Ten years ago..............................

we were in Florida with my mum. I have to say that it was one of the best holidays I have ever had, a real dream come true. I wish the kids were older (especially Lou) to remember it. It was something I felt sad about coming to NZ that we would be going to Florida again.
But happy memories and it was all on video (just hope they came over with us).

busy busy busy........

well work has hit an all time peak with my colleague leaving I have gotten some of his trainees aswell as mine and some new ones - so I have now 18!!! I am suppose to only have 12 but can take 15 so gulp!! but then hopefully that gets me sorted for next year.

Also I did a cyper crop over the weekend and it was FABBY and did some cool stuff I am proud of so piccies to come of those.

And I am late with some of my assessments for one of the course I am doing (naught girl TUT TUT!!) so need to get A into G and get sorted on that as my next workshop is in about 2 weeks, my trainees think it's so funny I am behind (wish I did).

So that's why the posts have dried up a bit but I'll soon be back to normal and catch up with the prompts from Shimelle's course too (behind on that too!!!)

Right Ka kite (see you soon)

another reason why I love this country.

Tonight Key performed with the string group at his school's awards/leavers service, it was held at the Cathedral in Hamilton. Now Key has also performed at both the Cathedral in Liverpool and here lies the difference, I was never allowed to take any photos of him performing in these magnificent buildings. I have no visual record of this and as a scrapbooker to me that is a crime. The reason being is the 'stupid' law/rule whatever that you are not allowed to take photos of children in a public place. That used to wind me right up!! I know why but I hated the fact that everyone gets 'tarred with the same brush'. Anyway there wasn't even a passing thought this evening that someone would stop me taking a photo of my beloved son in a proud mummy moment, in fact the teacher was laughing that the only hassle was that Key was embarrassed that I was taking his piccy ("that's my mum" I heard him moan at one stage). So anyway I am glad that I live in a country that is sane and let's a mum be proud of her children and want to record that precious moment, OK they don't know that it will be on bazzill cardstock with the latest design from basic grey or cosmo cricket and lots of embellishments surrounding it. At least I have one photo to stand for the rest of the other ones I wasn't able to capture. Sweet as - New Zealand.
** stands off soapbox
Although we couldn't stay for the full mass and service, it was lovely to see the 'men' (these were the year 13 - 18 years olds) looking smart and seeing some of them dressed in traditional dress, some of them had lava-lava (a skirt like piece of clothing) on with their blazers and some had Leis on. They were welcomed into the Cathedral with a Maori welcome and haka too. Another reminder that I live in another part of the world.

What we did over the weekend.

Another busy weekend over. So here is what we did.
Saturday
Key had a cricket game (another loss), Lou went to a friends, I was suppose to be scrapping but...........spent most of my time checking our the blogs of my class mates. Did managed some scrapping later. Then in the evening we went to S and A for a bonfire party. We all brought fireworks so there was sooooo many we have saved some for New Year's Eve. There was a huge big bommy too and heaps of good fun. I made a new friend his name is Minty and he's just gorgeous. Loved feeding him so cute. Oh yes Key wanted one!!!!!




Sunday
Was Armistice Day.
.

The town puts on a show which lots of visitors come to. They have lots of vechicle and displays. They also do re-enactments. So this year we had the Waikato militia and they did a 'show' of storming a pa.



Later there was a 'Vietnam' display, with 'American' GIs in the field complete with helicopter, followed by the kiwis showing what they did in 'Vietnam' with large loud guns!!! We met some friends and sat with them too






After for dinner we went the Lake (which is less then 5 mins away) and had 'fush and chups' and played kwik cricket. I was even running - whats this country doing to me!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today is my dad's birthday, so this is some birthday love sent to him from all of us.
We love you Dad/Pop and miss you heaps.
Have a good day.
Lots of love and kisses.

remember remember the 5th of November!!

