great to meet Rowan's parents Di & Tim, and the rest of the family and friends from the Wellington region.

Family day at the Beach

Family Day at the Beach

Barry & Julie-Ann's Wedding

Barry & Julie-Ann's Wedding

Brooklyn's First Birthday!

Dad in Christchurch

Christchurch Snow

It has been nice having Dad down in the frozen wonderland that is Christchurch. He came down on Tuesday for work and stayed until Sunday evening.
On Tuesday I promised him that I would give him snow and on saturday I delivered.
We picked Dad and Dean up from the conference and it had just started to snow - we went to the museum and were able to watch it really come down from inside the big old stone building.

It snowed for a few hours and then rained and melted most of the snow.

Dad had a bit of excitement on Sunday morning when he was forced out of his room by a fire drill and out into the cold. Fortunately he was dressed but he joined other customers who were in their pjs or dressing gowns in the lobby.

It snowed again while we were in church and we set off up the port hills to Victoria Park to find the snow. We weren't exactly suitable attired (heels are probably not the best, neither are canvas chucks or smart brown shoes)

Rowan and I started a snowball fight and Dad somehow managed to stay out of it.

Check out the photos we had some fun times.
Karine

Brooklyn's first steps

Here is the video of Brooklyn's first tentative steps. This was taken last weekend, so he is I am sure a lot more experienced now.

He has been walking around furniture since he was 7 months, and has also taken to standing on his own, so now the steps have been added to his repertoire. Oh, he also got his first two teeth the same week. What a week?

Trip to Rotorua

Rotorua

We planned a trip to Rotorua to get some peace and quiet and to spend some time on our own for the weekend.  The aim was to see some of the countryside and maybe do some walking. Unfortunately on Friday night I came down with the Flu and didn't see much outside of the motel room.  Well I guess we did get some peace and quiet.  There will always be another time.

Queens Birthday Weekend

Auckland - Queens Birthday Weekend

The long weekend was Breakthrough Youth Conference.  It was a great time with over 800 young people at our Church.  Luke and Anna came up and brought with them a total of 20 from Taupo.  Great to see Brooklyn again and he is almost walking.  Our house was full for the weekend - but great fun.  We were grateful Monday afternoon when we could both sleep!

Bryn's 21st

Bryn's 21st

Bryn's 21st birthday was actually four months early and was combined with farewells for both Bryn and Karine as they went off to London. It was great to have Luke, Anna, Brooklyn and Rowan here for the weekend.  

It was a great night at the Musket Room with well over 100 people there and some great music. 

Easter weekend

Auckland, Easter Weekend

This weekend was great as we had all the family home again. The first time since Christmas. We also had 2 visitors, Emma from Uk had been here with Karine for the previous week, and on Easter Sunday her fiancee John arrived. It was great catching up with Emma again, and meeting John. Karine is to be her bridesmaid in Uk in May, and Bryn is going over with her.

The house was full, the food disappeared from the panty at a fast pace, but it was a wonderful time. Brooklyn was into everything, and found everything that was not moved up high, we had thought we had baby-proofed it!
Within a few minutes of everyone being here the lovely tidy house was full of bags, clothes, shoes, and toys. It looked great! The weather was so great that they all took off to the beach.
On Saturday night we had a small birthday gathering for Luke who turned 25. Where did all those years go? Anna's parents were staying at a relatives place in Takapuna  (Auckland)so we went there for the Birthday. The house was quite literally on the beach and with the gorgeous weather made for a great setting.

While here, Brooklyn learned how to climb stairs. It is all happening so fast, what will he be up to next time?

Anyway a wonderful weekend at the Williams' house was had by all.

Taupo

Taupo Feb '08

We went down to spend the weekend with Luke, Anna & Brooklyn, and there we many changes all around. They had just moved back into their home after the major parts of the renovations had been completed. The new trendy bathroom was in, the stairs had been altered and the the front of the house had been extended. The little house they bought 18 months ago, was still in a state of unfinish but is so much larger. There is a fair bit of internal decorating to be done, but it is so much bigger, brighter and a lot more trendy.

And Brooklyn, we had seen him last in January and here he was now sitting up, crawling around and pulling himself up against the furniture. He is a happy boy, and in now getting used to different tastes as he recently started on real food.

We had a lovely weekend, and are always amazed at the beauty of Taupo and their lake.

Our Anniversary in Christchurch

Christchurch, Feb 2008

What a great weekend. We both took Friday off work and went down to Christchurch for a weekend. It was our 28th Wedding anniversary and thought we would spend it down south with Karine.
We booked into an apartment for the weekend in the centre about 10 mins walk from the city centre.
Apart from the security scare closing Christchurch airport down, and the slight delay we had, the rest of the weekend was wonderful.
It was great to see Karine and to be shown around the City. We of course had Souvlaki, as we don’t have it in Auckland, and then wandered the city.
On Friday evening Karine and I (Judi) went Salsa dancing. Karine has been having lessons for four weeks and wanted me to see her dance. It was fun, and I had my first dance. I was taught as I went along by someone who has been dancing for a while, and it was fun. I was a little stiff the next day though.
Karine took us out to Akaroa the next day. It is very much like a little British sea side area with lots of cafes, and craft shops. It was about 1 hour out of Christchurch. Saturday evening we went to a great Italian restaurant for our anniversary celebration. The food was wonderful and we were so full when we left a short walk around the city was required..
Sunday was spent wandering around the markets in the Art Centre and then visiting the travel expo.
The other great thing that happened was that it was a year this weekend since Karine’s church started so it was party time. The reason she came to Christchurch was as part of the team that set up the church. It has grown amazingly and there was a large turnout today. There were bouncy castles, ride on cars, candyfloss and more. The kids especially loved it,
We flew back via Wellington exhausted but so pleased we got away.
It is always nice to catch up with the kids. We are off to Taupo in a couple of weeks to see how Luke, Anna & Brooklyn are doing.

Christmas and New Year

Pataua South

Luke, Anna & Brooklyn arrived a few days before Christmas and we couldn't believe how much he had changed since we had last seen him two weeks earlier. He was now up getting ready to crawl, had learnt to roll over and loved eating his feet. Oh, and his dad had taught him to blow bubbles.

Karine was picked up from the airport Christmas morning (from Christchurch), and our family was complete again. The first time since Brooklyn was born.It had been a few months since Karine had seen Brooklyn, and so the changes were huge for her.

How great it was to have everyone home. My brother, his girlfriend and Great Nanny Pat were also at our place for Christmas. It was a lovely day, and certainly different with a baby around.

Here are some photos from Christmas through to our holiday up North. We went to Pataua South. It is right on the edge of an estuary just outside of Whangarei and literally 5 minutes from a surf beach. Once again our family was together and we had a great time up there. We tried to tempt Brooklyn with going in the sea but he wasn't quite sure yet. We had amazing weather and with the water 10 steps off our deck it was stunning.

More Photos...

• Christmas Day


• Boxing Day