Thelma and Louise does Orewa!!

Well I booked into a scrap retreat with Angie, who I have turned to the dark side!! It was held at Orewa which is further up then Auckland. So I have never driven that far before. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived. I had called it our "Thelma and Louise trip" (from the film which Ange hadn't seen so didn't get it), it was our get away from the family, a well earn rest.
The retreat didn't start till the Sat morning, so the Friday night we went and had a curry (it was yum) and a glass of wine (or two) in the hotel room, and a good gab and laugh.
The retreat was in the hotel, so we popped around with all my stuff, minus my tote - I can't believe that I left my tote with all my tools etc behind!! (Stevie said that there was no way he was going to bring up, when I told him I'd left it behind on the Friday night - spoilt sport!!). There was a class on the Saturday which was designed by Melissa (the organiser) herself. She cut out the scallop frame using her machine, which is like my silhouette but it takes 12" paper (no I do not need one, especially as I don't use my silhouette as much as I should - need to find out how too), she was having probs with it for some of us and mine was all torn. Melissa felt terrible but I saw it as a challenge to work with. The design took me out of my comfort zone, so well done on that one Melissa, and went so well with the piccies from Liz's wedding. I really enjoyed doing it. I took a long time so didn't get too much done in the evening especially as we got kicked out of the room at 10.00pm!!
Next morning, after a shower (or should I say a hose down....you had to be there!!) we started again, another class which was equally fabby and went great with a piccy of me and mum at the wedding. I changed it a bit, well you have to don't you?!? and was so pleased with the result. I managed to start a couple of layouts to finish at home when I have all my stuff (and I don't just mean my tote!!) to hand.
Then after goodbyes and some piccies it was a trip back down to sleepy Cambridge and the families. Seems they missed us both and that last all of 5 mins hey Ange!!
But the retreat was really good and we really enjoyed it. They were a good group of girls and we had a laugh and I good time. I love crops and miss them soooo much.
Oh did I tell you that I forgot my tote!!

The hotel we stayed in

The girls busy working - see we did get stuff done as well as chatting!


The Sunday class




The Saturday Class - Melissa's



See Thelma and Louise (you'll have to wait till the layout)

The big day out!

Well we (the staff and me) fought a battle and won and took the trainees down to the snow, bare in mind that a lot of these guys have never seen snow. My own kids wanted to come too (I know, they wagged school for the day oops!)and CA brought her eldest too (who has adopted Lou as a younger sis!!). So we headed down to the Tongariro National Park with a visit to Taupo first to see Hukka falls which was sooo full, more then any of the other times we'd seen it. For the folks in the UK Mount Ruapehu the mountain we were going on is a live volcano!! It was an (here's that word I don't like but....) awesome day out. The weather was glorious, with some of us going down to vest and tees!! Thank goodness I don't think I could of put up with the moaning from the trainees about the cold! The kids (me included!) had a great time, the trainees were laughing that I was going down the slopes on the boogie boards when I got the chance and I was a pretty mean snow baller thrower (hey I grown up throwing snowballs). Stevie was throwing snowballs at them as they went down the slopes and they all ganged up on him and got him back. CA had arranged a treasure hunt with prizes buried in the snow and a 'coconut shy' thing were they had to throw snowball at the chocolate lollies to win them. But as soon as their snowballs had knocked the choc off, they had to run to get their prize, I made the others turn the snowballs on to the person getting the prize instead!! Good fun.
Then it was a trip back, after a stop for hot chips in Te Kuiti, then home late. A trip of 600K in total!
But worth it.

Hukka falls - the start of the Waikato river, it's not that blue when it gets to us!!(although we did kid a few of the trainees on that they put food colouring in the water!) look at how full it is.


Here is the Motley crew!!


"oh no they didn't" I am shocked by a photo shown by CA.


On our way in our van



Here we all are with Mount Ruapehu in the background


Key trying a bit of 'snowboarding' and not doing too bad!