I didn't write a post yesterday as I had a rough day in work and needed to lick my wounds (with the help of a good friend).
Anyway it is bonfire night or bommy night as we called it back in Liverpool. They do celebrate 'Guy Fawkes' night over here. A funny story, a friend (pom) of mine once told me that a kiwi friends of hers was telling her about Guy Fawkes and how he tried to blow up 'The Beehive' (which is the nickname for the houses of Parliament over here) and no matter how much my friends tried to tell her the history behind it, she wouldn't have it!!!! With this in mind I did the history bit with my trainees, they loved the bit about the hung, drawn and quartered (rolleyes here).
So we bought our fireworks (they only allow them to be bought 4 days a year - well done on that one New Zealand) from the warehouse (big store over here) and we said the same as last year and the year before, that most of them were a load of rubbish, so note to self DO NOT BUY THEM FROM THE WAREHOUSE NEXT YEAR!!.
It's still not right to me not to be wrapped up with hat and scarf when watching them and having to wait till well after 8.00 to set them off because it's still daylight till then. Still had fun though and Key was pleased as we let him (don't panic mum he was fine)light them this year.

Lesson One - paving our way to pastures new

Well the course Blogging for scrapbookers, a course I am doing on line, is well and truly running YAY!!!
SO here's my entry.
This course is to try and 'bridge' the gap and use a blog to record our lives - not just using 12 x 12 cardstock etc. I must admit sometimes I do get 'bogged' down by the scrapbooking (which I love don't get me wrong) and the fact I just don't get the time to record it all. I have all these ideas in my head and yet why oh why do they disappear when I sit in front of photos, cardstock and pretty paper??? So I hope that by blogging (as well as showing my family in the UK our lives that we lead here and that's why we are so far away from them) that it frees up my mind so I don't feel like I have to create a layout for every memory but just record the special ones.
I hope that makes sense - it does to me.

Another Layout

This got missed off yesterday as the piccies weren't clear enough especially to read the story behind the piccies.

Some layouts

I have just started a course on blogging and having lots of visitors - Haere mai (welcome) to my class mates from Shimelle's blogging for scrapbookers!! So I hope that my blog will be even better (all singing and dancing LOL) and I am looking forward to this class. Thank you for you kind comments too.

Anyway thought I'd post some piccies of some layouts (scrapbooking) I have done recently. Most of them are of the wedding we went back the UK for last year. It was my cousins wedding (kia ora Liz and Chris) and Lou was a bridesmaids and Key a usher and they both looked gorgeous. The other is about our ex batt hens.

Hope you like them.

Two years ago......

....just over, that we moved into our first 'real' home in New Zealand. The house isn't like some of our friends houses BUT it's more then we had in the UK, in fact our front garden in the UK was the same size as our deck!!! So we are happy, I would like a view though (hey I am woman I am never satisfied) which we did have till they started building.
But for the folks in the UK who have been asking here it is.


The back or the front I never know which, but we go in that way (that's a 14' tramp in the corner to give a scale)

One of my favourite places of the house - my deck (covered so can sit out all weather) our living room (right door) and bedroom (left door) open out onto it.

Also it means that we got this little guy just over two years ago too. Paddy came into our home the day after we moved in which completed it and made it into a home.

Sunday afternoon - girly time

Well I 'did' ballet when I was little, now I've never been too little (in height) and I've never been too good at ballet neither, BUT I dreamt of being a ballerina when I was younger.
My two kids have both danced too.
The other week we got the chance to see the Imperial Russian Ballet practise for Swan Lake. It was amazing to say the least. But the show was booked up so at least we got a glimpse. Anyway they came back to Hamilton at the end of their tour and we were lucky enough to get two tickets (kia ora Lee).
So Lou and I headed to Hamilton and met some friends who were going too.
In all the time of my love of the ballet I have never been to a ballet performance (professional not dance school style) and Swan Lake well.....
The show was superb and I had to blink away a few tears (I know I know I cry at the drop of a hat!). Afterwards the girls went to the stagedoor and got some autographs and piccies with the dancers.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself at the things I do in this country.



One of the swans - this girl stood out at the rehearsals and the show. The girls liked her.

The two principal dancers
Anastasia Homitskaya - played Odette/Odile

Nariman Bekhanov - played Siegfried

Happy Halloween

Well it's another Halloween and I must admit sometimes these are the times I miss things about the UK. For Halloween we would dress the house up (we still do to an extent) with purple and pumpkin lights (it's too light to see them so we don't). The kids would go round with Stevie to the neighbouring houses (who most 'did' trick or treat) now the kids go themselves (in fact Key wasn't in stayed at a friends after 2 birthday parties one which was paintballing) so Lou asked some friends around who have never done trick or treating before. I dressed up to open the doors for the trick or treaters (we had ONE set!! so lots of lollies going to be eaten by us).
But anyway the girls had fun 'duck appling' (no chestnuts though not in season so we used strawberries which are).