Me and Lou going down the slopes, YAY!



Key taking the high ground to throw snowballs at those below him (look some of them our in vests it was that warm).


The trainees getting Stevie back - she's behind you!

Too late - bang on target - Ka Pai


Stevie getting Key back


Stunning Mount Ngauruhoe, I just love that! (or otherwise know as Mount Doom on LOTR)


Waiting to start the treasure hunting.


Key and Lou picking on one of my girls when she went to get her choc bars!!

Bad blogger!!

Well I have been a naughty girl and not blogged for A-G-E-S!! (haven't been on Facebook for about the same amount too!) BUT I have been busy and a good girl in other areas (have been scrappin like a good'un), so I best do some post about what has been going on the last month. Here goes..........

What did I say........

..... about Key growing up.
Well he was asked to a social, what we would call a dance or disco (now I am showing my age!) by Charly his friend/girlfriend (I don't think they can decided which - great by me :-)).
So here is a photo of them before the social.



and here is AFTER!!!



and not all that lippy is Charly's (as you can tell from the difference shades of lippy) WHAT!!
(think is was more a fun thing and one of his friends (male) did it for a laugh too!).
He had a good night though.
All I am saying is GULP!

Netball final

well Lou's team St Peter's force, got into the finals again this year. They hadn't been beaten all season (how great is that!) they played the middle school's best team (they had beat them and they were the only team that had). Lou had lost her game a bit over the last few weeks with being really ill and mind games from one of the other shooter (girl can be so b*tchy). She wasn't playing as well as we all know she could. The coach therefore put the best ones in the game. BUT as she did so well in practise in the mid court, the coach asked her to play WD. She hasn't played that position in 2 years, that was when they rotated all the positions when they were little. So she played out of position in a final too and the WA she marked was a rep player. She played the first 2 quarters and played brilliantly. The score was quite close then too. But you do a hell of a lot more running around in that position then you do as a GS. They unfortunately got beaten in the end. The other team was the better team and there was a few in our team that didn't play as well as they could do. But I think like last year it came down to nerves in the end.
Some of the girls came up to Lou and said we missed you in the circle and as said she played really good as WD. SO she ended the season on a good note and knows next year as well as a shooters position to try for another mid court position too, so she has a better chance of a game.
Their team won the trophy for the greatest number of goals scored in their league too.
Tumeke Force! (awesome)

Cross country.

Well it was the school's cross country. The catholic schools cross country was on Tuesday, but Friday was just St. Peter's, in was held in Lake Te Koutou, which is like a park with a big lake in and only down the road from us, nice place.
Lou as well as running in it, also had to do her house leader duties (hence why she was in red the colour of her house - I know tell me about it, at least she can wear her England kit). She was soooo lookin forward to it.
So here are some piccies, unfortunately I wasn't able to go (was in work!!) but Stevie was there. She came 4th in the age 11 girls Ka pai Lou.

Fourteen, 14, one four!!

Whatever way you say it, it still sounds OMG!!
My number one son, my baby, my first born is fourteen. Thirteen sounds bad but fourteen to me sounds like the really start to an actual teenager. If you get me.
So after a morning of tears (he was missing folks back in the UK) and he wants an ipod touch and has heard that there is a new one coming out so wants to wait. I kept telling him that it meant he had nothing to open on his birthday, but no he wanted to wait. So he didn't have anything to open (beside his cards and a music download card we bought him) so I think he did felt it and it was more like a grown up birthday.
But we went out for dinner and he wanted to go to Gengy's, which is a Mongolian restaurant. You pick what you want in the terms of meat (not in our case), veggies, oil, sauce and then they cook it on a hot plate in front of you. You can eat as much as you want (2 times for me and Stevie) and afterwards (soup before too!) pancakes, again cooked in front of you, with ice cream and lots of choices of sauces.
We all liked it, even Lou in the end. But the main thing was Key loved it.
Happy Birthday Son.